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If You Haven't Yet Realized that We are Political...

9/28/2020

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I’ve had a realization lately, y’all. Honestly, it’s a little embarrassing that it took me this long to get there. But here we are; better late than never.

So, what is this realization?

It’s impossible to separate Wandering Jotun from politics, and that’s not a bad thing. 

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Due to a variety of reasons, I have a pretty intense knee-jerk reaction when it comes to “being political.” For better or worse, this aversion to being openly “political” has seeped its way into affecting Wandering Jotun. Something I am creating to help marginalized folks, like myself.
So how did I possibly convince myself that politics had no place here? Like, wow, self. That’s some impressive denial.

I have the ability to step away and hide from political conversations, thanks to being a white, cishet-passing person--and I’m fully aware of that being a manifestation of my personal privilege that so many others don’t have.

I’ve been wrestling with this intense guilt and shame of using (maybe even abusing) that privilege over the last several months. As I’ve watched from the sidelines as social injustice runs rampant through my country, I’ve struggled with wanting to speak out but also wanting to keep this “safe space” where I just provide support without drama or politics.

Yeah, okay, that was ridiculously naïve and silly, and I’ll be the first to admit it. 

This realization that Wandering Jotun is inherently political, because society politicizes the very existence of marginalized people has been a fire under my feet and a hammer to my chest. It’s made me want to get back on the horse, to speak out, to do something to provide the support and community that inspired this entire project. And it’s also activated intense anxiety that I haven’t done enough, shame that I hid inside my own privilege, and outright fear of going down this path while the world grows more and more dangerous for marginalized communities.

So. What now?

Now, I think, I work toward embracing the fact that this is my resistance, my way to fight the injustice, and that it’s also a place where my political views have to co-exist with creating. I have to find my own personal balance between caring for my mental health and being out here as a creative activist.

I don’t have any answers. I don’t know what’s coming down the pike (but I have a feeling it’s going to be pretty shitty).

But I do know that I can’t hide any more. So, here I am. In all my messy, depressed, anxious, liberal-as-fuck glory. If we can call it glory.


I’m not a fighter, and I’m not a politician, but I have skills and support to lend to those who are. And, as much as part of me rails against it, that is political. And it’s okay.

- Nonir

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P.s. Don't forget to grab a copy of the Apocalypse Survival Kit before the price goes up on October 20th!
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Unconditional Love

3/3/2020

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Has someone ever told you that they love you unconditionally, but you can tell they don’t actually mean it? Say, a parent who disapproves of your sexuality or gender presentation. You can never be sure if they’ll scold you, ignore you, or worse if you’re truly yourself. Kind of undermines the entire concept of “unconditional,” doesn’t it?

I get it. I mean, we’re all human. We all have limits and sometimes we don’t even know what those are until we hit them.

But it also hurts when someone says they love you no matter what but doesn’t (or even if you’re not sure whether or not they do). It hurts a lot. Trust me. I’ve been there.

It keeps you on edge, makes you wary. You start hiding the parts of yourself that you’re not sure are approved. It’s exhausting, especially if you’re like me: recovering from past emotional abuse, people-pleasing like woah, and already constantly walking on eggshells.

But, holy crap, it’s amazing what knowing that you are totally and fully loved can do. 

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When I first started working with the spirits currently in my life, I had to ask them to use my correct pronouns. Honestly, I nearly had a panic attack asking. But they just smoothly moved into using them and hasn’t slipped up once since.

They’ve seen me at my worst. They’ve seen me rage and cry at them, struggle with my mental health, doubt the entirety of my spiritual experiences...and they’re still here. They still assure me they love me, and keep supporting me.
We all need someone to have our backs, to be there no matter what. And sometimes it’s hard if not impossible to find that person on this plane. That’s okay.

I’m not saying that everyone should have the same relationship with their spirit companions, if you even go down the spirit work path.

But I am saying that sometimes spirituality can provide that foundation of love that we need to thrive.

Obviously, it’s not for everyone, and it will take different forms for different people. Your mileage may vary.

For me at least, I don’t know what I’d do without my spirit companions. For the first time in my life, I’ve learned what unconditional love really feels like. And there’s no way I’m going back.

- Nonir

P.S. Don't forget to preorder a copy of the Brain Beasties Oracle to help cultivate some unconditional self-love, too!

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Brain Beasties Oracle Reading Ideas II

2/25/2020

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Ready for more ideas on how to use the Brain Beasties Oracle? Check out last week’s ideas and get ready to dive in.

As a reminder: it’s important to remember about oracle decks (and, in my opinion, all divination techniques) is that we can’t tell the future. They’re used to help with introspection and discovering hidden parts of ourselves, and sometimes for communicating with spirits. Though the Brain Beastie deck was definitely designed for the goal of self-knowledge and self-improvement. 


So this week, I want to give you some ideas on using the deck in the more well-known format of card spreads. Yes, you can use oracle cards in spreads just like you can use tarot. This deck may not be the best for all types of card spreads, but you can definitely get creative!

