Hot Take Alert! 🔥

It doesn't matter if the gods are angry or not.

We aren't Their minders or in charge of Their emotions. And they're not gonna take it out on us, so literally who cares?

"But, if They're not angry, then that means They don't care--"

Bullshit. We learn domains for a reason people. Artemis' power extends only through animals, childbirth, women's rights, and the natural world. She can inspire us, stoke our fires, but did you want Her to suddenly mind control people at the voting booth?? Their powers have limits, They are not Abrahamic gods.

"But Zeus--"

Is literally meant to be an impartial judge. His whole thing is not picking sides, and the idea of democracy is letting people choose. To rig the election in His favor would be against His own values.

Also, remember that we're a minority. Remember that most people are Christian or atheist, so they're solidly out of the Theoi's reach.

Can we please put this argument to bed and just focus on the work ahead of us? Thank you.

Food Offerings and Libations for Deities

One recurring beginner pagan question is “Can I give this deity X?” It implies offerings are risky things, victim to a deity’s pickiness. There is a too-common fear among beginners that the “wrong” offering will anger the deity at worst and cause hiccups in the relationship at best.

However, just saying you can give anything to a deity can be dismissive of the impacts different offerings can have. I’d argue offerings fall into a hierarchy, and the better question to ask is not “can I give this to Deity?”, but rather “Does this offering match the energy I want for this interaction?”

Small footnote: UPG (unverified personal gnosis) means a part of one’s practice they believe in that has no historical basis. SPG (shared personal gnosis) is when multiple people believe in the same facet, but it has no historical worship.

UPG – Poseidon has no historical association with strawberries. I gave Him strawberries in exchange for a favor, the favor was fulfilled quickly, so I now believe that Poseidon really likes strawberries.

SPG – Many modern Hermes worshipers offer coffee to Him because it fits His energetic nature, but He has no historical association with coffee.

First things first, there are very few limits on what can be an offering

My rule of thumb is that as long as it’s edible, it’s good. I wouldn’t give a deity something rotted, moldy, expired, or out of the garbage.

Most deities do not have any offerings that would offend Them; you can give Them pretty much anything. Even something modern like Twix or Red Bull would be accepted!

There can be exceptions, like offering Jewish entities non-kosher food or giving Aphrodite pig products, but it’s usually common knowledge among Their worshipers, so if in doubt you can always ask if there’s anything you shouldn’t give.

First Rank – Non-UPG/SPG Offerings

The most informal offerings are those that are mainly given because they’re on hand. These are offerings of convenience, usually due to the pagan being in the broom closet or being unable to acquire a more deity-specific offering.

If you can’t afford a formal offering, or if it just isn’t available to you geographically or legally (18- Dionysus worshipers, I see you), this option may feel lazy but an offering is an offering at the end of the day! The gods understand your limitations.

This offering is also good for anytime you want a small or casual interaction. Remember those cartoons where the kid asks for Christmas everyday, only to realize that things are only special when they’re infrequent? Non-UPG/SPG offerings allow us a more convenient offering for our smaller interactions, so when we desperately need to ask for the Big Stuff, those formal offerings feel like grander gestures.

Second Rank – Historical Offerings for the Pantheon

These offerings are a step up from the first, mainly because they’re slightly more personalized. Many pantheons had “default offerings” which could be given to any god in that pantheon.

Many of them are usually staples, like bread or alcohol. This means that they can be wonderfully easy to get, and they’re often common enough that if you’re a minor in the broom closet, your parents will have some in the house somewhere.

Some pagans will forego the non-UPG/SPG offering rank entirely, preferring to only give historical “default” offerings as their casual offering. This is valid!

Third Rank – Deity-Specific Offerings

This is the most formal, and most personalized, of the offerings. These are offerings you associate with the deity, whether it’s historical, UPG, or SPG.

Anytime you want a formal interaction, these types of offerings will be your best bet for creating that mood. Remember that the energy of a situation can be modified by our psychology and mood; giving Apollo slices of a chocolate orange will likely feel more fulfilling and pagan-y than giving Him some Sour Patch Kids, though both are modern foods.

Again, it is 100% okay if you cannot provide these types of offerings. While they may be best for formal situations, other offerings will work well, especially if you focus on the interaction itself instead of kicking yourself over the offering.

