ts-witchy-archive

[ts-witchy-archive]

Low-Energy Ways to Work with Nature and her Spirits:

Look outside. That's it - just open the curtains and see the sunlight, find the trees outside your window and watch the birds.

Put on a documentary or youtube video about a cool animal, ecology, the natural world etc

Talk to nature - whisper, talk out loud, say it in your head - just talk. Compliment pretty flowers, chat about how creepy but cool you think spiders are, picture light dancing off morning dew.

Trace the shapes of leaves/flowers/animals etc on your bed sheets or skin - try to see how many different shapes make up the natural world, find the patterns and fractals within them

Learn the name of one new local plant a week! Just one a week! If you have the energy, research a little about their ecology, history or medicinal uses

Make a flower crown/daisy chain/leaf crown

Take up nature photography - you don't need a fancy camera, jsut your phone!

Collect some shells/rocks/bones etc!

Just sit outside! can be just outside your front door, next to an open window, or in the woods (whatever you can manage)

Take your daily activities outside!! Read in the garden, eat your breakfast under the sun etc

Create art from nature - paint rocks, press flowers, create patterns using feathers or leaves as paintbrushes/stamps

Cloud watching!

More High Energy Activities:

Go for a walk or hike outside and take some offerings. Introduce yourself to the trees and plants and streams and leave them a gift.

If there's one nearby, visit a local farmer's market and buy some local produce; honey, meat, vegetables, fruit, etc! Chat to the sellers and talk about their practices and produce

Do a small spell outside! Find a secluded, comfortable spot and invite the spirits to observe your spellwork - let them get used to your energy and way of working

Make a small diary of your time outside! Don't worry about filling it in regularly, just whenever you have the energy! Write down when the bees start coming out or leaves return after winter. What plants stay during the cold season?

Research local plants and come up with your own correspondences based on their ecology/medicinal use/folklore etc

Go on a walk to see what plants and animals exist in your area! Research them - are they native? Invasive? What is their ecology? Medicinal uses? Even the most urban areas tend to have some wildlife!

Join a local facebook group for birdwatching!

Research your area and figure out what plants or animals would be native, or used to live there - create artwork or something to honour and remember them

Research gardening groups nearby - some cities will have volunteer gardening projects or local groups that help maintain natural spaces! See if any would be feasible for you to join and get out there

Join a local allotment or community garden if you have the means - do some weeding, plant some tomatoes, say hello to the coal tits nesting in the old shed!

If you have the means - invest in a hardy houseplant! Name it, research its care and talk to it! Make a ritual out of watering and talking to it.

Take an online ecology course! Free courses exist and can be super interesting!

Watch youtube videos on a favourite taxa and make notes - build your own knowledge at a pace you're comfortable with on the things you're interested in!

Invite some nature spirits in for a meal - cook something you enjoy and set the table (if you can) for the spirits. Enjoy a meal with them.

Please add any suggestions you have below and I can add them! Everyone has unique energy levels and capabilities, but I hope that I've given people a quick idea of things they can do, if they want!

[ts-witchy-archive]

And that’s why Apollo is both the god of medicine and the leader of the Muses. Because Art has the power to heal.

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If you’re an adult, also take some time off of your phone today! Disconnect and reconnect to the world around you. Even if it’s just for 5 minuets, that 5 minuets is valuable and worth the time. The world around you is beautiful and if you’re always looking at a screen you might miss that

If you're a kid, please take some time to disconnect from your phone today (and every day). Phones aren't necessarily The Enemy™, but I think you'll notice a positive difference in your mental health and overall well-being if you take time each day to read a book, go outside, play with any pets you have, etc. It might sound kinda silly, but I promise you that these things are helpful. Frankly, I wish I knew this as a kid, specifically as a teen. Be safe out there, and take care of yourselves. 🧡

[ts-witchy-archive]

my favourite thing about history (and the reason why social history matters to me above anything else) is the reminder that there's no emotion i've felt, no grief or trauma, no joy or laughter, that hasn't been experienced by other people across time and space, and the idea of slipping into another life so different on the surface and yet so fundamentally similar to my own, and understanding them as a life like my own, with inner worlds that can't be easily articulated, with loved ones and favourite foods and days they woke up having slept wrong and the acute experiences of standing in a quiet room and watching the light catch on dust floating in the air, of the smell outside after it rains heavily, of mornings after having dreamt something feverish and strange, or the knowledge of an impending loss and trying to prepare for it emotionally. peeling fruit and giving a piece to a friend. being awake at an hour that feels like you're the only person alive in the world. that feeling when you know you need to eat and that you're hungry but you just don't find it appealing at all and it kind of makes you feel nauseous. i like imagining people in all different places and times experiencing those things, it makes me feel less alone and afraid of myself and my experience feels less daunting if that makes sense. others have lived with experiences like this too, and do, and will.

