siin

siin, 6 months ago to bluesky

I've been on BlueSky for 10 minutes and... (An Essay)

I get it now. I used to be like "Why can't people just stop using Twitter/Instagram/WhateverTheFuck? If they need social media, why can't they just use Mastodon? Why doesn't Pixelfed get more users? It's literally the same UI".

But I get it. I've been on BlueSky for what? 10 minutes? And I can feel my brain chemistry changing. Mastodon is a coffee shop. It doles out caffeine. You still get the little dopamine hit when you get notifications, you get that kind of substitute for human interaction that feels nice. But Twitter and BlueSky and Instagram and these apps from companies with access to inordinate amounts of data to build algorithms designed by psychologists to literally be As Addicting as Possible? These apps are dealing meth. But they've pressed it like ecstasy and made it cute. They've made it socially acceptable. But let me tell you something.

Ever since I logged onto BlueSky, I've been thinking about it. I don't think about Mastodon all day. "Oh my god what should I post next? What will get me followers? Would this be funny? Is this on brand?" I don't think about it. I come here because I have interactions with people without the pretext that they're engaging with me to get engagement in return. Because sometimes in my life I feel isolated and because this substitute for human interaction feels nice.

I thought I'd get BlueSky (despite their horrifying privacy policy - more on that later) because there are some Things Going On that make me need to get a little more serious about making money. But fuck, if this is the only way? I'm taking a vow of poverty, or getting a day job.

Because then there's their privacy policy. Access to websites you visit before and after, identifying information about your device, purchases you make, and it goes on. But even that level of invasive access should give us pause, right? I have a lot of things set up on my computer that mitigate some of that access, but then let's think about how we give the app access to our photos and videos (all of them, not just what we post in the moment), our device's camera and microphone (not just while we're using it) and so on. And then think about how our society grooms us to believe (and maybe in some circumstances this belief is true) that we need these sites for access, for engagement, to make money.

The price of not working in a warehouse is every piece of information we can reasonably gather about you to use and sell however we please, for whatever purpose, indefinitely, and it never expires and we don't pay you for it.

This is exploitation and my ancestry makes me pause, horrified, at what this information will eventually come back and do to us when inevitably the wrong person/group gets ahold of it. And that's pretending like we even know who has our data and what they're doing with it, right? Because we don't know. We really don't. Call me paranoid, say that I shouldn't worry if I have nothing to hide, give me all of the excuses you've been programmed to give about why we should not worry about a surveillance state that we pay for. Then come online and rant about how dangerous governments are and fail to see the irony in it all.

And I'm a hypocrite. I bought in, too. For personal gain. After criticizing others for years for doing the same thing. It's true. But the interesting side effect is that I've gained so much insight into why we're so addicted to sensationalism, why we're so addicted to these sites, why we're so unwell in general. The kinds of things my feed is inundated with, especially since I haven't curated it yet and it's showing me what it wants to? My god. We cannot have a healthy society when this is what we're consuming all day every day. There is no way to be a healthy person, I believe, when consuming this all day every day.

So anyways. As always, perhaps a bit sanctimonious. But I'm a little dumbfounded at the experience of all of this after years off of corporate social.

#BlueSky #Meditations

siin, 6 months ago to paganism

Something spurred my partner to begin building a temple to Osiris, and this temple site was the location of the altar we erected for our Dia de Muertos celebration. It was fitting, the idea that offerings were being made both to our ancestors and the god who watched over the underworld.

The altar I hand painted with symbols related to Egyptian, Western occult, and Meso-American systems. This practice of ours is growing oddly eclectic, but somehow feels placed and connected with the landbase despite its tenuosity of place literally.

The temple site itself is an island 14 feet in diameter, hand carved from the land and built up by my partner. The 'moat' around it is encircled with rocks, and he likewise created a spiral path off of one of our walking paths to enter the temple. We've planted four marigold plants and a date palm at strategic points along this path. You enter the temple from the East, and face West as you worship.

There are plans to build a structure here, but for now it is freestanding, an altar in the middle of our land, in the middle of the desert, covered still in marigolds and offered seeds, petals and incense.

This morning my daughter & I walked out there, and sat with the altar for the first time since the event. I offered new flowers, seeds, and scattered petals. My daughter made herself busy arranging flowers on the ground in quite an intentional way, although she can't tell me about the designs in her head yet. I sat and meditated for a few moments below the altar, as the sun rose over the valley.

