orangepunkwitch-blog - Tumblr blog

[orangepunkwitch-blog]

Weird peeve time. Calling lab grown gemstones “fake” is stupid because it’s the same shit just not formed naturally. An artificially grown diamond is the same shit as a natural diamond it is the exact same material bro it’s all fuckign carbon

[orangepunkwitch-blog]

more fucking petitions because this clown car country cannot stop with the bigotry for 30 seconds

uk people it takes 5 seconds and you checking your email to verify

everyone else: rebloge please

[orangepunkwitch-blog]

No clue if I've got any followers of this blog who use a wheelchair but if you do, I hope this helps!

Mobility assistance

[orangepunkwitch-blog]

the way that every culture has some combination of breads and alcohol and cheese and pickled things I feel like we're really missing the mark by not mysticizing yeasts more

like we make them a warm, dark little home and leave them an offering of grain or milk or grape and these unseen creatures give us these unimaginable gifts????

[orangepunkwitch-blog]

IMPORTANT REMINDER TO MY EUROPEAN FOLLOWERS AND OTHER TUMBLR DENIZENS FROM AN AMERICAN DESERT-DWELLER:

Climate change is a bitch and summer is coming. If you don’t already have an air conditioner and/or fans, NOW is the time to get them.

THINGS YOU SHOULD BE SHOPPING FOR NOW:

—clothes made of cotton or linen

—air conditioner

—fans

—frozen meals that can be cooked in the microwave

—potable bottled water; you want five days’ worth per person and pet in your household

—bottled fruit juices; it does not matter if these are sugar-added because you’ll want the electrolytes

—electrolyte drinks

—electrolyte pills (you can get these online, I get mine from Amazon)

—popsicle molds to use with fruit and juice

—ice cube trays

—nonperishable salty snacks like peanuts

—one charger brick per adult in case of rolling blackouts or power outages; charge these at the beginning of May, and drain them via use once a month if they’re not needed

YOUR TO-DO LIST:

—check your home’s HVAC system if you didn’t do it at the beginning of winter. Make sure all the filters are clean and replace them if needed

—check the seals on your sinks and bathtub in case you have to run water to handle shortages

—make and freeze meals you can cook in the microwave or simply defrost. Remember to select light summer fare, not hearty winter soups and gravies

—purchase and freeze lunch meats and cheeses you can defrost and use this summer for sandwiches when it’s hot

—assemble your check-in list: elderly, pregnant, disabled, and immunocompromised friends and relatives who may struggle to get things they need when the heat wave hits. Have this list posted and ready to go through daily once the heat gets high. DON’T JUST ASSUME YOU WILL REMEMBER. WRITE IT ALL DOWN.

—create a list of emergency contacts in case of fire, heat stroke, and other heat-related emergencies. This should include your local version of 911 (I think in most of Europe it’s 112, but don’t rely on me as an American, LOOK IT UP NOW before you need it), your doctor’s phone number, and two emergency contacts. Keep it in a place where it can be easily found if someone needs to make these calls on your behalf.

—ask your doctor for an additional prescription for any medications you take, and fill it now. Extreme heat can cause disruptions in the supply chain. Make sure you cycle these meds; that’s to say, always use your oldest bottle first so you don’t end up with expired meds in an emergency.

—stock your first-aid kit. If you don’t have one, now is a good time to make one.

—if you own a car, get your yearly maintenance done now. You don’t want to be dealing with an inoperable vehicle if you need to evacuate.

Staying safe this summer starts now. Get your prep done.

[orangepunkwitch-blog]

The most popular browsers in different countries in 2012 and 2022.

by @theworldmaps_

[orangepunkwitch-blog]

As much as I love Mastodon, the one thing that makes me wish weren't a thing about it is that an instance (server) can go down or straight-up disappear with no warning.

I have an account on witches.live, and it's been down for a couple of weeks now. I say "down" and not "gone" because if I try to access it on Chrome, I get the custom-made by-the-admin page that says it's down and that she is working on it. That custom error page has to come from SOMEWHERE. If the server was "gone" then I wouldn't get the custom error page.

