#and cultish mindset

[pageofheartdj]

I am getting REALLY tired of HH criticism that is basically "I want it to do the things MY way"

"Oh why angels are broken too? Oh why Adam is a dick? Oh why something-something that's not what I like?"

Go watch the show that does these things. Why the fuck are you here complaining that This One Show dares to do things differently and have its own spin on it.

At this point it's just complaining for the sake of complaining.

[wisecrackingeric-2]

I genuinely believe we DO all share a brain cell cuz like. When one of us is having a bad day we’re ALL having a bad day. When one of us is down bad for Luis we’re ALL down bad for Luis. When one of us is crying over Serennedy we’re ALL crying over Serennedy. When one of us is experiencing the joyous wonders of the world we all are. We all share a singular brain cell

[buck-yyyy]

god. jason is such a fascinating character to me, i want to put him under a magnifying glass and poke at him with a stick to see how he reacts to various stimuli

[mzannthropy]

Not a happy post re DJATS

I've now become like the people whose posts I never liked seeing, but here we are... I tried but I am sorry, I don't think I like the djats show very much. I don't like what they're doing with the story. I don't like their pandering to the d/b shippers, I don't like their erasing of the many Billy x Camila moments (it's still my ship, I don't care, just bc they don't show the scenes, doesn't mean they didn't happen, she the one he comes home to--it's the other ship that survives on crumbs), I don't like the Eddie being into Camila thing (although with what they did in the show, I don't blame Camila for going for it), I don't like that unnecessary scene on the beach with that girl who was into Graham (they should have shown us what Warren and Eddie got up in that time instead, why does Karen need to see Graham with another girl anyway?), I don't like the d/b kiss (it was a good kiss, one of Sam's best, but I don't like that it happened), I don't like Daisy. I don't like that it was Billy that saved her in the shower, I don't like that look they gave each other when someone was talking about "soulmates" or some such bullshit, I don't like that artificially dramatic argument they had after the press conference, with their faces unrealistically close to each other--nobody argues with anyone like that. I for one choose to believe that those things didn't happen and Daisy is misremembering/lying. She was on drugs at that time, after all.

I don't like that Sam Claflin worked so hard to be perfect for that role, only for the fandom to care about shipping and hate on his character. It makes me wonder why actors even bother. The shippers don't care who plays that role, they just care about their ship. They could be stick figures on a white background and it wouldn't make a difference to the shippers.

On the positive side, the production is great and the acting has been outstanding. I like Warren, Teddy, Simone. Simone's story is actually the best change from the book, I love her romance with Bernie--I hope they keep them together. I listen to the songs, but I separate them from the story. I mean, I listen to them bc it's Sam (also, I like them).

Most of all, I'm only in this for Sam. He's the reason I know djats even exists. I've only been looking forward to it bc I knew he'd smash it. Bad writing is not his fault.

As I do with everything that I'm not happy about, I put my own interpretation on the story. Unreliable narrator works both ways. At the end of the day, Julia still needs a story to sell. The juicier it is, the more likely she sells it. People want to see the juicy! They're not interested in cosy domestic bliss.

I remember finishing listening to the audiobook for the first time and the many feels I had, I had to go take a walk in a park to process them. But it was the ending that made me feel that way. I loved the ending. Karen choosing single life with no kids, Daisy getting clean and getting her shit together, the Dunnes having happy family life. Female characters are the ones I care about most and her TJR showed how it is possible to have it all in ONE book: the mother, the single & childfree woman, the former mess who has adopted kids. But truthfully, djats doesn't even come anywhere close to all my favourite things.

[phantomrose96]

I think one of my least favorite Reddit personalities is what I'm gonna call Destitution Superiority.

It's a pretty disturbingly popular mindset I encounter frequently on Reddit. The kind of people who are like "Yeah I always save 75% of my income and I do this by never buying any single thing I do not need" "I've cut out 100% of processed sugar from my entire diet and it's great for my body" "I spend (absurdly long) time at the gym and eat (absurdly few) calories every day which I weigh and count it's really turned my life around."

And the thing is like, I believe them when they say doing this makes them feel good! I believe this satisfies a primal need for accomplishing a difficult task, for being proud of their efforts, for feeling superior to people who are simply too "lazy"/"impulse-driven"/"ignorant" to do the same.

...But by god. What's the end game? Do these people want to hit 80 years old and look back on their entire life pride which was just... self-deprivation? Do they want to look back and think "thank god I never once tried a delicious piece of cake" "thank god I missed my friend's birthday party so I could hit my gym goals" "thank god I'm dying with millions in the bank which I never let myself use or enjoy in life"

They're defining themselves by what they refuse to let themselves have. They're seeking accomplishment in being less, and doing less, and consuming and spending less so they can soak in the ephemeral brain chemicals that say "you did good by denying yourself this experience." And what happens when they crack? When day 487 of no desserts they feel weak and have a cupcake and hate themselves? And they go back to their hivemind which tells them they were simply weak and need to get back on the horse. It's sad. It's sad to watch.