I think that this is to become a daily ritual. It's been a long time since I've properly engaged in prayer or ritual on a regular basis, and even my once-daily meditation practice has become "here and there, as I have time". There is something so powerful about structured practice, and I really don't know if I can explain why.

This might become a thread of other updates with regards to my spiritual practice, since I feel as though a lot has shifted in the last few months.

#Siin #Paganism #Pagan #Rituals #TheeTemple #Osiris #Meditations

siin, 5 months ago to anarchism

Fun cultural bandwagon that I don't necessarily understand:

Why is anti-civ or anti-tech (and I realize these things aren't necessarily always mutual but often seem to be) bad?

The main argument I've seen is that anti-civ anarchists are generally "genocidal" or "eugenicist" because the elimination of modern technology or industrial structures would necessarily cause the death of those who are disabled or otherwise rely on modern medicine.

But isn't this a fallacy? I mean, I don't see anyone commonly advocating for the literal destruction of civilization or technology, but mostly see advocacy for reframing relationships with such structures or a distancing of oneself personally from them. If we assume that the knowledge of modern medicine isn't destroyed, couldn't we imagine some kind of small community in which there is some kind of decentralized, community run healthcare?

I'm really interested to hear your thoughts on this. I likely won't be able to read and respond until later this evening or tomorrow, but will definitely be doing my best to have mutual discussions on this so long as it doesn't get too crazy.

#AntiCiv #Anarchism #AntiTech #GreenAnarchism #Civilization #Technology #AskFedi

siin, 8 months ago to random

Quite frankly, as a vegan who is transitioning towards local food sources and away from store-bought (imported) goods, I'm recognizing how much of a disconnect there is between the messaging that hails veganism as the ecologically sustainable option and the reality.

siin, 6 months ago to magick

@WyrdingWays

Meditations | 10-30

I didn't want to work on your request until I had something meaningful to say, and until last night I just... didn't.

Because I'm sure you've heard tips from other people about setting energetic boundaries, but like what does that even mean? Purification rituals are cool, but they aren't necessarily restorative and in and of themselves require energy to work.

But last night was strange. Suddenly, out of the twilight darkness settling over my house, I became suddenly and inexplicably overstimulated. It took me a moment of focus to realize why, as there were really no stimuli beyond the sounds of our footsteps walking in from outside, and the usual visual stimuli of objects in my house. The TV wasn't on, we weren't playing music, no one was talking to me.

But someone, or rather, many someone's, were talking to me. It was as though I walked through a doorway into a packed room, and everyone was trying to greet me at once. Except I couldn't tell who was speaking, I could only hear the roar of distant voices. And I'm using terms we can all understand, it wasn't quite so apparent what was going on. The stimuli was more like energetic frequencies trying to tune to my channel rather than actual audible voices, but I think you all get the idea.

This is something I've struggled with my whole life. I've always had an issue finding balance between shutting down connection with the worlds around me (if we choose to distinguish states of existence as different worlds entirely as is common) or not knowing how to shut out influences that weren't positive or that I just couldn't figure out how to channel at all.

It dawned on me that perhaps so many people have a hard time finding connection with the Divine, or the land, or even themselves, because we really are able to access communications from beings who exist in other states when we truly connect, but that's probably a thought for another time.

I've never really understood the concept of spirit work, I guess because I've never intentionally channeled spirits, they've always just accessed me somehow, and I don't know why or how that is, but it just is. So when you asked me to write about how to care for yourself when intentionally engaging in this kind of work, I was a little stumped. But I think what I realized last night, since this was on my mind already, is that the most crucial component of protecting yourself from energy drain when engaging with these spirits or beings in other states of existence is a proper, regular practice of engaging with them.

That sounds counterintuitive, but I've learned that access points are like muscles, and that the more you engage them, the more you can really feel what or who it is that you're speaking to or channeling. I'm quite early on this journey of finding balance and finding healthy ways to channel these beings' communications, but this has been the single change that has made a world of difference in my ability to not feel just... exhausted and almost even violated after engaging with these beings. Lots of practitioners say "learn to set energetic boundaries" (or the same in different terms), but I've found few resources (and by no means have I exhausted all options) on what this means or how to do it. The best guess I can hazard is that like anything this takes practice, but learning to set boundaries against influences that try to chime in while you're channeling the spirit you want to seems to be the most important thing you can do, and it takes practice to be able to distinguish between communications from different entities.

