I like to say, "there is no magic in this world, because the world is magical enough as it is". I think your approach to building an altar of symbols, memories, and infusing meaning into experience of life is absolutely beautiful!
I really like that! I agree, there’s no need to go looking for any kind of supernatural magic, because the natural world already contains all the magic we need 😊 and thank you so much! 💜
I really liked the idea of ritualizing or making sacred everyday things like your supplements in order to give them more meaning and bring more attention to them. As a designer, I'm fully aware of how different colors, environments, words, and symbols can really change our mindset and emotions. I really resonate with that part of spiritual workings. Perhaps it's also because I came from a Catholic background, where there are so many physical manifestations of the spiritual that I have more of an affinity towards using physical things as spiritual tools. My favorite tool is music 😊
Ooh very cool, I imagine your own sacred spaces would be really powerful then! I’ve never really had an eye for design but it’s something I wish I did. And that’s interesting-Catholicism does have really visceral and sensuous elements, which I find fascinating about the religion. It’s cool how that’s stuck with you. Music for sure can be incredibly moving! I almost never do a ritual without it 😊
I don't have an altar or focus per se because I'm still just learning about how others approach atheist/skeptical spirituality. I do decorate my spaces at home with meaningful objects, though. It's also a bit uncomfortable for me to experiment with things that outwardly look like witchcraft because I'm not sure how others would perceive it. Even posting here with my real name is an act of bravery. Luckily lighting candles for a "prayer" or intention isn't something that people find weird, so I've got that going for me.
@@maria5988 If you awkward about things that feel like "witchcraft", my best advise is simply don't think of it that way! The human mind wraps itself in symbols; intentionally decorating your space with symbols, and engaging in symbolic behavior is really the heart of the matter. Embrace the part of your nature that thrives on physically expressing the intangible aspects of your mind (as a designer, I KNOW that's second nature for you already! :-D ).
@@kman5475 it's not that I feel awkward about it, it's more that I'm worried about others' perceptions. If I lived alone it wouldn't be as much of an issue. Thanks for your thoughts!
This was the first video. I've watched of yours and I absolutely loved it. I've been torturing myself over creating the perfect alter and I realize. I just need to let go and fill it with things that are important to me! I look forward to touching more videos.!!❤😊
love the ideas! I don't have an altar yet but I hope to set one up soon, and it turns out i already have a lot of stuff for it!! I was already planning on using the rocks i've collected on various trips- including one i collected in the roman coliseum- but this gave me the idea to include the lock of mane i have from the horse i learned to ride on, and my keepsake box. the idea of refreshing and rearranging an altar every few months reminds me of how I keep figures of my favorite characters at my work desk and rearrange them whenever i feel the need to refresh my space! it'll be nice to have that way to refresh my home, too
That’s awesome, sounds like it will become a really meaningful altar for you! Really anything can be included on an altar, and anything can be an altar if you see it that way :) especially if you’re keeping your practice secret for now, your altar doesn’t have to look like what a more traditional one looks like... as long as it has meaning for you, that’s what’s important! Even the characters on your work desk could be considered like a kind of altar haha :)
This is such a creative and beautiful video ❤️ I'm someone who likes to keep all the seashells, sea glass, rocks, ticket stubs etc from special trips and moments in my life and I love the idea of taking some out of the closet (where they're currently stored) and appreciating the power of the memories they contain :) I also really like your idea of making ordinary things sacred and special by placing them on the altar. Thank you so much for the inspiration :)
Love what u said about the supplements and making it part of a morning ritual. I do this with so many things.. my daily teas, my skincare, my meals, water etc etc ...awesome 😊
Awesome video! I love how you include creative things to put on one’s altar. Personally I have an ornament of the Star Wars character Ahsoka. Not because Star Wars is important to me, it is and influenced my spirituality. But I have a very cool psychic friend that I gave that nickname as I saw her and I like Anakin and Ahsoka from Star Wars. So it’s my way of including her spiritually. Though to the outsider it would look odd and probably out of place. Unorthodox crafting is the best! Love your channel
Great video!! I live in a tiny apartment, so my "altar" is actually just a section of a cabinet where I store all my witchy stuff. When I have more space I would absolutely love to make my altar somewhere I can do spellwork/meditate/etc. Right now I can't leave anything out for too long or else I'll have nowhere to sit and eat dinner lmao. Thank you so much for the video! Especially the part about not everything on your altar needing to be traditionally "witchy" in order to be spiritually meaningful. I've already started planning what I want my altar to look like someday and now I have even more ideas haha.
