Thorn Mooney
@thornthewitch.bsky.social
Religious studies PhD candidate, UNC-CH. Secularism, Spiritualism, the paranormal, magic, science/religion. Witch priestess, guitarist. Author of Witches Among Us. www.thornthewitch.com
Pinned
Thorn Mooney
@thornthewitch.bsky.social
· Nov 15
Hello new platform! I’m Thorn. I’m a religious studies PhD student thinking about magic, modernity, and the paranormal. I publish trade books about witchcraft, and am usually online talking about fountain pens and books. Every now and then, guitars.
I don’t think I’ve elaborated much on my own decision to quit teaching, but this was a big part of it. Yeah, admin and bureaucracy and pay and violence and all that, but also I was routinely disgusted by my peers, beginning with my ed program and then in the two schools where I taught.
I think it's basically disqualifying when teachers are themselves uninterested in learning
November 2, 2026 at 11:11 PM
I don’t think I’ve elaborated much on my own decision to quit teaching, but this was a big part of it. Yeah, admin and bureaucracy and pay and violence and all that, but also I was routinely disgusted by my peers, beginning with my ed program and then in the two schools where I taught.
Reposted by Thorn Mooney
Holding this, and trying to remind myself that it is, indeed, true 
Remember, dear ones, the reason it feels like so many more good people die than bad, is because there are so very, very many more good people than bad people
I'm sorry we can't keep them forever
I'm sorry we can't keep them forever
October 30, 2026 at 12:56 AM
Holding this, and trying to remind myself that it is, indeed, true 
I casually met Lucy Dacus today, recognized her but didn’t know who she was out of context, and asked her what she did here, while gesturing around campus. So that’s how my day is going.
October 28, 2026 at 11:22 PM
I casually met Lucy Dacus today, recognized her but didn’t know who she was out of context, and asked her what she did here, while gesturing around campus. So that’s how my day is going.
Microsoft disabled my Office license randomly today and I'm so angry (I've been running software I purchased when I bought my laptop). I tried to use a license my school provided and everything is awful. What are our fav dupes? Trying LibreOffice first.
October 27, 2026 at 11:38 PM
Microsoft disabled my Office license randomly today and I'm so angry (I've been running software I purchased when I bought my laptop). I tried to use a license my school provided and everything is awful. What are our fav dupes? Trying LibreOffice first.
One of the bizarre consequences of the whole "witchcraft isn't a religion" (and, thus, "Wicca isn't witchcraft") discourse that's developed in the last decade or so. It's almost like it's complicated.
Well, it's official: according to the mods at r/Paganism, Wicca is no longer Pagan.
October 27, 2026 at 3:15 PM
One of the bizarre consequences of the whole "witchcraft isn't a religion" (and, thus, "Wicca isn't witchcraft") discourse that's developed in the last decade or so. It's almost like it's complicated.
In my last video I made a passing comment about how many of us will die in our seventies, and that made lots of people feel weird I guess. I don't know what to tell y'all--I didn't just make that up, that's about where human life expectancy falls, especially in the US. Anyway make a will please.
October 24, 2026 at 1:00 PM
In my last video I made a passing comment about how many of us will die in our seventies, and that made lots of people feel weird I guess. I don't know what to tell y'all--I didn't just make that up, that's about where human life expectancy falls, especially in the US. Anyway make a will please.
Reposted by Thorn Mooney
Join us Monday evening to explore Sybil Leek, astrologer, psychic, author, and unapologetic media witch. Discover her life, legacy, and influence on the modern witch, followed by a guided meditation on her Greater Feast Day.
Register today!
lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/9qzhcuj
Register today!
lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/9qzhcuj
October 23, 2026 at 10:38 PM
Join us Monday evening to explore Sybil Leek, astrologer, psychic, author, and unapologetic media witch. Discover her life, legacy, and influence on the modern witch, followed by a guided meditation on her Greater Feast Day.
Register today!
lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/9qzhcuj
Register today!
lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/9qzhcuj
Guitars and guitar teaching! We have so many more low cost options, from more makers, in more creative finishes, and with much more attention to details and personal taste. And there are so many more women visibly playing them. And you can learn without ever having to set foot in a man’s basement.
