luminescentdarkness

[luminescentdarkness]

So, I‘ll be leaving witchblr.

I‘m unsure how many people will actually remember my blog as I haven’t posted in months, but still I felt the need to say something before I leave. So, here goes:

The time I spent here will always be something that shaped me and directed my late teen years. I‘m grateful for the experiences I got to make in this community, but for me it’s time to close this chapter for a number of reasons.

First of all, I‘m not Wiccan anymore. I also don’t practice witchcraft at the moment - at least not remotely in the way I used to. I‘m currently exploring my Slavic roots and delving into study of Slavic Paganism - however, I can’t yet tell if it will take Wicca‘s place. Wicca gave me the things that I needed at the time: A connection to other people as well as to nature, a sense of purpose and belonging and a sense of culture. I have found other sources for these things now, and I feel like my Wiccan practice no longer serves me. Even if I try, I don’t feel connected to it anymore. I’ve outgrown it. And that’s okay. Not everything is meant to be forever.

Apart from that, I need to express my issues with the way witchcraft and religion are handled on social media platforms.

There are many accounts out there that do great work in offering a multi-faceted, self-sceptical, science-affirming point of view on witchcraft. But there are also many, many accounts that use witchcraft and spirituality as a tool to denounce science and replace modern medicine, which is something I‘ve always advocated against - especially in the pandemic we’re in. This false information goes completely unchecked, and that’s dangerous as hell.

I also don’t like the way witchcraft and religion are boiled down to emoji spells and hashtags on this platform. It just feels so superficial to me, there’s little depth to it, little background and explanation, especially for novice witches. It oversimplifies something that, in my personal opinion, shouldn’t be completely oversimplified. If it works for others - great. It worked for me too, I practiced, loved and reproduced superficiality. But soon, it was all that was left for me. Which is sad, because witchcraft can be such a huge and powerful tool for self-exploration, reflection, growth and connection. And that’s hard to tap into and share on social media - understandably so.

I want to clarify that I don‘t think that emoji spells and the likes are bad - I just don’t think they should be the only aspect of witchcraft portrayed on this platform.

However, in my opinion the fast-paced environment of tumblr isn‘t a good place to share such a deep, introspective thing. I also don’t know a better way, though - after all, this place did connect us, and it did give us resources and inspiration, and it did have its perks. But for me, that’s not enough to keep me here anymore.

As for this blog - I‘m unsure whether I‘ll leave it up as an archive of sorts, delete it or turn it into something else. Time will tell.

Thank you all for the memories. I wish all of you the best. Blessed be.

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Blessed Beltane, everyone! 🔥

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S U N N A

Light-bringer Life-giver Dawn on the horizon

Midsummer‘s child As gentle as wild Sunwheel in the sky ☉

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The thing that gets me about most arguments against accessibility features in video games is that they’re not just grossly ableist, they’re also hypocritical as hell. Video games have always had accessibility features: we just documented them poorly and called them “cheat codes”. Indeed, having a robust library of difficulty-modifying cheats was considered a mark in a game’s favour! The only difference is that a cheat code is theoretically a secret, which allows it to be framed as elite knowledge, even though it’s functionally identical to having an “infinite lives” switch on the options screen.

Here’s a thesis for you: the Konami Code was the first well-publicised accessibility feature.

[luminescentdarkness]

disability advocacy went wrong when it became about inspiration porn and “differently abled” and savants. its incredible that that guy with no legs did a triathlon but your sister with no legs will not and she doesnt need prosthetics or five hour training days to deserve respect and compassion and accommodations. its incredible that that autistic guy can look at a city from a helicopter for an hour and then draw the entire detailed skyline from memory when he lands but your autistic friend cannot and they dont need to have a special Autism Power to deserve respect and compassion and accommodations. 

activism framed around “we are just as CAPABLE” means that when people genuinely are less capable they are left behind. activism framed around “we are just as WORTHY” is fundamental to radical compassion.

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legitimate fucking lifehack: discord server literally just for yourself to keep track of stuff over devices. links. reminders and checklists. all neatly divided into categories. search function and dates. why didnt i do this earlier oh my god.

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another virus is going around

i just got home and saw a message from a mutual i’ve never talked to, about a birthday gift. DONT CLICK ON THE LINK. i haven’t so i don’t know what it does, but i’ve heard it logs you out and sends you to a fake tumblr to take your information. it’s a hack. and it fucks up your computer/laptop/phone/device.

this is what the message looks like, and if you click the link, it sends it to every single one of your mutuals (or possibly ALL THE PEOPLE THAT FOLLOW YOU)

WHOEVER IS MAKING THESE VIRUSES, ARE MAKING NEW ONES THAT SEEM MORE REALISTIC. THEY ARENT USING CAPITALIZATION ANYMORE SO IT LOOKS MORE “REAL” BUT I SWEAR TO YOU ITS FALSE

PLEASE REBLOG THIS TO WARN YOUR FOLLOWERS, TO SAFE SAFE BECAUSE MORE ARE BEING MADE.

