Aphrodite

Just a quick reminder since I'm seeing a trend in my recent new followers -

If you are a radfem/gender critic/gender essentialist/TERF, don't support trans rights, think that "witch" is not a gender-neutral term, or believe that magic comes from the womb / only cis-women can be "real" witches, get the fuck off my blog.

Don't follow me, don't ask me questions, I don't care about your journey, I don't care about your reasoning, I'm not interesting in talking to you, I will block you on sight.

This is not a safe space for TERFs. There is nothing for you here.

I've noticed something in the discussion around Gerard Way and trans identity that I am officially fed the fuck up with. While talking about Gerard's outfits from the second leg of the tour, people love to use use the line "clothes ≠ gender" as a gotcha for those of us who are keen to the fact that they aren't cis. This pisses me off for three main reason plus a fourth mini reason that's more of a history blurb than anything else.

Before we start anything, Gerard has been out as not cis for the better part of 8(!) years now. To not acknowledge that is doing them a disservice. Some of you have purposely chosen to ignore that fact. Right out the gate that's fucked up. Ok now we can proceed.

First off, you're right. Clothes do not, in fact, equal gender. I know this, and it sounds like you'd like me to believe that you know this. So forgive me for being a little confused when you go on anon after they're photographed wearing what you dub to be "masculine clothing" (i.e. anything that's not a skirt/dress with heels) and tell me I'm an idiot for implying that they aren't a cisgender man.

Secondly, the concept that clothes don't equal gender in only true to us very recently. If you think that Gerard Way, a 45 year old ex-Catholic Gen-X'er who grew up in an wildly conservative suburb of north New Jersey doesn't have a different relationship between clothing and gender than you, a 14-to-20-something year old who hasn't closed tiktok in three days and averages 0.3 minutes of critical thinking per week, then you're extremely delusional and self-centered. People are socialized in entirely different ways. As humans, our experiences are not in any way universal. What doesn't mean anything to you means everything to someone else. Maybe you don't equate femininity with skirts and dresses, but I guarantee you a 45 year old who has openly struggled with gender identity their entire life does in some capacity. This is not a bad thing.

Thirdly is that in your attempt to sound as woke and morally upright as possible, you're unintentionally (or intentionally, seeing as a considerable number of you are terfs,) discrediting and invalidating the way someone experiences gender euphoria because you personally don't get it. Gerard Way has only ever said "I don't use labels" in response to people implying that they're cishet. If your first reaction to seeing someone who could even potentially identify under the transfem umbrella experiencing visible gender euphoria in a dress is to say "oh well clothes don't equal gender, so I'm going to assume that he's a man in a dress until he explicitly outs himself", then congratulations! You're transphobic. Because that's the thing. When you use the rhetoric of clothes ≠ gender in that context, it becomes crystal clear you don't actually care about trans people. You just want to sound like the smartest person in the room. And you're willing to throw GNC trans people under the bus in order to achieve that goal.

I think people have forgotten big time that "don't assume my gender" originally meant "don't assume I'm cis", because now the way people interpret the rhetoric (don't assume my gender, clothes ≠ gender, I don't use labels, etc.,) and use it to prove a point only use it as if to say "it's inherently wrong and creepy to identify and acknowledge when people aren't cis. Cis is the default and the only safe assumption. Anything else is offensive and crossing a major boundary" and you can tell it's because they view transness as an insult to someone's character. We have to, collectively, stop viewing transness as an allegation you either have to beat or bear with. Alongside that, we have to stop assuming cisness.

Do you know where to find out about ancient roman festivals?

Depends on what kind of info you're looking for but for general information, any book on ancient roman religion and even the wikipedia page on ancient roman festivals will get you started.

If you're looking for references, the most straight forward book to refer you to would be H.H. Scullard's Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic, which goes through each month of the religious calendar.

I'd also suggest taking a look at:

Jörg Rüpke, A Companion to Roman Religion: this is a thorough introduction to roman religion at large, but you'll find plenty of passages on festivals.

