#polythiest

Saw this on r/Hellenism and I needed it today.

I hope it finds you if you needed it too.

This is an opinion I have that many will not agree with. Frankly, some might find it even offensive. That’s okay. I haven’t posted in more than a month for a good reason. It is that despite the fact that interest in the occult and mythology has skyrocketed in the last few years, the general trend has been just that: a trend. It is agonizing watching this community flounder and struggle for a multitude of reasons. One of them being, the desire to make this path “easy” and “low effort”. Obviously I understand the purpose behind this. This is an othered community that attracts people on the outskirts, which includes those with disabilities. However, the attitude that is taken when you approach this lifestyle and practice from a “simple” perspective is doomed to fail. I have noticed over the last several years, is that there is genuinely next to no progression in occult spaces, and that is for a simple reason: echo chambers and the unwillingness to put the work in. From my place as an observer, it does not matter how elaborate your altars are, how flowery the language of your prayers flow, or how much you try to externally project your devotion; if you do not have a deep understanding of the context, culture, history, language, politics, philosophy, etc of your practice, you will always remain at surface level.

Do not mistake my bluntness for lack of understanding. Those are much heavier, deeper discussions and research than that of something like candle magic or sigil work that could be easily researched in a weekend. Many people do not have the mental capacity for that kind of work. Not as in being stupid, but rather mentally unequipped. Ex: if you struggled with history in school, unable to remember dates, figures, events, etc for the life of you, this kind of work is extremely challenging. And I find myself in a unique and privileged position where I am autistic, my special interests being the occult as well as history. And it is because of this unique position that I find myself saddened over the fact that many people, despite having loving connections with their spirits and a general sense of satisfaction with their practices, often find themselves stuck in the same places they were years ago.

As you all may or may not know, I am a married witch! I have spoken about my husband before in our motorcycles and car magic post, however I felt now would be an amazing time to talk about some of the rituals we do on anniversaries coming up! (September 17th to be exact) First of all, Happy 7 years darling, I am so proud to be your wife every day, and I am so grateful you have been my raven, my rock, and my partner in crime. I so adore you, and I cant wait to spend the rest of our time on the Tellus Mater together. Till death do us part, but even then we will remain ghosts on our record player. With that said, lets get started!

What is magical about an anniversary?

Much like any holiday, we create personal celebrations like birthdays, celebrations of life, and anniversaries to keep track of the time that has been spend together. It should be a celebration of love and strong living together! The first instance of a wedding anniversary comes from ancient Rome, where on each year of marriage the spouses would crown each other with things (more traditionally, the husbands to their wives) and on their 25th anniversary they would be crowned with a wreath of silver.

Later on, in 18th century Germany, people started a tradition of gift giving, and eventually created a yearly symbol you gift to someone as a tradition each year to ward off spirits, people looking to harm the bond, and even in some cases death itself!

Today we celebrate anniversaries around the world, whether you are recreating Armenian balance bread, or trying out Japanese senbazuru, however you choose to celebrate may it be unique and full of love!

Magical Ideas

Now we may need some spell and divination ideas for our anniversaries so here are some of the ones my husband and I love!

Follow the yearly gift guide! - This fun tradition is actually celebrated and honors world wide cultures because a lot of them had their own yearly traditions adapted into one! The old saying goes on your first year you give paper, the 5th you give wood, 10th you give aluminum, 25th you give silver, and 50th you give gold! These guides are a fun way to get connected to your relationship but also honors tradition which can strengthen your relationship magically!

2. Create a protection ritual for the year on your anniversary - when you start thinking about how to preserve your relationship you get a lot of factors you have to plan for. Every year my husband and I put obsidian arrowheads in the corner of our bedroom as a way to protect our sacred relationship! this process can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be

3. Petition and honor deities of marriage - Each year my husband and I honor 3 gods, Hera, Aine, and Zepar! This is because we wanted to honor our pagan practices and heritage in our marriage, so we picked one hellenic for my history, one irish for both of our ancestoral line, and one infernal for my husbands history! We do also petition elemental spirits, and update them as we do our yearly river walk

4. Create a shrine to your relationship - We created an altar to dedicate all our gifts to each other, and important works of art we have created, when we put together a shrine for our love, it really helped up to feel connected, so we like to renew it every year

5. Do some divination about the year ahead - Feel free to use this custom spread I use each year! Its awesome if you can do this together! Additionally, you can use cafe astrology to create a free "birth chart" for the day and time of your anniversary

Other ideas?

For my 18+ friends, design a sensual ritual that involves all 5 senses to link yours together

Create a magical meal together to protect and honor the relationship

Create a joint journal or scrap book for memories

Exchange cards, gifts, and sweets to make the other person feel special

Enjoy a nice time out getting coffee or exploring a garden

Make the bed together, and do chores together during the day, then rest and relax at night

In general anniversaries are special! I will be making an age restricted post about sexual magic very soon so stay tuned for that! I hope all of my friends have enjoyed this post, and from our family to yours, happy anniversary!

Christ The Shining Carpenters Son.

What was it I said?

Suffer the children,

To come unto me.

For my love is freely given.

From highest peak, to deepest sea.

What was it I was called?

The Carpenters Son-

The Worlds Redeemer.

The Sinless One.

The Shining Teacher.

What was it I did?

I walked upon the waves, calmed the storm

From my bottle poured water, in my cup swirled wine

Healed the broken, and hearts began to warm

I took on my back your sins for now and of all time

Wait one day or perhaps three

By Mary Magdalenes eyes

I am resurrected and we are granted eternity

For from my sacrifice no one truly dies.

So what is it I plea?

So remember me for all I've done,

The life I lived, the words I spoke,

The Carpenter’s Son, the Chosen One.

Salvation's story, for all the truly kind and loving folk.

That's one of the most Catholic takes I've ever heard.

3) Is your practice more ritualistic or casual? What does it look like?

I try to split the difference, honestly. I appreciate the importance of ritual, but I think there is a time and a place for it. Not everything can be, or in my mind should be, a big ritualistic moment. My religious and spiritual life needs little moments as well. Those small moments, especially when they come when you aren't expecting them, they're the ones that can really crystalize one's faith.

10) If you could have a direct conversation with your deity/deities right now, what would you tell them? I'm back in direct communication with the Forgotten Ones for the first time since I observed The Vigil of the Fall in early November, but most of our conversations since I've been allowed to contact them again has been how much I missed them and how much I appreciate their presence. 11) Do you pray? If so, what do your prayers look like?