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[sy666th]

Oh...a bunch of dicks.

Jamie McCartney

[sy666th]

…it's already been a week since the Ghost concert in Milan. With perfect timing, the day after I got home I received the vinyl of Skeletà. I haven't listened to it yet, I already know all the songs, the album is more of a collector's item. So what's left of that concert? A flag, which I'll hang up sooner or later. The phone case, which they gave me before the visit to the memorabilia: I put it in my bag with the phone thinking "I'll fix them later"… and I forgot about it. The gadgets they gave us. The bracelet, which yesterday I decided to take off. Memories. Yesterday evening there was a cover band that I had never managed to see but had heard of, at the Borderline in Pisa: the Rats…45 minutes from my house. Well, I had to go. I didn't take many photos, and I ran away right after the concert ended. But I was happy to be there.

[sy666th]

And so here I am. Back home in a somewhat dramatic way, but still back after 4 months. With a bitter taste in my mouth, this time perhaps more than other times…. But anyway, coming home is always a pleasure. Just enough time to understand that I was back, and ready to leave again…but this time not for work. This time for one of life's small great pleasures: A Ghost Ritual. Milan, Unipol Arena, May 4, 2025. What a night! I only have a few photos of the exhibition, it was not allowed to photograph the concert. I didn't know the new songs yet, but it doesn't matter, I'll have time. For one night I left everything behind and let myself be carried away by the music. Thank you, Ghost. See you soon, I hope, Palestine.

[sy666th]

È il mio 1 anniversario su Tumblr 🥳

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I'm sure quite all of you know that Tobias Forge always told the Italian horror band Death SS (In Death of Steve Sylvester), founded in 1977 and still running (they opened the Milano Ghost show in 2023), was one of the inspirations for the Ghost image.

Well, today, I've just found some old picture of the band in one of my archives. I think it was from 1987/88. Well, I never noticed how much the masks of the Lead Guitar (the one in front) and the bass player (second from right side) was o similar to someone Ghost's' fan know.

BTW, Steve Sylvester, the founder and front man, is the one on the left.

Another old pic of the band, same period.

If you recognize something on it...well, you're right.

[sy666th]

Happy BDay, my friend. Thank you for everything

[sy666th]

Habemus Papam

here is something inside me

And they don't know if there is a cure

A demonic possession

Unlike any before

It's a sickening heartache

And it's slowly tormenting my soul

I've invested my prayers

Into making me whole

I should have known

Not to give in

I should have known

Not to give in

Blasphemy, heresy

Save me from the monster that is eating me

I'm victimized

Blasphemy, heresy

Save me, from the bottom of my heart I know

I'm satanized

I'm satanized

I'm satanized

An nescitis quoniam membra vestra

Templum est Spiritus Sancti

Qui in vobis est

Quem habetis a Deo?

Et non estis vestri

Through a life of devotion

I've been quelling my urges to burst

I've been fighting the notion

To, by love, be coerced

I should have known

Not to give in

I should have known

Not to give in

Blasphemy, heresy

Save me from the monster that is eating me

I'm paralyzed

Blasphemy, heresy

Save me, from the bottom of my heart I know

I'm satanized

I'm satanized

I'm Satanized

Like a deadly affliction

That is twisting and bending my core

I have begged God for the remedy

But I'm no longer sure

I should have known

Not to give in

I should have known

Not to give in

Blasphemy, heresy

Save me from the monster that is eating me

I'm laicized

Blasphemy, heresy

Save me, from the bottom of my heart I know

I'm satanized

From the bottom of my heart I know

I'm satanized

From the bottom of my heart I know

I'm satanized

I'm satanized

I'm satanized

[sy666th]