I hope that this was a worthwhile read, this is a space I have a strange relationship with because I don't feel as though my perspective is the same as many. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. I know that this veers from "energetic self care" so to speak, in that it doesn't have any tips for restoration after a session, but perhaps it'll help nonetheless.

#Meditations #SpiritWork #Magick #Paganism

siin, 5 months ago to paganism

Winter solstice is fast approaching! I know I've discussed traditions with some of you before, but what are your plans for the Solstice, if you celebrate?

#WinterSolstice #SolsticeSeason #Solstice #NewYear #Cycles #Pagan #Paganism

siin, 6 months ago to art

Wearable art, anyone?

I've decided to sell this rave mask I made in 2020. It would look absolutely incredible on most adults, I have a teeny skull and so it's too big on me. This is also a really incredible piece for modeling, even if you never wear it out of the studio. The chain is adjustable, and should fit most people.

This mask will not (I repeat, will not) provide protection from airborne particles and will only minimally repress the escape of your own airborne particles. If you want to wear this to an event and mask, I recommend wearing a light mask underneath it.

DM me if you're interested. Because this is a prototype, it's vegan and also a little cheaper than I would typically sell something like this for. I'm asking $100 or, if you're in love with it and you DM me first, I'm willing to haggle.

#ArtForSale #ArtistsOfMastodon #Art #Mask #RaveGear #MaskUp

A person models the mask from before. It covers most of her face, including nose and mouth, and extends down beyond the chin. The mirrors reflect the sunlight, and bits of her environment can be seen in the reflection.

siin, 6 months ago to random

Finally got the studio-in-progress organized and it's workable, although I'm definitely still looking forward to getting tipis together and having a better ceremonial space for tattoos.

To-dos include hanging art, setting up a space for my illustration & flash portfolios, sanding and refinishing my workbench, and getting some fitting and dedicated linens for the futon.

#Siin #RanchoDeLaLibertad #Workshop #Studio

siin, 3 months ago to california

Fog in the desert, a very, very rare treat.

#SilentSunday #California #Desert #RanchoDeLaLibertad

siin, 17 days ago to random

Such performative direct action so distant from one's own community and understanding is useless, applauding it and raging about its results even less so.

I'm tired.

siin, 7 months ago to Battlemaps

Meditations 10-07

October brings flocks of vultures engaged in inexplicable aerial maneuvers high above the highway. It brings flocks of tourists to the desert, and hundreds of hermit artists open their studio doors to all of us, hoping for connection, recognition, or a sale. Elsewhere, especially in the Northern regions, September feels like the dawn of this autumn season. But here in the desert, October is the door that brings us out of scorched, parched hallucinatory summer days and into, in many ways, rebirth.

Rattlesnake grass is growing out of control near any plants we're watering. The beavertail cactus we thought was dead when we moved in has new growth (it took us a year to revive it completely). The sweet potatoes the coyotes stole somehow still sent new leaves up from the ground, and seem to be living on. Rosemary and sage are blooming, embracing cooler days despite this weekend's heat wave. Wheat grows, we assume some kind of wild cultivar, dormant most of the year. It usually only grows a few inches before summer cuts it down again, but we always wonder at the fact that it grows at all when no one tends it. It's a relic from a time before this place was stripped of its diversity, and it no longer is suited enough to the environment to grow large enough to fruit. It grows alongside carpets of tiny yellow flowers, another oddity that has lived dormant in this sand, triggered by heavy August rains.

We wonder at life here, and consider life elsewhere, and seek to reconnect with ourselves and our community during this new season. We plan celebrations and engagements to honor this time of abundance and rebirth, knowing that we can truly never engage this ecosystem in the way it's meant to be. But we surely can try, and so we do.

#Meditations #Mojave #October #Desert #Rebirth

siin, 7 months ago to random

Did you know that you don't need to publicly express your opinion on the Israel vs. Palestine conflict? Did you know that you don't even have to have an opinion?

Did you know that it's really highly likely that if you live in the US or the UK or probably Canada that it's really, incredibly likely that your opinion is not only probably pretty skewed and misdirected because of the nature of these country's relationships with Israel and the "middle east" as a whole, but that also it really doesn't benefit... anyone engaged in this conflict for you to share your opinion online?

