Didn't know what to put as the tag so put this

Learnt my lesson on wording things carefully last night. Lit a candle that I found with phoenix imagery on it (I've always been REALLY drawn to the concepts of rebirths and whatnot) and did a couple of players and cleansings. I asked for myself to renew and my old life to be burnt.

So then naturally, my candle defided to burn everything down by falling over, spilling wax all over an extension lead, and all over my desk. I cleaned that up fast and that extension lead was disposed of.

The universe then decided about 2 hours later to say "hey [Psych Cookie]? You wanted your old life to be burnt? Have your main email account hacked."

Thankfully it was only the microsoft acc and I have backups for all my uni work and stuff on a seperate acc (my school one and several emails) and i still have the gmail but. Lord. Scared the shit out of me and I did lose a few things...

Word your spells and prayers CAREFULLY.

Anyone else had these experiences of things going wrong?

This picture came to my fyp. I feel like it means something. Feels like a sign, cuz I've been struggling a lot with doubt thoughts and choosing which path is really mine Norse Pagan or Hindu but....its so hard cuz both have captured my heart and I feel like I could do both and keep both labels ...and yet my mind isn't calm yet about that choice. And now I see this picture and feels like a good sign...rarely these two are pictured together, almost never, but I see so many similarities. What do you think?

Hello there!

I am predominantly a panentheist. I hold beliefs similar to pantheism, that being that every aspect of our world and Universe are divine and that god is the accumulation of the Universe. My beliefs extend slightly away from common pantheist practices, though, in that I do believe in a personal, feeling god who cares for the Universe and truly loves every aspect of it. That slight anthropomorphism is what shifts my beliefs into panENtheism.

I'm in a weird place, though. I truly resonate with most pantheist readings and practices up until they start discussing the naivety that comes with believing in a caring god. That really throws me off. But I also haven't found panentheist paths that AREN'T Christian.

It truly seems that panentheism as a philosophy is mostly being applied to Christian frameworks (which makes sense) but I'm not Christian. I believe in a conscious Universe which is everything that is and was and will be and that is who I worship. I do not associate with the bible or Christianity at all.

I've been trying to find examples of more neo-pagan panentheist practices? Panentheism as a framework can be applied to any belief system, truly, but I'm not really seeing any talk of panentheism outside of Christianity. I suppose this is my long-winded way of asking if it exists and, if so, where do I find resources connecting me to those paths?

TLDR; are there panentheist practices outside of Christianity, and if so how do I find readings, resources, and communities involving them?

Thanks!

I am a rather eclectic pagan, and I’m currently researching solar cults, that’s how I came across Aten. I’d love some tips on how to worship Him, as well as ideas for an altar.

ps1: I’m not a Kemetist, but i want to be respectful to the divine.

ps2: my English is bad, so I'm using google translate.

I really love the book Drawing Down The Moon by Margot Adler. I have the 2006 edition, which is still pretty recent, but a lot of the book content is still talking about older groups and events. Yes, it is a great book for someone who wants to learn what Paganism is, but I also like that it is about really showing the different groups at the time. I don't want to read more books that are purely about paganism for beginners. "What kind of witch are you?" "Here's the definitions of reconstructionism, eclectic, syncretic, Wicca, Druid…" a lot of this is talking about different types of pagans in general. Rather than "Here's Damh The Bard's story of how he became a druid, what he believes, and his working with OBOD" it would be "Druids tend to believe…" What I want is a book where someone goes to meet a wide variety of pagans and witches to learn what they do, how they view things, and to take part in their rituals. All that investigative journalism and participation is written about. More like "Here's Damh The Bard's story…" I want the neopaganism of now in a book. Especially since now technology (even since 2006) has changed drastically, and so has our dependance on it. Neopaganism and tech would be a fascinating topic to learn about.

My mom and cousin went trought my book of shadows without my permition reminder this was the SECOND time . Yes they are witches too but its unfair and they tell me what to do and not do i just want privaci and do what i want. Also my mom just took my whole altar for apollo Down just because She asked her pendulum if its good for me and it said no. She couldnt even work with IT a month back and i asked her that what deities Can i work with and i told her names ... Anubis Santa muerte loki.... She agreed to loki but than She started screaming at me for why i want to work with gods of the underworld and the death Also i work with Hekate and thats okay for her so i dont understand what do you think about this ? Have something like that happened to you ?

