Mother of Mushrooms

Posts & Articles

Check your conspiracy theory. Does any of it sound like this?

Check your conspiracy theory part two: double, double, boil and trouble.

QAnon is an old form of anti-Semitism in a new package, experts say

Some antisemitic dogwhistles to watch out for

Eugenicist and bioessentialist beliefs about magic

New Age beliefs that derive from racist pseudoscience

The New Age concept of ascension - what is it?

A quick intro to starseeds

Starseeds: Nazis in Space?

Reminder that the lizard alien conspiracy theory is antisemitism

The Ancient Astronaut Hypothesis is Racist and Harmful

The Truth About Atlantis

Why the Nazis were obsessed with finding the lost city of Atlantis

The Nazis' love affair with the occult

Occultism in Nazism

Red flag names in cult survivor resources/groups (all of them are far right conspiracy theorists/grifters)

The legacy of implanted Satanic abuse ‘memories’ is still causing damage today

Why Satanic Panic never really ended

Dangerous Therapy: The Story of Patricia Burgus and Multiple Personality Disorder

Remember a Previous Life? Maybe You Have a Bad Memory

A Case of Reincarnation - Reexamined

Crash and Burn: James Leininger Story Debunked

Debunking Myths About Easter/Ostara

Just How Pagan is Christmas, Really?

The Origins of the Christmas Tree

No, Santa Claus Is Not Inspired By Odin

Why Did The Patriarchal Greeks And Romans Worship Such Powerful Goddesses?

No, Athena Didn't Turn Medusa Into A Monster To Protect Her

Who Was the First God?

Were Ancient Civilizations Conservative Or Liberal?

How Misogyny, Homophobia, and Antisemitism Influence Transphobia

Podcasts & Videos

BS-Free Witchcraft

Angela's Symposium

ESOTERICA

ReligionForBreakfast

Weird Reads With Emily Louise

It's Probably (not!) Aliens

Conspirituality

Miniminuteman

“Untitled talisman”

Well... It's not a good idea per se. Their venom is potent enough to hurt adults and kill children. But the same goes for horses, and those are common animals to keep around.

Black widows are very docile. People have been known to handle them without any issue (which I have to stress I don't recommend you do, because a bite can send you to the hospital, but it does illustrate how docile they are). They're also very slow, like other orb weavers, so they can't suddenly bolt.

As long as you keep it in an escape-proof enclosure, there isn't really anything wrong with it.

I already mentioned in the original reply that black widows are capable of killing small children, but that's not exactly an exceptional trait among our companion animals. Horses, snakes, pigs, dogs, and even cats, have all killed children before. Should we "kill the motherfuckers" on sight too? Of course not! They're just animals!

This is coming from the same child who was also bit by a brown recluse when playing in a friend's yard and it nearly killed me. That was not the recluse's fault- I was a toddler, and I likely was not aware of my surroundings enough to realize that I was making it feel threatened.

Black widows, as long as they are not put in a position where they feel as though they are in danger, are not out to get you. If you see one, for example, in your kids playhouse- Absolutely relocate it, which is possible to do very safely without harm to yourself or the spider, because as above mentioned, they are very slow moving animals. They could hurt a child if a child accidentally smushes it because they aren't aware of it, but if you are aware of and careful of a widow the chances of you getting bit are almost impossible.

Just like with my dad's widow in a jar- He taught me to be aware of the spider, and respectful of the fact that it's dangerous... He was always very careful to make sure it never escaped the jar (Easy to do, slow spider.) And to secure the lid between feedings. The risk of being harmed keeping a widow in a jar is minimal.

It's been a moment since I uploaded any macrophotography. This harvester ant stumbled onto my jacket from somewhere so I carried her out, but I did take a moment to photo and video her. Looked a little sluggish at first but she wandered off under her own power quite capably.

Ants can be a real pain to photograph, they're small, dark, and skittish, not to mention many species are extremely shiny so they're hard to illuminate. One of the masters of ant photography is Alex Wild, a doctor of entomology at the University of Austin.

however, in otostigmines (and some others) like the Ethmostigmus trigonopodus below, there is also a spiracle on segment 7.

otostigmines also have very round, gaping spiracles, compared to the more discreet triangular flaps of scolopendrines. segment count, spiracle count, and spiracle shape are useful features for identification to family/subfamily level.

I know that, you know that, but when it looks like supernatural things you look to supernatural solutions and you might not be thinking clearly.

Drafty house. Uneven floors. Pressure changes.

Toxic mold syndrome can mimic depression and anxiety, cause listlessness. Guess what extreme anxiety can do. It can mess with your head. It can mess with your memory.

If you have scratches on you and you dont know where they came from, see a doctor. See a doctor. I dont know why you wont see a doctor. They can tell you if it comes from an animal. They can tell you if you're suffering from a mold allergy. They can tell you if you're experiencing side effects of gas exposure.

I wholeheartedly believe in ghosts. Absolutley not debating that ghosts and spirits and whatever you think you're seeing. I am posting this in a pagan facebook group. I 100% believe in ghosts.

I also believe in carbon monoxide.

This is why we need to stress, and I mean really stress, that mundane explanations are just as important as superstitious ones, and why I genuinely worry about our echo chambers.

Yes, I know we all want to believe that the feelings of dread may be coming from an evil presence in the room, but also certain hvac systems hum at a frequency that causes confusion and anxiety.

Yes it seems reasonable that your doors open and close on their own because granmas ghost is still hanging around. But please consider that the foundation of your house might be shifting.