Haha well that just speaks to how versatile an altar can be! My first altar was just a small setup on my bedside table, since I had nowhere else for it. But it’s great to be able to work with what you have! I’m glad the video gave you some ideas for your future set up! :)
I loved the inclusion of “non magical”/mundane things on your alter space. I love keeping small things as memorabilia or keepsakes so i’ll definitely have them in a box on my own now! Also im gonna start keeping my meds on my alter, i suck at taking them. I have a cleansing protection spray i spray everyday and a candle i light so i’ll add it to the regimen
It definitely helps for me to include habits like taking meds and vitamins and whatnot into my daily spiritual practice-I think giving them that little bit of “enchantment” makes it easier for me to actually want to/remember to take them. Hope it helps for you too!!
I love your idea of putting medicines on an altar - thank you! A lot of my practice is centered on (science-based) herbalism, especially making medicinal herbal teas for myself and consenting friends, and that healing/caretaking energy is something that feels really sacred to me. The idea of wrapping essential self-care, like daily pills for mental health and chronic illness, into that sacred healing space is really powerful. Now if only I had more space on my altar...
My mom was married to Billy idols drummer and I have a pic of both of them on my alter. I lost my mom at 6 and I also have her ashes in a locket next to it! Love this video!
I’m sorry for your loss, but it’s so nice that you can have those pieces and reminders of your altar. And that’s really cool she was married to Billy Idol’s drummer!
I love that you have David Bowie and you redid your alter to be cat friendly! I'm searching for ideas for cat friendly altars, for my cats named David Bowie and Stevie Nicks!
Ahh okay, so I can double up at least one of those things. All of my pieces of amethyst have to been given to me by my mother, one as early as six years old and it was a heart shaped one. Memory/Familial connection and crystal in one! And for the pop culture, shoot, guess I'd better put a picture of Sigourney Weaver (as Ellen Ripley) on my altar.
Hi!! I was wondering if you could touch on your perspective of astral projection and if you have ever had an out of body experience and if you could explain the possible psychology of it. I love your videos💓
I’ve never tried astral projection or had an out of body experience, but it is a fascinating topic that I could definitely research from a psychological perspective! Have you done astral projection? Thanks for the idea!
I Was swinging in my chair in class and suddenly felt as though my brain left my body and was light, but muscle memory kept me on my chair and I came back a few seconds later, I thought I was high and was later told I had an out of body experience? idk if that's what it was but it felt amazing
Wow what a great video. This is an amazing start to the series. Oh you thought I was just going to let you leave it at that (jk). No seriously great video and I do hope you turn this into a series. Unfortunately there are not a lot of great follow ups to this kind of video so I am going to throw out some ideas and feel free to take it or leave it. Something I would really like to see is a from scratch walkthrough. Think high school or college student who is just dipping their toe in for the first time. They are scared, maybe feel a little silly, and have no idea where to even start. And to top it off they have $30 to their name. If you really want to make it interesting make it $15. Video 1: Layout the introduction and do not be afraid to be a little technical. 'The goal is to build an alter on a small budget. It's a generalized alter intended to grow over time'. I know there is a very strong temptation to be over generalized so as not to pressure people into adopting practices and symbols. My opinion is that this is an over reaction to the way Christianity does things. Do the video for you as a sort of letter to your past self. Explain "anchoring" (which you sort of went into with this video). Where colors, symbols, etc serve as psychological anchor points. You went into emotional anchors but you didn't really go into conceptual anchors to much. Explore that a bit more. I am not sure if it should be done here or in a video prior to this one but talk about the importance of narrative and myth construction. Stress that myth doesn't mean fake, made up, or anything like that. There's the grand myth which is a cohesive overarching narrative about the nature of the world, then there are minor myths which make up the grand narrative. So a grand myth might be something like naturalism, but a minor myth might be something like an atom. How atom's are portrayed in science