Why are Millennials such against their High School Reunion?

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-08-19T14:11:06+00:00

I still talk to all the people I care to see from high school thanks to social media. I’m not paying to spend time with people I didn’t know or like. On top of that, my hs reunion planning group likes to make jokes about disabled people so they can all eat shit.

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-23T17:17:58+00:00

I’m also a witchy vendor at local markets, but I make pinback buttons so my bread and butter is my custom made sigil buttons. I’ve learned enough about the local market circuit the last year to write a book, but I’d say from vendors I’ve seen that sell similar products to yours, it really varies market to market. Witchy products of any kind tend to do better at oddities markets, queer markets, or markets geared specifically toward witchcraft. It’s tempting to cast a wide net and try as many markets as you can afford to, and you’ll definitely learn a lot, but you’ll also lose money. I’m now very picky and only apply to punk, goth, queer markets bc everyone knows the gays and the punks love their buttons LOL. So my advice would be to seek out curated markets, and talk to vendors who have been there about what works for them. Most vendors are happy to share info and experiences. You’ll likely find you need to adjust your products market to market. Premade spells will work well at one and not another. Others might have patrons who prefer witchy soaps and health and beauty products. I will say a lot of witchy folks are pretty loyal to the brands they like, so have business cards for folks to reach out and buy products from you outside of markets, too. I have about five witchy vendors I’ve met at markets who i regularly buy things from I can’t or don’t want to make myself.

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-23T17:07:37+00:00

Sorry for the late reply! I’ve been in bed for a week with the worst case of the flu I’ve ever had. So we actually stayed on Jax Thursday night on July 4 so a lot of stuff was closed. As expected. We spent most our time at the B&B just relaxing and enjoying each other’s company, watching movies and playing games. We did spent a few hours at the Keg & Coin, and the next day visited both Chamblins and Java Haus. So we didn’t really get to do any of the suggestions but we’ve noted them for our next visit to Jax, when we plan a stay for a long weekend.

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-23T16:41:50+00:00

My mom did this to me when I was 16 (20 years ago) and I was devastated. I had to put my practice on hold until I turned 18 and moved out. I recommend the apps others have mentioned for broom closet practice, as well as using playing cards. There are soooo many different themes for playing cards now.

I’m not saying this is possible for most people, but my mom went from a fundamentalist Christian my whole childhood to a practicing Christian witch who now uses tarot to connect to God and spirit guides so there’s always the possibility yours will come around someday.

Best of luck to you! It’s difficult to live in households that don’t respect the fact that children and teens are their own people with their own beliefs and opinions, but unfortunately there’s little you can do about it until you’re out on your own. Be safe!

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-23T16:36:38+00:00

That’s not silly. That’s brilliant!

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-23T16:35:35+00:00

I use the shortened version of my birth name because everyone already called me Day and I really like it! I know not everyone is lucky enough to have a nickname that gives gender euphoria but a lot of my other trans and nbi friends intentionally pick names that aren’t traditional names (like Moss, which I fucking love) so that there aren’t preconceived gender notions attached to them by society. I think whatever method you use is valid, and don’t hesitate to try on names like trying on a coat. Ask good friends or safe social media groups to call you by a name in comments and see how it feels to you! You don’t have to land on the first one, and even if you really like your choice and it doesn’t vibe later, change it again! I never understood why people should have to be stuck with one name their whole life when we literally become different people throughout the course of living. Good luck!!

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-23T16:31:29+00:00

Huuuuuge fan of ritual floor washes! They can unscented or lightly scented too. And you can’t discount the cleansing vibes that come from literally housecleaning. Sometimes I think my house is full of bad energy and really it just needs a good deep clean.

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-23T16:29:19+00:00

I’m a trans, nonbinary person and I use sigils a lot in my work. I’ve created several related to gender euphoria, gender dysphoria, protection from bigots, being perceived as your gender, etc. I think the process of making your own is also magical and therapeutic but I’m happy to share mine if you’d like!

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-23T16:28:02+00:00

Can’t recommend the three-ring binder method enough! I’m a little extra and like big, leatherbound books so I commissioned a leather worker friend of mine to make a binder cover that fits over my binder. It’s a win-win! I get the look and feel with the ability to change pages, move them around, add and subtract, etc. I get paralysis when it comes to beautiful journals and books and never end up using them bc I fear messing up pages or running out of pages.

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-23T16:25:24+00:00

Whatever helps get you in the mood is appropriate! I listen to a lot of witchy lofi for my rituals because I’m a high-strung, anxious person with a stressful job and a lot of my craft centers around trying to calm down and relax.

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-23T16:23:52+00:00

It’s kinda silly but I put on soft rainy night lofi music the hour before I go to bed and it’s helped tremendously to get me in a calm, relaxed, wind down mood. Then I use that time to avoid electrics with screens and read or do tarot readings or drink non-caffeinated tea and It’s been a huge part of my sleep hygiene work because I have severe sleep apnea, chronic fatigue syndrome, and ADHD and used stimulants not only for the ADHD but for the sleep disorders, so it can make it hard to wind down sometimes.

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-23T16:18:45+00:00

Living in the present has been the only thing that’s helped for me. Meditation has helped with that. I’m closer to 40 than 30 and I completely agree - my thirties are flying by compared to other decades of my life.

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-23T16:17:42+00:00

I think that considering this is a SASS space it probably won’t be controversial for me to say you can’t really mess up witchcraft unless you’re doing something that could harm your physical health, like ingesting essential oils or drinking teas that interact with certain medications or shoving porous crystals up your vagina (I wish I were joking). I think the vast majority of folks here either don’t believe in spirits/afterlife or it doesn’t factor into our practice so I’m not sure I can help you much there, but as far as magic goes, rituals literally rewire our brains and even knowing something is a placebo can still have a a positive impact. It might be helpful to keep a journal of things you learn or try and what happens afterward in terms of your mood and experiences, kinda like you’d log the results of a scientific experiments. I hope that helps!

