the sun

I've been thinking of making an updated, transparent version of my original Pride Protection Sigil for a while now, so I figured Pride Month was a perfect moment for it! I remade the shapes I could in photoshop, copied the thorny vines from the original, and then made a bunch of different community ones (see more under the cut).

I've designed this sigil as a protection for the entire rainbow community. You can print it out or redraw it yourself. Place a candle over it, use it as a base of a crystal grid, place it on your altar and meditate, make it the centre of a (digital) moodboard, whatever feels right for you.

The centre of the sigil is the Progress Pride flag, symbolizing our community (you can redraw the sigil and place a different flag inside, if you wish to focus on a specific part of the community). Around it is a black circle (protection, community) which is made by five stickfigures holding hands (people, community). Around them is a square (protection) and then a ring of intertwined briar branches with the thorns pointing outwards (again, protection). On the right side I also snuck the rune Thurisaz (briar, protection) into the ring of briar branches. The pentacle in the centre stands for magic as well as, surprise, protection. Customize this for whatever you need, the pentacle is optional, place more stickfigures, change the flag, whatever makes it work for you.

It's a massive issue that the over-collection of seashells has led to. While efforts are being made to attempt to combat the problem, those of us who live near coasts and hermit crab populated areas can help our crabby friends by keeping our hands off the shells that hermit crabs use as homes!

You may be wondering, "Stag, what does this have to do with Hellenic Polytheism?" Many worshippers and devotees of ocean-related deities like to collect seashells and give them as offerings, so this is somewhat of a PSA to maybe think twice before picking up certain shells.

Hermit crab seashells can look like the following:

Someone tries to dictate your beliefs and/or practice based on their personal experiences (aka UPG, or unverified personal gnosis).

They claim the gods will punish you if you don't go along with them.

They appeal to conspiracy theories to justify their beliefs. (See also Is the spiritual person a conspiracy theorist? A list of red flags.)

They make big, dramatic predictions (like claiming aliens will arrive on a certain date, or that the ancient gods will return and overthrow the government soon).

They claim to have a big, important role in the grand cosmic drama (like claiming they're the Archangel Michael and they're going to fight Satan, which will lead to the fall of the government).

They are extremely opposed to skepticism, critical thinking, and/or academia. Not merely critical where it's actually appropriate, but treating it like it's all pure evil.

They encourage you to cut off people who don't believe or criticize what they teach.

They are absolutely certain they can use mystical means (like astrology or tarot) to determine whether someone is a good or bad person.

They are absolutely certain they can just sense whether someone is good or bad.

They are absolutely certain they can use mystical means to find out what another person is thinking or doing.

They claim you were connected to them in a past life.

Theistic Satanists, Luciferians and other people who work with demons when they're trying to do actual research on their guides but keep getting stuff for Helluva Boss:

Norse Pagans and Heathens when they have to sift through 5 different layers of Nazi bullshit just to find a single credible source that isn't bigoted:

Celtic Pagans who are trying to research their deities but keep just finding repackaged Wiccan traditions that aren't historical at fucking all:

Kemetic Pagans trying to find actual quality historically accurate information about Ancient Egyptian Religion but just keep running into stuff that Victorian "scholars" just made the fuck up:

Roman Pagans watching people treat their religion like it's basically just Hellenic Polytheism but slightly to the left when it's so much more complex than that:

Slavic Pagans trying to find a single fucking credible source on their religion and find another person who also practices it:

Hypnos of those tossing and turning in bed,

Hypnos of 3am cigarettes.

Hypnos of the sleepy,

Hypnos of the constantly tired,

Hypnos of those who try to escape their reality in their sleep.

Hypnos of the sleeping pills,

Hypnos of the meds that cause insomnia as a side effect,