whats-a-human

[whats-a-human]

Thank you for your "you're not a failure" post about church... I kinda needed that

I'm glad I could help 🫂

[whats-a-human]

Spiritual Satanist Prayer Book: Infernal Reflections by Venus Satanas

[whats-a-human]

Halloween in Spring moodboard for all of us in the Southern Hemisphere!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

x . x . x

x . x . x

x . x . x

[whats-a-human]

Hi 👋, My name is Mohammad, and I’m reaching out in a moment of desperate need. I’m a father of three young children living in Gaza, and we are caught in the midst of a catastrophic war. Our home is no longer a safe haven, and the future here seems increasingly uncertain. 💔

I’ve launched a fundraising campaign with the goal of raising $60,000 to relocate my family to a safer place where my children can grow up in peace and have a chance at a brighter future.

Unfortunately, my previous fundraising efforts were abruptly halted when my account was terminated without explanation. However, I remain determined to keep fighting for my family’s safety and well-being. 🫶

If you could take a moment to read our story, consider donating, or simply share our campaign with others, it would make an incredible difference. Every act of kindness, no matter how small, brings us one step closer to safety and a new beginning. 🙏

Thank you for your time, compassion, and support. ❤️‍🩹

https://gofund.me/fd1faea2 🔗

Sharing if anyone can help

[whats-a-human]

If Hellenic Polytheism was as widespread and accepted as Christianity we'd definitely have animated kid shows of the Theoi all cutesy looking teaching children moral lessons and such. We were robbed.

[whats-a-human]

I've built contact with the local plant spirits in a much more practical way. It occurred naturally, I didn't go out of my way to do research or anything like that. I don't deny that these tips are important, they really are, but not everything needs to be so thought out like that. :)

I simply spent time in nature observing the little things and cleaning their space.

There was an empty plot right in front of my house. I've cleaned it up once or twice, by just collecting the trash in there. They're extremely appreciative of that. They gave me a dream showing the plot all destroyed under construction for a house, and said that it would be ok when the day comes, they'll always love me. An year later and the plot is currently under construction.

When the men began showing up to start construction, I rescued some flowers and bugs from there and put them in a little forest nearby. One of those flower species is currently growing in my yard, it's tiny, lavender colored and shaped like a fly.

My house's tiny yard is full of life in itself.

And there's another place that's far away from me, that I feel connected to, even dozens and dozens of kilometers away, like I'm right there stepping on their territory. Lots of time spent with them growing up, talking to them and simply crouching to better look at things no one else would care about.

The land spirits aren't always "folkloric" creatures, they can be the grass and ants.

hi lailoken, what would you recommend for a beginner hoping to contact local spirits? I've tried some things but had no results, so i thought I would try asking you :) my apologies if you have been asked this before, i couldn't find anything on your blog!

I may have answered something like this before, but I'm honestly not sure, so I'll do my best to just answer it here. This will look a little different for everyone, but this is what I can say based on my own experiences:

Spend a lot of time in nature.

This is really important. In my experience, it does quite a lot to teach you about local spirits and how one might best approach them. Aside from natural spaces, very old and historically meaningful locales can also be useful to spend time in, though, this is particularly useful when such locals are desolate.

Look into the native mythology and culture of your region.

This can look very different depending on where you are, but I believe it to be vital if you live in a colonized area. While I, in no way, encourage appropriating the beliefs or practices of a colonized area's local indigenous communities, I believe that attempting to make meaningful contact with regional spirits is lacking and disingenuous if it doesn't acknowledge the oldest and most traditional accounts of those spirits.

Learn about the flora and fauna of your region.

This is closely aligned with my first point about spending time in nature, but while that first point has more to do with developing a personal relationship to the land and learning intuitively from it, this point has more to do with actually learning about the biology and synergy of the lifeforms that make up that nature. I partially think this is important for the sake of respecting and understanding the land in a basic, but I also think that a lot of spiritual wisdom can be unintentionally gleaned from a scientific appreciation of nature.

Learn about the history of your region.

This may not always feel like the most thrilling or rewarding aspect of this work, but I think it is also quite important. In the same way that learning about flora and fauna teaches you about the land, learning about the history of a given region can do a lot to inform both your appreciation for a place, as well as highlighting or confirming any personal gnosis you may be sorting through.

Work on dream recall and interpretation.

