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How And Why We're Getting "Christian Reconstructed" Out Of Civil Society: An LGBTQ+ Activist's Guide To Action

This is based on my response to a recent Reddit post about the New Apostolic Reformation/Dominionist/Christian Reconstructionist political movement that's behind anti-trans, anti-drag, anti-LGBTQ+ laws, parental rights, systematic destruction of libraries, book bans, harassment of librarians and teachers, the "don't say gay" movement, the 303 Creative Supreme Court "right to discriminate" decision, school board takeovers, curriculum cleansing, the antics of Roger Stone and General Flynn, and every other damn thing that's making our lives hell in America. Here's how to understand the whole toxic mess so we can fight these jackals off, protect ourselves, claw back our rights, and put this movement down for good.

7 Mountains: Gotta Catch 'Em All! "There's no reasoning with these people and their cultish beliefs," many people are saying, and I think it helps to understand the source of those beliefs in order to fight effectively against the tide of hatred that is on the brink of destroying what's left of our rights and freedoms in this country.

I grew up Fundamentalist Evangelical in the 1960s and 70s. Looking back, the seeds of today's poison were being planted even then in ways that were subtly but unmistakably aligned with the New Apostolic Reformation ("NAR"), the movement based on Dominionist "7 Mountains" Christian nationalism that's the driving force behind Moms for Liberty, Gen. Flynn and Roger Stone, the Alliance Defending Freedom (the org that brought the anti-LGBTQ+ web designer to the Supreme Court), Charlie Kirk and Turning Point USA, the GOP candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania last election cycle (Mastriano), and more. (Check out Jennifer Cohn, jennycohn1 on Twitter, a journalist whose coverage of Christian Nationalism is amazing and essential.)

Evangelical involvement in politics was minimal until the rise of Ronald Reagan, Jerry Falwell, and the "Moral Majority" in 1981. In the 42 years since, it's been a steady march to bring the seeds planted in us kids in the 1970s to today's hideous bloom.

I don't adhere to those beliefs, but I have a deep native knowledge of their intent and the ways believers are impelled by them to make these laws and file these lawsuits and elect slavering semi-sane madmen to power and stoke cultural panic.

These people aren't just getting started - they've got traction, scalps on their belt already, and they're gaining steam and hungry for more.

NAR Christians (such as Ginni and Clarence Thomas, Sen. Ted Cruz' father Rafael, former Rep. Michelle Bachmann, failed GOP candidate for governor of Pennsylvania Doug Mastriano, Jan. 6 co-conspirator Phil Waldron, General Mike Flynn, insurrectionist Roger Stone, and the Moms For Liberty) believe that it's their Divine Mission to prepare the nation and the world to become the Kingdom of God.

This is called "post-millennialism" - the term for the set of beliefs upon which the NAR is based and that drives its adherents. NAR believes that we are in the End Times as foretold in Scripture, and that today's Christians are commanded by the Lord to do everything humanly possible in pursuit of one singular goal: to bring God’s kingdom to pass on Earth and prepare the way for Christ's return. Viewed for decades as a far-out fringe heretical movement populated by apostates and quacks, these zealots will stop at nothing to bring this to pass.

See all the "cleansing" that's going on now? Roe v. Wade overturned, the abortion bans, the trans bans, the anti-drag laws, books being pulled from school shelves, public libraries being shuttered and defunded, anti-immigrant laws, the Twitter takeover and its right-wing reformation - the list goes on. This is ALL a direct result of the NAR/Christian Reconstructionist influence and the untold dark-money billions and shadowed billionaires that finance it.

We're in a very dark and deep hole, as a country, as a culture. But we're not helpless. We start by arming ourselves with knowledge, by reading and heeding the reporting of Jenny Cohn and Bruce Wilson and Kira Resistance on Twitter and in the Bucks County (PA) Record reporting from the epicenter of Dominionist/NAR politics, take action online and in the places where we live. In today's world, we can be activists and influencers for good without having to leave the house, and if you want to protest in person or march in support of the cause, you won't be alone.

There are movements and organizations gathering steam in our community that have been preparing for action and are ready to launch. Some are more visible than others, but all are made up of committed activists, funders, legal advisors, and LGBTQ+ citizens who are tired of being abused by these people and the violence (literal and legislative) against us. Old-line AIDS activists like me are disgusted at the sight of our life's work and our decades of progress being rolled back and obliterated seemingly overnight. Gen Z and Gen Alpha are just not having it and are rightly pissed off by what's shaping up to be a bleak future.

It's not going to be easy or quick, but I know there are enough good people among us to hold back the worst of the current moment, rebuke and reverse the legislative oppression and physical danger, restore full access to HRT and gender-affirming care, roll back the "abortion bounty" laws and support vulnerable individuals and families with assistance and relocation, claw back and secure the civil rights that have been stolen from us, and restore light to our country, our culture, our lives, and our future.