And it is so very dangerous for how easily people will get sucked in. How extremely easy it is to blur the lines between "healthy, responsible behavior" and "cultish adherence to denying yourself pieces of your own life." They don't recognize that line themselves. Because if you try to bring this up with them, they deflect as if you were suggesting they plunge themselves deep into the opposite obsession. "Oh you think I should just spend every single dime I earn and end up in debt and broke?" "What are you suggesting I just let my health go because it's easier to sit on the couch every day."

No. I just think the narrative around "responsible" behaviors of finance and health needs to address the far-too-pervasive phenomenon of people overdoing it with cultish adherence, and locking themselves out of life, experiences, and joy, because the chemical rush of choke-hold control on their life--(or worse, the fear of slipping and being seen as one of the irresponsible others)--blinds them to the fact that they earnestly want to shrink the one and only life they have to live.

[samwisethewitch]

In Defense of Fluffy Bunnies, or Witchcraft in Times of Burnout

At the very end of 2023, I used my Christmas bonus from work to buy myself a tarot deck I never would have purchased six months earlier.

This deck was from a creator whose work I had really enjoyed in the past, but when I had looked at it earlier in the year, I'd had concerns that it was softening the meaning of some of the more "difficult" cards in the tarot. For example, The Hanged Man is replaced with "The Patient Witch" and Death is replaced with "The Broom." I'd had concerns that replacing these cards, which are traditionally associated with more dire or upsetting readings, meant the creator was trying to whitewash tarot into something cute and fluffy, sacrificing a lot of its depth in the process.

The deck is The Cozy Witch Tarot by Amanda Lovelace, and I'm so glad I gave it a try. This deck has an incredibly kind and gentle feel, but it is absolutely capable of giving serious readings. The depth of the tarot hasn't been compromised at all by Lovelace's changes, and her version's greater emphasis on agency and personal empowerment is exactly what I need in my practice right now. I use this deck to read for myself almost every day.

So what changed? How did I do a complete 180 in my thoughts on this deck in only a few months?

I've always been very opposed to "love and light" or "fluffy bunny" witchcraft. For those who aren't familiar, these are both terms used online (usually negatively) to describe witches who only do "light" or positive magic. According to the Witchipedia, "Generally, the 'fluffy bunnies' have based their practice on only the most delightful aspects of their spiritual path or romanticized, fictional Hollywood or literary accounts of witchcraft or Wicca." From what I can tell, this term came out of Wiccan Internet forums in the 1990s, and it refers to someone who dons the aesthetics and mythology of Wicca or witchcraft without actually engaging critically with magic theory. Fluffy bunnies also tend to focus on feel-good magic, at least according to stereotypes.

Similarly, "love and light" witches are known for only focusing on the lighthearted side of witchcraft. In an opinion article for The Wild Hunt, Storm Faerywolf writes that, "On the surface it seems harmless enough: a philosophy of love, kindness, non-violence, and a concerted practice of positivity." This type of witchcraft is very closely tied to the "spiritual but not religious" movement and borrows a lot of concepts from New Age spirituality, like crystal healing, the Law of Attraction, and chakras. While fluffy bunnies are very much a product of the 1990s, love and light witches are very much a product of the New Age boom of the 2010s.

I've been very vocal about my dislike for both of these types of witchcraft on this blog in the past, and I still 100% agree with Storm Faerywolf, who says in that same article: "But to assert that pain, and fear, and even anger are somehow less important than our joy, our courage, and even our love, is to do a grave disservice to our collective mental and spiritual health... groups that embrace this mode of thinking have effectively ensured that they can mutually avoid anything that might challenge their cultish mindset. Angry over injustice? You’re just living in a lower vibration. Afraid of contracting a deadly virus? You just don’t trust Jesus enough."

I think accepting and working with challenging emotions is an important part of what it means to be a witch. Spiritual bypassing and cries of "good vibes only" do more harm than good. But for a while I got so caught up in rejecting anything even remotely fluffy or love-and-lightish that I ended up with a magical practice that, to be honest, kind of made me miserable. And I don't think I'm the only one.

I spent a lot of 2022 and 2023 wrestling with injustice, both in my spiritual practice and in my personal and professional life. My practice is inspired by witches like Starhawk and Christy C. Road, and politics play a key role. Most of the spells I did in 2023 fall into the category of justice magic, including breaking family curses and hexing rapists. At the same time, I was working a series of direct services jobs that saw me working closely with homeless teenagers, domestic violence victims, and people battling addiction, just to name a few. And that's not even getting into my personal life and recovery as a queer, disabled survivor of abuse.

And let me tell you: By the end of 2023, I was fucking exhausted. I was beyond burnout. And I didn't even want to do magic anymore, because magic had become just another part of my life where I had to face the injustice and harm happening in the world around me.

I was in desperate need of some fluffiness, some love and light. And that was when I bought the Amanda Lovelace tarot deck.

I knew something had to change. In my burnout, I desperately needed to be tenderly cared for. I needed my spiritual practice to be a source of peace and comfort, not a drain on my energy. I needed to get out of the dark for a bit so I could remember how to see the stars.

