thedansemacabres
thedansemacabres
FROM THE SUN AND SEA
688 posts
"death's end has found you first, and you have not escaped" - Iliad he/him ☀ witch/necromancer ☀ slavic/mexican Etruscan polytheist, Dionysus devotee, Alfar worshipper, witch of Helios + medieval inspired witchery, reconnecting to Cornwall, and wine hereticFree Palestine 🇵🇸
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
thedansemacabres · 1 month ago
Note
I think the pillars also fall short when it comes to denoting morality derived from the divine, especially since I take value in the sense that “divine law” (Themis) and “justice” (Dike) are two different deities and concepts. To honour the virtue of the divine, I think it could ultimately refer back to who you are worshipping.
A follower of Demeter is more likely to hold some elements of natural ethics, particularly in preserving the world and sustainable agriculture. A follower of Dionysos will be drawn to freedom, and there’s a thousand ways you can follow Apollon.
To be in the virtue of the gods, follow your deities’ ideals and wills. They can conflict at times with other gods, but generally fighting for equity, justice, and Ge are good foundations.
I will also point out that Arete is a goddess herself.
If the pillars are fake, how are we supposed to honor the like, virtue (?? Right word idk) of the theoi in our daily life? Especially with some of Zeus’s epithets /genq im a beginner lol
Khaire! Honestly, your question confuses me a bit, I'm sorry. 💀
Is your worship based entirely on the Pillars? Do you know how to worship in general, or is the concept new to you? I'm asking because it seems you may be a little confused or as if this revelation is really intense for your personal worship; I also mean these as genuine questions. Hellenic Polytheism never had a specific, like..."set of rules" to follow, in regards to specific Pillars. It just wasn't a thing. The closest things you could probably compare the Pillars to are the Delphi Maxims, but those have some things in them that would require lots of thought to determine how to apply them to the modern day. I also don't see people talking about the Maxims often online, interestingly, so I'm not sure if many people make an active effort to apply them in their practices.
Since you're a beginner, I would actually highly encourage you to read Greek Religion by Walter Burkert; it talks a lot about ancient Greek religious practices and may give you some ideas on how to incorporate worship into the modern day. Maybe it would clarify some things for you? It's a book that isn't heavy on super academic language either, so it's easier to understand than some other academic texts.
21 notes · View notes
thedansemacabres · 1 month ago
Text
it’s been harder to keep up with a blog, admittedly, but I may be able to secure a better position soon—one that would be rather exceptional. While that means possibly returning to my lack of online days, it’s going to be beautiful to honour dionysos in such a way. And things on my classic car began to work again somehow < 3
working at a winery is tiring but so worth it. Praise to Dionysos
6 notes · View notes
thedansemacabres · 1 month ago
Text
working at a winery is tiring but so worth it. Praise to Dionysos
6 notes · View notes
thedansemacabres · 1 month ago
Text
As I’ve begun to mature, I do think that a singular “god of magic” does not work fundamentally—I’ve known Hekate, who I find best with Helios, then I find myself deeper into the likes of Hermes or even Apollon in magic. I see magic in the natural world, thus, any god can be associated with magic—and go forth to aid the practitioner. If magic is a gift, then perhaps it is kharis.
24 notes · View notes
thedansemacabres · 2 months ago
Text
Tumblr media
137K notes · View notes
thedansemacabres · 2 months ago
Text
before anyone says, I am definitely pro-curse.
I've been thinking a lot on curses, and particularly their connection to punitive justice. I saw someone bragging on tumblr how one of their curses made someone homeless. and I cannot see for the life of me how that is justified in any sense or manner; considering how awful our capitalistic society is to the homeless. Even if this is a dangerous person who we think "Deserves it", this puts this person now in proximity to other homeless people, who are extremely vulnerable as a population. This person is now going to suffer cold, hunger, heat, and gain irrepairable trauma. And what did this person say? "My curses work damn well!" Gloated over it. Nobody deserves to be homeless, and I'm not going to do anything intentional to promote the evils of our capitalistic society.
as witches, sorcerers, and devotees, we should be interrogating how we use our magic. I've come to believe to restrain it: if I'm cursing because someone is transphobic, I want them to feel guilt and become a better person. Not just pain for the sake of making myself feel better, no, I want this world to be a better place. Don't play cop with curses. This limit prevents me from doing more harm than deserved. Because if it was my magic that made someone homeless, I'd say I was actually the evil person in that case.
