:boosts_ok_gay: Wrote a short post on Medium with advice on avoiding being misled by poor quality information in witchy and pagan spaces today! It's definitely not comprehensive, but hopefully it will be useful to someone.
The tips here can hopefully be used for spotting questionable information or misinformation in other spaces as well.
“My own ordeal was my link to those accused of witchcraft in the 17th century. Writing about women’s tribulations in a culture that deliberately disbelieves women’s pain gave meaning to the meaningless anguish I faced daily in my own life as well as the women's lives I researched.” I revisit my thoughts on HRT, crones and hope on World Menopause Day
I painted this last night with watercolor & ink, until 4 am, and I really like how it came out. The palette is right up my alley. That pumpkin pie too...
The North American Edition of Ashes and Stones arrived today—published by Pegasus Books in the US on October 3rd. The stone on the cover is the Nicnevin stone in the village of Monzie. Named after the legendary woman burnt as a witch named Kate Nicnevin who also shares a name with Nicnevin, the mythic Scottish witch-goddess and the leader of the wild hunt in lore. According to Sir Walter Scott, she is the “Scottish Hecate.” #witches#WitchesOfMastodon#bookstodon#NewBook#Scotland#folklore
I've been updating & adding new features to the tarot site & wanted to share some with you.
First off, I started a YouTube channel where I address questions that come up during readings & other things...I'll be posting my collective (free) readings & "choose-a-card" readings there from now on.
Playing around with a new deck getting to know it and asked a quick yes or no question.
The Hermit is generally a no, which won't surprise me if it comes to pass, but it does lessen the blow by telling me to look inside and see if it was really what I wanted or was it what I was expected to do.
Already well down the route of realising it isn't my soul job and expanding what I do outside it to satisfy me mentally and emotionally.
"We need a working definition of witchcraft. I prefer an anthropological definition that is oversimplified but still useful: witchcraft is unauthorized magic.
Every society has approved magic: what the priests and politicians do – and in our society, the advertising executives. They may not call it magic, but that’s what it is: creating change in conformance with will. It’s strictly limited to approved activities and authorized persons.
Every society also has those who work magic outside those prescribed boundaries. The cunning women and men. The practitioners of non-mainstream religions. Those who practice the official religion in unapproved ways. These are the people who are called witches as a way of labeling them as “the Other” – and therefore dangerous."
same author wrote a good post on types of witches, categorizing by motives. He counted Aesthetic witches who are just into the trappings as being as legitimate as Wiccan witches, Nature witches, and Empowerment witches, which I liked.