And like, if you're spending your energy talking about this or policing the way others (in the US/UK/Canada) are talking about this then that's a valid life choice, but I'm just here to let you know that you don't have to do that just because it's trending right now.

siin, 1 month ago to philosophy

I think that it's absolutely horrifying that the average person can't purchase and stock antivenom, antibiotics, steroids, epinephrine, insulin, or IV saline fluids.

The very act of saying this is radical. gasp! But we can't be trusted with such things! The lay person would give out antibiotics with abandon, fail to properly place an IV, give epinephrine when it isn't indicated! People would die!

This is what we've been taught, and it's bullshit. It doesn't take twelve years of medical school to identify anaphylaxis, especially in someone you know. Most people are concerned enough about the side effects of antibiotics to reserve them for when they're really necessary (and the average household is NOT the cause of widespread antibiotic resistant organisms: industrial livestock and our own medical establishment are). It doesn't take more than a week to learn how to properly place an IV. It doesn't take a genius to administer antivenom if someone is bit by a snake.

But you know what this access would do? Save people. From death, from severe disability, from tens of thousands of dollars of medical bills that make them wish they'd just died in the first place.

These skills could be taught to 8th graders in school. It isn't complicated. First aid, wilderness medicine, and basic life support training needs to go beyond "call for help when you identify x, y, and z". Medical care, especially emergency medical care, should be a basic human right, and by this I mean we should have the right to administer it to ourselves and our community without barriers.

Reserve the hospital for true surgical emergencies. I don't want to take out my child's appendix, for example, without an OR and anesthetics. But there is an extremely wide range of mild to moderate ailments and even real emergencies that could be treated better and more immediately IN PLACE if the average person had access to the right equipment and the most basic accessible training that could easily be passed on to other community members.

#Healthcare #Anarchist #CommunitySovereignty #Sovereignty #Medical

siin, 7 months ago to random

This is not a poignant meditation, this is simply the sharing of an interesting occurrence and my thoughts on the matter.

Yesterday, I drove back to my hometown to attend the funeral service of an uncle of mine. It's complicated: this part of my family (with the exception of my father himself) rarely speaks to me. Not out of malice, or dislike, or anything like that, but moreso because they just don't think of me. My aunts played a large part in raising me when I was young, as my father worked a lot and they were already retired, but when I moved for a while and they had grandkids and other things to keep them busy we just lost touch, and never regained it. When I returned to California I spent a whirlwind 7 years mostly in LA, but also moving around and switching jobs quite often. My partner gets a little frustrated that I want to put the effort into reaching out to them, when they didn't attend our wedding, never met our child, etc.

But this was important to me, so I went. It was also important to me to see with my adult eyes this portion of my family: to find middle ground between adolescent feelings of abandonment and similarly adolescent feelings of idolization.

We're related to someone very famous, who's also quite disputed. Is she a trans icon? A traitor? A right wing lunatic? The public has all of the opinions, as they do. This cult of celebrity makes no sense to me. I don't particularly care that people are famous. I'd never met this person, I just have distinct memories of my grandmother receiving a christmas card from this reality-tv family and throwing it out in a big show, saying all kinds of things about their values.

But still, many, many people really care very much that people are famous, and either completely despise them or hang to their every word. So, I sat with this person at the reception, and we talked for an hour or so. I just, I think, needed to fulfill this curiosity: to find the reality.

There's the aesthetic aspect that becomes apparent here, "Instagram versus reality", or "magazine cover versus reality" that's interesting of course, and perspective shifting.

But more interesting is the realization that we all already know in this way, that this person is just a person, and that there's really no validity or reason whatsoever to their status as "celebrity". Furthermore, there was an interesting dichotomy between what felt like conversation without pretense: conversation about life, about childhood, about family. Then there were moments where this person would snap into character, and say something ridiculous and out of turn: about how many airplanes they've owned, about golfing with another particularly polarizing figure, and so on. These moments came and went, and it was almost like the experience of speaking with an elderly person who speaks half in memories and half in the moment, as lucidity comes and goes. I don't mean to imply that this person is mentally ill or infirm, of course, but just to describe the experience.