Violence is sometimes necessary, but we must be wise in violence.
20 notes · View notes
thedansemacabres · 2 months ago
Text
I’ve been in intense pain lately, to the point getting up to use the bathroom often results in me on the floor sobbing and writhing curled with my face on the ground.
Last night my partner walked in and said “I imagine you’re not down there cause you’re praying” I was still sobbing and had to take a minute to respond fully but I eventually said,
“No, but I do pray while I’m down here. There’s nothing else to do”
In those moments my pain makes my vision turn black and my palms are bleeding from digging my nails into them, I call out to the Gods through shuddering breaths. Even if I have nothing else, I am still whispering prayers to the Gods. And as long as I am alive, the Gods will be there. And after I die, the Gods will be there.
Their glory will always remain. Praise be.
26 notes · View notes
thedansemacabres · 2 months ago
Text
Sometimes I find that a magical object will come to you, just as I had thrifted my crystal orb—the basin of it which was carved to look like lions, reminding me of Circe. Thus I find using lavender oil upon it allowed me to scry visions and answers of the beyond.
11 notes · View notes
thedansemacabres · 2 months ago
Photo
Tumblr media
Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale, Chance
Private collection
2K notes · View notes
thedansemacabres · 2 months ago
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
© Nona Limmen {Instagram / Website}
460 notes · View notes
thedansemacabres · 2 months ago
Text
not sorry abt the blood its for my goddess
2 notes · View notes
thedansemacabres · 2 months ago
Text
ARES CHTHONIOS, DEFENDER OF LAND
Tumblr media
[IMG ID: A photograph of a dark, smoky landscape that turns the sun a brightly-dim red hue. The background is obscured by the ash, with tall trees in the distance. In the foreground is a single house, the blue hidden by the dark ash, with tall oak trees to the right accompanied by a visible large SUV. The scene is dark and dreary].
I HAVE HAD A HARVEST OF GOOD CONVERSATIONS AROUND THE TOPIC OF DIVINE ARES, especially as of late, and I have begun to find a deeper appreciation for the theos. Beyond what many hellenic pagans have said, of him using rage for justice and an aspect of revolution, in my personal research I found another related Ares: the Ares of Ge, the land defender, close to the Erinys and fertility goddesses, and who casts his dice based upon holy Dike’s will. Ares was a popular deity in antiquity, worshipped across the ancient world, especially in Asia Minor with his likely syncretism with a local deity and Iliac connections. I will begin to follow a journey with Ares to understand him as more than war and slaughter, similar to my endlessly loving dea Bellona, and thus I have found Ares Chthonios.
This will be a general survey of his historical cult and my understanding of it based upon my own actions in activism, land sovereignty, and also my understandings from the devotion to the war, retribution, and revolution goddess Bellona. I will interlude my personal interpretations, but I hope these are clear, and I urge those interested to see my bibliography to understand more about Ares in a less frenzied context. 
ARES, DEFENDER OF LAND 
A strong function of war in antiquity was the defence of land. War often meant the burning of crops and homes, the raping of women, slaughter of children, destruction of hearths, and sometimes even the destruction of sacred groves of the gods. Sanctuaries could also be raided and plundered, such as the case in Rome, and their goods appropriated for other deities and personal use. Another aspect of war was civil control, as states did not desire rebellion. For this we begin to see the binding of gods, Ares, but also Dionysos. The ancient world did not have the food security that we do—and imagining life without more readily stable food, defending land becomes not only a necessity, but an ethical move. Siege spells death through Limos. Without land, you cannot access the hearth of Hestia, nor is there security from enslavement by other poli in antiquity. 
