Philadelphia Pagan

It's April, but the team at CTWC is hard at work, making plans and spinning spells ✨🧙 🖤 SAVE THE DATE! Announcing CRITWITCHCON2026! September 4-6, 2026 ✨🧙 🖤 A virtual 3-day event for witches, skeptics, & seekers! Join us for three days of witchy weirdness, community, speakers, panels, workshops, and more! Welcome to the Critical Thinking Witch Collective! Formed in 2021, we came together to make a space for critical thinking witches; witches who research, who apply scientific reasoning, who learn from history, and who question assumptions and biases ✨🧙 🖤 Our name has changed, but our mission remains the same: to bring together a community of critical thinking witches and seekers who respect reason, logic, and science as we also acknowledge the genuine beauty and meaning in the mysterious. And we plan to have fun while we do it ✨🧙 🖤 Details are in development, but you can learn more about us at www.criticalthinkingwitches.com ✨🧙 🖤

I want to do something before the surgery so I feel more secure and less scared of something going wrong, and I want to do something after to promote healing and pain relief. I cannot find anything and I am not yet proficient at writing my own. Aside from being scared I'm elated that this evil organ is getting removed so I can hopefully finally get some pain relief! I feel no sense of loss whatsoever only happiness for what I stand to gain. Do you have any ideas of where I can look for pre and post surgery rituals/better examples of how to write my own? Only being able to find "boohoo your poor uterus " stuff is making me even more stressed out

I never know what to do with this kind of ask. Like I'm glad people think I can be helpful, but it kind of goes past my normal limits.

So I really don't have a good answer, because the kind of spell work I do is really specific, and adapted for my stuff, and I'm kind of private about it. I'm not really the kind of person who collects spell techniques or sources for them, so I don't have good ideas that can easily work for someone in your situation off the top of my head.

Anon, it sounds like you were maybe looking for spells specifically for before a uterine surgery, or spells about your ute in general. Because I very rarely see spells about the womb outside of pregnancy + birth stuff.

So what should you look for instead? Healing, banishment, and calm. You want the surgical team to have skill and luck and energy to be at their best. You want to lower your anxieties about this surgery. You want the healing process to be quick and low-complication. You want the pain source gone.

For the banishing pain stuff: perhaps draw a uterus on paper, complete with the endo growth on it. Cover it in words for the pain and other symptoms it's saddled you with. Use yr words to imbue it with the energies of the endo, and then tie it up and throw it away. Think about various curses, bindings, and banishings, and just substitute "your human target" with "your traitorous organ who really did not need to do as much as it is"

For anti-anxiety: im very bad at this because in general I don't feel anxiety before a procedure until the tools are out. But maybe make and charge a sigil for "I am calm for my surgery." Draw it on your wrist in eyeliner (felt tip is easiest to use ime) or henna. Between now and surgery, whenever you start feeling scared and worried about the surgery, touch the sigil on the wrist and focus on how GREAT it's gonna be to be pain-free. Think of what you'll be able to do now that you're not held down by this fuckass uterus + its friends. Keep holding the sigil until you calm down and excited for the future. The sight of the sigil will soon be its own source of calm and joy, and help stave off the waves of panic before they start.

For pre-surgery: I'd maybe look for spells for success, victory, and luck. Maybe this is a spell jar situation? let's go with that. Into a jar put the name of the hospital, the name of the surgeon if you have it, and also your name. Add herbs, stones, and symbols of success, victory, and luck. A lucky penny, a bay leaf, a clover, an acorn, cinnamon. (i don't actually know anything about crystals lol) Say a lil something over the jar to explain that you're infusing all this luck and skill into the people in the jar (hospital, surgical team, you). Add to it and maybe shake it up every 4 days or every thursday (both jupiter aligned, jupiter the planet of success and like. owning your domain. in the way that you are owning yr body)

For post-surgery: honestly i would not do anything during this time because you'll be recoveringgggg. But if you do have the energy for spellwork, we want Swift Healing and Rest. I'd go with a tea mix. Chamomile, lavender, rose hips, and maybe more herbs depending on whether you like their flavor. (check the side effects--those three are generally safe but idk your exact body) Drink and feel your body stitching itself back together with the aid of the surgeon's work.

I'm of two minds about using motherwort and/or mugwort in any step here: on the one hand, they're said to be good for uterine health like calming cramps. And magically i believe that "removing the source of a fucktonne of pain and unruly tissue" counts. Just because the uterine health process in question here is removal doesn't mean it's not like. health. Mugwort in specific can help you sleep and Rest is important in recovery

but 1. your mileage may vary. might feel to you like those plants would want you to keep your uterus even though you very much do not want it.

and mmore importantly 2. these herbs are supposed to have some effect on the uterus. I've seen "triggering menstruation," "increasing bloodflow to the ute," and "triggering menstruation specifically by encouraging the ute to move." It's enough that both herbs are contraindicated when pregnant. And while I could not find scientific studies explaining the precise action these plants have on the body, I know I very mmuch do not know enough about what's going on with your body to know if these herbs would be contraindicated post-hysterectomy. (yeah the uterus and most of the endo tissue is gone but what if? the herb affects the remaining endometriosis tissue?) So even if you feel like the herbs would be supportive post-surgery, I would talk to your doctor and surgeon about it before putting it in the tea mix. Maybe just put the mug/motherwort into the spell jar instead.

I made this a long time ago and was very nervous about posting it to Tumblr. I can’t really think of a good caption~ everything I wanted to say is in the little blurb at the beginning. 

‘God of Arepo’ Fan-made graphic novel 

I randomly stumbled on this absolutely stunning mural that was just completed in Dundalk, Ireland!

It’s apparently part of a new urban art festival there and this piece portrays Brighid as both goddess and saint. The colors are absolutely stunning and I’m in love with it!

