langevandreren

[langevandreren]

But...what about genderfluid deities?

Asking for a friend.

Pagan writers when talking about female deities: "They're a mother goddess"

Pagan writers when talking about male deities: "Well, their role and function is a lot more complicated and important than just just being a father god, and here's a 10k word essay discussing why they're more than just a father god"

[langevandreren]

It's been a minute since I was young, but something I wish I had known then:

That deeply emotional feeling of absolute moral clarity that drives you do *whatever is necessary* for the cause. Be reflexively skeptical of that feeling. It usually takes you to very bad places that you will regret later in life.

"The youth will save us." A frighteningly large number of them are puritanical, pearl clutching, nuance free, fascist regime loving Nazis. I'm beginning to doubt that very much.

[langevandreren]

I would ask: What is your purpose? Like, are you trying to get a concrete answer to a specific question?

If not, if you just want to build your relationship with Hel's parent, or you are looking for the clarity and cunning to carry out a purpose, I usually make a double cocktail, pour half in Loki's bowl and half in mine. Then I light some candles, put on something chill but a little dark and sexy, and ask them if they are in the mood for a drink.

If I am looking for a concrete answer (like, 'is this risky thing a good idea') I do the above, ask for guidance, and look for signs IRL that point to one or other course of action.

I have good luck with this. Like keeping up a friendship and asking for advice and guidance. But as in all things heteropraxic, YMMV. :)

Any tips for deity work?

Pendulums and tarot cards are the only things I’ve tried and I’m not sure I’m doing it right?

The pendulum doesn’t move at all.

I’ve also heard of flame reading but the flames on my altar stay consistent the whole time.

[langevandreren]

The announcement said “smoking it’s prohibited in the terminal” and I swear it sounded like she said “Loki is prohibited in the terminal” and I was like wtf did Loki do?

[langevandreren]

Good advice (though I do not meditate or journal, and do not feel that as a loss - as in all things, do what works for you).

I guess my big question is:

What kind of pagan are you? Are there particular entities or traditions you feel drawn to? Or, are there particular aspects of the natural world or human experience that you hold to be particularly important?

I think there is no single 'right way' to pagan, and not very many wrong ways (stay away from Nazis and Volkischers).

For example, I have felt drawn to Loki for...well...pretty much as long as I can remember, and I certain values like autonomy, dissent, and curiosity are central to how I view my place in the world.

But, in keeping with the animist aspect of old Scandinavian traditions, I also try to do right by the spirits of the world around me: I do what I can to aid and honor the animals and plants that live around me. I respect and care for the 'inanimate' things that I rely on (vehicle, dwelling, technology, weapons, etc). I find that this is reciprocated by both the wild things and the objects.

hello!! i'm a new pagan, and i was wondering if you have any tips for those who are new to the religion and are figuring out their path for the first time?

omg an ask!!! hell yeah!! i’ve been working on a similar post so hopefully this information is helpful!!

small disclaimer: i’ve been in my practice for 5 years so there are definitely elder witches and pagans on here that can also give a tonnnn of information and more wisdom for in your practice! so keep in mind that i am but a youngen. . .

1) READDDD READDD AND KEEP READING!!!

resources for eclectic paganism are fortunately very available and can easily be ‘borrowed’ via internet archive or online pdfs if you can’t afford the physical book. here are some recommendations for brand new pagans: (these have very sparse or no wiccan influence! and i’ve read them all myself!)

- paganism: an introduction to earth centered religions (joyce / river higginbotham)

- pagan spirituality (same authors as above)

- paganism for beginners: the complete guide to nature-based spirituality for every new seeker (althaea sebastani)

i’d say these are the most basic and introductory books to the path and explain many different paths and types of practices under the pagan umbrella. from here it could help narrow down if you want to work with a certain pantheon / god / realm of practice / etc.

2) let yourself make mistakes and do not feel discouraged in making them.

mistakes lead to more knowledge and wisdom, and humility is essential in practice! mistakes in rituals and deity work tend to be what’s commonly talked about from new practitioners — but i promise you that no pagan has come out the oven freshly baked; we are all still learning!!!

in relation, forgetting to follow through with something or being inconsistent in practice is not a ‘mistake’ in my eyes. plus, it’s common! most people don’t have time to dedicate 24/7 to a religion, period!

