I'm reading https://magickfromscratch.com/2017/11/13/dear-neophyte-mystic/ and it is amazing (though there's some bits I disagree with) but this made me lol: "Always remember: exactly zero people have died in astral accidents."

*cacklecacklecackle*
"If a deity, to your perception, is being pushy and “won’t take no for an answer,” just swear an oath never to work with that deity. You won’t have to do that with more than one or two deities before you stop having deities push your buttons in that way. Experience speaking, here."

@green Yeah, consent is important in all contexts. A god that demands consent be overridden isn't a god for me, I don't care how much power they claim. A god that would override consent is worth rebelling against even if they have all the power.

@Ulfra_Wolfe @green I share this philosophy: consent is necessary for any interaction with deity. I've been especially concerned about the issue after reading some texts about pagan spirituality that said in no uncertain terms that deity worship and shamanic experience were universally and unavoidably a nonconsensual and abusive relationship. I hope that that writer is wrong about that, despite how well they supported their argument. I decided that if that's what having gods is about, then I'd rather have none. If a god's a rapist, kill that god. Since then, I've been heartbroken to find pantheons full of rapists, and no god I'd trust to stand up for me. I haven't felt like atheism solves this problem right for me, either.

@green @frameacloud I made my own gods. what really matters for a god is what they represent, not the personality. humanity puts a lot of their own foibles on gods. I choose what I venerate and what feels right. I venerate the High Ewe and the Primal Huntress, even though I haven't seen those names before. I don't trust myths passed down by storytellers that had their own biases