1) To Have Self Transformation For The Good, To Become Who I Am Meant To Be

george playing the ukulele while getting a blowjob is insane

Hey, Don't cry :( crushed eggshells on your windowsills for protection. Don't be sad :( brown sugar and milk is a nice sweet topping for your popcorn. Boil until thick. Don't cry :( store leftover black coffee in your fridge and use them later to make iced coffee. Don't be sad :( put the stem of a plant in a container with water to grow it. Don't cry :( clean out old candle jars and make terrariums. Much love and goodness in the world, just have to find it <3

i want to add that the maiden mother crone aspect of her was introduced with wiccia from my understanding, her original 3 faces were for the realms she ruled, earth, ocean, sky

Goddess of Light, Phosphoros Hekáte!

We call upon You to hold us close and light the way!

Mother of Dark, Nyktǽria Hekáte!

We call upon You to set us free and reveal the shadows!

Hekáte, Triodítis!

We call upon You at the crossroads, hear our devotion and send us signs of You acceptance!

As we say it, make it so!

When people with chronic illness vent about their problems it's not because they want some rando from the internet to give them unsolicited advice it's because things are shit and they just need some one to listen and say "that sucks"

I made a post about Hekate on here saying how much I love her and now my TikTok fyp is full of videos of her including one about ignoring signs she is calling. She literally said you love me so much than worship me. Which I'm fine with. I set up her alter and I'm still getting lots of videos from her . I don't know what more she wants.

Hekate tell me what you want from me please.

As a disabled person, I'm telling you right now:

Act disabled.

Stop telling yourself you're acting more disabled than you are.

Crawl to clean your room, use a wheelchair when you're "only" at level 3 pain, wear all the wraps and ice packs

Allow yourself to act disabled and you'll see that it helps you a whole lot when you allow yourself to use any and all tools

Backwoods Witchcraft Book Review

I have always had a curiosity of how other live. I am not personally Appalachian, though I have ancestors who lived in those mountains for over a century before moving west. This book caught my interest in both ways. Maybe to learn something about the way my ancestors may have lived and also just some good old folk magic from another region. I originally read this book when it came out and I am expanding on a book review I did for Pagan and Witches Amino at that time. That book review is no longer on that app though you can find it on Good Reads under a different name.

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Contents:

Synopsis

What I Liked

What I Didn't Like

Overall Thoughts

Conclusion

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Published 2019

"In Backwoods Witchcraft, Jake Richards offers up a folksy stew of family stories, lore, omens, rituals, and conjure crafts that he learned from his great-grandmother, his grandmother, and his grandfather, a Baptist minister who Jake remembers could 'rid someone of a fever with an egg or stop up the blood in a wound.' The witchcraft practiced in Appalachia is very much a folk magic of place, a tradition that honors the seen and unseen beings that inhabit the land as well as the soil, roots, and plant life.

The materials and tools used in Appalachian witchcraft are readily available from the land. This 'grounded approach' will be of keen interest to witches and conjure folk regardless of where they live. Readers will be guided in how to build relationships with the spirits and other beings that dwell around them and how to use the materials and tools that are readily available on the land where one lives."

-from the back of the book

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What I Liked

This book starts broad and then narrows down to the work. Richards starts with the land, which if you've been around my blog you'll know that speaks to my heart. He talks about how the seasons and terrain effect the weather and how people live, including the why of people practicing this folk magic. He talks about the way the oil companies have changed the land, gives advice on how to connect to the land that are helpful for those who aren't in Appalachia as well, and actually encourages you to GO OUT experience and learn from the land. Not just learn from books and other people. One of the ways he says you can connect to the land is learning about your ancestry, if they've lived there for a long time. I love this idea and, looking back, when I was doing genealogical research myself and learned that my grandmother's family was from the area I had been living in I felt SO much more connected, even finding my great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents' graves. Knowing that they had walked the same trails I had been walking unbeknownst to me was wild.

An important factor he talks about is that in Appalachia there is a difference between a witch and your average folk practitioner (which he calls a healer or doctor). I think a lot of us forget that just because you practice magic wouldn't have made people automatically believe you were a witch, and still today. Context, connection to community, and the type of works you do is a big factor.

