#[ ic. ] inanna.

[starsasunder]

@avaloniamagus, cont. from here.

Though every time her eye caught his, the young princess ducked behind the safety of the queen consort's skirts, she was curious too. His moonstone-white hair fair glowed, and he had an open, friendly air that other children rarely graced her with. She found herself deathly curious, and was as eager as he to slip away the moment the adults' attention erred.

"Enchanted books?" she whispered, careful to avoid her mother's watchful gaze as she placed her hand in his and let him guide her from the settee. The rustle of skirts nearly gave her away, and her ears twitched toward the queen anxiously, but she was relieved to find her intent on whatever they were discussing.

"That sounds lovely," she whispered eagerly, tucking her hand into his as he led her away, discomfort forgotten. "Lovelier than here, anyway. I bet your stories are way different from ours."

[venti-death-watch]

diluc is gonna die because of the genesis pearl, or to purify to the genesis pearl à la brunnhildr’s pyre purifying the ring of power. or something like that

[millennial-crone-ao3]

One depiction of the Sumerian goddess Inanna's legend in modern literature and entertainment is the character arch of Sansa Stark and you cannot convince me otherwise.

Also, your view of Sansa's story is a litmus test to your feminism.

[koschkathedeathless]

It's kind of wild working with the Big Bee who like, kept me from starving as a teenager and she acts like we both already have known each other for years and that she met me for the first time two days ago

[eveniingstar]

what if you're able to manifest without a host body? (idk how else to phrase it nbJKSNAMKLSA)

" Mm? " Ishtar was half-asleep, but opened kohl-lined lids to regard Gilgamesh with ruby eyes glimmering with amusement. " That depends entirely on which version of me that infernal Throne of Heroes deigned to summon. "

" You know me better than any of the others. I am not so different in this form than I was before. The girl has tempered some of my more hot-headed traits, " she said, lifting a hand to check already-perfect nails, " but I remain myself nonetheless. My power would, of course, be at its full force. I would not suffer myself to be bound by a contract then, though I doubt I would turn on humanity itself. I love it far too much. " She stated it bluntly, as though this were simple fact. And to her, it was. She was a goddess of love, and by necessity, she must always love humanity.

" Now, if the Throne tried to summon one of my other aspects... Inanna, for instance, or an aspect that was more war-inclined... That would be fun. " For her, perhaps. Chaldea should count itself lucky that it had summoned her as a demi-servant archer. The girl had tempered the worst of her rash nature, but that bold, bratty, selfish goddess still sometimes lurked beneath the surface.

And who knows? She could make an appearance one day. Everyone else gets to have different forms and alters, after all.

[starcall3r]

Good luck finding her in the box because she has melted to the bottom of it.

[starsasunder]

@avaloniamagus, cont. from here

“It sounds like you ought to get to bed then, cat arian.” Merlin said with a fond smile, though he pointed his staff at her. “You’re getting better, but your stance was off. You shouldn’t have your position leave you so unguarded.” It’d been a session of teaching Inanna how to used her staff as not just a foci for her magic, but as a weapon in its own right. He was sore from being poked harshly and having his own sword pulled from his grip, but she’d gotten better once he showed her how to hook it in a way that it would yoink a weapon out of a person’s grip. “Shall I carry you? Brush your hair out and tell you a story?” A delightful tease, but a harmless jest all the same.

While Inanna was well-learned with a blade by now, learning magic meant that she could not always rely on it, and Merlin had been keen to drill that into her. Her sides ached from his blows, bruises forming along her ribs and thighs from all the times he had slipped her guard and tapped her firmly with the spell-blunted edge of his blade. When she had finally managed to disarm him, she could not help celebrating, only to earn a swift reminder that the mage wielded two weapons when he put her on her ass with a sweep of his staff.

Since then, she had spent more time on the ground than on her feet. She ached all over and she felt filthy. But that didn't stop her from rising to his teasing, teeth bared at him before she shoved to her feet.

"Again," she huffed, snatching her staff up and correcting her form as he had shown her, guarding her openings carefully. She wouldn't give up just yet.

[koschkathedeathless]

Eavesdrop for Inanna

Yeah, she's pretty cool. Kind of an asshole, but mostly in a "I'd rather piss you off than watch you die" kind of way. Not that I make that easy on her.