I'm engaged in this fight, and after nearly 40 years of activism I've never been more lit up with passion and determination than at this moment. This fight is winnable. You're needed now. Watch this space for opportunities where your presence, your effort, your voice is wanted and will be welcomed, and feel free to message me with your questions, ideas, activist resources needed or offered, organizations you know of that need support, general questions, strategic advice, and words of encouragement you wish to give or need to hear. Let's gooooooooo

by J. Ligon Duncan III | For many years now, students and professors in seminaries affiliated with evangelical denominations, as well as church members and pastors have puzzled over the Christian Reconstruction movement. Sometimes Reconstruction has been a matter of heated controversy: causing division in faculties, student bodies, and congregations. Other times it has merely been a matter of curiosity–a novelty which people do not quite understand, but are either attracted to or...

Updates to AO3 "Mythology" Fandoms

Hi AO3 users! You may have noticed that recently, fandoms previously canonized as "Mythology" are being updated to "Religion & Lore". This renaming project is part of a wider ongoing process on AO3 about respectful treatment and naming of various religions, spiritual beliefs, faiths, and collections of folklores belonging to a particular religious or cultural tradition. This includes both major and minor religions, as well as reconstructionist, ancient, and modern religions.

In the coming months, the term "Mythology" is being phased out of canonical fandom names. This is because of its potential for use as a disparaging term, and the way in which it is used primarily for religions which are already under-represented. Since "mythology" has connotations of being fictional or inferior to the religious beliefs of the speaker or writer, and is unfortunately used in this way by some, the decision has been made to replace this term with something that the Wrangling Committee believes is more inclusive and less derogatory.

After extensive discussion between individuals from varying religious backgrounds and beliefs, including wranglers representing the various fandoms which were being covered, it was felt that "Religion & Lore" was an appropriate and neutral way to describe the bodies of faith, belief, knowledge, and tradition associated with many of these religions which were ancestrally imparted and regional in nature. It is also hoped that this will decrease ambiguous or confused use, allowing people to more accurately describe their works and find works in which they are interested moving forward.

The use of "Ancient" in many of these fandoms' names reflects that these countries still exist but now have different predominant religions or spiritual beliefs. For example, Ancient Greek Religion & Lore (as Greece is now a predominantly Christian country) or Ancient Egyptian Religion (as Egypt is now a predominantly Muslim country). Because "Norse" does not refer to an extant country, region, or culture, it is not necessary to specify that it is historical or ancient in nature.

The names of these fandoms will also have the native language piped, if the English-language demonym is significantly different from the native-language demonym or if there is a culturally specific term based on consultation with individuals who speak these languages as a first language. We hope to give representation to the language of the source culture by doing so.

Each of these changes has been and will continue to be carefully researched and discussed with traditional knowledge keepers and researchers from the cultures represented in the fandoms under discussion.

Many religions face the issue of texts being written long after their events occurred. Unfortunately this is something which is shared across many religious fandoms; AO3 seeks to treat these religious fandoms equally. Care has been taken in researching characters relating to these fandoms, and character tags will be canonized or made a synonym on a case-by-case basis. Fandom tags that are currently synned to the Ancient religious fandoms have been checked as thoroughly as possible to ensure that they are not referring to modern folk tales, and where possible such relatively modern folk tales are canonized as their own fandoms.

(From time to time, ao3org posts announcements of recent or upcoming wrangling changes on behalf of the Tag Wrangling Committee.)

Review of my Leviticus book from Progressive Christianity Network Britain

Review of my Leviticus book from Progressive Christianity Network Britain

This was written shortly after my book, Leviticus: You Have No Idea was published almost a decade ago. To read the full book review, click here or on the image below.

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As The New Republic reports, “Alito is complaining that people who oppose homosexuality were being unfairly branded as bigots, despite that being a dictionary definition of bigotry.” On Tuesday, agreeing the Court should not take a case, Alito wrote he is “concerned” that a lower court’s reasoning “may spread.” He notes that the lower court “reasoned that a person who still holds traditional religious views on questions of sexual morality is presumptively unfit to serve on a jury in a case involving a party who is a lesbian.” In that case, several jurors who acknowledged they held anti-LGBTQ views were released from serving on the trial. “That holding exemplifies the danger that I anticipated in 'Obergefell v. Hodges' … namely, that Americans who do not hide their adherence to traditional religious beliefs about homosexual conduct will be ‘labeled as bigots and treated as such’ by the government.'” Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern writes, “Alito suggests that a trial court violates the free exercise and equal protection clauses when it allows an attorney who represents a gay client to strike potential jurors because they express overt bigotry against gay people.” [...] Attorney Max Kennerly posits, “If we followed Alito’s reasoning that religious beliefs can never serve as a basis to strike a juror, we’d instantly run into a collision with jurors who believe, on religious grounds, the death penalty is wrong. Any guesses how Alito would rule on that? Yeah, exactly.”

