Goth Girls

At first, this post was going to be about plus size goth girls and the negative stigmata that surrounds them.  I decided to trash that idea and make it about goth girls in general.  There is a lot of things that people say about goth girls (or females in general) that bother me.  As a goth female myself, I want to smack people who honestly believe that all goth girls are promiscuous   I roll my eyes at those who think that plus size girls are unhealthy and don't exist within the dark subculture.  These are only a couple stereotypes that befall the female persuasion, and trust me when I say there are a lot more where they came from.

I'm in no way suggesting that females have it harder than males.  I want to state that right now, because I'm more than sure that males have these types of issues as well.  I wish to state that this whole post is done in a female perspective, and is only about females.  Gents, if you feel like you want to say what grinds your gears about male goth stereotypes, or male stereotypes period, feel free to leave a message in the comments, or e-mail me.  I may do a segment about it at a later date.

If I'm going to get my rant on, then I think It'll be easiest if I do it with separate categories.  I'll be able to stay on topic, without allowing my ranting ADD get the best of me.  So, let's take a look at a few stereotypes that grinds my gears, shall we?


All goth girls are promiscuous!

I mentioned this in my first paragraph.  Stating that every single female within a subculture, or any group as promiscuous (or other generalizations), is completely idiotic.  Subcultures and genders have nothing to do with promiscuous, or anything of that level.  If a person chooses to do things like this, then good for those people.  I won't tell others what to do, but just to make it clear, not all female goths are like this.  The second you assume that a female goth is like this, you'll get shot down just as fast, I grantee it.


Goth females must be anorexic to be in this subculture!

Alright, I'm sure that everyone is aware that not every person, no matter what anyone says, is built the same way.  This should really got without saying.  Everyone, no matter what size you are, are beautiful!  There are goths of every size, as well as every color.  If goth is what you like, then go for it.  Just because you're a certain size, doesn't mean that you have to allow that to define you.  Goths of every size can bring something interesting to the table, so don't let weight stop you.  Weight is just a number!  I know that societie's views on plus sized people is well, let's just say unsavory.  However, in no way should that stop anyone from doing what they want to.  As long as you're healthy, who the hell cares?  Be who you are.  I'm plus sized and proud.  At least I'm healthy, which is more important to me than anything else!


Female goths must always dress slutty!

Oh yes, the whole goth girls dress like sluts ordeal.  Alright, again, I'm not going to tell others what to do.  If someone feels comfortable in PVC, what does it matter?  Not all goths like to wear PVC, or fetish type clothing, and if someone makes that generalization, be prepared to get some pretty cold stares.  Most female goths are dressed what they are most comfortable in, and let me tell you, it's not going to be mini skirts all the time.


Plus Size Goth Clothing Sites!

This isn't really a what grinds my gears thing, but it's something to help make shopping easier.  Below is a list of sites that I really like,and I hope you do too.

Mystic Crypt : I actually bought a few things form here and this has to be one of my fave goth stores ever.
Ebay: When in doubt, check ebay for affordable clothing.
Chicstar: Almost like Mystic Crypt, but with less clothing and accessory choices.
Infectious Threads: While they sell mostly small sized people's sizes, they do have a selection for plus sized goths as well.
Never forget to check stores like Kmart, Walmart, JcPenney, etc.  Even the most non goth stores have something worth while sometimes.  Don't close yourself off form a non goth store, because they sell only non goth items.  Stores like the above often have clothing for plus sized people, and there are bound to be some diamond the roughs.




         

Nail Polish, Not Just For Nails!

DIY projects, we all love them.  Some of the materials can be quite pricey though.  A good tube of acrylic paint could cost a hefty bundle, especially if you use it all the time.  A good alternative for painting a small decal on your jacket, or the like, is nail polish.  I love acrylic paint as much as the next person, but a decent sized tube that you won't use all of at once, is around $3-20, depending on the brand.  The thing that will really cost you, is if you need more than one color, which can add up pretty quickly.  

Nail Polish Pros:

1. It's more affordable.  Most nail polishes are between ninety nine cents, to four dollars.  You can buy as much as you want, without breaking your bank.

2. There are thousands of different nail polish styles, and you can come up with more than a few ways to incorporate them.

3. Applying clear nail polish over fabric paint or acrylic paint, makes whatever you paint on seem shiny (and sparkly, if you use the glittery kind).

