Welcome to the Emerald City

http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/2673697-white-and-in-the-minority

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 21:25:28 -0400

http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/2673697-white-and-in-the-minority:

This is a blog post by Victoria Foyt, the author of that “Save the Pearls” nonsense.

The comments start off terrible, with one woman claiming that ‘whites are already in the minority’, before taking a turn for the better, with a steady stream of people calling Foyt on her racist bullshit.

I’d like to encourage everyone to send this woman an email, letter, or a comment on her blog, letting her know exactly how we feel about this piece of trash she has written.

thekindthorn: thecrazyassmagician: asksecularwitch: A...

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 20:36:04 -0400

thekindthorn:

thecrazyassmagician:

asksecularwitch:

A woman casting a curse in a CVS.

something like this happened at my job when the lady was mad because the service desk was closed and she couldn’t get a money order

Public cursing is not necessarily my thing [ at least in daylight ]. This woman deserves all my respect right here. All of it.

Oh god, I wonder what that moron did to piss her off THAT bad. And I swear old women are fearless. How much of not-a-single-fuck do you need to give to be able to go in full-blown-mystic mode, in the middle of CVS?

I love how the woman waiting for a cashier is just… Waiting for a cashier XD She doesn’t even look behind her.

#fearless

poor little white d00d has no idea what’s goin on.

I wanna know the story behind this :P

Ma’am-ma’am-ma’am-ma’am-

Sir, how did you even get this job.

wvnderbar: how do words even become curse words? and why are people so offended by them? why is it...

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 20:29:41 -0400

wvnderbar:

how do words even become curse words? and why are people so offended by them? why is it so awful if your child says “ass”?

how does that even happen

My favorite curse word is pants.

It’s also the only one I can get away with at home, because my mother is sensitive about swearing…all of the obvious are banned, also “crap,” “stupid,” and “balls.” (Balls is a recent addition, ever since she found out that I had found another word to use like a curse. I suspect pants may be next.)

To all of our followers and Members

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 20:26:10 -0400

myowndruidry:

wiccancommnetwork:

To all of our followers and Members who have signed up on our sites We would like to thank you for showing support for our organization.

To the rest of you The Wiccan Community Network is strictly what the name says a Community Network for Wiccans and Pagans alike though One of our administrators who is now banned caused a big controversy we are still here and will be for a very long time. We don’t think we are ripping people off by charging $1.00 a year to become a Member that is really not to much to ask at all, and the rest of the income our Organization gets is from Donations, Fundraisers, and the items we sell on our sites We are in no way Defrauding anyone in anyway nor will we ever. So we ask for all of you who are calling us fake or fraudulent, or trying to make people not join up with us please stop.

And to the people who say that our spells are on numerous websites and/or in books yes your right because we get alot of what we share from just that

Emphasis mine.

If you are sharing things that you did not write with your own hands and that did not come from your own head, YOU NEED TO POST SOURCES. You obviously don’t care as much as you said you did yesterday about copyright infringement or plagiarism, because, as I showed everyone yesterday, all of your pieces are borrowed and NONE have proper source attribution.

Right. I know that I, personally, don’t have a problem with people using or teaching spells or rituals that aren’t theirs, but only if they’re very clear about where they got them from, who they belong to, and that they have permission to use them. Because, you know, not everyone is okay with some random person taking a spell they created and sharing it around, even if that random person includes a source.

(When I say “very clear” I don’t mean have a little copyright notice on the bottom of the page, in the tiniest font possible - I mean right up at the top, in big letters, preferably with a link to the original source.)

This group though, doesn’t seem to give a shit whose toes they step on, as long as they get their money. (By the way, where does their money go?) If I were approached by someone like this asking for permission to use anything I created, my answer would be hell no.

walk your talk: Sharing recommendations is all about perception

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 20:18:56 -0400

walk your talk: Sharing recommendations is all about perception:

walk-your-talk:

I have seen a series of posts floating around telling people to stay away from certain types of books for beginners in Wicca, Paganism, or similar paths. I haven’t read them all very thoroughly [actually, barely at all] but I want to share a thought here, that could be applied to just about any…

While this is a good point, most of the people steering newcomers away from certain authors or publishers are doing it for reasons that don’t have anything to do with their personal preferences. The books they tell everyone to avoid perpetuate misinformation, and someone who, perhaps, is new to their path, or just beginning to learn about it, would read those books and not realize they’re wrong. Blatantly wrong. Not just “oh, well, this author recommends such-and-such ritual, which I don’t agree with”, but facts are gotten wrong. Basic things, like the origins of Wicca, the definition of witchcraft, sometimes even the existence of religious paths the author personally finds distasteful.