I think that this is interesting because perhaps it's a good reminder to us, who spend perhaps too much time online, to really take a step back and evaluate our feelings about certain people that we idolize or that are "famous" (even if it's in a small way, like here on Mastodon, or as a member of a niche community). Often it feels like reactions are intrinsically more charged when someone has this contextual background of fame, and receipts of their behavior are public for much longer than the average person. But perhaps it's psychologically healthy to only ever hold humans to human standards: this isn't to say you must like these people, but it is to say that perhaps removing yourself from their cult (whether your participation is idolizing or hateful) gives you more space to process what it is you think this person means and why you feel the way you do about them (and what would you do if you realized that they are no expert, and that if they did not have as much money or their face on the cover of magazines, you would pay them no mind? How does that impact your worldview? Your understanding of who you are and why you react the way you do?)

siin, 8 months ago to art

I made sigils in the sand the other day.

I haven't been doing art. I've been empty, burnt out. But it felt nice to do something impromptu, impermanent, on purpose.

Maybe.. a way to break the dry spell (yet again)?

#Meditations #SigilWork #Sigils #Impermanence #Art

siin, 7 months ago to random

Feeling so, so inspired after this weekend's festival & visit from one of our favorite friends, even though I wasn't able to participate in some of the festivities to the extent I had wanted to.

I'm feeling like I have much of my energy back, pain has mostly subsided and all signs point to recovery going better than we initially thought.

We're converting the Airstream into my studio, and kid-proofing it this time so my daughter can come hang out and do art with me. I haven't had a proper studio in a very long time, and the delay in getting tipis built made it look like I wouldn't have one until spring. But here we are, and I'm extremely optimistic that I'll be building, painting, and holding space for tattoos again very, very soon. Eventually I do think I'll build a tipi specifically for tattooing, but for now we'll be using them for guest spaces and building one very large ceremonial space. In the meantime, the Airstream works quite well as a studio. Quite frankly, in its current state, it will make a better art studio than guest space anyway.

I painted one of the objects that is a critical part of my performance for the Dia Muertos event yesterday, and have been figuring out many of the other details and making a list of the few things that I will be purchasing for the ceremony & celebration.

I have plans to finish processing the fox bones & sheep skull that I started forever ago this week, and I'm praying that they haven't degraded too much, but whatever their condition it will feel good to finally get those finished and usable for some projects I have planned.

My neighbor had a ceremony and slaughtered a goat with her family this weekend, so I inherited yet another skull I get to start on as well.

Lastly, a new friend of ours gifted me an entire hide worth of black Italian leather to create things with. I'll need to get the proper needles, awls, and some other supplies (which I've needed to anyway to work with the other leather I inherited last year) prior to doing anything with it, but I have many ideas and cannot wait to share them when the time comes.

This emergence from my recent low-energy and relatively depressed state feels profound, and I feel like I'm just radiating gratitude for this much hoped-for change.

#RanchoDeLaLibertad #Siin

siin, 7 months ago to random

#DiaSacrificia is officially postponed until November 6th.

As always, DM or email with questions or for invite & details.

#RanchoDeLaLibertad #Siin

siin, 3 days ago to random

Are you experiencing the experience, or analyzing it in the moment?

How does this change your perception of it? What story are you telling yourself about this moment? Why?

#Meditations #Mindfulness #Presence #Spaciousness

siin, 6 months ago to Quotes

"That picture is just too simple. It implies that all we need to do, if we decide to right the wrongs of the system, is to throw these men out. It feeds into the conspiracy theories and thereby provides a convenient excuse to turn on the TV and forget about it all, comfortable in our third-grade view of history, which runs: 'They' will take care of it; the ship of the state is seaworthy and will get nudged back on course. We may have to wait for the next election, but all will turn out for the best...

...It would be great if we could just blame it all on a conspiracy, but we cannot. The empire depends on the efficacy of big banks, corporations and governments--the corporatocracy--but it is not a conspiracy. The corporatocracy is ourselves--we make it happen--which is, of course, why most of us find it difficult to stand up and oppose it. We would rather glimpse conspirators lurking in the shadows, because most of s work for one of those banks, corporations or governments, or in some way are dependent on them for the goods and services they produce and market. We cannot bring ourselves to bit the hand of the master who feeds us."

From "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" by John Perkins

#Quotes #BookRecommendation

siin, 6 months ago to random

Is there anything in particular you'd like to see me write up a meditation about? Something gnawing at you, something you'd like a framework to help you start digging deeper?

