goblin-gardener

[goblin-gardener]

Starting my Big Adventure to go get top surgery! Please look how cute my hospital bag is

[goblin-gardener]

european mustelids

[goblin-gardener]

Phasma has a new toy and she loves it 🧡

[goblin-gardener]

I hope this doesn't come off as disrespectful, because I'm genuinely curious, but like...is alchemy "real"? Because the way you speak about it is how I wish I could, myself, appreciate it and you're the closest I've ever found to a real world wizard which excites me a great deal. I totally respect if for you it's actually just an interesting academic study without intention, I'm just curious for how you view it in that lens.

No that's a good question!

Short answer: Yes, as in alchemists were real people who could actually do cool shit sometimes, but they weren't actually transmuting lead into gold, you need a particle accelerator for that.

In the 4th century, you weren't a scientist, that word hadn't been invented yet. You were a Natural Philosopher. You studied everything from the stars, to mathematics, to medicine, to the nature of herbs and stones.

In the medieval era, you weren't an astronomer, you were an astrologer. Telling people's horoscopes involved a lot of astronomical math. There wasn't really a difference between astronomy and astrology.

In the renaissance era, you weren't a chemist. The term chemist didn't exist yet. You were an alchemist. You tried to make gold sometimes, but you also manufactured dyes, glass vessels, cosmetics, paints, and medicines. You were kind of a whitesmith, and a glass-blower, and a doctor, and sometimes just a con-man.

Alchemy and chemistry have a relationship similar to Astrology and Astronomy. But, don't think of alchemy as just "Chemistry with magic." Alchemy is the father of modern chemistry. It is the cocoon that chemistry sprouted out of.

The thing is, alchemy is more "real" than astrology is. You know what a common use of astrology was in the medieval era? Diagnosing diseases. You'd check someone's horoscope to determine what medicine to give them. This didn't work. A medieval astrology textbook isn't going to be useful for diagnosing why your stomach hurts.

But!

Medieval alchemy texts are actually useful sometimes. If you want to dye some copper so it looked more like gold, there are alchemy texts that can tell you how to do that. If you want to distill the mercury out of some cinnabar, alchemists could do that. They didn't really know how or why that worked, but they could do it! If you want a potion that could make you immortal, the alchemists could make a philter of mercury and lead that would definitely 100% kill you and it would hurt the whole time you were dying. You can't win em all.

Im writing about the history of alchemy on my patreon if you wanna support me!

[goblin-gardener]

I Remember Butterflies in Flower Fields, Mushrooms and Flutter Wings, Tiny Frogs in Scattered Creeks, Togetherness on Tire Swings, Slow Thoughts, and Simple Things…

…Dying Brings Back Memories, Thoughts That No One Else Can Keep—Buried With Me as I Sleep. I Hope the Wilds Thrive Off Me: From Moss Grown Bones to Blooming Seeds. I Remember Greenery, So Maybe Nature Will Remember Me.

—poetry by @iridescentace

[goblin-gardener]

This is the 'straw' from my mum's nativity scene, and it was the first thing I ever knitted (when I was 5 years old). I think it's extremely cute that it still gets put out with the Nativity around this time every year 🌲

Winter blessings everyone! We're through the longest night. I hope your festive celebrations of choice are full of warmth and joy.

(ETA: here is the rest of the scene, knitted much more skillfully by my gran. I'm not a Christian, but these dolls hold a special place in my heart)

[goblin-gardener]

[goblin-gardener]

Please look how pretty the ink I'm using to write my chemistry notes is 💙🩷

[goblin-gardener]

Sometimes my partner will drop a conversation starter about one of my special interests to give me an opportunity to talk about it and watch how I light up, and I think that's the purest form of love I've ever experienced.

I'm very soft and gay 😭

[goblin-gardener]

Sometimes I hyperfocus so hard on something, I forget I’m a person until someone interacts with me. I feel like some wild animal seeing a human being for the first time. I’m like “oh yeah I’m supposed to speak and stuff”

[goblin-gardener]

I’m so tired I can’t even tell if this is funny but my half asleep brain found the idea of it hilarious

[goblin-gardener]

couple’s t-shirt idea

[goblin-gardener]

Phasma thinks the glass of water on my desk is THE MOST DELICIOUS THING EVER. Working from home with a cat is a challenge 🙃

[goblin-gardener]

cat illustrations portraying a day in the mossy autumn forest

commission of lovely @/kiki_siber on ig <3

! do not reupload/repost my art anywhere !

[goblin-gardener]

This was such a cute idea but I didn't quite pull it off. Next time they're going to be perfect though!

They're a little ugly but still tasty!

[goblin-gardener]

I just finished playing Minute of Islands. Big recommend, if you want a beautiful and tragic game about a damaged person fighting the end of the world.

(CW: death, broken family dynamics, depression. Play with care, but do play it)

[goblin-gardener]

just some lads, being fellows