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You know what, I'm not gonna bait the person who's obviously looking for a fight. But god damn I am fucking sick to death of every German folklore blog showing themselves to be a massive racist at one point or another.

Newsflash: you can have a good relationship with the local land, want to learn its history, and not be a fucking nazi.

My German-ness wasn't handed to me on a plate. I had to claw and fucking fight for it, I still am. Guess what? The land welcomes me. The land helps me. Fuck off outta here with your thinly-veiled Deutschland den Deutschen bullshit. The land does not care.

I hate that my history gets co-opted by these people. I've been thinking of making a sideblog collecting the bits of German folklore and witchcraft I've been exploring. I guess if nobody else is doing it, someone needs to be an explicitly anti-fascist voice in the room.

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First of all, I love Olivia and all of their content, it's amazing.

Secondly, for me, winter is a time of rest and sleep rather than observation. The world around me hibernates, and so do I. If I don't, I'm cranky and horrible. This year in particular has taught me just how much my energy shifts in the colder months, and how much more sleep (and caffeine) i need.

For me, obversation is a very active and hands-on task. To see how something feels or looks or smells or tastes is active to me. And I love how different everybodys feelings are on this matter.

Yule or the Winter Solstice is for me kind of a time to slow down and listen to the things around me.

Anyone else agree? Summer time is more of an active hands on learning experience vs winter being introverted note taking listening to a lecture type vibe?

I watched thewitchofwonderlust talk about their practice in that way and it opened my mind and made me realize it’s sort of like that.

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You are microwave safe. You are dishwasher safe. You will not turn orange after one use. You will not deform under boiling water.

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a concerning amount of witchblr will be like "um actually new years was stolen by europeans from the ancient god scroobus mcdoobus" and then you actually try to research scroobus mcdoobus and it turns out he was invented in the 1940s by a conspiracy theorist who powdered every meal with ketamine and thinks that queer people are reincarnated fish

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This may be an unpopular opinion, but just because you��re having trouble with your tarot readings doesn’t mean you need to cleanse your deck.

I treat my decks like cast iron, the more you use them the more they are seasoned and the better they work. Cleansing your deck strips away that magical seasoning and you’re starting from square one.

There is a time and place for cleansing, but it’s not every month. The last actual cleanse I did on a deck was 3-4 years ago, and the problem came right back (my rider Waite is sassy and likes to only give reversals, I’ve learned to just live with it). Cleansing is my last resort and I think too many people jump to it when there are a lot of other ways to troubleshoot.

Magical sterility bothers me, let some funk in.

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This is my favourite flavour of tarotposting

Knight of Swords

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Death and Emperor. I am choosing to see this as pure anarchy, death to the emperor type of thing, and not the two obvious aspects of myself it represents: the need for rules and order but needing to change and uproot that order constantly for it to work (audhd says hello)

what are y’all’s tarot birth cards?

mine are the tower and the chariot

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Are you single?

Am married :)

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Personal Terminology: why "Mariolatry" and not "Marian Devotion/Veneration" ?

Mariolatry is a pejorative term used primarily by protestants to describe Catholic & Orthodox veneration of The Virgin Mary.

Mariolatry

Wiktionary Entry

Latin Maria + o + -latry

Maria referring to The Virgin Mary, 'o' is an interfix, and "-latry" meaning 'worship of'.

-latry according to wiktionary comes from "Late Latin latria, from Ancient Greek λατρεία (latreía, “service; worship”).

So the literal meaning is "Worship of Mary"

This may not seem bad on the surface but it certainly is bad for many Christians because there are different types of acceptable veneration.

Christian Veneration

*Obviously individual Catholics and Christians are going to have different ideas. Certainly not all follow official doctrines many syncretisms and DIY exist. I am basing my view off Church *doctrine* as I know it.

In Catholicism (largest denomination of Christianity) worship is known as latria. It comes from the exact same origin "-latry" does.

Latria is due only to God (The Trinity) and God alone.

Dulia, which comes from Greek douleia meaning servitude, is the honor paid towards Saints.

Hyperdulia, which is just dulia with a hyper prefix attached meaning "over", describes the honor paid towards Mary. It is above the honor of saints but below worship.

"Wherefore dulia, which pays due service to a human lord, is a distinct virtue from latria, which pays due service to the Lordship of God. It is, moreover, a species of observance, because by observance we honor all those who excel in dignity, while dulia properly speaking is the reverence of servants for their master, dulia being the Greek for servitude". — St. Thomas Aquinas

Worship is due to God and God alone.

So saying "you worship Mary" can be offensive, and a Christian who participates in Marian Devotion might strongly disagree. Marian devotion exists in the Roman & Eastern Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, and Lutheranism. They don't worship her, they give her honor and veneration that is below the worship of God, even if it is devout.

Many Protestants refuse these distinctions and see the veneration of Mary and Saints along with statues and icons as idolatry..... hence "mariolatry"

My Personal Practice

The distinctions individuals wish to use is all well and good, and I completely respect it.

But I am not Christian. I am a polytheist. I see no reason to give Mary Hyperdulia/Dulia and not Latria.

