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"Kami are not like the God of monotheistic religions or even like the Buddha. Although Shinto in the eighteenth century saw new sects emerge based on the concept of a singular creator divinity, they never held sway. Shinto is not only a polytheistic, but also a pantheistic faith, meaning that kami manifest in everything. It is also considered animistic, because its gods are in the forces and manifestations of nature. The kami make themselves “present” in living beings, in the dead, in organic and inorganic matter, and in actions beyond the control of man such as earthquakes, storms, droughts, and plagues. The concept of kami also includes great people who are venerated as kami after they die and who are worshipped by subsequent generations as protectors or ancestor kami. This is somewhat akin to the Christian concept of sainthood—though people enshrined as kami were more often agents of power rather than of good works. There are times too, as in the case of the emperor, where a living person can be venerated as a kami.

Like the gods of Mount Olympus, kami perform both good and bad deeds, causing both bountiful harvests and disasters (though preventing the latter is de-emphasized in modern-day Shinto, it was once the prime motivation of kami ritual). To gain the blessings and avoid the destructive actions of kami, offerings and prayers are directed to them on a regular basis"

—Shinto Shrines: A Guide to the Sacred Sites of Japan's Ancient Religion, by Joseph Cali & John Dougill

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My Favorite Epithets of Dionysus !

Agrios- (The Wild One)

Areion- (War Like)

Arsenothelys- (the man womenly)

Axios Tauros- (the worthy Bull)

Bassareus- (the fox god)

Bromios- (he who roars)

Charidotes- (the giver of grace)

Morychos- (the dark one)

Polygethes- (bringer of many joys)

Palaios- (the ancient one)

Sykites- (he of the fig tree)

Zagreus- (great hunter)

Dimeter- (he of two mothers)

Euios- (the reveler)

Karneios- (horned sun)

Kissos- (ivy)

Dionysos- (ofc I love that name)

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Godling

Inspired by native plants and tough weeds and other plants that are often considered rough, wild, or undesirable

Might develop this and a few other ideas into a tarot or oracle deck???

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born to be an abstract concept, forced to be a percievable entity

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My biggest life hack: Develop a sense of the inherent and profound value of all human beings, including yourself.

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page of cups except replace the word cups with swords

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mundane before magical yes but also there is magic in the mundane anyway <3

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14th century Jewish prayer in the shape of a dragon

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Just curious, but what do you think gods actually are? Not sure if you believe in them so I'm sorry if this came out of left field. If you do believe in them (in any sense), what do you think they are? What is divinity made of? Where does it come from?

im an atheist. I think Gods are kinda like if you could make a coral reef out of philosophy.

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Bronze hydria with Dionysus and Ariadne in relief under the vertical loop. From Chalki island, Dodecanese, Greece. 350-300 BC. British Museum.

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I think one thing that a lot of Addams Family fans forget is that for the family, goth wasn’t about being gloomy and sad or bitter and cynical at all. Morticia was always gazing out at rainy days and declaring, “how beautiful a day it is!” or saying that “black is so much more cheerful!” because they found joy in their dark aesthetic. Wednesday was curious and sharp-minded and very clearly exercised and expressed her personal sense of power and self through things like her interest in weaponry and true crime - in the original series and comics, she was always dancing and playing with her brother. Edgy Wednesday didn’t happen until the 90s reboot, and well, it was the 90s. Gloomy grunge and artful sadness were in at the time. And let’s not even talk about Gomez, who was so full of life and love for his family that he’d often break into song or dip Morticia in the kitchen for an old-fashioned kiss. The Addams worked so well because they were healthy, happy, loving and goth. They were a perfect example of indulging in an aesthetic without letting it become toxic or consuming their lives.

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One of the funniest things you see from Christian evangelists is when they show up in a culture and they end up LOVING Christianity way more than the evangelists.

Like, in Tengrii, the indigenous Mongolian religion. One of the most impressive things a shaman can do is come back from the dead. And one of their major symbols is the cross representing the cardinal directions, obviously an important concept for a nomadic society.

When they learned that the Christians had a shaman who was killed On The Cross and THEN came back to life, they went absolutely nuts for Christianity. To the point where the evangelists had to kinda reign them in like "no no no he's not a shaman he's some different shit please stop depicting Christ as a ghost falcon"

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ancient roman spell circle to contain one(1) snail

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Skull and antlers of a large deer uncovered from a bog in Ireland, circa 10,000 BC

from The National Museum of Archaeology, France

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