4. It will never wash, or fade off of your clothes or accessory.  

Nail Polish Cons:

1. Because nail polish jars aren't very big, you can only use them for painting small decals, unless you buy more.

2. Like with just about every other paint, it smells bad, and should mostly be done in open areas.

3. Like the fourth pro, once it's on your clothes, it's there forever.  You make a mistake, there's nothing you can do about it.

Because I feel like such a show off, I'll show you a finished piece that I did with sparkly green nail polish.

Pagans: Who are they?

When we think of pagans, or witchcraft in general, we might think of a mystical fortune teller, or the Wicked Witch of the West type.  If you've met a real pagan, then you know that neither of these depictions are true.  If you haven't met one, then it's easy to think of an ugly old woman, living in a gingerbread house.  Society has it's own speculations of who other groups are, and which categories they fall into.     

Like goth, pagan people are hard to get to know.  The negative stigmata that is attached to both can fog people's judgement if they want to get to know an individual or not.  Negative stereotypes create this false picture to help people identify those who are involved with a certain group.  "If someone looks scary, or have a strange religion, they must be a Satanist!  That's the only logical explanation!"  Excuse me while I facepalm at the above quote.  No one can really spot what a Satanist looks like, just as no one can spot what a pagan (or other groups) look like.  Just because it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, doesn't mean it's a duck.  Just because someone looks a certain way on the outside (scary, pretty, etc), doesn't mean that's how they are on the inside.

Let's take a look at what pagans aren't like, and what they don't do.

- Pagans are anti-Christian, ungodly, and worship Satan.
- Pagans are religiously confused, or don't understand the greatness of god.
- Pagans are crazy, or mentally unstable.
- All kids and teenagers go through a pagan phase to look 'edgy'.
- Pagans are serial killers and sacrifice animals.
- Pagans eat babies (seriously, some people actually believe this).
- Pagans will lour your children and make them rebel against their parents and god.


So, if none of the above describes who a real pagan is, then what does?

- There are good ones and bad ones, just like how there are good and bad Christians.
- Pagans don't warship Satan.  They don't even believe in a heaven or hell.
- Not all pagans share the same diet, but in no universe do they eat babies.
- Most pagans have successful jobs.  They can be your doctor, dentist, anyone.  They may not want to wear their pentagrams (or other religious symbols), because they are in a professional setting.
- Paganism isn't a 'phase', it's a spiritual path.
- Pagans don't sacrifice animals, they prefer to live side by side with them.
- Pagans are as mentally stable as other people.
- Pagans have no desire to lour your children to do bad things.  They will answer questions that kids have about their religion though.
- Pagans aren't serial killers (most don't like hurting people at all).  Suggesting that everyone in a single religion are serial killers, is silly.

Above all, pagans are just like you and me.



                  

Store Review: 13 Moons

I've reviewed a goth store a long while ago, so now, it's the pagan's turn.  I've recently bought a product from 13 Moons.  I bought a very small, brass mortar and pestles set (it's literally 2" high x 1 3/4" wide).  So far, I'm happy with this product.  The reason why I bought such a small set to begin with, is because 1) It's made of brass, so it'll be harder for it to break (I've been known to be clumsy), and it's easier for me to control how I'm crushing the herbs.  That's just me though, they have a lot of different types of Mortar and pestles set to choose from, as well as many other different products.

I haven't purchased anything else besides my set, but so far, I have no complaints.  They have different categories for everything that they sell.  The prices are fair enough.  If you're on a budget, I suggest you go to a second hand shop, or substitute the tool that you're looking for.  Sometimes the site will have sales, so you may find something then.  For cauldrons and mortar sets, the cheaper, usually that means the smaller as well. If you're ok with that, cool, but if you're not, you may need to pay a little more for the size you want (keep your eye out for sales too though).  The shipping really isn't half bad.  Most of the time, it'll be around six dollars, depending where you live.  When you get the package, you'll also get a surprise gift!  I got a stripped jasper stone.  

Overall, I have no complaints about this store.  I'm looking forward to buying more tools/ingredients soon.

Eclectic Neo-Paganism

There are a lot of terminology with paganism.  If you're new to it, or if you've been reading about the subject for a while, sometimes new terms come up, and you learn a little something new every time you read.  I have been into paganism for over five years, and I have never heard the term Eclectic Neo-Paganism until a few months ago.  Now, I'm sure I'm going to receive a few eye rollings for my previous sentence from people who are more knowledgeable about paganism than I.  I will say this much, I'm only human, which means that I don't claim to know everything.  I didn't know about Eclectic Neo-Paganism, or that this is a specific group within the pagan world.  Forgive me for saying, but terms like this aren't exactly common, and misunderstandings are bound to happen. Certainly, there are a lot more information on the subject now, rather than when I started my pagan path.

