Bit Of A Rant

"How can I be a witch/pagan without falling for conspiracy theories/New Age cult stuff?" starter kit

Posts & Articles

Check your conspiracy theory. Does any of it sound like this?

Check your conspiracy theory part two: double, double, boil and trouble.

QAnon is an old form of anti-Semitism in a new package, experts say

Some antisemitic dogwhistles to watch out for

Eugenicist and bioessentialist beliefs about magic

New Age beliefs that derive from racist pseudoscience

The New Age concept of ascension - what is it?

A quick intro to starseeds

Starseeds: Nazis in Space?

Reminder that the lizard alien conspiracy theory is antisemitism

The Ancient Astronaut Hypothesis is Racist and Harmful

The Truth About Atlantis

Why the Nazis were obsessed with finding the lost city of Atlantis

The Nazis' love affair with the occult

Occultism in Nazism

Red flag names in cult survivor resources/groups (all of them are far right conspiracy theorists/grifters)

The legacy of implanted Satanic abuse ‘memories’ is still causing damage today

Why Satanic Panic never really ended

Dangerous Therapy: The Story of Patricia Burgus and Multiple Personality Disorder

Remember a Previous Life? Maybe You Have a Bad Memory

A Case of Reincarnation - Reexamined

Crash and Burn: James Leininger Story Debunked

Debunking Myths About Easter/Ostara

Just How Pagan is Christmas, Really?

The Origins of the Christmas Tree

No, Santa Claus Is Not Inspired By Odin

Why Did The Patriarchal Greeks And Romans Worship Such Powerful Goddesses?

No, Athena Didn't Turn Medusa Into A Monster To Protect Her

Who Was the First God?

Were Ancient Civilizations Conservative Or Liberal?

How Misogyny, Homophobia, and Antisemitism Influence Transphobia

Podcasts & Videos

BS-Free Witchcraft

Angela's Symposium

ESOTERICA

ReligionForBreakfast

Weird Reads With Emily Louise

It's Probably (not!) Aliens

Conspirituality

Miniminuteman

Behind The Bastards

I found this amusing post in the tags so I'm responding to it in a new post, but

"Why won't p-shifters stop calling themselves p-shifters?"

Because p-shifter is short, sweet and to the point - p-shifter means physical shifter, and even if you don't like the "p" abbreviation (like I don't) shifter is just sort for shapeshifter, a general common use word

The community is fragmented so it'd be hard for all of us to change the word; try getting ALL p-shifters to call themselves "body distorters" or something like that

This would be seen as escaping our responsibility to fix the problems in our community. If we all just switch to a new word without fixing the problems, we're just creating a new community where abuses can happen. It's better to fix what you have than run from your problems

We would lose access to all our resources and community. If you're not a p-shifter you don't have access to p-shifter resources, and while the content of some resources might be dubious (like magic-based turning guides) there's enough good things there that losing it would impact people negatively. People would also find the community harder to access and be unable to understand what they are.

Side note: I think otherkin would be dubious of a p-shifter rebrand anyway? Like I think if we all got together and decided to call ourselves "aniforms" or something similar, guaranteed there'd be a call-out post saying "p-shifters are now calling themselves aniforms to infiltrate the otherkin community! They won't take responsibility for their past, that's why they're skirting responsibility by using a new word!" So we can't win 🤷

Okay now that I got the bitchiness out of my system a bit, let's see if I can write a bit on """"rules"""" of witchcraft as I would like to see them.

Stop bitching about other people's practices and focus on your own. If you spent a lot of time worrying or raging about how other people practice, how will you ever grow your own? Focus on yourself and your own power and let other people do their thing.

Other people's practices are inspiration, not goals. On the flip side, if there is someone who you look up to, or someone's practice you love seeing, take it as inspiration for your own, but don't look it at as a goal to achieve. Firstly, what people share online is not the whole of their practice, and secondly you're not them and their path is not yours.

