#Buddhist Strategies

[prodentwellness]

Finding Silence in Noise: Buddhist Strategies for Coping with Stress

[twelve-forfend]

Well, I did say this was a multi-fandom blog... Alright, let's do this.

The Qing Jing Peak Lord's Bamboo House

(and the symbolism therein, as recorded in the donghua)

I was snooping through the establishing shots of the Qing Jing Peak Lord's Bamboo House, and had to laugh as I always do at all the gay symbolism that managed to sneak its way inside. But then I looked a little closer, and was floored by just how much passive storytelling was packed into background assets. I talked about it at length over discord, and at the urging of others decided to make a shareable post on social media as well.

First, the shots which first piqued my interest in this topic years ago:

Shen Yuan transmigrates into the stallion-genre webnovel entitled 狂傲仙魔途 (translated as Proud Immortal Demon Way). The author's and his own usernames are dick jokes.

Notice the chrysanthemum vase, the cock vase, and the stallion statuette.

The stallion and cock are obvious nods to these jokes on their own, but for the uninitiated, the chrysanthemum is a symbol of gay sex between men, as the asshole itself is often euphemistically referred to as a chrysanthemum. This should have been Shen Yuan's first clue that not all is as it seems here! These are the personal quarters of Shen Jiu — the original Shen Qingqiu!

But let's move to the main room you first walk into upon entering the bamboo house.

There it is: the writing on the wall.

As the Peak Lord of strategy and the scholarly arts, Shen Qingqiu would naturally have calligraphy and paintings hanging everywhere! So let's break it down.

On the top we have 道㳒自然 ("Dao Follows Nature"), which comes from a Dao teaching by Laozi (founder of Daoism) meaning that life, death, the entire universe, the heavens and earth and everything outside and inbetween, all follow a set of laws referred to as the nature of things. Although unrelated to the Buddhist couplet below, it's certainly relevant!

Originally hanging in right-to-left order, I've arranged them to read left to right here to make things easier to keep track of. The calligraphy reads 西方竹葉千年翠；南海蓮九品香 and is a couplet commonly found in Guanyin temples. My classical chinese is not as strong as I'd like, but this translates roughly to "The bamboo leaves in Paradise are green for a thousand years / The fragrance of lotus flowers in the South China Sea is as thick as 9 sticks of incense."

The character 西 for West is used to denote the destination of enlightenment/purity: the buddhist Paradise (think Journey to the West). The South China Sea is where Guanyin was born. Upon the Lotus flowers is where Guanyin is commonly depicted as sitting. The "9 sticks of incense" though literal can also refer to the 9 tiers/grades of reincarnation lotuses with the 9th tier being the lowest, meant for those who in life committed the most evil of crimes — the 4 parajikas — and who can only manage a sincere Amitabha recitation 10 times and no more than this.

To put this in context with Shen Jiu (the same jiu as in 9/九), the 4 parajikas committed by the 9th Tier Lotuses Reborn (officially entitled the Lowest of the Low) are:

Sexual Intercourse

Stealing

Murder

Claiming attainments of stages of pure mental concentration that have not been achieved (in other words, rushing or lying about your cultivation/enlightenment, or maybe even becoming a Peak Lord without having formed a golden core beforehand).

From what we know in the context of the novel, Shen Jiu is innocent of at least the first of this parajikas, but the overall view of Shen Jiu in the eyes of others in the story is that he is guilty of them all. This calligraphy can be seen as a condemnation or a reminder for the character Shen Jiu, who even as the Peak Lord Shen Qingqiu is widely thought of as a scum villain and the lowest of the low.

Phew! That's a lot to unpack.

But if you turn your gaze to the original screenshot, you'll see to the right that there's a vase painted with a blue bird. This vase appears in several rooms of the bamboo house, and seems to be the image of a qingniao (青鸟; lit: Qing bird, wherein 青 can mean blue/green/clear-but-brackish black).

These qing-coloured birds are messengers and foragers of the Goddess-Mother of Paradise (Xiwang-mu 西王母, the "west/paradise" character from before, lit West-King(unisex)-Mother). They're a highly intelligent species who are exceptional in song (a good representative for Qing Jing's scholarly arts and pursuit of qin!), and the older ones might learn to speak human tongue. As a subspecies of luanniao (鸾鸟 lit: luan bird), they're thought to be related to The Phoenix and indeed thought to be the lifetime/samsara just before being reborn as a Phoenix.

If given to a "master" they don't like, the qingniao may refuse to pass messages or sing until they're set free, but if they do get along with you then they're loyal to the end.

As a point of interest, the Qing generation of Peak Lords uses the character 清, which is 青 ("colour of nature; brackish black, blue, green; young) + the radical for "water," resulting in the meaning of clear (as in water or heart; see-through); distinct; quiet (as in still); just and honest; pure; to settle or clear up; to clean up, expunge, or purge.

And as a bit of trivia, Liu Qingge's sword Cheng Luan 乘鸾 means "to ride the luan, take flight on the back of a luan." (Relevant, because the qingniao is considered a subspecies of luanniao).

With the Lords of both Qing Jing and Bai Zhan referencing this bird, I really wonder about its significance! It's spawning plenty of theories and headcanons for me.

Heading back outside for a moment, you'll find that in the Quiet Pool (清静小池 qingjing xiaochi (yes, the same Qing Jing the peak is named for)), there are lotuses, and on land there are flower shrubs which are either wide-petaled chrysanthemums (gay bottom jokes ahoy), or a type of peony, the king of flowers demarcating wealth and prosperity. Either way, a blossom fitting of our Qing Jing Peak Lord Shen Qingqiu!

My one regret is that I cannot get a clear shot of the fan hanging on the wall to try and translate the calligraphy on it. If anyone can snag one, please tag me! I also couldn't translate the paintings with poems hanging in Shen Qingqiu's bedroom (it's just too small and blurry for my bad eyes to make out). If I make another post attempting these things, I'll append them to this initial post in an edit afterwards.

[namazunomegami]

emperor!geto x imperial concubine!reader

a/n: I’ve spent way too much time to research about chinese imperial concubines, playing with Royal Chaos during my highschool years and I had a boring shift at work. This is the result. Probably out of character as hell but hey, I wrote this for my enjoyment.

This is part 1 of a lil historical AU drabble series. I’m already finished with Sukuna, Gojo is in the works, and I got some ideas for Choso and Toji but don't think too much about it, ideas are just ideas.

I was so close to write reader as gender neutral but reader owns a type of traditional chinese headgear used exclusively by noblewomen so... yeah, reader is afab if you squint (very hard).

Likes and reblogs are appreciated, mwah <3

wc: 1011, I initally wanted a few headcannons but I got a full ass drabble

cw: suggestive, false accusations, implied murder, mentions of whipping, choking (not the kinky kind), yandere behavior

credits: renmakia for the gorgeous fanart and my dear @notveryrussian for proofreading and just putting up with my massive jjk brainrot every day, luv ya darling <33

MDNI, if you do, I'm gonna catch you like I'm gonna catch Gege.

He’s a monarch who considers his mind a weapon and information as a whetstone despite being born in relative peace. Spending his leisure time reading Sun Ce, the scripts of Confucian and Taoist scholars, sharing afternoon teas and long walks around the gardens with Buddhist priests and conversing about reaching enlightenment. As if he desperately wanted to understand how the world he was meant to rule works. His mandate of heaven brought prosperity, a flourishing economy, a strong connection between allied realms, a good education system that produced more scholars than in any other time before.

Competing for his attention is not an easy task. You almost gave up, bracing yourself for a long and uneventful life where you can only admire him from afar. You sit in the shade of a willow tree with a board of xiangqi, your playmate having left you not so long ago and you were trying to figure out which tactics and strategies they should’ve used to defeat you. You’re so lost in your thoughts you can’t notice him standing there, in the presence of his guards. You kowtow to him, excusing yourself for daring to bother him, pleading for his patience while you pack your things and leave. He likes that your manners are spot on, and he rewards you with a command to stay, to play with him, since xiangqi is a game between two people. And based on the positions of the pieces on the board you’re an experienced player.

Of course, he defeats you with ease, but he’s grateful you showed him everything you’ve got and didn’t let him win. He tells you that his victory lies in applying the teachings of Sun Ce to his playstyle. Your eyes light up and you beg him to elaborate further, maybe he can help you improve your tactics in the next game. He’s such a well-read man, so hungry for knowledge, so desperate to understand people. You’re sure he wants to figure out your thoughts too, what you think about the world, what values dominate your heart. And the secret to win him over is to shower him with all the details and even politely disagree with some of his beliefs and explain your point of view. That’s what gets him going, knowing your place in the hierarchy but not being afraid to stand your ground. Mindless obedience, at this point, bores him. That’s probably the reason why he slowly starts to favor you, your conversations refresh him, inside and outside of his bedchambers.

You may think that earning your place in his heart is a lengthy and hard process, but when he becomes sure that your infatuation comes from an honest place, he generously rewards your efforts. He showers you with gifts, each more thoughtful than the other. He sends you scripts from his personal library about topics that interest you, fulus he received from his priests to protect you and your chambers, phoenix crowns so elaborately adorned with pearls, sapphires, small dragons, and phoenixes made from solid gold. Gowns embroidered with clouds, cranes dancing around them, gifting you a small piece of the sky itself he descended from. He elevates your rank quickly so you can accompany him during events. Letting the whole court look at you, wrapped in everything he gave you, standing so close you can see him stealing glances at you from under the twelve tasseled crown. He rewards your family with money, grain, rice, political power. If he lifts you up, he does the same with everyone important to you.

But Geto’s court is highly competitive. It’s certainly not easy to be his favorite. You can literally smell the stench of jealousy eminating from the other consorts. Their gaze pierces your skin deeply when the eunuchs drag you around the Palace of Heavenly Grace with a brocade blanket hugging your naked figure. They must endure the sight every other night and they have no idea that the son of heaven is ready to serve you and do as you please behind closed doors and not the other way around, as tradition dictates.

Though he can comfort you, outside of his chambers you fear for your life. You needed a food taster now and never dared to walk the gardens without at least four guards in your proximity. You begin to doubt the trust between you and those you’ve befriended, because they can only blame you for his negligence towards them.

And then, the first accusation about you begins circulating around the palace. Some concubines claimed that you were guilty of witchcraft. So many of them are against you, with so much made-up proof you cannot do more than spend the night crying, believing that at dawn, guards will come for you and throw you into a well. You have no idea where Geto is or how you could beg him for protection.

The next day, strangely, a new set of officials deem you innocent. What boggles you even more is that he comes to your residence instead of having you delivered to him. Even his scent is not like it usually is, there’s something metallic, salty, and musky mixed in with the incense smoke.