Why the condemnation of homosexual behavior by some (NOT all) religious conservatives might legitimately raise questions of bigotry

It seems to me that Alito is acting as if "traditional religious views" about homosexuality are uniform.

Alito doesn't seem to acknowledge (or perhaps is not fully aware) that there are some interpretations of scripture that do not support the condemnation of homosexual behavior or even of same-sex unions. In fact there are some mainstream Christian denominations that allow for blessings of same-sex couples (including recently the very "traditional" Roman Catholic Church). Furthermore, Reconstructionist, Reform and Conservative Jewish sects also allow the blessing of same-sex unions.

Given all of the above, one might reasonably wonder why some (not all) conservative Christians or Jews seem to prefer to accept anti-LGBTQ+ translations/ interpretations of scripture, when other translations/ interpretations that are more sympathetic to homosexual behavior are available.

Of course the primary group of religious people in the U.S. that condemns homosexual behavior consists of some (not all) right-wing "Christians" from various denominations. But one also might wonder why these same right-wing "Christians" DON'T seem to want to pass laws banning divorce, adultery, usury, lying, etc., but they DO want to pass anti-LGBTQ+ legislation? After all, behaviors like divorce, adultery, usury, and lying are clearly condemned in various parts of the Bible.

One might also ask, why do some of these same right-wing "Christians" who think it is okay to condemn the LGBTQ+ community, not also condemn a prominent politician like Trump, who has been divorced multiple times, committed adultery multiple times, and who lies almost every time he opens his mouth?

It is the picking and choosing of what to condemn, and the hyperfocus on using the law to allow those with certain "religious views" to deny the rights of the LGBTQ+ community (while not choosing to deny the rights of other kinds of so-called "sinners"--NOT that I support that either) that suggests it might be legitimate to question whether some on the religious right use religion as an excuse to hold bigoted beliefs about and/or to discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community.

[edited]

hi! i was reading that post on things that need to stop in witchy/spiritual spaces and i was wondering what you meant by the burning times (spelled tymez)? i truly have no idea what this is and sometimes humor goes over my head. thanks!

Oh, my WHEELHOUSE! -claps on the Witchstorian hat-

The Burning Times is a revisionist bit of historical fiction passed around and promoted by the modern witchcraft and pagan communities. It refers to a very real period in European history in the 15th-17th centuries when witch hunts and witch trials were happening frequently, many ending in the hanging or burning of the accused. The revisionist myth seeks to turn these innocents into martyrs, labeling them as members of a secret underground pagan cult that survived the Christianization of Europe and were later hunted by the Church for their attempts to keep a pre-Christian nature-based religion alive. Estimates put forth by some community figures, most notably Gerald Gardner, total the supposed number of slain witches as close to nine million.

In reality, while these trials certainly happened, the accused witches were almost entirely marginalized or disenfranchised persons, targets of vicious gossip and hearsay, or victims of political and ecclesiastical machinations beyond their control. Some were on the wrong side of disagreements between Church factions. Others were Jews, Muslims, or Roma persecuted by a prejudiced and easily frightened populace. And by that point in history, it is safe to say that while pre-Christian trappings certainly remained part of various seasonal festivals and popular superstitions, none of the people accused, arrested, or executed in witch trials were actually pagans.

Nor would they have labeled themselves as witches, despite what our modern standards may make of their practices and beliefs about the world they lived in. It's important to remember that "witch," up until the early 20th century was universally regarded as a derogatory term rather than an empowering one. It is still a derogatory and even dangerous thing to be called in many parts of the world today, despite efforts to reclaim it by the modern witchcraft movement.

(It should be noted that accused persons who confessed to being witches often did so under duress or torture, and it should go without saying that this does not constitute any kind of objective truth.)

Furthermore, the figure of Nine Million Witches is factually impossible in historic terms. With the continent already ravaged by war, famine, plague, and political upset during the 200 or so years that make up the so-called Burning Times, a loss of nine million people from witch trials alone (nearly all of them women, if Gardner is to be believed) would have completely decimated the population of Europe. The Black Death alone killed at least a third of the population less than a century before the first spate of these trials began and the continent wouldn't recover for another 150 years. Simply put, even with the most dedicated and zealous of witch hunters on the case, there wouldn't have been enough people to burn.

The actual number of witch trial victims is closer to about 100,000 all told. That's just what we can prove on paper. And even that made a huge impact. The real figures are enough of a tragedy on their own. No embellishment needed.