Yes, you might feel a sense that something bad is going to happen, but that can also be generalized anxiety or obsessive compulsive disorder.

And being in a circle that refuses to accept that mundane explanations for supernatural problems feeds and triggers delusions. The pagan/witchcraft community is extremely neuro diverse, and these delusions can trigger spirals and put people in very... very bad places.

Please accept mundane explanations.

You are not 'crazy' for seeing ghosts and your house is not dirty for needing an inspection.

If you get an inspection and it comes back clean, you can feel smug about being right. If you dont get an inspection and you're wrong you and your children could get sick and die.

Armored millipede, Eucentrobolus tamulus, Pachybolidae

Found in southern India

Orange-spotted fruit chafer, Mecynorhina passerinii, Cetoniinae, Scarabaeidae

Found from Tanaznia down through South Africa. Like the more familiar common green June beetle (Cotinis nitida), larvae in this subfamily are known for crawling upside down using muscular pads on their back rather than their legs (seen in photo 10).

I love spirituality, I love witchcraft, but we need to make something very clear. 

Science and medicine cannot and will not ever be something that witchcraft can replace. 

You still need to get vaccinated.

You still need to go to your therapist.

You still need to get antibiotics.

You still need your cancer treatments.

You still need your check ups.

You still need to believe scientists.

So it’s Flu Season again, and this recipe for Tea To Fix What Ails You was given to me by a Christian friend, and I’ve taken to calling it JESUS TEA due to it’s miraculous properties.  Even though it, technically, contains no tea.  This tea is as caffinie-free as anything processed in a US plant can get, but be sure to check the provenance and all ingredients in case of allergies.

You will Need:

A Bigass Pot, becuase this is something you make in large quantities

working stovetop

those lil cloth sachets you use for wassail/empty teabags/those lil reuseable loose-leaf tea steepers.

Recipe:

about a quart of water

1 cup apple cider

about half a lemon’s worth of juice

a shitwhack of honey- try to get as local as possible and generally the less-processed the better if you want to build a resistance to local allergens. If you have allergy concerns or don’t like the taste of honey, go ahead and use more processed stuff/another sweetener instead.

three tablespoons/three bags chamomile tea

three tablespoons/three bags rooibos tea

teaspoon crushed cloves

1 cinnamon stick (more if you like it spicier)

¼ tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cayenne or white pepper

Bring water to a simmer in the pot.  Add the chamomile, rooibos and spices to steep about 4-5 minutes or longer if you like tea-flavored tar which given you have the flu you probably do.  Add Cider, Lemon Juice and Honey until dissolved.  Drink all of this in the course of an hour to stay hydrated, make more pots as needed or until you pass out. 

I also calculated a single serving version, which I’m putting here in case anyone wants to make it that way:

1 cup hot water

¼ cup apple cider (or more, I prefer 1/3 cup)

1 tbsp honey (or more, to taste)

a dash of lemon juice

½ tsp spice mixture

1 ½ tbsp tea mixture

Mix the spices together in one container, and mix the two kinds of tea together in another. Measure out of these the above amounts. (Don’t try to store the two things together, the spices will sink to the bottom and you won’t get the right measurements.)

Use a tea infuser/tea bag/cheesecloth/whatever to keep the herb bits from floating off into your drink. Steep for the usual 4-5 minutes, then add the cider, honey, and lemon.

that, is a “Shitwhack”

Disabled witches & pagans are sacred. We don't need anyone's acceptance or inclusion to be real worshippers and witches. We are the blood and bones of magik and paganism.

You can't exclude us from witchcraft and paganism. What you can do is distort the craft, violate the core of our theology, and disrespect our traditions. Your ableism cuts us off from our means to practice, it limits our access, but it can never, ever make it more yours than ours.

In Hellenic Polytheism (and so many religions), ableism is disrespecting the gods. When you say negativity and illness has no space in worship, you ignore all worship of Dionysos. Your constant use of slurs against the disabled does not go unnoticed by the family of Hephaistos. Apollon, patron of a blind prophet, watches you refuse to accommodate the blind members of your community. Hermes and Athena see your refusal to learn and improve, despite the tools they have granted you. Asklepios and Apollon did not give us medicine for you to advocate disabled worshipers skip their pills.

And where do you think your herbs are from? Do you think your encyclopedias of magik and medicine were all written by abled hands? Disabled people sought out and found the remedies you use in your craft. We wrote those books. The knowledge wasn't pulled from thin air, and everything was discovered intentionally.

You don't need to tell us we're valid. We are not foreigners to this craft, and we don't need your hospitality. Magik and religion is not the property of the able-bodied. What we need is basic decency and accessibility, not half-hearted attempts by ableds to convince us that our presence "isn't actively bad."

You never seek validation from us. You never ask if you're too abled to practice--why do you assume we need approval from you?

For my disabled pagans and practitioners:

You are sacred. Your disability doesn't weaken your craft, and it doesn't need to be separate. You never have to be happy to be disabled, but know that your disability is not a curse. Magik has always been for you, always. The gods have always been for you. The universe and the divine are not ableist, and no one has a right to tell you how your disability affects your practice.

If I can say one thing to stick with you, I hope it's that you don't need to be valid. Your access needs aren't "special" or something for ableds to convince you aren't a detriment. You--all of you, disability and access needs included--make the world a better place and the craft that much stronger. You don't need to overcome anything. All you need is to exist. Know that what you are now is enough.