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I think you can absolutely question/challenge the authority of your Gds without it being in a reactionary Christian way, and I do think it's important for Pagans to remember that, like all religions, the way you experience it is specific to you and nobody else can tell you you're wrong. However, it is important not to challenge others beliefs by denying the authority their own Gds have to them. You can bite back at authoritarian concepts of Gds, you can believe in a more communal and symbiotic relationship between humans and deities, but you shouldn't project your own religious trauma on other people and how they practice.

Hot take, and I truly mean this in the kindest way possible, but some Pagans very much need to examine their own religious trauma before speaking on what is right/wrong to say in Pagan spaces.

I understand that Paganism is an incredibly freeing religion for many people (most notably for those coming from Christianity), and that’s wonderful, but Paganism isn’t lawless, and it never has been.

I understand that you don’t like religious dogma, that’s fair. But that doesn’t mean this religion is a free for all. The Gods are authority figures, they are rulers, and they do ask things of us. For some Pagans I fear that they have based their entire religion on being an opposition to Christianity and that’s just… not ideal.

You cannot build a healthy relationship to the Gods if you are constantly comparing them to Christianity. You cannot follow the Gods if you refuse to do anything they ask of you that feels too similar to another religion that has hurt you in some way.

I’ve seen people say that Pagans shouldn’t veil because modesty is only a Christian invention designed to oppress women. I’ve seen people say that blasphemy doesn’t exist and that the idea that Gods (any God(s)) can get offended is a Christian fear tactic. I’ve seen people say that humans are on the same hierarchical level as the Gods and that the idea that humans are servants to God is a Christian tool for denying human power.

Not only are these things blatantly untrue, but it also negates the power of the Gods, and pushes doubt upon the personal convictions of fellow Pagans.

Paganism exists independently from Christianity. I truly don’t know how anyone can build a healthy practice when the only way they connect with the Gods is in a reactionary “screw Christianity!!” sort of way. Despite what society may say; Paganism is not an enemy to Christianity. It exists independently, and it has for thousands and thousands of years.

I really hope everyone who struggles with religious trauma can find the healing they need, but I implore you to not allow that to be the defining factor of your religion, and I beg that to not distract you from the undoubtable authority of the Gods.

May the Gods bless everyone, hail the great Lords and Ladies above 🩷

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For those not tapped into Australian politics, King Charles is in Australia to conduct his "historic first tour to the commonwealth realm" i.e visting countries that King Charles is supposedly a monarch to.

Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe had requested an audience with King Charles for weeks prior to this visit, she wrote countless letters to speak to him. Unlike other commonwealth nations and other former Brisitish colonies, a treaty with Indigenous peoples in Australia was never formed. Their land was never ceded to the British Crown. After being denied and ignored, Lidia Thorpe, draped in a traditional possum skin cloak, stormed in the Great Hall during the reception for Charles at Parliament House in the capital shout the following:

I literally can't even look at these photos without getting goosebumps.

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Help a Black trans couple stay afloat this month:

updating to make this post less long+hopefully more ppl will chip in.

details under cut, need $100 by 9/23 for my phone bill, among many other expenses.

ive got the main three apps (leave leaf emoji in payment note), two shared links w my wife, and a registry of shit we need. thanks.

(P.S. please dont tag this with anything unless for accessibility purposes!! it is literally a non action to do this one thing i am asking. complaining in the notes or in my askbox will result in a block. thanks for understanding!)

making a new post to ebeg for my wife and i's survival expenses! my wife and i r a disabled Black trans couple living in texas and we are both currently out of work due to our disabilities (though my wifes been hauling ass to try and get work, and as the weather slowly starts to cool where i am i have begun applying as well). our phone bill ($100) is due 9/23, and im out of several safe foods, namely the meal supplement drinks i rely on to keep me from getting hospitalized due to malnutrition. it costs $30 for two weeks worth of shakes, nevermind the other things i need. contributions via my main links (leave a leaf emoji in payment note) are appreciated; i also still have a list of things i need to purchase/replace if folks want to help that way. my wife and i also have a few shared links where folks can offer recurring support!