I believe this to be of major importance for every form of spirit-work. Without a grasp of oneiric work, I think most spirit-work will stagnate, at best, and struggle with getting off the ground to begin with, at worst.

Pray earnestly and often, even if it doesn't necessarily feel like anything is "happening."

This is pretty simple and self-explanatory, but I think it can make a world of difference. Consistent prayer can do a lot to help with building faith, patience, and even intuition.

[whats-a-human]

[whats-a-human]

To the Gods lost to time

We may have no way of knowing your name, but we do know you. We know you existed.

We may have no way of knowing what purpose you served in your pantheon, but we appreciate the work that you did, and the work you continue to do.

You may be older than what we think of as the first civilizations, you may be older than evolution, but thank you for being with our ancestors.

Thank you for holding their hands, teaching them how to hunt, which plants were edible, how to walk, how to develop.

It's because of you that humanity exists in the way we know today.

I'm sorry you've been lost to time.

[whats-a-human]

Are you trapped on tumblr right now?

Is there something you planned to do before you got trapped in the endless tumblr scroll?

Are you yelling at yourself to get up and do the thing, but you can’t, because you’re trapped in the endless tumblr scroll?

Consider this your save point.

Put tumblr down, stand up, stretch, and go do the thing you planned to do. Future you will be incredibly grateful.

[whats-a-human]

That's so lovely and creative! I hope these incoming rough times don't last long. You'll get through, just like your ancestors! Not even winter, famine, illness or war can crush the persevering soul! Good luck and may the gods always bless you!

gang can we please normalize not doing massive things as worship, good for you: you can do massive fesitvals, cook great meals for your gods, devote days and days to them. im sorry i literally cant do that i get tired from simple readings and i barely manage to play music for apollo on a good day how about i take a deep breath for my gods instead, drink a juice for them (because if i put it on my alter TRUST i will forget), find quotes on Pinterest instead of making poetry for my gods because i silently cringe while making them and say the quotes like a prayer. if its humane, you can do it for your gods regardless on extravagance. if they accept you they accept your actions too

[whats-a-human]

gang can we please normalize not doing massive things as worship, good for you: you can do massive fesitvals, cook great meals for your gods, devote days and days to them. im sorry i literally cant do that i get tired from simple readings and i barely manage to play music for apollo on a good day how about i take a deep breath for my gods instead, drink a juice for them (because if i put it on my alter TRUST i will forget), find quotes on Pinterest instead of making poetry for my gods because i silently cringe while making them and say the quotes like a prayer. if its humane, you can do it for your gods regardless on extravagance. if they accept you they accept your actions too

[whats-a-human]

As an addendum: I talked to my therapist about spiritual psychosis, because I've had visions, and I have a therapist, and she had some thoughts.

If you are noodling over what kinds of spiritual experiences are psychologically healthy and not, Abraham Maslow wrote a book called _Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences_ that you should probably read.

Psychosis comes with compulsions. If you have an experience and still feel free to choose for yourself what you do and do not do, religiously speaking, it's not spiritual psychosis. Spiritual psychosis is psychosis with spiritual window dressing. It is spiritually themed, but not actually spiritual in nature, if that makes any sense. If your visions are threatening, and you feel like you can't say no to them, that is spiritual psychosis. If Hekate appears and tells you everything is going to be ok, but you should probably work on being nicer to people (and you think about that, and tell her maybe, but that's really hard, and you don't know if you can do that) that isn't.

Another problem, also with spiritual window dressing, but far more common, is spiritual bypassing. This is when you use spiritual ideas and practices to sidestep or avoid facing unresolved emotional issues, psychological wounds, and unfinished developmental tasks. So, if you take a theological position that the gods hate everyone who does X because it triggers your trauma, that is spiritual by-passing. If the gods comfort you when you are hurting, that is not.

Edit: If you want to know what causes psychosis, here is an article. Funky religious and spiritual practices aren't on the list.

