Because pagan/neopagan is basically anything NOT Christain or the other triad in the abrahamic religions. Plus, so many people have misconceptions about Hinduism (and/or Kali in general) so it helps give information about them. I’m saying this as someone who identifies as Pagan, myself.
“anything that isn’t Abrahamic is pagan” false, Hinduism is a Dharmic religion along with Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. These two groups (Abrahamic and Dharmic) are also joined by Taoic religions (which include Confucianism).
the term pagan being applied to non-Christian/Abrahamic religions is archaic and disrespectful – the term pagan is used “presuming a belief in false gods”
Organized Hinduism/vedic-puranic Hinduism is Dharmic. Some aspects are derived from various Indian indigenous belief systems. Those are the terms you should be using.
Repeat after me: label non pagan polytheistic beliefes as pagan is Disprectful.
Tag: psa
Dangerous Herbs
Listed below are dangerous herbs and herbal combination and explanations as to why they are dangerous. Do not try any of these herbs, orally, on the skin, or in any other way ever (or during pregnancy or nursing, if listed as such).
*Some of the herbs mentioned are safe in small doses are are written as such. Other herbs are toxic in small doses or any amount. This is not a complete list.
Belladonna – Nightshade, bittersweet nightshade is an extremely poisonous herb and is absolutely deadly. It is related to Henbane. Side effects can include dry mouth, enlarged pupils, blurred vision, red dry skin, fever, fast heartbeat, inability to urinate or sweat, hallucinations, spasms, mental problems, convulsions, and coma.
Blue Cohosh – Can cause miscarriages, especially during early pregnancy. This herbs in combination with other herbs has been used as an aborfacient. It works by loosening and relaxing the uterine muscles. This is why it is often suggested as a remedy for pms and menopause.
Black Cohosh –
Can cause miscarriages, especially during early pregnancy. This herbs in combination with other herbs has been used as an aborfacient. It works by loosening and relaxing the uterine muscles. This is why it is often suggested as a remedy for pms and menopause.
Chaparral – This herb can cause serious liver damage, liver failure, and acute hepatitis.
Comfrey – Comfrey can be taken in small doses for upset stomach and pms, but using a lot is dangerous. Comfrey contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, a type of poison that causes liver and kidney failure as well as cancer. They can be absorbed through the skin as well.
The amount of PAs found in comfrey changes according to the time of harvesting and the age of the plant. The roots have 10 times higher amounts of PAs than the leaves.
Devil’s Claw –
Harpagophytum, means “hook plant” in Greek. Devil’s claw causes additive effects in many medications. It can cause changes in blood pressure as well.
Eucalyptus – Eucalyptus can not be consumed. Taking 3.5 mL of undiluted oil can be fatal.Even applying too much to the skin and absorbing large amounts is dangerous. (Use it very lightly, dilute it, or use a humidifier.) Signs of eucalyptus poisoning might include stomach pain and burning, dizziness, muscle weakness, small eye pupils, feelings of suffocation, and some others. Eucalyptus changes how many medicines break down in the liver.
Foxglove – Poisoning by this herb can cause stomach upset, small eye pupils, blurred vision, strong slow pulse, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, excessive urination, fatigue, muscle weakness and tremors, stupor, confusion, convulsions, abnormal heartbeats, and death. Long-term use of foxglove can lead to symptoms of toxicity, including visual halos, yellow-green vision, and stomach upset.
Golden Seal – This herb is a uterotonic; brain damage (kernicterus) has developed in newborn infants exposed to goldenseal. Do not use goldenseal during pregnancy or breast-feeding.
Hemlock –
Neuromuscular
blockage can occur to the point of
death if it blocks the
respiratory muscles.Henbane – Side effects include dry mouth, red skin, constipation, overheating, reduced sweating, vision disturbances, increased heart rate, urination problems, drowsiness, restlessness, hallucinations, delirium, manic episodes, and death. Henbane is poisonous and not safe for self-medication.