There is so much spirit work in this book. A lot of working with the dead in particular, especially in graveyards. I enjoyed learning about the cultural things they do in the graveyard for the dead, and was able to see some similarities in how I grew up. Not just the dead but also working with animal spirits and how to respect them, a very insightful section. And there's talk about the little people of Appalachia, called Yunwi Tsunsdi by the Cherokee, and different stories of encounters and the best way to handle meeting them, or keeping them away.

Richards acknowledges the Cherokee influence on the practice of this folk magic, from superstitions and beliefs to plants used in specific ways. It's important to recognize when a marginalized community has had influence on our culture. Doing otherwise is just erasing their presence, and for Native Americans that's even shittier since this is their ancestral land.

Of course, I have to talk about the gardening and wildcrafting! He talks in depth about gardening by the signs and also using them for knowing the best time to get a haircut, for example. This is something my great-grandparents did. My grandpa told me they would hang an Old Farmer's Almanac calendar in the kitchen that told them when the signs where in the best place for different things. The harvesting also reminded me of things I've learned from my grandpa. Different signs and omens when harvesting can foretell misfortune or even weather conditions. And when you're life depends on what you can grow, that's a big deal.

I'm a sucker for old folk practices, they tend to be things people not from the area or with more "modern" sensibilities would pause at. Like the time my grandpa gave me a turkey beard to put under the truck seat of "the guy you like" (grandpa didn't know I didn't have a crush on anyone). This book is, of course, chock full of folk practices along a similar vein (though not that one in particular), like buying warts. Though this book focuses more on the formulas that are followed than specific workings themselves, though you will find those as well.

There's a specific section as well that focuses on different forms of divination common to the Appalachian mountains. One of them being reading playing cards, and it reminded me of learning to read them when I was a kid. This book is basically nostalgia for me, I'm realizing.

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What I Didn't Like

Richards makes the claim that the Cherokee are the only tribe in America that don't live on a reservation. This isn't accurate. I know this for a fact because there is a Native American settlement near me that is NOT a reservation, and they are quick to correct you. Maybe he meant that they never had a reservation or are the most well know? I'm not sure, it could be a wording issue.

He also seems to have a misunderstanding of how Catholics view saints. At least when I was growing up in a Catholic household, we viewed them as intermediaries or advisors not spiritual beings with more power than the average human. You choose a saint upon confirmation as someone to look up to and aspire to live like (I had chosen Joan of Arc). Though this is a common misunderstanding among protestants, I have noticed. The way he works with saints in the book is the way my mom views them, anyway.

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Overall Thoughts

I love this book. It really made me think about what I saw growing up and how we do things differently or similar. Whether or not you are in Appalachia, this book can give you some advice and maybe jog some thinking on the folk practices around you that maybe you never noticed. It is Christian. The folk practices in Appalachia use Psalms and call on saints and prophets, among other Christian iconography. There's a lot you can get out of it still if you aren't Christian (such as myself).

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Conclusion

There is magic all around us if we know where to look. Reading about where others have found it in their own lives can help us to see it around us too. Just make sure you go out and interact with it. You can find this book on amazon, Thriftbooks, Google Books, Woodshed, Coyote Supply Co., and more!

i will be getting a tattoo off of pinterest yall are just mad theyre cute

Proto-Indo European Deities

One of the most likely theories, considering the origins of most of the Germanic spiritual practices and Gods, is that they have originated from the bronze age people who came into contact with the Proto-Indo Europeans. These Proto-Indo Europeans spread their language, traditions, way of life and spirituality all across Europe (with a few exceptions). In this post I want to name several  reconstructed Proto-Indo European deities and their etymological descendants throughout Europe, and the middle east and India.

Dyeus: At first I want to begin with Dyeus. This is the reconstructed name of the chief God of the Proto-Indo European pantheon. The name means ‘brightness of the day’ and is reconstructed with the help of Grimm’s law and by carefully researching related languages such as Sanskrit, Ancient Greek, old Armenian and old Anatolian. All of the Indo-European languages, modern and old, seem to have a common root word for God.

The meaning of the name plus the fact that the root is still visible in every Indo-European language, suggests that this deity was incredibly important, most likely the most important of all deities. Dyeus is the sky father, associated with brightness and the skies and perhaps creator of mankind according to the Proto-Indo Europeans. There are however no written sources nor physical evidence describing Dyeus so his exact role will forever be a mystery.