Art by Friz

Their response was to offer to replace my copy of the deck with the Modern Spellcaster’s Tarot, which, besides the fact that I already owned that deck, so thanks for nothing, but also, it in NO way addressed the issues I actually had with the lack of diversity in the LCT, and therefore, the lack of diversity with Llewellyn’s tarot branding in general.

Their mindset of “Well, this deck was made multicultural on purpose so you can have that one if you want it” doesn’t answer why the LCT deck wasn’t made that way on purpose, or why you have to specifically ask for diversity in order to receive it. I asked them why whiteness was their default and why they didn’t want to move away from it and they didn’t have an answer.

They still don’t! In fact, they have taken Corrine Kenner’s amazing Wizards Tarot, which made an attempt at diversity, and replaced it with a new Wizards Tarot that, as best as I can tell, is another Llewellyn deck full of white people. (If there’s any POC in there they must be hiding in some of the minor arcana cards I haven’t seen yet and I probably won’t see because I can’t bring myself to actually pay money for that deck.)

Another Barbara Moore deck full of white people.

Let me make myself very, very clear: Black lives matter. I am not here to take up space and talk about my white feelings about the #BLM protests. But I 100% support everything the protestors are doing, and I 1000% support defunding the police (like actually dismantling the policing structure, not just clawing back funding). If you want to help and can’t protest, donate to bail funds and the NAACP. Donate to your local Black Cultural Organization. Uplift and elevate black voices, and call out your racist fucking uncle.

Okay. Strap in, this is gonna be bumpy, and long.

I am so unbelievably disappointed, but so massively not surprised at the response of many during this incredible time of revolution. I am disappointed in the pagan and witchcraft community for continuing to excuse and practice cultural appropriation, including ATR and Voudou. I have seen some NASTY arguments and racist backpedaling.

I am also, as someone who reads a lot of books, am really pissed off at most of the occult publishers right now. Let’s talk about why, one by one:

Llewellyn: Llewellyn as a publisher makes a lot of money from white folks writing about ATR and cultural practices that don’t belong to them. They spent Blackout Tuesday promoting their own magazine and events, and did not mention #blm in any capacity until JUNE 11. They made the following statement:

“Llewellyn Worldwide stands together with all those who have been working tirelessly to enact the changes needed to eradicate racial injustice and systemic racism here in our hometown of Minneapolis-St. Paul, across the country, and around the world. We are, as we have always been for our 100-plus years, deeply committed to elevating a diversity of voices and to act as a conduit reaching and teaching their respective audiences. We stand with our employees and authors, our local community, and our readers, who are united in the effort to build and sustain a more inclusive world. However, words are often not enough, and we are looking at what we can do better as a company. Inspired by the progressive work of our late President and Chairman Carl Llewellyn Weschcke, we have recently donated to the NAACP, and to “We Love Lake Street” and “The Hamline Midway Coalition” - two organizations working to rebuild the neighborhoods and cities our company and our employees call home. We hope that our small steps for change join with many others to create a large and lasting global footprint for generations to come.“

Which is nice, I guess. But unless you’re changing your practices and publishing more books by BIPOC authors and stop letting lily white men write about African diaspora traditions, it’s performative as hell. I mean, The money is nice, but how much did this multi-million dollar publishing house donate? $100? We don’t know because they didn’t tell us. Be accountable, and if you’re a multi-million dollar company that is HQ in Minneapolis, show the damn receipts.

They also had some horrible comments on their FB page stating that occult subjects are generally white. Wow.

Red Wheel/Weiser: I was pleased to see they’ve been promoting Lilith Dorsey’s work, as of June 10, as she’s a black author who writes about Voodou and ATR. They generally have a more balanced catelogue, and most of the books written about Voodoo and ATR are by actual BIPOC practitioners. However, they’ve made no mention of #BLM specifically on their social media, which is disappointing. I think in these times, you need to be very clear, very direct about your support. I wish they would just come out and say they support black folks and support organizations that help people fighting for rights.

Troy Books: They haven’t been active on social media since April.

Anathema Publishing: Very active promoting their own authors, but nothing about what’s going on in the world. Their stance is completely apolitical (which is BS).

Moon Books: They don’t seem to have any social media I can find, but their website says nothing.

Three Hands Press: Not active on social media since 2016, nothing on their site, and all of their authors are white.

Scarlet Imprint: Active on social media, nothing mentioned.

Avalonia Books: Active on social media multiple times a day, nothing mentioned.

I’m sure I missed some publishers, but this is a big chunk of them.

So, why is this a big deal?

It’s a big deal because it means that the majority of the information going out (specifically by Llewellyn) about ATR and Voudou is being written by white authors. It means that what should be a black led discussion about their diasporic traditions is a white led discussion. It’s a big deal because many BIPOC don’t feel at home in the pagan community, and are often told things like ‘you should just practice things from Africa’. It’s a big deal because white people have already done enough to silence and obfuscate black voices, and the last place we should be doing this is in our spiritual communities, which are supposed to be built on understanding and acceptance.

Now is not the time for pretty words and fence sitting. You are either unequivocally behind Black Lives Matter, or you are complicit. You need to directly, loudly, and authentically support BIPOC fighting for their rights. You need to join the fight.

What do I suggest? Start putting pressure on these publishers to uplift and promote BIPOC voices. Speak with your wallet. But truly? Read more writing by BIPOC. Follow people on here like @witches-ofcolor​, @borinquenaqueer​, @hellboundwitch​ and @blackwitchspace​. Read more blogs from folks like Bri the Hoodwitch, Crystal Blanton, and Black Witch. Elevate those voices and really, really listen.

AND TELL OFF YOUR RACIST UNCLE.