#pagan stories

[palkiapng]

something something love knows no boundaries etc.

hey it’s been a while here’s some art

[ira-shilova-pisatel]

I'm so excited!

My illustration and my story are now available on Amazon. A fairy tale with a Slavic setting, "The Fox Skin", opens a series of my stories in English. So... please love and favour! =^_^=

[genericpuff]

I wonder why christian misrepresentation are rarely talked about if compared to other religion misrepresentation. Like, I've seen people really vocal about Greek myths misrepresentation in LO and such (and it's valid because it's a culture and religion) but I rarely saw the same thing with christian even though there are many media who use christian religion innacurately, to the point where it comes off as using it as an aesthetic and not a proper religion.

Is it because of rampant religious trauma especially in western world? No ulterior motives on this question. I'm not a christian and yet I'm curious about this. I apologize if this sounds harsh.

I obviously don't have The Answer(tm) to this but personally speaking (and I'm about to get VERY personal here so take this with MOUNTAINS OF SALT), I think it's just the obvious - Christian mythology is one of the most well-documented and strongly protected out of virtually any other religion on the planet. Especially here in the West, it's commonplace for kids to go to Sunday school, for couples to have Christian weddings even if they're not practising Christians themselves, even the American anthem references the Christian God. It's simply not as easy to 'misrepresent' it because the representation is written into our very fabric of society. Even Greece itself is primarily made up of Orthodox Christians.

So anyone that does 'misrepresent' it are either completely mislead hardcore Christians, or people who are doing it intentionally, such as with the intent to make a parody of it or to deconstruct it through a different context or whatever have you. And of course, people will still get mad at those things, if you're implying that people aren't vocal about Christian misrepresentation then frankly IDK what to tell you there LOL If you want a contextual example in the realm of webtoons, Religiously Gay was dragged to hell and back during its launch for having a very crude and insulting depiction of St. Michael, and frankly, yeah I don't disagree because what the fuck is this-

(like at best it's just terrible character design lmao that said, there's also plenty else to criticize Religiously Gay for, including its fetishy representation of gay relationships and the fact that it's still just the "naive person who looks and acts like a child hooks up with mean person in a position of power" trope, blech, but the character design is definitely the first thing you notice)

There are even plenty of hardcore Christians who will deadass claim "misrepresentation" over things that ARE factually correct but they just haven't read the actual Bible and simply cherry pick what works for their own agenda. And of course those people are routinely called out by people like myself who know for a fact that Jesus wouldn't have promoted the war crimes that many modern day Christians are committing and justifying today. So it really depends on the definition of "misrepresentation" here.

The issue specifically with LO and Rachel that I personally call her out for (and many others) is that she's called herself a "folklorist" and claimed she's so much more knowledgeable on Greek myth than anyone else, while making a complete mockery of the original mythologies while not being honest about her intent as to whether LO is actually supposed to be a legitimate retelling OR a parody (because it sure acts like the latter more than the former, but she still seems to expect us to take it seriously and consider her knowledge of Greek myth superior?) Which leads to a lot of her teenage audience claiming shit like "Persephone went down to the underworld willingly" and "Apollo did assault Persephone in the original myths actually" and the classic "why would Lore Olympus lie or make up fake myths?"

You just can't pull off this extent of erasure with Christian mythology because we have a whole ass book of it that's been preserved, sold on shelves, and systematically integrated into society for thousands of years. Of course, there are people who will still try their damned best to twist the Bible to match their own bigotry with the whole "Jesus hates gays" bullshit (he would never), but it's met with equal amounts of 'misrepresentation' that are actually fully well-read and are intentionally subverting and changing things to either critique, parody, or restore the original intent of a lot of stories in the Bible without all the manufactured right-wing crap.

Greek myth, on the other hand, has some stories that are well preserved, and others, not so much. And in the modern day outside of the poems and hymns, you'll also rarely, if ever, see anyone use stories from Greek myth to ostracize, torture, and murder other people. "Misrepresenting Christianity" is more often done by actual Christians who are using the Bible to commit hate crimes than the people who have actually read the Bible and are just taking creative liberties with it for the sake of deconstructing / parodying / analyzing / subverting it. Veggie Tales "misrepresents" Christian stories because obviously Moses wasn't a fucking cucumber lmao but it still accomplishes its goal by retelling Christian stories in a way that's fun and educational for children.