That night he cradles you, shushing you, promising to keep you safe at all costs. Keeping it a secret how brutally he disposed of the rumor mongers, how he had some of his officials whipped bloody for not believing your testimony or about the thinly veiled threats that he’ll make anyone’s life a living nightmare if anything happened to you. Your heart skips a beat and simultaneously sinks deep in your chest when those of higher rank than you lower their head, trying their best to not look at you as they pass you by. With dark marks staining the skin below the neckline of their gowns, not even the empress consort being an exception.

It's not easy to be his favorite. It’ll never be easy.

But he’s a god, the son of heaven, and heaven will forgive him and so will you.

[cat-a-holic]

The story of Japan’s Kakure Kirishitan (Japanese for hidden Christians) is one of remarkable resilience and ingenuity. Forced underground by persecution in the 17th century, these communities practiced their faith in secret for over 200 years. One fascinating aspect of their survival strategy was the clever use of Buddhist imagery, particularly statues of Kannon, the Buddhist Bodhisattva of Mercy, to represent the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child.

[quitealotofsodapop]

JTTW-era Stone Egg part 2:

referencing this previous post about the Pilgrims reacting to the knowledge that au!Wukong is having a baby and has a missing mate.

Ao Lie is a real bro; he figured out Wukong was a having a kid based on his dragon/horse nose, and decides to support him 100% no matter his choice at the end of the day. The fact that he suspects its an asexually-produced Stone Egg that could kill his new buddy is something Ao Lie is keeping quiet about until Wukong himself is comfortable sharing it.

Ao Lie, after Bajie accuses him of having a crush on Wukong: "Ew no! He most certainly has a mate awaiting his return - I wouldn't dare dishonor a married demon!" Wukong, brightly playing along: "Yeah, piglet! Plus, no one will ever measure up to my Mihou!" Ao Lie, confused whinny: "Excuse me, what?" Wukong, tail curling into a heart: "The strongest, most clever monkey on Flower Fruit Mountain - my equal in all including on the battlefield. <3"

The rest of the gang are pleasantly surprised... and outraged to learn that their pregnant companion has a mate that up and left him while he was pregnant. Whomever this "Macaque" figure is, the Pilgrims gonna have a stern talk with him when they find him.

Except maybe the two former-celestials;

Bajie is just like: "Wait, did you just say this Macaque guy was your equal in battle!?" Wukong, wistful sigh: "Yeah..." Zhu Bajie & Sha Wujing: *share equally terrified looks*

Maybe they'll need to devise an attack strategy before confronting this guy head on. Ao Lie loudly states that he's gonna kick the guy if he sees him first.

Tripitaka meanwhile has to mentally wrap his head around the idea of two men marrying before he can process that *Sun Wukong* is married. The Confuscist / Buddhist attitudes at the time said "Girls have Karma Cooties"; so it was considered normal for men to "prefer other men's company" but it was still super-illegal. Being raised in a sheltered, likely all-male, monastery also adds in extra confusion for the monk. Not to mention his own asexuality.

Tripitaka: "Is it... acceptable for a man to love another man like one would a woman?" Zhu Bajie: "Only if they're into it." Tripitaka: "Wha...?"

Eventually he ends up asking the boddhisattvas and different gods for their opinions;

Tripitaka: "Is it normal amongst those in the Celestial Realm for men to... have thoughts of romance for other men?" Erlang: "Oh diyu, yeah! It's totally normal! We even have Tu'er Shen - he's the rabbit god of homosexual love!" Tripitaka, pleasantly surprised: "Oh! That's interesting - but is it accepted?" Erlang & the Plum Hill Lads: *share a footballer's huddle, whispering intensely* Erlang: "Ehhh... just don't bring it up around my uncle. He's kinda weird about it." Triptiaka, a little heartbroken: "Oh..."

Best advice comes from Guanyin herself ofc;

Guanyin: "I'm am composed of multiple energies, Tang Monk. Although I do not experience romantic feelings like say, Chang'e and Hou Yi, I know for a fact that the buddha does not judge those for whom they love - even if their fellow man do so." Tripitaka: *delighted smile!* Tripitaka, remembering why he asked: *fatherly instincts activate* "I'm going to kill that Liu'er Mihou for breaking my student's heart!"

In the Jttw Stone Egged au where Macaque lives, Tripitaka is the only one to get a solid punch in before Wukong calls the gang off.

Angst and canonical death tw under Read More;

Zhu Bajie ultimately starts out as a huge a-hole, and the Journey makes him a little less of a jerk. One huge change Wukong noticed in his bro's behavior was around the time... he lost Macaque.

Especially in the Slow Boiled au.

Bajie would walk up to Wukong like he did many time when he tried stealing his snacks or to poke fun at him... only to sit down next to the monkey watches the moon together. Both longing.

Zhu Bajie: "You know... I wasn't lying when I said I was cursed to suffer many heartbreaks... I know what it looks like from a mile away." Wukong: *says nothing, hiding face in his arms and knees* Zhu Bajie: "You really loved that guy, huh?" Wukong: *nods, face still hidden* Zhu Bajie, confidently: "...you'll see him again. Maybe not in this lifetime, but you will." Wukong, uncharacteristically quiet: "Thanks..." Zhu Bajie: "No problem."

The pig is noticeably easier on Wukong after that day. And maybe a little more appriciative of the time he had with Culian... he's experienced enough bad love-lifes to figure out how to make things work. Maybe after the Journey is over, he'll give her a call?

He does really hope his Eldest Brother and his mate reunite in the future... even if it means in the Diyu.

[whencyclopedia]

Emperor Wuzong of Tang

Wuzong of Tang (also Wu-Tsung, formerly Li Yan) reigned as emperor of China from 840 to 846 CE. He is best remembered today for his persecution of Buddhists, the worst such attack in all of China's history, and his early death by insanity from drug abuse. Wuzong, nevertheless, did manage to steer the Tang Dynasty clear of the excessive political in-fighting and eunuch dominance which had plagued the courts of his predecessors.

Political Achievements

Wuzong was born in 814 CE, the fifth son of Emperor Muzong (r. 820-824 CE). He was the younger brother of his predecessor, Emperor Wenzong (aka Wen-tsung, r. 827-840 CE) and held the title Prince of Ying before his succession. He gained the throne because Wenzong's own son had died in mysterious circumstances in 838 CE. Wuzong also had the full support of the court eunuchs, the powerful group who dominated Chinese politics. His character and style of rule is here summarised by the historian M. T. Dalby,

...the emperor was brash, quick-tempered and stubborn. But, unlike his elder brother Wen-tsung, he was also shrewd and decisive. Like a number of his predecessors, religion gripped him as much as politics. To the family weakness for alchemical experimentation in search of immortality, he added a genuine interest in Taoism.

(Twitchett, 663).

The emperor found another able ally in his chief minister Li Deyu (787-850 CE). Deyu had been briefly exiled in a previous reign and he would be exiled in a future one but Wuzong seemed to appreciate his talents. Together they were able to reduce the political factionalism which had long beset the Tang court and even to reduce, bit by bit, the influence of the eunuchs who had long abused their privileged position within the palace, controlling who had access to the emperor and profiting from it.

Deyu's strategy of government was to reduce the involvement of all chief ministers, who had been notoriously argumentative in discussions of policy under the previous emperor. Instead Deyu took all major decisions himself in consultation with the emperor and removed the debates and consequent factions which had traditionally been a part of Tang government. As he put it himself, government decisions should “issue forth from a single gate” (Twitchett, 661). Deyu did make some of his own loyal followers aides with junior positions but he also resisted the usual purge of the court which followed every new succession. Another feature of the new regime was the meticulous keeping of public records for all official communications, meetings and decisions.

Continue reading...

[radioactivewisdom]

Idk if this is silly of me to ask this question, but, what's your take on the relation women have with wealth/money? How come we have such narrow range of women millionaires/billionaires? For one self-made rich woman, there's always more than 3 women who got to the same level through divorce or inheritance.

I read a study that found that 91% males are more likely to invest in stocks than females. Amongst my friends too, it's all the guys getting into trading & investing. Trying to get my (girls)friends interested was futile.

I've found similar ratio of women to men within spiritual spaces too. The guys discuss all sorts of ontological breakdowns possible within the religious-teachings(mostly Buddhist & Vedic), while my friends have got no interest in it.

I don't mean to stereotype/downplay my friends or put the guys on a pedestal, they're both doing what satisfies them, it's just something I've observed.

Thankyou!

Not silly, thank you for asking :) When it comes to millionaires and beyond, men are going to be over presented because of their ability to better manipulate physical reality. Motivated by lust, acquiring more resources equals more sex for men. Womens lust, while just as strong, has a different aim. Knowing most men will abandon them as soon as an orgasm is obtained, their focus becomes more singular. Making a bunch of money doesn’t benefit women’s worldly aims, because they’re looking for “love.”

When it comes to investing and being strategic with finances, women are less likely because of wanting to maintain an image. Women who buy into femininity will restrict themselves, and the activities they participate in. Since the slow population believes “woman is opposite of man,” women won’t show as much interest in “masculine” pursuits. Also, the heterosexually inspired mating system is sex in exchange for resources. Being partnered up is as far as many women think in terms of financial planning.

Women overall dumb themselves down because it’s considered more attractive. There are studies on this, they purposely act stupid in the hopes of being deemed desirable by men. This leads to women wasting their lives, harnessing most of their brain power into trying to find effective strategies to make a man stay, and (barely) raising their children.

I don’t agree with the hoarding of resources and think an obsession with material wealth is bad, but self sufficiency is important. Men tend to take this too far, since their aim isn’t just to support themselves. Women veer in the opposite direction, downplaying their need to take care of themselves because they expect someone else to do it. Whether that’s a man, their children, or feminism. Intellectual and spiritual pursuits are important, but can also be motivated by greed and envy.

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s4 episode 21 thoughts

this episode had me entirely TRANSFIXED. at no moment did i know what was going to happen next, and i badly wanted to learn!! rejoice: a skinner episode!!! where he is driven to desperation by how much he loves his agents! i truly do not think i could have asked for more!!

(okay, scully wasn't there, which is usually my number one priority... but hear me out: the episode was still SO good despite her absence, which is a testament to some HIGH QUALITY WRITING)

so!! back to my live report from approximately 24 hours ago, when i began my journey into this rollercoaster of an ep. take it away, past juni:

after last episode, i have gone through all of the emotions known to humankind. i am interested to see where we will go next, having ventured into those uncharted waters. perhaps these waters will be more… charted.