So yes, while it is always good to take a person’s personal taste into account, it’s also nice to actually read their posts before assuming you know why they’re telling everyone not to read that crap.

E-Books i Have for sale

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 19:16:59 -0400

myowndruidry:

wiccancommnetwork:

A List of Wiccan E-Books in PDF that I have for sale for $3 a piece or all for $10.00

Witchcraft Today : Gerald Gardner

Sacred Text of the Wicca: A Gardnerian Book Of Shadows

Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft : by Raymond Buckland

The God of the Witches: Margaret Alice Murray

The Necronomicon Spell Book

Aradia,or Gospel of the Witches: By Charles Leland

The Necronomicon

If you would like any of the Ebooks or the set of them Please email us at wiccancommunitynetwork@gmail.com and tell what you will like to order and we will email you our invoice from Pay-Pal and as soon as we receive the Funds we will email with your EBooks or set of Ebooks or buy from our buy now button

*FACEPALM*

Isn’t it ILLEGAL to sell PDFs of books?

If you are providing instructions to someone, then giving them photocopies for free is covered under fair use, but you can’t make a profit from selling photocopies/ebooks.

Yeah this is just blatantly fucking illegal. Shame on you, OP. Shame.

avryaleeboras: Fight for the Spirits on Flickr. But how is...

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 20:13:19 -0400

avryaleeboras:

Fight for the Spirits on Flickr.

But how is this Wiccan

thegreenwolf: Ask This Pagan: Why Physical Shapeshifting is...

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 20:09:27 -0400

thegreenwolf:

Ask This Pagan: Why Physical Shapeshifting is Bollocks.

asksecularwitch:

thegreenwolf:

witchyways:

asksecularwitch:

thegreenwolf:

Thanks for the writing suggestions in my inbox! I’ll be getting to them over the next several days, if all goes well, either here or over at Therioshamanism.

I had a couple of requests to write about therianthropy; I have an essay in the works about my own experiences as a…

Yeah. But I’m still going to try spells for it.

/BECAUSE OF REASONS.

The original article is great.

But I agree with Sec.

reasons.

Also there is still glamour, so there’s an option.

That’s great, but glamour and illusion are not physical shapeshifting. And if magic was actually able to circumvent physics and biology to the extent needed for even a partial physical shapeshift, we’d have definitive evidence by now. A few studies maybe kinda sorta hinting at psychic powers do not equal proof that you can objectively bend physical reality (rather than just perceptions).

Still doesn’t prevent me from trying though - the physical changes I’m saying.

Edit:

And if you’re going “BU-BUT WHY? SEC WHY?”

Because I can.

Don’t tell me I can’t try to perform something with the goal of breaking expectations.

The probabilty of physical shapeshifting is as likely as being able to jump off a building and fly instead of splatter gloriously across the pavement. I mean, the odds are against you, but no one is stopping you from trying. Granted this is a much safer thing to experiment on than flight!

Until you end up with a cat head or turn yourself into a werewolf, simultaneously proving shapeshifting is possible and becoming a celebrity.

Wiccan Problems: Bad rep.

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 19:51:00 -0400

towandas-moonshine:

Okay, so I was at my youth group a few weeks ago and the leader was talking about a trip he took to like.. England or somewhere around there. Paraphrasing his words, “some Wiccans or Pagans left a dead animal on our doorstep.” The lesson of the night was that some people can’t practice Christianity openly without getting in trouble or even worse, and that this was one of their repercussions on the trip. I wanted to speak up so badly, but I honestly was quite dumbfounded about it. I knew that if I showed how really pissed I was that he was spreading these lies, then everyone would be suspicious of my own faith, and I knew he probably didn’t understand how wrong he was. I couldn’t really explain it to him though without letting it be known that I was a Wiccan myself…Although, maybe it is time to let it be known…I mean, this guilt that has been eating away at me for NOT saying anything is just too much.

As much as I hate to stand up for those evil Christians (not), are you sure he was lying? Obviously I have trouble believing that they ran into trouble being Christians in England, but there are places in the world where being a Christian will get you killed.

Additionally, there are plenty of Wiccans and Pagans who are extremely hateful and childish towards Christians, so the possibility that someone would leave a dead animal on their doorstep…I don’t find too hard to believe.

tinypagan: Genestho: Let’s banish some stereotypes here. genestho: Witchcraft is not … evil,...