What I've realized in the last few months is that yes, anger, pain, and fear are important in a balanced magical practice and a balanced life -- but joy, love, and comfort are equally important. And if you spend a lot of time in one part of your life dealing with pain and fear (like I do in my day job), focusing on love and healing in your witchcraft can help keep things balanced.

"Comfort" and "care" are definitely the keywords for my magical practice right now, and that means my magic looks a lot more fluffy than it has in the past. And that's a good thing.

[eldritch-spouse]

>:]

Think about Belo jacking off and moaning your name, only to get walked in on by his deity, before they ever even did something sexual.

Fluff boy must be panicked, not to worry tho, you are far more benevelont than his former masters. Why, you might even help your loyal servant.

[Doing something really short because I think it's cute. Fem reader.]

TW: Unhealthy glorification, cultish mindsets.

Belo is weird.

You know that. You've known it since you met the guy. But he's also the only angel you've ever met in your life, so maybe this is just how most of them are, for all you know. Point is, you personally consider him to be very odd.

Even odder still is the way he's latched onto you like a baby koala.

He just... He presented himself to you as if you were a goddess. He called you that even after you tried to specify, oh so many times, that you're just a human! If you doubted it before, then his consistent refusal of your arguments against your own supposed "godhood" make it very clear that his unshakable faith is truly the mark of an angel.

It's bizarre. Everything has been really bizarre so far... But it could be worse. Belo is a very organized, polite and gentle monster. He usually doesn't overstep boundaries and hardly complains about anything. You tell yourself you're not taking advantage of Belo's kindness when you let him handle the house chores or run errands outside, that you're not abusing your influence over him when you seek his guaranteed validation. But sometimes, it feels like you're enabling his erroneous, idealized perception of yourself.

It's hard not to. Worship is almost addicting, lulling, guilt very quickly plays second-fiddle to immense gratification. You know this isn't really healthy, Belo needs help, not enabling-

But at least it's mutual.

It's not just you enjoying the ego-stroking perks of having an angel at your feet, no no. Belo needs you, legitimately. He needs someone to lean onto, the separation anxiety on this monster is scary. It genuinely seems to put the angel at ease when you're around and he can "serve you", and besides, out of all people out there he could swear subservience to, you'd like to think you're not the worst. That maybe he's a bit lucky to have someone moderately normal.

That doesn't mean there aren't some bumps in the road. Oh, there have been a couple alright... One such was finally getting to leave the house by yourself. The amount of mental gymnastics you had to pull to convince Belo that no, no one will try to viciously attack you without him by your side, was monumental. Truly, you're proud of yourself. Teaching him how to figure out a phone probably helped, he knows you'll call him if you need anything.

Nonetheless, it was very liberating to spend an evening away from his stifling attitude. Granted, you spent that evening running more complex errands Belo's out of the loop on, but it was still a breath of fresh air. You like that he's starting to trust you on these matters a bit more, it's better that way. You were ready to come home and shower the angel in praise for not freaking out or calling you every five minutes, though your plans were cut short the moment you arrived.

Usually, you don't even need to call out, Belo will either be stationed by the front door (exactly where he was when you left), or nearby enough to quickly greet you with a bow. This time, the angel is seemingly nowhere to be found. Huh. It's almost weird not to have him here, ready to take the bags off your hands or remove your coat. Shrugging, you drop your belongings by the hall and remove unnecessary layers of clothing. Maybe he's asleep, you've seen him resting every now and then, not too often.

By the time you're ready to call out, a noise startles you. You know that sound, a heavy rush of air caused by none other than the flutter of mighty wings. So he's home, at least that.

Smiling, you stroll down the hall and head straight for the angel's room, which he hardly uses, preferring to nap on your bedroom's armchair at night. "For safety", he argues. The pleasant expression you wear cracks into a wobbly, wide-eyed gawk at what you see past his open door.

It's always been no secret to you that Belo keeps what you can only call an altar in his room. Entirely dedicated to "the light of his life", his goddess and lady, you. You found it to be a tad creepy, and it still irks you a bit, but Belo assures he only intends to be respectful and prove his admiration with it. It's harmles really, a spare desk furnished with various pictures of you, candles, personal trinkets you've long since stopped caring about, one or two folded articles of clothing and a lock of hair you're not sure if he cut off you at some point. It's... Well, at least it's clean? Yeah, glass half full.

That's not the point here.

Belo kneels directly in front of this altar, barren of any and all coverings, his fluffy white fur in full display as massive wings spread and twitch sporadically, flirting with the flames of lit candles not too far away. His back arches and his chest expands with quickened breaths. You don't need to be a scientist to put two and two together, those parted legs, bucking hips and quiet gasps tell you everything you need to know about what Belo's doing. When he moans, this melodious, gorgeously filthy noise, you have no choice but to shiver and heat up.

That's... You've never heard the angel make a vaguely erotic sound, this is all very new.

It's not as if Belo isn't a sexual being, you've seen him get flustered on a myriad of occasions, and you don't miss the stares he sometimes spares you, even if he's extremely apologetic and ashamed whenever he's caught, you know that can only be lust. And, in a way, you understand the poor guy. He doesn't seem like the type who uh, "gets around", in spite of his rather handsome features. You don't mind that he finds you attractive or looks at you longingly, not at all- You've even considered trying to start something intimate with the angel, but he's so... Prone to dramatic outbursts about anything that's "unclean" or "blasphemous" that you fear it might just rupture what the two of you have going on. That's the last thing you want.

