#this is NOT about gatekeeping severance or anything i hate gatekeeper behavior with a passion

[zymstarz]

its not the biggest thing in the world or anything but can we talk about how severance got popular [as it deserves] and people immediately jumped to making fun of someones [dylan g / zach cherry's] physical appearance and thats not only the entirety of the joke but the only joke they tell. bc it makes me so fucking tired dude

[themanicnami]

“What Is My Path and How Do I Find It?”

What is a Path in Witchcraft?

A path is the journey that someone takes as they practice witchcraft. Some use it to describe their past, present and future on their magickal journey. Others use it to represent what they would consider a “label” to themselves and their craft. In general a path in witchcraft is a word to describe that specific witch’s journey, views, experiences, focuses and future goals that surround their own personal magickal practice.

Everyone, absolutely everyone, has a different path because each person is an unique individual with unique interests, hobbies, views, practices and choices. This is why your path may vary so greatly from others around you, your friends and even your mentors/teachers. There is nothing wrong with this because it is your path, not their path.

How do I know what my Witch Type/Path is? Is there a test I can take?

No, there isn’t a test you take to determine what your path is or what type of witch you are. There is only one thing that determines that: you. You are the one who chooses your path and what you wish you focus on.

You don’t have to be any specific type of witch at all. You don’t have to be a storm witch or a green witch. You can be whatever you want. If you want a label and to focus your path onto one thing, then do it. If you want to be labeled as more than one thing, go for it. Do you just want to do whatever you want and have no labels? That’s perfectly fine too!

You decide what kind of witchcraft interests you by:

Researching: research every single thing you can find! Save your sources, read through articles, take notes and compare them to other articles, posts, blogs and writings on the same topic. Look at the differences but also examine who is writing: a person who is an atheist witch will have different views on the spirituality and morals of something compared to a Wiccan witch or a Christian witch. Examine who is writing the post, and take their views with a grain of salt and not as solid fact because everyone differs. If you agree with their views that’s great! If not, take it as something to consider. Research the scientific and medical relations of things as well, what I mean by this is each herb is a medicine and like medicine and drugs it has side effects, research it before ingesting it or using it. Research your crystals and stones to ensure you don’t ruin them or harm yourself with them. Science and witchcraft come hand in hand, remember that. It’s not fun sending yourself to the hospital because you overdosed on a herb you didn’t research well enough.

Cater to Yourself: By this I mean look at what you as a person enjoy doing: your hobbies, your likes, your dislikes, your talents, your interests, etc. Use these in your craft, take these and put them into your craft. Are you interested in art? Use art supplies, drawing, painting and sigils in your craft. Interested in singing? Sing your spells and incantations, use song lyrics for spells, sing to cleanse a space or attract things. Enjoy collecting stickers? Use stickers to seal spell jars and sachets, use them like sigils and stick them to things, buy stickers that relate to correspondences via color, shape, or imagery. You can use anything you want in your path. If you are passionate about gardening, then your path can bring in gardening and plants into it. If you are passionate about cooking definitely bring kitchen magick into your path. If you just love reading, bring literature, writing and spell books into your path. Bring in your interests, make your path full of things you love. Don’t force yourself to be the “dark mysterious witch” if that is not what interests you. Why bring in tea magick into your craft if you hate tea? Your path is meant for you to enjoy it, it is to cater to you. If you like pink, glitter, candy and soda then use that! Use those things, because they are important to you. That means they hold magick in them, because they are special to you. You will find more success in doing things you love and working with tools you associate with.

Follow Your Own Beliefs: This is a big one, some people in our community will try to push that you have to worship a certain religion or deity. You do not have to worship anything or anyone to practice witchcraft. You do not have to be part of any religion, all who tell you otherwise are gatekeeping. If you wish to be Wiccan then be Wiccan, if you wish to be Pagan then be Pagan, if you wish to be Christian then be Christian, if you don’t want to bring religion into your craft at all that’s fine too. It is your choice what your beliefs are, and don’t let others tell you that you are wrong but give that same courtesy to others. Others will likely have different views and beliefs than you and so you should also give them the same respect for their beliefs as you expect them to give you. If you do wish to work with a deity or religion, research it and look into what it is like to be apart of it. Ask others who worship this deity how they do and their bond with them, this can help you figure out your own way to worship.