At the end of the day, whether or not an interaction was successful depends on the interaction between you and the deity. Yes the offering is a part of it, but it’s not as make-or-break as some people seem to believe; at best, it’s just a bit of generosity. The gods want to connect to you & your energy, and They can do that very well without needing an offering, They just need you.

Asking Deities for Help

Asking for help is a daunting task; even more so when you’re asking eternal supremely powerful beings. There’s a lot of worry and questions around which deity is best to ask and how to ask for help without offending. There can be a lot riding on doing this properly so you can get the help you’re asking for.

Today, we’ll be taking a dive into the process of asking deities for help.

The Main Tenets of Asking

These tenets apply to asking any type of spirit or entity

The number one rule of asking for help is knowing that offerings will be owed. Though ‘the larger the ask the better the offering’ is a good guideline to follow, you don’t have to give Them everything you own. If all you can spare is a glass of water, that’s okay. The important thing is that you give what you feel is an appropriate offering.

Imagine an artist gets two messages asking for a special commission. But the artist is pretty busy, so they can only squeeze one request in. One is an internet stranger, one is a close friend; which do you think the artist is more likely to take?

The relationships we build can greatly affect how our requests are received. Many deities and spirits are more willing to go out of their way to help a worshiper they care about than someone approaching them for the first time.

This second tenet is especially important in our next section.

Finding Someone to Ask

The very first thing you should ask yourself is: Do you need a deity for this? Going back to the Second Tenet, if the task is within the capabilities of a spirit we already have a relationship with, we can ask them! If you don’t have any existing relationships with deities, go through your spiritual team (spirit guides, familiars, ancestors, etc) and see if any of them could be suitable for this task.

If you have an existing relationship with only one deity, you can consider if They might be a good fit. I believe there are tasks any deity can do, regardless of Their domains. If you’re suffering from a mental health episode, you don’t need to reach out to a new deity. Your main or patron deity is fully capable of comforting you and helping you.

Even if the domain doesn’t fall under Them, They might be connected to a deity that could help. For example, an Apollo devotee asking Artemis for help in their childbirth. The twin gods are very close, so Artemis is likely to favor Her brother’s worshipers like Her own. You can ask your main/patron god to persuade the other into helping you (i.e. ask Apollo to ask Artemis), or talk to the helping deity directly (i.e. ask Artemis yourself).

If you don’t have an existing relationship with any spirits, or you really don’t want to ask the spirits and deities you do have a relationship with, here are some questions to help narrow down your choices:

🔷 Whose domain does the task fit under?

🔷 Do any deities in the previous list have a connection with the deities I worship/work with? Are any of Them in the same pantheon at least?

🔷 What is my purpose in asking for help? Do I just want Their energy to help me achieve my goal and then say goodbye? Or do I want to form a relationship with this deity?

🔷 Are there close/paired deities I could ask for help from? (i.e. asking both Odin and Frigg for help in divination)

With your list made, find who you feel especially interested in, and ask.

How to Ask for Help

Let’s get this out of the way: Timing does not matter. This is not a spell, it’s just a conversation. It can be done during any moon phase, any day of the week, any time of day or night. Do not worry about if it’s the “right time” to approach that deity, unless you’re trying to be more formal.

As stated before, offerings are very important in this process. There should be two offerings made: one when you make the request and one after the request is completed. Think of the first like a down payment; you’re giving Them a little something now in thanks for listening to you. The second is the actual “thank you for helping me” offering.

Offerings do not have to be food or water; you can give objects like coins or a new altar candle, and you can perform actions like volunteering or cleaning their altar space weekly for a month. You can also combine these offerings, offering a plate of food beside incense, or a lit candle and a glass of wine. Again, it just has to feel like an appropriate offering.

For the actual asking, stay respectful and humble. Do not demand that They “must” do it, and do not threaten Them if They do not help you. Ask nicely, and be understanding that They may choose not to help you (which we will talk about later).

How to Thank Them for Help

Make sure the second offering is given promptly! Not only is it rude to make others wait, but the more time that goes by, the more likely you are to forget it entirely. Personally, I would say if you have the materials then you shouldn’t make Them wait more than a couple days; if you need to go out and buy what you promised, explain the situation to Them (with another small offering) and give Them an idea of when you’re planning on giving the ‘thank you’ offering. All in all, I don’t think you should wait longer than two weeks.

