You need a rest. You need empty moments in which you tolerate your anxiety and circling thoughts until they slow down and stop circling. You need slow, quiet activities that ground you and remind you to accept yourself in spite of huge obstacles and bad thoughts. You need to put solutions out of your mind for now, and engage in activities that have nothing to do with your ego. You need habits that strengthen your patience and focus, but also feel real and not arbitrary. You need to abandon your glorious future and build your imperfect present instead.
Ask Polly: “I’m Lazy, Reckless and Addicted To Social Media. Help!”
Tag: reminder
Winter Doesn’t Equal Dead and Dormant
I’ve seen a few things talking about how fall and winter are the time when life-driven beings/characters would struggle because everything dies and/or goes dormant. But that’s not true!
Plants that remain active during winter:
- Spruce trees (and other evergreens)
- Wintergreen boxwood
- Sweet box
- Mock rush
- Holly
Plants that bloom during the winter:
- Winterberries
- Snowdrops
- Witchhazel
- Camellia
- Christmas rose
Animals that remain active during the winter:
- Arctic fox
- Shrews and deer mice
- Caribou
- Lynx
- Polar bear
- Snow leopard
- Penguins
- North American river otter
- Chickadee
Animals that give birth during the winter:
- Bears
- Squirrels
- Badgers
Instead of portraying fall and winter as the time when our nature-based characters became lethargic, depressed, and/or distant, why don’t we show them being playful and incapable of sitting still? Or constantly baking, eating, and socializing. They could be extra flirty/frisky. They could be loud and jovial. Maybe they wear bright splashes of colour (like red, green, bright orange) to ‘pop’ against the snow. Maybe they get bit by the travel bug. There are lots of different ways for nature-based characters to behave!
Just something to keep in mind ^.^
also, speaking as a north/winter witch, there’s nothing wrong with death and dormancy. i consistently find the most magic in the times when most of the world is sleeping–in being one of the few awake, quietly standing guard till spring.
In opposition, I will find opportunity.
In failure, I will obtain wisdom.
In chaos, I will create art.
There is no fire hot enough to scorch me for I am an eternal star.
You can’t rush what naturally needs time to unfold. Sometimes certain processes take longer than others. Sometimes answers form through direct experience. I believe our greatest grace can often come from learning how to be patient and listening and responding to each season within the cycles of our lives.
Hi! I’m just getting interested in Hellenic religion and the gods. I’m wondering if you have any advice or words of caution? :) Thank you
In no particular order:
- Read, all that you can. It doesn’t have to be scholarly texts, and you don’t have to memorize anything, but read.
- If you find something and it sounds off, or this is the only source telling you X….look for verification.
- Don’t be shy about reading the philosophers too. You may decide their work holds no baring on your practice, but decide that after you’ve looked at some of their stuff.
- You don’t need to worship each deity individually. They were originally worshiper together, there’s no reason we can’t do so again today.
- it doesn’t matter what you’re offering, just that you are giving in offering.
- Yes, this means water is a perfectly good offering if that’s what you can give
- There is no holy text, so be aware that just because One person does a thing doesn’t mean you have to do the thing as well, and just because one person uses a set of writing as rules doesn’t mean you have to as well.
- Watch out for people claiming to speak for the gods. Consult with your own divination or a trusted diviner before taking advice (especially unsolicited) from someone who says they speak for any deity
- Watch our for racists, homophobes, transphobes, and sexists. If you look at our myths there are people of all genders, intersex folks, trans people, lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, people of different races, people with physical disabilities, and more all in our myths and worshiping the Theoi.
- You do not need to be like the gods in order to worship them. You don’t have to be a woman to worship Artemis, you don’t need to be married to worship Hera, you can worship Dionysos and never touch alcohol.
- Don’t rush into making an oath. I know it feels like everyone has made oaths and you should too in order to prove you’re serious, but trust me when I say “wait.” The gods will still be here in a year if you decide this is the right path for you.
- Don’t believe everything you read about interactions with the gods. Most of us never get signs or literally hear them speak. There’s nothing unusual if you don’t either.
- Prayer can be as formal or as casual as you like, it’s important that you’re comfortable with it though.
- Festivals are fun, but unnecessary.
- You don’t need individual altars for all the gods you worship. Don’t worry about putting Zeus and Hephaistos on the same space as Artemis.
- Statues are nice, but unnecessary.
- Ancient Greece spanned thousands of years and thousands of miles, there are more options than just what was done in Classical Athens, so if Athens doesn’t float your boat, look around at other stuff.
- Yes, you can blend practices. Greco-pretty-much-everything has sources. Greco-Egyptian? Oh yeah, we got you. Greco-Roman, that’s just Tuesday. Greco-Bhuddist? They’ve got amazing art from this branch of worship. Want Greco-Gaelic? I’ve seen one (1) academic paper on this before but it was all Greek to me!
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions!
I’m here to remind you to write an abundance log because it freaking works.
what’s that?
Okay I’ve gotten a few asks about this so here I go!
What is it?
It’s a method to be grateful about your income and to attract more abundance since when you’re feeling good about money is when it comes.
How is it done?
The way you do it is by simply write down the money that comes to you each day and say thank you for it. You don’t have to write EVERYTHING nor it has to be the exact amount. The goal is to appreciate the fact that you got money (you want to feel the abundance not the lack of it).
Now I’m going to put an example of a day in my life and how I would write it down. Let’s say today I went shopping with a gift card, my mom took me out to the cinema and dinner.
In my notebook I would write:
+60€ thank you for the clothes
+9€ thank you for taking me to the cinema!
+20€ thank you for the food
As you see you don’t actually have to be handed money to practice this method so keep an eye to what people pay for you and say thank you!
Does it work?
After the first week of doing this I was told my University would pay me back 500€ (it’s something I asked for like three months ago and thought I didn’t make the cut to receive it). After two weeks of doing my abundance long I was invited to the VIP area of a luxurious disco for free (and let me tell you, this is not the kind of things that happen to me). So, for me, it actually works and it doesn’t hurt trying out.
I feel like this concept could be applied to other things as well? Like hmm… happiness? Like for instance, you could say (about your significant other or someone else idk)
+ thank you for making me a cup of coffee before work
+ thank you for reminding me to take my medicine
+ thank you for making dinner
So this would attract more good deeds, and therefore more happiness? Idk maybe I’m wrong.
Absolutely! You can make the log about anything. I personally like to say my gratitude list after waking up so I feel like I already do that and I prefer to only track my income. But it’s a method that can be applied to more things
I saw this post a few weeks ago and decided to give it a try. Since then, I have felt much more positive, much luckier, and I really feel like I’m drawing more abundance to myself. So yeah, this method really, really works!
fair--y backup 