so, time for some consideration: I have been in Palestine for almost two months, now, and it has not been easy. Well, sure, I am in the West Bank, not in Gaza: the shocking destruction that can be seen in the Strip is far away here. Yet the shootings, the checkpoints, the daily abuse and violence are clearly visible. They can be seen in the burnt olive trees and destroyed houses, in the continuous military presence, in the helicopters and in the shootings that can be heard every night. And above all in the now usual warning message: "given the ongoing riots, movements are blocked until further notice". Which for us means staying indoors, without being able to get to the clinics or even to the office, wondering how many dead, how many injured and how many destroyed houses and burnt olive trees there will be in the next bulletin. "tomorrow the funerals of the boys/children/women/elderly people killed yesterday will be held: movements are frozen until further notice". And so it goes.. Yesterday, strangely, the situation was calm. For the first time in two months I managed to take a tour of the Old City of Nablus. The souks of the Arab cities are always something magical, with those tiny shops overflowing with goods and products. Nablus is famous for the production of olive oil soaps and excellent spiced sweets. I stocked up on a good supply of them, along with many types of spices, and 5 packs of very sweet rose incense. In addition to a good supply of freshly fried falafel. I couldn't eat them right away, yesterday was the first day of Ramadan and eating on the street would have been really unkind. Today was also a calm day. Tomorrow, we'll see….

[sy666th]

[sy666th]

Om Namo Narayana

Amavasya: the New Moon.

Amavasya, the day of the New Moon, dedicated to the worship of ancestors. According to the Hindu lunar calendar, Phalguna Amavasya is the day of the New Moon in the month of Phalguna, which falls between February and March. It is a special day to pay homage and seek blessings from ancestors. Phalguna Amavasya will be tonight...

The Moon is at its closest point to the sun, its energy is at its lowest. Mine too, to be honest, but that's okay: this is the darkest night of the lunar month, the one in which you need to gather your energy to shine again. A starting point, and leaving is always a bit like dying. So let's say goodbye to this new moon, which will form in the sign of Pisces. A sign that lives on dreams and poetry and speaks in metaphors. It is a sign that is constantly searching for a deeper meaning and, so, chooses to immerse itself deeply in every experience. It lets itself be accompanied by the current, until it discovers that everything is connected. Therefore, this new moon describes a time to listen, observe and reflect, to get back in touch with your intuition and let it guide you.

Pisces speaks of adaptation and fluidity, of the ability to float on the waves following the ups and downs of life without being disturbed too much. This sign invites us to go with the flow, rather than swim against the current, and if the New Moon is a new beginning, perhaps we can intercept new situations and opportunities simply by relying on intuition. By, in fact, going with the flow. The New Moon in Pisces is also in connection with Jupiter, which is currently in Gemini. Jupiter is the planet of abundance, optimism and faith, so it is generally considered a beneficent planet, indicative of enriching experiences. Its involvement in this new moon seems to indicate a predisposition to think big, accompanied by great hopes and ambitions, even with the doubt that expectations will be disappointed. Success is never guaranteed, so the best thing is to enjoy the process and try to learn something along the way.

So, let's honor this New Moon with an invocation: offer salt and water, light candles on your altar, focus on the meaning of this new beginning. Write down your intentions for the new lunar month on a sheet of paper, purify this sheet with white sage incense, and charge it with your energy with mediation. And then invoke Narayama 108 times, with the invocation mantra. The mantra "Om Namo Narayanaya" invokes Narayana, the supreme Lord of protection and bows to him with all reverence. While it simply means "I bow to Lord Narayana". This mantra of Lord Vishnu for wealth also brings peace, happiness and good health to the family members.

[sy666th]

Dance Macabre

today I feel cheerful and full of life. So I propose you two medieval frescoes that talk about death. The Dance Macabre was a very common theme at the time: just to remind everyone that it only takes a moment and from the prime of life you find yourself on the other side. And who knows what the hell is on the other side… All very functional to maintain that climate of fear and submission perfect to keep the people good and obedient, and in this religions are the best way: the abyss of death and what is beyond is too deep for everyone, the fear of an eternity of torment or the promise of a garden of delights… you must be good, obedient and respectful, then we'll see: Gloria in Excelsis Deo. Well, I will never finish thanking my parents, who have always protected me from these systems of terror: Imagine there's no religions…

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Old stories

Do any of you have any obsessions that you have carried over from childhood?

I have one, and it's the pantheon of ancient Egypt.

Since I met those deities and those images in primary school, I was deeply fascinated by them.

Bur well, let me introduce myself and my experiences with religion: I grew up in a totally atheist family, where rituals, the afterlife, the divine, and the spirituality really had no place.