Be sincere in your thanks, and try not to tack on “it would have been nice if” statements. I would also not advise asking for more help immediately; it can set you into a bad habit. Even with proper offerings, the gods could get annoyed that you just want more and more out of Them.

Thank Them for Their help, give the offering, and close. Wait at least a couple days before asking for another favor.

An Example

I work an outdoor job, which means we get the day off for bad weather. One week, my partner was very stressed due to a class presentation on Friday. The weather was going to be touchy that day, and I really wanted the day to be called off so I could be home for him after his presentation.

I decided to ask both Zeus and Hera because:

☑️ I worship the Greek pantheon, which They belong to

☑️ I needed a rainy day, which falls under Zeus’ domain

☑️ I give a weekly offering to both, which means I have a small relationship built up

☑️ Hera, being a goddess of marriage, would likely be favorable to the request as it’s so I can support my partner

I lit a candle and offered Them some white wine when I made the request. I promised them a caramel apple if I got the rainy day; the next day when it rained, I made caramel apples and gave Them one with a prayer of thanks.

And that was that! Pretty straightforward and easy.

If the Goal is not Achieved

It happens. We don’t get everything we want, even if we ask the perfect deity and give the proper offerings and prayers. It really sucks, and it can hurt; why have the gods neglected us? Why won’t They help?

If your goal was not achieved, you can always ask the deity over divination. Be careful not to accuse or insult Them. Sometimes it’s out of Their hands (maybe another pagan petitioned their gods to give them the job), sometimes They don’t think it’s the best for us in the long-term. Or, maybe They wanted a different offering than the one you gave. They will have Their reasons, and you can always ask about them and go from there.

Asking deities for help shouldn’t be scary or intimidating. As my example showed, it’s actually pretty easy! Just remember the main tenets, to give offerings and rely on relationships; as long as you do that and speak kindly, you’ll be golden.

I tried to make this post comprehensive and beginner-friendly, but if anyone has questions, my inbox is always open!

Goodbye, Amino

Amino will always have a large part of my heart. I was an active member for 7 years, and the idea of leaving physically pains me. I will always remember the Golden Age, when 5 new posts popped up with each refreshing of the page, and there were near a hundred people online at a time. 

Unfortunately, we are long past that. If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re coming from Pagans & Witches Amino and want to know why I left. 

The first nail was the decline. Our most active members used to be experienced witches & pagans, and discussion at an intermediate or advanced level was common. The feed was full of great information, often including personal paradigms and paths built over years of experience. There was diversity; everyone talked about the differences in their beliefs and the different ways they connected to magic, to energy, to gods. P&W was a place of learning for all levels, where we knew each other and felt like a community. But now, we feel like a forum. Many of our experienced members have left, so discussions have dried up. Most conversations are now delegated to the beginners who ask basic questions and share their excitement over their first steps. Nuance has been lost, because beginners are still learning the black and white areas. We give lip service to the different ways of doing witchcraft, but because the beginners don’t have their paradigms yet, the discussion goes no further. It no longer feels like an app for everyone, but rather it feels like it’s an app for beginners. As much as I love answering questions and helping people find their footing, when it comes to my own questions and wanting to broaden my knowledge, I find there is no one to talk to. 

The second nail was the shrinking of the community. In 2022, we gained over 4,000 new members. In 2023, we gained 1,064 new members. In these five months of 2024, we have a net increase of 172 members; we are on track to gain ~350 new members by the end of the year. 

The third nail was leadership. Because of the commitment and subsequent burnout, we tend to go through admins in “eras”. The Golden Age was still the original leadership, long before they burned out. While there were minor changes as people stepped down, it mostly stayed the same and was made of kind, fair people. Issues were dealt with quickly, and leadership was often active in the chatrooms, building rapport and letting us get to know them. When they stepped down, the next era was rife with favoritism and drama. They stayed in their private chats, and often allowed their personal feelings to determine if someone was breaking the rules. After people were forced to step down, we now have this third era who’s defining trait so far is being paranoid of repeating the second era’s mistakes. They have become bureaucratic to the point of ineptitude. Everything must be brought before the entire team for them to discuss, slowing everything down. 

