I don\u2019t want to be on TikTok. I did a couple of short-form videos on Instagram this year (that I cross-posted to Facebook) but while I\u2019ve worked to develop my speaking skills and my video skills, at the end of the day I\u2019m a writer. I want to write, edit, and post text. And when I\u2019m on the receiving end, I want to read text, not watch videos. Studies say the average person can read at twice the rate of viewing\/listening \u2013 I\u2019m a lot faster than that.<\/p>\n
But I\u2019m going to have to give it some serious thought.<\/p>\n
Me complaining about the drop in blog traffic has become an annual affair. This is the fifth straight year blog traffic is down from the previous year. This will be my lowest year since 2013, my first year on Patheos. The usual reasons apply: blogging in general is down. More people \u2013 especially younger people \u2013 prefer video. Social media suppresses links, to keep people on their apps.<\/p>\n
And now AI is adding to the problem. I used to get a lot of traffic from Google and other search engines. Now, people read the \u201cAI Summary\u201d at the top of the results and never click on the links below.<\/p>\n
I could move to Substack or to Patreon \u2013 other writers seem to be getting good (or at least, better) results there. I could do more video. Everybody seems to be doing a podcast these days. I don\u2019t think podcasting would be a good fit for me, but you never know.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m getting close to retirement from my paying job (I plan to work all of 2026 \u2013 I\u2019ve made no decisions beyond that). Before I become a full-time Druid I need to evaluate my public-facing work and figure out the best ways to present it. Expect to see more experimental stuff next year, though as I write this I have no firm plans.<\/p>\n
But I\u2019m sure of one thing: I\u2019m not going away. As long as I have something to say I\u2019ll find a place to say it. And I expect I\u2019ll have something to say until I take up permanent residence in the Otherworld.<\/p>\n
With all that said, it\u2019s time to look at four posts from this year that didn\u2019t get the response I expected. The posts that make this feature each year tend to be either obscure topics, or things I didn\u2019t do a good job of presenting. But I\u2019m not sure what happened with these. They\u2019re all foundational topics for Pagans \u2013 things we need to revisit periodically, even if we already know them well. If you missed them the first time, I hope you\u2019ll read them now.<\/p>\n
Writers want to be read, but what I want most is for what I write to be read by the people who are interested and invested in Paganism, polytheism, witchcraft, and all the other spiritual, religious, and magical topics I write about. If you\u2019re reading this post, that\u2019s probably you. The best way to make sure you don\u2019t miss anything is to sign up for my personal weekly newsletter.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the Patheos newsletter. This is my personal e-mail newsletter that goes out most Friday mornings (but not this coming Friday morning \u2013 the next newsletter will be on January 2nd<\/sup>). Sign up on my teaching site at:<\/p>\n https:\/\/undertheancientoaks.com\/newsletter\/<\/a><\/p>\n The newsletter has links to the current week\u2019s blog posts. It also covers things that don\u2019t fit into the blog format, mostly in my usual range: Paganism, polytheism, and witchcraft. Current events and politics. Interesting stuff from other people. What I\u2019m working on that you\u2019ll see in the near to medium future \u2013 be the first to find out about new classes, appearances, and such.<\/p>\n Enter your e-mail in the big green block and do the not-a-robot thing. You\u2019ll get a confirmation e-mail \u2013 respond to it and you\u2019re set. You have to respond to the confirmation e-mail \u2013 my mailing service wants to make sure you really want the newsletters and someone isn\u2019t signing you up for something you don\u2019t want.<\/p>\n Continuing Education For Pagans<\/a> (September 2025, #53 in readership)<\/strong><\/p>\n Education is a process that is never finished. If we keep looking, we can keep learning more and more about the sacred topics and trends that are important to us, and in doing so, we can make our personal and group practices deeper and more meaningful.<\/p>\n If something works for you and you\u2019re happy with it, I\u2019m happy for you. I\u2019m long past the age where the words \u201cnew and improved\u201d are anything more than a sales gimmick. At the same time, my Paganism is a living religion and I want to continue learning and growing for as long as I can.<\/p>\n A Modern Pagan Case For Reincarnation<\/a> (August 2025, #54 in readership)<\/strong><\/p>\n What comes after death is one of the Big Questions of Life and I can\u2019t help speculating about it. The fact that the loudest voices in our culture baselessly threaten us with eternal damnation makes it more than simple curiosity. The only thing I\u2019m certain of is that the Christian and Islamic fundamentalists are wrong. No one will suffer eternal torment after death \u2013 even the people we\u2019d like to send there.<\/p>\n My own experiences and reflections have convinced me that after death, I will spend some time in the Otherworld and then I\u2019ll return here to continue my work of learning and growing and helping make the world a better place.<\/p>\n Reincarnation is a reasonable possibility for what comes after death. Holding that belief helps me approach my own eventual death with comfort and confidence.<\/p>\n The Metaphysics of Divination<\/a> (November 2025, #58 in readership)<\/strong><\/p>\n You do not have to be born with 90th<\/sup> percentile psychic skills and intuitive abilities to read Tarot or to practice any other form of divination. Of course natural ability will help, but what matters most is what you do with the gifts you have. A person with average talents who works and studies diligently can learn to read Tarot and get good, helpful, reliable results \u2013 far better than people with \u201cgifts\u201d who never develop them.<\/p>\n The ones with extraordinary gifts who work extraordinarily hard? Those are the diviners of legend.<\/p>\n But the rest of us can do just fine, if we study and practice.<\/p>\n![\"photo](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2025\/12\/05-161-Villa-Il-Poggiale.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSign up for my personal newsletter<\/h2>\n
The four best posts of 2024 that you didn\u2019t read<\/h2>\n
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