Social media loves talking about how everything is getting worse. But what’s something that you’ve seen get _better_ in your lifetime?
October 24, 2026 at 2:23 AM
Guitars and guitar teaching! We have so many more low cost options, from more makers, in more creative finishes, and with much more attention to details and personal taste. And there are so many more women visibly playing them. And you can learn without ever having to set foot in a man’s basement.
I used to really want this PhD and now I mostly just want to repaint my living room and maybe someday be able to have a sunroom I can nap in.
October 23, 2026 at 2:21 PM
I used to really want this PhD and now I mostly just want to repaint my living room and maybe someday be able to have a sunroom I can nap in.
I drove on a toll road (apparently) in Richmond, VA, and received a pay-by-plate statement, and now I'm literally mailing a check for two dollars because it's cheaper than these stupid online service fees. So if you've ever wondered who still writes checks, it's irritated people like me.
October 23, 2026 at 1:55 PM
I drove on a toll road (apparently) in Richmond, VA, and received a pay-by-plate statement, and now I'm literally mailing a check for two dollars because it's cheaper than these stupid online service fees. So if you've ever wondered who still writes checks, it's irritated people like me.
Reposted by Thorn Mooney
Outta my sight, scrub
October 22, 2026 at 3:06 AM
Outta my sight, scrub
I met Lev Grossman at a signing where I was friends with the staff, who introduced me as another author. He asked me what my book was called, and because I was lowkey freaking out but trying to look normal I said, “I don’t know.”
Regardless of their level of mainstream fame, who's someone you were actually starstruck to meet?
(This question brought to you by a starstruck-resistant dude I know who didn't bat an eye meeting Jack Black, but lost his ability to form sentences upon meeting Gordon from Sesame Street.)
(This question brought to you by a starstruck-resistant dude I know who didn't bat an eye meeting Jack Black, but lost his ability to form sentences upon meeting Gordon from Sesame Street.)
October 20, 2026 at 6:48 PM
I met Lev Grossman at a signing where I was friends with the staff, who introduced me as another author. He asked me what my book was called, and because I was lowkey freaking out but trying to look normal I said, “I don’t know.”
It’s so disappointing to watch so many creators shift to AI images in their YouTube video cards, newsletters, blogs, and marketing materials. I’m not the boss of you and you get to make choices, but just know I’m unsubbing, and I imagine others are as well.
October 20, 2026 at 4:32 PM
It’s so disappointing to watch so many creators shift to AI images in their YouTube video cards, newsletters, blogs, and marketing materials. I’m not the boss of you and you get to make choices, but just know I’m unsubbing, and I imagine others are as well.
Reposted by Thorn Mooney
Am I Too Old to Get Started as a Witch?
YouTube video by Thorn Mooney
youtu.be
October 14, 2026 at 1:23 PM
Awarding myself a doctorate on this patient info eye doctor intake form, for purposes of morale.
October 15, 2026 at 1:13 PM
Awarding myself a doctorate on this patient info eye doctor intake form, for purposes of morale.
Am I Too Old to Get Started as a Witch?
YouTube video by Thorn Mooney
youtu.be
October 14, 2026 at 1:23 PM
‘Tis the season. If you know absolutely nothing and wish you did, here is the book I made you. #witchsky
bookshop.org/p/books/witc...
bookshop.org/p/books/witc...
Witches Among Us: Understanding Contemporary Witchcraft and Wicca
Everything You Wanted to Know About Witchcraft (But Were Afraid to Ask) Occult references ripple frequently through mainstream culture, Wiccan and witchcraft movements appear trendier than ever, and c...
bookshop.org
October 10, 2026 at 6:20 PM
‘Tis the season. If you know absolutely nothing and wish you did, here is the book I made you. #witchsky
bookshop.org/p/books/witc...
bookshop.org/p/books/witc...
Reposted by Thorn Mooney
The number of Amazon reviews a book has is not the true measure of a book's success.
Neither is the number of celebrities talking publicly about a book.
Awards are not a true measure of a book’s success.
How people feel after writing the book or reading it is the true measure of a book's success.