By comparison (on the whole, I'm not comparing LO to Veggie Tales LMAO) LO just isn't clear in its intentions beyond Rachel's initial statements that she was trying to "deconstruct" the myths, while labelling herself as a folklorist. Therefore, I'm going to criticize how she does it because the way she's done it up until now has been very mishandled and has resulted in a lot of misinterpretations of the myths simply for the sake of fandom. And yes, these people exist in Christian media as well - they're called TV evangelists.

And that's my (very heavy) two cents.

[ifindus]

The Battle of Hjørungavåg - for the Mythtalia March by @hwsevents

-

"Never have Danes held such a battle with Norwegians, not before nor since" - Fagrskinna.

-

The battle of Hjørungavåg took place outside the Norwegian coast in the year 986, and was a sea battle between an invading Danish army and a defending Norwegian one. It was a battle of great national significance as the ruling Earl Håkon defended the country against the Danish King Svein Tjugeskjegg aided by the Joms Vikings, who wanted to take control over Norway and christen it.

The battle begun after some farmers tricked the Danes into believeing Earl Håkon only had 2-3 ships with him. They charged forth and got surprised by 50 ships lying in wait for them.

It was a fierce battle, and despite the element of surprise, the Norwegians suffered heavy losses early on. Most of the losses were with Earl Håkon, who fought against Svein Tjugeskjegg, a fight so intense that he had to shed his chainmail as it had become torn apart by all the weapons hitting him. Håkon's sons Eirik and Svein Håkonson fought against the Joms Vikings, Eirik saving his brother. This is when the battle turns.

Suddenly, a terrifying storm hits, with fierce waves of hail. The storm seemed almost magic and supernatural, and on the side of the Norwegians. Had the pagans used dark magic? It is said that Earl Håkon had sacrificed his 7 year old son Erling in a ritual for victory (probably false). The Earls of Lade had a connection to the female godess and spirit Torgerd Hølgebrud, who was called on whenever the family was in need. She came along with her sister and other valkyries on horses with bows and arrows, sending hail towards their enemies.

Torgerd is interpreted as an ancient fertility spirit, and these spirits are also connected with a warrior aspect. They protected certain families and are some of the oldest creatures in the pre-Christian Norse religion.

The supernatural warrior spirits was a convenient excuse for why Svein Tjugeskjegg fled the battle; it was impossible to fight against gods and trolls. It also supported the savage ways of the pagan religion.

As Svein flees, he leaves the Joms Vikings behind to be captured by the Earls. They were about to be executed by beheading, but one of them managed to get a hold of the sword and chop the head off the man about to kill him. Eirik Håkonson is impressed by this and grants them their freedom.

[lulu2992]

How to be cast as a Far Cry villain

Sources: Michael Mando - Troy Baker - Jean-Sébastien Décant

[teawiththegods]

I think we have enough feminist Medusa retellings thank you very much.

How about instead we explore how Perseus risks his life to save his Mama?

[thequeer07puss]

On Hera and Zeus’s marriage: a rant

I’ve seen a lot people get mad at Zeus because his application of marriage in mythology is a bit more flexible than what we’re used to, while misunderstanding the theological and cultural realities that surround it

The Native Hera and the Foreign Zeus

Long ago, before what is now known as the Greek pantheon was a thing, the Greeks worshipped the goddess now known as Hera, and she was their main goddess. Some time later, another group of people, recognisable as derived from Proto-Indo-European descent through their worship of a sky father (Zeus), either conquered or merged with the existing culture of the time.

These two groups, to avoid too violent of a clash while merging, made their patron deities spouses to make the transition more smooth for everyone, effectively breaking the Proto-Indo-European pattern of sky god-earth goddess duos, while still being present to a lesser extent in the form Demeter’s brief marriage with Zeus.

Divine marriage

Now, we all know Zeus in his myths was quite a womaniser, both because of his function as an All-Father, and as his function as the representation of Ancient Greek patriarchal society where men could have as many extramarital affairs and women could not. Note the fact that this was completely allowed and accepted in Ancient Greece, and that other male deities with known spouses still slept around without their wives getting angry (eg Poseidon and Dionysus).

Why is that so? One could simply dismiss this by saying that Hera is just “being jealous”, but the answer is deeper than the surface level.

The marriage of Zeus and Hera is meant to be egalitarian, meaning that they occupy the same position and receive the same amount of honour in Olympian society, and Hera, as defender and mistress of Olympus, has to constantly check whether or not there is a breach of that egalitarian semi-open marriage or an attack on her honours as both queen of the gods and equal partner of Zeus.