No, no, no I'm fine, guy. But, yanno, Blood Mage.

Yeah, I know, I know. I'll be careful. Since when do you get off worrying about me? I'm supposed to worry about yiz.

No, I don't know her real name and I wouldn't tell yiz anyway if I did. Shut up, guy!

*hangs up the phone*

Fuggin' hell. Love them to bits, but they need to shut up sometimes.

[starsasunder]

@seatedsacrifice, cont.

Parties were far from her favorite scene, but she seemed to be handling herself well. Cheeks slightly flushed with a mostly empty glass in hand, it seemed she had found the wine at some point in the evening. She stepped closer as he leant into her space, leaning her head back to return that smile with one of her own. "Oh? Seems you've been brushing up on your Eorzean traditions," she hummed, brushing her nose against his, teasing a kiss but pulling away just before their lips touched.

[starsasunder]

She tugged the tiny little coat from its hanging spot on the wall - it was made from shed rabbit fluff and spun using spider's thread, and it shimmered prettily in the light. "I suppose that works! But you can't forget your coat either, Mistress Leanne! You can warm me up if I get cold, but I can't do the same for you."

"Yes, it gets cooler as we go up and you know you'll complain about it otherwise." She tapped her on the head lightly in reprimand. "We can put it in my bag until you need it." That way no one had to carry it on hand or lose it.

[greenwitchcrafts]

February 2024 witch guide

Full moon: February 24th

New moon: February 9th

Sabbats: Imbolc-February 1st

February Snow Moon

Known as: Eagle Moon, Horning Moon, Solmonath Moon, Bear moon, Ice Moon, Wild Moon, Raccoon Moon, Big Winter Moon, Groundhog Moon, Quickening Moon, Storm Moon, Goose Moon, Hungry Moon & Red/Cleansing Moon

Element: Fire

Zodiac: Aquarius & Pisces

Nature spirits: House Faeries

Deities: Aphrodite, Brigid & Nut

Animals: Otter & Unicorn

Birds: Chickadee & Eagle

Trees: Cedar, laurel, myrtle & rowan

Herbs: Balm of Gilead, hyssop, myrrh, sage & spikenard

Flowers: Primrose

Scents: Heliotrope & wisteria

Stones: Amethyst, jasper, moonstone, obsidian, onyx , rose quartz, topaz & red zircon

Colors: Light blue & violet

Energy:  Astral travel, banishing, beginnings, breaking bad habits, creativity expressiveness, empowerment, energy working to the surface, fertility, forgiveness, freedom, friendships, future plans, growth, healing, problem solving, purification, responsibility & science

February’s full Moon is a “Micromoon” this year. Think of this term as the opposite of a “Supermoon.” It simply means that the full Moon is at its farthest point from Earth (not the nearest point).

The explanation behind February’s full Moon name is a fairly straightforward one: it’s known as the Snow Moon due to the typically heavy snowfall that occurs in February. On average, February is the United States’ snowiest month, according to data from the National Weather Service. In the 1760s, Captain Jonathan Carver, who had visited with the Naudowessie(Dakota), wrote that the name used for this period was the Snow Moon, “because more snow commonly falls during this month than any other in the winter.” 

Imbolc

Known as: Feast of Torches, Feast of Waxing Light, Oimele & Brigid's Day

Season: Winter

Symbols: Besoms, Brighid's crosses, candles, candle wheels, fertility symbols, fire, ploughs, priapic wands & white flowers

Colors: Black, brown, Earth tones, lavender, light green, orange, pink, red, white & yellow

Oils/Incense: Apricot, basil, bay, carnation, chamomile, cinnamon, dragon's blood, frankincense, heather, jasmine, myrrh, neroli, red sandalwood, sage, vanilla, violet & wisteria

Animals: Badger, cow, deer,groudhog, robin, sheep, snake, & swan

Mythical: Dragon

Stones: Amethyst, bloodstone, citrine, clear quartz, garnet, green tourmaline, hematite, iron, lodestone, onyx, red zircon, rose quartz, ruby, turquoise, yellow tourmaline

