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hey, i was wondering if you had any specific resources/books (mostly books) to recommend for people looking to practice paganism?
sorry for answering so late, paganism as a whole is out of my wheelhouse but irish paganism specifically
Morgan Daimler did several mini books with the Pagan Portals series that are all pretty good. Specifically i love Gods and Goddesses of Ireland as a quick easy reference for the deities- who they are, how they relate to eachother, what stories theyre in, associations list, this book has it all in nice little page long entries. Also she has one just called Irish Paganism which is a pretty good starting place for beginners!
Harp, Club, and Cauldron from Eel and Otter Press is the best book about the Dagda in existence. Genuinely- start here to understand this deity, skip everything else, just read this book. Excellent work, no notes.
Through the Mist by Morgan Daimler is the author's translation of several stories written in old irish. i generally trust her translations above those of like Lady Gregory for example for accuracy's sake. Lady Gregory and some other contributors to irish mythology have great and interesting work thats super important to know, but Daimler does very little/ no embellishing and essentially just translates the texts.
Ogam Weaving Word Wisdom by Erynn Rowan Laurie is the best book to read about ogham imo. its not perfect and she does a lot of her own theorizing to explain letters, but its super grounded in the lore and has the most accurate stuff in one place ive ever found!
not irish but Welsh Witchcraft by Mhara Starling is pretty good for understanding some general concepts of celtic isles philosophy and magic, has some good spells and ritual suggestions, with a heavy emphasis on solitary practice. super helpful and interesting stuff!
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How does one reconcile their intellectual awareness that magic is not real with their desire to engage with the spiritual? I keep banging my head on the wall trying to fill this hole in the life but it just feels like I’ve had a magic tricked explained to me and I’ve lost the ability to enjoy the spectacle. I don’t mean for this question to sound smug or snarky I genuinely need advice.
this depends a lot on your tradition, so ill answer it from my perspective as an irish pagan
paganism is, in my opinion, first and foremost earth-based. deities and magic and ritual is all great, but indigenous spiritualities stem entirely from their environment and nature. look into what we know about trees ability to communicate, all the shit goin on with fungi, animal communities, focus on the earth and draw spiritual conclusions from it. dont worry about magic when you literally dont need to.
but i also wonder what you think magic is. not in a rude way, just that theres not one definition. is herbal tea healthy because of chemistry or because of spiritual healing hippie stuff? they aren't mutually exclusive. you can believe in both the science and the "magic" without grappling with anything. in my mind at least, understanding what plants have what chemicals and how they work is still pretty fucking magical. my body uses energy to convert x chemicals into y nutrients that will heal me? how does it know to do that? why did we evolve that way? theres energy stored in my body all the time? holy shit life is divine and my spirit has the capacity for greatness, etc etc. logic and spirituality don't take away from each other.
also look into different magical systems and ideas. the process i was taught is extremely different from other traditions, which are all extremely different from each other too. not that theres like some secret special one out there that you'll believe in, but try to find the root of what you don't believe. do you not believe in spirits? the ability to control your energy? the ability of your energy to effect external forces? what is it that you dont believe, and how can you incorporate spiritual practices that avoid those ideas
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this is my art page but the post belongs on here too :)
I made this basket, its only one piece of rope! i made a large panel knot then used the excess to tie the sides shut. its so cool to add more original artwork to my altar, right now its holding my acorn shells but once i need those to make the instrument im working on, itll probably hold dried fruit and flowers!
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Ogham Readings
Hello! As some of you know i am trying to raise money for top surgery, and after very careful consideration i have decided to offer ogham readings.
What is ogham?
The ogham alphabet is the earliest written form of the Irish language, originating sometime around 300BC. In the mythology, the alphabet was created by the god Ogma as a gift to humanity. Each letter has multiple associations, trees, birds, colors, ideas, and much more. This is an oversimplification of course, but the ogham alphabet is a key part of my practice. Modernly many Irish pagans use it for divination, charms, and artwork.
Using ogham is not a closed practice. Anyone is welcome to it, but it is very deeply entrenched in celtic cosmology and can only be understood in that context. This is why ogham readings can be a bit tricky to get the hang of.
What Im Offering
Ogham readings are a service i provide in real life to people in my grove, its one of my roles in our community. I'm new to doing this online, so feedback is appreciated! I am only comfortable giving readings to those over the age of 18. You do not have to be pagan or even religious to ask for one.