Ares’ less war-bound primary functions lie in this defence of land. He was widely worshipped, with some facets of this worship were for the purpose of defending the homeland. 
He is described as a personification of the yeoman-hoplite, who was also likely a farmer that arose to defend his homeland and farm in times of war. Cultic evidence suggests that he was also often paired with fertility goddesses, such as Despoina, Chthonia, the Anatolian Mother Kybele, and of course Aphrodite. He lacks the direct agricultural association of Mars, but he possesses the inherent relation to the chora: thus placed in the city’s sacred groves.
Us modern people concerned with justice tend towards movements such as land back and decolonialism. Xenia does not permit us to be bad to foreigners and xenophobia is a pillar of modern bigotry. Ares’ power may be used to brandish the spear in the defence of land—especially in these ages of growing oligarchies and fascism, the defense of land and home becomes ever more important. His passion and rage lend well to an activist from giving up, giving us strength to continue on. Instead of empowering doom, we may pray for Ares’ courage in the fights present and cultural wars to come just as the homeric hymnal asks for his courage and manliness to investigate the worshipper. 
ARES, OF THE GROVE 
Worship of Ares is also often found in sacred groves. As a defender of chora, it is internal sense to place him within nature. His shrines were also found in the countryside in the network of interpolis social and spatial focal politics. His association with the Earth is enough to call him one of the theoi chthonoi and more for than just bloodshed. As Cults and Sanctuaries of Ares and Enualios summarises: 
Ares, it would seem, was believed to stand guard over the agricultural land of the polls and served the divine patron of its human protectors as well. When enemies threatened, it was Ares who guided the warriors of the polls in their attempt to pay back their enemy. Thus the mythology of Ares, in which he is almost always opposes the aggressor and is often roused to action by an attack against his children,reflects the essentially parochial and reactive nature of a god intent on the defense of the land under his protection (Gonzales, pg 61). 
As a defender of land, he is keen to strike against those that threaten his children: he attempts to avenge Askalaphos in the Iliad, he fights Herakles for the body of his son Kyknos, he avenges the death of the Drakon Ismenios by transforming Kadmos and Harmonia, and he avenges the rape of his daughter Alkippe. Ares is a god of protection in his own right.
Another remark is that Ares is connected to drakons, symbols of the protection alongside chthonic earth, and groves as a whole. He fathers a drakon and snakes are commonly associated with him, his sacred grove that contains the fleece also contained a drakon. Another remark from the book on his binding to the land states; 
The oracle from Pamphylian Syedra, once again, most clearly articulates the associations between, Ares, Dike, and the well being of the polis and its chora. Physically bound to the city and its land, the power of Ares would function both as an avenging protector and guarantor of prosperity: “thus will he become a peaceful god for you, once he has driven the enemy horde far from your land, and he will give rise to prosperity much prayed for..” (Gonzales, 62.) 
This oracle will be revisited later, but there is a clear line of Ares and protection of the land. 
ARES, OF THE PEOPLE
Defending land is equally the defence of people. Undoubtedly there were ancient Greek warriors that would fight to return home, such as Odysseus, and countless unnamed people. Particularly in the context of Iliac Ares, arete is positioned in war as related to material goods and the sadness women and people express at warriors dying relates to their failure as a warrior; their failure becoming agathos. An agathos brings dishonor and shame as he is not able to defend his home, often leaving women and children in distress (Mary, 4). In Iliac poetry, when a warrior lives, he is then chosen by Ares to uphold his Arete. When it comes to Iliac Ares, it makes me wonder about the portrayal of Ares in relation to this—Ares’ humiliation in the Iliad could be related to this idea of failing Arete. 