The Burning Times was adopted as both a pagan and a feminist buzzword for the patriarchal crimes of the Church, and a documentary film (riddled with factual errors) premiered in 1990 which spread the story to a wider audience and cemented the presence of the myth in the second wave of the New Age and witchcraft reconstructionist movements.

There have been many revelatory texts written by both pagan and secular scholars over the years which debunk the idea of the Burning Times, but it's so firmly entrenched, particularly in popular books by the likes of Buckland and Ravenwolf, that you still see it crop up from time to time. It's one of the things we often have to unteach newer witches and pagans, especially the ones who have an axe to grind.

When we say, "Oh they probably still believe in the Burning Times," with a bit of an eyeroll or a knowing look, it often signifies in a gently derivative way that the person is question is either new to the conversation and has not yet been disabused of certain outdated notions, or that they're clinging to those notions with a tenacity of cognitive dissonance too strong to be countered by common sense.

If you'd like more information on witch trials, I did a very long episode on the history of witchcraft and the law on Hex Positive back in September of 2021, tracing the evolution of witchcraft-related laws and notable trials from the Code of Hammurabi to the late 20th century. The Burning Times myth makes an inevitable appearance during the discussion.

Hope this cleared things up for you! 😁

Important Facts about Bealtaine from an Irish Celtic Reconstructionist

Spelling and Pronunciation

OI. Bealtaine (Bell-tin-Na) has more recently been written as I. Beltaine or Anglicized Beltane (Bell-tain). In the Cormac Glossary it is said to derive from the deity Bel and OI. 'Tene' meaning fire.

Dates

Most Reconstructionists celebrate Bealtaine on April 30th-May 1st, sundown to sundown. Iron age Irish (and other Celts) structured their days from sunset to sunset so while we now track this time as stretching over two days, they would have seen this period as one single day, being the first day of the month of May by the Gregorian calendar. Some Reconsructionists might prefer to celebrate by the Julian calendar which would place this holiday on May 13th-14th (by the Gregorian calendar), still of course from sundown to sundown. In the most traditional sense this holiday would have been celebrated when the livestock was moved from the winter grazing fields out to the summer grazing fields.

Importance in Mythos

Most mythological reference to this holiday comes in the form of the movement of peoples or invasions of peoples.

The mythological invasion of Partholon and his people occurred on Bealtaine and the plague that wiped them out also began on that date and lasted a week. The Tuath De Danann are said to have arrived on the island on Bealtine as well and lastly the Sons of Mil are said to have invaded on this date also (Macalister, 1940).

In later times when Christianity had made its mythologies the way of the land and the old deities were moved to the status of Fae this idea of movement and invasion seems to have persisted. Traditions hold that this date is a dangerous time for mortals as the aes sídhe are moving amongst the daoine sí and may stop by unsuspecting homes to ask for butter or perhaps some water, but if this request is granted they will steal the homes luck for the year.

I will make a note here that while the Cormac Glossary notes the deity Bel there is no Celtic/Gaelic deity of this name (though there is a Mesopotamian one) and this seems to cause a lot of confusion, especially when it comes to Wiccancentic ideas and articles. Cormac was likely referring to the Celtic/Gaelic deity Belenus NOT the Mesopotamian Bel. Belenus/Belenos was associated with the sun and healing and during the Gallo-Roman period was often noted to be the Gaelic Apollo. There is evidence to suggest that Belenus/Belenos was known throughout the Celtic/Gaelic world, though we don't have any specific information about how prominently he was worshiped in Ireland itself it is relatively safe to assume that the Iron age Irish would have known who he was.

Celebration Traditions

Like on Samhain, at the opposing 'end' of the year livestock were transitioned from one grazing area to another. While on Samhain, when the 'dark' half of the year begins and the livestock are moved in from summer grazing to winter grazing, Bealtaine is the opposite. It begins the 'light' half of the year and livestock are moved from the winter grazing out to the summer pastures. At both holidays to ensure healthy animals and protect them from any malicious factors great bonfires were built (most notably on the hill of Uisneach) and livestock would be driven between them.

There seems to be a traditional emphasis on the protection of homes, barns, livestock, peoples, and crops. Generally this seems to be a time when warding against ill luck for the community became a focus. Yellow, specifically yellow flowers (primrose, gorse or hawthorn blossoms), appear to have played a role in this as they have been used to decorate, but when exactly this tradition originated is unknown. The healing wells of Ireland and specifically the dew on the morning of Bealtaine have been thought to be important. Some traditions hold that the dew, when washed with will bring beauty, while others think if drank by the milk cows it would cause them to produce more, but again the origins of these traditions are relatively unknown.