Unfortunately, I don't get it on Firefox (not on my desktop nor on my mobile app) and the Mastodon app simply just doesn't reload/load at all. So I'm HOPING she is doing a heavy-duty update.

I'm gonna guess there could be some life stuff happening too, because this server, as far as I know, is ran by ONE PERSON and that's why I haven't given up hope.

However, I'm still looking up alternative instances as a backup.

I wanna steer clear of popular activist/leftist ones because some (like kolektiva) have been targets for doxxing and shit from what I've heard. I know pagan.plus is a thing, but it's also quite popular and with the religious right wanting to go after everyone not them, I'd rather hang back on a smaller or lesser known instance.

I really wanna join the solarpunk server sunbeam.city but registration is closed. I dunno no if it's lack of server space or to avoid a wave of bots or what. The one candidate I have where registration isn't closed is a gardening one. I have it bookmarked on my desktop.

I'm gonna give witches.live until maybe June before I create a backup account on that gardening server. (I'll still continuously check back with witches.live though.)

I think this is honestly the ONE FLAW I don't like about Mastodon, though. And I'd rather have several backup accounts than join a bigger server that's likely to be a target.

Also there's a server called anarchism.space or something that I have bookmarked on my desktop and I SWEAR I may have had an account there and forgot that I joined. If thats true, I don't know what email I used. Their registration is closed, too.

Anyway, if anyone knows what's going on with witches.live, lemme know!

[orangepunkwitch-blog]

Can I ask what you mean by "spirit =/= consciousness?"

Fiiiiiiiiine.

In my effort to make less effort I may have neglected to mention that the context here is animism. Which, as you probably know, is not a monolith. There are various beliefs labeled "animistic" and they differ on some points, so keep that in mind.

A lot of people take "spirit" to mean "consciousness" which is not necessarily the case. But again, animism is a broad label, so it's not necessarily not the case, either. Of course, defining consciousness is a whole other can of worms, but let's try not to get too hung up on that.

Basically, you can recognize the personhood of a non-human entity without anthropomorphizing it. You can interact with and learn from a spirit without assuming it is experiencing the world in the same way you do.

[orangepunkwitch-blog]

A reminder!

[orangepunkwitch-blog]

I highly recommend that all Pagans and magick practitioners watch this, whether you have anything involving Slavic practices or not. Because this applies to more than just Slavic polytheism.

Also, check out the rest of her channel if you're a bit pressed for some info about Slavic cultures! Especially her first video "What do Slavic Polytheists Believe? | Slavic Polytheism 101." That video really helped me put things into perspective easier, as English sources for stuff like this topic are difficult to get a hold of without running into problematic or questionable people/sources.

[orangepunkwitch-blog]

Still piecing together my practice, but I've read a common belief among many Slavic peoples is that bees are the souls of the deceased. And I think I remember reading (I could be wrong, I have to go back to the site again at some point) that being a beekeeper was a pretty important thing to be.

However, despite having Serbian heritage and having some cultural exposure from dad's side growing up, I live in the US where the European honey bee is invasive here. Instead of being a beekeeper (which since I'm into entomology, I feel I'd do pretty well in), I'd rather support already established local beekeepers, but more importantly also help the native species of bees. Beeswax is also the preferred material to make candles with even in the Orthodox Christian practices, so there's a great amount of significance regarding bees, but again, I'd rather just support established local beekeepers.

One of the ways I can help all bees is by planting as many sunflowers as I can. There's a research paper I've read where while the pollen of sunflowers don't provide important nutrition, bees have been observed to be healthier regarding diseases and such. The bees are basically medicating themselves using sunflowers.

Because Serbs had a lot of things they were spooked about and thus superstitious about, and I like spooky things, owls and bats have been considered spooky up until recent decades, and I hope to one day have an owl nesting box and some bat houses built and made. (We also have some old world rats out here and I'd also like to make a dent in the local mosquito population.)