text books are not what they actually look like but the "myth" helps us to understand what an atom is. The thing to keep in mind about myth construction is that Thoughts/Feelings inform Belief which inform Action which inform Thoughts/Feelings. As such it's important to be aware of the narrative we construct about the world. Video 2: You have gone to the dollar tree, to family dollar, to the thrift store, and to walmart and now you have your stuff. Now you can do the uninteresting thing and set up the alter, or you can walk us through a dedication ritual. If you really wanted to be boss poggers then you could give us three with elevating levels of elaboration. Don't just go "Here is a dedication ritual here is what you do" but break down the structure. Initiation, invocation, dedication, expulsion, close. That can be broken up more but for a noob those are the five major parts. Then set the alter up. Video 3: Expand on anchors and mythology. Little known fact, humans are horrible at abstraction so we personify even when we don't realize we do so. As an example think about the way we talk about "America" as if she is a real person with thoughts wants needs and desires. It's so common we don't even recognize it "America did this" or "America did that". I know you don't really commune with gods so I will briefly explain my understanding of what they are and how they function. There are two primary layers to the way I use gods. 1) personifications of clusters of abstract concepts. Hades for example is the god of darkness, justice, good council, persistence, fairness and grief. Now lets take another god of justice like Apollo. I can use the two to play off of one another. What is just isn't always clear and may conflict. Or maybe someone who is just does something unjust and I abstract the situation to the two gods and try to see how one might deal with the other. 2) the second way I hinted at earlier. I think of towns, cities, states, even political parties as god. Within most of the pagan world (as far as I know) there is a long tradition of gods that existed outside of the pantheon's. In fact only a few gods lived in the pantheon. But by thinking in these terms I can understand the interaction between groups of people. Some people object that cites and such are made up of people with conflicting interests, as if individuals do not have radically conflicting and contradictory interests. By thinking of the gods in this way I can create general and historic narratives to help me better understand conflicts and relationships. Speaking more generally of symbolic anchors their purpose and function is to recall specific concepts. Going into some symbols and what they mean etc would be helpful. Video 4: Prayer. Because of Christianity we are taught to think of prayer as asking a deity for something. This is unique to Abrahamic religions. Prayer's and rituals are not about asking. Nor are they as a rule about submitting. When it comes to deities it's about fostering a relationship. You cannot just walk up to a person and ask them for a favor (not talking about small favors) so why would the gods be any different? You have to develop a relationship with them, even a friendship. You also have to be careful which gods you ask to be friends with and you have to keep in mind who they are feuding with and who they are friends with. The same applies for more nature based practices. Prayers are way of vocal reinforcement. So for example if I am feeling stressed I might pray to Ares "Lord of peace grant I may have your patients". (Ya I know it's an atypical theology but I have always envisioned Ares as hating war). Breaking down the types and formula of prayers might be a good idea. Video 5: Holy days. Holy days serve a radically different function in witchcraft/paganism than they do in Christianity. They serve as markers throughout the year true but they are also richer in that they are meant to orient our thinking on both a micro and macro scale. The sun is a symbolic anchor of the seasons of our lives moving us forward sometimes against our will because we are anxious, sometimes because we are happy where we are. Sometimes the sun isn't moving fast enough because we are anxious to get to the next part, or because we are suffering. But no matter where we are the sun moves at the pace it moves and we know one thing, the seasons will change. Here maybe go over the 4 major seasons and their history and mythology in various traditions. Maybe go over some rituals associated with the seasons. From here there is a lot you can do. Anything from delving more deeply into any of the previous subjects to branching out into new ones. Talking about specific practices, talking about resources, getting people to share resources and practices with you. But hey I am just some Rando on the internet.