Interesting History to take into Consideration

Given Bealtines long lasting history in Irish mythological tradition of being associated with mass movements of peoples and a need to protect ones family and community in this tumultuous time it is -possible- these ideas persist due to the movements (and possibly famines or plagues) during the "Megadrought" of the Bronze age (1250-1100 BCE). Most studies have focused on the effects of the Mediterranean at this time, but it is reasonable to assume the ripples of effects could have been felt strongly enough in Ireland to leave a lasting impression, especially since it is not outlandish to assume that people fleeing the Mediterranean area, which was no longer able to adequately sustain them, may have fled to the more temperate British Isles and passed on their trauma through oral tradition. This could possibly be backed up by looking at the etymology of 'Bel' not as referencing Beleus/Beleos but as referencing the Irish Balor (or perhaps they are different aspects of the same figure) who embodies not the life sustaining properties of the sun but the deadly and destructive ones. Balor balcbéimnech, 'Balor the strong smiter,' Balor birugerc, ' Balor of the piercing eye,' Balor mae Doit meic Néid, 'Balor son of Dot son of Néit.'

This is obviously only my personal opinion and can be taken or dismissed as one likes.

There Has Never Been Any Evidence Of Any God Ever

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The John Birch Society was an extremist organization in the 1960s which relentlessly characterized the Civil Rights Movement as a Communist plot. They published many pamphlets deriding MLK as a violent man and suggesting he was a Soviet agent. 

Among the people who belonged to the John Birch Society were its co-founder Fred Koch, his billionaire son Charles Koch, and a Wisconsin lecturer named Paul Weyrich.

While they did have lunatic support, the John Birch Society was dismissed and discredited by most Americans. The majority of the Republican Party felt they were too extremist and did harm to the GOP. 

Richard Nixon called them “dictatorial and totalitarian [having] rendered immeasurable harm to the cause of individual liberty."

Bob Dylan and George Carlin mocked the John Birch Society in their early performances. Jokes at their expense could be seen everywhere from the Tonight Show to Mad Magazine.

Conceding that they were a laughing stock, many of its operatives fled in order to rebrand and re-strategize. Starting anew in the 1970s, the radical extremists started front groups, now known as “think tanks,” which propagated the Birch-style philosophy. But this time they had enormous billionaire support. 

Paul Weyrich co-founded the Heritage Foundation, the Christian Coalition, and the Moral Majority. He argued that slavery was harder on the slave owner than the enslaved. He had close connections to prominent members of the extremist Christian Reconstructionist movement. 

Charles Koch became the most notorious briber of the political system, lobbying so aggressively that he managed to re-write the laws of the United States for his own selfish gain. 

Sixty years later, through the relentless use of corporate lobbyists and legalized graft, media consolidation and the power of propaganda, the John Birch Society philosophy - once discredited as too extreme - took hold.

Wicca vs Witchcraft vs Pagan

It's not fair to enter the debate without posting my own definitions, is it? The below just scratches the surface of each of these. I could go on forever and keep in mind - I am a Gemini and will go on forever if given the chance.

Wicca  is a form of witchcraft as much as it is a religion. When Gerald  Gardner created Wicca his claim was that he was working with an ancient  witchcraft tradition. How much of what he had was truly from an old  witchcraft tradition is much debated (he borrowed liberally from various  sources). Wicca began as an initiatory practice, where a person joined and worked within a specific tradition. On a general level, rituals follow the Wheel of the Year and work with a god and goddess. Practices can vary with tradition and knowledge of practice can vary by degree within a tradition.

Witch is used as a very generic term, often to indicate any magic user. Which is not always correct. My grandmother practiced folk magic but would never have considered herself to be a witch. She was good Southern Baptist. Ceremonial magicians practice magic but don't identify as witches.

So the best way to consider witch is as a form of self-identification. Someone is a witch when they say they are a witch. Generally they would also be practicing some form of magic.

Now Pagan or Neo-Pagan gets a bit more complex.  Overall Pagan or Neo-Pagan is sometimes used to mean “A group of people that operates outside societies expectations”  with no indication of actual practice. I know the expectation is "pagans worship the old gods" but that isn't always true. Some do. Some, well, see "Party Pagan" below.

Within the Neo-Pagan movement, you'll find Reconstructionist groups who try to recreate, as much as possible, older religions such as Hellenic or Kemetic (ie Greek or Egypt) or Norse or Druidic. But you'll also find people who just consider themselves to be outside of Christianity with no specific structure.

Generally speaking,  Wicca and witchcraft traditions may be considered part of the larger  Neo-Pagan environment. Perhaps an easy way to see this is that if an  area holds a Pagan Pride Day, it may be the best way to meet people from  the local initiatory Wiccan covens as well as the local Druids,  Heathens and other groups. If an event was labeled “Pagan” it generally  just meant everyone was invited.