I don't have any crystals or candles and everyone making altars seem to think they are neccessary. Anyone have any other ideas on easier altar making! I don't know what to do and how to make my altar!

I've always taken a lot more of an "agnostic" approach to Hellenic Paganism / Polytheism.

For about a year or two, I've been worshipping Hypnos. I have a pocket altar that I put together for him that I kept under my pillow for a while, since I was both trying to be secretive and thought it would somehow help with my insomnia at the time, even if it were just my brain tricking itself... y'know, seeing as he was the god of sleep (I never really explicitly asked for help with it from him though, since I didn't feel like I had built enough Kharis to ask for a favor seeing as I was so hesitant with my "belief").

Recently, though, I've been wanting to take my worship (and witchcraft) more seriously, but I'm not sure how to apply it to my everyday life outside of studying/doing research. I don't necessarily have the finances for frequent offerings, and I'm not really sure how to start prayer without an offering to build my thoughts and intentions off of.

I just need some help figuring out what I should do or say to get better at more "casual" prayers, or if there are things, or devotional acts, I can do to keep my worship consistent. I don't ever want it to get to the point where I start forgetting about genuinely putting an effort into my worship and, just, belief in the gods in general... if that makes sense. It's been hard to get out of my agnostic habits and I just want to get better at "doubling down" at this specifically !

How to talk to your home spirits, and how to even get one? How to cultivate a good relationship with them. Im not sure how to do either of these and any advice anyone has would be amazing!

So I think I made an accidental Alter and I have been using it for a couple weeks and I get a good feeling from it. I have my two Christmas Cacti and a bowl in between that has a compost mix. I put any debris or prunings from the cactuses in the bowl along with a little food here and there. I then feed the cacti with the compost from the bowl on occasion. I get good vibes from this and was wondering what deities or being could be responding to this and how to possibly improve this. I would love some input

In western India, there is an old practice of calling ancestor spirit possession as "Bala ji" ("ji" is just common honorfic). Balaji is local protective deity, representing ancestors. Though, in recent times it's getting appropriated by classical Hindu deities.

I noticed there are similar traditions in south India too. However, in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, spirit possession was part of old tradition, however, considered negative and evil in modern religion shadows (Christians and Muslims, even modern Hindus).

Curious on how common was/is this tradition across the world? And, how is it surviving? Has the connotation changed from positive ancestral to negative evil spirits?

For more context on west India's tradition: Why we must remember

so before today i had two cars: one old and one new. the old car sold today for just under $2000 (when i say old i mean old. it still had a cd port and the key was an actual metal car key) while my new one was in the shop. i lightly dedicated the act of putting money into my car as an act of love to lord hermes and offhandedly said “may all that is paid upon this day return to me threefold.” the total repair costs came out to around $500 and one of the worker guys recommended me a place a few towns away to take care of my rust spots for about half of what they’d want (about $300). it doesn’t take a genius to do the math on this one but i think it’s really funny that i got exactly what i asked for, a little more but no less /lh thanks hermes 🙏🪽

Spent a cloudy and gloomy sunset drinking tea on the ground. It was really nice getting lower with nature and soaking in the switch to night. I looked like a hobgoblin walking around with my long flowing cardigan robe looking for a good spot with my hands full and a spilling cup of tea. Definitely going to make this a regular thing now! Enjoy the fresh air before the snow comes!

I've never had much thought about connecting with my family on my father's side until this month. I celebrate Dia de los Muertos. Not related to pagan, but from my Hispanic side, I still do like to celebrate the lives of those who have passed.

With that being said, I want to try connecting, speaking, any sort of communication with my grandparents, and my uncle and aunts on my dad's side. I only knew and met of my grandmother when I was very young.