So this... This makes you really happy.

If you lean your head just the slightest amount, you can see the frenzied motions of his hand, spot the pale pink appendage between that blur of white, he grips something else with his other one. The more noises Belo makes, the more your own breathing hastens, watching luridly. The little part of you that screams about how disrespectful what you're doing is quiets down as soon as broken words escape the angel. He's clearly saying something, whispering? You edge closer, laying low.

" I love you I love you I love you I love you- A-Ahn- "

Chanting. That's chanting. Too rhythmic and practiced to be a mere murmur. Each stroke accompanied by a mewl of a declaration. The same three words droning on and on like a broken cassette player in complete mania.

" I love you I love you I- I- My goddess- "

Something tells you he's about to finish, and while some pervy side of you would rather sit and enjoy the show, the desire to claim that end for yourself wins. Cheeks burning, stance wobbly, you carefully inch your way behind the distracted monster, gently smoothing your hands around his tense shoulders.

The reaction is instantaneous.

There's an embarrassing squawk, followed by helpless wing flapping, Belo jolts like a feline and accidentally ends up knocking some items off the altar entirely with his right wing. Oof. At least the candles didn't fall... Not that he looks wounded, just scared. Very scared, if shrunk pupils floating in a sea of lavender have anything to say. Those three eyes contain all the panic the world could ever hold, his body shakes slightly and only after a couple seconds does he have the wherewithal to cover his shame.

Too late, you already got an eyeful of that pretty pink cock, slick and heavy between furred legs.

Something clatters to the ground. A pendant. Your pendant. Probably one of the first things you gave Belo when you caught him touching your jewelry. It's quite simple, just an elegant golden feather. That's what he was grabbing? You'd expect something like a pair of used panties. It's almost heartwarming, in an unexpected way.

He can't seem to spit out a word, or maybe he's genuinely panicking, one thing's for sure, you won't let him enter a babbling fit.

" Belo. I'm not mad, it's okay. "

It doesn't look like he buys it, blinking erratically. " B- M-My lady? "

You think about the type of language he uses when referring to you, what makes him comfortable. A soft smile sits on your face when you start reaching for the buttons of your shirt.

" You know, there's a lot of ways you can worship me, Belo... "

His shuddering is delightful.

[solarwynd]

It’s such an old and tired debate but armys only give hobi the title of “best dancer” because he’s the dance leader and they’ve equated that to him being the only member that has the credentials to be worthy of it.

But jimin for sure also has those same credentials and even more so. Considering he’s more verse in skill set and was classically trained and armys know that. Thinking that jimin somehow lacks in any department concerning dancing because he’s not dance leader and therefore can’t be as good is insanity. And whether it’s out of spite or just another symptom of that cultish “follow as told” mindset that armys refuse to shake, no one can try and say that jimin is not objectively more skilled. There is absolutely nothing wrong with preferences, but I’m tired of armys constantly playing down jimin’s dancing or using his humility to play up hobi’s over his own.

[idkfitememate]

“It’s easy to fix a machine when you know how it’s built and how it works. But people… they’re much more difficult.”

~ Freminet ♡

~☆♡SAGAU Animal Creator AU♡☆~

☆ Mondstadt

♡ Liyue

☆ Inazuma

Welcome to Aperture Science (GLaDOS!Reader)

Description: Finding an odd island off the coast of her Nation, Ei gathers a small group to explore the deep cavern revealed beneath the surface. What they find however, will change the course of Teyvat, for the better or worse is up to them.

♡ Sumeru

☆ Fontaine

The Executioner of Fontaine (Executioner!Reader)

Description: Furina finds rooms beneath the Opera de Eclipse that she’d never seen before. In searching, she finds a Meka she’d never seen before, and unfortunately, this will have consequences.

♡ Natlan

☆ Snezhnaya

Frozen Family (Grandpa!Reader)

Description: Childe learns about his Grandfather’s past and the odd piercings that covered his body.

♡ Various

Mora is a God’s Best Friend (Mora!Reader)

Description: Reader isekais into Genshin Impact, a game they’ve spent hundreds on, but not in the way one would think. Life is about to get much, much harder.

Cult-Like Mindset (Headcannon/Drabble)

Description: General rundown of Genshin OC’s.

SAGAU My Way (Headcannon/Drabble)

Description: What I believe SAGAU should be like, as all good things, with a psychopath reader :)

Cultish Freedom (Headcannon/Drabble)

Pt.2 Pt.3

Description: A personal AU for Genshin, featuring OCs!

[stellae-de-baphometis]

Hello!! I am extremely new to demonolatry as I have very recently discovered it and I would like to know if you have any resources for beginners to read/watch that are helpful. Don’t worry about it if you don’t or if you simply don’t feel like it, I don’t mind!! Ty and have a nice day!!!!

