#paganism — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #paganism, aggregated by home.social.
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Mabon: The Art of the Sacred Pause & The Descent of Persephone
There is a distinct moment in late September when the light shifts. The harsh, expansive glare of summer softens into a golden, cinematic glow, and the shadows grow just a little bit longer.
This is the Autumn Equinox, known in many Pagan traditions as Mabon.
Astronomically, it is a moment of perfect equilibrium—a fleeting day where light and dark hold equal space across the earth. Spiritually, it is a threshold. It is the time of the “Second Harvest.” While Lughnasadh in August celebrated the first grain, Mabon asks us to harvest the fruits of our internal labor. It is a time to look at what we planted in the spring and ask: What has come to fruition? And what needs to be composted?
To truly understand the energy of the Autumn Equinox, we have to look past the cozy sweaters and pumpkin patches, and look toward one of the most misunderstood archetypes of the ancient world: Persephone.
The Mythic Blueprint: Reframing the Descent
In the traditional Greek myth, Persephone is the maiden of spring, abducted by Hades and dragged into the Underworld. Because she eats the seeds of a pomegranate while there, she is bound to spend half the year in the dark, causing winter on Earth.
For centuries, this was taught as a story of victimhood. But esoteric traditions view myths not as historical events, but as psychological blueprints.
When we look at Persephone through the lens of inner alchemy, the story shifts. Persephone wasn’t just a captive; she became the Queen of the Underworld. Her descent represents the necessary journey we must all take into our own subconscious. You cannot have the limitless outward growth of summer forever without depleting the soil. True power requires us to go inward, face the dark, and integrate our shadow.
An open equinox journal, candle, berries, and natural objects create a peaceful autumn ritual in the forest.The Equinox & Shadow Work
Mabon is the doorway to this descent. As the wheel of the year turns toward winter, nature begins to pull its energy down into the roots. We are asked to do the same.
This is the season for Shadow Work. Coined by Carl Jung, the “shadow” consists of the parts of ourselves we have repressed or hidden—our fears, our unhealed wounds, our societal conditioning. Mabon teaches us that the dark is not something to be feared. The dark is the womb. It is the fertile soil where transformation happens.
When we consciously step into the darker half of the year, we are taking back our power, just as Persephone did. We are choosing to pause, reflect, and sit with our whole selves—both the light and the dark.
3 Ways to Practice the Sacred Pause
If you want to honor the Equinox and lean into this transitional energy, try incorporating these simple practices:
1. The Pomegranate Meditation
Purchase a pomegranate and slice it open. Before eating the seeds, sit with them. In esoteric tradition, seeds represent potential locked in darkness. As you eat the seeds, set a clear intention for what you want to nurture in your own “underworld” (your subconscious or inner life) during the winter months.
2. The Light & Dark Audit (Journaling)
Grab your journal and draw a line down the middle of the page. On the left side, list your “Sun” elements: what have you actively achieved, grown, or expressed outwardly this year? On the right side, list your “Shadow” elements: what feels heavy, unresolved, or in need of deep rest? Acknowledge both sides with equal gratitude.
3. Somatic Grounding
Your body feels the seasonal shift even if your conscious mind is distracted. Incorporate grounding movements into your routine. Slow, deliberate Pilates routines or Yin Yoga poses that focus on the root chakra and lower body are perfect right now. Breathe the crisp autumn air into your lungs, and as you exhale, visualize sending your roots deep into the earth.
Mabon is your invitation to stop producing and start integrating. The veil is beginning to thin, the nights are getting longer, and the earth is preparing to rest. Give yourself permission to do the same.
#autumnEquinox #Mabon #meditation #Paganism #Persephone #pomegranate #sacredPause #shadowWork #somaticGrounding #spirituality -
#FediCoven 2026 Q10: Do no harm, but take no sh*t! How pacifistic is your magic?
I love that saying! I'll be using that from now on, thank you. And I would *never* ask for harm to come to others... I'm just not that sort of person.
