creature-wizard

[creature-wizard]

"I want to live in a world in which teenagers can fulfil their natural purpose of being annoying" and "I do not always want to be annoyed by the teenagers" are compatible sentiments

[creature-wizard]

Any thoughts on all the talk about alien disclosure?

People have been claiming we're on the verge of aliens physically revealing themselves to humanity and/or the government announcing to the public they've been in contact with alien beings since the mid-20th century. It was a bunch of hot air back when your great grandparents were young, and it's a bunch of hot air now.

Something you learn when you study the claims made by conspiracy theorists is that they're basically always recycling their material. They're always claiming Something Big Is About To Happen. Then it doesn't, and they just rewrite their material to sell to people who are still hanging on or just haven't heard this kind of stuff before.

If people in government start talking about alien disclosure, it's a distraction tactic. It always is.

[creature-wizard]

Fascism thrives on ignorance and anti-intellectualism. Here are some ways you can combat it:

There is an ongoing literacy crisis. Teach kids how to read phonetically (other methods produce poor literacy) and introduce them to fun books, both fiction and educational non-fiction.

Teach kids about critical thinking and the scientific method.

You can also introduce kids to edutainment like Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow, The Magic Schoolbus, Bill Nye The Science Guy, Beakman's World, etc.

Help kids develop media literacy skills by asking them literary analysis questions about the media they engage with. Even very young children can begin learning literary analysis if the questions are phrased in words they can understand.

Learn and help other people learn information literacy, ie, how to locate and evaluate information.

Learn the red flags of pseudoscience, and educate other people about them.

Educate people and share media on real science and real history, because fascist narratives are full of pseudoscience and pseudohistory. (Miniminuteman, Gutsick Gibbon and Bart D. Ehrman's YouTube channel are great, by the way!)

Make learning a joyful experience, and show people the beauty and wonder of what's real. Being a discouraging killjoy will spoil your efforts.

[creature-wizard]

Grasshopper's Dream Cafe Located: Jeongseon, South Korea

[creature-wizard]

It’s so crazy that suicide prevention is just people going awwww don’t!! Awwww come on noooooooooo stopppppp

[creature-wizard]

I accidentally stumbled on a christian apologetics video that had the gall to claim that Isiah 53 is banned in most synagogues. Well seeing as Isiah 53 is about Isreal and not a messianic prophesy, this is just a bold faced antisemitic lie.

Christian apologists are scum.

Ugh, this piece of misinfo keeps getting circulated among the Christian right, it's so frustrating. And yeah, if you actually bother to actually read the chapters before and after, it's just so obviously not about Jesus at all. And yeah, Christian apologists are all practicing chicanery.

[creature-wizard]

Sorry guys, we're not in the Biblical End Times. Our times just suck in their own unique and special ways.

[creature-wizard]

So my mom thinks the internet censorship we're facing with having to upload our IDs to the internet is getting close to the Mark Of The Beast. Is that posdible that we are due to Internet Censorship?

No, and there are a number of reasons:

First, the predictions in the Book of Revelation were supposed to take place within the near future as of when it was written. The message to the Church in Philadelphia contains this passage:

‘I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have followed My word, and have not denied My name. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and make them know that I have loved you. Because you have kept My word of perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of the testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who live on the earth. I am coming quickly; hold firmly to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.

(Read it in context here!)

The book of Revelation describes events that were supposed to happen within the lifetime of the author's intended audience. They didn't happen, which means it's a failed prophecy.

Secondly, the text describing the mark of the beast doesn't describe anything that sounds even remotely like the modern Internet. Here's what it actually says:

Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who live on it worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of the sky to the earth in the presence of people. And he deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause all who do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, and he decrees that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

(Read it in context here!)

In other words, the second beast is basically making people get the name of the first beast or his gematria number visibly marked on their bodies and making it illegal to buy or sell goods with anyone who doesn't have it. This has nothing to do with our modern digital age problems. This is like if your imperial governor made it so you couldn't buy a candy bar with physical paper money unless you got the imperial dictator's name tattooed on your forehead.