Hey there! Terribly sorry for answering this so late. Xx So I've only been into Daemonolatry for about a year now, though I have learnt a lot thus far and I'd be more than happy to share some really important pointers to aid you in walking this path. ^.^

⭒☆·━━━━━━━•( 🌑 )•━━━━━━━·☆⭒

So first and foremost before I get into the main blogpost, I really cannot stress this enough...

Please educate yourself on closed practices and steer clear of cultural appropriation in your personal practises. There are a group of people in the Daemonolatry community who appropriate the heck out of Jewish daemons, especially Lilith. Judaism is a closed practise and therefore it's only respectful to not incorporate Judaism into your personal practises. Appropriating Judaism is actually a form of anti-Semitism, so please be mindful and respectful of these things! 🖤

I'm ashamed to admit this but I actually used to think it was completely fine to appropriate Jewish daemons last year, thanks to subreddits like r/DemonlatryPractices who would constantly try to push propaganda about Lilith being a "Mesopotamian Pagan Goddess" and other excuses for appropriating her. That same subreddit decided to attack me when I merely mentioned (on a completely different subreddit, mind you) that I disagreed with them appropriating Lilith, and in turn I got witch-hunted so that's great lmao. 🤡

Please avoid that subreddit at all costs, it's an absolute cesspit of cultural appropriation and passive anti-Semitism, and honestly they exhibit cult-like behaviour if you do so much as simply disagree with the appropriation of Jewish daemons. It's pretty disturbing... But yeah anyways sorry for rambling lol.

I'd also recommend avoiding people and organisations such as S. Connolly, V.K. Jehannum, Satan & Suns/Sons, BlackWitchCoven, The BecomeALivingGod Forum, The Satanic Temple, Joy Of Satan Ministries, The Order Of Nine Angles, scarletarosa (a user that literally exists here on Tumblr... yikes), etc. They engage in Jewish appropriation, and some of them even have ties to Nazism, racism, and other forms of bigotry too.

Some other Jewish daemons/spirits that you should avoid appropriating alongside Lilith are; Naamah, Agrat Bat Mahalath, Eisheth Zenunim, Samael, Abyzou, and the Grigori / Watcher Angels.

There are many other closed practices too, but if you'd like to do further research I can leave that up to you. ^.^

Okay sorry about that huge ramble lmao, just thought I would get that out of the way before getting into the main post because I think it's an important point to make and I don't want you to fall down a cultural appropriation apologist pipeline like I did at the beginning of my practise lol. Xx

Anyways, let's talk about The Infernal Divine!

+: GIF Credit :+

⭒☆·━━━━━━━•( 🌑 )•━━━━━━━·☆⭒

So we'll start with some really basic stuff. What exactly are daemons?

It's not commonly known outside of Daemonolatry that daemons themselves actually predate Christianity. The term 'demon' (alternatively spelled 'daemon') comes from the word 'daimon' which originates way back in Greek mythology. Daimons were a type of tutelary deity as well as guiding spirit whose divine nature was that of both mortals and deities. They were also sometimes regarded as bringers of knowledge, wisdom, and destiny. In this sense, they could be considered deities in their own right.

Contrary to popular belief, daemons are not evil and never were to begin with. It was only until the coming of Christianity that daemons as well as other gods were vilified and ostracised due to the cultish, radical, monotheistic mindset a lot of Christian extremists held back in the day. Lucifer himself was a "demonized" Roman god also known as Phosphorus, associated with light and the planet Venus. From that description alone, I don't really get evil vibes lol.

In my opinion, our world cannot simply be split up into just black or white, and daemons are no exception. Daemons aren't evil, but they aren't completely love and light either; They're neutral. Much like humans as well as the universe itself, the Infernal Divine are various shades of grey, and all daemons are unique and differ in personality.

⭒☆·━━━━━━━•( 🌑 )•━━━━━━━·☆⭒

So with all this in mind, what are some good resources that don't endorse and/or engage in appropriation of closed practices?

The YouTube channels ESOTERICA and ReligionForBreakfast have great information on the history of various religions and practises!

~ Book Recommendations ~

Livre des Esperitz

Dictionnaire Infernal

Pseudomonarchia Daemonum

Pandemonium: A Discordant Concordance Of Diverse Spirit Catalogues

I personally am working towards being a daemonolatry resource myself, but I haven't been able to post much lately due to my mental health issues. I also took an active break last year, as it was pointed out by a friend of mine that my belief of thinking it was fine to appropriate closed practises was obviously problematic, and so I took time off from posting in order to educate myself and delete any problematic blog posts I had made endorsing that in the past.

But nonetheless, I hope that what I was able to provide in this post was helpful! I wish you well on your spiritual path. 🖤

❀ ~ Many Blessings ~ ❀

-Korv

[justanothersyscourse]

oh hi it’s -flower anon

I mostly was sending the asks in since I have moral OCD and the uncertainty and genuine horrible things I’ve seen very much conflict.

I’m only anti-endo due to the very, very cultish nature of a lot of it and have fallen for too many cults already.

(I was groomed into a online cannibalism gore cult at a very young age and still deal deal with the consequences of that, fell for way too many death cults, and almost was lost to way too many other hateful things)

so when the Moral OCD kicks in I trust it, it’s only lead me out of these bad situations.