Rasmus Brandt, & Jon Iddeng, Greek and Roman Festivals: Content, Meaning, and Practice: more focused on the greco-roman aspects but some chapters of interest for you.

Harriet I. Flower, The Dancing Lares and the Serpent in the Garden Religion at the Roman Street Corner: This is about household religion rather than big, publicly-funded festivals but important to understand as the foundation upon which everything else is built.

Jörg Rüpke, On Roman Religion : Lived Religion and the Individual in Ancient Rome: good complementary read to understand the more personal religious experience.

In term of relevant blogs, take a look at @asklepiean's religio romana tag, and check out the many resources gathered by @honorthegods

This is from one of my textbooks* and I think it's super cool. I hope the Apollo worshippers out there like this!

* "An Introduction to Ancient Greek: A Literary Approach, Second Edition" revised by C.A.E. Luschnig and Deborah Mitchell

✨❤️ Attracting Love Spell ❤️✨

Creating a love spell can be a powerful way to manifest your desires and attract your ideal partner. 

Here are some steps to help you create your own love spell:

Ingredients:

🌹Rose petals 

🌹Cinnamon

🌹Rose quartz crystal

🌹Red candle

🌹 Incense (jasmine, rose, or sandalwood)

Steps:

❤️ Begin by cleansing your space and yourself. You can use smudging herbs or burn the incense for this.

❤️ Set your intention: Before you begin any spell, it’s important to know exactly what you want to manifest. Take some time to think about the kind of relationship you want to have and what qualities you’d like your ideal partner to possess.

❤️ Light the red candle and the incense.

❤️ Hold the rose quartz crystal in your hand and focus on your intention for love and passion.

❤️ Sprinkle the rose petals and cinnamon around the candle, forming a circle.

❤️ Visualize the energy of love and passion flowing into the circle and charging the ingredients.

❤️ Let the candle burn down completely, and let the incense continue to burn for as long as you like.

❤️ Thank the universe, your tools, and any deities or spirits you called upon for their assistance.

❤️ Close your circle or protective space.

Remember, love spells should always be created with pure intentions and respect for free will. It’s important to never try to manipulate or control someone else’s feelings. Focus on manifesting love and happiness for yourself, and trust that the universe will guide you to the right partner.

With these steps, you can create a powerful and effective love spell that aligns with your personal intentions and desires. Best of luck in your magical endeavors!

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🌞 If you enjoy my posts, please consider donating to my energies 🌞

✨🔮 Request a Tarot Reading Here 🔮✨

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With love, from a Sappy Witch 🔮💕

Blessed be. 🕊✨

sometimes you just gotta sit in your room and watch ghibli movies as you feel your heart overflowing with love for the little but overwhelmingly beautiful things this life can give us

Hephaestus :D

not sure if you're still doing these but i literally love them and if you are still doing them then I'd love to see a Gaia moodboard !

thanks !

i've been away from here for a long time, but this request of yours made my day, thank you! i hope you like it as well💚

𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒂 ; 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 🌸🍃

[please reblog or like if you saved]

An easy spell for protection

Ingredients:

A black candle

A piece of paper

A pen

A protective herb, such as rosemary, basil, or lavender

Instructions:

Light the black candle.

Write your name on the piece of paper.

Fold the paper in half and place it under the candle.

Sprinkle the protective herb over the paper.

Close your eyes and visualize a protective shield surrounding you.

Say the following incantation:

“I am protected from all harm. No evil can touch me. I am safe and sound. I am surrounded by love and light.”

Open your eyes and let the candle burn out.

This spell can be used to protect yourself from negative energy, harm, and danger. It can also be used to protect your home, your loved ones, and your belongings.

Here are some additional tips for using this spell:

You can use any protective herb that you like.

You can say the incantation in your own words.

You can perform this spell at any time of day or night.

You can repeat this spell as often as you need to.

This spell is a simple and effective way to protect yourself from harm. By following these tips, you can make sure that the spell is as effective as possible.