Kava – In the South Pacific, kava is a popular social drink, similar to alcohol in Western societies. It is used by some to treat anxiety, restlessness, and insomnia, but like many medicines used to treat these types of issues, Kava runs the risk of being too much of a ‘downer – oversedation.’ It can make you unable to operate machinery, fatigued, and worsen depression. Large doses can also effect the liver and cause yellowing of the eyes. Also, some of the dangerous chemicals in kava can pass into breast milk and might hurt a breast-fed infant. Avoid this herb if you have Parkinson’s disease or if you will undergo or have recently undergone anaesthesia as it effects the central nervous system.
Alcohol, sedatives, and benzodiazepines interact with downers.
Licorice Root – This tasty herb, when taken in high doses, may cause tiredness, absence of a menstrual period in women, headache, water and sodium retention, and decreased sexual interest and function in men. It may also cause early delivery in pregnant women and miscarriage in early pregnancy. This root has also been seen effecting hormone levels in the body and interacts with oestrogen. It also seems to rid the body or potassium. It can also cause heart failure.
Mistletoe (European) – Can cause chills vomiting, diarrhea, cramping, and other side effects. Short-term, frequent use of European mistletoe might cause liver damage. Lowers blood pressure.
Mugwort – This herb is dangerous in large quantities. Thujone, a ketone and a monoterpene that occurs naturally in two diastereomeric forms:-α-thujone and-β-thujone is present in wormwood Thujones cause a slight high and a feeling of relaxation, which is why it is enjoyed by smokers and drinkers (as a tincture or bitters), can also cause breakdown of muscle, nightmares, seizures, dizziness, confusion, numbness of arms and legs, paralysis, and death. The chemical is also said to be responsible for absinthe’s hallucinogenic effects.
Mugwort might cause a miscarriage because it can start menstruation and also cause the uterus to contract.
Pennyroyal – Pennyroyal has been used as an antificant and can also kill pregnant mothers. Do not use this herb as a method for miscarriage. It can cause irreversible damage to the liver and kidneys, nervous system, brain, and cam cause dizziness, confusion, seizures, and death.
Peony – Peony can cause uterine contractions and is unsafe to use during pregnancy. It also slows blood clotting.
St. John’s Wort – This herb interacts with SSRIs and other types of medications for the treatment of depression. In bipolar, bipolar depression, mania, manic depression, and other related disorders, St. John’s wort can trigger a major upswing or manic episode in patients. This herb also interacts with birth control.
Wormwood – Wormwood one of the main ingredients in the alcoholic beverage, Absinthe. The latin Absinthium comes from the ancient greek word apsínthion, which some claim translates to “Undrinkable”, referencing the herb’s extreme bitter flavor. It is closely related to mugwort, which is toxic in large doses, but wormwood is even more so. The herbs also contained thujones. See Mugwort.
Valerian – This herb, especially the root, can cause oversedation.
Alcohol, sedatives, and benzodiazepines interact with downers.
Valerian can cause some side effects such as headache, excitability, uneasiness, and even insomnia in some people. A few people feel sluggish in the morning after taking valerian, especially at higher doses. It’s best not to drive or operate dangerous machinery after taking valerian.
Wintergreen – This type of mint can be dangerous in high doses. Taking wintergreen oil or large amounts of wintergreen leaf can cause ringing in the ears, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, headache, stomach pain, and confusion.
“Remember why you became a polytheist. Perhaps you prayed and Someone unexpected answered. Perhaps a Goddess tapped you on the shoulder and said “you’re mine.” Perhaps you realized that the world is better explained by many Gods of limited power and scope than by one all-powerful God and you decided that following Them was the best way to order your life. It’s hard to be spiritual when your roof is leaking. If your current situation has dampened your enthusiasm for the Gods, Their virtues, and Their work, it’s understandable. And usually, They understand too – They tend to have a longer and wider perspective than we do. But whatever your reason for becoming a polytheist, it was valid then and it’s still valid now.”
—
John Beckett
“Polytheism in Difficult Times“
(via
)
I guess it’s my turn to say it.