In this context of ancient society, Ares is enjoyed by common people who take an active role in the pursuits of war. He was invoked by the state for purposes of defending it, much as Apollon was used for colonialism and in war. Ares as the causal force of war, the dangerous slayer, also rallies people to join in union for the fight, 
Plutarch quotes Archilochus, a poet from Paros, also active in the seventh century, as describing the beginning of the close combat within a battle as Ares bringing together the press of battle on the plain. This idea also appears in a mid-fifth century inscription from Samos, in which Ares is described as having brought together the ships of the Greeks and the Medes in battle. Alcaeus’ Ares is the cause of war, and Archilochus’ Ares brings armies together in the conflict which, as other poets tell us, is Ares’ domain (Millington, 113). 
Another small note from Pindar is him positioning Zeus, god of the polis and the people, as an ally to Ares. The Iliad employs an adversarial relationship between them, but Zeus is also a noted war god—elsewhere it is remarked that Apollon’s lyre tames the spear of Ares and the thunderbolt of Zeus. War and the Warrior: Functions of Ares in Literature and Cult describes the friendlier relationship of Zeus and Ares as, 
In his first Pythian Ode, Pindar describes Ares and Zeus as an allied pair,contrasted with Typhon and the forces of chaos, implying that Ares is integrated into, rather than an enemy of the city and civilization (Millington, 128). 
Thus Ares may be compositied with the other theoi as a defender of people. And looking at his name in epithets of other gods—Athena Areia, Aphrodite Areia, Zeus Areios—he is not constantly of strife, but rather comes into unity with the other gods. His association with the Erinyes only puts this as more explicit, as he avenges the blood oath—giving power to the appropriate parties in the Oresteia to avenge the blood-curse. Just as he is mentioned with Dike, the Homeric hymn pairs him as an “aid to Themis” and “ally of mortals” (Rayor, 99).
ARES BEYOND STATELY VALUES
I do critique any reconstructionist that is going to say “chain Ares”, which while in the modern period refers to limiting or constructing, in the ancient world it was to chain Ares’ power to your homeland in particular. It was to ensure his power, by Hermes, would be favoured and stay on your side. Ares’ worship may be further stood in antiquity through this—the Homeric hymn asks to “quell the rebellious”, which for a state would be a primary function of Ares as he could bring civil strife. From a critical perspective, Ares’ worship in this capacity I believe traces back to a rebellious nature—this is a god that can easily bring civil war and revolution, thus he is worshipped to appease this nature and thus secure stability. Then, equally, as a god that brings bloodlust and rage, he also brings peace and the restraint of bloody desires. A function of worship for many in the ancient world is aversion. The same hymnal remarks on Ares to bring courage, not fear, and to tame bloody desires. 
Considering the need to chain and appease Ares, this to my personal understanding shows a deity deeply concerned with the state in a negative manner to said state. He is a vengeance deity, associated with blood-curses, found in actions such us Klytiemennstra’s revenge. Taking a note from my own dea, my understanding of Ares is that he operates as a vengeance god who contests the state on the basis of state injustice. The gods are far more progressive than ancient Greek society was—considering slavery, misogyny, and strife, I find it of no surprise a god of defending land and vengeance would be such a contrarian force. 
I also think of Harmonia, his daughter. A god who was entirely hate and terror would not father the personification of musical and societal harmony. Many of Ares’ children function in harmonic rather than wholly negative roles—even if Eros is sweet and bitter. 
BELLONA, ARES, AND REVOLUTION
Bellona is the roman warrior and hero of excellence, she holds virtue, victory, and retribution in her hands. Rome before the empire understood war as an act of revenge—Rome tried to create and self-justify expansion as a revenge and divine retribution. She essentially acts as a fury. But this retribution and balancing of the scales could turn inwards, and thus, Rome was in tension with her to stay of moral righteousness, lest she bring down her whip upon the city and strike up civil war. Her methods are bloody and furious, deeply caring about wrongs committed, and very rewarding to the righteous and good that follow. 