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There's a difference between "disabled" and "legally recognized as disabled," and I just want to give a shout-out to all the other disabled people who don't have formal diagnoses, who don't have access to benefits of any kind, who don't have the ability to use even the shittiest and least-helpful resources, because the process of getting legal recognition for disability sucks ass.

And another shout-out to all the disabled people who purposely avoid getting diagnosed, because official diagnoses can be used against you, and you're unable or unwilling to risk it.

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new items added to our Ko-fi shop!

hello, i'm equinox. i'm a multiply disabled mixed black trans lesbian. i deal with schizophrenia, dissociative identity disorder, hypermobile ehlers danlos, degenerative disc disease, 2 unhealed injuries, and gastrointestinal issues. i am currently applying for disability, i got off the phone with disability determination earlier today. i have multiple appointments with GI specialists coming up very soon. i need help with income in the mean time. i currently have no other income aside from this. i am in need of transportation to appointments, i also need to get to my pharmacy to get my meds, groceries, cleaning and hygiene supplies, and more.

i'm currently saving up money for a procedure being done at the end of the month. i am having a colonoscopy and they are having me purchase gatorade and mirilax, instead of prescribing me something that's more effective. i also need to save for rent, which is $178/month in my place due to my low income.

feel free to ask any questions about these pieces or ask if customs are an option- they very well can be!

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palestine masterpost-masterpost

i've been trying my best to collect a bunch of links to other, more structured resources about the genocide in gaza, and what you, reading this, can do about it, that i'm going to compile here.

DON'T SCROLL PAST. LOOK THROUGH THE LINKS. REBLOG.

less and less people are talking about gaza every day, but it is still a very real crisis.

education, donations, speaking out, global links (masterpost)

links to contextual articles

for americans - state/congressional contacts

how you can help palestine - donations, petitions, campaigns, upcoming protests (masterpost)

non-politically motivated charity links

canary mission

petitions and congressional contact (masterpost)

education, current news, taking action, direct action and donations, current protests (masterpost)

small monetary actions

2700 ebooks on israel and palestine, available for free

thorough article by storiesfromgaza, dated 10/30/23

targeted boycott + bds

how to find state/congressional contacts, bds, email template, donation links

sudan and congo

egypt, us/uk/canada/europe congressional contacts

direct links to help palestine

educate yourself (twitter links)

translating gaza (instagram link)

bds/targeted boycott information

compilation of palestine info and how to support it (masterpost), dated 10/28/23

latest info as of 11/3/23 and large amounts of immediate action to take (masterpost)

history of palestine and israel - articles, books, films, social media (masterpost)

socials to follow

journalists in north gaza

btselem

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you’re putting magic into the world with every stitch you make, every painting you create, every note you play, every word you write. everything you create and put out into the world will touch or inspire someone. everything you keep to yourself will be special and personal, like a mosaic piece of yourself that will last forever. all the little things you created into the world will like a museum exhibit of your existence, and your own love letter to the universe.

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Does anyone else crochet as part of their practice? Like, I made several altar items with crochet and I'm currently working on a blanket infused with spellwork. Who else does projects like this? I'm so curious.

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Chinese hanfu of moon godess chang'e嫦娥 who lives in guanghangong广寒宫/ guanghan palace (meaning the cold and spacious palace) on the moon. The styling and makeup are often inspired by the chang'e from the costume drama journey to the west (1986 version) and referenced classic chinese paintings. Chang'e flying to the moon is a household story in china. That's why China named its lunar probe series chang'e.

In addtition to chang'e, the looks of yutu玉兔/jade rabbit and guihuajing桂花精/sweet osmanthus spirit are also popular choices for chinese hanfu on mid-autumn festival. Jade rabbit is the pet of chang'e who makes 长生不老药chang sheng bu lao yao/elixir by grinding and smashing herbs every day, and if one takes the elixir, one'll live forever and become immortal (that's the story of yu tu dao yao玉兔捣药/jade rabbit grinding herbs). And guihuajing/sweet osmanthus spirit involves another story about the moon, wu gang fa gui吴刚伐桂/wu gang chopping osmanthus tree.

