For New Witches:

Devotee vs Worshipper vs Deity Work

Hello, I am a Devotee of Inanna, a worshipper of the Mesopotamian Pantheon, and am working with Lady Ereshkigal.

This is my opinion on the differences between the three, but ultimately, it is up to the practitioner how they wish to describe their relationship with their deities.

The point of this post is not to tell anyone what they can or cannot do, it is to give newcomers a general idea of the differences between these titles.

I am not going to talk about Godspousal as I know the barest of minimums about this relationship, it is 100% valid, and I respect this relationship, but I am not going to discuss something I know nothing about, that's how misinformation spreads. If you are Godspoused feel free to share your definition in the reblogs/replies and I will add them with credit!

Devotee

You are devoted to this deity. You perform acts of devotion to them daily (or near daily). Think of this similar (not exact) to having a life partner/significant other(s). You can have more than one, and you can be a Devotee and still worship/work with others. As a devotee of Inanna, I talk to her daily, give offerings, and do devotional acts as often as I can.

Worshipper

You honor this deity/group of deities frequently. Not necessarily every day, but frequently. This is more of a friend relationship, you see each other often, but talk frequently, but they're not your spouse. As a worshipper of the Mesopotamian pantheon (and the Forgotten) I leave offerings on a regular basis and say prayers to them about once a week.

Deity Work

This deity is helping you in your practice. They are providing you guidance in an area of your life. This is your teacher/mentor relationship. As someone working with Lady Ereshkigal, she is aiding me on my journey to reconnect with my ancestors and helping me with the transitional periods I'm currently going through. I give her offerings often to thank her for her help, and I talk to her daily, but not nearly as much as I talk to Inanna.

Thank you. Again, this is my definition and understanding of these relationships. By no means is this to say that if your relationship is defined differently that it is invalid, but when I was first seeing these terms I was very confused.

I hope this helps anyone out there who was also confused.

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.

"You're human!"

In which way do you mean?

The representation of man being destructive? Yeah, i guess so. In the way mental/psychology way? No, im not. Biologically? I'm an animal. Physical? Still an animal.

Humans and nature are not separate. Sapiens ARE nature. Why do humans feel the need to see themselves as above it? Without it, where would they be? We are all some animal, monster, creature, in our own ways. Wether it be obvious or not.

Animals aren't inferior to humans. They have helped humans throughout history. They are equal.

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🦷 ✩🩸✩ 🦷 | 🩸✩ 🦷 ✩🩸 | 🦷 ✩🩸✩ 🦷

Hey! Wolf shifter here.

How do you know if you’re developing at a slow or fast rate after the awakening? When does the awakening finish? Is it after p-shifting?

Thanks!!

hello again!

I think in my opinion, "awakening" just means self discovery, and it depends on each person as to how short or long the process takes regardless if you've achieved some pshifting progress, whether that be a fully complete shift or not, but I assume that once you shift completely and see/feel your true form, that this is probably when the self discovery or awakening phase of your journey starts to close bc then you can see what you are for certain. I'm sure for some folks this might not be the case though because everyone is different and has different experiences/paths to take.

as for development, I'm not sure how to answer? if you're actively working on shifting or growing extra limbs you're bound to see more progress than someone who takes a lot of breaks or doesn't put in much effort, if that's what you mean.

Set the fires. Bury your doubts. Rise like something ancient remembering its own hunger. Dance barefoot where the wild things grow. Crown yourself in petals and stems. Breathe in with the winds, throw a kiss to the storms, run like the rivers and creeks in your space

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 ^^

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 🤷

Types of Divination

🌙Aeromancy

A means of divination through the interpretation of atmospheric phenomena such as cloud formations, wind currents, rain, fog, lightning, thunder, cosmological events, and positions favorable or unfavorable to the planet.

🌙Cartomancy

A form of divination where you use cards to get the answer to your questions. There are different forms of cartomancy like playing cards, tarot, lenormand and oracle cards.

🌙Osteomancy

Or bone throwing. It's an ancient form of divination used by many cultures. This method consist of throwing the bones and then interpret the results and pattern.

🌙Pendulum

This method consist of observing the subtle movements of the pendulum to gain information about a question, object, or situation.

🌙Scrying

Scrying is divination by seeking a vision while gazing into a transparent, translucent, or reflective object and it's often done by crystal ball gazing, fire scrying, water scrying, mirror scrying, etc.

🌙Astrology

This type of divination interpret movements and relative positions of celestial bodies, and how they influence us. Astrology gives an understanding of situations in our lives, based on our individual astrological birth chart.

🌙Lithomancy

Also known as stone divination, is a form of divination that uses stones or crystals to gain insight into an individual’s future or to provide guidance on a specific issue.

🌙Necromancy

Necromancy is divination through communication with the dead. In this method the practitioner summons or communicate with spirits of the dead in order to gain wisdom.

🌙Ceromancy

The practice of reading the flames and wax of a candle. The candle is lit and the flame examined for clues to the mood and energy surrounding the situation and then the wax is allowed to drip into a bowl of cold water or sometimes onto a piece of paper. The practitioner examines the shapes formed by the melted wax and makes predictions based on his or her interpretation of the shapes.

🌙Tasseography

Is a method of divination where you read pattern and symbols from tea leaves or coffee grounds sediments.

🌙Arithmancy/Numerology

Arithmancy is known as divination using numbers, while numerology is divination through using dates and words turned to numbers. Numerology doesn't require any psychic abilities, instead the method use calculations involving name and birth date numbers.

🌙Palmistry

Palmistry is also referred to as palm reading and is divination through reading and interpreting the lines and structure of the hand. It is common to read the dominant hand as a characterization and also predicting the future.

🌙Bibliomancy

is the divination by randomly chosen passages in books, often religious books or Grimoires. This method consist of picking a random passage from a book to answer a question.

🌙Conchomancy

is a form of divination using sea shells. Placing a seashell on your ear and analyzing the sound counts as Conchomancy. You can also use seashells in Casting divination.

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