If we look at the Proto-Indo-European root 'Dyeu’, we can discover many deities with a very similar name and role. These deities are likely etymological descendants of Dyeus, here is a list:

Proto-Indo European: Dyeus Hellenic: Zeus Hittite: Sius Thracian: Zi or Diu Vedic: Dyaus Pittr Indo-Iranian: Dyaus Anatolian: Diu Roman: Jupiter Slavic: Diva Baltic: Deiwas Germanic: Tiwaz and Wodanaz Gaulish: Deuos Gaelic: Dagda

Perkwunos: This is the reconstructed name of the thunder/weather god of the Proto-Indo European pantheon. The meaning of the reconstructed name means either: 'the striker’ or 'lord of the oaks’. Two roots are possible for this theory, the root 'Per’, which means 'to strike’ and perkus 'the oak’. It is also possible that both roots are actually united since it is possible that people associated high trees, like oaks, with lightning strikes.

We do not know how Perkwunos looks like but if we compare his etymological descendants with each other, it seems that Perkwunos might be wielding a weapon like a hammer or a club. He’s not only the god of thunder but appears to be controlling all of the weather. Perhaps the Proto-Indo Europeans prayed to him when they wanted rain for their crops or when they wanted a natural disaster to stop. Here is a list of his etymological descendants:

Proto-Indo European: Perkwunos Slavic: Perun Baltic: Perkunas Vedic: Parjanya/Indra Greek: Heracles and/or Keraunos (the name of Zeus’ bolt) Gaulish: Taranis Gaelic: Tuireann Germanic: Donar/Thor Thracian: Perkos Scythian: Pirkunas Nuristani (Afghanistan): Pärun Illyrian: Perendi

Neptonos: This is the reconstructed name of the God of the seas/waters. The name literally means 'Grandson of the waters’ and it has been reconstructed by observing all of the sea deities of the Indo-European cultures. Since we have no image or written sources about this deity, we do not know how he would have looked like, perhaps he was holding a staff like most other sea deities. We also do not know his exact role in the Proto-Indo European pantheon but he is apparently master of all the waters of the earth. Here is a list of his etymological descendants:

Proto-Indo European: Neptonos Hellenic: Neptune Roman: Poseidon Gaulish: Nodens Gaelic: Manannán Germanic: Nehalennia/Njördr/Nerthus Vedic: Varuna Illyrian: Bindus Baltic: Bangputys

Suhul: This is the reconstructed name of the deity related to the sun. There is less evidence for this deity but it seems that the Proto-Indo European root for sun 'Suhul’ is connected to quite some sun deities. Here is a list of etymological descendants of Suhul:

Proto-Indo European: Suhul Gaulish: Sulis Hellenic: Helios Roman: Sol Germanic: Sól Slavic: Dazhbog Baltic: Saule Vedic: Surya

Mehnot: This is the reconstructed name for the deity related to the moon. It is a common Indo-European tradition to have two deities related to the sun and to the moon so it is possible that they have a common root with a Proto-Indo European Moon God. Here is a list of etymological descendants of Mehnont:

Proto-Indo European: Mehnot Gaelic: Elatha Hellenic: Selene Roman: Luna Germanic: Máni Slavic: Hors Baltic: Menulis Vedic: Soma

The divine twins: Sadly it is impossible to reconstruct the name of these divine twins but it is a well accepted theory that these are either two brothers or brother/sister of the Sky God Dyeus. Almost every Indo-European religion has a divine twin riding either a horse or another animal. The role of this twin is unclear since divine twins from related cultures seem to have seperate roles. Here is a list of etymological descendants of the divine twins:

Proto-indo European: divine twins/name unknown Vedic: The Asvins Baltic: the sons of Dievas Hellenic: Castor and Pollux/Dios-Kouroi Germanic: Frey and Freya/Hengist and Horsa Polish: Lel and Polel Indo-Iranian: Nakula and Sahadeva Etruscan: Tinas Clenar/sons of Jupiter Gaulish: Divanno and Dinomogetimarus Welsh: Bran and Manawydan

