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Maybe this’ll be unpopular but it’s been bugging me a lot lately.

Online there’s a lot of “my gods are so silly I gave them fun nicknames and we hang out like buddies lolz”

Online there’s a lot of “[insert religion] sucks! It’s boring and stupid and being pagan is sooooo much cooler! I’m more fulfilled than they’ll ever be!”

Online there’s a lot of trendy fads and expensive magick tools/altars/etc and people who will tell you who you should be even when it goes against your better judgement.

But a lot of baby witches and pagans will cling to the Internet as their only place to learn about their chosen spirituality.

Your spirituality is so much deeper and more meaningful than that. You, reading this now, YOU are capable of so much. If you feel jaded about life like I do right now, please log off for a moment.

Go meditate without any preconceptions or expectations. Just breathe, count your breaths. Feel the energy around you. If you can, light a candle and gaze into the flame. If you have any, hold a crystal and tune into it.

Go out in nature somewhere, anywhere, and feel the wind on your face. Breathe in the primordial earth. Listen to the sounds around you.

Your gods aren’t silly playthings for you to take out of a box and amuse yourself with when you’re bored. They’re powerful beings who deserve respect and shouldn’t be called on frivolously. Talk to them, give them offerings, but don’t degrade them to “spooky toy” status.

You don’t have to spend a dime on an altar. You don’t have to “look” a certain way. You don’t need all the bells and whistles or an impressive magical lineage.

Don’t shit all over other religions, even if you don’t agree with them. Respect them as their own identities. Your spirituality isn’t a trendy accessory to make you look edgy and unique. It’s a deeply felt reality for you, something that drives you from the core of your being. Laughing at someone else’s spiritual path is like pointing at someone’s purse and ridiculing it because it’s not as cool as yours. Spirituality isn’t an accessory, so don’t treat it like one or you risk looking like you aren’t confident in your own.

And finally, don’t try to search for your spiritual path online. Study and learn there, sure. Ask questions. Be curious. But don’t confuse Internet tags and Instagram photos for your own personal spiritual identity. The only way to develop your spiritual identity is by actively practicing, and I mean YOUR way. Don’t want to worship gods? Don’t. Uncomfortable with practicing magick? Don’t.

Please log off every now and then to decompress and turn inward, away from the allure of Internet spirituality. Energy, spirit, deities–these are all purely experiential things that require your full attention and considerable mindfulness. Please don’t shape your spiritual identity around boredom or edginess or nonconformity for its own sake. If you found your spirituality because it’s not mainstream or you thought you could learn some magick to make you interesting, then it’s based mainly on negative traits like guilt, anger, or escapism.

Let your spirituality be a driving force at the core of your being, something powerful and good and absolutely enchanting because it speaks to your soul. Take your spirituality out of its conceptual phase in your mind and put it into real, tangible practice.

I LOVE Artemis, always have. However, I know in my heart I’m NOT a devotee of her.