Moira's Musings

[Moira's Musings]

[vulpine-vackra]

Originally posted by mizar113

The Soul and Self in Norse Mythology

It is a Norse belief that the soul and self are made up of multiple parts.

Lyke - the actual physical body, brought to life by the gods.

Hamr - the energetic or astral body, the shape or skin you wear that is perceived by others.

Fylgja - the accompanying guardian, the external (and typically animal) extension of yourself that represents your true character. Can generally only be seen by those with second sight or in dreams. Seeing your fylgja bloodied is an omen of your impending death.

Hamingja - the personified and inherent luck and fortune from your familial line, the extension of yourself that is your personal power. This part of your soul could be lent to others to assist in times of great peril. Certain individuals (hamrammr) can also perform hamfarir, or a shapejourney, where you shift your hamingja into an animal and can roam the world. If your hamingja was harmed, then so was your human body.

Sinne - the mind, made up of two parts: hugr (the conscious mind) and munr (the unconscious mind). This is personified in Odin’s two ravens, Hugin and Munin.

Önd - the spirit or life breath that distinguishes the living from the dead.

Goði/Gyðja - the higher or divine self, the voice behind intuition that remains forever loyal and true to your best interests.

Öðr - the divine consciousness, the ultimate inspiration or enlightenment through which you experience the divine.

[marjolijnmakes]

An amazing video about this is Norse Spirituality - the Parts of the Self by Arith Härger. It really breaks it down and explaines each part in relative depth.

[Moira's Musings]

[borderlineblitz]

[Moira's Musings]

[oshuns-ambience]

Link to entire thread which is filled with sources and text resources:

A thread written by @IzmsHasRisen

Black Is King/Black Is Q(ueer)ing A Thread on queerness in the African tradition. https://t.co/kRAqBHX3S5

threader.app

[oshuns-ambience]

[oshuns-ambience]

A thread written by @Blaise_21

Many Africans have been told that Queerness isn’t indigenous to African. This rhetoric has led to several homophobic and transphobic laws an

threader.app

[oshuns-ambience]

I want to be clear that these posts are not perpetuating the false idea that precolonial Africa was a Utopian paradise without issues of class or hierarchy. Precolonial African traditions of gender & sexual variance still had its issues. I also want to be clear that certain African peoples, both pre and post colonialism, do not have the same language for gender as Western or other societies do-for ex: the Yoruba people.

Here is a wonderful thread addressing these topics in addition to confirming the presence of people in precolonial Africa who were not what we consider cisheterosexual-filled with book recommendations, full PDFs and various text resources

A thread written by @AbolitionF_ists

We have asserted that precolonial African traditions of gender/sexual variance are not ideal/utopic—that they still involve labor divisions,

threader.app

Men can be wives and women can be husbands. Here’s what that teaches us about gender today

The European gender binary reinforces sexual dualism based on genitals. In Ifi Amadiume’s seminal work, we get a glimpse into how a society

The Correspondent

[oshuns-ambience]

[oshuns-ambience]

[molothoo]

Enough of us do not even realize how much of a post-colonial white-supremic world we still live in. Things like racism, the gender binary, homophobia are all concepts and inventions of the european influence on us globally.

Too many times I have read about a pre-colonial culture (the fact that I even have to say pre colonial 🙄) where I read that certain things were or were not common practice until Europeans arrived and forced their culture on everybody and then used Christianity to justify it while they were enslaving, raping, kidnapping, and committing genocide. And there are actual poc who can’t see pass the eurocentricity of literaly EVERYTHING because it’s what we were raised to think and believe and were never exposed to anything that would suggest otherwise.

[Moira's Musings]

[koraki-pharmakis]

Friendly reminder for Disability Pride Month that disabled witches & pagans aren't just valid...

Disabled witches & pagans are sacred. We don't need anyone's acceptance or inclusion to be real worshippers and witches. We are the blood and bones of magik and paganism.

You can't exclude us from witchcraft and paganism. What you can do is distort the craft, violate the core of our theology, and disrespect our traditions. Your ableism cuts us off from our means to practice, it limits our access, but it can never, ever make it more yours than ours.

In Hellenic Polytheism (and so many religions), ableism is disrespecting the gods. When you say negativity and illness has no space in worship, you ignore all worship of Dionysos. Your constant use of slurs against the disabled does not go unnoticed by the family of Hephaistos. Apollon, patron of a blind prophet, watches you refuse to accommodate the blind members of your community. Hermes and Athena see your refusal to learn and improve, despite the tools they have granted you. Asklepios and Apollon did not give us medicine for you to advocate disabled worshipers skip their pills.

And where do you think your herbs are from? Do you think your encyclopedias of magik and medicine were all written by abled hands? Disabled people sought out and found the remedies you use in your craft. We wrote those books. The knowledge wasn't pulled from thin air, and everything was discovered intentionally.

You don't need to tell us we're valid. We are not foreigners to this craft, and we don't need your hospitality. Magik and religion is not the property of the able-bodied. What we need is basic decency and accessibility, not half-hearted attempts by ableds to convince us that our presence "isn't actively bad."

