Chaotic Sunrises

For your state/province (or equivalent) search up “[state] report price gouging”

Oh my god this is so evil. 

i want to talk about something today, something that i feel gets overlooked a lot in the community, and something that is can create dangerous misconceptions.

like tarot, not every witch you meet is going to be a herbalist, herbal healer, etc. not every witch reads tarot cards. but the missing detail here is that with herbs there is a lot more room for error than misreading a card. 

people often like to go to herbal healers in place of doctors, and while that shouldn’t be their only source of medical opinions, that is their choice. 

however, that being said, being a witch does not make someone an herbalist. 

being a witch does not give someone an automatic degree in botany, and it certainly doesn’t make them a doctor.  lots of witches deal with herbs, yes, but those are most often garden plants and kitchen spices. even very expirianced witches are warned off from handling herbs from mugwort to belladonna because of their high-risk nature.

a witch can give you a spell involving some herbs, but that doesn’t mean any of those herbs is going to cure your condition. a witch doesn’t necessarily know the medicinal qualities of the herbs they’re using, more often just the magical correspondences. this isn’t even touching on the fact it’s bad to go to a witch for medical problems in the first place. without a proper knowledge of the herbs they can worsen your condition, esp if they don’t know to tell you not to take an herbal-concentrated does of rosemary when you’re pregnant, or various other herbs with various conditions/medications. 

so, chances are, a witch knows just as little as you when it comes to “what can i use for my skin condition? what’s good for a sore throat?”. hell, knowing what plants are good for isn’t even enough when working with herbs, the room for error after that is so vast.

Especially because so many pagan authors just put stuff in their books like, “Drink a tea made from these four herbs to attract love / promote good dreams / banish evil / whatever.” And half of them don’t put any health warnings with these recipes, even when they’re recommending the use of things like MUGWORT, ffs. This is dangerous.

And also because there are plenty of witchy bloggers who recommend herbal cures and concoctions based on personal practice and amateur research. This is also dangerous.

In the United States (can’t speak for elsewhere), you are not a professional herbalist just because you’ve read a bunch of books on herbal medicine and brewed up teas and poultices for home use. Doesn’t matter how many years you’ve been doing it or how well it’s worked. You are not a professional herbalist unless you have gone through formal schooling and received a license to practice, just like any other legitimate physician.

If you want to do practice herbal medicine in the privacy of your own home, that’s fine. You don’t need a license to do that. But the second you, as an unlicensed practitioner, start recommending treatments or passing out concoctions to anyone outside your household, you can be liable for damages in the event that something goes wrong.

Herbs can have side effects and harmful interactions with pre-existing health conditions or medications just like anything else we put into our bodies. Don’t assume that just because something is “natural” that it is “better” or without complications.

And if you insist on recommending herbal cures without a license, you should be aware that practicing medicine…including herbal medicine…without a license is a crime, and you can face fines and/or jail time.

Each state has its own definition of what it means to practice medicine, though these definitions involved the same general type of activity. A person practices medicine whenever [they attempt] to diagnose a patient, treat medical conditions, prescribe medications or treatments, or perform surgery. The unauthorized practice of medicine also includes advertising your services as a physician, or holding yourself out to the public as a physician, doctor, surgeon, or someone licensed to practice medicine. If you actually perform medical treatments, it is not necessary for you to receive any kind of compensation to be convicted of this crime, nor do your actions have to result in harm to the patient.

- Mark Theoharis, Attorney (See article linked above)

Hi hi!

Tons of artists–including my boyfriend, @jamesbousema – will have a large chunk of their income missing this year; we rely on cons to support ourselves (and for some artists, that’s their sole source of income), so with those cons cancelled due to corona virus, many folks are struggling financially. 

I’m working on making a master post/thread of artists with online sales/shops who are trying to make ends meet after the flood of con cancellations. Maybe we can start a Cyber Monday in March sort of deal and support them this month.

I NEED YOUR HELP! If the con cancellations directly affect you/your income, link to your online shop in the comments/reblogs here. Or, if you’re not an artist but know artists affected, please tag them and/or link to their shops.

I'm going to make a discord server for pagans ages 16-25, preferably those who are LGBTQ+ but you're also free to join if you're an ally! I'd especially love love love if any lokeans or people who practice kemetism join but it's in no way a requirement :)

even if you don't want to join it'd be great if you rb'd this and spread it around!

Me:

Me:

Me: opens tiktok and posts a tiktok

I have no idea where this idea came from, but I really fucking like it.