Log Date: 2026-01-10
Jan. 10th, 2026 10:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wastelandimperiatrixHere are some of my notes on Hmong folk religion that I've been gathering, I feel like it's important for me to share. I want to keep my culture alive and strong, and I want to be able to preserve it for future generations. This is an odd path I walk, and it's definitely complicated with my history but it's time that I stop running away from myself. It's odd to think that I've been practicing as a Witch and Animist for 15 years now coming up, but I still feel as fresh as a new born babe.
So what I am learning is that spirits are referred to as Qhua Neeb, with the act of Hmong Shamanism being known as Neeb. Now, Hmong Shamans are a form of Otherworld intercessor, who performs rituals on behalf of their community, Hmong or not. They are divided into what is known as Lineages, which decide things like what tools you use, and what veil colour you wear. Oftentimes you will have the same veil colour as your Master. There are two veil colours, red, and black. I am still learning the specifics of what they mean, but from what I understand those with the Red veil are blessed by the first Shaman of the Hmong people, Siv Yis.
In Hmong folklore, it is said that a frog created the Earth, and the Land of Spirits. This frog was named Nplooj Lwg. He was killed by people, and by his dying curse, humans and spirits could no longer live together, and have been separated ever since.
I have many frog spirits under my retinue, and through working with them I have found them to be a great and wise ally, capable of interfacing with the Spirit world. They bring me great comfort, and my good friend Bump is one such frog. I love Bump, he is one of my Little Guys that I created to help me with my anxiety, and he kinda grew as a spirit of his own. He often gives me solid advice and reminders to always take care of myself, but he also serves as a friend, and guide.
On the other side of my family we have German, and Anishinaabe, with some Northern English thrown into the mixture. It is a complicated history for me, an Indigenous Hmong Canadian living in a big city. I often feel disconnected with my ancestry, but I try my best to learn what I can.
I am an amalgamation of all the people who have loved and been loved before me. I need to hold onto this for my own good -> it guides me to where I need to be, and shows me the path forward is clear.
The dead are more compassionate than the living, I find, and so I work with my ancestors when I can. I’ve started reaching out to my Father’s Father, whom had come from Laos to Canada in the 1970s in what is known as the Hmong Exodus from Laos. It is difficult being a child created through war and displacement, but it has given me the warriors heart I need to bear through these tough times.
The Morrigan gave me the strength to bear these generational battles with kindness, and with a swift hand of the scythe to reap the dead. It is not unkind, for she loves you when you are alive, and when you succumb to her embrace of death. Hekate is very much the same as a Goddess of fear, being loved spans both life and death for these Goddesses, and it is integral to my understanding of both that they embody our deepest fears, and our greatest strengths.
I see myself in Hmong embroidery – the intricate patterns and spirals decorating the flower cloth. These are the stories of my people, held tight in my arms as mine. This is also a part of me I cannot deny. Hmong flower cloth is known as Paj Ntaub. I long to make my bone reading cloth one of these beautifully constructed items, and I will learn no matter what it takes.
The Coyote, the trickster of my people, calls to me a familiar face – one that of lessons learned and a teacher not unfamiliar to me, He brings me courage to be, and to be strong and hold my head high through the rougher parts of it. the Coyote is a sacred messenger, who shares this space with the Rabbit, and Raven. This spirit is known as Nanabozho, and I've been working on calling down the spirits of the land to better assist my workings.
I throw the bones as often as I can now, knowing that they are the part that endures afterwards. When all is returned to dust, the bones remain. I covet these bones, gifted to me over time through different circumstance – sometimes purchased, sometimes found, sometimes gifted.
Each of them hosts a spirit, and they are also a collective Council, which guides me in my day to day workings, including what I should focus on for the most part. I’ve been listening the best I can and doing my part to make sure my duties are done. I love the pouch my bones live in, gifted to me by my loving partner. I love my bones, they are my constant companion and I take them with me wherever I go, lest a situation comes up where I am in need of them.