3) journaling and meditation are crucial!!!

most people online skip over how important this is. journaling with curiosity about your practice, how you feel about religion and spirituality, and how you connect with nature and the cycles of life are all important questions to ponder and reflect on!

because i do so much tarot i meditate literally twice a day or else my mind will be a cluttered mess for readings… plus it also just helps clear your mind and center yourself.

here are some simple prompts if you don’t know where to start:

- what does ‘pagan’ mean to me right now?

- what does ‘sacred’ mean to me? what do i view as sacred? where do i feel it?

- do i believe the sun, moon, earth or stars have energies? do i think everyday things have energies? why or why not?

- how do i want my pagan path to make me feel?

4) forget the aesthetics — that’s all it is!

yes, a pagan practice can be pretty and it often is! awe and shock at the beauty in your life and in nature is common, but those seemingly perfectly dusted and cleaned altars are just for the show i fear.

let your practice grow from genuine connection to the things around you and the things inside of you. you don’t need to blow a bunch of money on tools or a big altar; you need your senses and your drive for knowledge above all else:

but of course, a big pretty altar is always nice to have when you can acquire it, lol :)

————————————

ty so so so much for the ask and i hope this helps!!! you don’t need to know anything right away + i believe in you and your future practice anon :)

— 🦌🌿☕️✨

[langevandreren]

But....which bookshop in Seattle?

I came across your books in person today in one of my favorite shops in the Seattle area. it's wonderful seeing polytheists become accomplished authors ! keep up the great work !

YAY! That's so exciting!! :D

[langevandreren]

Hating Jews.

Hey what's the most buckwild thing you've seen someone assume is totally normal? Like they have no idea that the thing is a profoundly bizarre thing to do, or they might even start arguing you about how everybody does it in private, but it's just something that nobody admits to doing/you're not supposed to do where people see you?

And I don't mean "beating your kids" or "digging your nose", those are extremely common things for people to assume "everyone does", I mean the "what the fuck do you mean you just assumed that everyone does that?" stuff.

[langevandreren]

I would add:

USAmericans have a bad case of 'I can, so I'm gonna.'

Just because a person *can* deepthroat 40 years of aging Soviet Agitprop and remix it with the older versions of Judenhass...

..that does not make it a wise or commendable thing to do.

a free & open society is as essential for freedom of speech as freedom of speech is for the existence of a free & open society.

whether or not it is technically legal under the 1st amendment or “freedom of speech” to fly the flags of authoritarian terrorist regimes that kill citizens for criticizing them, or denying their atrocities, or echoing their propaganda is irrelevant; the promotion of these regimes is an existential threat to the very free & open society that would allow free speech in the first place, and cannot be tolerated if free speech is to be protected.

this is the issue articulated in karl popper’s “paradox of tolerance”; tolerance demands society cannot tolerate intolerance.

[langevandreren]

At some point, progressive culture swallowed the purity culture of Christianity, hook, line, and sinker.

Until that changes, Left politics is probably going to be consumed by circular firing squads and doctrinal posturing about who is the most virtuous.

Getting something done is hard, and (because it will be imperfect) opens the do-er to moral shaming from the more virtuous.

Much better to do nothing practical, but make a lot of pious bleating noises about one's own moral rectitude.

Unfortunately for the rest of us, who live in the real world and not a a Trek episode, they picked a hell of a time to do it.

[langevandreren]

Please read to the end - there is an excellent Auduban Society article about evaluating when you should help tiny birds, and when you should leave them alone.

Baby bird season is incoming and I’d like to remind everyone that birds do not have a significant sense of smell. Bird parents will not reject birdlets because you have handled them.

If you see smol birbs with few or no feathers on the ground, you can safely put them back into their nest, bird parents will still care for them.

If you see smol birbs with some or most feathers on the ground, please leave them there, as bird parents are probably nearby watching and feeding.

[langevandreren]

Reblogging this because I more or less agree. With an additional observation:

An alarmingly large portion of humanity has (for as far back as I know) been outsourcing the cognitive functions that define them as being sentient. Apparently thinking hurts fragile human brains...

It was sort of fine-ish to turn some of those higher functions over to a person you, personally, know and trust. The council/leader/spiritual guide in your band of 200 people probably isn't going to screw you over for lolz. They might still take advantage of you, but probably not past certain accepted cultural norms.

But it does sort of look like the last few millennia have given rise to increasingly distant sociopathic god-kings. And their legions of rapacious mediators and functionaries, natch.