Neither is the number of celebrities talking publicly about a book.
Awards are not a true measure of a book’s success.
How people feel after writing the book or reading it is the true measure of a book's success.
October 4, 2026 at 2:13 PM
The number of Amazon reviews a book has is not the true measure of a book's success.
Neither is the number of celebrities talking publicly about a book.
Awards are not a true measure of a book’s success.
How people feel after writing the book or reading it is the true measure of a book's success.
Neither is the number of celebrities talking publicly about a book.
Awards are not a true measure of a book’s success.
How people feel after writing the book or reading it is the true measure of a book's success.
Reposted by Thorn Mooney
You can hear my band, Loyal Sparrow, do an interview and play some songs for a local radio show here in NC! youtu.be/JMhc1LDjYXU?...
Bella G & Loyal Sparrow, The MAKSBeat Music Radio Show on JoCo Radio 09/29/2026
YouTube video by Maria Kinney Blanchard
youtu.be
October 1, 2026 at 2:37 PM
You can hear my band, Loyal Sparrow, do an interview and play some songs for a local radio show here in NC! youtu.be/JMhc1LDjYXU?...
Reposted by Thorn Mooney
Hey #witchsky and pagans generally, this is a very good book. I wish I'd had it 15 years ago.
Hi it’s almost October. Here is that book you need for navigating things: bookshop.org/p/books/witc...
Witches Among Us: Understanding Contemporary Witchcraft and Wicca
Everything You Wanted to Know About Witchcraft (But Were Afraid to Ask) Occult references ripple frequently through mainstream culture, Wiccan and witchcraft movements appear trendier than ever, and c...
bookshop.org
October 2, 2026 at 2:59 AM
Hey #witchsky and pagans generally, this is a very good book. I wish I'd had it 15 years ago.
You can hear my band, Loyal Sparrow, do an interview and play some songs for a local radio show here in NC! youtu.be/JMhc1LDjYXU?...
Bella G & Loyal Sparrow, The MAKSBeat Music Radio Show on JoCo Radio 09/29/2026
YouTube video by Maria Kinney Blanchard
youtu.be
October 1, 2026 at 2:37 PM
You can hear my band, Loyal Sparrow, do an interview and play some songs for a local radio show here in NC! youtu.be/JMhc1LDjYXU?...
I have been accused, on many occasion, of “hating men” in occult spaces. When what I’m really doing is not centering them, and pushing back at many of their narratives of disenfranchisement.
October 1, 2026 at 11:55 AM
I have been accused, on many occasion, of “hating men” in occult spaces. When what I’m really doing is not centering them, and pushing back at many of their narratives of disenfranchisement.
Reposted by Thorn Mooney
Men do not understand how much the threat of male violence has taken from us
Yes every woman has been harassed, many assaulted. But every woman has also experienced invisible loss from moments she avoided harassment. She felt a space becoming unsafe, so she left, while men stayed on. And in leaving, she lost: opportunities, experiences, learning, promotions, even simply fun.
October 1, 2026 at 4:05 AM
Men do not understand how much the threat of male violence has taken from us
Reposted by Thorn Mooney
Hi it’s almost October. Here is that book you need for navigating things: bookshop.org/p/books/witc...
Witches Among Us: Understanding Contemporary Witchcraft and Wicca
Everything You Wanted to Know About Witchcraft (But Were Afraid to Ask) Occult references ripple frequently through mainstream culture, Wiccan and witchcraft movements appear trendier than ever, and c...
bookshop.org
September 29, 2026 at 6:22 PM
Hi it’s almost October. Here is that book you need for navigating things: bookshop.org/p/books/witc...
Hi it’s almost October. Here is that book you need for navigating things: bookshop.org/p/books/witc...
Witches Among Us: Understanding Contemporary Witchcraft and Wicca
Everything You Wanted to Know About Witchcraft (But Were Afraid to Ask) Occult references ripple frequently through mainstream culture, Wiccan and witchcraft movements appear trendier than ever, and c...
bookshop.org
September 29, 2026 at 6:22 PM
Hi it’s almost October. Here is that book you need for navigating things: bookshop.org/p/books/witc...