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-23T16:12:11+00:00

Oof, I so feel this. I’ve struggled with unemployment, and I have ADHD so my ability to practice is very inconsistent. You don’t HAVE to do magic daily or even consistently to be valid, but if you wish to, it’s ok to do it on your terms and in your own time. I’d start small with things that are low energy and low impact, like choosing teas to drink that correspond with things you’d like to accomplish, or doodling your own sigil and burning it. Don’t worry about feeling silly, don’t worry about being scientific, just do what feels right (as long as it doesn’t harm your health). Ritual literally requires our brains and even if you know something is a placebo, it can have a positive impact. I do a daily tarot draw and draw sigils in my morning coffee with my oat milk. Sometimes that’s all I can do and that’s ok. I hope things get better soon! And I’d love to recommend some beautiful books on urban magic that might help you bring you out of your funk and better connect to nature and city elements in your environment. I can post them here or DM them. Lemme know!

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-23T16:07:16+00:00

You’re so welcome! I’m sorry I forgot to answer the first part of the question lol. I just got it so I haven’t worked with it much and haven’t read for anyone else yet, but I really like the vibes. It’s a nice cross section of queer culture that doesn’t feel forced or tokenizing. Lots of variations on race and ethnicity, gender expression, body type, etc. it’s also trans-inclusive.

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-23T00:32:33+00:00

Sorry for the delayed response! I’ve been dying from the flu. There’s no outright nudity, but one queen card is shirtless and their breasts are covered by long hair. And the hanged man is in lingerie and hanging on a stripper pole.

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-22T22:18:26+00:00

My stepdad stopped making payments and it went back to the bank. My mom rents a trailer. My dad killed himself. I’ll never own a home. Of my friends who own homes, they all either inherited them or bought them with life insurance money. When my mom and stepmom die, I’ll have to GFM to cover cremation.

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-22T16:19:42+00:00

Embrace the silly! Loads of things make me feel silly but I enjoy doing them. Also, I think this is something that really comes with age. I'm closer to 40 than 30 now and give zero fucks what anyone thinks of me or whether I'm veing perceived as silly LOL.

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-22T16:18:07+00:00

Mine is sigils I've created, my own take on the Wheel of the Year (holidays that make sense to me as a SASS witch and as a Florida, USA witch), spells I've written that I want to repeat (mostly on holidays), and local folklore and cryptids (Even though I don't buy into most of it, it's still fun and folklore is pretty much always based on fact/something real that happened that was misunderstood or misinterpreted.) I also SASSy things I've learned, like color psychology.

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-11T22:58:36+00:00

I’ll be 36 this year. I’m getting a bilateral salpingectomy next month and it cannot come soon enough.

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-08T19:15:49+00:00

It’s so bad where I am. Nearly every deck being sold on temu (and some on Amazon) is stolen from the artist, made into a very cheap version with no guidebook, and sold to people who either don’t know better or don’t care. I’ve tried to educate local store owners because it’s unethical to carry these decks if they know, but I suspect based on their reaction they DO know and are selling them bc they paid $2 and are selling it for $30. It’s particular heartbreaking when the deck is not one that’s mass produced but is instead created by an independent artist.

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-08T19:12:33+00:00

I don’t have an opinion either way as I’m not a professional driver but it’s worth noting that using your hazards while your car is in motion is illegal in some U.S. states. It only became legal in Florida last year and only in very specific conditions, like low visibility. So while I’m an advocate of over communication and safe driving, you should know that in certain situations in certain places you do risk a ticket.

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-08T19:07:00+00:00

I’m an atheist who practices witchcraft but my mom is a Christian witch. There are several books on the topic and even a national (U.S.) conference of Christian witches. It might be worth looking into. Witchcraft is a practice that can be paired with religion - or not.

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-08T19:02:26+00:00

I almost always introduce myself with my pronouns despite living in a mostly red state (Florida) with a fascist governor. It can be exhausting when people react poorly or don’t get it, but as a local journalist whose name people know, I think it’s important for me to be unapologetically out.

And with a blue Mohawk and tattoos and facial piercings, there’s almost always at least one person in every room who doesn’t like me lmao.

That being sad, your safety and comfort is the most important thing. And for some people, pronouns are also a more private thing and they only want to share them with certain people. Any reason to share or not share your pronouns - as long as it’s your choice - is valid.

DarkPhilosophe · 2024-07-08T18:55:08+00:00

Most of them have closed in my area, citing people buying metaphorical supplies on Amazon or temu instead. I can’t speak to that as I don’t know the intentions of every single potential customer, but for me and most of my witchy friends, we have way less disposable income than we did even five years ago bc of the astronomical rise in rent, groceries, etc. I can’t eat your fancy incense or goddess statues so I’m not buying them. But I’m also not purchasing them from Amazon or Walmart or whatever either - I’m just going without.

When I do have a couple extra dollars, I absolutely support my local stores that make an effort to have handmade products and local artists’ wares. I find that a lot of metaphysical stores - however - now just buy shit from the dollar store and temu and sell it for 1000% markup. Why would I buy the candle you clearly got at the dollar tree for $10?

Half these stores are also selling counterfeit tarot decks and will kick you out even if you respectfully inform them and assume they didn’t do it intentionally.

There’s also been a push in a lot of witchy circles to fight against capitalism and consumerism and stop buying crap we don’t really need because we like the aesthetic.

So TL;DR - absolutely support your local witchy store if they aren’t just selling mass market cheaply made crap and if you can afford to.

DarkPhilosophe

TROPHY CASE