A SKINNER EPISODE!!! he’s framed for murder AGAIN??? he can’t keep being put in these circumstances bro 😭

why would skinner cover up a death caused by bees??? that seems pretty cut and dry. bees did it. nobody’s fault. unless they’re secret FBI bees the world isn’t supposed to know about…? obviously the doctor is going to say “yup, bees did it, not humans”, right?? i mean if someone dies of bee stings i assume it’s very obvious??? and that no murder charges would be filed?? because?? bees did it??

(author's note: lmao. what a fool i was)

skinner. i am ready to learn more about you. 

we open at a place that ships packages. this woman (jane) needs a cigarette. her friend (later revealed to be named misty) is telling her to quit smoking. i’m not sure that is an effective strategy.

jane runs to the bathroom and is going to smoke in there??? not even outside??? what was going ON in the 90's!!!

but oh no! some bees emerge from the bathroom sink. MANY MANY MANY BEES. someone please call that lady on tiktok that scoops hives out with her hands while whispering into the camera “another great day of saving the beeeeeeees” (god i hope she’s doing well)

bee swarm of intense proportions is going on rn. can you buy bees at the store? is that what they did for filming this? order a bunch of bees at the bee store?? huh. 

anyway, they’re approaching jane the cigarette lady very very quickly. they’re in the stall!!! she’s smacking at them!! 

but cig lady’s friend misty is getting concerned. she goes to the bathroom to fetch her friend where she finds… an empty bathroom?? free of bees. with only a smoking cigarette on the floor and DEAD JANE COVERED IN BEE STINGS!!!!!!!

WHERE DID THE BEES GO MAN!!!

dang. those bee stings are gnarly. shoutout makeup team.

skinner is looking at jane's files. why does this interest you, skinner?? why is he deleting them?? probably because he does not consider insect related cases FBI matters

WAIT! HE WASN’T ON HIS COMPUTER…. HE WAS ON MULDER’S!!!

WHAT!!! (we need to give this reveal some space to sink in)

... he knows mulder's passwords……?

skinner. WHAT are you hiding!!! i used to hate him and then i sort of liked him and then i hated him and now i am affectionate towards him. we must not begin the cycle again!!!

well, now i’m invested. 

intro time. and i'm still laughing about that tweet of scully serving three quarters profile in her badge pic

after so many shortened intros, this one felt long!!!

skinner is… leaving his house? he has a bookend that looks like an elephant. now what does that say about him… and a what looks like a buddha in the corner. IS this his house??? buddhist skinner confirmed?

he’s taking off a “do not enter” sign and going into the bathroom where the bee incident went down, armed with just a flashlight. and he finds the cigarette, which he flushes. he’s cleaning the bathroom floor with a portable vacuum!! WHAT DOES HE KNOW!!!!!!!

i’m literally soooo invested, i’m not even joking. his ass is on his hands and knees SCRUBBING. what has brought assistant director skinner to this forbidden janitorial work!?!

this is very dark though, screen wise. had to up the brightness. 

he finds something oozing from the ceiling. and he sniffs it before wiping it away. gross. is it honey? weird neon honey?

now he’s picking the lock of the MORGUE!!!!!!! is he gonna steal jane’s body??!!!!!! bro what the HELL!!!!

someone in the coroner’s office hears a distant thud and almost finds him TAKING HER BODY!!!!!!!!! it seems he narrowly escaped!!! he hid around the corner and took jane with him…. to a very weird place. he’s climbing up a ladder. is it an incinerator? 

bro, he must be strong as hell. anyway, he takes her body and places it in a fire. 

my guess is that somehow she was contaminated with secret bee poison and he needs to make sure no one else gets sick from it????? by incinerating the body?? but that doesn’t do anything about the bees themselves??

he’s at the police station now, asking about jane. HE GIVES HIS NAME AS MULDER????? he has a fake badge and everything… omg do NOT get my boy in trouble!!

the policeman shows him a vial of blood from jane, which he replaces with a vial from his own pocket, and wipes the pen he took. ohhhh what is going on!!!!!!

so now he’s going back to his car with the blood. but someone runs out to see him!!! calling “agent mulder”!

it’s the detective who emailed the pictures to the REAL mulder!!! he somehow knows that mulder is part of the x files (which i feel shouldn't be information random people should know) but skinner is trying to say that nothing here warrants his involvement. 

he is deeply suspicious. but someone is watching him!!!!!!!! who is this mystery fellow watching this go down????

skinner is get undressed at 3:55 AM. and it IS his house with the elephant and the buddha!!!

SKINNER FOLLOWS THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS AND THE EIGHTFOLD PATH, LET'S GOOOO 🔥🔥🔥

(that is a more interesting interpretation than him keeping a buddha around as decor, but hey, pick your headcanon as you please)

and who shows up but REAL MULDER!!!! AT 4 AM??? BRO WHAT IS HE DOING?? he should be on his couch!!!! sleeping!!

he has been trying to reach skinner…. OHHHH HE CLOCKED RIGHT AWAY THAT THERE IS A COVERUP!!!

and the detective was SHOT AND KILLED!!!! 

(my friend called me at this point to tell me that liam payne died. this has absolutely no relevance on the episode, but it did lead to me pausing for a half hour to share this news with others. and it would feel inappropriate to not include it in the write up)

mulder knows someone forged his name at the lab and he just wants skinner’s help!!

NO!!! SCULLY IS IN THE HOSPITAL SO SHE CAN’T HELP…. HER DOCTOR SAYS HER TUMOR MIGHT BE METASTASIZING… NO NO NO not my poor sweet scully...

no scully this episode…. this is sad :(

skinner is doubly gagged…… maybe even triply gagged between the revelation of the detective being killed, mulder being onto him, and scully being in the hospital. he is flabbergasted, one might even say. 

he’s going somewhere in very tight pants. someone tries to hit him with a car?!?

IT’S CSM!!!! and the guy from before who was watching the exchange with the detective go down!!!!!! 

ohhhh skinner has GRABBED him by the collar and is yelling that he MURDERED him!!! but CSM says to keep his voice down

“i wouldn’t get too comfortable on your moral high ground, mr. skinner. this only happened because you left your job unfinished” <- hey WHAT DOES THAT MEAN??

(i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again… CSM’s voice is so soothing. tell me a story, scary man)

skinner says that he has followed CSM’s instructions…. and when skinner points out that the detective didn’t have to die, he says that he is “in no position to question the terms of our arrangement”

is this the deal he negotiated with to try and save scully???? and is it even working if she’s in the hospital right now??

he tries to say they have no arrangement and walk away, but CSM basically says well, i’ll have my bestie here kill you. and so skinner saunters off in his very tight pants, defeated. 

he wakes up on the couch to a phone ringing. and it’s mulder saying that jane's body was stolen, and all the evidence has been cleaned. “slow down” “i’m sorry sir, but i can’t” <- his brain was in overdrive!!

mulder figured out the replacement blood wasn’t jane's because she has a different folate serum level and skinner seems to be cursing himself for such a mistake. a good catch on mulder's part.

he has one lead, and it’s the make of the gun. but skinner realizes something… his gun isn’t in his desk!!! WHAT!! NO NO NOOOOOO

he calls CSM and growls that “you can’t do this”…….  he says that the man died so skinner could have what he wanted… what does that mean…

A CURE FOR AGENT SCULLY??????

WHAT!!!!

what does that have to do with the bees!!!

“if anything happens to her, i will expose you” <- OHHHH HE IS NOT MESSING AROUND!!! he said i'll get us both thrown in prison if you fuck with my agents!!!!

“i don’t care what happens to me” <- OHHHH MY GOD I’M RIPPING OFF MY SHIRT IN BIBLICAL LEVELS OF GRIEF. he loves her.

“agent scully stands to live a full and healthy life. i would hope the same for you, mr. skinner” <- no no no no no. please don’t kill him. please? for me?

(this made me picture a world without skinner and it was very sad. do not make me imagine this ever again. i won't stand for it)

this episode has me HOOKED!!!!!

back at the shipping warehouse, skinner is being led to the restroom. the bee incident only went down yesterday!!!! he finds more of the yellow goop… and says he needs a hammer

he’s beating the hell out of that wall and finds it filled with honeycomb!! but this is probably EVIL honeycomb, right?

why yes, of course. he brings some of the evil honey to someone in maryland with a very cool in-house lab. oh, to be a maryland scientist with an incredible laboratory in the home that i own, because homes were plentiful in those days.

would it help to know that this bee can kill people? “any kind of bee can be lethal” <- well that is not super helpful in this particular case. nor is this fact comforting.

when it seems all hope is lost, bee scientist man finds some royal jelly and a larvae!! so hopefully soon they will have some answers. and now i know what royal jelly is.

oh, turns out 6 months ago mulder called the same guy asking about killer bees… well, he is always up to such activity. he was probably also calling a marine biologist about the loch ness monster. he keeps those DMV area professors BUSY

(author's note: now knowing what this is referring to, i think it is so fascinating to place s4 within a timeline of 6 months!!!!)

skinner is going through the x files folders down in mulder's office. and why the hell does one say “foo fighters” in the background!!! has the FBI finally found what the foo that they are fighting is???

OH!!! he finds the pictures of the child clones working in the honey farm!!! from earlier!! i was wondering if we were ever going to revisit that!!

he sees covarrubias' number on there so he starts to call her… omg…

(i have never seen one of those big rolly things of contact lists before)

but just as he is about to call, mulder walks in!!! he has pictures of the parking lot from the night of the Event… pictures that show a very blurry skinner that he cannot recognize AS skinner, but he’s going to take them over to special photo department, and oh no. oh no.

mulder asks what skinner wanted to tell him and he scrambles to just say he wanted to check on his progress… and i cannot tell if mulder believes him or not

skinner calls covarrubias about the bees. and she has to tell him that there was no bee evidence at all. so skinner counters with: well what if *i* have the bees??? well, then that would change things.

covarrubias is really pretty. while i may not like that she basically became deep throat 3.0, she is very pretty

bee scientist comes home to find all the lights out!!!!! his lights are covered in bees!!! it seems they broke through!!! no no no no!!! they cover his windows!! and he is being swarmed….. 

a terrible (or perhaps fitting) end for a man of bee science

mulder calls skinner down to show him the body of the bee scientist. and he had symptoms of SMALLPOX???? they put the smallpox in the BEES???? oh my god. new worst nightmare just dropped.

skinner wants to know how he contracted a disease that no longer exists, and yes, it did in fact come from the bees.

mulder thinks that someone is trying to revive the world’s deadliest disease!! oh my god!! how does this relate to the aliens???? i thought i knew at one point but now i don’t!! 

skinner asks mulder to tell him what he finds when he goes over to the photo department…

back at the shipping warehouse, skinner is talking to misty, jane’s friend. she clearly knows something but isn’t saying it. jane was misty’s best friend. and they were trying to go on vacation together. </3

OH. THE MEN WHO CAME THERE SAID IF THEY TALKED TO ANYONE SHE WOULD LOSE HER JOB….. they wanted a package!!!!! a damaged package!!

and it was stored right next to the bathroom where jane was found?!!

shipping bees… package gets damaged… bees get loose… smallpox bees everywhere… very bad very bad…

luckily, she can look up the tracking number!!!

back at the photo lab, someone who is not pendrell but looks like him is working on the photo. and mulder says that it is very important to him.

oh, his sad sad face as he realizes who it is…. like somebody punched a baby in front of him.

back at the alien groupchat meeting!! (again i think they’re called the syndicate?? i googled something once and that came up)

CSM is showing them the last remaining bee, saying all others were destroyed. and the body has been sanitized. CSM tries to say it has been taken care of. but the others want answers on what went down. 