I know my opinions are probably very uncommon, but too many cults and cultish mindsets I’ve fell for.

honest to god, I was at one point ready to kill myself because I thought overpopulation was real And those accelerationists got to me.

so for wholehearted honesty it’s too much for me, personally I believe fully in cultural and spiritual multiplicity.

But most endo/tulpa/willo spaces aren’t that, and that uncertainty of if- “is this person saying that ‘hey this is just a cultural and spiritual thing’ or is this person not any of those what are they I don’t wanna get into a covert cult again”

but as the current state of endo/willo/Tulsa spaces are, it’s so so cultish that it’s triggering me.

Everything sets off so many alarms in my brain that I trained myself to recognize,

so that’s why I was worrying and asking about it.

you’d too if you had fallen for so many dangerous cult stuff.

Too many death cults man, too many online death cults.

Hi flower ❤️ I hope you're doing okay. I've been sitting on this draft, debating if what I have to say would be helpful or damaging.

You came back, though, so I feel that I need to respond in some way... I'm going to be honest, I'm scared to make this post, this is a very polarized topic in the system community. But... maybe what I say can help someone.

I hope you'll read through to the end. No matter what, whether you disagree with me or not, I genuinely hope you're okay and that things get a bit easier for you. It probably doesn't help, but I know what you're feeling.

I have bad OCD myself. I'm lucky in that I don't struggle with that specific type anymore, but I feel for you 🫂

I'm also very sorry to hear about what you've been through ):

Before I talk, know that this response isn't to change your mind. My only goal is to try to help settle some of that stress.

I want you to feel less stressed by this entire thing. It's okay.

When I was still very heavily anti endo, I felt the exact same way. I'm not just saying that. I also run sysmedsaresexist, and I'm pretty sure I have posts calling the pro endo community "cult-ish" in nature. I probably did it a number of times. You're not alone in that view. I was worried that doctors were going to fall for it, that innocent people were getting dragged into believing they were systems, all of it. Been there, done that.

However, as I slowly moved from anti to critical, I realized BOTH sides display the EXACT same behaviors. The antis were just as bad, once I stepped back to look at it.

To the point that if you put the posts next to each other with identifying characteristics hidden, it could come from, and be about either side. Here's an example.

Either both sides are a cult, or cult is not an appropriate word to be using for syscourse.

It's the latter, I've learned over the years.

And once I got over myself and actually spoke with endo systems... I swear to you, I promise you, with every fiber of my being, that most of what you hear is fear mongering.

Most.

But the same can be said about anti endos. Endos are terrified of antis, but that's because they only hear other endos talking about their HORRIBLE experiences with antis. Some of it is true, most of it isn't, most is... more than a little bit exaggerated.

It just is. Endos think you, specifically you, flower anon, send death threats.

Do you? I'm willing to bet not, but you're lumped into that group whether you like it or not, whether it's true or not.

While syscourse can feel TERRIFYING, like life versus death (trust me, I know), I promise it's actually okay.

It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay.

The medical community is going to be okay. Your resources will be okay. The endos will be okay. The antis will be okay.

I am still actively involved in clinical circles, and I promise you, doctors know the difference between CDDs and plurality. Doctors ARE talking about endogenic systems, but try to give them a bit more credit.

Did you know that the multiple theory of self is as old as the ToSD? But it's a concept based in philosophy and the discussion of consciousness. These are two totally different things that are both valid. The issue is overlapping language. But if we're mad about "system" being shared, why aren't we more mad at IFS? Does "computer system" dehumanize CDD systems, too? That's dumb. No it doesn't.

Radqueers exist in every single community, and so do people who don't like radqueers. For every radqueer endo, there's another endo squinting hard at that and complaining to their friends. There are radqueer DID systems. They exist. It happens. It's like saying lesbians are bad because there's radfems and radqueers in that community, too. The intersection of multiplicity, sexuality and gender is VERY confusing, with more moving parts than you can count. Obviously there are going to be people with very wide and very narrow views about it.

(That said, I don't bother with radqueer stuff very much, I have NEVER participated in that discourse because I don't feel that I understand the nuance of it enough to have a fully informed view of it.

Wouldn't it be nice if more people could acknowledge that they don't understand things enough?

Anti endos, I'm looking at you)

Your ability to see cult tactics in things is something that has protected you, but that doesn't make it healthy. Do not try to overcome or change that part of you without the help of a specialist. That's not what I'm saying.

Seeing the world as dangerous, and signs of danger in the world, is what protects everyone, but for trauma affected people, this ability is broken. It's hyperactive. That's something that we all approach in therapy, eventually. You don't need to change right now, but one day you'll want to be able to see the good in things, and that takes so much more practice and guidance than you could imagine.

An easy way to start, though, is empathy and introspection-- not just into your self, but into your community. To recognize the double standards and be able to critically put aside those fears and concerns without someone else making the decision for you.

I can tell you that isolation is a major tactic used by cults, and it's the antis telling you to do that, isn't it? They say, don't even hear the other side out, I'll tell you what they're saying, and you can just believe me.