I don't come from a theological framework were worship is due to The Trinity and The Trinity alone. Or even due to Gods alone. Many other types of spirits that may not be considered Gods or "fully" Gods can receive worship in my practice. I view Mary on par with heros such as Herakles, he certainly receives worship.

Mary is separate from my rituals, offerings, and prayers to the Theoi and Diĝirene. However, my veneration/honor of Mary is still not below their worship. Hence "worship of Mary" seemed completely acceptable and well thats what "mariolatry" means so I took a very strong liking to the word.

Other Terms

"Mariology" — this is the theological study of The Virgin Mary. Her place, her role, etc within Christian theology. I have no interest in studying theology.

"Marian devotion" — devote is a very strong word in my religion that can't be ascribed to Mary

"Marian veneration" — connects my desired personal practice more to Christianity than I want it to be. Also "Marian devotion/veneration" just tingle my childhood schoolgirl catholic spidey senses and I don't like that.

(Hm, 🧐 so if an idolater is someone who practices idolatry would a mariolater people someone who practices mariolatry.)

Last Note

I am not trying to be pejorative towards Christians. I have no issues with Christians. Nor would I insist Marian Devotion by other people = worship. This is solely about me personally using a particular word. I also don't feel any offense if someone called me an idolater, even if they are trying to offend, since I call the animated objects of the Diĝirene & Theoi "Idols."

Anyways hope that all makes sense.

-not audio proof read-

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If I may, I must make the gentle request that people consult Wikipedia for basic information about anything.

I’m not entirely sure what’s going on, but more and more people coming to me saying they can’t find info about [noun], when googling it yields its Wikipedia entry on the first page.

I’ve said it before, but I’ll gladly say it again: You can trust Wikipedia for general information. The reason why it’s unreliable for academic citations is because it’s a living, changing document. It’s also written by anonymous authors, and author reputation is critical for research paper integrity.

But for learning the basics of what something is? Wikipedia is your friend. I love Wikipedia. I use it all the time for literally anything and everything, and it’s a huge reason why I know so much about things and stuff.

Please try going there first, and then come to me with questions it doesn’t answer for you.

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recently, every single time i have done a tarot reading with my 3 year old (i shuffle, he tells me stop and pulls cards) or by myself about him the sun has appeared. I think that's how my deck refers to him tbh. Especially since one of the first things I called him when he was just a newborn was "sunshine". I just think that's very beautiful.

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Not to sound like a fuckin hippie but please for the love of god start noticing and appreciating the natural world around you. You don’t have to go hike the entire Appalachian trail or anything and I get that not everyone has access to the outdoors for various reasons, but just fucking … look around you when you’re outside. Notice the sky and the sun and the birds and creatures. Start caring about them. I’m begging you.

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A 4th century CE statue of Aphroditos. Her cock wards off evil spirits. Reblog to rid your blog of evil spirits.

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I cannot believe I have to say this but please don't assume I don't medically take care of my cat. Yes he goes to the vet. Yes he's getting his vaccines. No, magic is not a cure for cat-illnesses. It may aid, but it's not a replacement for real, quality medical care.

Can we just stop assuming that everyone on the internet is an idiot? I spent 2 weeks preparing and researching obsessively about things that are toxic to cats, how to properly clean a litter tray, the appropriate amount of ham or tuna as a treat, so he doesn't get sodium or mercury poisoning. That's why I'm so annoyed about this. Just the fact that somebody will come across someone trying to give some spiritual protection to their cat and right away assume they either don't know shit or refuse to properly educate themselves on their cats care. Science and witchcraft coexist! They are both very important to me! Assuming that everyone you come across is probably less smart than you makes you an asshole! I thought I was done with twitter lmao

Cat protection spell

cause i couldn't find a good one that wasn't wiccan in origin or used ingredients accessible to me :)

You need:

A mortar and pestle (a cup and a spoon will do but you may need to let it steep longer)

rosemary

salt

hot water

and your cat of course

1. Place the salt and rosemary in your mortar/cup and speak your intentions into them

-> i like to get close and whisper, but you can also just hold your hand above and say it

-> you can also just think it

2. Put a small amount of hot water in a dish or cup to the side and bless it the same way

3. Pour the water into the mortar/cup with the rosemary and salt

4. Grind/steep until the water has been infused (it'll be slightly yellow-ish) while you keep repeating your intention either in thought or in speech

5. Dip your finger in the water (it should be cooled down by now, be careful not to burn yourself!) and put it on your cats forehead.

-> Make sure it doesn't get in their eyes

-> Only use a small amount, rosemary is safe for cats and the amount of salt used should be small enough not to make a difference, but you must be vigilant when putting anything on your cat. I wouldn't recommend offering the mixture as a drink to them.

6. Say a little prayer for the cats protection & blessing. This can be anything that feels right, but here is my version:

"Mother Earth, of grace and light. Protect this kitten with your might. May he be gentle, happy and kind, and safe and sound to ease my mind."

To close off, if all ingredients i've used are at least biodegradable if not good for the soil, I stand outside barefoot, thank the great mother and say "Now that the spell is complete, I return your gift to you" and scatter the remains in the grass.