I have so many in my mind right now but they're all over the line of what I'm willing to post online. In the meantime, I'd love to fill the gap with something useful to someone, if possible 🖤

#Meditations #Ruminations #Mindfulness

siin, 6 months ago to random

After wrestling with the decision for a while, I've decided to offer my favorite one-off piece for sale: the nail collar!

I have plans to make something similar in the future that fits my current lifestyle a bit better, but in the meantime, this piece truly deserves a life off the shelf. It's something I'm very proud of having made, I think it's beautiful.

To purchase:
https://ko-fi.com/s/427c7fa8c4

#ArtForSale #ArtistsOfMastodon #Kofi #SupportArtists #NailCollar #Jewelry #IndustrialFashion #Industrial

The same woman as before, this time in 3/4 view with her face visible. The collar is shown from a different angle, and it's more clear how far the nails stick out from the collar. She poses in front of a painting, a red torso is visible covered in black snakes

siin, 5 months ago to KindActions

Alright dear ones, it's time to make a little announcement.

For anyone reading this without context, let me provide some:

My partner & I own Rancho de la Libertad: a regenerative agricultural project and spiritual & artistic sanctuary in the high desert. We host ceremony here, provide a landing space to travelers interested in what we're doing, I provide ritual tattooing to those who need it, and we're doing the slow work of regeneration of soil and moving to turn back the ecological desecration that's occurred here in the last 150 years since the settler & gold rushes.

But it's in trouble. We're poised to lose our primary income stream soon, and this means that we won't be able to carry the current mortgage on our house. We're looking at purchasing instead a plot of vacant land between 40 and 60 acres and living in tipis, completely off grid. This positions us actually better for a few different kinds of opportunities. We can expand our regeneration efforts, live more sustainably, eliminate our energy costs (currently a huge part of our monthly bills), provide more living spaces for less money for travelers & residents, and have animals that we don't have the space for here, like horses & cattle.

Losing Rancho de la Libertad wouldn't just be devastating for our family, but for the artists & wanderers that we routinely host here for ceremonies, stargazing events, tattooing rites, and more generally so that they have the space to escape the city and have physical space in which to create and rest.

With that being said, we don't want anything for nothing. I recently (as you all know) opened up a ko-fi store, and am going to be releasing an Etsy store in the next 24 hours as well. We will be using our collective creative skills to craft meaningful spiritual objects in an effort to try to begin an alternate revenue stream.

I additionally will be posting a goal on ko-fi to crowdfund land and get us started. If I've held space for you, provided a beneficial meditation, or if you've stopped by the ranch and you have 5 dollars to spare, please consider if we're worth some of your support.

I will still make a point to not turn this into just a sales channel: I don't aim to trade this beautiful community I've found for sales. Occasionally you'll see shop updates or discounts from me, but otherwise the rest of what I share will be the same.

And for fun, I've opened up a discount on my ko-fi shop from now until the Winter Solstice.

You can claim this discount here:
https://ko-fi.com/lacasadebrujas/link/SLSTICE

Etsy link will be added to the replies tomorrow.

More products will be posted this week and next.

Thank you for your time if you've read this far, we look forward to crafting you something wonderful, should you need it.

#MutualAid #RanchoDeLaLibertad #SupportArtists #ArtistsOnMastodon #Artisan #SustainableGifts #GiftIdeas #Gifts #Regeneration #RegenerativeAgriculture

siin, 2 months ago to magick

I finished reading "John Dee and the Empire of Angels" by Jason Louv, and wow. This book took me in a direction I did not expect, and contextualized Western occultism in a really coherent and important way.

There are actually three books within this volume. The first examines the life of John Dee and his political contributions to England in the early 1500s, as well as the overall cultural and political context within which he existed. The second examines and summarizes the angelic conversations themselves, and provides some analysis that links them to the overall apocalyptic eschatology that was described in the introduction and first book. The third book examines Dee's contemporaries and influences, including the Rosicrucians, Freemasons, and Crowley & Parsons, and analyzes especially the latter two's relative roles within this overall cosmology and influence in Western occultism.

Overall, this creates an historical narrative that deeply contextualizes a significant amount of modern Wicca, witchcraft, neopaganism, and Western occultism. It doesn't aim to define these, of course, but it explains the steps through which our modern view of spirituality and its practice were shaped. While at first I thought I might be reading an interesting and yet somewhat distant and irrelevant historical narrative of this interesting occultist from the Rennaisance, I found myself instead reading of the events and people that shaped the "modern" esoteric schools, as well as dominant Christian eschatology in America and how that influences our politics.