So, what is Eclectic Neo-Paganism then?  Let's start by looking at the word Eclectic.  Eclectic means deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.  Neo-Paganism on the other hand, means modern paganism   Instead of following traditional pagan religions, the religions have been modified to mesh with the modern era.  Most Neo-pagans share a combination of the same beliefs.  Basically, Neo-Paganism takes old concepts of pagan religions of old, and turn them into a more contemporary religion, related to a pagan movement in the 19th century, which helped influence modern pagan religions, like wicca.

Now, if we put Eclectic and Neo-Paganism together, we get a category for people who are involved with paganism, but don't follow a certain pagan religion.  Because in most pagan religions (like wicca) one has to be initiated (among other prerequisites), which means that most people fall into the Eclectic Neo-Paganism group.  It's not a bad thing to be incorporated into this group, nor does it mean that you are any less pagan than anyone else.  Actually, an advantage to being in this group, means that you can branch out and learn anything you want to.  You can take bits and pieces from wicca and other pagan religions of interest, and write your own pagan path that fits your needs.  You don't have to be initiated, you can believe anything you want to, and you don't have to be oathbound about what your practices are.

I myself, happen to be Neowiccan.  Neowiccan (AKA Eclectic Wicca) simply means that I take most of my teachings from wicca (non traditional, but from books like ones from Scott Cunningham) .  Because I don't have any wiccan lineage, am not initiated into a coven, or the like, I can't be considered wiccan.  However, since I convert wiccan teachings to my beliefs and write my own pagan path, I can be considered a Neowiccan.  Now, this doesn't mean that I can't take other interesting information from other pagan religions.  I can very well do that, but as I stated before, I prefer to learn wiccan based beliefs, because my core beliefs match the closest to the wiccan way (as far as the outer teachings go).

Like any religion, it's all about what you are most comfortable with.  You might never become part of wicca, or any other specific pagan religion, but that's ok.  You can always write your own pagan path to what best suites you, and you not being a pagan religion, or whatever shouldn't stop you from being interested in paganism.  Don't let anything like religious status, or disappointment in never being able to be part of a religious group get you down.  If you do have an interest in paganism, then I would do the research before hand, and really think about your core beliefs.  If you still feel that you want to be a pagan, then write your own path and learn about everything, and anything you can.        


Sources:

Neo Wicca
Eclectic Wicca (Neo Wicca)
Neo-Pagan Witchcraft and Solitary Wicca    

Book Review: The Wiccan Year

I had this book for quite a while (and refer to it quite frequently when an upcoming wiccan holiday is about to roll around.  I like how the author goes deeper than saying what each of the holidays mean.  She goes in and explains each of the myth behind the holiday, what ancient wiccans use to do to celebrate, different recipes you could make, and more.  I have a lot of beginner books that feature the Sabbits (wiccan holidays) and they're good for a small explanation of what they're about, but the books themselves don't go into much detail.  

As I said before, I use this book as a reference guide to upcoming sabbits, so I can get prepared ahead of time.  I like having a solid guide, because it has everything that I need to know.  One thing I wish it had more of, were the arts and crafts for each sabbit.  For each one, they only give one example of a craft you can do for that holiday.  I wish they had more activities, because it's a good way to channel your wiccan energy, and to celebrate.  If you do buy this book, it's good for information, but if you're looking for crafts to do during a certain holiday, your best bet is to look on the internet.

I think this book is a deserving 8/10.  For more information, here's a link to The Wiccan Year, By: Judy Ann Nock.

Pagansim: Getting Started

Yup, it's me again, with yet another wiccan post.  This time, I decided to write something about getting started into wicca.  There is a lot of information about wicca, and sometimes it can be a little overwhelming.  When I first started, I had no direction, nor anyone to tell me how to go about learning it.  I remember gathering any information that I can, without knowing good from bad advice.  I had to literally go through everything that I had, and cast out the bad information.  I'm hoping by writing up this topic that people will find this helpful, and won't fall into the same pitfalls that I did when I was starting out.