This lecture has been issued so many times that the vast majority of spirit workers crossing these lines know better, so I’m just going to put a not-so-brief, highly specific reminder here (and I’m aiming this directly at shops):
Please stop with the inaccurate bullshit listings, actively trying to co-opt things you don’t understand.
Your random-ass American were-creature is not a skinwalker. You want to know why? Ask a Navajo.
Your carnivorous beast that is “sweet and gentle with their keeper” is nothing like a wendigo. Any Ojibwe or Cree will quickly set that record straight.
Your giant bird spirit is not a thunderbird and for fucks sake your water elemental panther spirit is NOT an underwater panther!!! The thunderbird is sacred. The underwater panther is sacred.
GTFO here with your plastic shamanism.
Every now and then a shop does spring up with a legitimate (and often known malicious) spirit from a closed culture. Here’s what you don’t understand though: there’s a difference between spirit vessels and spirit traps. These legitimate, malicious spirits are likely captured rather than willfully bound, and I believe this is where half the community is getting this whole ‘spirit binding is slavery’ thing from. Some species want nothing to do with humans, and when you find one of those beings listed, there’s a good chance they’re trapped and angry. And there’ll be hell to pay once the binding weakens enough for them to get loose.
You don’t want to listen? Fine, get wrecked.
For all the spirit workers who do use shops, do your research! When a conjuror lists a entity whose bio flies in the face of everything that species is, RUN.
When a conjuror does not publicly state their qualifications/experiences working with traditionally malevolent entities, RUN.
A conjuror who cannot properly inform themselves on a species cannot properly vet that entity. If they don’t care about the cultural origins of an entity they do not know the correct way to interact with that entity, nor what it is truly capable of.
Say you are matched with an entity from a closed culture, and it’s the real deal/not an imposter, and you get along fine. Your particular experience doesn’t mean it’s okay for just anybody to interact with that species. There are communities that have been working with their spirits for as long as mankind has roamed the earth, and when outsiders who do not know the proper level of respect to show get involved – en masse, thanks to irreputable conjurors – you know what happens? Offense is taken and they stop wanting to work with humans, period. And it’s not fair to those of us for whom this is our birthright; to have some outsider come in and fuck shit up so that our traditional spiritual allies close their doors to us. IMO, when it comes to beings from closed cultures, not only should the conjuror be a member of that culture, but along with the spirit being vetted, the spirit worker should be vetted as well.
There’s more than a couple of people in the community just trying to make a quick buck and they do NOT CARE about your safety. And if you can’t understand that part of the reason people call out folks appropriating is due to sellers misinforming people and putting them in direct contact with dangerous beings, you too can get wrecked.
Culture vultures are the exact reason I won’t post anything in depth about Unktomi.
I keep my head down and avoid most of the drama in the spirit community, but I am asking you now as an unenrolled Santee Sioux and Shoshoni (sheep eaters clan) native to please step back from our culture. It’s invasive at the least and desecration at the worst. Please grant us at least this small measure of respect.
does anyone have a blocklist of white supremacists/nazis in the heathenry community? i dont want to follow/support racists when looking for information
There’s not a blocklist, per se, since maintaining it would be a nightmare, but you can scroll through the archives of the @valkyriesquad for receipts on people. They also host an opt-in safe list of people who have been vetted.
PSA
Please be aware that Wyrd Curiosities at Etsy is owned by Galina Krasskova, a racist, antisemitic, and xenophobic supporter of the alt-right who also supports the rights of any religious group to be racist, antisemitic, xenophobic, white nationalist, homophobic, and transphobic. Sources: X, X, X. Wading into her blog is a wtf? experience: X
Wyrd Curiosities sells some products featuring the art of @gracedpalmer, an artist who is very much opposed to racism, antisemitism, and white nationalism. I strongly encourage those who, like me, admire and wish to support the art of Grace D. Palmer to purchase from the artist’s own Etsy shop.
fair--y backup 