Hallo my little Heathens and Heathen-friendlies!

It’s been a bit since I last published something that wasn’t tied to my podcast. The story will continue, but right now the characters are sitting around the break table having coffee, some muffins, and probably something that I shouldn’t inspect too closely. I think telling their story pulls on some strings and feelings, both for them and for myself, so they’ve decided we need to pause for just a bit and breathe before continuing. Which absolutely leaves me time for other writing and projects.

Of course, I have an entire list: continuing the next section of the Vanir Edda, Oðr part 2, Jǫrð’s story in fuller context than the latest podcast episode, another coloring book, revamping my 12 Nights of Samhain, my 12 Nights of Yule, my winter solstice vigil, prayers, interviews with the gods (Cernunnos suddenly wants some of my time, and I’m not sure what to do with that!), runes as individual workings, spells and healing, and so much more. My creative noggin is nearly bursting, and I have to get it wrangled into some semblance of order before I can make sense of all of it.

I’m going to address a quick something before diving into the actual purpose of this update. Art and AI. So, here’s the thing: in a perfect world where my talents for drawing a straight line with a ruler would be legendary, there would be no need for AI assistance. We all know this isn’t a perfect world. I have been creating Norse-themed coloring books for sale on Amazon and Lulu. They are 8.5 x 11 inches, with the coloring pages taking up full pages facing a description page that introduces the character with known material from the lore. I recently posted about having created these, one for the Vanir and one for the Æsir, on my personal Facebook page. There were several negative responses citing that anything created with AI is garbage and hurts “real” artists. I was even told separately that I should be ashamed for doing it.

Sigh. It seems like whenever I teach myself something new (whether a skill or program), find a way to perhaps earn a few extra dollars (dollars that are desperately needed right now while I’m at 14 months unemployed) there is a person or persons who feel the need to rake me over the coals and tear my efforts down. Don’t use AI. You didn’t cite my name enough times in the work you do. Nobody wants that. Hire a real artist. You aren’t original enough. The list goes on.

Folks, just stop it.

My “art,” as such, is my own creation. It comes from MY brain, whether it is descriptions of images, re-tellings of stories, modern myths, rituals and prayers adjusted with my own wording and processes, prayer books, or whatever else I happen to be working on. I don’t lie if I utilize AI. I usually add that information to my copyright pages or mark videos to make sure it is stated from the beginning. I cite sources and people as needed. I am not going to plaster someone else’s name all over my work just because they inspired it. I will cite them the single time appropriately, and that’s it. The work is still mine. Inspiration deserves acknowledgment when acknowledgment is appropriate, but inspiration does not make someone else the creator of what I eventually build from it.

AI is a tool. When wielded responsibly, it is an excellent one. I see images and stories in my mind. I then begin to set down descriptors: looks, age, hints from the myths, modern-ish clothing inspired by earlier styles, coloring, lineage, and whatever other feelings I get about how they want to be depicted. Then I start describing them in my prompts to generate. One completed image may have 10–20 discarded versions because I didn’t like how the nose and eyes were set, or the background was wrong, or some other random piece kept it from feeling like “them.” It can take me upwards of a week to get an image fine-tuned and ready to share if the lines aren’t coming out right. The same thing happens with artists as they work by hand.

Admittedly, it isn’t “art” in the way so many others are gifted at creating it. I have tried drawing myself, but that isn’t where my talents lie. If I had the money to hire someone, there is still no guarantee that they would be able to capture what I am looking for when they have their own style of drawing. The tools I have, however, help me bring to life what I see hovering in my brain. Getting it onto paper leaves room for other things to come forward instead of getting bottle-necked behind my own internal firewalls.

Tools have always changed the way people create. Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Canva, Paint, and the whole host of other programs people use to create comic strips, graphic novels, illustrations, or even memes all put something between the creator’s hand and the finished product. My process is simply different again. No, I didn’t take a pen, pencil, charcoal, watercolor, or paint and put it to canvas, but they are still my creations, just created with words and the help of a program that can translate those words into images I get excited about. Belittling that, or worse trying to take it away, is cruel and unnecessary. It turns the artist who has concerns into a bitter curmudgeon with little regard for the ingenuity and talent of those who use alternative tools and try to express themselves in positive, healthy ways.

I’m not Picasso or Rembrandt, and I don’t call myself an “artist” in the truest sense of the word. But trying to shame me for offering something using the skills and materials I have to those who might enjoy it is a shitty thing to do. I’m not stealing your customers, and I’m not flooding the market with garbage. I’m offering a piece of myself and how I interact with the spirit realm to others.

So, do I use AI to generate my Shorts, podcasts, blog posts, etc.? Yes and no. I use AI as an editing tool. The topics and writings are my own. I am becoming increasingly aware, as I age, that I am probably somewhere in the neurodivergent neighborhood, although I don’t have an official diagnosis. I recognize a lot of those behaviors and coping mechanisms in myself, and one day I will have the money to get tested officially. In the meantime, I deal with things the best I can.

My brain goes everywhere, and I often find myself rereading material and cringing because of all the loose plot holes and explanations. “I” understand exactly what I was trying to say because I have it stored in my memory, but somehow it never got onto the page in a way that others will be able to make sense of. AI helps me find those issues so I can address them, close the loops, pull from existing source material accurately rather than vaguely, and use infinitely better grammar. So, yes, I do use AI in my writings. But no, I don’t use it to create from scratch without putting any effort into it. It is a tool, just like spellcheck, and that is how I use it.

Now that I have addressed all of those various accusations and concerns, on to far more pleasant things. Today, I am publishing a separate page for Winter Finding. No, not Winter Nights—that is different.

Whether you tie it to the Fall Equinox for the sabbat connection or try to observe it based on moon cycles, Winter Finding is one of the closest things we have in modern Heathen or Heathen-centric practice to a fall celebration. Many of us today live in climates that have three or four distinct seasons rather than just two main ones, with a week or two on either end for transition like the much colder climates experienced by early Nordic peoples. We like to have something that marks the changing of the calendar and weather, something that gives us a reason to stop for a moment and celebrate the turning of the year. Especially given the events going on currently in our beleaguered nation, I think we could all use a little more of that.

So, if you want to learn a little about a fall-oriented observance, go over to the Winter Finding page and see if this is something you might want to incorporate into your own practice.

Happy Fall, y’all!