Why can’t others just tell me how to find my Path? I don’t want to research.

Well, that isn’t how it works I am afraid. Other people don’t know what is important to you in your core, they don’t know what holds your interest or what holds your passion. They can’t just tell you everything about your path. They can give you advice based off of their own experiences however, but this is not the same as them being able to instruct you as to what to do.

Research is apart of witchcraft, that’s just a simple fact. Yes you can ask around to people what things may be or for help but think of it like this: People don’t like feeling like google. Asking someone what the correspondence of a crystal is can get quite annoying if you or just several others keep doing it when you can easily search the phrase: “Correspondence of ____ in witchcraft” and find exactly what you need or to simply search that user’s blog for that specific crystal. Research for yourself, it is your responsibility to do if you wish to use witchcraft. You walk your own path and that means you are responsible for your own lessons. People have out there tons of amazing resources that you can use.

Common Falsehoods, Lies, Red Flags and “Dishonest Truths” about Witchcraft/Paths:

You have to be Wiccan/Pagan: As spoken about up above, this not true. You can follow whatever religious practice or belief you desire or none at all.

Cursing is Bad!/Three Fold Rule: This is another popular thing people will throw out at new witches to try to scare and shame them away from cursing, hexing and other acts of baneful magick. As a whole, this is a personal opinion. If you choose to curse that is your choice and others have no right to tell you that you’re a bad person for it. But, if you chose not to curse yourself, then that is your choice. Don’t drag others down or insult them for their choice.

You can only be one type/kind of Witch: No, you do not even have to label yourself as we talked about above. If you wish to label yourself as a “Sea Witch” or “Cosmic Witch” or “Green Witch” then do so. If you wish not to just focus on one thing then that’s perfectly fine! A lot of witches don’t label themselves as a ‘specific type’ of witch.

You have to use crystals/herbs/tea/etc: Nope, you are not required to use any specific ingredients, you don’t even have to use any ingredients at all if you don’t wish to. Use what you have hand and what you like. If you have a lot of candy, make candy spells; if you have a lot of crayons, make drawn and colored spells; if you have a surplus of toilet paper rolls, use those as poppets or for spell containers.

You have to have companions/familiars: Nope, you do not have to work with spirits or animals or anything like that if you don’t want to. Before you do get yourself a companion I recommend heavy research into spirit companions and make sure you have a way to communicate with them.

“Only women can be witches!”: Nope! Any gender, sexual orientation, race, etc can be a witch. If you practice magick and you want to be called a witch, guess what you’re a witch. If anyone tells you otherwise they are not worth your time.

You have to be trained/in a coven to be a witch: Nope! You can be self taught and you can work alone. Beware of toxic covens too, there are some out there who try to gender-shame and can be quite toxic in general. If you wish to be apart of a coven ensure that the rules of the group are ones you are okay with and that you aren’t pressured into behaving a certain way.

You have to have “witch blood” if you want to be a strong witch: huge lie right here; your bloodline and family history does not weaken or strengthen your magick. You don’t need to be from a long line of witches to be a witch, you don’t have to be “born a witch”.

Tech Magick/Emoji Magick/Pop Culture Magick/Modern Magick is terrible and is ruining true magick!: You will see this a lot on tumblr I am afraid. Lots of people trying to tell other witches that their paths/craft is not “true witchcraft” since it is not based on traditional witchcraft or religions. Don’t listen to them. If you want to practice modern magick and pop culture magick that is your choice and you are valid in every way!

If you’re mentally ill/disabled/sick you can’t be a witch: Spoonie witches exist and there are plenty of them! Just because you have found that you may not be as energized as other witches means absolutely nothing. You are valid, even if you use simple and basic magick due to low energy levels you are valid! You are still a witch.