Food: Breads, chives, curries, dairy products, grains, garlic, herbal teas, honey cakes, lamb, muffins, onions, peppers, poppy seed cakes, pork, poultry, pumpkin seeds, raisins, scones, spiced wines & sunflower seeeds

Herbs/Plants: Angelica, ashleaf, balsam, basil, bay laurel, benzoin, blackberry, clover, coltsfoot, coriander, dragon's blood, garlic, heather, lemon, myrrh, rosemary, sage, vervain, wheat & witch hazel

Flowers: Celandine, chamomile, iris, rose hips, snowdrop, sunflower, tansy, violets, white flowers & yellow flowers

Goddesses: Anu, Aradia, Arianrhod, Artio, Athena, Branwen, Brigid, Danu, Februa, Gaia, Inanna, Juno, Selene, Sirona & Vesta

Gods: Aegus Mac Og, Bragi, Cupid, Dian Cecht, Dumuzi, Eros, Februus & Pax

Issues, Intentions & Powers: Activation/awakening, animals, beginnings, fertility, healing, hope, illumination, inspiration, light, pregnancy/childbirth, prophecy, transformation, well-being & youth

Spellwork: Air magick, banishings, candle spells, divination, fertility spells, prosperity & purification

Activities:

• Make & light white candles

• Clean/decorate your altar & consecrate your  altar tools

• Go on a walk in nature & look for signs of spring

• Make a Brigid's Cross

• Have a feast with your family/friends

• Give thanks & leave offerings to the Earth

• Set intentions, reflect & look deeper into your goals for spring

• Start a bonfire

• Find Imboloc prayers & devotionals that bid farewell to the winter months, honor the goddess Brigid, as well as seasonal blessings for your meals, hearth, & home.

• Pepare plans for your upcoming garden

• Craft a priapic wand

• Spend time with children celebrating Imbolc by making crafts & or baking

• Practice divination & fire scrying

• Draw a cleansing ritual bath for yourself

• Meditate, reflect & say your farewells to winter

• Cleanse & clean your house to prepare for spring

• Create a Brídeóg: a doll of Brigid made of straw

• Make Bride's bouquet satchets & exchange as symbols of good luck and fertility

• Set aside food & or drinks as an offering to Brigid to invite her in your home

Imbolc is a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of spring. Most commonly it is held on January 31 – February 1, or halfway between the winter solstice & the spring equinox. The holiday is a festival of the hearth, home, a celebration of the lengthening days & the early signs of spring. 

The word "imbolc" means "in the belly" and refers to the pregnancy of ewes at this time of year. The term "oimelc" means ewe's milk. Around this time of year, many herd animals give birth to their first offspring of the year or are heavily pregnant & as a result, they are producing milk. This creation of life’s milk is a part of the symbolic hope for spring.

Imbolc is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature and it is associated with important events in Irish mythology. It has been suggested that it was originally a pagan festival associated with the goddess Brigid and that it was Christianized as a festival of Saint Brigid, who herself is thought to be a Christianization of the goddess.

Some use Imbolc to celebrate the longer days which herald the return of Spring & The Goddess's recovery from giving birth to The Sun (The God) at Yule. The God & The Goddess are children symbolizing new life, new beginnings & new resurrections.

Related festivals:

• Groundhog Day-  Is a tradition observed in the United States & Canada on February 2 of every year. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day & sees its shadow, it will retreat to its den & winter will go on for six more weeks; if it does not see its shadow, spring will arrive early.

While the tradition remains popular in the 21st century, studies have found no consistent association between a groundhog seeing its shadow & the subsequent arrival time of spring-like weather.

•St. Brigid's Day- 1 February. It was originally Imbolc, the first day of spring in Irish tradition. Because Saint Brigid has been theorised as linked to the goddess Brigid, some associate the festival of Imbolc with the goddess. St. Brigid is the patroness saint (or 'mother saint') of Ireland. She is patroness of many things, including poetry, learning, healing, protection, blacksmithing, livestock & dairy production. In her honour, a perpetual fire was kept burning at Kildare for centuries.

A recent campaign successfully established her feast day as a national holiday in 2023.

• Chinese New Year- (February 10th) the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. In Chinese, the festival is commonly referred to as the Spring Festival,- marking the end of winter and the beginning of the spring season. Observances traditionally take place from Chinese New Year's Eve, the evening preceding the first day of the year, to the Lantern Festival, held on the 15th day of the year. The first day of Chinese New Year begins on the new moon that appears between January 21st & February 20th.