Wow thank you so much for your feedback and really detailed advice for potential videos! I really appreciate it, as I want to make videos that will be helpful for viewers, so it’s great to know what kinds of things you want to see. I really like your engagement with myth here, and this is definitely something I want to make a video on in the future 😊 your comment makes me wonder why you don’t make this series yourself, as you’re clearly quite knowledgeable and have an interesting take on things. I know making TH-cam videos isn’t for everyone of course, but it seems like you have a lot of great stuff to contribute to the witchy community on here!
@@theskepticalwitch6611 Lol thanks just trying to feed the algorithm gods as much as I can. Whenever I find a small channel I try to engage as much as I can. I always fear that the creators will get irritated but I know what I am trying to do and it helps them. As to my knowledge... I have always been fascinated with why people believe what they do which lead me to religion and psychology. The more I learned about psychology the more I realized how dangerous it was to have an "accidental" religion rather than to be intentional in myth formation. As to why I don't do it, it's because I know my place. Not denigrating myself but I don't do well with presentation. I don't do social very well so I find ways to engage with people that I can feel safe in. I am always more than happy to offer suggestions for people in the comment or to contribute ideas to creators. Know that I don't expect you to do anything I recommend, they are just recommendations. You have inspired me to pick back up on a project I started a long time ago with regards to atheo-paganism so thanks for that.
Well thank you very much, from me and the other small channels you help out 😊 And I understand, TH-cam definitely isn’t for everyone! One of the reasons I started a channel in the first place was actually to help me overcome some of my social anxiety and so I could practice speaking more eloquently. And that’s wonderful, I’m glad my videos have been inspirational for you! Do you consider yourself an Atheopagan? I’ll likely do another video on Atheopaganism soon, so it would be great to have some input from you 😊
@@theskepticalwitch6611 Yes I consider myself an Atheo-Pagan though I dislike that term. I have been trying to think of a better term because Atheo-Pagan doesn't actually make sense logically. It's a taxonomic problem from a skeptical point of view. "Skeptics" in the pre-2016 sense of the term tend very heavily towards supernatural non-cognitivism. Basically not only is there no single coherent definition of supernatural, there is also no mechanism to distinguish between "stuff we don't know yet" and "supernatural". I have been toying with the term Instrumental Paganism. The instrumental modifier comes from Scientific Instrumentalism which is the modern philosophical approach to science. Scientific Naturalism which was the previous approach asked "Is it true" where as Instrumentalism asks "does it work" (ie does it allow us to model and predict outcomes in the future). It's a subtle but important distinction. Basically we don't have a means of direct perception of external reality, we only have access to our own internal realities which are built using a model of external reality that we build on the fly. We are constantly constructing and deconstructing parts of the model based on our ability to model feedback. TL;DR we only experience what is in our head which is an indirect experience of the external world. Just ask me in the comment section or shoot me an email at Dirtbagleft@gmail[dot]com. Always glad to offer feedback and perspective.
I really like this idea of "Instrumental" Paganism, or "Instrumental" religion in general... You make some great points here, and I fully agree. I'm currently reading critiques of Enlightenment reason and the rejection of religion, and they make very similar points about how secular rationalism makes the mistake of assuming that we can all experience one singular "objective reality," without accounting for how different experiences of reality are always structured by cultural, social, and individual differences--even Western science is shaped by a particular framework, and is never completely neutral. And thank you! I'm taking a break from making videos right now to focus on writing papers, but I have a lot planned for this summer, and will definitely get in touch to pick your brain! :)
I like to say, "there is no magic in this world, because the world is magical enough as it is". I think your approach to building an altar of symbols, memories, and infusing meaning into experience of life is absolutely beautiful!
I really like that! I agree, there’s no need to go looking for any kind of supernatural magic, because the natural world already contains all the magic we need 😊 and thank you so much! 💜
Namaste 💚 Kman547 While That Is A Beautiful Thing You've Said About Magic
There Is A Such Perfect Beauty As Magic
I like to say that I don't believe in the supernatural, just the natural yet unknown. Leaves a little wiggle room for imagination 😉
I really liked the idea of ritualizing or making sacred everyday things like your supplements in order to give them more meaning and bring more attention to them.
