IDGAF from my perspective.

I want to clarify IDGAF for some folks. I haven't personally received any negative attention, but there have been some negative comments in general, that I want to try and address.

IDGAF is not about being flippant. As stated, we are not joking. It is also not about being callous, uncaring towards others, or negative towards the community. You can care about others, be kind, considerate, and polite, but not care what others think about you. I hold the door for people, say please, thank you, sorry, excuse me. But if you turn and tell me "I think your hair is ugly, bitch"?

I don't give a fuck.

We saw a void. We filled it.

There is a considerable push and expectation towards being "initiated"-it gives you "street cred", it gives you belonging. But so many initiatory traditions are closed; or they are for followers of a certain path only; or they are expensive, costing a lot of actual money, or amounts of time and dedication that some people just can't manage. This doesn't make them bad. If you can afford the money, are willing and able to dedicate the time, if you walk that path or know the right people; may you find learning and fulfillment there. These traditions are not for everyone. Neither is ours.

We wanted to create something accessible. It is free, it is eclectic. And--tongue in cheek--we don't give a fuck what specific spirituality you practice, as long as you Practice. We don't care what gods you work with, so long as you work with them and don't leave them gathering dust. We don't care what learning interests you, so long as you learn. We're after your dedication, not your dogma.

"I don't give a fuck" is meant to be a statement of personal power, presented in a friendly, saucy, informal way.

Take me for example. In recent months, I've been learning about norse deities. I was approached by one. I had never worked with deities before. To some, working with the Norse pantheon would make me Asatru. I don't think I am. I don't understand enough about it to call myself that. I'm still learning. There are those who would say then, that I'm doing it "wrong"-if I'm not Asatru, I shouldn't be working with those gods. Say some day I do decide to call myself Asatru. There are some who would pour over my family tree, my heritage, and judge whether I can or can't be something I've now decided to be. There are some who would scoff and scorn at my beliefs--in pantheism and animism, god is formless and everywhere and everything is alive--and tell me I can't reconcile that with named deities, with mythical gods with stories and histories and forms.

I don't give a fuck. I am who I am. What calls to me, calls. I walk my own path.

That is what we mean.

There will always be those who tell you "you can't". IDGAF is your statement, your declaration, your affirmation: "FUCK YOU. Yes I can!!!"

I'm excited to see who chooses to walk with us, who can look past our silly saucy name and see our intention. In intention and purpose is our power.

But you all knew that already, right?