But the actual practices  can be very different. Hellenic and Heathen groups may or may not  welcome Wiccans or witches as members. They may practice ritual honoring  their gods but want nothing to do with spellwork. Though they may not  be as opposed to it as say, the Southern Baptists. Some Neo-Pagans  are  happy to attend a Wiccan ritual though they wouldn’t hold one  themselves. (There is also a term - Party Pagans - which is the crowd  that shows up to every ritual or event though no one knows what they  actually do on their own.)

Now a word of caution the term Pagan (Neo-Pagan) -  this is considered a reclaimed term, meaning we don’t call anyone a  Pagan unless they claim that term for themselves. So if you call your  Buddhist or Hindu friend a Pagan, they may become upset with you. This  is because regardless of any dictionary definition the term Pagan is  still used as an insult. The same with Heathen and Witch.

very interesting breakdown regarding rodnovery from Scott Simpson’s Strategies for Constructing Religious Practice in Polish Rodzimowierstwo:

A purely academic reconstruction of a religion from the past is “legitimate” when it is made up of fragments which have been selected solely on the basis of the academic authenticity and reliability of the evidence. When a particular fragment had not been recovered, a scholar may always choose to simply leave that space blank without perverting the intention of the reconstruction (whether it be pottery or religion). Rodzimowiercy, in contrast, need to have a complete and functional religion in order for it to be legitimate. If the participant finds her- or himself in personal need of a Slavic marriage ceremony, then that space must be filled by something in spite of the lack of a conveniently pre-existing Pagan marriage script from, say, the Wiślanie tribe in the early 10th century. It would be a serious perversion of the religious intent of such a reconstruction to give up suddenly at that point.

the strategies Simpson describes below the cut. a very recommended reading, too, so I hope the full text will get some attention as well. 

1. Direct re-enacting: faithully replicating a custom described in sources such as chronicles - which Simpson notices is rarely possible as stand-alone strategy given all the blanks and generally limited sources. the most classic of issues everyone interested in neo-paganism knows and battled. 

2. De-Christianising: removing obvious Christian elements from “sacred” folk practices - think rodnovery Kolęda removing Christian elements from a folk tradition - one that is rooted in customs predating Christianity on slavic lands, and so can be stripped back into its more “original” (and pagan) form.

3. Sacralising folklore: taking elements of “secular” folk tradition and re-framing them in religious practice - for example, elevating folk melodies to sacred songs accompanying rodnovery rituals, or adapting the circular toasting custom of passing a drinking vessel among participants of an event as a religious expression other than just a secular way of toasting common among peasants.

4. Sacralising the archaic: emphasising ancient, archaic, timeless, non-modern aspects, moods and motifs - similar to above, putting religious emphasis on things which in the past were simply common. think archeological finds regarding clothing and adaptation of everyday clothing of the past as sacred or ritual clothing for modern reconstructionist practice. another example: drinking horns and mead being chosen for religious ritual because they are seen as more authentic (incorrectly) than wine or cups which are “too modern”.

5. Sacralising the natural: emphasising that which is organic, untamed, rustic. the clear emphasis on low-tech content, everything is wood or stone or raw wool - celebrations are more likely to be felt as legitimate if they happen in the forest rather than in a bar. 

6. Aesthetising: artistic embellishment of existing practice. think how focused rodnovers are on creating religious visual art, music, craft mead for celebrations, hand embroidered banners and altar cloths, representations of deities and reimaginations of symbols. this helps build a language of religious expression which for rodnovers is much more communal and reliant on members of the religion. not every member of christianity feels responsible for making religious art to be used by the religion - that task is usually fulfilled by the hierarchical structure.

7. Indigenising: localisation of ideas and practices found elsewhere. so some foreign ideas are rejected in order to maintain cohesion (for example Valentine’s Day being seen as a US tradition which does not belong on slavic lands) vs acceptance and adoption of others. the biggest example Simpson gives is the widespread usage of Internet and social media in creation of this religious belonging. or utilising fire poi in kupala celebrations.

8. Direct revelation from sacred beings (ancestors, spirits of nature, gods): If the sacred beings are understood as currently real, and if they have made their presence known to the Slavic tribes in the past, then they may do so now. think shamanic approaches, divination, contacting ancestors as beings with agency and influence, interpreting signs from gods.

Hi, I’m just wondering if you have any advice for someone who wants to learn a bit more about Judaism? I’m not really at liberty to reach out to any rabbis right now, and I have no idea if I’d want to convert, but I at the very least want a better understanding of the basic beliefs and culture. If it’s not too much trouble?

The websites MyJewishLearning and JewishVirtualLibrary are great places to start, there's excellent articles there about all different aspects of Jewish life and culture, from all different perspectives.

If you want to read Jewish texts and commentaries and interpretations, go to Sefaria. Sefaria is a wonderful resource that includes translations of almost every famous Jewish text and commentary, and is constantly expanding. It also includes more recent contemporary writings and commentaries.