As a designer, I'm fully aware of how different colors, environments, words, and symbols can really change our mindset and emotions. I really resonate with that part of spiritual workings.
Perhaps it's also because I came from a Catholic background, where there are so many physical manifestations of the spiritual that I have more of an affinity towards using physical things as spiritual tools. My favorite tool is music 😊
Ooh very cool, I imagine your own sacred spaces would be really powerful then! I’ve never really had an eye for design but it’s something I wish I did. And that’s interesting-Catholicism does have really visceral and sensuous elements, which I find fascinating about the religion. It’s cool how that’s stuck with you. Music for sure can be incredibly moving! I almost never do a ritual without it 😊
I don't have an altar or focus per se because I'm still just learning about how others approach atheist/skeptical spirituality. I do decorate my spaces at home with meaningful objects, though.
It's also a bit uncomfortable for me to experiment with things that outwardly look like witchcraft because I'm not sure how others would perceive it. Even posting here with my real name is an act of bravery.
Luckily lighting candles for a "prayer" or intention isn't something that people find weird, so I've got that going for me.
@@maria5988 If you awkward about things that feel like "witchcraft", my best advise is simply don't think of it that way! The human mind wraps itself in symbols; intentionally decorating your space with symbols, and engaging in symbolic behavior is really the heart of the matter. Embrace the part of your nature that thrives on physically expressing the intangible aspects of your mind (as a designer, I KNOW that's second nature for you already! :-D ).
@@kman5475 it's not that I feel awkward about it, it's more that I'm worried about others' perceptions. If I lived alone it wouldn't be as much of an issue. Thanks for your thoughts!
@@maria5988 Oh, sure! I only use that phrasing because I tend to feel awkward about such things, myself. :-)
This was the first video. I've watched of yours and I absolutely loved it. I've been torturing myself over creating the perfect alter and I realize. I just need to let go and fill it with things that are important to me! I look forward to touching more videos.!!❤😊
That’s great! The most important thing is that it’s meaningful to you! 😊💜
Freya 💜 🐈⬛
love the ideas! I don't have an altar yet but I hope to set one up soon, and it turns out i already have a lot of stuff for it!! I was already planning on using the rocks i've collected on various trips- including one i collected in the roman coliseum- but this gave me the idea to include the lock of mane i have from the horse i learned to ride on, and my keepsake box.
the idea of refreshing and rearranging an altar every few months reminds me of how I keep figures of my favorite characters at my work desk and rearrange them whenever i feel the need to refresh my space! it'll be nice to have that way to refresh my home, too
That’s awesome, sounds like it will become a really meaningful altar for you! Really anything can be included on an altar, and anything can be an altar if you see it that way :) especially if you’re keeping your practice secret for now, your altar doesn’t have to look like what a more traditional one looks like... as long as it has meaning for you, that’s what’s important! Even the characters on your work desk could be considered like a kind of altar haha :)
This is such a creative and beautiful video ❤️ I'm someone who likes to keep all the seashells, sea glass, rocks, ticket stubs etc from special trips and moments in my life and I love the idea of taking some out of the closet (where they're currently stored) and appreciating the power of the memories they contain :) I also really like your idea of making ordinary things sacred and special by placing them on the altar. Thank you so much for the inspiration :)
Aw thanks, I'm glad it was inspirational for you! :)
Love what u said about the supplements and making it part of a morning ritual. I do this with so many things.. my daily teas, my skincare, my meals, water etc etc ...awesome 😊
Awesome video! I love how you include creative things to put on one’s altar. Personally I have an ornament of the Star Wars character Ahsoka. Not because Star Wars is important to me, it is and influenced my spirituality. But I have a very cool psychic friend that I gave that nickname as I saw her and I like Anakin and Ahsoka from Star Wars. So it’s my way of including her spiritually. Though to the outsider it would look odd and probably out of place. Unorthodox crafting is the best! Love your channel
Great video!! I live in a tiny apartment, so my "altar" is actually just a section of a cabinet where I store all my witchy stuff. When I have more space I would absolutely love to make my altar somewhere I can do spellwork/meditate/etc. Right now I can't leave anything out for too long or else I'll have nowhere to sit and eat dinner lmao.