I see my dea as a goddess of justice, as retribution for wrong that is done is often a key component of justice. Compared to Justicia, who was used for imperial propaganda, Bellona became sidelined in the times of the empire but her popularity did not wane. In this I see a homoplasy between these two gods: Ares’ masculinity would naturally contribute to his more stately portrayal than Bellona, but he is in enough tension with the polis to require a binding by Dike and Hermes from anxious polis religions. And as he is guided by Dike, justice herself, he must often have very good reason to be a volatile causal force. 
Less on my interpretative notes, this quote gives an idea to modernised Ares worship:
Pamphylians of Syedra, who inhabit a rich land of mixed men in shared fields, plant a statue of bloody, man-slaying Ares in the middle of the city and beside (him) perform sacrifices as you bind him with the iron bonds of Hermes, and on the other side let Justice administer the law and judge him; let him resemble a suppliant. Thus will he become a peaceful deity for you, once he has driven the enemy horde far from your country, and he will give rise to prosperity much prayed for. And you, at the same time, take great pain, either chasing them or placing them in unbreakable bonds, and do not, out of fear of the pirates, pay their terrible penalty. For thus will you escape from all degradation (Gonzales, 2010, 280).
Ares here is directly connected to prosperity and defense of people. And most of all, he can be peaceful. One of Ares’ essential traits is his endless bloodlust and rage, which when guided by justice, gives rise to holy revolution and the passionate urge to do good. He as the gods of these things also gives my senses a modern interpretation of a passage in the homeric hymnal: 
Mighty Ares, gold-helmed chariot master, shield-bearer, bronze-armored city guard, strong-willed,  strong-armed, untiring spear strength, defense of Olympos, father of Victory in war, aid to Themis, tyrant to enemies, leader of righteous men, wielding manhood’s scepter, your red orb whirling  among the seven paths of the planets through the ether where your fiery stallions bear you above the third orbit (Rayor, 99).
While quelling rebellion, it is stated that he also leads the righteous. For a personal interpretation, I can easily see it as such: rebellious men are quelled, but righteous men are led, and oftentimes the revolutionary is a person aspiring for right societal change—the feminist argues against the coil and chains of sexism, the indigenous revolutionary against colonialism, and many such examples. I would never shame the rightful anger of a revolutionary. And this is another aspect of Ares I see: his anger and bloodlust may be channelled for the purpose of societal equity-health and stability. Tyrants in ancient Greece were not initially viewed poorly, but after the ancient Greco-Persian war, tyrants became viewed as an enemy of people and democracy. Ares’ hymn thus describes a stance against tyranny, requiring no imagination for the modern day. 
ENDING NOTES
This post is both a survey and a modern look at the evidence. I urge everyone interested to read Cults and Sanctuaries of Ares and Enyalios: A Survey of the Literary, Epigraphic, and Archaeological Evidence to gain a better understanding of him and to develop the historical literacy on Ares. And for Ares’ darker associations, there are plenty of other texts expressing the rightful  pessimism on war. As a fragment of Archilochus says, Ares is “common” to all people, and war affects us all. But this side of Ares does not have to be the one that people still know him for—he is like my dea in this, still bloodshed and slaughter, but he is also a defender and protector. Just as Dionysos drives people mad and Apollon kills through plague, Ares embodies the dualities and complexities of the conflict. I find it depressing that Ares has not been uncoupled or understood in his darker aspects compared to Athena or Apollon. Several are quick to pick away Athena’s war aspects as a vintage value, even her historical misogyny, but not Ares. This I find to be a shame. 
If you liked this post, please consider checking out this post on my wordpress!
References 
Gonzales, M. P. (2004). Cults and sanctuaries of Ares and Enyalios: A Survey of the Literary, Epigraphic, and Archaeological Evidence.