Three spreads I particularly like for the Brain Beasties deck:
  • This Healing Insights spread from The Traveling Witch
    • Card #1: What energy brought me to my current situation?
    • Card #2: Who do I need to be to move through my current situation?
    • Card #3: Who in my life can help me out of this situation?
    • Card #4: Who do I need to release to move out of this situation?

  • This self-care spread from Pinterest:
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  • This spread to cope with burnout and fatigue from Emerald Lotus Divination.

And, of course, you can totally make up your own spreads to suit your needs. Autostraddle, of all places, has a great post on how to create your own tarot spreads, which applies to oracle cards, too.

Do you have any favorite oracle card spreads? Share them in the comments!

- Nonir

P.s. Brain Beastie Oracle Deck preorders are open right now! Just click here to order your deck. <3
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Meet the Beasties!

2/10/2020

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If you’ve been following my social media, you may have noticed a new product I’m talking about: The Brain Beasties Oracle Deck. For those of you who don’t: it’s an oracle deck I made to help deal with mental issues. The general idea is to provide insight into the workings of your brain in any given moment and some advice or thought prompts to get your mind moving.
But I can’t claim all the credit for the idea. It came from a lot of digging and loads of other inspiration. So I wanted to just give a quick shout-out to the folks who (whether they knew it or not) helped inspire me to make this thing a reality.

Olivia from Leafing Out Gardening (and my co-writer for the Aces High, Jokers Wild series) originally gave me the idea to make an oracle deck late last year. She has some of her own decks based on the language of flowers and the Ogham that are incredible, if you’re the collecting type.

The Little Brain Wolf comics by Sam Davies of Stutterhug and the beautiful illustrations from The Latest Kate were also big influences. I find that giving shapes and names to emotions and internal patterns can really help us identify them and figure out ways to change or improve. Both Stutterhug and the Latest Kate are really good at that--so I kind of stole the idea for my Brain Beasties deck.
Each card features either a Brain Bestie or Beastie with a cute little character to represent it. (I also find that cute helps ease some of the bad feelings associated with some of these.) Besties are positive emotions and habits that can help us grow, while Beasties are the more negative emotions and habits that can hinder us. There are 21 of each, meaning 42 cards in the entire deck (shout out to the nerds here that I just couldn’t resist).

So that’s the short version of where the idea of the Brain Beasties deck came from. Check back next week for some ideas on how to use the deck to work on introspection and improving your mental health.
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And drop by the Wandering Jotun shop on Valentine’s Day to treat yourself to the preorders of the deck. After all, no one said Valentine’s Day can’t also be about self-love.

- Nonir 
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Perfectionism Dragons

2/3/2020

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Raise your hand if you’re a perfectionist.

[Imagine my hand waving high in the air]

Perfectionism is one of the things I’ve been struggling with for as long as I can remember. I’ve had countless therapy sessions that devolved into “fuck, that’s my perfectionism again!” It’s held me back from doing a lot and contributes more than I’d like to admit to my imposter syndrome and general anxiety.

But my therapist had me try something recently that’s really helped--and I want to share it with you.

(Keep in mind that I’m not a mental health professional myself, and your mileage may vary. I just found it particularly useful for me. This exercise is also included in the Punch Your Bad Brains in the Face free ebook!)

Here it is:
  1. Think about some character or symbol that embodies your perfectionism for you. For example, my perfectionism is Smaug from The Hobbit. He sits atop his horde, ready to attack when I reach for the Arkenstone of my creativity or self-worth. 
  2. Imagine what you feel when your perfectionism is kicking your butt, and give your character an action that goes with it. When Smaug is breathing fire at me (aka when my perfectionism tries to tell me I’ll never be good enough), I feel vulnerable, scared, lost, self-loathing, etc. It’s really not a great feeling. At all. 
  3. Come up with what you’d say or do in the face of that perfectionism attack. I try to logic the angry dragon down and remind him that I am good enough and mistakes are okay. 
  4. Imagine the worst-case scenario, if your perfectionism doesn’t listen to you. Smaug puffs himself up and towers over me, making me feel very, very small and weak and ready to give in. 
  5. Find a way to soothe your perfectionism--and make sure it’s gentle and kind. No cages (that was my first reaction, honestly), no fights, no death. Just a way to get the dragon to back off and calm down. I took a page from Hagrid’s book and chose playing music to get Smaug to settle down--either imagining myself singing to him, or listening to some of my favorite music. 
  6. Take the time to soothe yourself. I represent my inner child with a baby Totoro (yes, pop culture has a big place in my therapy), and my perfectionism hits a bunch of things in my past that upsets baby Totoro. So once Smaug is settled again, I take some time to snuggle Totoro and remind him that everything’s okay and the dragon isn’t going to eat us. Sometimes that’s literally cuddling a stuffed animal; sometimes it’s indulging in a treat; sometimes it’s taking a nap. 
And that’s it! Rinse and repeat as necessary. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve felt Smaug start to lift his head and was able to start soothing him ASAP, which helped me avoid a shame spiral.

So now you know how I’m dealing with my perfectionism--how are you dealing with yours? Tell me in the comments!

- Nonir

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Spiritual Imposter Syndrome

1/21/2020

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Raise your hand if you’ve ever had imposter syndrome! So, that’s like, all of us. Sweet.