1. Dealings with research  

Research is an important part of wicca.  As stated before, there is a lot of information regarding to the subject.  It's important to learn as much as you can, when you can.  There is always something new you can learn that can help improve your craft in some way.  No matter if it's learning new ways to craft spells, new found information about moon phases, or even if it's a small tidbit of advice from another wiccan.  It's important to be open to research.  That's how we develop so much knowledge in the first place.

 Ideally, before someone becomes a wiccan, one should study for at least a year and a day.  I didn't do this, but I researched like a dickens before I first practiced spells.  You can study for a year and a day if you want to, it's not required.  What I do recommend is to study tons before you begin spell work (and I mean study!  Study everything!).

Books:

One of my favorite methods of research.  I recommend for people just starting out, to read books from people like Scott Cunningham (here is my review/list of his books: Author Review: Sctott Cunningham).  After you've been somewhat familiar to the craft, then I would branch out and read books from other authors.  I know there are a lot of controversy with some authors, like Silver Revenwolf.  In one of her books specifically that I've noted, she didn't do a very good job (I recommend staying away from Teen Witch.  If you have to buy/read one of her books, make it the solitary practitioner one.  That is probably the only book of her's worth reading/gaining information from).  In some of her books, she bashes Christians, and gives some pretty bad advice to teenagers (regardless of the negative feedback, the solitary practitioner book is the best to read.  She doesn't bash Christians or give bad advice in that one.  She actually just teaches the info, and the spells in that book aren't total bullocks).  In any case, like I said before, wiccans (especially those just starting out) need to do as much research as they most possibly can.  I hope that if you do the research, you branch out a little, when it comes to books.  How do you know if their book doesn't work for you, if you don't give it a read?      

What if you can't buy the books?  No problem, go to your school's and public library, and check out books to help you on your path.  Unfortunately not a lot of library's have an occult section, so you may need to nose around for a while before you find books that will help you.  Some library's don't have books that will help you at all.  When this happens, you can always borrow a friend's books, or turn to the internet for answers.

Internet:

Oh yes, the internet, the easiest source of information.  As much as I love the interwebz, I wouldn't heavily rely on it too much.  There are some good information out there, but you have to sort out through all the bad stuff first.  As I said when I first started, I had to use the internet and I had to do a lot of sorting of good and bad info.  If you do use the internet, I would look up as many sources as possible, to make sure that the information that you're getting isn't bad advice.  I also recommend that you stay away from sites like this one: http://www.spellsofmagic.com/spells.html.  I'm not trying to bash this site.  There are some good ideas for spells, but you have to sort out through a lot of false information, and most of the spells are just utter BS.  On sites like that one, if it looks too good to be true, most likely it's fake, and you would have wasted your time performing the said spell for nothing.  So check your sources.  If you have wiccan friends, you can always ask them for interesting sites to search.


2. Supplies

When you get more into wicca, you'll come to find out that there are a lot of supplies that goes along with the craft.  In my other post about beginning witchcraft, I go through some of the tools (only briefly).  So, you're getting in to wicca, and you're researching supplies.  The sad fact is that some supplies and tools alike are expensive.  Cauldrons alone could run form $10 - $50+.  If you're starting out and are strapped for cash, then obviously you can't afford some of the needed supplies on your list.  However, there is nothing that doesn't say that you can substitute a tool until you can buy it.  I do it all the time.  If there is a wiccan tool, ike a chalice that I would like to have for my work, but can't afford it at the moment, I do the next best thing.  I substitute it with a glass that isn't used for anything, except wiccan work.  You're wiccan tools don't have to be fancy by any means (though it would be nice to have some nifty looking tools), as long as they function the way they're needed.

So, my advice for everyone is that if you can afford grade A supplies, you can get them, but you don't have to.  If the supplies can be substituted with something else, until you can buy what you need, then do it.  Also, another piece of advice: if you don't use a certain tool, or ingredient little to none, then save yourself some money and don't bother buying it.  It's common sense, if you don't use it, don't bother buying it.  This will save you a lot of money.

3. Keeping a journal 

Along with learning about wicca, one should also keep a record of their thoughts and feelings about the craft.  The reason for this is: 1) we can learn from our past spells, seeing what worked and what didn't.  2) It's good to keep your thoughts and feelings together, re-read them, and maybe add something about it later on, or read them for enjoyment.  There are a lot of reasons for keeping one handy.  A lot of wiccans suggest this, as a learning tool, and to become better wiccans.