[whats-a-human]

If you’ve never been all that disobedient before, you can and should start really, really small. For example, you can wear the slightly revealing or gloriously trashy-looking garment that makes your mom roll her eyes and sigh despondently every time she sees you put it on. You will feel judged and disapproved of when you put it on, but that is fine. Your goal is to sit with the uncomfortable feelings and continue with your desired behavior anyway.  Saunter down the steps in that highlighter-yellow Garfield crop top with your chest hair flowing over the neckline, and harness as much courage as you can muster. It’s okay if you feel like a beacon of sin. Just keep it moving. Your emotions are not the target here. Your behavior is. You can feel however you are feeling in the moment so long as you keep acting like you’re free.  Do you have a favorite TV show that a partner or roommate vocally hates? Try watching that show around them without apologizing or defensively joining them in mocking the program. At first, you probably won’t be able to enjoy the show while in their presence. You’ll feel self-conscious about everything they find annoying or cringe-inducing about the show, and so focused on their reactions that you can’t relax. That’s okay. Allow those feelings of embarrassment and guilt to exist and pass through you without giving up. In time, you will be able to ignore these reactions more, and enjoy the activity.  You want to see the needle of discomfort moving down just a little, like Link’s body temperature meter in Tears of the Kingdom when he puts on a breathable outfit in a hot climate. You’re not gonna go from roiling hot to frosty cold in an instant. But after a certain point, you won’t be actively in pain anymore. Things are just gonna slowly suck less, bit by bit, until they are finally okay. That’s true of most major life adjustments, I find.  Probably the best way to develop self-advocacy skills while growing in your distress tolerance is simply by telling other people no. Do this without explanation or hedging. Nitpicky aunt wants to hear all about your dating life? “No, I don’t want to talk about that.” Unreliable ex-friend wants you to do them the tiny favor of moving their entire home gymnasium into a new third story walk-up? “No, I’m not available.” Manipulative shift supervisor wants to cajole you into sticking around for another three hours to close? “No.”  As many advice columnists smarter than me have already intoned, “no” is a complete sentence. “No” requires no explanation. “No” is not subject to debate. “No” can be repeated over and over like a broken record if a disrespectful person acts like they can’t hear it. And you can walk away at any time to make your “no” physical and impossible to argue with, when someone has proven they don’t respect your boundaries. 

you can read or listen to the full piece for free here

[whats-a-human]

[whats-a-human]

warning discussion of sa

back in senior year, the religion teacher, who was always cheerful and goofy, was talking something about bible stories and it had rape but he talked in such an unserious way. Making light of it. I stood up and said that wasn't appropriate, it may have happened thousands of years ago but people are still raped today. A lot of people in the class went like "oooooo" in a mocking tone treating me as the "sjw offended" (???) and not even the good, kind and progressive classmates I had said anything, they didn't defend me. The teacher apologized but didn't call out the class behavior. Of course. If I somehow went back in time I'd still do the same thing but also I'd say "you know other people here agree with me but are scared to speak up". My family and friends agree I did the right thing and I also never doubted it but sometimes... this still affects me... the entirety of school actually. Too many conservative christians. Makes me feel like killing everyone and then myself for 5 minutes, sometimes. Look at my progress. It used to be worse.

[whats-a-human]

21 Advanced Techniques for Reading Tarot Accurately

Some of my YouTube subscribers comment on how my readings are always to the point. How I never need to pause before interpreting a spread or a card. Maybe it's the two decades of reading. Maybe it runs in the family. Maybe I peek at the cards and rehearse before I start recording. (LOL Who has the time?) Or maybe it's just because I know all these techniques by heart. Hope they help you too.

Learn to interpret synchronicities

Learn 10 ways of reading a spread

Learn to avoid blanking when reading

Learn the right meaning to use each time

Learn to interpret tarot cards literally

Learn to read for yourself objectively

Learn to interpret in a personal way

Learn the importance of the card underneath

Learn to read suits in unconventional contexts

Learn to read reversals the right way

Learn the difference: advice vs. outcome

Learn the meaning of The Fool’s Journey

Learn how to predict timing reliably

Learn to interpret physical appearance

Learn the meanings of tarot’s colors

Learn the meanings of tarot’s numbers

Learn to determine locations with tarot

Learn traditional ways of dealing the cards

Learn how to deal with rouge cards

Learn to earn the trust of your tarot decks

Learn to properly close a tarot reading

[whats-a-human]

Just watched an old Russian cartoon adaptation of The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde and read a summary of the book to get the lore right. Little Virginia is so occultist-coded even if unintentionally!

She talked to the ghost and treated him as she would to the living, physically went to the fucking spirit world and was back by morning. What a Chad! (or, Stacey, y'know, the feminine version of the meme)

The rest of the story is pretty funny.

"Кентервильское привидение"