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#FediCoven 2026 Q10: Do no harm, but take no sh*t! How pacifistic is your magic?
I love that saying! I'll be using that from now on, thank you. And I would *never* ask for harm to come to others... I'm just not that sort of person.
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#FediCoven 2026 Q10: Do no harm, but take no sh*t! How pacifistic is your magic?
I love that saying! I'll be using that from now on, thank you. And I would *never* ask for harm to come to others... I'm just not that sort of person.
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#FediCoven 2026 Q10: Do no harm, but take no sh*t! How pacifistic is your magic?
I love that saying! I'll be using that from now on, thank you. And I would *never* ask for harm to come to others... I'm just not that sort of person.
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#FediCoven 2026 Q10: Do no harm, but take no sh*t! How pacifistic is your magic?
I love that saying! I'll be using that from now on, thank you. And I would *never* ask for harm to come to others... I'm just not that sort of person.
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#FediCoven Q10 Do no harm, but take no sh*t! How pacifistic is your magic?
I think it's a tricky credo. Just as the older "An ye harm none, do what ye wil" Wiccan Rede. It implies that you don't do any harm, but we're humans navigating a complex world, intentionally or not, you do harm.
It's like the "I'm a good person" argument. You can be a good person and do harm. So, such oversimplifications of your ethical decisions and boundaries leaves them unexamined, and hence you're more likely to do harm.
In general, that is a problem with having a written down, moral system. It often relinquishes you from the really rather crucial obligation to own and examine the decisions you make.
So, I'm not a pacifist, I'm vigilant of the harm I do, and will take a precisely measured, well-examined amount of sh*t, before deciding to use my magic to counter anything. And I will hex someone with itchy underpants.
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#FediCoven Q10 Do no harm, but take no sh*t! How pacifistic is your magic?
I think it's a tricky credo. Just as the older "An ye harm none, do what ye wil" Wiccan Rede. It implies that you don't do any harm, but we're humans navigating a complex world, intentionally or not, you do harm.
It's like the "I'm a good person" argument. You can be a good person and do harm. So, such oversimplifications of your ethical decisions and boundaries leaves them unexamined, and hence you're more likely to do harm.
In general, that is a problem with having a written down, moral system. It often relinquishes you from the really rather crucial obligation to own and examine the decisions you make.
So, I'm not a pacifist, I'm vigilant of the harm I do, and will take a precisely measured, well-examined amount of sh*t, before deciding to use my magic to counter anything. And I will hex someone with itchy underpants.
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#FediCoven Q10 Do no harm, but take no sh*t! How pacifistic is your magic?
I think it's a tricky credo. Just as the older "An ye harm none, do what ye wil" Wiccan Rede. It implies that you don't do any harm, but we're humans navigating a complex world, intentionally or not, you do harm.
It's like the "I'm a good person" argument. You can be a good person and do harm. So, such oversimplifications of your ethical decisions and boundaries leaves them unexamined, and hence you're more likely to do harm.
In general, that is a problem with having a written down, moral system. It often relinquishes you from the really rather crucial obligation to own and examine the decisions you make.
So, I'm not a pacifist, I'm vigilant of the harm I do, and will take a precisely measured, well-examined amount of sh*t, before deciding to use my magic to counter anything. And I will hex someone with itchy underpants.
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#FediCoven Q10 Do no harm, but take no sh*t! How pacifistic is your magic?
I think it's a tricky credo. Just as the older "An ye harm none, do what ye wil" Wiccan Rede. It implies that you don't do any harm, but we're humans navigating a complex world, intentionally or not, you do harm.
It's like the "I'm a good person" argument. You can be a good person and do harm. So, such oversimplifications of your ethical decisions and boundaries leaves them unexamined, and hence you're more likely to do harm.
In general, that is a problem with having a written down, moral system. It often relinquishes you from the really rather crucial obligation to own and examine the decisions you make.
So, I'm not a pacifist, I'm vigilant of the harm I do, and will take a precisely measured, well-examined amount of sh*t, before deciding to use my magic to counter anything. And I will hex someone with itchy underpants.