“should we presume that the trial run is proceeding as planned?” “it’s already begun” <- HEY WHAT DOES THAT MEAN…… and why is the next shot KIDS ON A PLAYGROUND………… with a BEE BUZZING……….

kid gets stung by a bee…… as a ton of other kids ALSO get stung by bees!!!!!!! no!! not the kids!!!!

one kid trips and falls, and when the teacher tries to save him, she is swarmed!!!!!!! and the little kid has horrible marks all over him!!!! as do the other kids!!!!

skinner is here at this hospital to see what is going on… and he tells the doctor that the kids need to be treated for smallpox. this does not go over well with the doctor!!! he says that not only is smallpox no longer around, but it has an 8 day incubation period. well okay. i guess. things have changed.

covarrubias is here!! hold up is her name MARITA and i’ve been getting it wrong this whole time?! editing this post to refer to her by last name instead. i cannot tell if that is a subtitle error or the Truth. i’m sorry miss covarrubias. coh-vah-roo-bee-us.

she called asking about the contents of 7 packages sent to south carolina!!

“you’re a little late to do anything about it” “so are you, apparently” <- ohhh get his ass

she asks wtf is going on, and that she needs to tell the UN so don’t mess around. he hypothesizes that it’s an experiment using bees as carriers for disease. and when skinner says he hasn’t told mulder, she straight up asks if he’s involved OHHHH!! but he denies it. 

she says he has to come forward…..

back home. he starts to dial a number but stops, pulling his gun (which is now back in his desk!) out

AND OHHHHH MY GOD MULDER IS HERE AT SKINNER'S PLACE. “PUT THE GUN DOWN AND MOVE AWAY FROM THE DESK” <-OHHHH NO. IT’S GOING DOWN. 

ugh this is gonna be a two parter, isn’t it… i had a sneaking suspicion 

(it actually wasn't. but you can't blame me there. it was looking pretty close)

OHHHHHHH MULDER WENT THERE…. “you’ve been working with the smoking man all along. you knew when they had my father killed, and you knew when they took scully” <- OHHH MY GOD. his rage is barely contained and he looks like a damn animal.

skinner points out that the lock in his desk was forced open, why would he force his own lock open? and that the police are probably on their way right now. 

oh my gosh… i’m holding my breath… is mulder going to believe him? will skinner tell the truth?

“i advised you against a certain course of action some time ago concerning agent scully. i didn’t follow my own advice” <- oh my god........... the confession.............

he was willing to admit to making a deal with the devil for scully... does she know how loved she is...?

mulder gets quiet and says “give me the gun” <- WHAT IS HE THINKING? 

someone is firing it into some water? i guess that is how you figure out what the murder weapon is. and the guy says he is absolutely certain this is it.

mulder says they find it in a sewer grate around the corner (but for a moment i fully believed he was going to say it was his). the expert guy breaks the news that unless forensics pulled a print, it’s untraceable because the serial number was cleared off.

skinner leaves at this news. he almost smiles, and i wondered if the expert was going to call him out on such odd behavior. and from there, he goes to meet CSM. 

ohhhhh he has the gun to CSM's head!!! “agent scully is dying and you haven’t done a damn thing about it” <- HOLY SHIT!!! CSM’s smirking…. the right bastard

he claims that if skinner kills him, he’ll also kill scully… and that he had saved her life before when he had her returned to mulder.

“but you’ll never know if you pull the trigger, will you?” <- OHHHHHH MY GOD. is he bluffing or not!!!!! how would he have a way to cure her beyond letting one of the aliens he keeps on hold touch her???

SKINNER FIRES THREE SHOTS??????? DID HE SAY FUCK IT AND KILL HIM. IS THIS THE END OF CSM?????

NO. they were JUST behind his head. oh the tension was THICK.

message received. i hope. whoever is on the phone is asking about skinner, saying mulder will be contacting them soon.

it's covarrubias????? she says she’ll tell him what CSM wants her to tell him. WHAT!!!!!

“tell him what he wants to hear” <- HEY WHAT. IS HE GOING TO LIE AND SAY SCULLY IS OKAY????

thus concludes the episode.

I HAVE A LOT OF THOUGHTS.

okay, first of all, covarrubias works for CSM. i feel silly for not picking up on that because we KNEW she works for the UN, famously the host of the alien groupchat parties, but i didn't even put it together at all. but just because she works for him doesn't really mean anything, because deep throat and x also nominally worked for him. to what extent is still unclear- maybe they did everything on his orders, stringing mulder along to keep him distracted from learning the truth- or maybe there were aspects of corruption they felt were "safe" to be exposed and lead him along the path for this deeper trap that CSM is laying for him. so we cannot make a covarrubias moral judgement just yet- but we also know we cannot trust her.

next. skinner loves his agents so much, dude. willing to kill AND die for scully to be okay... please think on this for a moment. and then think about it some more. how he told mulder to never make a deal with the devil, then did it himself even though he has so much to lose as the assistant director. and for the rest of his life he'll have to live with knowing he assisted in his murky and horrific plans, including infecting children with the world's deadliest diseases, because he could not stand to lose scully.

there are many kinds of love, some of which are complex and indescribable and cannot be inserted into conventional roles, and i think that is exactly what is going on here. the incalculable love for skinner and his agents.

okay. and mulder trusting skinner SO ABSOLUTELY. showing up at his apartment at 4 AM to ask for help. offering to take out the trash, and the constant updates he provided him on the case. the way his face FELL when he realized it was skinner in the photo. and how he came to believe that skinner knew about or was perhaps even behind the calls to kill his father and kidnap scully. how betrayed and horrified he was. how he must have recalled his mantra of "trust nobody", how he must have been kicking himself for falling into a false sense of security for a man who risked so much for them, but must have, in his mind, been luring him deeper and deeper into a trap. imagine all of that grief about scully being abducted and then getting sick and the loss of his father being placed at skinner's feet. mulder, who never for a second doubted that skinner was innocent in his earlier brush with the law. imagine how incredibly painful that "realization" would have been. and then how he wanted so badly to believe him, but after so many betrayals, it would take more than just a scratched desk for him to do so. but he does. god.

there is an addictive substance placed between the relationships of skinner to mulder and scully. something almost familiar. something almost entirely unspoken except for in a foundational and silent trust.

this episode was really, really good. probably my favorite of the season! i was trying to figure out what exactly was going on and why. it really raised the stakes for skinner, mulder, AND scully in a bunch of different directions: skinner being in CSM's pocket, covarrubias being in CSM's pocket, mulder believing her as she feeds him lies, scully's illness getting worse... whew!

more than anything i love to see the trust between characters tested and pulled, and their bonds put to the limits. so i am very pleased. i will likely be thinking of mulder's animalistic rage as he held the gun to skinner's face for a long, long time. and how skinner quietly admitted to doing what he told mulder not to. by jove. an excellent piece of television.

[the-mortuary-witch]

DEITY MASTERLIST (PART TWO)

📿 Kuan Yin

Goddess of: mercy and compassion

Culture: Chinese/Buddhist

Symbols: vase, rosary, willow branch, fish basket, and pearls

Plants: lotus, willow, and bamboo

Animals: horse, peacock, dragon, and birds

Colours: white

Tarot: Judgment

Offerings: oranges, pomegranates, spices, oolong tea, incense, and love and compassion for both yourself and others

🌱 Lada

Goddess of: spring, beauty, love, and fertility

Culture: Slavic

Symbols: Lada Star, bells, and Spring Equinox

Plants: linden, dandelion, peony, and birch

Animals: lark, deer, ant, and eagle

Colours: red and white

Tarot: Page of Cups and The Lovers

Offerings: honey, music, mead, apples, sweets, lemon balm, cherries, and chestnuts

🌉 Lilith

Goddess of: love, demons, beauty, wisdom, life, rebirth, fertility, motherhood, inner-strength, illumination, mysteries, spiritual initiation, the night, and The Evening Star

Culture: Demonic

Symbols: sword, pentagram, scythe, moon, dragon, snake, crossroad, dark moon, and pentacle

Plants: apple, poisonous plants (belladonna, hemlock, and mugwort), sandalwood, rose, dandelion, red hibiscus, witch hazel, lilac, and patchouli

Animals: black cats, snakes, owls, dogs, spiders, bats, and goats

Colours: red, black, purple, blue, green, silver, and gold

Tarot: The Devil

Offerings: black candles, black stones, or black crystals, honey, champagne, seductive perfume, fancy jewelry, tea, exercise, having sex and/or masterbating, swords and daggers, pomegranates, dark chocolate, sex toys or other items related to sex and pleasure, dragon’s blood, flowers and herbs: lilies, red roses, sage, basil, mugwort, and rose, dancing, red wine, clay, depictions of owls, snakes, cats, dogs, bats, dragons, and spiders, mirrors, apples, red or black silk, and poetry.

🤘 Loki

God of: mischief and trickery

Culture: Norse

Symbols: serpents, wolves, ax, raven, masks, fire, Bjarken and Logr Runes, fishing nets, earthquakes, infinity snake and ouroboros, number 8, chaos star, runes that spell out his name: Laguz, Othala, Kenaz, Isa as well as the rune Hagalaz, and Helmet of Dread or the Helmet of Horror

Plants: mistletoe, birch, common Haircap moss (Loki’s Oats), bentgrass (Loki’s Grass), cinnamon, dandelion, beech, blackthorn, elder, elm, ivy, juniper, mullein, thistle, mint, holly, cedar, juniper, elder, clove, patchouli, tobacco, willow, and yew

Animals: salmon, crows, , ravens, falcon, vulture, flies, goats, flea, horses, wolves, foxes, and spiders

Colours: green, gold, black, violet, yellow, orange, and red

Tarot: The Fool, The Tower, The Devil, The Wheel of Fortune, Page of Cups, and Seven of Swords

Offerings: candles, especially black ones, incense, a musky or mysterious scent would be appropriate, red fruits or flowers, gems or metals, herbs, such as dill, ginger, and mugwort, art or poetry, toys, such as the ones you used to play with as a kid, acts of chaos, subversion, or mischief, flowers: daisies, roses, and lilies, crystals, hanging mistletoe at Yuletide, foods and drinks: sweet foods, alcohol, spicy rum, candy, mulled wine, chocolate with nuts or funny names, spongecake, coffee or other caffeinated beverages, honey, and pastries, knives and daggers, doing something you are scared of (safely), and cinnamon.

