Friendly reminder that if you cannot explain, discuss, or celebrate your beliefs without shitting on someone else's, you neither understand nor truly believe in your chosen path.

Yes, even if you have trauma.

And no, you don't get to claim the suffering of people who died during witch trials because those were not secret pagan witches.

Also, learn your history. Not everything was originally a pagan sex festival, the Wheel of the Year is a recent invention, Christians did not steal our holidays, and cultural development doesn't happen in a vacuum.

Don't be a pick-me witch. You're better than that. So do better.

I understand to some extent, but when your spiritual identity has been torn apart because someone or something of a different faith has hurt you, then it's okay to exist in spite of another path.

Besides, not all paths will be yours, and you do not have to kindly respect other's paths, in response.

As long as you are not hurting innocent people that have not hurt you, it's okay to be angry with other deities or spiritual practices outside of your own. And as long as you are not colonizing other's faiths, just because you disagree with them, you are free to be angry.

I personally have religious and cult trauma, RAMCOA in all, throughout multiple lives. I do not belong to a single faith, nor do I see my "faith" above anyone else's. I have a deep hatred for cults and religions that exploit other people, especially christianity. But that does not make my experiences less true or less real, just because I feel estranged from others.

I understand what you are referring to, and that can be frustrating. But if you are multifaceted in your faith, like myself, its kind of hard to not see flaws in the way history has been written.

It is okay to criticize or to loathe other faiths, especially if you have been hurt by them. We do not need to be civil with things that uphold systematic oppression and bring fear to exploited innocents.

While I respect your personal struggle and your journey toward healing from past trauma, that is not what the post is about.

Discussing one's current beliefs, discussing one's religious trauma, and criticizing issues and shortcomings extant within religious systems are separate conversations. And it's important to be able to separate your journey with your new faith from the pain caused by the old one. This is definitely a process. But it needs doing.

Everyone has their own reasons for what they believe, including existing in spite of whatever faith they were raised with, but if you cannot discuss or describe your current beliefs without going into a tangent about Why This Other Religion Sucks, you are still existing within and measuring your beliefs by that other framework.

It's fine to be angry. It's fine to need time to process trauma. It's fine to engage in critical discussion. But your reasons for being a witch or pagan or what have you should be deeper and more complex than, "Because I Hate Christianity."

Damn this is a really intriguing discussion! Don't know if anyone will read this, but here's my breakdown.

That’s such an AWESOME statement within itself. What both @breelandwalker and @aeternalight are discussing are the factors that affect a person’s extrinsic and intrinsic religiosity.

Read More below, but if tl;dr: All arguments are antiprejudice and pro-healing trauma, so why are y'all fighting? Lol. What your reasons are for being a witch/pagan/etc. "should" be is debatable, because separating our pain from our path isn't likely, but if you wanna do that, then you do you, boo.

Unknown artist and location, if you know, please let us know!

Beginner’s Guide to Kali

What she’s goddess of:

Kali is the goddess of time, paradoxes, and destruction. She destroys, but only so she can rebuild something better in its place. She is NOT the goddess of death. This is a common misconception.

What’s her origin story?

She has a few variations of how she came into being (partially due to the very nature of Hinduism being such an old belief system, many stories naturally arose). The most popular is the story of Raktabija.

Raktabija was an unbeatable demon. The Hindu pantheon sent Durga, a powerful warrior goddess to fight him. Kali is believed to be the “dark half” of Durga, having been born during this battle. She learned that if she licked the blood up before it hit the ground, the demon would not be able to make more copies of it.

She killed Raktabija, but “went made with blood rage”. The Hindu pantheon freaked out, not knowing how to stop Kali now. So, they sent her husband, Shiva. Shiva laid down and Kali stepped on him

Stepping on her husband shocked her out of her “blood rage”. Her tongue stuck out due to shock, at least, that’s how many modern day scholars interpret the image.

Does she have a family?

Kali is not known to have any children. Her husband is Shiva. Her “other half” is Durga in some stories, a warrior goddess who is commonly seen riding on a tiger.

Are there modern interepretations of her?

Yes. She can be seen in Indiana Jones Temple of Doom as well as a Supernatural episode. However, these depictions are generally NOT well received by Kali devotees.

Kali can be seen in visual depictions as well in different types of art (acting, painting, drawings, etc.).

What does “jai mata di” mean, I see it associated with her online?

It’s basically the Hindu version of “praise Jesus”. It literally translates as “Victory to the Mother Goddess!”.

Why is she seen as motherly?

Kali has numerous versions of herself across Hindu literature. Again, this is due partially due to the fact that the Hinduism belief system is so old. Some versions depict her as a beautiful young woman. Others depict her as an emaciated (super thin), demonic looking woman.

Kali’s image gradually shifted from the spooky demonic looking woman to a more “down to earth” image. This is where the “motherly” image began to take form, at least according to modern day scholars of Kali.

Kali is known to be a fierce protector and mother to those who worship her.

What is typically offered to her?

Everything from dried fruit to animal sacrifice. Animal sacrifice is a much more rare ritual preformance, since it’s fallen out of favor with the public eye. Some people will use special effects blood and not real blood and put it in a jar on an altar for her.

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This blog's user believes in ghosts, spirits, and demons

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