-
#FediCoven Q10 Do no harm, but take no sh*t! How pacifistic is your magic?
I think it's a tricky credo. Just as the older "An ye harm none, do what ye wil" Wiccan Rede. It implies that you don't do any harm, but we're humans navigating a complex world, intentionally or not, you do harm.
It's like the "I'm a good person" argument. You can be a good person and do harm. So, such oversimplifications of your ethical decisions and boundaries leaves them unexamined, and hence you're more likely to do harm.
In general, that is a problem with having a written down, moral system. It often relinquishes you from the really rather crucial obligation to own and examine the decisions you make.
So, I'm not a pacifist, I'm vigilant of the harm I do, and will take a precisely measured, well-examined amount of sh*t, before deciding to use my magic to counter anything. And I will hex someone with itchy underpants.
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Just to make it clear: Pagan traditions are diverse, and I respect people’s right to practice their spirituality in different ways. But that respect does not extend to using tradition, ancestry, nature, biology, or personal belief to justify racism, ableism, misogyny, anti-feminism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, or hostility toward my LGBTQ+ fedifriends. No one’s identity, body, disability, gender, sexuality, neurospicy cognition, or way of living makes them less worthy of dignity or belonging.
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Just to make it clear: Pagan traditions are diverse, and I respect people’s right to practice their spirituality in different ways. But that respect does not extend to using tradition, ancestry, nature, biology, or personal belief to justify racism, ableism, misogyny, anti-feminism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, or hostility toward my LGBTQ+ fedifriends. No one’s identity, body, disability, gender, sexuality, neurospicy cognition, or way of living makes them less worthy of dignity or belonging.
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Just to make it clear: Pagan traditions are diverse, and I respect people’s right to practice their spirituality in different ways. But that respect does not extend to using tradition, ancestry, nature, biology, or personal belief to justify racism, ableism, misogyny, anti-feminism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, or hostility toward my LGBTQ+ fedifriends. No one’s identity, body, disability, gender, sexuality, neurospicy cognition, or way of living makes them less worthy of dignity or belonging.
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Just to make it clear: Pagan traditions are diverse, and I respect people’s right to practice their spirituality in different ways. But that respect does not extend to using tradition, ancestry, nature, biology, or personal belief to justify racism, ableism, misogyny, anti-feminism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, or hostility toward my LGBTQ+ fedifriends. No one’s identity, body, disability, gender, sexuality, neurospicy cognition, or way of living makes them less worthy of dignity or belonging.
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Just to make it clear: Pagan traditions are diverse, and I respect people’s right to practice their spirituality in different ways. But that respect does not extend to using tradition, ancestry, nature, biology, or personal belief to justify racism, ableism, misogyny, anti-feminism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, or hostility toward my LGBTQ+ fedifriends. No one’s identity, body, disability, gender, sexuality, neurospicy cognition, or way of living makes them less worthy of dignity or belonging.
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Stone monument in dedication to Mithras (2nd-3rd century CE)
Archaeologisches Museum Frankfurt, Germany 🇩🇪. The museum has a lot of stone dedications to Mithras, whose cult was popular in the area.
Inscription and German translation in alttext.@histodons
#paganism #mythology #MythologyMonday #religion #ReligiousStudies #Altertumswissenschaften #LinguaLatina #antiquité #AncientReligions #LateAntiquity #AncientHistory #antike #epigraphy #MuseumArchive #glam #AncientArt -
Another pitch for my Relics class, boosts appreciated:
Though I focus on the Christian cult of relics, I also discuss similarly powerful objects from ancient Greece, the ancient Hebrews, and the Islamic world. It's a great introduction to magical and memorializing objects throughout the premodern Mediterranean.
https://kentnavalesi.neocities.org/AncientMedRelics
@histodons @medievodons #history #AncientHistory #histoire #histodons #medievodons #islam #paganism #ReligiousStudies #religion #judaism