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Witchcraft, Occult, New Age, or Pagan? What’s the difference?
For folks just getting into alternative spirituality, terminology can be confusing. What’s the difference between New Age and pagan? Are all witches pagan? What does occult even mean? And where do my beliefs and practices fit into all that? Truly, you don’t need to label your spiritual practice unless you want to. Labels can sometimes…
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Another ARC reader review
I also want to thank Bettina (aka laimawitch over on Instagram) for their review! 💖
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The reviews are coming in!
“If you gave this book to any baby witch, you would be giving them probably one of the best books available. Sam Wise understood the assignment.” Thanks so much to Planets in Gatorade for the video review of Witchcraft for Everyone!
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“Structured” vs. “High Demand”
You know, at this point I think it may be useful to talk about the difference between highly structured religions and high-demand religions, because I realize the terms sound very similar but have very different meanings, which may be confusing for newcomers. Highly structured religions are exactly that — religions with a lot of internal…
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Rethinking How Paganism Engages Culture
There’s a common sentiment in the greater pagan community that, “You don’t choose who calls you.” Most pagans are converts (meaning they weren’t raised in the faith they practice now), and many of us feel that we were called by the gods to our current faith. Those callings often come from gods who have little…
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My Queer (LGBTQ+) Ancestor Altar
To celebrate Pride month, I set up an ancestor altar to honor the beloved dead of the LGBTQ+ community! Ancestor worship has always been something that I was interested in, but hesitant to engage with. Like many queer folks, I don’t feel a strong connection to my biological ancestors, and in fact many of them…
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Pagan Paths: Wicca (Paganism 101 Ch. 11)
Wicca is the big granddaddy of neopagan religions. Most people who are familiar with modern paganism are specifically familiar with Wicca, and will probably assume that you are Wiccan if you tell them you identify as pagan. Thanks to pop culture and a handful of influential authors, Wicca has become the public face of modern…
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Coping with religious trauma (Paganism 101 Ch. 9)
CONTENT WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS DISCUSSIONS OF MENTAL ILLNESS, TRAUMA RECOVERY, AND HOMOPHOBIA. The advice in this post is intended for an adult audience, not for those who are legal minors. A lot of people find their way to paganism after having traumatic experiences with organized religion, especially in countries like the United States, where…
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Polytheism (Paganism 101 Ch. 2)
Most pagan religions are polytheistic in nature, meaning they believe in multiple divine beings. This is one of the hardest parts of paganism for outsiders to understand. In a culture where strict monotheism is treated as the norm, it can be difficult to wrap your head around the idea of worshiping more than one god.…
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What does it mean to be pagan? (Paganism 101 Ch. 1)
That’s right, y’all! With Baby Witch Bootcamp officially wrapped, it’s time to jump into our next long term series! I put out a poll on Patreon, and my patrons voted for Paganism 101 as our next series. While not all witches are pagan and not all pagans are witches, there is a lot of overlap…
Sam Wise 