You can only be friends with/date other witches: big red flag here! If anyone is telling you this, whether it is a mentor, teacher, friend or coven member/leader you need to find someone else fast. This is majorly toxic behavior used by some witches in this community to make you cut ties with others. It is an abusive manipulative tactic that you have to be aware of and avoid. You can be friends and date whoever you want (obviously within legal terms), whether they are a witch or not.

True witches practice magick everyday: Nope! You can take breaks! Especially when you have other things going on, you are tired or you just aren’t mentally/emotionally able to do witchcraft. That is perfectly fine. Take breaks, rest up, focus on other things - its okay. Take care of yourself. You aren’t being a ‘bad witch’ for taking breaks.

Everything is related to the supernatural!: No, the mundane is a thing. Not everything you see will be a mystical sign or message. Not everything that happens to you is because of spirits, curses, spells, etc. Rule out the mundane first such as medical problems or common sense/reasoning before you go leaping onto it being some great supernatural occurrence. Once the mundane is ruled out then you can consider other things.

Magick is better for you than medicine/doctors!: NO NO NO NO. Magick can aid in medical things if properly researched but never EVER substitute medical procedures, doctors or medicines for magick! Go and take care of yourself! 

[footballmetrics]

Football RPF Survey - Final Thoughts section

This is the Final Thoughts section of our report, but it’s not the last part of it. It follows the Demographics, Reading and Writing sections, and it will be followed by the Solutions section, which will be posted tomorrow. It’s the shortest section of all, because it had the least questions, but the most elaborate answers in some ways, so we only summarized to the best of our ability.

What were some memorable moments in the football fandom for you?

The answer to this question really varied, so we’re not going to disclose all of them, just the ones that stood out or were repeated a few times. If you’re interested in all of them though, let us know and we’ll figure something out.

Someone mentioned that there has been some moments of unity in the fandom, regardless of the clubs, where everyone could have a laugh together. Most often mentioned was the Larrie invasion, and how it made everyone come together to defend Cristiano Ronaldo and meme the interlopers. In general, memes were mentioned as the connecting medium between club fandoms.

A few people mentioned participating in exchanges as being really memorable, because it offered them a new experience and helped them meet other authors and was a really great encouragement.

People mentioned various competitions, like the Euros and the World Cup or their teams winning the league, and the fandom-wide celebrations that followed. A few people mentioned that liveblogging matches allowed them to feel like they were all in a big communal living room, watching matches together with like minded people, who wouldn’t judge their passion.

A lot of the most memorable moments seem to be connected with people in the fandom, with conversations about players and clubs deep into the night, in finding new friends that share your interests and in bringing people together.

What do you enjoy most about the football fandom? Why do you stay?

For this question, we’re going to be sharing some of our favorite responses that we feel really summarize the sentiments that most people were expressing to us:

What I enjoy the most: the sense of community. Of people reblogging my edits and tagging 'he's my hero', or people coming into my askbox sharing stories about how they once met a player but were too stunned to say anything, or people yelling at me when I liveblog. The friends I've made here, whether through club or through fic. I've met some of my best friends through football and it's amazing. The knowledge that everyone here is for your team and, by extension, for you. Why I stay: Because I love my football team so ridiculously bloody much and I love expressing this love for them through whatever means I can. Making graphics and writing fic is basically my way of telling them how much I love them, what I love about them, why I love them. It's a passion project. A labour of love. And because through fandom is how I express my love for my friends as well - leaving comments, writing them fic, making them graphics, so on and so forth. And because of everything I said in the previous page - how it continues to grow, how there's always something new to talk about, how it will never become stagnant because it is so inextricably tied to something that is, by definition, not stagnant. The roller coaster ride of emotions that only sport can bring? That's found in the football fandom, all of it.