Dheghom: This is the reconstructed name of the earth-Goddess. Mother earth seems to have been known since paleolithic times although we can of course not provice any proof for this theory. She’s most likely the wife of the Sky God Dyeus as this is usually the case in Indo European religions. She represents growth, fertility and death. The meaning of her name is still being debated but it might mean 'the broad one’. Here is a list of her etymological descendants:

Proto-Indo European: Dhegom Gaelic: Danú Hellenic: Hera or Gaia Slavic: Maty Syra Zemlya Baltic: Zemyna Roman: Juno Thracian: Zemela Germanic: Nerthus/Jörd Vedic: Prithvi

God of the Underworld: Sadly it is also not possible to reconstruct the name for the God of the underworld but since virtually every Indo European religion has a God/Goddess of the underworld, it is very likely that the Proto-Indo Europeans also had a deity to guard the underworld. Here is a list of etymologically related Gods of the underworld:

Proto-Indo European: unknown Vedic: Yama Hellenic: Hades Roman: Dis Pater Slavic: Veles Baltic: Velinas Germanic: Hel/Holle Gaelic: Aed

Pehuson: This is the reconstructed name of a deity representing nature itself. We do not know how he looked like or what his attributes were, we do know that many Indo-European deities have similar Gods representing nature. Here is a list of etymological descendants of Pehuson:

Proto-Indo European: Pehuson Gaelic: Cernunnos Gaulish: Cernunnos Germanic: Ullr/Frey Hellenic: Pan Roman: Faun Vedic: Pushan

Hausos: This is the reconstructed name for the deity of dawn or spring. She represents the rebirth of nature and warmth thus her attributes are quite similar to the solar deities. Yet again most Indo-European religions appear to have a deity of dawn/spring. Her name means 'to shine’. Here is a list of her etymological descendants:

Proto-Indo European: Hausos Gaelic: Brighid Gaulish: Brigantia Germanic: Eostre Hellenic: Eos Roman: Aurora Slavic: Zorya Baltic: Ausrine Vedic: Ushas

Here are other beings that are present in virtually every Indo European religion and thus have likely a common root in the Proto-Indo European religion:

Beings of fate: There is a very big possibility that the Proto-Indo Europeans believed in three Goddesses or beings who were able to spun or weave the fate of all living beings in the universe. They often appear as either three young maidens or three women representing the three stages of life or the three stages of time (past, present, future). Here is a list of possible etymologically related beings of fate:

Proto-Indo European: name unknown Hellenic: the Morai Germanic: the Norns Hittite: the Gulses Roman: the Parcae Baltic: Deives Valdytojos Slavic: Rozanicy Albanian: the Fatit Gaulish: The three Morrigna

The giant serpent: Almost every Indo-European religion has an epic story of a hero battling a gigantic snake/dragon/serpent. This hero is often the thunder God or another deity related to weather. Because this theme is so incredibly common, it is a very likely theory that the Proto-Indo Europeans also believed in a giant serpent/dragon and a thundergod (Perkwunos) who fought it. Here is a list of etymologically related serpents:

Proto Indo-European: Unknown Hittite: Illuyanka (slain by Tarhunt) Vedic: Vritra (slain by Indra) Hellenic: Typhon (slain by Zeus)/ Hydra (slain by Heracles) Germanic: Jörmungandr (fought by Donar/Thor) Persian: Zahhak (slain by Fereydun) Slavic: Veles (slain by Perun) The Christian/Jewish story of the Genesis: Tehom Sumerian: Tiamat Armenian: Vishap (slain by Vahagn) Gaelic: Meichi (healed by Dian Cecht)

I am so sorry for this incredibly long post but I hope you have some more insight into the Proto-Indo European pantheon and realise that all European deities (with a few exceptions) all represent the same attributes/roles/beings. The stories of the Germanic Gods are not unique but a shared story with other European and even Indian native religions.

Here are images of: Dyeus and his etymological descendants by Starkey Comics, Perkwunos and his etymological descendants by Starkey Comics, A modern interpretation of Perkwunos by Wegsetios Tekkerdes, An image depicting several Serpent/hero battles. An image representing the divine twins (Castor and Pollux),

lunar phases - chaotic edition

new moon - clean shit up

waxing moon - attract that shit

full moon - manifest that shit

waning moon - let that shit go

dark moon - fuck shit up

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