[ts-witchy-archive]

Xenia means Fuck ICE.

[ts-witchy-archive]

Additionally, why not just be adults? Most of us on this platform and in this community are adults so why don't we all act like it? scrolling away is not difficult. Just let other people practice in peace. discussion is healthy, bashing, insulting and being rude isn't helpful to anyone. No one will take your opinion into consideration if you're being intentionally inflammatory.

Be a better villager. Help your community grow and prosper. Don't set fire to it. Nurture it.

Hm, wow, ok. There's a lot of tension in the community right now, and I feel the need to make a post because it's gotten way out of control.

Sometimes we have opinions that differ from each other. As a community with hundreds of people in it, that's entirely normal and ok. We're just not always going to agree, and when we come across posts that we don't agree with, the best thing to do sometimes is just keep scrolling. It probably wasn't meant for us. Moreso if it angers us to such a degree that we feel the need to insult the original poster, whom we know nothing about offline. Instead, why not just block the original poster? You can choose to simply ignore that person's content and carry on with your own individual worship, as is.

Sending mean asks or threats to someone is a form of online harassment. If you're doing that, you're harassing someone. Doesn't matter how strongly you disagree, you are still harassing that person. There are unpopular opinions circulating around, and I know that some people have been feeling invalidated by these opinions, but at the end of the day, guys, they truly are just opinions, and you don't have to agree with them. You're entitled to your own opinions, just as much as the people that you disagree with are, and vice versa. Attacking someone for having very different opinions on worship than you is not ok, just as you wouldn't want someone to do that shit to you either. Please please please please please, STOP and REFLECT on why you even feel the need to do that. What does your anon hate achieve, when it comes down to it? Are you contributing anything - literally anything - positive in the slightest? Is it constructive? Can the person even actually learn from anything you're saying, or are you simply insulting and demeaning them because you feel that you've been personally attacked? Pause for a moment, and breathe. Log off for a bit. Do whatever else you need to do, but do NOT sit there and harass others over a difference of opinion. Just let them be, and continue practicing however you see fit for yourself. The end. It's over. All done.

We are a community, people (one that operates on Xenia, no less). Let's stop grabbing at each other's throats, and start acting like it.

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This is actually so wild to me. I understand having misconceptions about a deity BUT if you’re in the religion of said deity it’s your job to educate yourself and be respectful. It’s not that hard. Just as you wouldn’t shit talk your friends family in front of them don’t shit talk their deity or religion. Where has basic respect gone? Where has basic decency gone? Not being a dick isn’t a new concept

why do pagans talk shit about other deities TO THEIR WORSHIPPERS? it’s never made sense! the only hellenic polytheist i know in person HATES Apollon, to the point that every time they see my iphone background (a picture of Him) they make a DISGUSTED face.

objectively, isn’t that awful to do about anything your friend loves? especially their RELIGION??? they call Him an “arrogant asshole” and it’s like… i literally worship Him. what am i supposed to say to that. literally how am i supposed to react. all it does is make me extremely uncomfortable!

has anyone else had any similar happenings??

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before you ask "are the gods mad at me?" THINK:

have you...

1. killed or maimed someone

2. killed or maimed an animal for purposes other than consuming/processing it

3. knowingly and purposefully hurled vile obscenities or insults at any god or gods

4. made it a life goal to be a terrible person

5. been a terf

IF YOU SAID NO TO ALL OF THESE QUESTIONS then girl you're fine go have a dr. pepper

[ts-witchy-archive]

I will always defend Apollo’s more ‘undesirable’ aspects (His violence, vengeance, wrath, anger, strictness, grief, etc) because I can’t help but really adore those parts of Him. I love all parts of Him, but His darker self always has me in awe (as if His presence doesn’t do that already). I think about those aspects a lot, and discussing them is one of my favorite hobbies at this point.

[ts-witchy-archive]

The A doesn’t stand for Ally y’all. It stand for Aromantic and Asexual 😭 please can we stop telling people it’s for ally. It literally makes no sense

What do you think about the 'A' in LGBTQIA+ also standing for Ally?

Feel free to elaborate on your answer

[ts-witchy-archive]

Be silly sometimes

I was at my local book store for some new reading material and saw "Metaphysical AF" by Maggie Wilson and it got me thinking. So much I had to buy a copy.