🌅 Lucifer

God of: illumination, light, darkness, change, rebirth, challenges, innovation, logic, truth, knowledge, wisdom, strategy, persuasion, revolution, luxury, pleasure, freedom, The Arts and The Morning Star (“Morning Star” is another name for the planet Venus)

Culture: Demonic, Pagan, and Greco-Roman

Symbols: Sigil of Lucifer, The Morning Star, violins and fiddles, dragons, wings, serpents, black goats, inverted pentagram, light, and the pentacle.

Plants: belladonna, mulberry, patchouli, myrrh, min, tobacco, marigold, lilies, hyacinth, rosemary, and black poppies, lavender, mint, blackberries, sage, apples, pomegranates, lilac, rose, black pepper, hyssop, gardenia, geranium, garlic, yarrow, and cypress.

Animals: black animals in general, snakes, spiders, ravens, wolves, dragons, eagles, crows, goats, bats, rats, moths, flies, peacocks, insects, and swans.

Colours: blue, red, black, gold, emerald green, and silver.

Tarot: The Devil.

Offerings: candles or torches, sweet treats like dark chocolate or pastries, red, black, or dead roses, incense like sage or cinnamon, red wine, whiskey, especially Jack Daniels, champagne, pomegranate/pomegranate juice, black tea, especially earl grey, cooked goat meat, venison, apples, honey, good quality cigars, tobacco, daggers and swords, silver rings, emeralds and emerald jewelry, goat horns, black feathers, seductive colognes, crow skulls, bone dice, devotional poetry and artwork, and classical music, especially violin.

🦁 Lugh

God of: the Sun, The Arts, storms, The Harvest, oaths, Kings, justice, craftsmanship, smithcraft, light, and warriors

Culture: Celtic

Symbols: spear, harp, and slingshot

Plants: apple, oak, hazel, holly, marigold, goldenrod, sunflower, carnation, rose, gorse, bay, basil, allspice, rosemary, and cinnamon 

Animals: lion, horse, raven, stag, crow, hound, and lynx

Colours: brown, gold, yellow, green, red, and blue

Tarot: The Emperor, Justice, Strength, The Sun, and Suit of Wands

Offerings: wine, mead, apple cider, corn, bread, apples, berries, potatoes, beer, harvested fruits and vegetables, corn dolls, cloves, gorse flowers, and handmade crafts

🪐 Ma'at

Goddess of: truth, justice, cosmic order, harmony, wisdom, morality, and balance

Culture: Egyptian

Symbols: scales, ostrich feathers, Ankh

Plants: papyrus

Animals: vulture and ostrich

Colours: purple and black

Tarot: Justice, Temperance, and Judgment

Offerings: no drugs and alcohol, cold water, tea with milk, dates, plums, fish, chicken, olive oil, vinegar, hummus, barley biscuits, reeds, gold jewelry, and white linen.

🦭 Manannan Mac Lir

God of: the sea, weather, navigation, and Guardian of the Otherworld

Culture: Celtic

Symbols: cups, cloak, a silver branch with three golden apples on it, and mermaids

Plants: alder, apple, hazel, blackberry, bramble, reed, meadow grass, yellow flowers, and seaweed

Animals: horse, pig, cow, seal, crane, swan, boar, dog, dolphin, sea horse, and whale

Colours: blue, silver, and gold

Tarot: The Chariot

Offerings: yellow flowers, sea water, bread, ale, and mead.

🌒 Máni

God of: personification of the Moon and protector of children and the mentally ill

Culture: Norse

Symbols: silver, the Moon, and astrology

Plants: jasmine, carnations, night-blooming flowers, and aromatic flowers

Animals: horse, rabbit, and wolf

Colours: blue, silver, black, lavender, and white

Tarot: The Moon

Offerings: peppermint-flavored sweets, peppermint Tea, angel food cake, relaxing tea, and salt

♟️ Marduk

God of: justice, compassion, war, healing, magic, storms, and agriculture

Culture: Mesopotamian 

Symbols: lightning, war chariot, and weapons

Plants: grain

Animals: horse, dog, dragon, and eagle

Colours: gold

Tarot: The Emperor

Offerings: beer, ale, daggers, golden jewelry, bread and grains, coffee, artwork and poetry, feathers, meat, and fruit.

🕯️ Medea

Goddess of: Witch and Priestess of Hecate, invoke for justice, vengeance, and protection

Culture: Greek

Symbols: poisons, cauldrons, and golden fleece

Plants: juniper, olive, and wolf’s bane

Animals: dragon and snake

Colours: gold and white

Tarot: The Magician

Offerings: wine, frankincense, milk, honey, poisons, artifacts of Witchcraft, flowers, and snake and dragon imagery.

🤰 Mokosh

Goddess of: spinning, weaving, fiber arts, moisture, shearing, protection, childbirth, spell casting, fate, fertility, life, death, and rebirth

Culture: Slavic

Symbols: mokosh tones, rain, solar and earthly symbols

Plants: local seasonal plants

Animals: sheep, cat, and horse

Colours: gold, white, and red

Tarot: The Empress

Offerings: personal needlework, wool and flax, grains and bread, salt, oilseeds, dairy, berries, eggs (especially Pisanki), porridge, milk, honey, herbs, fruits, vegetables, a lock of your own hair, and locally sourced seasonal crops.

☃️ Morana

Goddess of: winter, death, and rebirth

Culture: Slavic

Symbols: poppets (spell dolls) and water

Plants: evergreen, berries, grass, rosemary, cypress, wormwood, mandrake, and elderberry

Animals: snake

Colours: white, red, black, and grey

Tarot: Death

Offerings: tea, water, rocks, bones alcoholic beverages, bread, oats, seeds, fruit, and homemade foods and baked goods.

🪄 Morgan le Fay

Goddess of: Witchcraft

Culture: Welsh/Arthurian

Symbols: artifacts of Witchcraft

Plants: honeysuckle, henbane, reed, aspen, oak, and willow

Animals: crow, crane, raven, black dog, horse, cow, and wolf

Colours: red, black, and lavender

Tarot: The Moon and The Magician

Offerings: red ribbons, crow and raven feathers, whiskey, rum.

✊ Nemesis 

Goddess of: retribution, fairness, and Punisher of Hubris

Culture: Greek

Symbols: sword, lash, dagger, scales, and apple branch

Plants: Apple Tree, Thistle

Animals: griffin and goose

Colours: red, black, silver, gold

Tarot: Justice

Offerings: wine, olive oil, water, fruit, honey, milk, feathers, apple seeds, apple blossoms, bones, scales, chains, daffodils and narcissus flowers.

😷 Nergal

God of: war, death, plagues and disease

Culture: Mesopotamian

Symbols: lion-headed Mace and sword

Plants: thistle, grapefruit, and pomegranate

Animals: lion, bull, and bat

Colours: red, black, silver, and gold

Tarot: The Tower, The Devil, and Death

Offerings: animal bones, thorn branches,  bitter lemonade, absinthe, and pomegranate juice.

🏋️ Nike

Goddess of: victory

Culture: Greek

Symbols: balm branch, wings, a wreath, sash, and lyre

Plants: palm tree and laurel tree

Animals: horse

Colours: silver, gold, and blue

Tarot: Wheel of Fortune, Justice, and Strength

Offerings: feathers, trophies, medals, palm branches or leaves, and athletic equipment.

🪴 Ninhursag

Goddess of: the Earth, motherhood, childbirth, fertility, nourishment, agriculture, and vegetation

Culture: Mesopotamian

Symbols: omega symbol, bow, and mace

Plants: all grown vegetation

Animals: Cow, Lion, Fish, Serpent

Colours: green, gold, white, and silver

Tarot: The World, The Empress, Suit of Pentacles, and Queen of Pentacles

Offerings: wine, beer, fresh water, cooked fish, eggs, vegetarian foods, bread, honey, butter, myrrh, and all flowers.

🐚 Njord

God of: the sea, the wind, abundance, and wealth

Culture: Norse

Symbols: ships

Plants: avens, ferns, oak, oak moss, polypody, verbena, rosemary, reeds, and bay

Animals: fish and aquatic creatures

Colours: blue

Tarot: King of Cups

Offerings: fish, seafood, pork, chocolate coins, sea salt chocolate, dark beer, gin, golden items, beads, shells, tobacco, and fishing gear.

🌃 Nut

Goddess of: night 

Culture: Egyptian

Symbols: Ankh and water pot

Plants: sycamore and fig

Animals: boar, cow, vulture, and hippo

Colours: dark blue

Tarot: The Star

Offerings: milk, cool water, star-shaped foods, blue goldstone, and blue flowers

🌌 Nyx

Goddess of: the night 

Culture: Greek

Symbols: crescent moon, mist, darkness, and stars

Plants: poppies, night blooming lilies, moon flowers, and gladiolus

Animals: owl, crow, and bat

Colours: dark blue and black

Tarot: The Star

Offerings: milk, black coffee or tea, dark chocolate, silver jewelry, dragon fruit, dew gathered before the sun rises, wine, dark beer or liquors, and starry and celestial items.

📖 Odin

God of: wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, frenzy, knowledge, war, battle, victory, sorcery, poetry, and Runic alphabet

Culture: Norse

Symbols: valknut, right-legged horse (Sleipnir), wolves, ravens, spear (Gungnir), and the Othala Rune

Plants: mugwort, plantain, wormwood, chamomile, pine, apple, fennel, juniper, elfwort, and wotan’s herb

Animals: wolf, raven, snake, bear, and horse

Colours: grey, deep blue, and black

Tarot: The Hermit, The Magician, and The Hanged Man

Offerings: red wine, mead, beer, ale, quality alcohol, whiskey, smoked salmon, red meat, beef, leeks, asparagus, garlic, and honey

💦 Ọṣun / Oshun

Goddess of: water, purity, fertility, love, sensuality, freshwater, wealth, diplomacy, and The Osun River

Culture: Yoruba

Symbols: seashells, and amber beads

Plants: cinnamon, sunflowers, oranges, yellow squash, marigold, pumpkin, rosemary, and lantana

Animals: peacock, vulture, catfish, river fish in general, cricket, leopard, and crocodile

Colours: white, gold, amber, yellow, and coral

Tarot: The Empress

Offerings: honey (taste before you offer it) , bowl of water, flowers, seashells, beauty items, chamomile tea, cooked shrimp and spinach, yellow and orange fruits and vegetables, sliced orange drizzled with tasted cinnamon honey.