Louv does a great job of playing fair with historical figures: contextualizing them in a nuanced way, outlining their faults and being critical of the cults of personality they've built over the decades while not disregarding their important role or influence over history.

I would dare say (and I wouldn't say this about many things) that most neopagans or self-proclaimed occultists should absolutely add this to their reading list and try to read and comprehend the entire tome.

#BookReview #OccultBooks #JohnDee #AngelicMagic #OperativeMagic #Magick #Paganism

siin, 1 month ago to community

When you hold a lot of space and give a lot of energy, sometimes you end up finding that you're surrounded by people who require a lot of space and energy but who aren't capable (for one reason or another) or willing to hold that same space or give that same energy to you.

There is so much to community building that becomes so complicated, and everyone is unhealed in their own ways. Sometimes those ways are compatible with the ways in which you are unhealed: and you find that you are able to hold space for one another, mutually, and that the space you hold doesn't open up into wounds (or it does, but the very act of holding space becomes healing, less self-sacrifice than a pouring into one another). Sometimes, though, those spaces are incompatible, and the opening of space feels like the opening of wounds, and if not at first then after a time, as though something has rubbed you raw right down to the bone after the accumulation of each time you've let it touch you. Sometimes this is just a critical incompatibility, perhaps you aren't the right people to be in community with one another at this time. Sometimes it's the result of someone not being able to recognize the ways in which they demand. Boundary holding is so vital, but often leads to the triggering of maladaptive defenses and sometimes the ending of the relationship you were trying to preserve by setting the boundary in the first place. Some people advocate for boundary setting loudly, but are also the loudest to criticize you and claim you are abandoning or harming them when you do so.

The bringing together of people and the fostering of intersecting relationships requires time and effort and very careful communication and consideration, and is sometimes the rolling of a snowball gently towards the cusp of a hill: from there it flows so holistically and genuinely and easily, and these people find each other and fold each other into their nets and the shared net of the community. Sometimes it is Sisyphus rolling the ball up the hill over and over again until eventually you realize that perhaps one or more of these nodes must exist in satellite to the whole, and will not or does not desire to integrate within it.

Right now I am tired, and feeling as though critical boundaries must be held. A few of the relationships I've spent the past months fostering are crumbling for their own reasons: one because the other person is determined to remain in a power position that I refuse to engage with any further (giving the benefit of the doubt has to stop at some point, but the loss of this relationship impacts more than just me, which is hard) and the other because boundary holding is causing the other person to feel abandoned. After weeks of holding space for this person through a crisis, at the very moment I need that space held this person is pushing away and yet dragging me towards them -- unwilling to hold space but still demanding mine. And I am just tired, and wondering what patterns exist that push me to continue to forge unequal relationships in my own life, or if this is just really how most people are.

#Meditations #Community #Relationships #CommunityBuilding

siin, 10 days ago to VegetableGardening

Seeking some advice from my fellow #Poultry people.

There are two ravens that have recently become very bold and begun flying down into our chicken's (fenced) yard to steal some of the scraps we throw for them. Until recently, these same ravens have been pretty known around the property: sometimes they raid our compost, or play with my dog's toys, so I'm not really averse to having them around. However, I'm a little worried about disease vectors or them trying to steal one of my smaller chickens (or young pullets when we have them).

So, if you look online, everyone says basically that you MUST fence the roof of the yard, keep them out at all costs, etc. But I feel a little hesitant to do something so drastic. First, small songbirds do hang out with our chickens sometimes and eat their food, and while those are also potential disease vectors, they eat flies and other pests that might otherwise plague our chickens and gardens, and I'm happy to have them around unless a problem should arise (so far so good, we have pretty hardy poultry and plan to keep it that way). Second, it would just be costly to do something like that and I'm kind of hoping to avoid adding that to our project list right now. Finally, our chickens often are let out to pasture when I don't have new seeds in the ground, and so even if their yard is fully secured I'm interested in solutions/ideas that would fit with pastured birds as well.

TLDR; how concerned should I be about ravens getting braver around my flock of chickens? What solutions could I employ that would work for my chickens in their yard and when they pasture?

#Chickens #Poultry #Farming #Permaculture #AskFedi #NaturalFarming