Gonzales, M. (2010). The oracle and cult of ares in Asia minor. DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals). https://doaj.org/article/e9173c9623d24726bc11a08093a1df74
Lewis, & Sian. (2025, March 10). Tyranny | Meaning & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/tyranny/Greek-tyrants
Meghan Poplacean, D. (2017). The Business of Butchery Bellona and War, Society and Religion from Republic to Empire. The Department of History and Classical Studies  McGill University, Montréal. https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/theses/b8515q959
Millington, A. (2014). War and the Warrior: Functions of Ares in Literature and Cult. In Doctoral thesis, UCL (University College London). https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1427880/
Scott, M. (1979). PITY AND PATHOS IN HOMER. Acta Classica, 22, 1–14. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24591563
Serrati, J. (2022). Gender and the Ritual Lament: Women as the Arbiters of Aretē and Virtus, 2022. Ageless Aretē: Essays From the 6th Interdisciplinary Symposium on the Hellenic Heritage of Sicily and Southern Italy.
97 notes · View notes
thedansemacabres · 2 months ago
Note
So, I think and I mean think I have some insights into upg—I follow the neodea Regicidia, I am an active Etruscan pagan, and I grew up with stories of Morena and Slavic gods, with a lot of personal interjection from my grandparents ideas. I think paganism should think deeply on upg as a whole, because it is what will propel our faith into the future.
BIAS IN UPG
classically, I’ve met the whole prophetic “you interpret it this way but it was actually more about this and thus you fulfilled the prophecy” on a far less extreme with the gods. I understood a message or idea one way, only to find a small moment when my understanding was a different interpretation of the same idea. Or a further example: Helios as the father of witches literally, but also the gnosis of mine that his light gives magic, thus, the world is constantly being brewed with magical potency. Our personal biases and experience will influence our upg, and that’s why critical examination is always healthy. Or on a less personalised note, someone that “doesn’t like Zeus” asking Hera if she hates him will be more likely to interpret a statement as a “yes” than a maybe or a no; or some secret third thing (the more accurate answer for readers of Hera of Zeus). This is where divinatory answers can fail, and why for example in Regicidia, we had a group of people seek answers and some others do it on the side and then a fun surprise when we all got the same answers.
BIGOTRY AND UPG
I saw a fellow queer person try to argue against Dionysos being interpreted as genderfluid because they personally had issues with queer men. Another is explicitly believing that Aphrodite should be pale because that is more “pure” or “beautiful”, or people uncritically addressing Artemis in indigenous mystical schema due to racist ideas on the noble savage. UPG is not immune to bigotry; in fact it can be used for the evils of oppression. Historical gnosis shows us this plainly. And our modern interpretations can fight bigotry. I once saw someone claim that Bellona supported their military fascist idea for the USA which is laughable for anyone who actually knows her in history and her creed. Historia is a protector in this.
UPG WITHOUT CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION
So, I do think there is a large different between upg that is consistent with its source and others that is not. I have seen neo-wicca make claims about goddesses that are not logically consistent with them--Hekate as a crone is a prime one, which is not true to her historical idea and function. Now, this would different from a researched hellenic pagan claiming she was older, as it would be acknowledged that Hekate is a maiden traditionally.
UPG that is consistent with historical background is going to make more sense, be far easier to interpret, and often feels more legitimate than upg from the likes of a neowicca blog. And in the case UPG actively contradicts history, the person can acknowledge how but more importantly why it is.
My personal example is a title for my experiences with the darker sides of Apollon, Dark Moon Apollon. It is upg to view him as a lunar lord, but history has some pointings to it: he is associated with noumenia, he wields the silver bow, and he is a lord of light, therefore Selene's light may be applicable to his realm. Dark Moon then also is connected to his plague and terror aspects, as the night is dark and full of terrors, but the light shines through. He is very intense and there is internal logic that justifies this upg within context. And I've investigated why I experience this, which follows a similar trend of my habits in worship gravitating to several intense and complicated deities (Dionysos, Bellona, and Ker).
SO, UPG HUH?
My general rule for everything is introspection. How did I get this gnosis and why? Fundamentally, I wonder if some misinformation comes from the fact that some do not recognise the meaning of "gnosis", that is spiritual knowledge. Intel can be wrong and some knowledge is harmful, and other times knowledge needs more knowledge to recognise it. I think of the ways phrenology used to be just taken as scientific fact, when now we know that is quack.