⚰️ Osiris

God of: the Underworld, death, resurrection, fertility, and agriculture

Culture: Egyptian

Symbols: crook and flail, atef crown, ostrich feathers, mummy gauze, and djed

Plants: willow, tamarisk tree, and many types of houseplants

Animals: bull, ostrich, and dog

Colours: black and green

Tarot: The Emperor, The Hierophant, The Lovers, The Hanged Man, Death, and Judgment

Offerings: green and black crystals, bread, beer, beef, bird meat, and nice clothing

🌫️ Ọya

Goddess of: weather, death and rebirth, a psychopomp, and patron of the Niger River

Culture: Yoruba

Symbols: lightning, sword, machete, and fly-whisk

Plants: akoko tree, camwood, camphor, cypress, marigold, and mimosa

Animals: water buffalo, antelope, sheep, and locust

Colours: purple, burgundy, and the rainbow

Tarot: Strength, The High Priestess, and The Empress

Offerings: starfruit, black-eyed peas, plums, purple grapes, mine eggplants is a traditional offering (or one eggplant sliced into nine pieces), and red wine

🐐 Pan

God of: the wild, shepherds, flocks, rustic music, fertility, hunters, mountains, forests, and meadows

Culture: Greek

Symbols: panpipes

Plants: Coriscan Pine, Water-reed, Pine Trees

Animals: goat

Colours: green, brown, and purple

Tarot: The Fool, The Lovers, The Devil, King of Pentacles, and Page of Pentacles

Offerings: pine cones, pine branches, animal bones, musical instruments (especially Woodwinds), milk, honey, and lamb or goat meat

🌋 Pele

Goddess of: volcanoes, fire, Land lightening

Culture: Hawaiian 

Symbols: volcano, fire, and lava

Plants: ohi’a lehua, lehua lower, strawberry, sugar cane, tobacco, coconut, and pineapple

Animals: Hawaiian honeycreeper, sea turtle, fish, and white dogs

Colours: red, orange, yellow, green, and black

Tarot: The Tower and Suit of Wands

Offerings: fruits, flowers, forest plants, berries, vegetables, gin, and cigars

⚱️ Persephone

Goddess of: the Underworld and spring

Culture: Greek

Symbols: pomegranate, grain, torch, and flowers

Plants: asphodel wheat, willow, narcissus, lily, ivy, lily of the valley, daisy, and lavender

Animals: deer, bat, black ram, parrot, and monkey

Colours: green, black, light blue, purple, magenta, indigo, and yellow

Tarot: The Hermit, The Hanged Man, Death, Judgment, and Knight of Pentacles

Offerings: pomegranates/pomegranate juice, honey, floral tea, breads and sweets, flower crowns or arrangements, dark chocolate, flowers, crushed mint, animal bones, jewelry, and/or your artwork

🌊 Poseidon

God of: the sea, water, horses, and earthquakes

Culture: Greek

Symbols: trident

Plants: pine tree and wild celery

Animals: fish, dolphin, horse, and bull

Colours: blue, teal, green, and silver

Tarot: King of Cups and Suit of Cups

Offerings: ocean water, honey, olive oil, seaweed, white wine poured into water, wild celery, homemade seafood, seashells, sea salt, coral, mint, and sand

☀️ Ra

God of: creator god, and the sun

Culture: Egyptian

Symbols: sun disk, ankh, , and sceptre

Plants: citrus fruits, marigold, sunflower, papyrus, daisy, and lotus

Animals: falcon, lion, and eagle

Colours: yellow, gold, orange, red, and white

Tarot: The Emperor and The Sun

Offerings: fruit juice, citrus fruits, honey, water, beer, wine, bread, barley, figs, dates, chocolate, chicken or duck, beef, and frankincense.

🚢 Rán

Goddess of: the sea

Culture: Norse

Symbols: Fishing Nets, Stormy Seas

Plants: beech, buckthorn, elder, elm, ivy, juniper, willow, and yew

Animals: aquatic Animals

Colours: black an sea-green

Tarot: Queen of Cups

Offerings: clean up the ocean, seashells, fishing with a net, seafood, gold, coins, sea rocks, flowers, sand, seawater, bread? cakes, and mead

🐎 Rhiannon

Goddess of: the moon, horses, songbirds, wind, gates, and horseshoes

Culture: Welsh

Symbols: the moon, horseshoes, waning moon phases, gates, the winds, and the number 7

Plants: cedar, pine, narcissus, daffodils, pansies, rosemary, sage, bay, lavender, and all white flowers

Animals: horse, frog, dog, songbird, dragon, badger, and hummingbird

Colours: green, silver, black, white, grey, red, maroon, and brown

Tarot: The Moon

Offerings: soft-sounding music, a white candle with the number 7 carved into it, white flowers, apples, willow, ivy, evergreens, caring for horses, caring for dogs, and studying liminal spaces and astral work

💀 Santa Muerte

Goddess of: healing, protection, financial wellbeing, and the afterlife

Culture: Mexican

Symbols: scythe, globe, scales of justice, and oil lamp

Plants: fresh flowers, apples, and marigolds

Animals: owl, dogs, cats, dove, crows, and snakes

Colours: red, white, black, blue, and green

Tarot: Death

Offerings: cash, cigars, apples, tequila, cannabis, fresh water, candles, candy, fruit, roses, and bread

🌙 Selene

Goddess of: the Moon

Culture: Roman

Symbols: crescent, torch, chariot, billowing cloak, bull, stars, moon, horse, lunar cycle, torch, and bull horns

Plants: willow, moonflower, lavender, wisteria, oak, lilac, birch, rose, dandelion, and jasmine

Animals: horse, bull, mule, and ox

Incense: frankincense, rosemary, guaiac, orris root, and tonka bean

Colours: silver, blue, white, and grey

Tarot: The Moon, The Star, and Temperance

Offerings: white foods, moon water, dew, glitter/shiny objects, olive oil, flowers, fruit, moon-shaped things, water, honey, nephalia (wineless libation), milk, statues of horses, cakes, and crystals (moonstone, quartz, selenite, and pearl)

🦁 Sekhmet 

Goddess of: war, destruction, healing, divine wrath, fire, and the sun

Culture: Egyptian

Symbols: the sun, scimitar, ankh, the desert, and pomegranates

Plants: carnation, rose, cloves, cinnamon, juniper, and orange blossoms

Animals: lion and cobra

Colours: red, gold, yellow, and white

Tarot: Strength, The Tower, and The Sun

Offerings: red wine, rum, beer, meats, bones, tobacco, wild cat skulls, weapons like daggers and swords, pomegranates, spicy foods, gold Jewelry, red Flowers, milk, blackberries, raspberries, mushrooms, and bread

💣 Set

God of: the sky, storms, the desert, disorder, war, foreigners, and a trickster God

Culture: Egyptian

Symbols: was sceptre and ankh

Plants: lettuce

Animals: hippopotamus, crocodile, scorpion, snapping turtle, wild pig, and donkey

Colours: red

Tarot: The Chariot, Death, and The Devil

Offerings: beer, whiskey, red wine, spicy foods, red meats, lettuce, shellfish, maces and daggers, bird eggs, cherries, dark chocolate, and shiny things

🪞 Sif

Goddess of: grain and fertility

Culture: Norse

Symbols: golden hair, loom, and mirror

Plants: birch, chamomile, fir, hawthorn, mugwort, rose, and willow

Animals: songbirds

Colours: gold and green

Tarot: Suit of Pentacles and Queen of Pentacles

Offerings: beer, honey, mead, grain, and bread

🎿 Skaði

Goddess of: winter, wilderness, mountains, bowhunting, and skiing

Culture: Norse

Symbols: skis, bow and arrows, snow, mountains, frost, and snowshoes

Plants: beech, blackthorn, elder, elm, ivy, juniper, mullein, and willow

Animals: wolf

Colours: white and brown

Tarot: The Hermit and Temperance

Offerings: vodka, traditional Scandinavian foods, meat from hunted animals (rabbit, deer, etc.), animal pelts, animal bones, and snow Water

🌞 Sol / Sunna

Goddess of: the Sun

Culture: Norse

Symbols: the Sun and gold

Plants: chamomile, cinnamon, corn, daisy, marigold, citrus fruits, rosemary, sunflower, and wheat

Animals: horse

Colours: gold, red, yellow, orange, white, and green

Tarot: The Sun

Offerings: mead, honey, bread, cider, and fruit juice

🪦 Thanatos

God of: personification of death

Culture: Greek

Symbols: sword, inverted torch, theta, wreath, wings

Plants: poppy and cypress

Animals: butterfly

Colours: black, silver, white, and purple

Tarot: Death

Offerings: (traditional liquid offerings are poured into the ground and food is buried), red wine, olive oil, water, honey, poppy seeds, black tea, dark chocolate, feathers, animal bones, snake skin, and graveyard dirt (collected respectfully)

🍃 The Dagda

God of: fertility, agriculture, strength, magic, druidry, wisdom, father-figure, King and Druid

Culture: Celtic

Symbols: club, cauldron, and harp

Plants: grains and oats

Animals: pig and bull

Colours: black, silver, white, and purple

Tarot: Strength, Wheel of Fortune, The World, King of Pentacles, King of Wands

Offerings: Porridge, Mead, Milk, Honey, Pork, Beef, Mutton, Music, and Laughter

Offerings: honey, olive oil, sweets, flowers, herbs, plants, bread, wheat, fruit, sunflower oil, beer, mead, spring water, vegetables, grains, and baked goods

🔮 The Morrigan

Goddess of: magic, battle, life and death, sovereignty, fresh water, prophecy, and fate

Culture: Celtic

Symbols: cloak, spear, chariot, sword, and shield

Plants: willow, aspen, rowan, snapdragon, hawthorn, yew, belladonna, mugwort, and nightshade (do not consume, handle with care!)