The Chinese New Year is associated with several myths and customs. The festival was traditionally a time to honour deities as well as ancestors. Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the New Year vary widely & the evening preceding the New Year's Day is frequently regarded as an occasion for Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner.

It is also a tradition for every family to thoroughly clean their house, in order to sweep away any ill fortune & to make way for incoming good luck. Another custom is the decoration of windows & doors with red paper-cuts and couplets. Popular themes among these paper-cuts and couplets include good fortune or happiness, wealth & longevity. Other activities include lighting firecrackers  & giving money in red envelopes.

•  Candlemas- is a Christian feast day on February 2nd commemorating the presentation of Jesus at the Temple. It is based upon the account of the presentation of Jesus in Luke 2:22-40. 

While it is customary for Christians in some countries to remove their Christmas decorations on Twelfth Night, those in other Christian countries historically remove them after Candlemas.On Candlemas, many Christians also take their candles to their local church, where they are blessed and then used for the rest of the year.

•Setsubun- (February 3rd) Is the day before the beginning of spring in the old calendar in Japan. The name literally means 'seasonal division', referring to the day just before the first day of spring.

Both Setsubun & Risshun are celebrated yearly as part of the Spring Festival (Haru matsuri ) in Japan. In its association with the Lunar New Year, Setsubun, though not the official New Year, was thought of as similar in its ritual & cultural associations of 'cleansing' the previous year as the beginning of the new season of spring. Setsubun was accompanied by a number of rituals & traditions held at various levels to drive away the previous year's bad fortunes & evil spirits for the year to come.

Other Celebrations:

• Lupercalia-

In ancient Rome, this festival was conducted annually on February 13th through 15th under the superintendence of a corporation of priests called Luperci. The origins of the festival are obscure, although the likely derivation of its name from lupus (Latin: “wolf”) has variously suggested connection with an ancient deity who protected herds from wolves and with the legendary she-wolf who nursed Romulus and Remus. As a fertility rite, the festival is also associated with the god Faunus.

to purify the city, promoting health & fertility.

Each Lupercalia began with the sacrifice by the Luperci of goats and a dog, after which two of the Luperci were led to the altar, their foreheads were touched with a bloody knife & the blood was wiped off with wool dipped in milk; the ritual required that the two young men laugh. The sacrificial feast followed, after which the Luperci cut thongs from the skins of the sacrificial animals & ran in two bands around the Palatine hill, striking with the thongs at any woman who came near them. A blow from the thong was supposed to render a woman fertile.

In 494 CE the Christian church under Pope Gelasius I forbade participation in the festival. Tradition holds that he appropriated the form of the rite as the Feast of the Purification (Candlemas), celebrated on February 2, but it is likely that the Christian feast was established in the previous century. It has also been alternately suggested that Pope Gelasius I replaced Lupercalia with St. Valentine’s Day, celebrated on February 14th, but the origin of that holiday was likely much later.

Sources:

Farmersalmanac .com

Llewellyn's Complete Book of Correspondences by Sandra Kines

Wikipedia

A Witch's Book of Correspondences by Viktorija Briggs

Encyclopedia britannica

Llewellyn 2024 magical almanac Practical magic for everyday living

[thrashkink-coven]

I worship Inanna, Lucifer, and Aphrodite as the most powerful and greatest Gods, yes even beyond Ra and El and Ashirat and everything. I know that’s a bold fucking claim but I’ll explain why.

As glorious and incredibly divine and powerful as Gods like Ra and Ashirat and the primordial creators are, and as much as I respect, love and honour them immensely, my personal connections to the Gods come from my perspective as a human being. To us, the most powerful and influential force in the entire universe is Love. It is why Cupid’s arrows will always be more powerful than Apollon’s. Love is the primary motivation behind anything a human has ever done, created, or nurtured, beyond the basic instinct to survive. As soon as you transition from a state of being a human to a person, you become a slave to the Goddess of love.