Thank you so much for the video! Especially the part about not everything on your altar needing to be traditionally "witchy" in order to be spiritually meaningful. I've already started planning what I want my altar to look like someday and now I have even more ideas haha.
Haha well that just speaks to how versatile an altar can be! My first altar was just a small setup on my bedside table, since I had nowhere else for it. But it’s great to be able to work with what you have! I’m glad the video gave you some ideas for your future set up! :)
I loved the inclusion of “non magical”/mundane things on your alter space. I love keeping small things as memorabilia or keepsakes so i’ll definitely have them in a box on my own now! Also im gonna start keeping my meds on my alter, i suck at taking them. I have a cleansing protection spray i spray everyday and a candle i light so i’ll add it to the regimen
It definitely helps for me to include habits like taking meds and vitamins and whatnot into my daily spiritual practice-I think giving them that little bit of “enchantment” makes it easier for me to actually want to/remember to take them. Hope it helps for you too!!
It has! Thanks for the tip :)
I love your idea of putting medicines on an altar - thank you! A lot of my practice is centered on (science-based) herbalism, especially making medicinal herbal teas for myself and consenting friends, and that healing/caretaking energy is something that feels really sacred to me. The idea of wrapping essential self-care, like daily pills for mental health and chronic illness, into that sacred healing space is really powerful. Now if only I had more space on my altar...
Haha yes--I've started keeping mine under the altar, since I've run out of room!
My mom was married to Billy idols drummer and I have a pic of both of them on my alter. I lost my mom at 6 and I also have her ashes in a locket next to it! Love this video!
I’m sorry for your loss, but it’s so nice that you can have those pieces and reminders of your altar. And that’s really cool she was married to Billy Idol’s drummer!
I love that you have David Bowie and you redid your alter to be cat friendly! I'm searching for ideas for cat friendly altars, for my cats named David Bowie and Stevie Nicks!
Haha nice! I love their names! 😊
That cat was like get off of me 😂😂😂
great tips. your alter is beautiful!
Thanks so much! 😊
Very nice ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Ahh okay, so I can double up at least one of those things. All of my pieces of amethyst have to been given to me by my mother, one as early as six years old and it was a heart shaped one. Memory/Familial connection and crystal in one!
And for the pop culture, shoot, guess I'd better put a picture of Sigourney Weaver (as Ellen Ripley) on my altar.
Hi!!
I was wondering if you could touch on your perspective of astral projection and if you have ever had an out of body experience and if you could explain the possible psychology of it.
I love your videos💓
I’ve never tried astral projection or had an out of body experience, but it is a fascinating topic that I could definitely research from a psychological perspective! Have you done astral projection? Thanks for the idea!
I Was swinging in my chair in class and suddenly felt as though my brain left my body and was light, but muscle memory kept me on my chair and I came back a few seconds later, I thought I was high and was later told I had an out of body experience? idk if that's what it was but it felt amazing
Namaste 💚Sarah And Welcome To Our Animist Family
Have You Ever Heard Of The Spirit World ?
Wow what a great video. This is an amazing start to the series. Oh you thought I was just going to let you leave it at that (jk). No seriously great video and I do hope you turn this into a series. Unfortunately there are not a lot of great follow ups to this kind of video so I am going to throw out some ideas and feel free to take it or leave it.
Something I would really like to see is a from scratch walkthrough. Think high school or college student who is just dipping their toe in for the first time. They are scared, maybe feel a little silly, and have no idea where to even start. And to top it off they have $30 to their name. If you really want to make it interesting make it $15.