Animals: crow, raven, horse, eel, serpent, and wolf

Colours: red, black, white, blue, and green

Tarot: Suit of Swords, Queen of Swords, Justice, and Death

Offerings: red meat, red wine poured into the ground, apples, mead, milk, whiskey, storm water, crow feathers, knives and daggers, and artwork

🌩️ Thor

God of: thunder, lightning, strength, protection, fertility, masculinity, and protector of humanity

Culture: Norse

Symbols: Mjölnir

Plants: oak, garlic, onion, gorse, thistle, hawthorn, leeks, houseleek, mountain ash, hazel, pine, acorns, and oak moss

Animals: goat and bull

Colours: red, white, gold, and blue

Tarot: Strength and The Chariot

Offerings: hearty foods with lots of meat or onions, mead, beer, flattery, oak, whiskey, coffee, and honey

✒️ Thoth

God of: knowledge, wisdom, writing, mathematics, science, magic, truth, integrity, time, and the moon

Culture: Egyptian

Symbols: scales, papyrus scroll, stylus, crescent moon, and a pen

Plants: papyrus and sweet flag

Animals: ibis and baboon

Colours: white, blue, and teal

Tarot: The Magician, The Hierophant, The Star, and The Moon

Offerings: black tea, water, honey, blackberries, apricots, salmon, tuna, oranges (and orange-flavoured things), walnuts, cashews, quills, fountain pens, leather-bound books and journals, books you think he’d enjoy, silver, poetry, dark chocolate, whiskey, gin, mead, mint tea, and moon water

🗡️ Tyr

God of: war, lawgiver, justice, oaths

Culture: Norse

Symbols: weapons like arrows and spears

Plants: flowering spurge, holly, wolfsbane, and monkshood

Animals: wolf, bear, and eagle

Colours: red, silver, grey, and gold

Tarot: King of Swords

Offerings: wine, strong beer, salt, honey, bread, grains, beef, pork, and potatoes

🐄 Veles

God of: the Underworld, Earth, water, music, magic, trickery, cattle, and wealth

Culture: Slavic

Symbols: the symbol of Veles

Plants: willow

Animals: cow, bear, snake, wolf, dragon, and owl

Colours: gold, yellow, and red

Tarot: The Magician, The Hierophant, The Star, and The Moon

Offerings: cooked corn, bread, herbs (especially basil), wooden flutes and string instruments, black wool or fur, things carved from wood, coins, chicken, mistletoe, and music, 

🌧️ Zeus

God of: King of the Gods, the sky, weather, law, order, justice, hospitality

Culture: Greek

Symbols: lightning bolt, cloud, sceptre, throne, and aegis

Plants: oak, olive, wild celery, artichoke, white poplar, and linden tree

Animals: eagle, bull, cuckoos, and swan

Colours: gold, yellow, blue, white, purple, and silver

Tarot: The Emperor, Justice, Wheel of Fortune, King of Swords, and The Fool

Offerings: wine, olive oil, water, honey, milk, red meat, bread and cakes, rainwater, golden objects, crowns, scales, eagle feathers, oak branches and leaves, beef or mutton, whiskey, and cinnamon.

[chuuyadelune]

now that i have recovered from the emotional shock of seeing *that* akutagawa scene from chapter 88 animated in HD 4K (i thought i’d have another week to emotionally prepare myself LMAO), i just wanna be a little bit of a nerd and say that i really liked the cinematography/composition this episode.

in particular, i really enjoyed the anime’s decision to draw visual parallels between this fight and previous fights (in particular, the fight against francis, which is important because it is the first time they worked together).

after all, this fight is the culmination of everything they’ve done together. from the combining of their abilities, coming to an understanding with each other, realising the potential of beast-beneath the moonlight-rashoumon… bringing back similar shots that were used in previous fights is SUPER effective at highlighting the parallels and how far they’ve come, in my humble opinion.

here are a few things i noticed:

- first of all, both of them activating their abilities one after another is an explicit nod to S2’s fight;

- the confrontation/conversation in the hallway from S2 (to an extent! they’re on the same sides, which caught my eye);

- akutagawa blowing up the engine room on the ship, and kyouka doing the same during the first fight between him and atsushi (S1);

- and a similar angle being used for black tiger claws / koukko zessou as a nod to the fight in the S3 finale.

the parallels — though maybe less explicit, *are* still there in the manga? like, the entire “structure” of the fight so to speak is very similar to the francis fight in S2 — akutagawa finding atsushi, taking place on a(n air)ship, breaking away from the fight to strategise before confronting the final boss (then, francis, and now, fukuchi) is undeniably a nod to that fight? i love that this is given its due in the anime as well.

another thing about the cinematography this episode i loved was them using the clock as being the indicator of fukuchi’s fuckass space-time sword doing its thing. that was a really nice touch, in my opinion; the cuts in between were jarring and disorienting and really helped put us into sskk’s shoes.

and as for the background design alongside the clock itself — there were a couple of things about them i enjoyed:

- the number of floors / levels of the ship in the back (5, as a nod to the five ways an angel decays, the DOA)

- the blue of the clock is meant to be reminiscent of fukuchi’s sword, i’d argue, with the way both of them pops out of the sunset/orangey-red lighting

- the clock’s design being super ornate and gold plated reminds me a *bit* of a tabernacle (where they keep unused eucharist in a church) — and thus brings up connotations of sacrifice. that white bridge-thing beneath the clock as well reminds me a lot of an altar, too (see the image above the last to see what exactly i’m referring to, because image limit)

okay, yeah, that one might be a bit of a stretch, sure. but its placement as being above them, combined with the two tables/boxes to the left and right of the ship’s bow (which looks very much like a cross, btw) gives it a distinctly religious, altar-kinda feel, i’d argue. and crosses have been used in S4 as symbolism as well!

(tbh, there could even be a bit more imagery i’m missing, because — the angels of the DOA refers specifically to the buddhist conception of an angel. i’m not too familiar with buddhist imagery, but i thought that this was worth pointing out regardless!)

the last thing i want to say is that the red and blue symbolism went CRAZY this episode. i don’t have much else to say because it was super obvious — they even reused the same “black tiger claws” shot from S3, after all — but i do wanna point out that the symbolism even went into the carpets. the fucking carpets.

like, the shift: it’s red when akutagawa’s leading the conversation but changes to blue after atsushi’s suggesting of the submersible as a strategy? i mean, i don’t know if this (or anything i’ve said, to be fair) was intentional or not, but it’s a cool detail anyway!

personally, i enjoyed this episode, the action was great, and all of this too was a really neat addition as well! and now… uh. we wait for the chaos to get worse i suppose !? (laughs nervously)

[here4tripitaka]

Ch 59: Yum cha, fire and literal bubble tea

This chapter was just all-round beautiful. Atmospheric, poetic, visually vivid and full of music - although sometimes also uncomfortably realistic (unnaturally hot weather; mountain fires).

The red mountain made me think of landscapes I’ve seen. The idea of drums and bugles saving people from the sound of the sizzling sun sinking into the sea made me think of the din of musical instruments at Chinese New Year. The dragons in the streams and the paulownia trees were simply beautiful.

And the music! There is so much music. Yu’s footnotes say that three of the poems are set to pre-existing Chinese tunes. I tried to dig them up. They’re at the bottom of this post, for anyone interested.

Well, let’s begin. As we know, the travellers come upon a strangely sweltering part of the landscape. Bajie thinks they must be at the Edge of Heaven, but Wukong points out they can’t possibly have travelled that far. They approach the house of a local man, introduced to us through the ‘Not Quite’ poem.

I loved this poem. It reminded me a little of the Phantom Tollbooth or of Lewis Carroll. (Of course, that may well be because I don’t know much, if any, non-western poetry or literature with which to compare it. Do let me know if you know any Tollbooth-esque literature or poetry from other cultures.)

He tells them they’re at the foot of the Mountain of Flames.

I didn’t realise the flaming mountains were a real land feature in China - minus the pyrotechnics. Apparently travellers along the Silk Road avoided them. The soil temperature has been estimated at 66.8°C (152.2°F). (Thanks Wikipedia.)

Tripitaka is overwhelmed at the mere thought of the heat. He turns pale and falls silent - right back to his old ways:

Wukong, being the ADHD kid that he is, gets distracted by a vendor with a cart, and goes to buy rice pudding with a hair-turned-copper-coin.

I don’t know which kind of rice pudding this means, but it sounds delicious. Maybe this?

Or this?

But really I’m just thinking of this - which has nothing to do with rice or pudding, but everything to do with me getting excited when a Chinese food cart rolls around:

Wukong calls bullshit on the place being hot all year round. He figures if they can make rice flour for rice pudding, there have to be both hot and cool seasons.

And so they find out about Immortal/Princess Iron Fan, whose fan can extinguish the fires and even bring rain.

Cut to the woodcutter on Jade Cloud Mountain, who has a real chip on his shoulder about calling her ‘immortal’:

The 'Raksasi' thing may or may not be a jerk move, because apparently it just means ‘female demon’:

Wukong gets nervous about having to confront another angry relative of Red Boy, and the woodcutter schools him on how he should never be nervous as a Buddhist:

Even when Wukong explains his bind, the woodcutter stands by it:

I somehow love the total lack of strategy here. “Okay. You have every reason to think that this demon will refuse to give you what you want. Just disregard that entirely, and go in there confidently.”

Wukong finds Iron Fan, gets his ass kicked by her, and takes back some of the condescending thoughts he’d had about her as a woman fighter. We go from this:

To this:

He’s bailed out by Bodhisattva Lingji, who conveniently has a Wind-Arresting Elixir. Wukong returns to unwarranted pride in his manhood in no time:

I mean, the only reason he can withstand the wind is that a woman was nice and gave him an elixir. So I'm not sure what it has to do with him being a man.

He sneaks into Iron Fan’s stomach via her tea:

In the ultimate Trojan Horse move, he prods her insides til it hurts. I must not have been the only one thinking of yum cha when the rice pudding came up, because the dim sum theme continues:

Iron-Fan puts on a good pretence of panicking and surrendering, but keeps her cool. She gives Wukong a fake iron fan. He doesn’t realise until he’s dragged the whole of Team Tripitaka up the Mountain of Flames and made the fire worse.

Tripitaka cries.

Ah, dear Tripitaka. He wants those scriptures. He wants them SO MUCH. And if he can’t get them, his heart is going to break.

Meanwhile, Bajie is just laughing his ass off because Wukong lost all the hair from his thighs in the fire.

The guys are at a bit of a loss. The only way to the west is to pass the Mountain of Fire, but nobody really knows what to do next. Clearly Wukong is no longer feeling so confident about kicking Iron Fan’s ass, cos he’s not even talking about trying a third time.

While they’re kicking around, they’re approached by a mysterious man, who turns out to be the spirit of the Mountain of Flames. He tips them off about what to do next.