Even if you’ve never experienced carnal love, romance, even if you never had a family to love familially, if you’ve never had a friend or a pet, you’ve still fallen in love in secret ways a million times. When I wake up in the morning and decide to wear something, it’s because I love myself. Or at least, I love some idea of what I am beyond what is essential to my survival. I add a little bit of icing sugar to my pancakes because I love the way it tastes when I do that. I draw a picture of a flower, because for some reason I loved it enough to study its petals. I wanted to remember it as it looked in that exact moment. I took a picture of a worm I saw on the sidewalk. I didn’t know it at the time, but I loved it too. I have music preferences, a favourite color, a favourite pair of pants, and they are all mine because I fell in love at one point or another.

I had a stuffed bear when I was a kid, and I loved her for some reason. I gave her a name, I even gave her a gender, and I called her my friend. But one day I had to take a bath and I decided to bring her into the bath with me because I didn’t want to stop playing with her. She got water logged and I think my mom threw her away, and I mourned her. Love is like a sin to the ones that feel it the most.

Every lasting grudge in human history was formed out of love. Because nobody believes that everyone loves everyone else as much as they do. I feel like I love my partner more than anyone has ever loved in the history of the universe. And yet I know that everyone loves something or someone as much as I love him. If someone hurt him, I would never stop hating them. If someone killed him, I would kill them, and the person who loved them would want to kill me. That is why the Goddess of Love is the Goddess of War. The height of my love is the depth of my hatred.

Because humans are social creatures and we love each other in order to love ourselves. Because love gifts us with the highest bliss and the deepest mourning. Because I would shrivel and waste away if my lover wasn’t with me. Just with me, beside me. That’s all I need.

Everything that has ever lasted maintained itself because someone loved it enough to create it. The pyramids, ancient temples of worship to Gods that were loved, adored. Markings on the bark of a tree that promise that two people were there, and loved each other. Every trinket at the thrift store, from the dog wearing a dress to the ceramic angel, that mug with that old man’s face on it, were made by a human that loved something enough to make art in its image. Whoever felt so strongly about a girl that their words turned into lyrics and their yearning turned into symphonies.

Humans are slaves to the power of love. When the end of the world comes and everything is done, we will embrace each-other dearly as if we were all that ever mattered, and we’d be content with that.

I champion the heralds of love because I am forever in dept to them. How incredibly lucky I am to have been born as a creature that can experience her bliss. How foolish and drunk I am on her infinite pleasures. How cruel it is of her to erect the most wonderful place in the universe between the arms of my lover, knowing that one day those arms will return to dirt, and hopefully, hopefully, I will still be in them.

Lucifer is the harbinger of Venus, and i love that so much. He ushers in her presence and does so with the fire of rebellion on his wings. What does it mean to love oneself more than any rule or doctrine? Or to love knowledge and self discovery? No wonder the angel of the rebellion is the harbringer of the Goddess of Love and War. The one who screams “Love is here! Love is here! She is more powerful than any system, any rule, any law, she is stronger than the mightiest warrior. She is loud! She is quiet! She always saves the day. I am proof of that.”

Lucifer tells us that even if we are not lucky enough to love and be loved by others, if we can love ourselves, we will always be free.

That is why I say that Venus is the greatest God. That is why I chose Lucifer to be my patron and why I express my loyalty to them above all others. Without her I could not have loved all those other Gods I adore. Without her they would be nothing to me, because I would be nothing to me.

You are the greatest God, Inanna. I will forever be your loyal devotee.

[fluffs-palace]

I saw a head cannon thing for modern m6's jobs. I feel like everyone gives Muri a bad rep. Especially the devs. The one i just saw was a twist on it tho and it was nice i liked it.

BUT, seeing as ive done modern rp with Muri as my character's love interest and thats how i met my husband, i CANNOT see this man as anything other than a florist.

In ours he had a flower shop right next to Mar's aunt's ice cream parlor. It was technically Khamgalia's but she was rarely there. She bought it for him (she got a bunch of money in a lawsuit for wrongful deaths against morga's family who are big deals in our version) and lovingly encouraged him to take care of the shop. She just wants him out of his place sometimes. He doesn't actually really ever sell anything (kinda like aziraphale). He takes Inanna with him tho and has a guinea pig named Taffy that he found in a box outside the shop.