Now, Hera is well-known for her fury against Zeus’s mistresses, and while this may seem funny/tragic to people, it’s not rlly ALL of them that had that treatment. The only ones of Zeus’s mistresses (that I know of) that received any kind of attack from Hera were Leto, Alcmene and Semele. (This ill reputation of Hera as a jealous wife might mostly be due to Heracles, but we’ll get back to him later)

Leto and Semele

Leto was one of Zeus’s previous wives before Hera came in power, and she conceived her children, Apollo and Artemis after Zeus and Hera got married (UPG). Semele was a mortal princess from a very important family line, who Zeus took a liking to and came down to often, even swearing to her on the river Styx to give her anything she wanted. This could tickle Hera the wrong way for 2 reasons: Leto, a previous queen, and Semele, a mortal, may have started to feel proud of Zeus’s special attention, and that their children (Apollo & Artemis, and Dionysus respectively) were destined to eventually enter her home due to them being very important. The first point could just be a reminder of Hera’s supremacy as Queen of Heaven, and sends a clear message: “Just because the King gives you special favours doesn’t mean you are above, or better than me”.

The trials that face Heracles, Apollon and Dionysus (ie madness followed by redemption, Python, and a period of madness respectively) could therefore be tests to prove their worth and proof that Zeus did not waste his time and energy making children unfit to integrate the Olympian family without some pushback. Zeus famously spent 3 days conceiving Heracles, whose famous fate at the hands of Hera could be seen as trials in her honour, as evidenced by his name which means “the glory of Hera”. When he ascends to Olympus, he even goes as far as marrying Hera’s daughter, Hebe.

Conclusion

Hera is not a jealous wife, and her marriage with Zeus is certainly not dysfunctional. They love each other deeply (see: the foundation myth of the Daidala festival) and their relationship is certainly not something to be questioned or made fun of. Honouring Hera properly means honouring Zeus, and vice-versa.

On that note, I wish you all a happy Theogamia.

[ghost-bxrd]

Hello I too am here for fae!dick it's getting me through the workweek

One of the Other things I am VERY intrigued by is Too Many Teeth. It feels a little Uncanny Valley to me. Because you see it, you know it's Wrong, but you're not entirely sure why, and even if you could explain it, who is going to believe you?

Dick has too many teeth? OK well how many teeth SHOULD he have? Maybe there are a lot of people out here knowing how many teeth one should have, but are people cracking open their mouths and letting you count them? Maybe his wisdom teeth came in weird. You don't know.

Anyway I don't know if this is in line with any folklore but Dick stealing people's teeth? Like if he whacks someone in the face and a tooth comes out, does he pick it up, dust it off, and stick it in his gums? You had your chance, it's his tooth now? It's not just Too Many Teeth, it's a collection of teeth.

Hehehe okay, some more lore time!

So line in the sand is: there is no line.

There’s no rule to the other beings. The fae creatures I grew up with did not follow any logic. They changed a bit with every retelling of the stories and every time you thought you caught a glimpse of them through the stained glass of the kitchen window they’d have some other feature you’d never heard of or seen before.

So when I say too many teeth I imagine anything from “teeth that look crammed into a human mouth” to “several rows of teeth like a shark’s” depending on what you expect to see and what the other being feels like looking to others on this fine day.

On this note, it would not be too far fetched to imagine Dick would collect teeth like a giggling magpie, only to adorn himself with them or shove them in his own gums when he feels like it.

You know, being a vigilante has the added benefit of being allowed to knock out criminals’ teeth every other night anyway. ✨

Uncanny valley indeed 🌙

[jessgoulder]

"Loki"

For more like this please check out my Etsy Store :)

https://jessgoulder.etsy.com

[khaire-traveler]

"Why am I this way?" A little goat asked Dionysus. "I desire the wrong things, the wrong way of life. I am imperfect."

"Nothing is perfect," Replied the God, "Not even the Gods are perfect. You are beautiful in your imperfection."

"But the things that I hope to achieve, the desires I long for - all of these things are wrong and evil! I am evil..."

"Are these things truly wrong, or were you told that they were?"

"...I was told that they were, but that doesn't change that I am evil, I am wrong."

Dionysus put a hand on the goat's back with a sigh. "If pleasure is evil, then I'm happy to be wrong."

The goat looked at the God with surprise. "Why?"

"Life is so short," Dionysus began, "It is a precious thing - something to cherish and savor, like a fine wine rich in flavor. Why spend your life caring what others think is evil and wrong of you when you can be living your best life, happy and away from them?"

"I see," Said the goat, "Then am I not evil?"