It will be...interesting...to see if people turning over their cognitive and ethical functions to the mad blind oracle of AI is better or worse than organized viral religions, or totalitarian ideology, or whatever contagious idiocy USAmericans are mainlining right now.

Probably, it will just make people that much more susceptible to the next charismatic sociopathic. And won't that be fun.

generative AI literally makes me feel like a boomer. people start talking about how it can be good to help you brainstorm ideas and i’m like oh you’re letting a computer do the hard work and thinking for you???

[langevandreren]

Not to be that milspec queer, but...

The image of Vance looks very AI generated to me. I would need to see a higher res version to be sure, but based on the other versions I am seeing online:

there is a very suspicious amount of blur. I know it is supposed to look like a depth of field effect, but the rifle is blurred oddly relative to the shooter in a way that just looks photoshopped to obscure badly faked details.

The rifle itself looks like an AI gen'd tacticool mess. And why is he using a suppressor? And WTF is that on the front/top of the rail? Is he using a rangefinder or some shit to shoot at a target 20 yards away?

I strongly suspect that JD Vance cannot find his dick with both hands, let alone use a firearm.

And most importantly, they are only freedom seeds when you plant them in fascists.

"Freedom seeds"?

These weirdos have the mental and emotional age of 12. These are little boys playing war and pretending to be cool, powerful men - with zero idea what it actually means to be that.

[langevandreren]

If any of the 10 people who read this are Lokeans, Skaldish is one of my favorite people for commentary and analysis of old Scandinavian stories and practices.

I Have Written Books!

Hello all! I'm happy to FINALLY announce the reason for why I've been so quiet this past however long, and that's because I was busy writing books! Books that are now published!! :0 Wow!!!

These are the first two of the series, one on Odin and one on Loki, and they go into dang near everything I know about each of them, respectively. These books are also beautifully illustrated by the Saxon Storyteller, so you're in for a real treat!

So far I know they're available on Amazon, but I'll keep you all updated on where else you can find them, when I know!

Update!

Apparently they're available at most major retailers including Barnes & Noble, so you can get them ANYWHERE you want!!! WOW!

I recommend checking your local metaphysical shop or bookseller first!

[langevandreren]

For sure. And not just Lokeans - I am surprised in general at how many pagans talk about their interactions in pretty transactional terms.

IDK if it's a secondary effect of living in a culture where Christianity is the default religion (with all of its 'god as the good fortune ATM' traditions around prayer). Or maybe just human nature.

It always strikes me as being weird though. Like, no one wants to be that friend who only calls when they need a favor, right?

Some people be acting like giving Loki in offering is the same thing as making a bargain with a faerie all bc he’s a trickster deity

[langevandreren]

On a building, on a train car, graffiti is folk art.

On a cliff face or a tree, it is litter.

When people graffiti on buildings: Yes! Ha ha! Fuck yes!

When people graffiti on rockfaces and cliffsides on hiking trails: What the absolute fuck.

[langevandreren]

The US has different kinds of thrift shops:

Goodwill/Salvation Army/Habitat ReStore/etc:

This is what a lot of of USAmericans call a 'thrift shop.' It is run by an org that takes donations and sells them for very little. They are usually kind of jesus-y, but a lot of them do some good employing people who are trying to re-enter the workforce (sometimes bouncing back from having a criminal record, mental illness, etc). Also, things are usually very inexpensive, but some people *feel ways* about shopping there.

Antiques/Consignments/Etc

This is maybe closer to what you are thinking of? A lot of these are a single building where individual sellers rent space and sell whatever they have. Inventory varies widely depending on the store. Some specialize in furniture, some in clothing, some in...pretty much whatever. Prices are usually still very reasonable. These have a certain hipster cachet. Also, you can often find furniture made out of actual wood, and shirts made out of ringspun cotton, both of which are very expensive otherwise.

Flea Market/Show/Etc

This is like the above version (lots of spaces with stuff by individual sellers), but it is usually for a short period of time on a street or fairground or other public space. These can have a lot of variety, but prices vary wildly and I have had people refuse to sell things to me even if I offered the tag price.

No nuance. If you don't go thrift shopping, just answer whatever you think you would do, whichever option feels more logical to you. If you are incapable of contemplating what you would do in hypothetical situations, please turn off your device and go sit on the floor. If you have some third, alternative foraging method, please share in the tags.

[langevandreren]

Does Alan Cumming do gig work? I might be able to spring for that.

The message of dune is that you should dump your computer and hire a scheming twink that does coke and flirts with you while doing math.