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 21:17:24 -0400

tinypagan:

Genestho: Let’s banish some stereotypes here.

genestho:

Witchcraft is not …

evil, though that is your opinion.

strictly Wicca, though Wicca is semi-witchy.

Pagan, though it depends on the practitioner.

for anyone. Seriously, it’s not.

just spells and potions, obviously.

“bad”, though that is also your opinion.

of the Devil.

anti-Christian. There are Christian Witches, peoples.

Magick is not …

something you should be paid for/pay for.

lickety-split, though it depends on the person.

all rainbows and sunshine.

a full ritual, unless you want it to be.

elaborate, unless you want it to be.

Not at all Witches …

are Goth.

are Pagan.

are Wiccan.

have a ‘darker’ nature and personality to them.

can cast spells.

can tell fortunes.

can predict the future.

are good with herbs.

have a familiar.

can work with crystals.

can read crystal balls.

have pointy noses.

wear pointy hats.

ride brooms.

perform rituals and other ceremonies in accordance to the moon and seasons.

And so on and so forth. Add to this, if you dare.

…why shouldn’t you be paid for doing magic for someone?

I don’t know about anyone else, but I am 110% in the broom-riding camp.

Wow.

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 20:17:59 -0400

myowndruidry:

emmavalor:

There are a lot of gross and shitty things on my dash today. While I’m usually pleased to have a backlog of interesting posts to read, these were mostly very bad.

Blanket statements, the spewing of incorrect “facts,” tone policing and gender shaming (not sure if that’s the official term, but I know you know what I mean) are not the sort of thing I want to see. Ever.

I am so disappointed and disgusted by what I just read.

(Why am I putting this in the #pagan tag? Because it’s relevant.)

(misgendering is the word I think you are looking for)

Agreed. Today was totally disgusting. Yesterday wasn’t much better. I’m not sure why all of the sudden these hateful people have decided to start sharing their bile with the rest of the world, but I’d really like them to crawl back into their holes.

Yes! Misgendering. Thank you. (I tend to get words and phrases mixed up, which can be extremely embarrassing at times.)

Sometimes I wonder if people are saying these outrageous things just to get a rise out of everyone else, especially when they do so under the cover of being anonymous. I’ve had friends who get a kick out of starting fights, and the sort of mindless mud-slinging that’s been happening reminds me of that. People who will grasp at whatever they can to start a fight, either because they can or because they enjoy hurting others.

Confessions of a Teenage (Lazy) Witch

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 20:13:18 -0400

teenagepagan:

It’s taken a lot to actually come out and say this but… I’m a terribly lazy witch.

As my fellow pagans may know, July the 3rd was the night of the full moon - a time where She is the Mother and we all come together and perform some kind of ritual to celebrate this time. But, being the unmotivated fool I am, I totally got distracted by the internet and soon fell asleep at my laptop.

Now I awoke around 2.30 in the morning, which would have been a fab time to perform my ritual had my mum not been asleep and if I had the right candles and incense and so forth. Instead I ended up looking out of my window at the moon (which was unfortunately covered by rainclouds, Mother was probably in a huff with me) and apolgised for my laziness and “sang” a lullaby.

My laziness is getting beyond control! I buy all of these fabulous new incense and candles for spellwork and rituals and never get round to doing them. I honestly need someone to yell in my face before I actually drag myself out of bed and do something.

Being Pagan and a witch involves quite a bit of time dedicated to the craft and the worship of deities and so forth. I mean I set up an altar for Isis a few days ago and I think she’s a bit miffed with the fact I have only burned a small candle and some Egyptian incense in her honour. And to say I’m trying to get myself in her good books for future spellwork and so forth, well, I’m not trying very hard at all!

What can I say, I turned 16 today and I am doing absolutely fuck all to help lift that lazy adolescent stereotype. My excuse is exactly that (Mum: Greta why can’t you stop being lazy and tidy your room/get out the house/wash up/JUST BLOODY DO SOMETHING?! Me: I’m a teenager, that’s what teenagers do all day - nothing), but I’m afraid I’m becoming too lazy for my own good. I’ve decided to do a banishing spell around the time of the new moon (if I remember), but that seems so far away and I want to get motivated asap before I become a complete hermit. So, if anyone knows any good motivational spells, potions, incense or oils that will help me, please let me know!