[creature-wizard]

Take this particular passage: (From the Attrell and Porreca translation of the Picatrix)

“49 Capricorn. Its image is of a single white goat, and the middle of its belly is black. It is placed over all illnesses of the left hand and used for expelling illnesses of Mercury and the Moon. Mercury should be above the Earth and not retrograde; Saturn should be beneath the Earth and Venus ascending above in the East, as Enoch says. The Indians say that it should be made in the day and hour of the Sun or on Wednesday in the hour of the Sun; but the latter is not as good as the former.”

Is this magic, or simply advice for curing disease? It was generally held in the medieval era that the stars and planets exerted some influence over the earth, (partially influenced by the stellar ray theory of Al-kindi) but the nature of that influence was the subject of debate. Astrology was a grey area for the church. Church father St. Augustine held that it was only magic if it involved demons. Medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas conceded that the stars and planets exerted some occult power over the earth. He would likely classify this passage as “natural” and not “magical.”

High Medieval Magic in the clerical context, today on patreon

[creature-wizard]

I think every culture that associated August with ghosts and demons was so fucking right, actually. August is the worrrrrrrrrrst.

[creature-wizard]

the cultural object of the black hole is kind of remarkable. It's almost an anti-God in a sense, a negative infinity. Yeah there's this kind of dead sun that's collapsed into an infinitely dense point, and if you fall past its event horizon you're fucked. Every schoolchild knows this. A black hole can be introduced in a superhero blockbuster without any explanation except for its established look and the name "black hole", and this will be understood as the ultimate natural disaster, which even superman could not hope to defeat. truly S-tier cosmic object

[creature-wizard]

Guys, it got so much freaking worse. KOSA is bad, but SCREEN is even worse, somehow.

"Sen. Mike Lee has introduced the SCREEN ACT, a bill that applies the "harmful to minors" standard used to ban LGBTQ+ books and resources in schools and libraries and apply it nationally to the internet.

Any site that has any amount of material "harmful to minors" would be forced to employ surveillance tech (biometric scans, ID uploads, background checks) to prevent minors from accessing "pornography."

You will not be surprised to learn that this is backed by the Heritage Foundation.

Unlike some of the state age-verification laws, many of which are being challenged in court, SC will be enforced by the FTC, which has the ability to levy fines, raid business and freeze bank accounts. Yes, meaning that even non-for-profits like Ao3 will suffer.

This is something for all US users to keep on their radar. Call your reps, call your senators, and spread the word to protect our archive!"

- When talking with Republicans play up the fact that this would force Elon to implement age verification systems on X (yes do call it X during the call). Elon's been threatening to primary Republicans who stand in his way so there's fear of him. Also play up concerns about "Liberals" doxxing people or Chinese hackers.

- When talking with Democrats, play up the connections to Project 2025 and suggest voters will not be happy to see Democrats siding with it.

Republicans:

Ted Cruz, Texas (Chairman) - Phone: (202) 224-5922

John Thune, South Dakota - Phone: (202) 224-2321

Roger Wicker, Mississippi - Phone: (202) 224-6253

Deb Fischer, Nebraska - Phone: (202) 224-6551

Jerry Moran, Kansas - Phone: (202) 224-6521

Dan Sullivan, Alaska - Phone: (202) 224-3004

Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee - Phone: (202) 224-3344

Todd Young, Indiana - Phone: (202) 224-5623

Ted Budd, North Carolina - (202) 224-3154

Eric Schmitt, Missouri - (202) 224-5721

John Curtis, Utah - Phone: (202) 224-5251

Bernie Moreno, Ohio - Phone: 202-224-2315

Tim Sheehy, Montana - Phone: (202) 224-2644

Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia - Phone: (202) 224-6472

Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming - Phone: (202) 224-3424

Democrats:

Maria Cantwell, Washington (Ranking Member) - Phone: (202) 224-3441

Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota - Phone: (202) 224-3244

Brian Schatz, Hawaii - Phone: (202) 224-3934

Ed Markey, Massachusetts - Phone: (202) 224-2742

Gary Peters, Michigan - Phone: (202) 224-6221

Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin - Phone: (202) 224-5653

Tammy Duckworth, Illinois - Phone: (202) 224-2854

Jacky Rosen, Nevada - Phone: (202) 224-6244

Ben Ray Luján, New Mexico - Phone: (202) 224-6621

John Hickenlooper, Colorado - Phone: (202) 224-5941

John Fetterman, Pennsylvania - Phone: (202) 224-4254

Andy Kim, New Jersey - Phone: (202) 224-4744

Lisa Blunt Rochester, Delaware - Phone: (202) 224-2441

SCRIPT

Hi, my name is [], and I am one of Senator []’s constituents. I live in [city, zip code - leave your full address if leaving a voicemail].

I am calling in regards to a bill that was recently introduced in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transport: the SCREEN act.

I am asking Senator [] to either take no action or vote against this bill because of its implications for freedom of speech. [insert one of the other concerns listed above]. Thank you for your time and for listening to my concerns.

[creature-wizard]

I'll be blunt here, the people overpolicing magic know the least about magic throughout history. Read some historical texts, watch ESOTERICA, and you soon realize that it's always been a bunch of people making it up as they went and there's not a single reason to assume any of them had some sort of superior authority.

oOo I have a hot take! it's wild but bear with me: Overpolicing of magic in the community is unproductive to the development of novel systems and the collection of anecdotal data that could improve our knowledge collectively - the fear of being cringe, of experimenting, of fucking up - we have the whole internet at our disposal. also I owe you my apology for being rude to you last week - I didn't realize how thoughtfully you were considering feedback, and assumed you were just being judgemental for fun - witchblrs seen a lot of that, and I assumed more of the same, but I think I was wrong about you. And I'm sorry I was so mean to you. That was a dick move. I should have been kinder to you in my response. And I really am sorry.

honestly don't worry about it! the current ecosystem on tumblr/witchblr is designed for us to be defensive, and its not unwarranted because there are so many people going for easy snipes (and my tone was, to be fair, pretty shit). but honestly you're all good! and your comment did help me critically think about if this blog is actually being productive or not, which is a good thing.

as for your hot take, here's the poll!

[creature-wizard]

You know that guy who said that conspiracy thinking and critical thinking feel the same? Same kinda thing here. Acting on paranoia feels like being clever because your brain thinks you're protecting yourself from threats. But you're actually just being an asshole.

I realize this is anecdotal, but I've met a number of trauma survivors who haven't developed any real critical thinking skills to help them work out whether someone is actually trying to antagonize them or whether someone is just getting on their nerves or accidentally setting off their trauma. They often assume that people who bother them are out to antagonize them, and they have few to no appropriate skills for dealing with people who are bothersome but not malicious. They really believe they're always entitled to respond with antagonism whenever someone gets on their nerves. These same people also all believe that NPD is the Bad Person Disorder and believe narcissistic abuse is a real thing.

[creature-wizard]

Sigh. Sometimes I wanna shake people by the shoulders and tell them "You are not smart, you are not clever, you are hypervigilant - and your stubbornness is turning you into the exact kind of person you think you're avoiding."

I realize this is anecdotal, but I've met a number of trauma survivors who haven't developed any real critical thinking skills to help them work out whether someone is actually trying to antagonize them or whether someone is just getting on their nerves or accidentally setting off their trauma. They often assume that people who bother them are out to antagonize them, and they have few to no appropriate skills for dealing with people who are bothersome but not malicious. They really believe they're always entitled to respond with antagonism whenever someone gets on their nerves. These same people also all believe that NPD is the Bad Person Disorder and believe narcissistic abuse is a real thing.

[creature-wizard]

I need to make something very clear about animism even though it’s likely nobody will listen, and that is that physical bodies are not separate from souls in any being with personhood. Human bodies are our souls and our souls are our human bodies. The river’s souls are contained in the waters, sand, dirt, clay, and microorganisms that make up its body. Every single mirror of a plants body they might have is their souls, and their bodies are all of those souls mirrors. Every stuffed animal you call a friend has a soul, which is its body, marked by your love. There are so many other examples. Separation of soul and body of persons is not animism, it’s the spirit model.