Be curious. Why are people harping on "black and white magic"? Why are Starseeds bad, but Alienkin and Starkin are fine? Why is cultural appropriation such a bad thing? (If you answered "because racism" on all three of these, have a cookie!) And not just curiosity about these concepts, but also about correspondences (Why are red roses a symbol for love?) or ingredients you have in your home (will this basil work as well as rosemary for this spell?) or other paths and techniques, or spirits, or -- you get the point. Once you know the "why" you can use your own discernment. Does this work for me? Do I agree with the why? Etc. etc.

Be respectful -. To other people, to other practices and cultures, to spirits and deities. Find out their customs and cultures if you can, and act accordingly. Did you know that not saying "thank you" to the Fair Folk is only a custom in Irish and Scottish folk tales? Yeah, exactly.

-But don't be terrified. You're a witch/wizard/warlock/unicorn/whatever dammit! Act like one! Witchcraft is about empowerment, so be fucking empowered! An anarchy saying is "no gods, no kings, no masters". As a polytheist witch who works with the Fair Folk for me it's more "lots of Gods, some Kings, no masters!" I meet them with respect, but on equal footing. I experiment because if I screw up, well, I'll have learned something, and I've learned a lot about getting myself out of weird stuff.

Have fun. For fuck's sake, your practice is supposed to bring you joy. If it doesn't bring you joy or make you feel fizzy with inspiration and energy, try something else. If you need to, toss the whole thing out and start over. Trust me, it helps.

i feel like a lot of shifters need to talk to other shifters about how they found out about their species because sometimes "i shifted and i was just this," doesn't always help and not all shifters can shift/have the right environment to.

it's difficult because a lot of shifters rely on their dreams and visions, and consistently don't know what or who they are because all of our history has gone kaput - and so have our ways to connect with ourselves.

-🔮☀️

Yesss exactlyyyy!!

We will be honest with you we have a few tips we actually want to give because we hate to see this info degrade away. So, this is the rare occasion we will respond with information rather than just tags ♡♡

First of all what you are as a species shifting-wise is usually not discovered through shifting into said animal. We have never shifted into our animal as of now and there was a few ways we found what we were. A lot of shifters we know followed a similar path.

One tip we saw floating around was your species could be based on *where you live*. So, if you live in the americas theres a chance you could be anything native to america.

Another is choosing an animal that gives you the "this feels right / this feels like me" vibes and allowing yourself to experience that animal fully as if you are that animal (since you are questioning theres no way to know, you know?) So you research it, mental shift with it, feel phantoms, meditate with it, connect with it... etc. Pay attention as to how YOU feel being this animal. And we dont even mean like "oh this is a trial run this may not be for me"... just allow yourself to confirm it and explore it for awhile. If its not right, move on!

Keep allowing yourself to sniff around and settle, chase feelings and be okay with confusion for awhile, because honestly you may be pulled a bunch of directions regarding this. Just remember, its finding that other part of YOURSELF, not what others want you to be or what you think would be cool.

(I didnt want to be the feline i am now in the past! I wanted wings, i wanted to have a pack, i wanted to be cool, ill be honest lol.)

With mental shifting, you can do this with any animal or creature. Meditation-wise, you just close your eyes and vividly imagine yourself in first pov as the creature you chose and explore the world the creature lives in. Assign sounds, tastes, feelings, basically be fully immersed. If you want to take a more traditional route its always helpful to do this a handful of times and record how it felt, how you felt, what it did for you, afterwards the general vibe, etc.

A lot of older guides say you have to do this a lot and "fully mental shift" -- we personally believe that this process is a form of solidifying the other half of yourself into a consciously recognised part of you, as we all tend to hide anything that isnt human.

There is a huge culture back then of immersing yourself into the possibility of you being an animal -- basically degrading the older beliefs that "you are only human" and "shifting is impossible" fed to us by society. Which was like little things, such as changing your room to be more of your habitat, researching, writing affirmations (ex: "i am a wolf"), keeping a log of your shifts, and analysing your doubts to later take them apart.