I know something that can help, but it’s not a spell…it’s an attitude adjustment. Parents do a fuckton of shit to raise their children, and it is not easy. I’m not going to assume you don’t do chores, but when you say you’re lazy, that’s the first thing that I think of. If you want to get a better handle on yourself, try volunteering to help around the house. Vacuum, sweep, or mop the floors. Do the dishes. Do the laundry (if you have a washer and dryer, which I know a lot of families don’t). If you have siblings, help take care of them. If you know how to cook, ask if you can make dinner a few nights a week. It should go without saying, since I did say “volunteer,” but do this without being asked. If you see dirty dishes on the counter or table, wash them and put them away, rather than let them be someone else’s responsibility. Ask your parents how else you can help.

As for witchery, it’s always been my understanding that you don’t need things. If the most you can manage is a few minutes of meditation or perhaps prayer, the Pagan Police aren’t going to show up and haul you off to Irreverant Witch Jail - especially if you’re only sixteen. My opinion (and I am in no way going to force this down your throat, because what works for one person doesn’t work for everyone) is that, at your age, you should be spending more time researching than doing spellwork. If you’ve chosen to honor Isis, make sure you approach all aspects of your worship respectfully, which includes thorough research - and I don’t mean just reading a few things on the internet or skimming a Wikipedia article. Go to your local library, see if they have any books…preferably ones that were written by people from the culture you’re looking into, rather than white people looking for a quick buck.

As a last resort, if you can’t manage to drum up any sort of motivation, just think of how your laziness might land you in a shitty life. If you don’t get used to working now, getting out of bed and developing a good work ethic, it’ll be that much harder when you have no choice.

Wow.

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 19:55:29 -0400

There are a lot of gross and shitty things on my dash today. While I’m usually pleased to have a backlog of interesting posts to read, these were mostly very bad.

Blanket statements, the spewing of incorrect “facts,” tone policing and gender shaming (not sure if that’s the official term, but I know you know what I mean) are not the sort of thing I want to see. Ever.

I am so disappointed and disgusted by what I just read.

(Why am I putting this in the #pagan tag? Because it’s relevant.)

tinypagan replied to your post: I’ve been looking, but apparently I’m kinda dumb,… If you’re...

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 21:46:17 -0400

tinypagan replied to your post: I’ve been looking, but apparently I’m kinda dumb,…

If you’re talking about the full moon, you can just go outside and look at it. Not sure what your religion is, so maybe you could meditate or make a small prayer if the moon is important in your practice.

I might just sit outside for a while and meditate. I’ve been having some weird issues lately, so hopefully that will calm me down.

On the other hand, I might get eaten by mosquitoes and wild animals. Either way, problem solved!

I’ve been looking, but apparently I’m kinda dumb, so - does anyone know where I can find...

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 19:47:17 -0400

I’ve been looking, but apparently I’m kinda dumb, so - does anyone know where I can find something to do tonight? Not a full-blown ritual, because I live with people who wouldn’t be comfortable with that; I’d prefer something small that I can do indoors without setting off the smoke alarms.

Life is hard when you don’t have any books or witchy friends, haha.

My experience from the first and last time I ever attended a church of god!! Please read this i promise you will laugh

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 19:50:48 -0400

wiccancommnetwork:

This story may be offensive to Christians but to us Wiccans and Pagans you might fall out of your chair laughing.

On Easter Sunday 2001 my Friends Jessica and Nicole knowing that I was Wiccan and that my daughter had passed away back that past January asked me to please come to their church as a guest and that I may find some comfort and relief in my life. So I went out of pure amusement. So we get to this church and soon find out it was going to be a bad idea as this church was Weird they made all the males sit on one side of the church and females on the other so I couldn’t even sit with my friends and husbands couldn’t sit with their wives. So I sit down in third row from the front. So the preacher comes in looks around the room and see’s me and says :

I see we have a new member of the congregation will you please stand up and introduce yourself to the rest of the congregation!

So I stand up tell them my name and that I’m not a new member I was asked to come as a guest by 2 female friends and that I’m Wiccan.

So the preacher is like you’re a Wiccan Isn’t that one of those devil worshiping witch cults!

And I was like no sir we don’t believe in the devil and we are certainly not a cult.

And he says well from what I understand about Wicca is that they are a Satanic Cult of witches that uses magick.

So again I was like you are so misunderstood sir and do you by chance have a dictionary up there at the pulpit with you.

The preacher says yes I do may I ask why?

