The following are explanations of the vocabulary I use, the conventions I use, and the policies I adhere to as I blog at Setkheni-itw's Pagan Blog. If you are confused as to a word or convention that I use, or if you're just curious, this is where you find out.
Sterilized/Sanitized Language
First and foremost, as a long-time queer and even longer-time Pagan and Witch I have an extreme dislike for the rapid sterilization of the language we use in order to make kinder, gentler, more palatable versions of our communities. My life is beautifully messy and vulgar and I don't really appreciate people trying to take away or tone down my language. So if you're not a fan of swearing, of reclaimed language, of unashamed sex, and of dark topics this blog might not be for you (or at the very least, some of its posts will not be for you).
Trigger and Content Warnings
Trigger and content warnings are a tricky subject because they've been abused a bit in the past (I don't believe they're as a whole abused, but have had a couple personal issues with abusive warnings that did serious damage). Namely, there are people who use "trigger warnings" for things that are more objectionable to them than triggering to make a statement that said thing is "bad." The problem is, I talk about a lot of things that might be triggering to people that aren't bad, and I don't want people to get the idea that I think they are based on a few people's misuse of the concept. They're also usually not explicit enough to be worthwhile to a lot of people. So instead of a "warning" I summarize content in a little blip before the post, making sure to include things I expect to be triggering in addition to general topics so people can easily pick out what they'll be interested in. For instance, I work a lot with The Hunt as a ritual and food acquisition practice, so if I were to write "Topics discussed in this essay include hunting and Men's Mysteries" it can both serve as a warning for people who don't want to read about hunting and as a way to inform people who are interested in hunting ritual that this could be of interest to them.
Gendered and Gender-Neutral Language
Because of the nature of this blog I want to make a statement about gender neutral language and so when talking about unknown or theoretical folks I tend to use neo-pronouns (typically ze and zir) or singular they if I'm in a rush (as it's more intuitive). For known folks I use preferred pronouns. I also use neo-suffixes a lot of the time when using terms that have a feminine "-ess" ending, so you'll see words like "Goddex," "priestex," "sorcerex," and so forth to refer to unknown or non-binary people and deities. In my own practice I tend to use "Gods" in generality so I do use that, too.
Queer-Centered Language
Although I do not obligate everybody to accept it and do not use it to refer to individuals who do not like it, I use queer as an umbrella for all folks who aren't both heterosexual and cisgender (also known as "cishet") with kind of a radical "tinge" to it (meaning it could be used to refer to everybody or, in some contexts, referring to radical queer people). Generally if I use the term "LGBT" it is in reference to something extremely mainstream.
Pagan-Centered Language
I use "Pagan" to refer to basically anybody who considers zirself Pagan. This blog itself is about the Paganism and Witchcraft I practice, which is eclectic and very connected to the Wicca and Wicca-like practitioners as well as queer mysteries, genderqueer mysteries, men's mysteries, deep ancestral mysteries, and other stuff like that. I identify as both a Witch and a Warlock, but only use either of these terms for people who own them themselves (and Mat, if you're reading this, you can go fuck yourself).
Data Collection and Statistics
I occasionally monitor where site traffic is coming from due to curiosity, but outside of this I do not personally collect any information.
Advertising and Sales
I currently do not put ads on my site or use affiliate ads, but reserve the right to in the future. I likely still will not. I do not do sponsored posts.