$5- one fid reading
i will pull one ogham stave and discuss its meaning, history, and core concepts with you. this could be something that needs more attention, a message for you, or a concept deeply tied to you as a person. through talking we can figure out its meaning in your life.
$10- answering a question
i will help you craft a question best suited to your needs and the oghams ability to answer. i will use my method of ogham divination which usually yields 3-5 staves. we will discuss the outcome and its meaning.
$20- three cauldrons
the three cauldrons are poetic energy centers in the body that are turned by joy and sorrow. there is the cauldron of warming, the cauldron of motion, and the cauldron of wisdom. this reading will look at each individual cauldron and provide insight on what you should focus on in those aspects of life to align your energy.
DM if interested!
if there's something specific you'd like a reading on that doesn't quite fit one of these options let me know and we can negotiate price!
thank you 💚
#paganism#pagan community#paganblr#witchblr#witchcraft#ogham#ogham staves#ogham readings#paid readings#oracle readings#pagan practice#celtic paganism#irish paganism
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went on one of the most beautiful hikes ever today
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How I Made My Altar
Creating an altar is something that varies a lot by tradition, but this is a guide on how i personally made and maintain mine. Hopefully this is helpful to someone!
Step One- Planning and Sourcing
In my tradition, there isn't necessarily a huge difference in making personal vs deity altars. As I've heard several of my teachers say- an altar is the place in your home where magic is always welcome. if you wish to add to that by including deities that are always welcome or honored in that space, great! if a deity does request their own specific altar, no problem!
The more complicated aspect for me, is that i feel deeply i must be in right relationship with the items on my altar. Part of this is everything being ethically sourced. All things on this table were either found by me, purchased from a small local business I trust, or received as a gift. These items have been accumulated over the last 5 years of my practice. If you are just starting out and feel as i do about sourcing, you might have a lot of arts and crafts projects ahead.
What aspects of your practice you feel are necessary to represent on your altar? Should you have artwork? Plants? Symbols or sigils?
What work will be done at your altar and which tools should be there? Are you doing meditation that requires a nice smelling herb or oil? Will you be doing spells on it that require big empty space?
Step Two- Find or Make Materials
My recommendation if you don't have the budget to buy a specific dedicated table/ shelf for your altar is to clear a space where you feel the most presence of magic in your life. My earliest altars were cleared off spots on bookshelves and in the kitchen.
Now that you have a list of themes or specific items you want on your altar, go on a nature walk and find things that call to you. Whenever I go to new or interesting places, I keep my eyes peeled for things that might be useful in my practice. Don't take too much, and ask permission from the land before leaving with anything. If the item feels oddly heavy as you walk away with it- give it back.
Step Three- Assemble
The main thing i do at my altar is meditate and pray to deities. Because i view this space as my gods' front door, i care a lot about it looking aesthetically pleasing. I am not part of a tradition where it matters what things go on the left or right, the elements are not associated with cardinal directions, and deities aren't really unsatisfied sharing an altar with each other (even if they may not get along in some lore). Because of this, i just lay things out intuitively, aiming for some symmetry. I also prefer to do spells outdoors, so my altar doesn't need to have a workable space beyond a nice spot to charge things.
Do I feel the need for my altar to have directional correspondences?
Is it important to me to optimize aesthetics?
I work a lot with the seasons, and this is meant to have some nice summertime vibes. With the harvest season coming up, i'll definitely redecorate it.
If anyone has questions please let me know
go n-éirí leat! good luck!
#paganism#pagan community#paganblr#witchblr#witchcraft#baby pagan#baby witch#baby witch tips#altar#pagan altar#altar ideas#altar setup#my altar
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Ogham Myths and Facts!
Myth- the ogham alphabet is the celtic tree alphabet where each letter represents one tree!
Fact- the ogham alphabet is only found on ireland, scotland, wales, and the isle of man- nowhere in mainland celtic europe. each letter represents multiple different things! often having several tree and plant associations along with birds, colors, and skills.
Myth- the ogham alphabet is for divination.
Fact- the ogham alphabet is a writing system for primitive and old irish. it has moderately been used exclusively as a divinatory tool, even though folklore and surviving ogham stones suggest it was more commonly used to write important documents and to make spell charms.
Myth- the ogham alphabet is "celtic runes".