I walked in front of many churches (well, of course… I'm from Tuscany, and really, there is no shortage of places of worship here), but at the time I never understood what they were for and what was inside… as a child, I was definitely more interested in ice cream shops, playgrounds, friends' houses and schools.

And fountains: I am attracted to water in all its forms.

But places where they prayed for someone never seen, no, I knew nothing about it.

The first time I entered a church I was 12, in a school visit: they took us to see the Baptistery and the Cathedral of Florence.

But I will talk about this another time…

Ancient Egypt attracted me immediately and deeply. It must have been primary school, when I first studied it… how old could I have been: 7-8? I don't know, a bit too much time has passed since then…

But those "divinities" (mysterious word) of half human and half animal cretures, immortal, mysterious, beautiful, with those remote looks from another world…

Well, I was struck by lightning.

I started signing myself "Iside65" ("Iside" is the Italian form of the name of the goddess Isis), to this day it is my nickname and also my email address.

I am absolutely happy about this.

Over the years, I have visited Egypt 3 times, and I hope to return again.

I visited the Egyptian Museum of Turin (the largest in the world outside of Egypt), continued this attraction with readings and research.

For a while I thought about studying Archaeology and Egyptology, then everything went to another world… life is really funny sometimes…

But I continue to be attracted by those stories and images.

I'm not the only one, obviously: there are many products related to ancient Egypt around: images, comics, posters, drawings, advertisements, films (most absolutely terrible).

Ok, looking for interesting things among so much garbage is not easy, but well, easy things don't interest anyone…

Maybe in the next posts I'll try to delve into some aspects that are particularly interesting to me about this splendid culture and this fascinating religion.

Anyway, I continue to have a strange relationship with religions (I can't stand them) and with the idea of ​​"divine", with spirituality (I'm looking for my way) and with rituals (I'm studying it and I'm developing my own personal rites).

But maybe we'll talk about this later.

[sy666th]

slapping this badge on my blog

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Good evening! Finally, it's Thursday afternoon: end of the workin' time, let's start the Week End. Yeah, in a lot of Muslim countries the WE is Friday and Saturday, in someone other it is Thursday and Friday. Anyway, another week finished and I really need to rest, now...

Sure, many years ago WE was a long partying and drinking time...but it's no more that time.

So, let's prepare my couch and something good to drink.

You're lucky, Terzo...you can drink wine.

Here, no alcohol ....I'm so unhappy.

Anyway, wake me up on Sunday.

[sy666th]

La Perpetua

Perpetua is a character in one of the most famous novels of the Italian literature: The Betrothed, by Alessandro Manzoni. Set between 1628 and 1630 in Lombardy, during Spanish rule, it was the first example of a historical novel in Italian literature. Published in a first version between 1825 and 1827 and in the final version between 1840 and 1842

Perpetua is the maid of Don Abbondio, one of the protagonists. She is an elderly and talkative woman who has never married even though she says she had two suitors that she claims to have rejected, but her friends said that "she had not found any dog ​​who wanted her".

Her fame is linked to her spontaneous talkativeness, her indiscretion is that of the affectionate "servant mistress"; she is a woman who is not very docile, prone to grumbling and fantasizing. It is a colorful appendix of Don Abbondio compared to whom it shows greater wisdom and practical sense. From her (the name in Italian means "continuous, eternal, without end) the elderly women in the service of the priests in the rectories were called "Perpetua", often also lovers of the priest himself (not infrequently mothers of children "of unknown father", usually very similar to the priest himself).

Now, since Pope V will be called "Perpetua, I try to make some hypotheses:

1) It will be a female pope, linked in some way to one of the previous fathers and possible mother of some Emeritus child

2) Tobias got confused for a moment and remembers poorly when as a boy they made him read "The Betrothed" in the Italian literature course (in which he failed a couple of times).

3) Tobias is seriously thinking about changing sex and doesn't know how to tell his family

3) Tobias leaves the role of Ghost frontman and has hired a vocalist (like Mike Oldfield did with Maggie Reilly between 1980 and 1984)

4) They actually wanted to write "perpetual" but they made a mistake on the posters. The name would indicate that this pope will last until the end, since Tobias is bored of changing characters every now and then.

5) other hypotheses, all nonsense.

Let me know...