Regarding what you have said that shifters only experience their forms through dreams or visions, this isnt true either for a lot of shifters. Usually shifters have dreams and visions.... after... theyve discovered their forms, although its not impossible to have visions or dreams.

Overall, we would recommend researching and following what feels right to you, even if you have no shifts or a faint clue of what you could possibly be. We didnt have any at all actually, we had deeply repressed our feline self to the point where it never happened.

We have also seen people telling newbies to look back at their past or their ancestry to figure it out, but we find this to be very shaky and apply to anything. Rarely does someone have access to family history, including regarding the supernatural, and what you do in the past is too hard to pinpoint to a root cause until many years after you are no longer in the discovery phase.

We hope that this was helpful to any in the discovery phase of their journey! Its actually pretty similar to the therian community, albeit a more rudimentary way of doing it.

And please document your journey, its super easy to forget those first few months / years of this path, and it can be very helpful to have a record as such.

Take care ♡

Wolves by DeerandFox

Witchcraft Books by Bree NicGarran

Grovedaughter Witchery: Practical Spellcraft

For the witch whose town is devoid of occult shops and covens, learning the craft can be a daunting task indeed. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways for a budding practitioner to make a start.

Stroll down the forest path with Bree NicGarran, author of The Sisters Grimmoire, and discover the surprising ways you can practice your craft with commonplace items from the supermarket and the craft store. Build a travel kit for on-the-go magic. Create your own spells from scratch with a step-by-step guide. Learn how to make your own witch webs and magical powders. Uncover the secrets of walnut charms and witchballs and much, much more. Every page carries tricks of the trade and homegrown charms from the files of the Grovedaughter herself.

From besoms to banishings to a bit of good advice, Grovedaughter Witchery is the ideal book for any witch with an inclination toward a practical, no-frills approach to witchcraft.

The Sisters Grimmoire: Spells & Charms For Your Happily Ever After

Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, Who’s the cleverest witch of them all?

With the spells in this book, it just might be you!

Inspired by the well-known works of The Brothers Grimm, this volume boasts over sixty original spells lovingly crafted from favorite fairy tales, along with helpful spellcrafting instructions and several indices to aid you in your journey. All of this is wrapped up with useful chapter forewords discussing the various themes within the tales, some insight into the creative process, and a bit of discussion on ethics and the usage of magic.

Whether you’re ready to yell “All Heads Off But Mine,” looking to turn your luck around with some Buried Coins, or just wanting to show the world What Big Teeth you have, there is sure to be a spell within these pages that is exactly what you’ve been looking for.

After all, who couldn’t use a bit of Happily Ever After?

Pestlework: A Book of Magical Powders & Oils

From the author of Grovedaughter Witchery comes a volume of potions and powders for all occasions, suitable to enhance the craft of any practitioner.

Old standards like Banishing Powder and Blessing Oil meet new classics like Dream Dust and Stargazer Wishing Oil. Need to rid your house of a troublesome spirit? Try a sprinkle of Ghost-Be-Gone Powder. Looking for a way to get your zest back after spellwork? Brim With Vim Vitality Oil might be just the thing. Over 200 original formulae await you within these pages, along with helpful hints, safety tips, and detailed instructions for creating your own magical powders and oils.

Collected for the first time in a single volume, these recipes are the product of twelve years of experience and much experimentation. While magic is never a guarantor of success, the potions within these pages just might give your spells the edge you need.

Visit my Amazon Author Page for listings and book reviews! You can also visit the Willow Wings Witch Shop to order books and other witchy goodies directly from me. 

Make sure you check out my podcast, Hex Positive, on your favorite podcatcher app! (Part of the Nerd and Tie Podcast Network.)

If you own a shop and would like to carry my titles, please contact me at BreeNicGarran@gmail.com for wholesale information.

by the way, if anyone has information regarding the pshifting community and its history or events, don't be afraid to send me an ask or a DM! I want to be able to refine and keep nonhumanity: a history as accurate as possible. I feel like there's still a lot that could be added, so if anyone has anything, let me know. I'll credit you as a source!