And I was like can you please look up the definition of the word cult and read it to me please

So the preacher looks up the definition and reads out loud: the Definition of the word cult says it’s a group of people who gather in one place and worship one thing.

So I blurt out so then Christianity is a cult then too right and the whole church gasped like they were shocked and the preachers face turns red and he asked me to please leave

So as I’m walking to the door of the church to leave I turn around and was like sir maybe you would like to read Ezekiel 4 verses 12 through 15 and explain why their all loving god says to eat shit!

The preacher gets really mad and shouts leave this place of god now you spawn of Satan.

Now just so you know it does state to eat shit in the bible here is my proof of that:

Ezekiel 4 (King James Version):

¹²And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight.

¹³And the Lord said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them.

¹⁴Then said I, Ah Lord God! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.

¹⁵Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow’s dung for man’s dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith.

Because of course it’s hilarious to disrespect and antagonize people based on their religion, and this doesn’t perpetuate the bad image Wiccans have, doesn’t make you seem extremely immature or suggest that you may not be the best person to be teaching anyone anything, except perhaps how not to act.

I have a hard time understanding people who want “real life” pagan friends, or a coven,...

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 19:29:16 -0400

I have a hard time understanding people who want “real life” pagan friends, or a coven, or whatever else. I see a lot of people who complain about not having these things, and it makes no sense to me. Maybe I shouldn’t say I don’t understand it, because I understand why they want friends who are into the same things as them, someone to talk to who’ll get it, etc. I just don’t…empathize.

I don’t like to talk about my beliefs, spiritually or when it comes to witchcraft and paganism. Those are very private things, and I’m still exploring how I feel about them. Trying to explain that to someone else, trying to connect with someone based on that…makes no sense to me. It would be like trying to make friends with people based on how long they like to keep their nails.

Guess who wrote this?

Tue, 08 May 2012 20:30:46 -0400

I was looking through a thesaurus a few nights ago and came across the word “unchristian.” Never having heard of this word before, I read the list of associated words.

irreligious
pagan
evil

with a notation “see impious 1, wicked 1.”

Now, I just tried to look “unchristian” up on thesaurus.com, but that came up with no results, so perhaps this word has been…removed from circulation? However, I find the notion that the thesaurus, a heavily-used reference book similar to the dictionary, would imply that the opposite of being Christian is being irreligious (last time I checked, Christianity was far from being the only religion in the world), pagan, and evil, more than slightly unsettling. Evil. The opposite of being Christian is evil?

Perhaps I am misunderstanding, and this is a very specific word used in very specific circumstances, but this is extremely disturbing to me.

Bullshit "spells" and irresponsible white-dude "magick". Henbane is poisonous. Gods have mercy

Tue, 08 May 2012 20:05:08 -0400

sinnsreachdheathen:

Read More

Yes. And this is why you always, always do your research before ingesting anything. Doesn’t matter who recommends it, doesn’t matter how “official” the source, always do your own research, because you cannot count on other people to do it for you.

Sorry that it's been so long!

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 21:20:50 -0400

I’ve been distracted by books and other pretty things, but here I am to make a post about something that I’m not sure how to deal with: appropriation. It seems like everyone is talking about it, and everyone has a different opinion on it.

I understand that it’s an issue. I understand why it’s an issue.

What I don’t understand is what I’m supposed to do. I’ve seen posts saying that if something speaks to you, you’re not allowed to research it (they didn’t explain why, so I can only assume because it would be condescending or insulting?). If I’m not allowed to learn about anything that speaks to me, what am I left with?

On another note, it makes me wonder where the line is drawn between acceptable appropriation (ie, anime from Japanese culture), and non-acceptable appropriation (ie bindis, feather headdresses, etc).

This picture was recently making the rounds (it still might be, for all I know):

and it made me think. II (going by traditional BINGO locations) also made me a bit upset, because what I took that to mean is, if you happen to be white living in a PoC country, you are not allowed to do what everyone around you does. A specific example would be a white child growing up in Hawaii. Growing up, this child see Hawaiian culture: Hawaiian traditions, Hawaiian food, clothes, and values. He plays with Hawaiian children, and from them picks up yet more things: the language, or the various meanings of different hula movements. Would you tell that child he’s appropriating someone else’s culture, simply because his skin isn’t the same color as his friends’? If you took away everything he learned as he was growing up, what would he be left with? And how would you explain it to him?

Where is the line drawn?

Found the “Cultural Appropriation BINGO” here.