I'd also recommend looking into a variety of different websites run by different sects and traditions of Judaism to get a well-rounded idea of the diversity of Judaism.

reformjudaism.org - from the Reform movement perspective

reconstructingjudaism.org - from the Reconstructionist movement perspective

uscj.org - from the Conservative movement perspective

alephbeta.org - from the Orthodox and Modern Orthodox movement perspective. Has a lot of really engaging and informative videos about different aspects of Judaism.

aish.com - from the Orthodox and Modern Orthodox movement perspective

chabad.org - from the Chassidic and specifically Chabad movement perspective

jimena.org - resources about Mizrachi and Sephardi Jews, Jews in the MENA region

eshelonline.org - resources about and for LGBTQ+ Orthodox Jews

keshetonline.org - resources about and for LGBTQ Jews

smqn.org - resources about and for LGBTQ Mizrachi and Sephardi Jews.

You will find a lot of overlap between the different sects and movements, and that's because the artificial "divisions" within Judaism aren't as rigid as they are in other religions and cultures like Christianity. Many synagogues and organizations are a mix of sects and movements, because at the end of the day a Jew is a Jew is a Jew. We believe in unity above all else, and that there are Shivi'im Panim L'Torah- Seventy Faces to the Torah. That means that there are many different interpretations to the Torah and to Judaism and we celebrate that diversity of thought.

Websites to AVOID when learning about Judaism:

Any website that isn't explicitly run by and for Jews. Some websites are deceptive and use the word "Jewish" in the name, but they are not Jewish.

Hints that a website is harmful and unreliable:

-Talks about Christianity and/or Jesus immediately on the home page

-Tokenizes Jews for a political cause while not showing any receipts for actual work done to help the Jewish community

-Uses words like Messiah, Yeshua, YHWE, "Our Shepherd" frequently. (Important to note that some legitimate Jewish websites, particularly ones affiliated with the Chassidic movement, will talk about Mashiach/Moshiach a lot, but will not usually use the word "Messiah")

-Talks about "Judeo-Christian values"

-Engages in Holocaust inversion and denial

-Claims to be the only "true" Jews, Hebrews, Israelites, etc.

And finally....you don't have to want to convert to want to learn about Judaism. Most people learn about Judaism and don't convert. In Judaism we don't seek converts, most Jews will actively discourage conversion. But we welcome people who want to learn more and make a step to listen to US and not gentiles talking over us.

Hot takes and opinions incoming... touching on the topic of godspousing. So, the concept of godspousing is very popular in online Helpol spaces, and it's something I've personally grown to have a few issues with. And it's clear to me that my issues with it stem primarily from my religious upbringing. I grew up as an Eastern Orthodox Christian, and there was a heavy emphasis placed on reverence towards and even fear of-- (I use fear not in the BOO! SCARY! way but in the old fashioned sense)-- God. I grew up believing that the divine was powerful and awe inspiring, and deserved worship and respect. Not that Eastern Orthodoxy taught that the divine could not become approachable at all, but just that it viewed the divine as something to strive towards. As much as I've distanced myself from that sphere of thinking, I realize that it has had an impact on my current spiritual views, especially with regards to the Theoi. I view them as tangible to an extent, through prayer we can approach the gods and get to know them. But personally, the idea of godspousing is not something I could ever see myself participating in. I just do not see the appeal or the benefits to it. But, that being said, I hold no ill will towards those who do see the benefits! If it benefits your spiritual life and your relationship to the gods, then by all means pursue that. I am not a hardline reconstructionist by any means, and I don't think I ever will be. I'm not going to go around shouting about how we need to do things exactly like ancient group A did it 2500 years ago, but I do like to incorporate certain aspects of traditional worship into my own modern praxis. Overall, there is no right way or wrong way to worship. If godspousing brings you joy, then absolutely do that. I just don't think I'll ever be fully able to understand it, and that's okay. :)

hi!! i was wondering if i could get your perspective on something, as i really respect the resources you share about being faekin and i want to know more about it! i am irish reconstructionist pagan who works with the good folk, and i admit that i often have trouble reconciling my religious beliefs with 'kin posts that i see. i was wondering, if you felt comfortable responding, what your perspective on the clash that sometimes occurs between faekin and the cultural evolution of the fairy archetype is? if this is offensive i apologise and absolutely did not mean it as such! i'm still relatively new to the nonhuman community (my nonhuman blog is foxwyrm!) and am trying to learn more about it :} regardless, i love your blog, and appreciate what you share!!

Hi! I'll start by saying this is not even a little bit offensive! I know you're asking a question in earnest and I'm honestly really grateful to get the opportunity to voice my perspective.