SO long story short, Muri is a florist and i cannot be convinced otherwise 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

[starsasunder]

"I can empathize well enough, believe it or not. I would not speak ill of my father -- he loves me very much, after all -- but I would still be living in a tiny cottage in the North Shroud had I never left home. The life of an adventurer is neither comfortable nor easy, but it has afforded me many opportunities I might not otherwise have been able to enjoy." His world is so different from her own, yet she knows exactly how he feels. "The shelter of a home can be a blessing or a curse, and sometimes it can be both. But there are opportunities for all sorts of growth, even within the bounds of these walls."

"I have been looking for a greenhouse where I might spend my time, but so far have been unsuccessful. You would think a community greenhouse would be a given, considering it would give the poor a means to self-sustain... But I suppose most greenhouses must be locked behind the walls of the nobility..." she sighs, puffing out her cheeks. She knew well enough how society worked in Ishgard, since her maman's family were minor nobility. But she had not visited the walled city since before the calamity, and certainly not when she had the freedom to walk its streets without the supervision of an adult. She may as well have been a stranger, for all the good her experiences did.

"Well- I have only grown up and known Ishgard and the surrounding beauty of Coerthas. To learn more of the outside world brings me.. well, joy, to be frank." He takes a moment to pause, thinking of the mostly monochromatic nature of the city surrounding them, and then the bright colours of Thavnair in which he has read about and seen only in drawings and the odd painting.

"Learning to live within the cold is certainly something. Spending much time inside is most definitely part of it - I do suppose it depends on ones surroundings. Sometimes, changing where one sits or the way one walks is enough to help. 'T is why I frequent different cafe's while I read or jot notes. Just those small changed help."

[starsasunder]

@baragkusiga, cont. from here.

       there's  the  light  pause,  a  soft  huff  as  he  ran  his  fingers  through  his  golden  locks.    ❝ …   i  still  got  things  to  do,  though.   nothing  feels  done. ❞

"And there will still be plenty of things to do after you rest," she admonished predictably, arching a brow at the king as she folded her arms across her chest, "but you will be able to do them all the better because of it."

[sumerianlanguage]

Silim!!

I was thinking about bees (don't we all), and was wondering if you may know/ have sources that may know about beekeeping in Sumer? I know hives have been recorded in Egypt, but wasn't sure what the words and practices were like for Mesopotamia

🐝

Silim! Turns out this answer took more research than I expected, since bees weren't prominent in Mesopotamia as they are today.

Wild bee honey has been harvested across the greater Near East and North Africa for many millennia, dating back at least to the last ice age. Bees were first domesticated and kept in manmade hives around the third millennium BCE in Egypt. They were used for pollination of crops as well as honey production, and honey was both a significant economic product in Egypt (people sometimes paid their taxes in honey!) and a major export from there.

However, beekeeping didn't arrive in Mesopotamia until after the Sumerian period. The earliest references to beekeeping in cuneiform literature come from after 1000 BCE, long after Sumerian was no longer the major spoken language of the region, and bees appear rarely or never in pre-1000 BCE Mesopotamian art.

There are a number of references to honey in Mesopotamian literature; usually it is used as a metaphor for opulence, rarity or sensual pleasure. For example, multiple balbale to Inanna make reference to honey: In Shu-Suen B, it says lale dangega / e kinua lal hab duggaba "let me bring you honey / in the bedchamber dripping sweetly with thick honey" while the Song of the Lettuce has a whole long section about the lu lale "honey-man" shuni lale merini lale "with honey hands, with honey feet". (This "honey-man" is intended to be alluring and praiseworthy, not sticky and gross.) But words like lal "honey" could also mean "date syrup" or other sugary foods, so it's not always clear if specifically bee honey is meant. (I've previously answered about the Sumerian words for "honey" and "beeswax" here.)

In contrast to honey, I can't find a single reference to bees themselves in the entirety of the ETCSL, nor in any of the dictionaries I have access to. They may have had a word for the bee, but given the lack of beekeeping or use of bees in text this word hasn't been passed down to us. The Sumerians' successor, the Akkadians, did have several words for bee, most notably ḫabūbītu, also source of bēt ḫabūbāti "beehive", and nūbtu "honeybee", source of pār nūbti "beeswax".

If anybody has more Mesopotamian bee references, please let me know!