My moment of realization was when I suggested a poll that could identify what people wanted to get out of Amino; were they looking for information, community, or purely a place to ask questions? I was more than willing to make it, post it, and share the results with leadership. When I sent the link to leadership for review, they informed me this poll would be better suited for their team to present. They would credit me, of course, but it still left a bad taste; I had done similar polls before (within the last couple of months, actually) and never had a problem. I gave them permission, and I am still waiting for the poll to be posted to Amino. It’s been two months. 

(Honorable mention to being told that a post containing misinformation could not be taken down due to the OP saying it was a conpantheon deity. The post in question claimed this deity was a previously undiscovered deity of the Greek pantheon who ruled over…-checks notes- Polyamory, albinism, and harems; none of those topics make sense in a Greek deity’s domain.) 

I will keep all my posts up on Amino, but I have already stepped down from my chat host position. I would love to see a Renaissance, but right now I think Pagans & Witches Amino is heading towards a gradual death. As I said, I will always love it, and while I cannot bring myself to uninstall the app, I think it is time for me to move on.

Expanding Knowledge

I'd like to expand my knowledge on other branches of paganism besides Greek. However, I'm not sure where to start. So, I am putting out a request for...anything, really.

Please keep in mind I am looking for discussions and writings that are academic in nature; I don't want to know the "basic offerings", "norse deities 101", and other surface-level blog posts and topics. I'm hoping to start deep diving into paganism as a whole.

So, if any of my followers are involved with or know of the following, I would appreciate letting me know via reblogs, replies, asks, what have you!

The idea of soul parents originates in Egyptian paganism as the deity that breathes life into your soul. However, I don't know at what point it got added to the religion, and I almost never hear Egyptian pagans talk about finding their soul parents so I don't think it has a lot of importance in regards to who you worship. The concept has left that religion and can be found in New Age-leaning groups; it's now defined as the deity that creates your soul. Some people really cling to the idea that because they made your soul they're kind of a guardian angel-type figure: They've protected you all your life and know you better than any other deity, so it makes sense that they should be the main deity you worship! Thus they push for people to find their soul parent deity as that will be the best possible relationship with the Divine they can have.

Other people believe in the concept, but then say that other deities can be Something Else and that overrides the soul parent or can be added to them. For example, one blog I read from an Egyptian pagan talks about having a shrine to their spiritual parents, but then they also have "Beloveds", which they define as deities who have taken interest in you (and seem to be patron deities as we usually think of them).

As with all New Age concepts, it's quite flexible and many people have different, often contradictory views on how exactly this works. Hell, I even found differing accounts as to how many soul parents you can have.

There's not a lot out on there on this concept, but this is the general gist I got. I'm not sure how widespread it is in New Age groups, but it definitely pops up every once in a while.

Kinda in line with all those "you are not immune to cult propaganda" posts is the thought that you shouldn't automatically believe every New Age concept that can be boiled down to "this type of entity/person is the destined perfect puzzle piece that will complete you and love you unconditionally".

I understand you probably have some attachment issues going on, but...I don't know, the idea of who you can have meaningful relationships with being predestined and out of your control is limiting. Just because my sun sign is Capricorn doesn't mean I should be chained to Kronos for the rest of my life when there's other deities that fit me much better. Same for deity soul parents & twin flames.

Deities in Dreams

Dreams are a strange gray area, able to be controlled by ourselves but also by outside entities. Anything can happen, and sometimes that anything means something.

It’s easy to get excited when you see a deity in a dream, but most of the time it’s just you. Still, it can be hard to tell the difference and dreams lead to a LOT of confusion. Let’s try to clear some of that up.

What are dreams?

Your brain is receiving a lot of input throughout the day. Everything you do, see, hear, and touch is stored in your brain until a time it can process all of that. Take a moment and think about that: Every post on your feed, every conversation and text, all the interactions between friends, coworkers, customers, all the stressors and small joys, all of that and more is being stored in your brain.

