#closed practice

Of course!

For one it makes a habit of speaking for the gods by individuals who have no business or right speaking for the gods. You are not a priest, you are not an oracle, you are not a trained godphone. (And even if they are, always question them and their legitimacy. Saying that as a priestess and oracle in training).

Secondly, this idea that the gods are some mysterious figures that are far off and can't really be bothered with us and our feelings and so we can't have personal relationships (platonic/familial/romantic/sexual/etc) with them comes from (colonized) evangelical Christianity where Yahweh is this distant father figure and he cares about us, of course of course, but we should also feel lucky that he even spares us a glance! (🙄)

It often turns abusive behaviors into loving gestures as well, which we often see in the church. This attitude is often due to the fact that we have many pagans that still have Christian attitudes. And that's not shaming them! Deconstruction and healing religious trauma is a lengthy process and can take YEARS to do so. But it's still harmful rhetoric.

If YOU PERSONALLY have a strictly devotional and/or professional relationship with the divine then that's perfectly fine and valid. But not everyone will have a relationship with the divine like that. Some will have friendships with the divine, some will build themselves a family with the divine, some bang gods and angels and demons too, some have deep and loving romantic relationships with the divine, some have queerplatonic relationships with the divine, some even have alterous relationships with them.

And that's also okay and valid.

Also this take also just blatantly disregards so much mythology. "Don't be a myth literalist" doesn't mean completely disregard mythology. Another problem is that many people I've seen with this take (often white Hellenists) are speaking across the board and talking on/for practices that they have absolutely no fucking business talking about.

What if we talked about closed practices? Something I'd never heard of in all my years of practice/belief...

I started my journey as a Wiccan. Yes, yes, I know. Although at the time I thought I was just following a simple, easy-going belief system, I quickly found myself unable to be satisfied with that.

It's ugly, but like many people today, I sought to develop my practice and beliefs by being special. And by working with practices or pantheons without really doing any in-depth research.

You know what the worst part is? The boomerang effect.

I admit I was lucky, and for that, I will never be able to thank the goddess enough for coming to me and teaching me this lesson.

• In fact, this post is a bit of a tribute to her.

I would like to help those who are unaware of it to open their eyes to this perspective. At first, the concept of closed practices/beliefs seemed unclear to me. Between doing whatever you want as long as you don't hurt anyone, only practicing according to your blood heritage, only practicing according to a specific ethnicity...

= In short, I searched. And I SEARCHED, for a

long time. A really long time

I spent hours researching, reading, and everything else I could, to the point where my eyes were stinging.

Why? Because I didn't want to be disrespectful anymore.

Know that there are many things that are closed practices or beliefs. And many that are also open. To you. And the answers will be different. (Country, Culture, Initiation, etc.)

Here are some examples of closed practice:

• White sage

• Voodoo

• Jewish beliefs and mysticism (Kabbalah, etc.)

• Irish and Scottish Celtic beliefs

• The majority of beliefs linked to pantheons such as: Slavic, Asian, African, etc.

• Monotheistic beliefs... And I'll stop there, but there are MANY more.

A closed practice or belief doesn't necessarily mean untouchable. For some, you can have an initiation that allows you to open these doors, so to speak. BUT. It's important to understand that initiation, for example, isn't something that can be rushed. It requires time and commitment, sometimes several years. And apparently, it proves its worth.

New Age paganism doesn't only have advantages. It takes a way of thinking and turns it into a system.

Practicing a closed practice is disrespectful to the gods of the pantheon, the ancestors connected to these beliefs or practices, and it can be dangerous for you.

BODY TEA