I don't have to worry about watermills (and thus vampires... that's a long story), but I do need to care about local freshwater spirits and the ecosystems they inhabit, while also keeping in mind that 9 times outta 10, a spirit from where my ancestors are from might not have hopped a boat over with them (according to divination, a few have, but will likely be found where there's a high population of Serbs due to immigration around the turn of the century; I've not asked if any remain when the Serbian-American community starts to thin out due to people moving elsewhere).

It is important to remember that you may likely be dealing with spirits native to these lands rather than what you're learning about your heritage, and if you live on colonized land, you must respect them, and understand that working with them is likely a no-no due to closed practices.

I'd be linking stuff and what ot but I'm typing this on my phone and I'm getting ready for bed; I just happened to come across this post while idly scrolling. If anybody follows any different paths and are in a similar situation, I hope this helps you figure out some ideas if you're a little lost!

How to Practice Ancestral Traditions in the Diaspora.

Pray, ask, listen. 

You aren’t just like your ancestors anymore. 

You become changed by the new lands, by the new places your feet have walked on, the different dirt beneath your toes. 

So will the magic change. 

If you don’t have access to houses and temples and reputable priestesses and priests in the diaspora, listen to your bones and find what is being expressed. 

Your spirits are right here, in your breathe, in your body, in your spirit. 

You gotta listen, see what YOU can pull up. 

Don’t try to make it into what they are doing, what that white Houngan is doing, that white Taoist priest is doing, the white folks are doing.

Make it your own. Let it come from within you and your specific ancestries and the land you are living on. 

See what you and your spirits express. Maybe some of us in the Diaspora can’t find the right houses and temples and priesthoods right now, because we gotta add something new, some new spices and flavors to our collective ancestral traditions.

The rivers are still here, they aren’t going anywhere. Go pray there. Pray to the mountains. To the winds. 

You don’t stop being yellow or black or brown because you aren’t doing things exactly the way they did in the past. 

[orangepunkwitch-blog]

i know yall are young and you mean to be inclusive but this "no one is born a witch" noise i keep seeing float past here now erases multiple cultures, extant traditions, and bodies of historical folkore that do retain that born witches exist.

Im gonna say that again. Youre ignoring and minimizing *multiple cultures and contexts* to benefit *just one*. your own. Stop that. Hereditary traditions exist. Theyre just like you. Just weirdos with weird lives.

They dont invalidate anyone by existing.

Your coworker who isnt even pagan could be from such a family. Your mail carrier. Your dog could, if one of us stole him.

You *mean* to say the *practice* of witchcraft does not *require* heredity. You can say that without erasing everyone that aint in *your* demographic.

If the circle is big enough for *everyone* that means those of us that come from such a cultural background as well, now don't it?

The * assumed default state* for witching has only *recently* become openly identifying as such and its prudent to recall that to many people outside the subculture of the modern witchcraft movement "witch" is still an undesirable thing to identify as. Stop thinking in terms of ideals in a tiny insular subculture that *values* witchdom and recall life, social acceptance, and death in the real world as this is still very much exactly that for some people.

The ideals and attitudes common to the modern witchcraft movement are unique to that movement and not a result of witchdom itself but a function of a *subculture* that actively *pursues* and *invents* witchcraft *atypical of practice and belief outside its specific context* A subculture that came along in a very specific timeframe ex prohibition that reflects fewer threads of traditional forms of witchcraft belief than it does a modern culture of witchcraft *enthusiasts*.

Who for some reason keep telling people we're dead???

[orangepunkwitch-blog]

eco-friendly winter solstice decorations

[orangepunkwitch-blog]

Sharing this here in case any Lokean followers haven't seen this yet.

Everything Ocean Keltoi has explained, I already knew, but it's nice to hear him not only say it, but have all the points together in one video.

And as someone who, while a newbie Pagan, encountered and started working with Loki first, I never EVER got the whole anti-Loki stance some Heathens have (despite never interacting with them; I've only ever heard of them or saw comment threads and the like online).