Wu Gang is a man who wants to learn the secret of immortality but doesn't want to put in the effort. His laziness angers the Jade Emperor, who punishes him by sending him to the moon palace to cut down the osmanthus tree every day, and he can go back to the earthly world when he's finished. It turns out that every time he cuts down the tree, the osmanthus tree automatically recovers its original shape, so wu gang's work will never be finished. According to the story, he cuts down the tree to this day, as a neighbor of chang'e. So his desire to live immortal was realized in an outrageous way lmao (the wisdom of jade emperor). However the chinese myths never says how wu gang and chang'e were related or how they get along, if they ever chatted or anything like that. We only know they are neighbors.

It's funny that no one has ever dressed up as wu gang on the zhongqiu/Mid-Autumn Festival, probably because he doesn't have a specific image or people think he is nobody and don't care about him, and I think it would be especially fun if someone dressed up as a wu gang standing next to chang'e holding an axe as her bodyguard.

In short, yutu and guihuajing are often represented with elements of bunny, osmanthus flowers, and mooncakes respectively, and the colors are usually sunrise orange or bright yellow, many with a distinct xianxia仙侠 style. There are also some historical styles as well.

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chronically ill black women get so left behind, yall only allow black women 2 options: completely invalidating our pain and suffering by saying black women are just lazy anyway or completely invalidating our pain and suffering by not believing that black women feel pain to begin with.

After 15 years of pain I finally have a doctor who is like wow yeah there's a lot going on with your body and your labs and physicals all corroborate that but for so long I was just told I'm dramatic or unmotivated.

Black women feel pain, black women are fucking human beings, black women can have chronic illnesses, black women can be disabled. We just do not get the care and validation we deserve. We don't get any excuse at all to not perform. I've constantly worked thru all this, constantly had to care for others thru all this, constantly had to survive thru all this bc I don't want to be labeled lazy but I'm not lazy, I am ILL and have nothing to fall back on bc black women aren't allowed to even be that. Ive known the term for years, but when my doctor told me flat out "Serena, you have multiple chronic illnesses" i almost told her my damn self "i dont think black folks have those" Because we aren't ALLOWED TO. I'm so exhausted by 15 years of health issues that I've powered thru that it has made my health EVEN WORSE. And now that I finally have a team that is advocating for my health and helping me get treatment I can't afford it bc I'm so sick that I have to take intermittent leaves from work.

Please listen to black women abt their bodies.

Please advocate for healthcare for black women.

Please unlearn your biases abt the bodies of black women.

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i am ready for autumn, thunderstorms, rain, cozy sweaters and melancholic evenings. my soul is just made for autumn.

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I think people need to be more comfortable with illegalism and I’m not kidding. Of course the more legal something is, the safer and easier it is to do, but the more people who disregard the law, the harder it is to enforce. There are plenty of laws on the books that people just ignore and are never or rarely policed.

Becoming more comfortable with little illegal activities makes you more comfortable with bigger more important illegal activities. Additionally, it is crucial to build a wall of silence. Nobody talks everybody walks.

People who give out food without a permit, hold a march without a permit, grow a garden without a permit, are more likely to be people you could turn to to work with on preventing an eviction, or keeping people out of cop hands, or helping your friend Jane get crucial healthcare when it’s not legal in your state.

Communities comfortable with these acts won’t call the cops, and then nobody knows that it’s happening.

People have got to shift from both the idea that lawful = good/ illegal = bad, and that the illegality of something means that’s the end of it, and the only fight left is to make it legal again.

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note to self the reason i feel largely Not Horrible today is not because ive suddenly stopped being disabled or have been faking it the whole time. it’s actually because ive been respecting my limits and letting myself rest

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If anyone wants to help me pay for transportation and my latest doctors appointment, it would be really appreciated.

PayPal.me/thechronicchillpill

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Important. I can't lose my sister.

unfortunately I got a call from my job saying they had to cut my hours to part time.I can't seem to catch a break.im going to need help financially while i wait to get a better job and apply for benefits. please share this post. I need 500 to fill the tank with fuel for the start of winter. This is important due to me raising my sister and she needs to be warm for the winter.I don't want to run the electric heaters due to the high electric bill.

50/500 fuel

5/1200 September 15th rent.

Venmo Queenloki89

Cashapp $Queenloki89

Thank you to everyone that helped me make rent for the month of august. My sister and I appreciate all of you. She believes in hope again.

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Me if I were a dog.