Isn't that what @number1-syscourse-blog was telling you to do? And it's only the pro side saying you can be friends with BOTH sides-- not just other pro endos, but telling you that it's okay to be friends with antis and pros. That it's healthy and good to surround yourself with differing opinions and form your own conclusions. I don't know if you can see the number of people telling number1 syscourse what a bad response that was. Not just me, SO MANY PEOPLE! They're all blocked and hidden now.

Because the full picture is a beautiful thing.

Making your own choices and drawing your own conclusions is a powerful thing.

And the picture is not as ugly or scary as number1 syscourse would have you believe.

My suggestion to you is to just... not talk syscourse with your friends. Just be friends. Talk about the dumbest shit and remember that you're both just human, trying to understand the world around you.

For fun, and to settle minds, let's go through, just to drive the point home. It's going under a cut, just in case, but be aware, I'm critically tearing apart both sides for being ridiculous.

Pros and antis, cult edition

Characteristics of a cult:

Absolute authoritarianism without accountability

Now, neither side has a leader, so to speak, but we can talk about how members of each community can say whatever they want without any accountability. We have people on both sides wishing death on the other, and no one is stepping in to say, "yo, wtf?" No, those posts are instead spread further by people reblogging their friends, because 🌈 brand loyalty 🌈 rather than any kind of critical thought.

Yes, both sides do this. No, that's not up for debate. It's happening. If you think it's not, you're either being willfully blind, or you've fallen into the isolation trap.

DNIs aren't shields against shitty behavior, just like free speech doesn't allow for hate speech, but people sure do love hiding behind DNIs. Like, they'll post a GOOD ask, with great points, and respond with a womp womp, can't you read my DNI, and it's like... maybe you should have read more than the first line, my dude. Free publicity for the other sides' ideals, because you literally can't be bothered to read anything.

Honesty, I think the block feature is the downfall of humanity. There are anti endo blogs posting misinformation on DID that can't be corrected because they've blocked everyone that knows more than them. I've tried to correct a lot of them, I'm blocked.

It's an echo chamber, much like how you view pro endo spaces.

Zero tolerance for criticism or questions

Come on, do I actually need to talk about this? See the DNI point again. Good asks with good points with a nonsense response because, OH GOD, anon dared to have a slightly different belief on something. Endo neutrals, people trying to ask questions and learn, aren't even allowed to interact with most blogs, even just for questions.

Lack of meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget

Another way that "cult" isn't an appropriate term, though we could talk about TPA here. I really, really don't like the TPA.

Unreasonable fears about the outside world that often involve evil conspiracies and persecutions

Hey, pot, meet kettle.

A belief that former followers are always wrong for leaving and there is never a legitimate reason for anyone else to leave

Hey, that's what happened to me when I left the anti side!

Abuse of members

Yeah, they abused me pretty bad for trying to correct misinformation on @antimisinfo's (an anti endo) post. People are constantly being ostracized and kicked out of their community for looking too hard at the other side. God forbid you hear them out, for curiosities sake.

Records, books, articles, or programs documenting the abuses of the leader or group

Not really?

Followers feeling they are never able to be “good enough”

Maybe if you squint?

A belief that the leader is right at all times

Who would the leader be? Science? Because science does support endos, and antis won't read a single word of it.

A belief that the leader is the exclusive means of knowing “truth” or giving validation

Again, if we call science the leader... but again, that only applies to antis.

The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s), and its members

I can see it, I guess. Mostly out of antis claiming the elite title for trauma.

The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society

Both sides have this problem.

The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members’ participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before they joined the group

Again, see the point about friends reblogging other friends wishing death on the other side.

The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt in order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion. Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.

This would be like saying you're betraying your side for talking to the other side. Huh. Kind of like what happened to you.

Just because the word cult CAN be applied to things doesn't mean it should be. Especially in syscourse, where one side has such a dark history with cult activity, it feels very... inappropriate to call pro/antis in syscourse a cult.

Really, it's just a bunch of people screaming that they're more right than the other side, and using fear mongering to make points that don't actually matter.

[cleverclovers]

cultish religious trauma is wild. you can spend ages working the religion out of your identity, then someone says something about something a representative from your former sect said, you contextualize it, then slip right back into the cult mindset to explain how you would have done it better. which verses you'd have used, how you would have presented it and what reading material you'd have offered. how you went about coercing people into studies with older brothers and sisters at doors in service hours.

then you realize what you've done and spend the next week or more scrubbing your brain with apostate content because religious guilt for leaving the cult is eating at your queer, heartbroken, lonely little brain and trying to strip away your hard earned identity.

anyway, time to go back to watching darth magog. star wars and ex jw apostate content. awesome tbh

[creature-wizard]

When positive affirmation culture can have negative effects

There was a time when I decided to try this whole reality shifting thing because if there's one thing I will do, it's try random shit for the absolute hell of it. (And with the way I can get fixated on Current Events and spiral into obsessing over whether I'm Doing Enough even though my mental and physical health is absolutely tanking, I need to give myself regular distractions.)