Google Docs

Nonhumanity: A history

Started: 6/6/24 Last edited: 9/27/24 Nonhumanity: A history By Aphelion Alifer ——————————————————————————— Table of Contents NOTE: If

My house is alive. And I do not mean figuratively.

I mean it has a mind of its own. 

My house is mine. I designed the layout, I watched it get built, I decorated it. From the size of the front door to the paint color palette… from the fabric of the sofa to the style of the photo frames… everything was my decision. It’s as mine as mine gets.

So the moment I introduced myself to it, it started talking back.

We have a courtyard full of trees and plants, so there’s a healthy amount of bugs outside, which sometimes get in when the front door is open. I hate that. I hate that very much.

So I told my house to never let those intruders in. The next day, without having to spray anything, I saw several dead bugs on the floor. I swept them up. And never again did I see anything flying or crawling around the house.

Another time, I had a plumbing issue. My bidet wouldn’t stop running, and the bathtub wouldn’t drain completely. 

I told my house how much I hate having to let maintenance workers in, because they often leave a mess, which I have to spend hours sanitizing afterwards. I asked my house if it could help me avoid this somehow.

In just about five seconds, the bidet stopped running, and the bathtub fully drained.

Over the holidays, a relative came over for dinner. Having eaten so much, she felt sluggish and asked if she could sleep over. Now I don’t really like this relative. I included her in the guest list as an act of Christmas kindness, but sleeping over? That’s too much.

While I was thinking of how to reject her request, the power went out. And the moment she left the gate, the electricity came back on. I asked the neighbors about it later on, and they said their power was on the whole night.

Another time, I lost the remote control to my living room air conditioner. Which was impossible. It’s always in the same place, and I was alone that whole time.

While looking for it everywhere, I ended up opening a drawer I never use. In it I found white mold, which likely developed during the few months I lived abroad, leaving that part of the house susceptible to humidity. I’ve since taken care of the problem.

Right after I discovered the mold, I found the missing remote control right there on top of my coffee table. Where it always is. Where I couldn’t have missed it.

My house is one of those things that make me what I am — a traditional witch, despite how modern my life is. It reminds me that even though my ancestors wouldn’t recognize many parts of my craft, I remain their child. Their blood is within me, ready to awake when required.

When I say "connect with nature" I don't just mean the aesthetic forests with deer and beautiful flowers.

I mean the weeds growing through concrete, the fungus that grows on the rotten shed, the nettles that always seem to return and the scary, spindly cellar spider in the corner of the bathroom.

Nature is not always pretty or magical - the pigeons and seagulls you swat at are nature too, the wasps and flies that hover by your meals are animals too, store-bought strawberries and the leaves that fall from your neighbour's tree are not all that different from the Giant Sequoias and it's seeds.

If you want to connect and understand nature, I mean *really* connect to it, in it's entirety, you have to seek out and learn about the ugly, scary and mundane things as well. You don't have to like it, just don't forget that it's there.

Hi! Fellow werewolf p-shifter here. I have a few questions if you don’t mind!

Have you ever heard of a user named Sheangel before?

Do you believe in multiple awakenings and further development of being a shifter/were? As in what’s called a “growth phase”?

Thanks!!

hello!

that name sounds familiar, but I don't personally know them or know anything about them. I might've heard that name before from somewhere, but I can't recall from where! sorry about that!

also, I think to some extent, yes, I think that "growth phases" or further development in someone's journey is expected, no matter if you are nonhuman or not. we're always figuring out who we are as individuals and I don't see why it would be impossible to have different phases or sudden personal growth spurts. I think I'm even going through it myself currently! I'm relearning a lot about my nonhumanity and what I feel connected to.

you're welcome, and if you (or anyone else) has any other questions or comments, feel free to add on ^^