Fact- the ogham alphabet may have some inspiration from nordic runes, but how it was used and viewed culturally couldn't be more different! ogham was encouraged to change over time, with druid students being tasked to invent their own meanings for each letter and memorize 150 versions of the alphabet.
basically, what we know about ogham keeps getting more and more complex with time and research. many of these myths were sold to us by non-druid pagans with outdated information (even at the time of their publishing). anyone interested in working with ogham has a lot of research and experimentation ahead of them!
feel free to send me asks or dms with questions
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I dont know if this is part of your particular pagan wheelhouse but what do you know about the Greenman? Ive always felt super drawn to him and i once had access to an old book that went more into what seemed like the real history and deep forest figure that was the Greenman, but every-time i search for more about him online it's always very ummm watered down? Not stuff made for pagans or who are deeply curious about him, just like wiki pages. I'm not super sure how to explain it, and im still learning about all this. So i was wondering if you had any insight on him or knew of anywhere i could find some. thanks so much :)
okay so i might be completely wrong but what i was taught about the greenman from a wiccan elder i am friends with, is that the idea of him as a deity is fairly modern. big disclaimer i am not wiccan at all- but in wicca theres a lot of focus on archetypes. the greenman as a deity is believed to be the root of this "green man" design seen all over the world, usually carvings of a man who's made of foliage and represents the spring and summer forests. some wiccans have equated him with the oak king, a story from their tradition about two kings- the holly and the oak, who are in an endless battle for dominion over the forest. this story varies widely btw. i personally have only heard of wiccans honoring the greenman, usually invoking him during beltane rituals. my grove often co runs public rituals with a wiccan coven, and as a co-leader of my grove i have to be familiar with anything called during the ritual. these conversations where we share traditions with each other is what i am basing this answer on entirely, so PLEASE TAKE EVERYTHING WITH LARGE CUPS OF SALT! i am not an expert and this is out of my field quite a bit.
if you are unfamiliar with the concept of working with archetypes, the best way i could describe it is through an example. In pretty much every culture on earth, there is a trickster deity. these deities tend to be genderfluid, have associations with highly intelligent animals like ravens and coyotes, and are morally grey- just as likely to help as they are to hinder. some pagans rather than working with a specific one of these trickster deities prefer working with the archetype that encompasses them. from my understanding, this is what my friend honors the greenman as- the archetypal title for all "green men" AKA- male forest deities.
if i am horribly wrong please reach out to me and ill hear your perspective as well!
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Hey! Sorry for the question, but I was wondering where to find resources on getting into druidry/how to find a grove? I noticed you suggested not doing looking online—another thing I wondered was if it was a closed practice?
alright so this might be a long answer
i'll answer the second question first- is druidry a closed practice?
theres debate but the consensus is largely that no, it is not closed. some argue that it is semi-closed in the sense that it must be practiced only by people who have done tons of research and study on celtic history if they aren't celtic. i personally dont love this idea much, several members of my grove practice multiple religions alongside druidry like judaism or indigenous american religions. i dont feel like they should have this extra burden of proving their dedication essentially for not being white 🤷♂️
now- how to find a grove
first you need to know what type of druidry you are interested in. there are two main large druid organizations that i'm aware of
1) OBOD (Order of Bards Ovates and Druids)
this group is largely neopagan, focuses on welsh and british traditions, and draws heavily from arthurian mythology- although i believe their new president is an Irish woman so we'll see how that influences the order. they have a website where you can find a chapter near you.
2) ADF (Ár nDraíocht Féin or A Druid Fellowship)
this group is largely revivalist/ reconstructionist, focuses on irish traditions, and draws heavily from irish mythology. they also have a website where you can find a chapter near you.
outside of those there are of course independent groves. thats what im part of! these are more difficult to find, i would probably begin my search for one on facebook and asking around local witchy shops. lots of these groups are more informal and dont have a specific website. the advice to steer away from the internet is because you will find a lot of snake oil salesmen unfortunately.
one online source i do really highly recommend is the irish pagan school. they offer courses and online classes and guided meditations that are all extremely thorough and led by indigenous irish people. they're also launching the ogham academy which is super cool if that's something you're interested in!
for the most part youre just going to have to show up in person to a lot of places until you find somewhere that fits. also, dont be afraid of being the only druid in a different pagan group if you like that community and theyre willing to have you! i personally think that having a strong community is more important than being in a druids only club lmao
hope that helps!!!