Video 1: Layout the introduction and do not be afraid to be a little technical. 'The goal is to build an alter on a small budget. It's a generalized alter intended to grow over time'. I know there is a very strong temptation to be over generalized so as not to pressure people into adopting practices and symbols. My opinion is that this is an over reaction to the way Christianity does things. Do the video for you as a sort of letter to your past self. Explain "anchoring" (which you sort of went into with this video). Where colors, symbols, etc serve as psychological anchor points. You went into emotional anchors but you didn't really go into conceptual anchors to much. Explore that a bit more. I am not sure if it should be done here or in a video prior to this one but talk about the importance of narrative and myth construction. Stress that myth doesn't mean fake, made up, or anything like that. There's the grand myth which is a cohesive overarching narrative about the nature of the world, then there are minor myths which make up the grand narrative. So a grand myth might be something like naturalism, but a minor myth might be something like an atom. How atom's are portrayed in science text books are not what they actually look like but the "myth" helps us to understand what an atom is. The thing to keep in mind about myth construction is that Thoughts/Feelings inform Belief which inform Action which inform Thoughts/Feelings. As such it's important to be aware of the narrative we construct about the world.
Video 2: You have gone to the dollar tree, to family dollar, to the thrift store, and to walmart and now you have your stuff. Now you can do the uninteresting thing and set up the alter, or you can walk us through a dedication ritual. If you really wanted to be boss poggers then you could give us three with elevating levels of elaboration. Don't just go "Here is a dedication ritual here is what you do" but break down the structure. Initiation, invocation, dedication, expulsion, close. That can be broken up more but for a noob those are the five major parts. Then set the alter up.
Video 3: Expand on anchors and mythology. Little known fact, humans are horrible at abstraction so we personify even when we don't realize we do so. As an example think about the way we talk about "America" as if she is a real person with thoughts wants needs and desires. It's so common we don't even recognize it "America did this" or "America did that". I know you don't really commune with gods so I will briefly explain my understanding of what they are and how they function. There are two primary layers to the way I use gods. 1) personifications of clusters of abstract concepts. Hades for example is the god of darkness, justice, good council, persistence, fairness and grief. Now lets take another god of justice like Apollo. I can use the two to play off of one another. What is just isn't always clear and may conflict. Or maybe someone who is just does something unjust and I abstract the situation to the two gods and try to see how one might deal with the other. 2) the second way I hinted at earlier. I think of towns, cities, states, even political parties as god. Within most of the pagan world (as far as I know) there is a long tradition of gods that existed outside of the pantheon's. In fact only a few gods lived in the pantheon. But by thinking in these terms I can understand the interaction between groups of people. Some people object that cites and such are made up of people with conflicting interests, as if individuals do not have radically conflicting and contradictory interests. By thinking of the gods in this way I can create general and historic narratives to help me better understand conflicts and relationships. Speaking more generally of symbolic anchors their purpose and function is to recall specific concepts. Going into some symbols and what they mean etc would be helpful.
Video 4: Prayer. Because of Christianity we are taught to think of prayer as asking a deity for something. This is unique to Abrahamic religions. Prayer's and rituals are not about asking. Nor are they as a rule about submitting. When it comes to deities it's about fostering a relationship. You cannot just walk up to a person and ask them for a favor (not talking about small favors) so why would the gods be any different? You have to develop a relationship with them, even a friendship. You also have to be careful which gods you ask to be friends with and you have to keep in mind who they are feuding with and who they are friends with. The same applies for more nature based practices. Prayers are way of vocal reinforcement. So for example if I am feeling stressed I might pray to Ares "Lord of peace grant I may have your patients". (Ya I know it's an atypical theology but I have always envisioned Ares as hating war). Breaking down the types and formula of prayers might be a good idea.
Video 5: Holy days. Holy days serve a radically different function in witchcraft/paganism than they do in Christianity. They serve as markers throughout the year true but they are also richer in that they are meant to orient our thinking on both a micro and macro scale. The sun is a symbolic anchor of the seasons of our lives moving us forward sometimes against our will because we are anxious, sometimes because we are happy where we are. Sometimes the sun isn't moving fast enough because we are anxious to get to the next part, or because we are suffering. But no matter where we are the sun moves at the pace it moves and we know one thing, the seasons will change. Here maybe go over the 4 major seasons and their history and mythology in various traditions. Maybe go over some rituals associated with the seasons.
