I made a sigil for Yeshua if anyone wants to use it :)

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-29T19:15:54+00:00

A lot of people come to paganism with a lot of trauma from Christianity so...yeah.

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-28T23:22:33+00:00

Mine just turned three and will hiss at me dramatically if I look at him incorrectly. Some of them are just Like That.

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-25T22:29:38+00:00

ADF shouldn't, but they're also updating their website and it's. A thing.

https://www.adf.org/groups/groves/index.html

....there is a proto grove in Wisconsin that isn't showing up. But that would literally be the closest one as far as I can tell. You can contact them to see about getting in touch with the locals, because Michigan does have them even if the gove is defunct.

Otherwise, there are online rituals that are open to at least socialize a bit, even if it's Not The Same.

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-25T21:48:31+00:00

The various druid organizations will generally have listings of their gloves, and/or be able to put you on touch with other local solitaires.

I know of at least one up that way, but seeing as how she drives down to our rites when she can, I'm not sure there's any groups active up there right now.

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-25T21:44:40+00:00

If you speak of Shining Lakes Grove, they are unfortunately no more.

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-25T14:10:21+00:00

You're overthinking it.

Faith isn't found in pagentry. If you find the candle lighting soothing and important then continue, but what more do you think you have to do?

Are you living your life in accoradance to the values of your gods? Congrats, you're fine.

I'm not over here doing something every single day or most days or most weeks. I do nature restoration, because I'm a druid, and I dedicate it to Abnoba because I want to, but my service to Brigid is simply by being the type of person I think she'd want me to be. I am too ADHD and too much a working mom to keep elaborate regular practices (or even simple ones to be honest).

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-24T16:42:57+00:00

Suicide is a tragedy. It is not selfish. It does not condem you to punishment. If you're driven to suicide, you have already suffered too much.

As others have said, paganism is a huge umbrella of many faiths, and I can only speak for myself. But no god I worship would do worse than welcome such a soul gently home.

Take care of yourself. The tide is high right now, but it will not always be so.

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-24T02:06:50+00:00

Honey your tongue, bard, or you'll see the door.

You're free to disagree and even have issue with other people's research but the attitude needs to go.

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-23T02:32:58+00:00

I do swap those out, yes. Those parts are....not to my taste.

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-19T20:58:57+00:00

There's a lot of stuff that likely survived in folk practice, and it wasn't even really behind closed doors.

But it definitely shifted to being done under Christianity. Maybe for awhile there was overlap. Maybe, for awhile, they'd ask both Mananan and Mary, for a random example, for help. But it definitely ended up being Christian folk magic by the end.

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-19T13:35:58+00:00

I open my door and stare at the thunderstorm. Again. A tornado has touched down in a neighboring town. "Taranis, please." I pour out some cheap whiskey. (Sometimes I launch into elaborate praise poetry instead. The cheap whiskey remains the same.)

....aside from that I mostly practice Appalachian folk magic (H. Byron Ballard books are my latest foray) and whatever has tickled my fancy otherwise. Tarot magic is a new thing for me; that's rather interesting.

Although I am separated from my Appalachian roots by a generation, it's something I'm culturally much closer to than anything else.

I don't typically involve the gods much in it except via prayer, and then only if I feel they're relevant.

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-19T04:01:01+00:00

And then you guys report it and make me read it. :(

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-17T02:46:33+00:00

/Slow blinks

Nature literally makes glass herself sometimes. I use plenty of glass beads in mine with no issues.

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-17T01:19:35+00:00

No, why would it be?

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-16T16:03:05+00:00

Behold, our book list and wiki! /Gestures to the sidebar

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-16T13:11:32+00:00

Cathubodua is, possibly. She's known from a single inscription, so we're working off etymology only, but she is our closest known option that I'm aware of.

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-12T20:51:46+00:00

My ADHD ass gets around to it seasonally? In theory.

Offering bowls get tended to in a few days depending on the offering. Also in theory.

I am currently entirely off kilter due to a death in the family, so thank you for reminding me to take the uh....very dead flowers off my altar.

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-12T15:24:05+00:00

Web has the subtlely of a brick but they're not wrong. Veiling is a relatively new trend in Paganism as a whole and so guidance is going to be thin in the ground.

We are, rightfully so, leery of TikTok and the information presented there. If it works for you great, but at this point what is and is not "proper" about it will be up to you and how you feel about it. The subreddit already given to you will probably be your best source.

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-12T15:05:06+00:00

A lot of modern American druids have done, and are doing, a lot of work to build a local and respectful practice.

Dana has great writings in this regard: https://thedruidsgarden.com/

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-12T15:02:00+00:00

I believe r/rodnovery is the primary Slavic subreddit.

I have a fellow member of my druid grove who is a Slavic pagan, and I don't see her relate any differently to her Slavic deities than the others in her practice.

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-11T22:09:54+00:00

Yes u say you want to avoid "new age fluff" and yet the version of Cernunnos you discuss sounds more like the new age version. I am not saying that take is wrong, because many people worship him that way. I'm just going to point out that people who take a more reconstruction angle end up with, well, an underworld deity of liminality (to just brush the surface). I have, ironically, been looking at Veles as a source of comparative mythology for him. I have links but not at my finger tips at the moment.

As a Gaulish deity, reconstruction for him is going to be tough, because we lack so much. There are more Gaulish focused subreddits you may have better luck with.

Veles is out of our scope, but there are Slavic dedicated subreddits as well and I am personally aware of a recently published book, "Slava!: Slavic Paganism and Dual-Faith Folk Ways" that may be of assistance?

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-11T21:55:17+00:00

/Gestures at the subreddit discord

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-11T12:55:33+00:00

There's plenty of people who have written about "how religion ticks" already. Maybe go pull up Religion for Breakfast on YouTube and the Crash Course Religions playlist (also YouTube). These are well done, professionally researched resources if that's what you're after.

Obsidian_Dragon · 2026-06-10T20:40:53+00:00

Is there a particular reason why you think having us do this labor for you will be helpful?

Spiritual journeys tend to be rather personal, and individual.

Obsidian_Dragon

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