I fed my spirits today, something I am aiming to do more of this year, as I know I haven't been the best at attending my duties in the past. But now, there is a resolve inside of me keeping it together for myself. I know my spirits are happy because they sing to me their blessings and continued safe keeping - Creechur in particular always gets a good helping of the Dragons' Weed into their ritual vessel, and Coyote gets fed blood from all the members of the household. As for food offerings, plenty of 'Wormies" (gummy worms) for Creechur, garlic and rosemary and plenty of food for Hekate on the dark moon, it is a beautiful thing being able to work with these spirits.
In Hmong culture, a person has 13 souls, each of which serve a different purpose - the soul that says with you, including in death, the soul that returns to the ancestors, and the soul that reincarnates are the three main ones, as well as 9 other shadow souls that guide us and teach us. When someone passes, it is said that their spirit must be guided to the spirit realm, which is in line with a ritual I performed on behalf of my Nanny with my cousin, about a month after her passing. I hope wherever she is, she is happy and at peace the best she can be. I know she would be happy to be untethered from her oxygen machine.
I am learning to move with the seasons, winter is in full swing now, and she's been a doozy. I've been tugging at the idea of reaching out to the Winter Mother for a bit now, and it seems like now is as good as a time as ever with all the snow warnings in effect right now. Pine is definitely one of the spirits of the winter for me, and I love it's presence as much as I can when I can go outside. Spruce and Cedar also carry me along with their winter-y medicine, along with the Chthonic aspects of Yew.
Ensouling the Effigy
In Mahigan's bookclub, we've been reading Ensouling the Effigy by Matthew Venus and that has been going pretty well for me, I've been taking notes but the first start of the book is very much review for me. I am however learning quite a bit about the origin of the term Animist though, and it's complicated for why I still identify with it - it just makes the most sense cosmologically for me, to work within an Animist framework because that is what my cultures practice.
I particularly enjoy Matthew's working definition for the Witch, and find it a useful framework to work within, especially within regards to the consorting and pacting with various spirits, doing witchcraft, and interfacing with the Otherworlds.
His description of the three overarching worlds, The Upper World, the Middle World, and the Under World - this also corresponds to my workings with Hekate being tri-formed and represented as it follows:
Upper World: Hekate as the Spirit of the Horse of Air,
Middle World: Hekate as her Spirit of the Dog of Earth,
Underworld: Hekate as her spirit of Serpent of the Sea.
This makes a lot of sense to me to view the world, and it is a useful framework for viewing the ephemeral nature of spirits. Engaging with spirit flight is also one of the tenants of the Witch, which involves shapeshifting or transvection, as Matthew notes.
So what I am learning is that spirits are referred to as Qhua Neeb, with the act of Hmong Shamanism being known as Neeb. Now, Hmong Shamans are a form of Otherworld intercessor, who performs rituals on behalf of their community, Hmong or not. They are divided into what is known as Lineages, which decide things like what tools you use, and what veil colour you wear. Oftentimes you will have the same veil colour as your Master. There are two veil colours, red, and black. I am still learning the specifics of what they mean, but from what I understand those with the Red veil are blessed by the first Shaman of the Hmong people, Siv Yis.
In Hmong folklore, it is said that a frog created the Earth, and the Land of Spirits. This frog was named Nplooj Lwg. He was killed by people, and by his dying curse, humans and spirits could no longer live together, and have been separated ever since.
I have many frog spirits under my retinue, and through working with them I have found them to be a great and wise ally, capable of interfacing with the Spirit world. They bring me great comfort, and my good friend Bump is one such frog. I love Bump, he is one of my Little Guys that I created to help me with my anxiety, and he kinda grew as a spirit of his own. He often gives me solid advice and reminders to always take care of myself, but he also serves as a friend, and guide.
On the other side of my family we have German, and Anishinaabe, with some Northern English thrown into the mixture. It is a complicated history for me, an Indigenous Hmong Canadian living in a big city. I often feel disconnected with my ancestry, but I try my best to learn what I can.
I am an amalgamation of all the people who have loved and been loved before me. I need to hold onto this for my own good -> it guides me to where I need to be, and shows me the path forward is clear.
The dead are more compassionate than the living, I find, and so I work with my ancestors when I can. I’ve started reaching out to my Father’s Father, whom had come from Laos to Canada in the 1970s in what is known as the Hmong Exodus from Laos. It is difficult being a child created through war and displacement, but it has given me the warriors heart I need to bear through these tough times.