And really, I wasn't sure at first how to approach all of this at all. My brain and beliefs are scattered, and to be quite honest I make it up as I go along. That's why I used to be petrified of doing any kind of spirit work, especially with the Good Folk. So only recently have I combined my own Neopaganism with my Otherkin experiences. I am still learning. But I'm learning a lot, especially now from others who walk a similar path.

I'll admit I had to look up just to make sure I understood what an Irish Reconstructionist Pagan is, and it seems to be exactly what I was hoping it would be! I may not be strictly of that faith myself, but I'm highly grateful that there are people who are, who keep that alive. I'm so fascinated by pre-Christian Celtic faiths and I do wish it were easier to find the old stories. But stories survive through people, and I enjoy sharing videos I've found where Irish people who coexist with the Good Folk, talk earnestly about their faith and how it impacts their lives. I think those collective experiences are very real and important and culturally valuable. I see parallels in our perspectives, when they speak of mutual respect and of leaving nature undisturbed. I highly value the words of the people who live where there are said to be Faeries.

Still I'd hesitate to discuss being faekin with someone of that particular tradition. I do get overcome with doubt and worry about myself. Is my very existence disrespectful? Just yesterday I ran off into the woods in tears with a question of who, what, am I?

I have discussed being Otherkin with the trees before. I'm an animist at heart, and I like to keep company with the friendly spirits of trees often.

Tree spirits are good listeners, and they understand the humans they live with. When I talk to the trees, I don't have to explain what I am. I show them. They understand. They accept me. They don't judge or argue, and they accept strange contradictions like me being human and nonhuman at the same time.

I see lots of things in the forest. Things that renew my belief in magic every time in different ways. I have hardly a choice but to believe in all manner of beautiful spirits, fae big and small, even gods. I believe in monsters too, but I believe in myself more, and I value my autonomy, and so I choose not to let my spirit be harmed.

And because I value my autonomy, I am drawn to the Otherkin community, where you don't have to have all the answers, just be who you are and you will be accepted in the best of our circles. We respect each other's minds, bodies, and spirits, and each of us walks a parallel but completely different path into ourselves. I'm glad there are others like me, who don't know why they are nonhuman in some way, just that they are, and that we have carved out a space in which to exist as we are.

I don't have all the answers, and probably never will. But I find little congruencies that allow me to slip through the cracks between what is and isn't. Here are some of them.

Many Faeries do look like humans. Changelings of course, and selkies, and Hulder and Skogskra, and nymphs and elves and many others. And much folklore seems to have it that people who seem to be human turn out to be Fae.

But I was born to humans, I know that for sure. And as such, I consider myself a Human Fairy. Of sorts. Like I said, I value my autonomy, and my right to say what I am and be what I am.

For me, the difference between a Faery and a Fairy is that Faeries are the beings that already existed, living at arm's length from most humans for most all time. We only remotely understood them back then, we only remotely understand them now. But we respect them, and many do respect us back and seek friendships with us.

The Fairy, on the other hand, is that cultural archetype you were talking about. A Fairy can be created by a human, it can be a human, it can be a character, and most importantly, it can be the link between people and magic. I have an affinity for pixies and pillywiggins, flower fairies, gnomes, brownies, dryads, sylphs, and all manner of tiny winged beings of nature, and yes, Tinker Bell, who was my personal introduction to the Fairy world, and the idea that there are magical beings who live in another world but also interact with our world. My first 'kin feels' would have been daydreaming myself in Pixie Hollow/Fairy Haven as a tiny fairy with wings and a talent, just the same way Prilla blinks to the Mainland. I still clap sometimes, because I do believe in Fairies.

And I think that the spirit world contains multitudes. I think it contains Faeries and Fairies all at once, and that thoughtforms, spirits, fae, and gods are all a big part of what makes humanity who we are in the first place.

And even still, I don't know if I have all of my facts and beliefs straight. But I know that I don't have to. If I waited until I understood myself completely before going and living my life, I'd simply never get the chance to. And so I just go live it. As I get older I care less about the labels and more about the experiences. But I love being a Fairy. I love being Otherkin. And I love talking to the kindest of the Good Folk. And I'll love this whether or not I will ever fully understand any of it.

I truly hope this is something like the answer you were hoping for.

do you mind me asking, was that recent post about losing faith by any chance about some kind of reconstructionist faith, like an irish polytheism? because i have some experience with dismantling that internally i suppose and it would be interesting if this is a pattern, if i wasn’t the only one... Love and solidarity in any case x

no, sorry. i grew up extremely christian in a uk evangelical tradition (with a big emphasis on social responsibility and justice, which is why it has remained so heavily entwined with my philosophies despite becoming agnostic in my late teens). it would be that protestant christian experience i would be mainly looking for, but i tend to find the dominant narratives about leaving evangelical churches are either joy at escaping the whole thing, or the survival of faith despite disillusionment in the religious institution, and neither of these narratives corresponds very closely with my own experiences