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had some beer, went on a walk, practiced my irish 💚
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How I make sigils
sigil magic is pretty popular, and there are many ways to do it. this is how i design and use mine!
step 1) numbers
first step is choosing the number of sides the drawing will have, and therefore the centerpiece. today im making an elemental symbol to charge spells. in my tradition we have three elements, so my sigil should be three sided.
any three sided shape would work for me, but i felt drawn to something like this.
step 2) symbology
next i want to start adding easy symbols to represent the concept my sigil is based on. this means i need to represent land, sea, and sky.
here for sky i added some birds and suns. it's important that the shapes are simple to re-create later.
i keep drawing and try to make the shapes connect to each other in an aesthetically pleasing way.
for land i added some mountains, and to connect them i tried to blend the lines in as solar rays.
lastly i need to include the sea.
i put some large waves, also coming out of the suns.
step 3) sealing
now i just want to tie it all together. usually this means adding random squiggles to close off any "open ends" in the drawing. in this sigil there are two big gaps i want to close- right above the sun, and in between the ends of the waves.
my philosophy on this is that i want the energy to be flowing through the sigil continuously, not getting stuck in a gap.
step 4) preserving
finally i edit the photo to high contrast black and white, save it to a folder on my phone, and i can reference and draw the sigil whenever i need.
some other considerations while designing
- should the sigil be symmetrical or not?
- can you picture how energy moves through it?
- does the sigil have a simple enough design to be replicated in the future? should it be simplified?
let me know how this works for you!!!
#paganism#pagan community#paganblr#witchblr#witchcraft#baby pagan#baby witch#baby witch tips#easy spells#sigilwork#sigil magic#sigils
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i designed this irish pagan spring equinox sigil as devotional art to the earth! sorry its a day late
(rip the ink smudge)
elements included:
whole image looks like a shamrock/ three leaf clover
center is a triskelion
little two leaf plant sprouts to represent spring
awen symbol
crescent moon and stars
solar symbol
the dots of the awen are seeds for sprouts
if posted elsewhere please credit me @paganposting on tumblr!
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is there such thing as atheistic paganism? i’m not religious, mildly antitheist actually. but i feel connected to nature and would be interested in some sort of spirituality surrounding that.. i’m a skeptic if that’s the word for it. so atheistic nature-centric spirituality would probably be better suited for me than a religion.
ok im going to answer this in parts
1) there isn't really a term "atheistic paganism". the word pagan (modernly) refers to worshipping multiple deities, But
2) there is an extremely large community for what you're describing. non theistic witches, animists, pantheists etc- are very common.
Im not really one to gatekeep, so if you feel like calling yourself pagan while not believing in deities i personally wouldn't mind, and most pagans probably wouldn't either. Earth based religions are generally pretty welcoming, and i personally know many people who think of deities as metaphors and worship them that way. You dont need any belief in deities to worship the earth or practice earth based magic.
Now the part that you wont like- being "anti-theist" will make becoming part of a pagan community very very difficult. if you at any point shame people or imply that we are somehow less intelligent than you for believing in deities, you will be pretty unwelcome. i only say this because we see it all the time as theistic pagans. people constantly belittle us and our religious beliefs, and i struggle to imagine how someone who is self proclaiming anti-theism would treat us. i dont know if you're familiar with the toxicity of the anti-theist community and I don't mean to burden you with assumptions based on others, but i felt it was important to note.
This is your journey and your research to do, and i hope you find a path that fits your beliefs. 💕
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i love you superstitions, i love you horseshoes over doors and tossing salt over your left shoulder, i love you never step in mushroom rings, never walk under ladders, hold your breath through tunnels and whistle at crossroads, i love you lucky pennies and four leaf clovers, throwing bouquets, not starting projects on a tuesday, being human is so silly sometimes
reblog with some of the superstitions you grew up with pls im curious
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poor lil acorn was a bit dehydrated so its getting a soak
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heres my current altar! im moving for a few months, i come back in june, and i'll miss this space so much!
fyi the plant thats been burned isnt sage, its juniper. i practice scottish folk magic and burning juniper is pretty essential!
#paganism#pagan community#paganblr#witchblr#witchcraft#baby witch tips#witch altar#altarspace#altar decor
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