A Hot Mess And Godless

     Last week I posted a question in the Satanic Temple Arizona Chapter Forum on Facebook: "What kinds of questions/things would you want to see discussed in regard to parenting as a satanist?" One of the topics suggested was how to talk to your kids about death. Well as unfortunate luck would have it, this was a talk I had to have with one of my own children yesterday.      Yesterday my son came home from school and told me his cat at his dad's house passed away. "I'm really sad." "It's okay to be sad, I'm sorry honey."      Death is not something my children have had to directly face quiet yet. We've had no major deaths in the family, not lost any friends, no notable moments where we've had to talk about it beyond the basics of all things eventually die. So the loss of this pet was the first real experience for my youngest, who is seven, and he had a lot of questions; specifically concerned with her remains. "I think w...

     Many times when you met someone who identifies as a Satanist or Atheist, there is a back story of intolerance and/or abuse through one of the Christian denominations or other main stream religions. I come from the unique position of having suffered religious abuse through Paganism. I know you're probably thinking the hippies with the crystals and sage? Really? Yes. Really.      I live with a disorder, Manic-Depression - Bipolar, whatever label you want to give it. It is incredibly unpleasant and not an easy thing to live with either for myself or the people around me. I spent much of my life being shamed and gas-lighted for my mental health issues. If I took medication I was "crazy and needed meds", if I didn't take medication everything that came out of my mouth was dismissed "because I was just off my meds." People close to me, friends, family, and significant others, would try to distort reality and pretend conversations between us did or didn'...

         I know; I've ranted on about all kinds of things this week and by this point you're sitting there thinking  okay bitch now tell me how to save some money already! Alrighty Then! I don't "extreme coupon." I'm not going to make wild claims that I can help you lower your grocery bill from $300 dollars a week to a few bucks. 1) Nobody got time for that. 2) It's actually a huge pain in the ass to try, and as more people have been trying it, more stores have changed their sales and coupon policies to stop it. I can give you solid advice on knocking off a few bucks here and there though. I'm quite the frugal shopper, in a household of five (6 if you count the dog) I have to be, and some things you just pick up on after doing it for so long. So here's a few general (and realistic) tips and advice to get you started on your money saving way. * Focus on where you actually shop (or where you know you will realistically make the trip out to)...

     One thing I've struggled with as a practicing Satanist mother is how to still incorporate holidays and traditions that my children can enjoy and have fond memories of without wading through volumes of Christian or Pagan based rhetoric - There's nothing worse than finding an adorable bunny garden statue with "I Love Jesus" or "Blessed Be" plastered on it's butt! But hey that's what spray paint is for right?      Anyway, I think it's important for kids to be able to enjoy holidays, (life is hard enough, let them enjoy a damn chocolate rabbit once in awhile), and I want them to still be able to have memories and traditions with our extended families who don't share my views on religion. A huge part of this is compromise and setting boundaries. Some hard No's on my end: no church, no Jesus/God nonsense when it comes to gifts/Easter baskets etc, and the expectation that if you tell my kid about something that isn't real like the too...

"Satanism encourages any form of sexual expression you may desire, so long as it hurts no one else. If all parties involved are mature adults who willingly take full responsibility for their actions and voluntarily engage in a given form of sexual expression - even if it is generally considered taboo - then there is no reason for them to repress their sexual inclinations." ~ Anton LaVey      I know, it's hard to look at your kid and think someday they'll be out in the big grown up world having sex. But newsflash, it is almost guaranteed they will. You can't prevent it, and honestly you shouldn't try to. Before you start hitting the report button let me finish.      Sex is a completely natural part of existence. After all it's how we, and most other creatures procreate and continue to supply this planet with life. It's also, for most people, enjoyable, important, and there is absolutely nothing "dirty" or "impure" about it. I co...

     I had planned to launch this blog last December with my first post being all about the benefits my family has enjoyed once I finally abolished the tradition of Santa Claus from our home. This idea came after several years of frustration over many "mom blogs" floating around on the Internet that I mostly enjoyed; as long as I ignored the emails that flooded my inbox with home school bible study packets and Noah's ark craft tutorials, and almost every single one of them wants to tell you what they did in church that Sunday or how this particular psalm is getting them through rough time in mommy-hood.  I just want advice on how to get my kids to do their own damn laundry and what's on sale at my local grocery store. I don't give two shits about your women's only bible study class and I shouldn't have to.      Oh that's another thing; I cuss. A lot. I am so sick of this image perpetuated in not only the online mom blog arena, but in the way our gene...