For most of us, sleep is the best time for our brain to work through everything that happened and, more importantly, how it made us feel. Dreams are us watching our brain process the day’s events, and rectifying them with our traumas, thoughts, opinions, feelings, and so on. It is all of our conscious and subconscious from the day, being dumped out on the floor for our brain to sort like a big puzzle.

So yeah, some weird stuff comes up. Things get scrambled as the brain tries to fit everything together, and sometimes pieces are forced together through symbolism. Did your boss yell at you today, reminding you of how your father treated you as a kid? Your brain has mixed those together and now your dad is your boss in your dream.

That example is much more obvious than the usual symbolism we get in dreams, but I think it helps to get the point across.

Why would a deity appear in our dreams?

If a deity is reaching out to us through dreams, we can assume They have a message for us. It could be a warning, words of encouragement, or it could be Them saying They want us to worship Them.

Whatever it is, it is a communication. I do not think deities enter our dreams just to hang out with us, I think They only use dreams as a way to communicate something. If They wanted to just hang out, They could do that during the day.

This means if you did not get a message from the deity, it was likely not the deity appearing in your dreams.

Why would I randomly dream of a deity?

As I said before, our brains often use symbolism in dreams to get the point across. It’s very likely the deity you dreamed of fit a certain symbolism your brain wanted. Much like your boss and your dad were interchangeable in the previous example, a deity might be similar to someone in your life and so your brain has switched them.

It could also be your brain processing your feelings around paganism or deities. Researching a deity or religion means They are often on your mind, and your brain needs to process not only all the information you found that day, but also how you’re feeling about it all. If you’ve been feeling guilt or shame about your practice, it could manifest in nightmares of vengeful or neglectful gods.

I’ve had many dreams of the gods, including Persephone, Hekate, Dionysus. Only one of those was a message, most of them are just my brain using the gods as stand-ins for another person or idea.

How do I tell the difference?

If you recently dreamed of a deity and aren’t sure if it meant anything, ask yourself if there was a clear message. Did the deity have something to tell you, or were They just there doing whatever?

How did you feel in the dream? Were you lucid, or just going with the flow of the dream? I’ve found dreams that mean something often have you in a somewhat lucid state, enough that you’re able to question what is going on around you.

Did the deity act as you would expect? If I had a dream where Hera was telling me to cheat on my partner, that’s obviously not Hera.

Does the message make sense? Athena telling me “Go to the Purple Mountains tomorrow” is nonsense, because there isn’t anything by that name anywhere near me.

Get a reading. When in doubt, always ask the deity over divination if that was Them, or just a dream you had.

Conclusion

Deities can appear in dreams, but not every dream with a deity in it means you need to scramble together a new altar. Our dreams can be tricky, even though they’re meant to help us. Deities in dreams can be misplaced symbolism, or processing a recent event that involved the deity. Even if you find it was a deity that visited you, They may just have a quick message for you.

Dreams are very difficult to decipher, I hope this post can be of help to you.

March 19, 2024

Substack is acting up, so I'll just post on here

Spring Equinox

I’ve started my carnivorous plant terrarium, though it’s from 2018 so whether anything will actually sprout is anyone’s guess. I don’t have any garden plans beyond that, as my move to Massachusetts for the summer would disrupt the growing season. 

With the turning of the seasons, I’ll be shifting my spiritual focus onto plants. I’ve already done research into blue vervain (Verbena hastata), a handy flower for protection, communication, and divination.

Today, I gave offerings to Khione, Persephone, and Thallo, saying goodbye to winter and welcoming the spring.

Trip to North Carolina

Pictured - Rat snake; Fort Fisher; Appalachian foothills; yellow-bellied sliders at the North Carolina Aquarium

I visited North Carolina with my family last week! We saw my grandfather, and had fun showing my partner around. It was his first time in the state, so we took him to the aquarium & Fort Fisher, a Civil War fort that’s been turned into a military training ground.

Odds & Ends

Left - New altar candles for Hestia and Artemis; I'm not a big fan of the Artemis candle for Her, but it's what I've got on hand.

Right - Nonfiction reading for the week

Got bored, made a poll about closed cultures/religions in witchcraft & pagan communities.

Poll is here on Google Forms. It is anonymous!

Is language flexible, changeable, malleable? Of course! Does this mean you can make whatever rules you want? No!

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