So by "reality shifting," I mean that thing where people go to bed and try to hypnotize themselves into experiencing a "desired reality." This often included popular fictional settings like Harry Potter, My Hero Academia, or the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Of course, I wasn't buying into the wackier pseuodoscientific claims that some of the more... cultish people in this movement were making. However, I had full faith that people were experiencing something.

So I did everything people said to do. I created a DR, I used various shifting methods, I used subliminals and affirmations, and...

Well, not a lot happened.

I was easily able to reach the first "shifting symptom" of feeling floaty, but beyond that? Not much happened. Whenever I reached the point where I "should" have entered my DR, my brain would careen wildly into... something, anything else.

I kept at it for months. Again, I had full faith that these techniques would give me results similar to what other people were reporting. I had no reason in the world to think that this would be a thing that I, in particular, wouldn't experience.

I talked to other people about my problems shifting and many of them suggested things like listening to subliminals with affirmations in them, reciting positive affirmations, and all that. In other words, they'd made up their minds that this was a faith issue, and they couldn't see how this could possibly be anything else.

Hey, so remember that thing where I said that I can obsess over whether or not I'm doing enough? Yeah, this stuff low-key fed that particular anxiety. I was anxious that I just wasn't trying hard enough somehow, even though I was doing everything exactly right.

It was a source of stress, sadness, and self-hate.

Finally I had to step back and say, "No. There's nothing wrong with what I'm doing. There's nothing wrong with my mindset. The issue is my brain isn't wired or chemically balanced for this."

Well what do you know, the self-hate and stress went away.

You know what I've found? Big grandiose affirmations aren't shit compared to simply allowing for the possibility that a thing could happen, while also accepting that it might not, and accepting that the journey, the experience, is ultimately more important than the final outcome. Because when you do this, you give yourself permission to go for it, and you give yourself the capacity to not hold it against yourself if things don't work out.

Because not everything is a faith issue and believing that it is, is incredibly toxic. You will hurt yourself. You will hurt people around you. I grew up in a church that tried to make everything a faith issue, and that shit was so, so toxic. It was spiritual abuse.

Sometimes you can have faith the size of a mountain, and that mustard seed still isn't gonna budge.

[withoutalice]

Guys I'm not even really political but everyday people are losing the ability to have empathy for others. Channels I used to watch ('right' and 'left' pop culture/news commentators) keep getting more cultish, the topics are about nitpicking someone's personal life, or are chock full of blantant misinformation due to an anti-global mindset. It makes me sad and I know I shouldn't watch it (because usually it's rage bait) but holy fuck man can't people just live and let live?

Like the singer from Ireland that was in Eurovision (i've seen tiktoks of their performance) keeps getting bashed (by the right mostly) for her outfit and for 'acting strangely' on camera ... y'all it's artistic expression. It's a fucking form of art?! (They probably think AI art is 'real art too' tbh so I'm not surprised)

Also I saw another video a few days ago that finally pushed me over the edge to unsubscribe. The video was about why some 'crazy!' women were going to rage rooms. I'm 99% sure if a man went to one he'd be praised for having 'a healthy outlet'. Women are only or allowed to show emotion if it's 'attractive' to the outside (I learned that at a young age)...

And just to be clear, there are issues with arguments from all sides. I do not wish death or harm to anyone, only for them to feel at peace one day. I care for everyone and am always open to civil debate ^^

[beinggayisreallyexpensive]

Honestly I dont like to pass judgements on faith and religion generally because I just kind of ... have a lower capacity for spirituality than other people and I'm ok with that! I like taking an anthropological/sociological view of religion and learn the philosophy and culture and come from a place of understanding. However, I'm at the point where I truly believe evangelical protestant Christianity is legitimately the work of the devil and I don't even believe in the devil. The way those people speak is cultish. The absolute disregard for other human beings except seeing them as one which can be dominated or assimilated is just pure evil. They legitimately do not see humanity in non-Christians. Actual colonizer mindset. This isnt even of course mentioning the absolutely terrifying political influence this faith group has had on politics. I'm starting to feel a knee-jerk disgust now at the very mention of Jesus and it's actually kind of crazy.

[ahalliance]

azi is so devastated when he thinks crowley actually killed the goats and will kill the children and is SO happy when he learns crowley has done and will do none of that . but it also fucks me up bc im sure this is where azi’s whole “oh he still has good in him, but it’s oppressed by his new nature as a demon” type of mindset he has going on comes from. and over the years he learns to kinda deconstruct that mindset and nuance it more but fuck, when the metatron, this figure of ultimate heavenly authority, offers him a chance to remake heaven to his will and to restore crowley to his angel status, he relapses into that old way of thinking because it would just be so much easier if things were just strictly good and bad, no? that crowley is a good person who does good things despite being a demon not because he is a nuanced, morally grey person, but because his holiness and goodness is trapped within a dark outer shell. and by restoring him to his prior angel status again, azi can validate that unhealthy black and white mindset of all angels good, all demons bad that has been hammered into him by heaven . and then crowley kisses him and his brain explodes and he freaks out and relapses even MORE into that cultish way of thinking by replying “i forgive you”. god he always says “i forgive you” when crowley confronts him with things azi KNOWS to be true to both of them but that he cannot bear to admit to