On The Edge - Aleks Stoller

genuinely people act like working with both angels (and other similar figures) and demons is some sort of almighty wrong for both parties

but may i gently suggest that they're less about being at each other's throats all the time and more about understanding that someone's spirituality can be extremely complex?

idk, i genuinely believe both demons and angels are above the idea of "pick a side". if someone wants to work with angels and demons, i don't think it's going to be this almighty attack on who they work with

you really don't have to complicate things any further than saying a person can work with two different entities. whether it's angels, demons, saints, gods, spirits... they're not gonna hate you for working with two or more different kinds of spirits out there. they really aren't.

Lucifer’s Fall by Ludwig Fahrenkrog

via

Deity Letter Writing

Deity letters are, in my opinion anyways, a wonderful alternative to traditional prayer if praying is something you struggle with for whatever reason! Sometimes praying can be uncomfortable for me-for personal reasons, and also formality kind of squiks me out-but writing is something I’m very confident about! And it tends to come much easier to me than praying. I started writing letters about 3 years ago on a whim because I was just frustrated with praying not always working for me. And it’s worked wonderfully ever since! It’s a great way for me to be able to get whatever thoughts or feelings I’m having off my chest! It’s really no different than say if you were writing to a pen pal, or a friend, or whatever. It follows the same format and generally includes the same content (with some differences of course).

When it comes to formatting I keep it to, like I said, like a traditional letter. I start it with ‘Lord/Lady [insert deity name here]’ sometimes I’ll precede that with ‘dear’ but that’s totally up to you! (Which is another amazing thing about this, you can tailor it to your and your relationship with the deity you’re writing too!).

Then I follow it with a quick ‘introduction’ paragraph, I just say hello, tell Them how I’m doing, tell Them that I hope They’re doing well, little things like that. And again- you can tailor this to you and your deity! You can completely omit this section or add to it. Whatever you want.

I don’t always write to Them when I need something from Them but if you do I usually include it in the second paragraph. If I don’t I usually just tell Them what I’m up to, or that I saw something that made me think of Them, etc.

In the last paragraph I thank Them for well…anything really. Maybe for being in my life, or like with Zeus I may thank Him for any rain we’ve had, etc. to me this is the most important part as it kind of builds this certain…reciprocity (idk if that’s the right word but it’s the best way I can describe it) and also it’s just kind to do! I may also ask if There’s anything in particular they want from me or anything like that. But again- you can omit or include this as you please. It’s not a must.

I don’t always do a like…’sincerely Mars’ part but if you wanted to you totally could! Sometimes I’ll just do a little doodle or maybe a funny joke that I think They’d like, or a book quote that made me think of Them, etc. whatever you want really!

Now I know a major concern is ‘do They receive these?’ And my response is a resounding yes, at least in my experience. If you talk while you write you could totally treat it as a prayer! But I usually don’t and just like…’hear’ the words in my head as I write which is good enough! I usually just call whichever deity it id I’m writing to beforehand in the same way you would before praying or giving an offering! I usually just say ‘Hear [insert deity name] as I write this letter to you’ then go for it! And of course, you can alter this to whatever works best for you. I also may light (or turn on, I use electric candles) their candle and bring it over to wherever I’m writing or listen to Their deity playlist. Just whatever I need to do to ‘get in the zone’.

As far as ‘disposal’ goes, I have a little wooden locked box that I have that they go into! Then when my aunt and uncle do a bonfire I just take it over and toss the letters into the fire. But this part totally depends on you and your situation. You could rip it up, or shred it. Or set it on their altar. If you wanted to you could just write them in a notebook and keep them in there. Or you could do it on your phone! In your notesapp or whoever else.

The face that launched a thousand ships - Helen of Troy

Inspired by Lunamyosotis on tiktok

Sword in God's Hand

o' of beauty is she, my sweet lady

I just feel like it's very important to talk about the bad shit, too.

That you might face difficulties on your path, that there will be hours-days-weeks-months of silence - or can be, at the very least - and that religion won't come as a panacea for every issue or as a magical pill. You might still feel lost, and hurt, and scared, and lonely; and you might still hold faith. Not that you should, it's up to you. But the point is, "having faith" is not a synonym to "never having anything bad happen, ever" while encountering issues of any degree is not necessarily a proof of an uncaring God.

Gerrit van Honthorst - An Allegory of Taste, 1622 (detail), oil on canvas