The Morrigan gave me the strength to bear these generational battles with kindness, and with a swift hand of the scythe to reap the dead. It is not unkind, for she loves you when you are alive, and when you succumb to her embrace of death. Hekate is very much the same as a Goddess of fear, being loved spans both life and death for these Goddesses, and it is integral to my understanding of both that they embody our deepest fears, and our greatest strengths.
I see myself in Hmong embroidery – the intricate patterns and spirals decorating the flower cloth. These are the stories of my people, held tight in my arms as mine. This is also a part of me I cannot deny. Hmong flower cloth is known as Paj Ntaub. I long to make my bone reading cloth one of these beautifully constructed items, and I will learn no matter what it takes.
The Coyote, the trickster of my people, calls to me a familiar face – one that of lessons learned and a teacher not unfamiliar to me, He brings me courage to be, and to be strong and hold my head high through the rougher parts of it. the Coyote is a sacred messenger, who shares this space with the Rabbit, and Raven. This spirit is known as Nanabozho, and I've been working on calling down the spirits of the land to better assist my workings.
I throw the bones as often as I can now, knowing that they are the part that endures afterwards. When all is returned to dust, the bones remain. I covet these bones, gifted to me over time through different circumstance – sometimes purchased, sometimes found, sometimes gifted.
Each of them hosts a spirit, and they are also a collective Council, which guides me in my day to day workings, including what I should focus on for the most part. I’ve been listening the best I can and doing my part to make sure my duties are done. I love the pouch my bones live in, gifted to me by my loving partner. I love my bones, they are my constant companion and I take them with me wherever I go, lest a situation comes up where I am in need of them.
I fed my spirits today, something I am aiming to do more of this year, as I know I haven't been the best at attending my duties in the past. But now, there is a resolve inside of me keeping it together for myself. I know my spirits are happy because they sing to me their blessings and continued safe keeping - Creechur in particular always gets a good helping of the Dragons' Weed into their ritual vessel, and Coyote gets fed blood from all the members of the household. As for food offerings, plenty of 'Wormies" (gummy worms) for Creechur, garlic and rosemary and plenty of food for Hekate on the dark moon, it is a beautiful thing being able to work with these spirits.
In Hmong culture, a person has 13 souls, each of which serve a different purpose - the soul that says with you, including in death, the soul that returns to the ancestors, and the soul that reincarnates are the three main ones, as well as 9 other shadow souls that guide us and teach us. When someone passes, it is said that their spirit must be guided to the spirit realm, which is in line with a ritual I performed on behalf of my Nanny with my cousin, about a month after her passing. I hope wherever she is, she is happy and at peace the best she can be. I know she would be happy to be untethered from her oxygen machine.
I am learning to move with the seasons, winter is in full swing now, and she's been a doozy. I've been tugging at the idea of reaching out to the Winter Mother for a bit now, and it seems like now is as good as a time as ever with all the snow warnings in effect right now. Pine is definitely one of the spirits of the winter for me, and I love it's presence as much as I can when I can go outside. Spruce and Cedar also carry me along with their winter-y medicine, along with the Chthonic aspects of Yew.
Ensouling the Effigy
In Mahigan's bookclub, we've been reading Ensouling the Effigy by Matthew Venus and that has been going pretty well for me, I've been taking notes but the first start of the book is very much review for me. I am however learning quite a bit about the origin of the term Animist though, and it's complicated for why I still identify with it - it just makes the most sense cosmologically for me, to work within an Animist framework because that is what my cultures practice.
I particularly enjoy Matthew's working definition for the Witch, and find it a useful framework to work within, especially within regards to the consorting and pacting with various spirits, doing witchcraft, and interfacing with the Otherworlds.
His description of the three overarching worlds, The Upper World, the Middle World, and the Under World - this also corresponds to my workings with Hekate being tri-formed and represented as it follows:
Upper World: Hekate as the Spirit of the Horse of Air,
Middle World: Hekate as her Spirit of the Dog of Earth,
Underworld: Hekate as her spirit of Serpent of the Sea.
This makes a lot of sense to me to view the world, and it is a useful framework for viewing the ephemeral nature of spirits. Engaging with spirit flight is also one of the tenants of the Witch, which involves shapeshifting or transvection, as Matthew notes.