Most of the time, we talk about imposter syndrome is the context of creating or working. That feeling that you’re just making shit up and don’t know anything and sooner or later everyone’s going to figure out that you’re only here because of a mistake. It’s a really awful, shameful feeling.

But imposter syndrome doesn’t only hit us at work. It can also crop up in unexpected places, like our spiritual lives.

I find this to be particularly true for those who do any sort of magic, or psychic/spirit work, but it can hit anyone at any time. Because our brains suck, let’s be real.  If I’m honest, spiritual imposter syndrome is one of the things I struggle with the most.

So what might spiritual imposter syndrome look like?

  • Dismissing unexplained experiences and sensations 
  • Constantly seeking approval from folks positioned as teachers or leaders 
  • Getting way too many divination readings instead of trusting your own instincts 
  • Feeling like you’re just fooling yourself about your path or experiences 
  • Etc. 

Basically, it’s that nagging worry that you don’t quite fit, aren’t quite right, are making things up, or are just faking things for attention. Not to get all psychological up in here, but a lot of these feelings can stem from the shame of being different (or being “too normal,” depending on the circumstances). Especially on a pagan path in an Abrahamic-leaning world, where intimate connections with astral beings aren’t really A Thing.

But here’s the good news.

You aren’t alone and you aren’t an imposter.

One of the things I’ve noticed is that most people who struggle with spiritual imposter syndrome tend to be on the right track, for lack of a better term. Sure, we might not be 100% on top of things all the time. But we generally have a better grasp on our experiences, beliefs, and discernment than we think we do.

So go forth and tell that imposter syndrome to fuck right off. You’re better than that.

- Nonir

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Pop Culture and Mental Health

1/14/2020

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Pop culture has a really complex relationship with mental health.

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On one hand, most media kind of sucks at portraying anything that isn’t neurotypical. On the other hand, most people I know who struggle with mental health tend to use pop culture as an important anchor to keep themselves going or give themselves something to look forward to.

It’s this really fascinating thing--we’re not overtly represented in the media we consume, but we project various aspects of ourselves onto our favorite characters and stories. This is why there’s so much fanfic where canonically cishet characters become queer, or characters have autism or anxiety that isn’t necessarily in the source.
Honestly, I think that’s one of the things that’s beautiful about fan works: we have the ability to create our own representation, and make sure it’s what we want to see.

Just being able to create or consume media that accurately portrays things like mental health issues can be incredibly healing. Representation matters.

But even media that doesn’t have representation can be important in mental health. When I was at my lowest a few years ago, I latched onto a video game and it literally became my lifeline. Making it through the day to go home and play was the only reason I kept going. It got me through that time and, in a roundabout way that involved some Pop Culture Paganism shenanigans, was the thing that finally pushed me to get the help I needed.

Pop culture strikes at the very core of us in ways we can’t expect. It can go way beyond just escapism. And sometimes that means books, TV shows, video games, music, whatever, are way more important to someone than you could ever guess.

So don’t be ashamed if you cling to your favorite show to get you through the day. Do what you’ve got to do to make sure you’re healthy and taking care of yourself mentally and physically--even if people might be confused about why you love something so much.

Is there a piece of media that’s helped you with your mental health? Share it in the comments!

- Nonir
A cute green dinosaur with multicolored speech bubbles and the caption
Pastel rainbow between smiling clouds and the caption
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Pop Culture and Mental Health

1/7/2020

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Pop culture has a really complex relationship with mental health.

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On one hand, most media kind of sucks at portraying anything that isn’t neurotypical. On the other hand, most people I know who struggle with mental health tend to use pop culture as an important anchor to keep themselves going or give themselves something to look forward to.

It’s this really fascinating thing--we’re not overtly represented in the media we consume, but we project various aspects of ourselves onto our favorite characters and stories. This is why there’s so much fanfic where canonically cishet characters become queer, or characters have autism or anxiety that isn’t necessarily in the source.
Honestly, I think that’s one of the things that’s beautiful about fan works: we have the ability to create our own representation, and make sure it’s what we want to see.

Just being able to create or consume media that accurately portrays things like mental health issues can be incredibly healing. Representation matters.

But even media that doesn’t have representation can be important in mental health. When I was at my lowest a few years ago, I latched onto a video game and it literally became my lifeline. Making it through the day to go home and play was the only reason I kept going. It got me through that time and, in a roundabout way that involved some Pop Culture Paganism shenanigans, was the thing that finally pushed me to get the help I needed.

Pop culture strikes at the very core of us in ways we can’t expect. It can go way beyond just escapism. And sometimes that means books, TV shows, video games, music, whatever, are way more important to someone than you could ever guess.

So don’t be ashamed if you cling to your favorite show to get you through the day. Do what you’ve got to do to make sure you’re healthy and taking care of yourself mentally and physically--even if people might be confused about why you love something so much.

Is there a piece of media that’s helped you with your mental health? Share it in the comments!

- Nonir
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Pastel rainbow between smiling clouds and the caption
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    Author

    Nonir is a queer pagan nerd and writes about various things in those realms.


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