But it got me thinking about how serious people have started taking the craft. I say this as someone who suffered from this in the being myself. Some time cleansing your space is just lighting a incense opening the door a blaring some music that makes you feel strong or shake your ass. Sometimes your glamour is just looking in the mirror and reminding yourself you are beautiful. Sometimes you write down someone's name, ball up the paper and throw it around to get someone to leave you alone.

The universe can be very serious but it can be just as silly as you

[ts-witchy-archive]

How could anyone talk badly about ANY of the gods.

First of all, it’s extremely disrespectful and as many others had already said, the gods are NOT their myths. Myths are called myths for a reason.

Second of all, just look at their devotees and worshippers. There are so many people sharing their stories of how much love they get from certain gods, how helpful and kind they are. Do you think someone ‘evil’ would be capable of this?

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I'm actually excited to get older. Having gray hair looks cool as hell, and I'll get to be one of those cute little old people who offer candy to others and drop random bits of wisdom here and there. And it's a testament to the long life that I've lived - the way that, despite it all, I fought to survive and I WON. "What about the wrinkles?" Uh, yeah, I'm excited for that, too, actually because they'll show how expressively, how freely I lived. They'll show that I wasn't afraid to laugh or cry or crinkle my nose; I lived my life authentically, and that's actually a really beautiful thing.

It's such a shame so many people fear old age when it's a privilege to even reach it.

[ts-witchy-archive]

2024 Rural Dionysia Announcement

Io! The time of the year has come again for the Rural Dionysia!

How to participate

The Rural Dionysia is meant to be a smaller competition than its urban counterpart, as such, we have selected only 3 categories:

Freestyle poetry

Modern hymns

“Complete the fragment”

Freestyle poetry

Your poem can be about any chosen topic (myth, personal experience etc.) in any written format. It doesn't have to be religious in nature.

Modern hymn

An hymn must sing the praises of a deity of your choice. Unlike the "freestyle poetry", your work must be of religious nature to fit in this category.

Complete the Fragment

Each year, we choose a fragment from an Ancient Greek poet to work with. The challenge is that the initial fragment must be included somewhere in your piece in its original order. This means you can fill the gaps however you want, but you can’t switch the order of the words in your piece or remove words from the original fragment.

Here is the fragment selected for this 2024 edition:

Fragment 113 by Alcaeus (trans. David A. Campbell; Loeb 142)

…kiss…(they) began…knowledge…sits…are…mortal

Here is the Greek text for reference. Note that because the word "they" is implied, it will be acceptable to keep or modify this word.

If in doubt for any of these categories, remember that you can check submissions from the previous years to get an idea of how others have done before.

Submitting your piece

Please submit your piece through submissions on this blog. All entries must be tagged for the category they are being submitted to. but you can only choose 1 category per piece and each person may only submit 1 entry per category each year.

Entries must also be tagged for potentially triggering content and squicks. If your entry needs a trigger warning, kindly add them at the end of your submission and we will take care of adding them in. Check the rules below for further information about submissions.

Calendar of the event

Nov. 16: Official announcement and opening of submissions. Dec. 17: Final submission day. Dec. 18: Vote opening. Dec. 25: Vote closing. Dec. 25-26: Announcement of the winners!

No worries though! We will be posting reminders about each step when the time comes.

General rules

Roleplay and fanfic are not acceptable submissions. This is a religious festival, please respect our faith and do not submit an entry if you are roleplaying or writing fanfiction.

Unlike with the City Dionysia, entries do not necessarily have to be about specific deities or Hellenic polytheism except for the “Modern Hymn” category, which has to be dedicated to one or many gods of your choice.

There are no meter restrictions. This is up to the writer.

All stories, myths, and poems must be entered using the submissions button.

All entries must be tagged for the category they are being submitted to. Entries must also be tagged for potentially triggering content and squicks.

An entry may only be submitted to a single category.

Each person may only submit one entry per category each year.

Winners for each category will be decided by popular vote.

Admins of this blog cannot participate, for obvious reasons. As for now, this includes @thegrapeandthefig @verdantlyviolet

Questions about the rules? Check the blog for past answers, your answer might be in there. And if it's not, simply submit an ask. We'll answer in the best delays possible.

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So true lol. I barely heard anything about this literal ban on social media for under 16s until it was in parliament. And this is happening in MY country. I do love that this is what our tax money is going towards /s

I think it’s so funny that when America faced KOSA (and still does) that we did not hear the end of it online, but now that Australia is implementing a complete social media ban for under 16 year olds that will likely require a ID to verify, I’ve seen like 2 posts.

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a not so gentle reminder, zeus haters are not welcome here.

[ts-witchy-archive]

Goddesses 

Hestia “To Shine”

Goddess of Hearth and Home and Sacrificial Flame. The First and the Last. Chief of Goddesses.