And equally we should always be aspiring polyhistors in some fashion; constantly learning. Our UPGs may be more historical than we may believe.
In science I would liken upg to the classic accuracy vers precision concept, upg can be accurate, but not precise, and vice versa. Through understanding, context, evaluation, and most of all, divine autonomy, our gnosis will be precise and accurate to us. Especially in this age of fascism. Ultimately UPG is what is going to guide our faiths forward and we must be certain in its powers for good.
i see people talk about UPG a lot but don’t know what it is or why it’s bad. could you explain it a little if you know?
okay so UPG stands for Unvarified Personal Gnosis, which basically means religious beliefs and ideas that are not backed up by historical evidence or scholarly research and are instead subjective beliefs founded in personal experience that have no way of being varified.
it’s important to note that this isn’t always a bad thing. for your own personal practice UPG can and likely will be present and even important as it’s your experience which will guide how you want to practice religion in your life. this can be seen via things like answered you have received via divination, personally feeling like something you did worked better than other things and wanting to do that more etc.
that said because it is unverified, UPG should exist only within casual conversation with friends and your own daily practice. it should not be presented as fact or used in academic or informative settings and that is because of its subjective nature.
like if you are writing a book on historical religious practices or writing something for an academic puplication, you can’t just share your own personal feelings and experiences because they aren’t historical. when looking at an academic and informative conversation the things you are claiming should be evidenced based via things like ancient texts and archaeological evidence or well researched and widely understood by theologians and historians in the feild. you should be evidenceing what you are claiming with historical research if the purpose of what you have written is to teach or discuss historical practices or aimed at understanding historical worship.
another area that i know my friend @thedansemacabres has expressed to me can be a flaw of UPG is that your personal opinions on the world at large will cloud what you believe to be true. so if a person holds bigoted beliefs their UPG will be influenced by those bigoted beliefs also. this can lead to a rise in white supremacist talking points being spread in religious spaces. which we see a lot in wicca where cultural practices especially closed practices from ethnic minority groups either get demonised or appropriated.
next when UPG is presented as hard fact and not clearly marked as being UPG it can, and often does, lead to a substantial amount of misinformation being spread which is an issue of its own.
long story short, UPD is not inherently a bad thing but it is bad when it furthers the spread of misinformation, when being presented as truth and fact, when used in academic work or is being used to prop up bigotry and cultural appropriation.
if you are clearly stating that something is your UPG and it’s clear you are not claiming that your personal belief is some ultimate truth or instruction guide that should be followed and believed in then don’t worry it isn’t some terrible evil that needs defeating lol. just be clear that it is UPG and be mindful of where and how you develop your beliefs and what might be guiding your opinion and your fine.
but all of that said this is only a very basic explanation as while i know what it is and how to look out for it in books and articles i am also not the most experienced person to talk about all the finer details and nuances of the topic. but i know a few of my friends i talked to while writing this said they would likely reblog adding in some of their opinions on the topic so keep an eye on the reblog of this post for more indepeth discussions!
24 notes · View notes
thedansemacabres · 2 months ago
Text
Tiur, bright moon, how you shine on the gathering. How you have blessed me with joy! Thank you, Lord Tiur.
5 notes · View notes
thedansemacabres · 2 months ago
Text
I'm going to drop my drives soon for all. please, if any of you need a particular topic, let me know. I have university access.
3 notes · View notes
thedansemacabres · 2 months ago
Text
it is always good to analyse who we are drawn to in paganism. for me, it's the fact that despite the fact I did temporarily die, I'm not as much as a Chthonian follower as one would expect. I find Hekate's roads in this, I tend to go a bit of everywhere in helpol's realms.
4 notes · View notes
thedansemacabres · 2 months ago
Text
Tumblr media
Kaveh Akbar, from "Calling a Wolf a Wolf (Inpatient)", Calling a Wolf a Wolf
5K notes · View notes