The first I've ever heard of Loki was when I was a kid and heard his name mentioned in The Mask. A god that creates such a mask because he thought that was funny? I loved that concept as a kid (and my weird-ass logic made me think I wasn't allowed to convert since I was baptized in the Serbian Orthodox church; my parents never made it seem okay to explore other beliefs... ever). When I became a fully developed adult and my brother passed away in 2011, I became agnostic, until I once expressed to a friend that I wished one could still worship old gods again, because the Norse gods sounded so much nicer than the biblical god. That's when she told me that that's a thing, and I discovered what paganism was. And then I made it a point that, while I will open myself to any of the gods who listened (and even said to them it's okay if they don't want to interact with me, since I'm so used to no god ever listening to me), I still hoped Loki would be the one to answer, because I'd prefer a god with a sense of humor who doesn't judge a mortal for simply being human. The rest is history.

I've had 2 instances where I've asked him for help, as I was desperate and didn't know what else to do and couldn't figure things out for myself. Both times he helped, it sort of put me almost in a state of madness because of HOW he helped (he's helped me with some small stuff too but sometimes the big stuff is.. a LOT). The first one was we were not able to afford rent anymore, as rent kept going up while my muž and I lived in Pittsburgh, so I asked for help, thinking he'd either help with our financial situation (namely I was hoping for a decent-paying job similar to what my muž made) so we could afford to rent elsewhere or that a place would become available that had significantly lower rent. You know, something like that. Instead, he gave us bedbugs. Because he KNEW that our only option was to move in with my parents and I didn't want to resort to that, so he forced my hand. His reasoning roughly being, "It's either the bedbugs or a fire in the building, and I REALLY don't wanna be that guy, so you got bedbugs."

The second time, without going into detail, he induced a non-threatening medical "emergency" (as in, give me a spook bad enough to warrant my first trip in an ambulance) to get the ball rolling to lead me to getting the surgery I needed for my endometriosis. His reasoning being, "You finally have health insurance and there are vaccines available. You have no excuse now. Not even this pandemic."

I'm doing much better now and it's thanks to Loki. He basically was the kick in my ass needed to make the only decision that would actually work out for me, even if I didn't think it would.

Despite making my practice something along the lines of "Serbian Polytheism Pagan Edition," Loki is still in my practice, and helped me learn an awful lot regarding non-xtian beliefs and beings, including and especially the Trickster archetype.

Any Heathen that bans Loki, avoids him, etc. either have a lot of xtian baggage that they still need to work through, or they're the type of people that don't like being held accountable for their actions and kept in check. Xtianity (as it is commonly practiced and forced onto people by power-hungry assholes) has really affected how many look at non-xtian beliefs, because everything has to be compared to xtianity (even some atheists are guilty of this because everything is xtianity to them).

Lately, I haven't had a whole lot of interactions with Loki I feel could be worth-sharing because I'm not having a whole lot of interactions with him in general the past few years (except for everything regarding me getting my surgery) and that's because the gods are giving me space to learn and grow and figure some stuff out on my own. I do chat with them from time to time via divination, but in terms of actions, they're letting me do my thing for a bit.

[orangepunkwitch-blog]

Hi, it's me and I'm with a list of Perun's children (most of this are based in hc)(They're either his children with Mokosh or Dodola)

Mokosh's Children:

• Jarilo: God of Spring, Fertility and Vegetation

• Marzanna: Goddess of Death, Winter and Witchcraft

•Devana: Goddess of the Hunt, Wilderness and Animals

Dodola's Children:

• Varpulis: God of Storms and Hurricanes

• Magura: Winged Goddess of Clouds and Warriors

• Molonya: Goddess of Lightning and Sparks

Hope it's useful.

-🍀

This is VERY useful!!! Thank you so much!!! You’re the best <3

[orangepunkwitch-blog]

“if you’re not angry you’re not paying attention” used to be such a powerful phrase but now it’s more accurate to say “if you’re not angry you’re probably exhausted by 5+ years of Panic Outrage Mode and are nearing the limit of your emotional range for reacting to this shit”