You know, that’s a question I ask myself all the time. Regarding your example of Apollo vs Lugh, I actually more so think of Helios and I don’t associate Lugh with the sun that much. But I get what you’re saying. Even for deities that preside over the same aspect, say like war for the Morrigan or Ares, there’s still a difference. It’s the feeling that’s the difference, though I don’t mind having multiple deities preside over the same thing. Even in one pantheon, like the Hellenic, many deities have the same or similar responsibilities. 

Death and the afterlife is where I have the most questions. My truthful answer is that I have no clue, but I don’t mind that. I do believe in the afterlife but the specifics are blurry and I’m okay with that. 

My belief system works by keeping what’s different separate and what’s the same together. That sounds weird and it is, but it’s what works for me. For instance, when praying to Zeus I tend to cover my hair but I don’t cover when praying to Brighid. Each get their separate altar, and I perform three different prayers each day (one to the Hellenic gods, one to the Gaelic gods, and the third to my ancestors). Their holy days are their holy days, so I don’t pray to Persephone on Samhain and I don’t pray to Lugh during the Eleusinian Mysteries. What’s the same is a lot of values, like hospitality and honoring one’s family, so I incorporate that into my everyday life and how I worship. 

However, days that I honor that are part of my personal calendar (April Fools Day, the 4th of July, Memorial Day, the first day of crab fishing) I tend to have an overlap of deities that I pray to. Specifically, on Veteran’s Day, I pray to Ares, Athena and the Morrigan. So far I have encountered no problems with this kind of mixing. 

In my opinion, worshiping two pantheons in the manner that I do is difficult but doable. I make sure to respect both and keep with certain traditions but I keep things open for what works for me. Additionally, I’ve only been doing this form of things for almost 2 years which isn’t a lot of time! I’m still learning, I’m still seeing how I can do this respectfully whilst keeping things truthful for myself. I couldn’t give up either pantheon, and trust me, I tried. I thought the only right way was to worship one pantheon, but when I tried to reject the Gaelic gods, I felt so wrong. And when I tried to reject the Hellenic gods, it felt wrong as well. 

This is my current altar in the morning to the Hellenic gods. I have no statues, no pretty jewelry or expensive candles. The only fancy thing I use is the cups I use to offer libations, and those were passed down to me. 

RULES- Tag 10 followers you wanna get to know more BIRTHDAY- December 12 GENDER- She/Her RELATIONSHIP STATUS- Taken ZODIAC SIGN- Sagittarius SIBLINGS- Older sister who is extremely artistic but very unorganized, and a younger brother who’s very intelligent but also enjoys getting on my nerves PETS- Two cats, Dolly and Darren, and two dogs, Charlie and Penny WAKE UP TIMES- During the summer I wake up around 8-9 am, but during school I wake up at 5-5:30 am LOVE/LUST- Love LEMONADE/ICED TEA- Lemonade (specifically strawberry or peach)  DAY/NIGHT- Day because I go to bed early TEXT/CALL- Text but I enjoy calling my best friend and boyfriend MET A CELEBRITY?- An author I loved but she isn’t well known SMILE/EYES- Eyes but, hey, always here for a smile LIGHT/DARK HAIR- Very dark brown hair SHORT/TALL- I’m a shorty, 5′ 3″ (a half inch!)   CITY/COUNTRY- City LAST SONG LISTENED TO- Loner by Mikky Ekko

I’m so glad it’s helping, even at its beginning stages!

I’m sorry if this took a long time for me to respond, there’s been a lot of issues with my computer and I’ve been really busy. 

Shutting down is definitely not a long term healthy way of dealing with emotions, however, I can see how it was necessary. Short term, it does have its uses but because you’ve (I’ve assumed) deemed it unhealthy, I’m guessing you’re using it as a not so great method. It’s understandable. 

Now, I’m not a therapist nor do I have any training in counseling, psychology or any field pertaining to the brain. Additionally, while I’ve been practicing witchcraft for a few years, it is not nearly enough to call myself an expert and claim to be able to give out super sound advice. With this disclaimer, this is what I think works from my experience.

Witchcraft wise, you can try shielding or doing grounding/visualization exercises while in public. If you already have a way of grounding or cleansing yourself that doesn’t involve tools, use that. 

Additionally, if you have a tendency to draw from certain people, certain emotions or whatever else, identify what that is. Are you affected more heavily by angry people or people with a lot of emotional baggage or energetic people? What helps you stay rooted in who you are and what your emotions are? What helps you not feel drained, if this is something you suffer from?

(pt.2)Follow up to what I said earlier about wanting to practice but not knowing how to start. 1. how do you become a witch? 2. I know nothing about it to even ask another question but it interests me beyond belief.. HELP ME OUT lol.

 The great and overwhelming thing about witchcraft is that there’s so much to it, that it can be pretty much anything. Some important questions; if you’re religious, do you want it to be included in your practice? Or do you want it to be separate because witchcraft can be totally secular. How important are other people to your practice? Is the solitary lifestyle for you or is a group setting what you crave (coven, study group, ect)? 

This post is really good and I also recommend the blog (thepunkgreenwitch). Make sure to follow as many blogs as you can but be careful about the information you see- unless you follow the Neo-/Wiccan brand of witchcraft, there’s a lot of influences that state it’s simply witchcraft but really it’s not. 

First of all, congrats on wanting to be out with your mom! Not all people are comfortable with their parents knowing their religion, especially if it’s not “the norm” so you should be really proud of yourself.

It’s great that she’s accepting of your sexuality! However, how accepting is she of other religions? How important is your religion to her? If you feel like it’s safe for you to tell her this, then swell. 

In my opinion, cars are great places to have certain discussions but that might be different in your life. Additionally, a lot of discussions can start with questions like, “How would you feel if I (insert whatever)?” or “What do you know about (insert thingy)?”. The most important thing is to breathe, to make sure you’re getting your point across (that you want her to know this because (x) reason) and that she understands your beliefs. If it seems appropriate, prayer could be of use. Unfortunately, I don’t know you, your situation, how old you are, ect so I can’t give you a definitive answer even though I wish I could. Best of luck!