From here there is a lot you can do. Anything from delving more deeply into any of the previous subjects to branching out into new ones. Talking about specific practices, talking about resources, getting people to share resources and practices with you. But hey I am just some Rando on the internet.
Wow thank you so much for your feedback and really detailed advice for potential videos! I really appreciate it, as I want to make videos that will be helpful for viewers, so it’s great to know what kinds of things you want to see. I really like your engagement with myth here, and this is definitely something I want to make a video on in the future 😊 your comment makes me wonder why you don’t make this series yourself, as you’re clearly quite knowledgeable and have an interesting take on things. I know making TH-cam videos isn’t for everyone of course, but it seems like you have a lot of great stuff to contribute to the witchy community on here!
@@theskepticalwitch6611 Lol thanks just trying to feed the algorithm gods as much as I can. Whenever I find a small channel I try to engage as much as I can. I always fear that the creators will get irritated but I know what I am trying to do and it helps them. As to my knowledge... I have always been fascinated with why people believe what they do which lead me to religion and psychology. The more I learned about psychology the more I realized how dangerous it was to have an "accidental" religion rather than to be intentional in myth formation. As to why I don't do it, it's because I know my place. Not denigrating myself but I don't do well with presentation. I don't do social very well so I find ways to engage with people that I can feel safe in.
I am always more than happy to offer suggestions for people in the comment or to contribute ideas to creators. Know that I don't expect you to do anything I recommend, they are just recommendations. You have inspired me to pick back up on a project I started a long time ago with regards to atheo-paganism so thanks for that.
Well thank you very much, from me and the other small channels you help out 😊 And I understand, TH-cam definitely isn’t for everyone! One of the reasons I started a channel in the first place was actually to help me overcome some of my social anxiety and so I could practice speaking more eloquently.
And that’s wonderful, I’m glad my videos have been inspirational for you! Do you consider yourself an Atheopagan? I’ll likely do another video on Atheopaganism soon, so it would be great to have some input from you 😊
@@theskepticalwitch6611 Yes I consider myself an Atheo-Pagan though I dislike that term. I have been trying to think of a better term because Atheo-Pagan doesn't actually make sense logically. It's a taxonomic problem from a skeptical point of view. "Skeptics" in the pre-2016 sense of the term tend very heavily towards supernatural non-cognitivism. Basically not only is there no single coherent definition of supernatural, there is also no mechanism to distinguish between "stuff we don't know yet" and "supernatural".
I have been toying with the term Instrumental Paganism. The instrumental modifier comes from Scientific Instrumentalism which is the modern philosophical approach to science. Scientific Naturalism which was the previous approach asked "Is it true" where as Instrumentalism asks "does it work" (ie does it allow us to model and predict outcomes in the future). It's a subtle but important distinction. Basically we don't have a means of direct perception of external reality, we only have access to our own internal realities which are built using a model of external reality that we build on the fly. We are constantly constructing and deconstructing parts of the model based on our ability to model feedback. TL;DR we only experience what is in our head which is an indirect experience of the external world.
Just ask me in the comment section or shoot me an email at Dirtbagleft@gmail[dot]com. Always glad to offer feedback and perspective.
I really like this idea of "Instrumental" Paganism, or "Instrumental" religion in general... You make some great points here, and I fully agree. I'm currently reading critiques of Enlightenment reason and the rejection of religion, and they make very similar points about how secular rationalism makes the mistake of assuming that we can all experience one singular "objective reality," without accounting for how different experiences of reality are always structured by cultural, social, and individual differences--even Western science is shaped by a particular framework, and is never completely neutral.
And thank you! I'm taking a break from making videos right now to focus on writing papers, but I have a lot planned for this summer, and will definitely get in touch to pick your brain! :)
can you have multiple alters
Of course, you can have as many altars as you want!
@@theskepticalwitch6611 Thank You! Im running out of space on my alter already
Dogs rule, cats 🤤