I've met some really amazing people through the fandom, and I've been encouraged to write in this fandom. that's new for me, to find people who enjoy my stories and want to read more. This is the first fandom where I haven't felt like I needed to tread lightly, that I am respected for my contributions. It means a lot to me.

That people understand what you feel toward football because they feel it too, its validating.

I enjoy the friendliness of everyone, nobody judges you for the team you support, there's always someone to talk to about something, and I stay because football has become an even more important part of my life ever since I joined the fandom, I wake up at ungodly hours just to see the most insignificant match, I see my rival's matches to see how they are playing, I check random teams I never supported games just to check on players I love, I'm always voicing my opinion and at least one person understand, I can liveblog matches without anyone telling me to stop or that I'm being too extra, it's the best ever, I've made amazing friends.

Sharing a common obsession with others around the globe is amazing. The world seems like a smaller and less scary place when you find a home in a team.

The community I've carved out inside it. It's pretty small, especially compared to most other people's engagement with the football fandom. But I've found myself a nice circle of amazing people who I have MANY things in common with, even outside of football. And a place to discuss football and ENGAGE with football in a way that a sexist, homophobic white male doesn't gatekeep. It's a place where I can be an unabashedly queer woman who also follows football and not be questioned or hated for those things. I'm extremely active in football culture outside of the football fandom, but within the online fandom I've made some of the best friends I have in the world. And it's a place where (most of the time) I feel safe to be me and can invest my emotions in a healthy way that isn't met with anger just because of who I fundamentally am.

What do you dislike about the football fandom?

A lot of people just wrote ‘drama’, but the ones who got more specific mentioned that they were tired of users attacking each other over the clubs they support. A few people also mentioned, racism, homophobia, xenophobia and misogyny (especially towards the wives and girlfriends of players) as things that were the worst thing about fandom, as well as fandom continuing to support people who’ve expressed those sentiments, as in both tumblr users and players.

A few people also mentioned being bothered by sexually explicit posts from underage users. And someone also mentioned feeling bothered that slash shippers refused to listen to gay men about gay relationships and as a result frequently engaged in fetishization and stereotyping of gay characters.

Someone mentioned that they were bothered by people derailing actual conversations led by marginalized voices by making it about team rivalries, and using problematic behavior from some of the players to justify why a team is better or, ‘less problematic’ than the other, while refusing to acknowledge the problematic behavior of their own team and players.

But several people also mentioned that it was a case of choosing the right people to follow and carefully curating the content on their dash, and that if everyone just ignored the petty rivalry posts (like they do discussions on homophobia or racism or abuse) then a lot of the ‘drama’ would die out quickly.

A few people reported bad experiences, where they were called slurs by anonymous users and bullied very heavily.

Someone also said that they were considering leaving the fandom or at least stopping writing for it, because the lack of feedback had them feeling so discouraged.

Despite this, most people said that they have not considered leaving the fandom.

To end things in a positive note, we’d like to post a message that someone left us in the suggestion section:

I guess the biggest thing I want to change in fandom is the whole fandom accepting a wider part of the rest of the fandom -- i.e., the fandom not shaming within the fandom for participating in fandom activities that aren't harmful. Like fics. I wish the fandom as a whole was able to be accepting of a wider variety of person. Ideally everyone. And I wish that was also reflected in our fanworks. But as someone who's been around the fandom for decades, literally, I really am proud of how much this fandom (and the world's reaction to us) has changed over time. We have a much healthier community than before, and we are far less afraid of having a community at all than we used to be. We have expanded past small shy beginnings to really take root and have a proper vibrant group, and that's something I'm so happy to have witnessed. As much as I complain about the problems we have (because we have a lot of them), even those are far less-bad than they used to be, and I have a lot of hope that our fandom will keep progressing past the problems we currently have. And I think that extends to fics and their content and engagement both.

Join us tomorrow, for the last section of our report, the Solutions section, where we propose our solutions to some of the issues highlighted during this survey. As ever, feel free to reblog this with your thoughts or contact us through the askbox.