So, any advice? Everything is open. Feedback, advice, all of it. Or books, sites, etc is also welcome. Thank you

Hi everyone. I'm a new eclectic pagan. To explain, I was an atheist for a while but I've wanted to reconnect with my spirituality for a while now. Unfortunately there are issues. I've dealt with psychosis once before (it was a week long series of episodes), and I have diagnosed ocd, which has included scrupulosity/religious ocd in the past (for me it was getting intrusive thoughts about praising the devil).

How do people like me tell if we're actually communicating with a deity or if it's our mental health issues?

As you understand, nature is not simply a setting in which human life and all animal life unfold, but rather a living reality with which we can establish relationships of respect, contemplation, and belonging

Plants, trees, rivers, and other elements of the natural world can be understood as participants in a relational reality, in which the anthropocentric perspective no longer occupies the central place in this worldview

I have genuinely questioned the separation that has become commonplace in modernity. There has been a disconnection between us and the rest of living beings, and I have come to recognize that our existence is part of a network of interdependencies. My own spiritual experience has found a particular path toward this idea: plants

For several years now, I have been committed to establishing a connection with them through an electrical circuit capable of detecting variations in their bioelectrical signals and translating them into sound. When I touch them, their physiological variations can modify the sounds I hear. In this way, contact ceases to be merely a visual or tactile experience and also becomes an auditory one

For me, this practice resonates with the ancestral ability that, for example, people in celtic pagan and druidic history possessed: the ability to pay attention to forms of activity in other living beings that normally remain beyond our everyday perception

I am aware that it would be quite radical to claim that plants speak a language through their electrical signals or that these signals somehow constitute conscious messages. Although, to be honest, what I experience when I touch plants and they produce sound feels like a particular conversation between our electromagnetic fields. But my interest lies precisely in exploring that territory where scientific observation, sensory experience, and ancient, ancestral, and spiritual knowledge can meet

In this sense, I find an affinity with certain pagan sensibilities that recognize the intrinsic value of nature and seek a deeper relationship with it. My circuit becomes a kind of listening instrument, not because it demonstrably reveals a hidden voice within plants, but because it allows me to approach their activity through a sensory dimension that I do not usually experience. And something unexpected happens: technology, instead of distancing me from nature, becomes a means of paying attention to it

This practice has led me to reconsider what it means to listen to nature. Perhaps listening does not always consist of receiving words or interpreting messages, but rather of learning to perceive processes that previously went unnoticed. Sound thus becomes a form of attention and, potentially, a contemplative practice: touching carefully, observing, listening, and recognizing that a plant has its own processes, which do not depend on my interpretation in order to exist

My experience does not seek to prove that plants possess a spirituality identical to that of humans, but rather to explore how our relationship with them can transform our own sensitivity. If certain pagan traditions invite us to recognize the sacred in the natural world, my work seeks to preserve a personal way of approaching that possibility: by using electronics to translate physiological variations in plants into soundscapes, I find in this act of listening an opportunity to cultivate respect, wonder, and a sense of belonging

So, can we develop a deeper spiritual relationship with plants when we stop seeing them merely as objects of contemplation and begin dedicating time to perceiving their processes, rhythms, and responses? Yes, in a way. If you connected with this experience and would be interested in seeing how the electrical circuit works and hearing its sonic output through these plant beings, I am leaving it here. I am very interested in learning what you think about this practice, which deeply connects me with druidism and the energy of nature as a profound spiritual connection...

My comrades, as a former Christian and socialist I wish to reveal that Christianity disturbed me greatly while I was still a member of the church.

How did I come to Christianity?