"If every opinion were a fact, you would be. But that's not how things work, no matter how certain people are of their opinions. You are not evil; you were only labeled as such."

"I am not evil." The goat stared ahead at the rising sun, "I am perfect in my imperfections."

[whereserpentswalk]

When the human known to us as Christ arrived in the underworld, gods and shades alike were horrified. It was always a big deal when demigods arrived in the underworld, but this one had died so brutally, a young man, not even old enough to grow a beard, tourtued to death at the will of his own divine parentage, the blood dripping from his shade's hands.

The high gods of the underworld brought him up to their tower to figure out what happened. Christ had recoiled from them at first, thinking they were Devils, but had to take Anubis's hand to ascend the tower's steps, as his legs were badly wounded. The gods of the dead looked at him with both sympathy and horror, it was the first time a he had seen a god look at him with either of those emotions.

Hades swore that this was his brother's doing, but even then it crossed a new line. The description of a god impregnating a young girl in Bethlehem fit what Hades knew of Zeus, but to harm his own son in such a way, as part of a ploy to try to gain all of Rome for him alone, had proven his brother's reign growing darker. Still, he took mercy on the young man, promising him at least three days safety in the underworld without his father trying to claim him again. Hades wondered if the poor girl knew when she held her child that he was born to suffer and die, just as the mothers of great heros knew their destiny. Hades hoped Chrsit would have a chance to stay longer, his wife would return in the fall, and he had the same kind eyes as her, she would probably like to know him.

Hel came to comfort Christ once he had a chance to rest. She helped tend his wounds, and pet his head, and for the first time christ was held by a divinity that didn't expect anything from him. And she told him stories of her father to cheer him up after meeting with such a horrible fate. And she told him that no father should ever do such a thing as what his father had done to his child, that if she had known in time she would have saved him. And she let him be comforted as a human, instead of being a lord of all humanity. And for a momment he didn't have to be the son of god who felt alone while bleeding and dying, but the son of the carpenter Joseph who had been reminded of home when he felt the wood of the cross.

He wasn't allowed to stay, his father wanted him back, back to be the bleeding prince of a new and lonely kingdom. And the underworld wept for him, not because the underworld was deprived of Christ, but because Christ was deprived of the underworld.

[jun11per]

Literally Transition Goals <3

[pagansphinx]

James Tissot: Not always a Genre Painter with an Eye for Fashion

Ball on Shipboard • 1874

The Apparition • 1885 • Mezzotint with black ink on Japanese paper • Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minnesota

James Tissot gravitated to spirituality when his lover of many years, Kathleen Newton, died from turbuculosis. He'd only a few years before lost a dear brother. Grief-stricken, he participated in a séance with a medium who ostensibly brought him into spiritual contact with Kathleen. Tissot painted this experience, though the painting has long been lost. However, he transfered the image to a print with the mezzotint technique, which you see above. It shows Kathleen with her spirit guide, which is the image Tissot and a witness claim was at first blurry but grew more distinct during the séance.

[ladycatashtrophe]

Thinking of when I was little and I kept having these feelings like I was floating above my bed while sleeping (not the falling dream - I distinctly remember floating above my bed for a solid few seconds before I came to and landed back on the mattress) and my ultra-religious family thought I was possessed or "disturbed" but I was a Percy Jackson kid so one night when it happened I jokingly banged my fist on the floor and told Hades to knock it off (thinking it would do nothing) and then that feeling never happened again.

[moonhedgegarden]

[tears-of-amber]

Roses Cover A Multitude Of Sins (Pop Culture Witchcraft Spell)

This spell is inspired by Constance Langdon from American Horror Story.

SPELL PURPOSE: Sweetening the environment you are in after an unpleasant and negative event.

SUPPLIES:

-15 Red Rose Petals

-1 Bay Leaf For Every Sour Woe You Are Trying To Sweeten

-Something That Will Write Effectively On Each Bay Leaf

-A Place In Your Yard/Garden To Bury Something Very Small

-Sun Water

INSTRUCTIONS:

-Write one word on each bay leaf that represents each "dark event" or "woe" you are trying to turn into something positive and sweeter.

-After writing all of them, gather the bay leaves and chant these words: "Dark deeds will turn to light, as day comes after night. With sweet scent of rose I replace, any ill will or woe in this space."

-dig a small hole in the dirt of your yard, and place the bay leaves in first, and then cover them with the rose petals.

-Then cover the rose petals with dirt.

-Once a week, water the soil in the place where you buried the leaves and petals using water you have charged with the sun.

-After a few weeks you should notice a difference!