You never seek validation from us. You never ask if you're too abled to practice--why do you assume we need approval from you?

For my disabled pagans and practitioners:

You are sacred. Your disability doesn't weaken your craft, and it doesn't need to be separate. You never have to be happy to be disabled, but know that your disability is not a curse. Magik has always been for you, always. The gods have always been for you. The universe and the divine are not ableist, and no one has a right to tell you how your disability affects your practice.

If I can say one thing to stick with you, I hope it's that you don't need to be valid. Your access needs aren't "special" or something for ableds to convince you aren't a detriment. You--all of you, disability and access needs included--make the world a better place and the craft that much stronger. You don't need to overcome anything. All you need is to exist. Know that what you are now is enough.

[Ableds can RB but don't add anything. Disabled folks, do as you wish]

[Moira's Musings]

[feychella]

literally why can’t i have long hair and short hair at the same time

[moiracolleenodell]

Isn’t that what extensions are for?

[Moira's Musings]

Alien Octopus is prepared to engage in primitive fisticuffs with the representative of your choice.

[Moira's Musings]

[tornado-si-do]

Man called Owen Wilson made these posters (found here on Twitter) and the English are going absolutely bonkers with fury, cancelling holidays and supposedly “reporting” him to various UK authorities…and he’s just like, “off you pop,” “Wales isn’t in England” lmao

[Moira's Musings]

Anonymous asked:

Is Loki a scary God to work with? As a trickster will he skew what you ask of him so it turns out negative? I want to worship him but I'm also worried I'll say something wrong and bad things will happen.

lokeanwelcomingcommittee answered:

Hi Nonny,

If Loki was out to screw his devotees over, he would not get, or keep, any devotees. For all the same reasons you wouldn’t worship a deity who twisted everything you said in a negative way, neither would anyone else.

It’s true that he can exploit loopholes. He is a trickster, and that is his nature. But he exploits them for what he perceives to be our own good, either to teach us or to improve our lives or to nudge us to do the right thing.

As for scary? It depends on what your definition of “scary” is, I guess. Benevolent and frightening are not mutually exclusive characteristics, and to that extent, pretty much any god can be said to be scary. Thor is a protector of humanity, but that doesn’t make facing down the full force of a massive thunderstorm a pleasant stroll in the park, you know? The gods mean us well, but they are awe-inspiring.

Is that the same as being scary? If so, then that puts most deities, and existential questions for that matter, off the table, not just Loki.

All this is to say, no, Loki is not out to harm you, and he is not uniquely scary or intimidating compared to other gods. A lot of people feel that worshiping him improves their lives. I as an online stranger can’t tell you if it’s the right path for you, but you wouldn’t be putting yourself in danger by giving it a try.

- Mod E

[Moira's Musings]

serpentofthenorth asked:

Fuck anyone who says Christians can’t be witches. Old Christianity in itself was rooted in magic (a look at the Arthurian legends would show that). Witchcraft is a practice, a craft - not a culture and not a religion. People can be of any religion and practice witchcraft.

Others’ approval is not needed.

breelandwalker answered:

SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE DUMBFUCKS IN THE BACK! 😆

[Moira's Musings]

cnet.com

Mr. Trash Wheel is gobbling up millions of pounds of trash

Trash interceptors are becoming more common in large cities, helping to stop garbage as it floats down waterways. Mr. Trash Wheel is the pride of Baltimore, helping to make a cleaner, more beautiful city waterfront.

Stephen Beacham

[plantyhamchuk]

“ Since its installation Mr. Trash Wheel has intercepted over 3 million pounds of trash, making the harbor not only cleaner and more beautiful, but also a nicer home for local wildlife as well as waterfront businesses. Four different wheels now sit in Baltimore’s rivers, and soon more will be helping clean other cities across the globe. “

…

“If you go to MrTrashWheel.com you can actually download a spreadsheet of every dumpster we’ve pulled out of the harbor over the past seven years, with an estimate of different types of trash that was in that dumpster,” Lindquist said. “We know that we’ve pulled out over a million styrofoam containers from the harbor, and that’s the sort of information, data and photos that we share with our elected officials to let them know just how big of a problem this is.”

…

“Mr. Trash Wheel has a few relatives in Baltimore, including Professor Trash Wheel, the first female Trash Wheel; Captain Trash Wheel, who’s nonbinary; and Gwynnda The Good Wheel of the West, who was recently the star of a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark her installation. They all have their own likes and dislikes on their public profiles online.

They’re also hungry, with a reputation for being able to gobble up larger pieces of trash, including a guitar, a full-size beer keg and on one occasion a ball python who escaped from its owner and made a home for itself on the warm battery casing of one of the Trash Wheels. Because the Trash Wheels don’t harm animals, they’ve become a kind of refuge for creatures seeking a safe place to nest. A mother duck once laid its eggs under the conveyor belt, and fish enjoy the oxygenated water that’s created as the wheel turns in the river during the summer.”

…

“ If you’re a city leader or official, you can adopt your own Trash Wheel at MrTrashWheel.com. “

ALRIGHT EVERYBODY TIME TO CONTACT YOUR LOCAL OFFICIALS