As a result of a depression after my parrot, which I had kept for nine years, died a year ago. I sank into the deepest nihilism of depression and already contemplated suicide, until my psychiatrist suggested that I speak with the priest of our church. I followed this advice and asked the priest why life is only so painful, why it holds such emptiness. He told me that this insignificance and emptiness were merely a façade of the devil, intended to turn me away from God’s word and creation and to drive me into the most complete disintegration until I could no longer find the way to God. So I asked him what I could do against the devil. The priest replied that I should open my heart to Jesus by coming to church every Sunday and praying together to the Lord Christ; thus the love of Jesus would slowly enter me and gradually drive out the devil and his egoism. That would be the first goal in life; the second would be to return this love to Jesus by helping others. And that is what I did for a year, until a month ago. For several months I had already been asking where the love of Jesus remained, because for months I had been having family problems. Several times I prayed to Jesus without my father and mother becoming reconciled again. I never found peace from these disputes until my girlfriend once invited me after school to go hiking in the local mixed forests. I accepted the invitation, and while we walked we spoke about our faith—I about Jesus and that I missed him, and she about Father Sun, for she is a neo-pagan. I asked her whether the love of the sun was really as strong as that of Jesus and the Holy Trinity itself. She replied roughly, “The love of the sun is so bright that even its light penetrates the shadows within us.” With my family problems I found this idea wonderful, for it resembled the love of Jesus. During the walk she also spoke of Mother Nature, her love for every creature upon her, and spring as the awakening of the earth and nature. Meanwhile I noticed how strongly I was distracted from the stress at home simply by immersing myself in nature.

So two weeks ago I decided to practise a pagan faith in secret outside the church and to pray daily to the earth for life. Yet, occupied as I am with intellectual insignificance, a feminine nature makes no sense to me at all! Nature consists fundamentally of the theory of evolution and Darwinism. We perceive nature as so passive and peaceful only because we are protected by modernity! And precisely for that reason we think the earth is peaceful and associate it with a mother.

That is exactly what disturbs me: behind the modern façade nature remains fundamentally martial, driven by instinct, egoistic; the most adaptable wins, the weakest dies!

Even human beings are by nature deeply egoistic—race over race, party against party, nation and state!

Do we not resemble nature rather strongly?

Just as a tomcat would try to drive a rat from its territory in order to protect its kittens and its queen, so the human being does in the form of soldier and worker through the most complete political armament against the threat at the front, in order to protect the children and mothers from the monster that lurks beyond the borders!

Therefore I decided to regard the earth as fundamentally masculine; even the sun and the moon I saw as masculine forces that all follow cosmic Darwinism, such as mutual regulation (Jupiter and Saturn), defence against asteroids and meteorites, the control of orbits, the disintegration of minor objects, and so on. For me the universe is a place of masculinity that never comes to rest.

And what does my socialism have to do with this?

I base my anti-capitalism on the view that the bourgeoisie may be a threat that must be averted, exactly as the earth and its magnetic field avert solar storms.

I hope you have a deep understanding of my view, and goodbye!

Do you think the Gods might forgive us for stopping our worship—whether because we couldn't establish a routine of devotion or simply weren't ready? I tried; I put effort into building a relationship with the Gods, but I decided to pause my practices to improve my mental health. I plan to resume after some time, but I find myself wondering if I would find mercy in their eyes.

Hello!

My journey to discover what I believe in has been rocky and weird. There are days where I consider myself a kemetic polytheist largely because I associate a lot with their views of the Universe. I've come to realize, though, that so much of that is born from wanting to conform. I see pagan spaces where everyone works with gods or a set pantheon, and I felt like I needed to choose one for myself to belong.

Recently, though, I've settled into my beliefs as a panentheist.

I believe the Universe is god, and everything within it is apart of Her. The grass, the trees, the air, the stars, and myself all are apart of Her and therefore god as well. But She is also beyond what I can observe. It allows Her to look down on me and feel love and care for me because we are one.

I especially like this view because it doesn't settle on monotheism, either. It makes sense to me that the Universe as an entity is so vast and expansive that She can present in different ways depending on the aspect you focus on. It allows me to continue to feel that deep connection with Nut from Kemeticism without simultaneously betraying my beliefs. And I'd love to explore Mother Earth as well.

I guess I share this all because I'd love to make connections with others with similar beliefs? I loved Kemetic polytheism partly because of the community. Since I do still embrace some elements of Kemeticism, I see no reason why I can't still talk to others, but it does feel strange to acknowledge that I'm approaching this belief system in a different way.

If anyone holds similar beliefs to mine, I'd absolutely love to talk. I'd simply love to hear about other's experiences and discuss how you approach maintaining a connection with the Universe through yourself and your surroundings.

Thanks!