[luminescentdarkness]

Depth and Cultural Appropriation in Witchcraft

So I started reading Penczak’s Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft in order to see what was up. I already knew he was pretty low on the “Understanding Cultural Boundaries” scale, and was expecting to score out more advice than I would take in, but even early on in the book I was stopped by what he said. 

After he became “…a little bored with witchcraft [and]…needed to explore other forms of mysticism, including shamanism” (pg. xvii), he “…found himself studying the rituals and lore of the Native American tribes.” Although he “…love[d] and respect[ed] them, Native American traditions didn’t touch [him] the way witchcraft did, so [he] kept looking”. (pg xviii). 

Although this was a throwaway passage in an introduction, it kind of stuck with me. Witchcraft, the New Age era, and Neo-Paganism often butts heads against Native traditions in the least complementary (if you can call thievery “uncomplimentary”) way. I had always sort of wondered why- after all, most of how the New Age and Neo-Paganism movement in the US had started was derived in the slapped-together European tradition brought over from the witchcraft imported from Britain. So why were Native and Asiatic religions such prominent cultural inspirations for the longest time? 

I wonder, almost, if it was a need for depth. 

Weiterlesen

[luminescentdarkness]

Let’s talk about showers. Showers are a fantastic way of ridding the body of old, negative energies. Here are some tips that I use to have a mindful shower with manifestation.

1. Every drop of water is a drop of new, clean energy. When the water hits your skin imagine it as little lights shining over you, replacing the old energy. Visualize it. Feel the light coming over your body.

2. We use brooms to sweep away unwanted things, right? Let’s use our loofa, wash rag, sponge, etc. to wash away our fears, sadness, and other conflicts. Be sure to wash the cleansing item itself after use.

3. When you shower you wash away old skin. You literally come out as a new you. Think about showering as rebirth. Everything is now behind you, and the world is ahead.

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Newbies do this.

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Only gays can reblog this frog (scientifically proven)

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Look I clown veganism often enough but really, truly, don’t ever fucking feed somebody something without their knowledge or consent. It’s hugely fucked up and not OK.

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[luminescentdarkness]

Who is luminescentdarkness?

Hi! I’m Sylvia Helene, an artist, activist and Wiccan from Northern Germany.

I have been actively practicing witchcraft since the beginning of 2018. I am also a founding member of a five-person coven. My blog is all about my journey into Wicca, focusing on the thoughts formed and knowledge acquired in the process, which I share in hopes of helping and inspiring others in the witchcraft community.

The names I chose for any witchcraft-related endeavours - Sylvia (“from the forest”) and Helene (“ray of sun” or “bright moon”) - make a lot of sense for me since I adore nature and the universe and practice a lot of green and celestial witchcraft. Apart from that, I am interested in astrology, divination (mostly tarot) and kitchen/art witchcraft. I also use witchcraft and spirituality as a tool to self-reflect, improve and grow.

I am nonbinary and go by she/her and they/them pronouns. I also identify as bisexual. Apart from LGBTQ+ and women’s rights, I place great importance on environmental protection, racial equality, decolonisation and disability rights. I am also 100% pro-science (shame that that is something that needs to be said) and advocate against using witchcraft as a substitute for any type of science-backed medicine.

There are more issues I could go into here, but I’ll keep things brief: If you are a Nazi, TERF, MAP, anti-vaxxer or anything similar, you are not welcome here.

To learn more about me, see my rambling tag for my random thoughts, as well as my own posts tag to view my other original posts. You’ll find stuff I put in my book of shadows in my grimoire tag. And finally, because we all need to question and rethink more, you‘ll find informative critical posts on issues of witchcraft culture (cultural appropriation, pseudoscience, ...) in my critical witchcraft tag. They‘re all added to this post.

Also, please never hesitate to send me an ask or message - I love getting to know new people!

Thank you for visiting my blog - stay as long as you need to. You’re safe here. Blessed be 💫

[luminescentdarkness]

this is the offical ‘i care’ symbol this is how it works: basically you reblog this and your followers know that you care and that they can message you about anything anon or not and you will reply back or at least look at there message. if you care about your followers please reblog

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Important saftey notice for witches: DO NOT USE charcoal briquettes in any of your ingredients! They are *saturated* with lighter fluid and extremely toxic. It goes without saying you shouldn't use them for smoothies, either.

This message is brought to you by an EMT who has seen multiple people poison themselves doing this.