And that’s it for this week. I’m excited for the next chapter, because I came across some ceramic art online that gave me some possible hints about next week. I’ll refrain from posting it, but we’ll see next week.

Music

As promised! The music for the three poems.

#1 To the tune of the Wind in the Pines

《風入松歌》 Feng Ru Song Ge

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOr1-ZeVGvM

About the music: https://silkqin.com/02qnpu/10tgyy/tg28frsg.htm

#2 To the tune of Barbarian Bodhisattvas

Probably this music? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1jmF5zg9yI

#3 To the tune of Moon Over West River

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGMkxd8RW5o

@journeythroughjourneytothewest

—

Image credits: The usual spiel. The images above are either AI, or random pictures from the web, or a Frankenstein of both; some modified, some not. They are not original. The pre-existing images should turn up with reverse googling or have links embedded, but feel free to ask and I’ll dig up sources.

[ancientcraftnoccultism]

Beginner Class - Introduction to Meditation

Ancient Craft & Occultism

Introduction to Meditation

___

By KB

Introduction

Hello again, everyone! Welcome back to the next lesson for the Beginner Class. Last lesson, we talked about finding your personal center as well as a bit more in depth on grounding. Well, today, we'll be taking a closer look at the many forms and practices of meditation.

What Is Meditation?

Meditation is an essential aspect of witchcraft and magic practice as it allows you to interact with the universe (or your higher power) through conscious thought and focused desire. Ritual, spellwork, and your regular thoughts and speech are examples of other techniques. Meditation is a discipline in which one trains the mind and creates a state of consciousness in order to gain some advantage. Meditation encompasses a wide range of different activities and practices. We will go into more detail in the following sections.

Nearly every culture in the world has some connection to meditation. Whatever the design, they are typically intended to encourage connecting with spiritual guidance, feeling at ease, developing inner strength, having psychic visions, becoming closer to God, remembering former lives, going on astral journeys, and more. Meditation is a well-known, age-old technique that has been used for millennia to promote calmness, concentration, and connection with our inner selves. The benefits of meditation on the mind, body, and soul are reciprocal.

A Brief History

In actuality, nobody is certain of the exact beginning and location of meditation. But our theories are supported by facts. This ancient rite is mentioned in many civilizations and religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. All of these faiths have something to offer to the modern understanding of meditation as it is practiced today. Although the history of meditation is controversial, many people think it began there more than 5000 years ago.

India Origins

It is generally accepted that the Vedas, a collection of Hindu writings, include the oldest written account of meditation. The Vedic books were written around 1500 BCE. The Vedas include mention of a practice known as "Dhyana," which is considered to be the first example of meditation that we are aware of. In Sanskrit, the word "dhyana" implies "contemplation" or "meditation." It is intended to calm the mind and attain "thoughtless awareness." However, Vedantism is frequently rejected by Buddhist beliefs in favor of the Buddha's teachings.

The various Buddhist levels of meditation can also be found in other ancient Indian scriptures dating back to the first century BCE. These texts are known as the Pli Canon Sutras. The Pli Canon is a body of Theravada Buddhist literature. And then there's Buddha. Siddhartha Gautama, an Indian prince, was the inspiration for Buddha. He was looking for a means to end human pain. Gautama attempted numerous strategies, but none of them seemed to work. He sat down under a tree one day and determined not to move until he discovered the solution he sought. He attained enlightenment after 49 days of meditating and started the Buddhist faith. The practice of meditation is claimed to have spread throughout India from there. Buddhist monks embraced meditation as a means of achieving inner peace, frequently sitting for hours in silence, meditating on their master's teachings.

Asia Origins

Around the sixth century BCE, the practice of meditation spread to China, where it was influenced by Taoism and Buddhism. At the end of the Han dynasty, Buddhist monks from India introduced meditation to China. Over the next century, the practice began to blend into Chinese culture. The Taoists also believed in the efficacy of meditation and devised their own techniques for mind-stilling. One famous Taoist meditation practice is known as "Qigong." Qigong is a type of moving meditation that entails slow, gentle motions as well as deep breathing. Meditation extended from China to Japan, Korea, and other parts of Asia. Zen Buddhists perform "Zazen," a type of meditation practiced in Japan.

The technique was introduced to Japan by the Japanese monk Dosho, who journeyed to China to study Buddhism under the famous master Hsuan Tsang. Zazen, which translates as "seated meditation," is sitting in quiet with one's eyes closed. Korea has its own type of meditation known as "Won," which is based on Buddhist and Taoist concepts. It is a sort of moving meditation in which gentle, rhythmic motions are used to calm the body and mind.

Western Origins

Meditation became popular in the Western world in the twentieth century. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was among the first Westerners to popularize meditation. Maharishi is most known for popularizing the technique of "transcendental meditation" in the 1960s. The Yogis are a Hindu group that believes in the power of meditation to help one achieve enlightenment. The term "yoga" truly means "union" or "connection." Yoga seeks to unite the mind, body, and soul.

Other Yogis, such as Paramahansa Yogananda, who penned the classic book "Autobiography of a Yogi," also contributed to the introduction of meditation to the West. Maharishi's method of meditation is closing our eyes and reciting a mantra. A mantra is a word or phrase that is repeated repeatedly. The idea is to concentrate on the chant while clearing our brains.

Meditation & Spirituality

Spirituality is a broad topic with numerous interpretations. In general, it encourages a sense of connection to something larger than ourselves, as well as a connection with your higher self or higher awareness. It promotes the search for meaning in life and living with a broader perspective. It has a highly global appeal--something that all humans can relate to. A spiritual experience may be described as sacred, ethereal, mystical, or transcendent, or simply as a deep sense of positive emotions such as calm, amazement, wonder, connectivity, contentment, appreciation, acceptance, compassion, and unconditional love. All of these are true characteristics of our spirit.

Spiritual meditation, as the term implies, is that which connects you to your spirit. It pushes you past your limiting identities and labels to the core of who you truly are. You as your authentic self - joy, love, and tranquility. You may feel a rain of grace and happiness, as well as a deep sense of closeness and oneness, if you practice spiritual meditation. The desire to practice spiritual meditation stems from an underlying desire to perceive and think beyond the apparent world. Spiritual meditation can assist you in discovering the everlasting truth and meaning of existence. It keeps you anchored in the present moment, where you want to be and find peace.

Any genuine meditation practice, when practiced over time, can aid in your spiritual growth and will begin to provide the following spiritual benefits:

A balanced and grounded sense of being

Experience of deep inner stillness and peace

Radiating serenity, calmness, and love

A sense of awakening and freedom

Less emotional reactions

More awareness and mindfulness

Sense of inner bliss regardless of situation

The feeling of always being home

Belonging and connecting to all

Great abundance and security

Increased creativity and free thinking

More resilient to anger and stress

Meditation & General Health

Although meditation has been practiced for many years and is known to have many positive effects on the mind, it is only recently that science has established a strong connection between meditation and physical health. It's simple to feel overpowered by ideas and emotions in the fast-paced world of today. We all know the damage stress and anxiety can do to our health. Stress and anxiety are frequently caused by emotional overload. Nowadays, professionals from all over the world agree that practicing mindfulness for a little period of time each day can make a huge difference. The advantages of meditation for both the body and the mind are well-documented and very compelling. Here's just a few ways frequent meditation can improve our overall health.

daily meditation practice can improve blood circulation, lower the heart rate and help maintain a healthy heart

frequent mindfulness sessions seemed to improve meditators’ immune system functions

produces positive, lasting changes within the brain

meditation not only supports memory and attention, it also enhances mental agility and alertness

women, in general, who practice mindfulness are more aware and accepting of their bodies (also helps with PMS pain)

meditation develops mental awareness and can help you manage triggers for unwanted impulses

meditation can diminish the perception of pain in the brain

blood pressure decreases not only during meditation but also over time in individuals who meditate regularly

Meditation & Witchcraft

As magical practitioners and witches, one of the most important things we can master is the art of meditation. It allows us to still the soul and quiet the mind, which, in turn, allows us to listen to our intuition and focus on our personal energy. Meditation can also be used as a gateway for higher awareness or entering the astral realm.

Now, meditating may not come easy for a lot of you. This is perfectly normal. When I first started practicing, I had a feeling inside that made me feel extremely goofy, and stupid. The more I ignored it, the louder and stronger it grew. I eventually sat with the voice and came to the conclusion that it was my ego, driven by fear and insecurity. The more I sat with the voice, the less I felt stupid about things. I believe this was my initiative into shadow work. Anyways, back to class -

Utilizing meditation within your craft will prove to be absolutely essential the more you do ritual and spell work. Don't give up hope if "conventional" methods don't work for you. We're going to get into several different techniques of achieving the same meditative state.

Types of Meditation

There are so many different types of meditation, if I went into them all, this lesson would turn into an entire chapter. I'm just going to keep it sweet and simple here, but I absolutely encourage you to look into different methods, especially if none of the ones I have listed work for you. Let's get to it.

Active Meditation

Sitting in silence for even 2 minutes may sound like absolute torture for a lot of you. Good news is, that's not the only way to meditate. Have you ever done a yoga class, a workout session, or even taken a nice, fresh shower & felt a sense of bliss? Well, you experienced a meditative state of mind. You can do this by getting out in nature, cleaning the house, performing an art form, anything that involves movement can be a form of active meditation! Woo-hoo for us neurodivergents!

Body Scan

This method allows you to reconnect the mind to the body in a way that notices any physical sensations or tension. While relaxation naturally happens here, the goal is to pay attention to sensory experiences you typically don't notice. This allows you to be more present in your day to day life and is also a wonderful grounding and centering technique.

Mindful Breathing

The body is wiser than the mind, and this technique proves it. It is a very simple, mindless method, but has very profound effects on the body and mind. There are several breathing techniques out there, which I encourage you all to research on your own. All have different effects on the mind and body, so please be sure to choose one that is suitable for you.

Visual Meditation

This is when you focus your mind's eye, or your imagination, into an image to center the mind and the body. The main focus is to imagine and hone in on a memory or something creative and nice that opens the mind's eye. This is a wonderful exercise for those who want to enhance their visualizing abilities.

Sound Meditation

Again, this is exactly as it sounds. This meditation uses sound to provoke a meditative state of mind and align the bodily energies.

[08theverysmallhuman]

THANK GOD SOMEBODY IN THIS FUCKING FANDOM LIKES IGAGURI!!!!!!!!! OH MY GODDDD HE IS LITERALLY JUST A LITTLE GUY WHAT THE FUCK ARE HATERS SO MAD ABOUT!!!!!!! I thought the more recent scene with him and Isagi where he was given advice was incredible and I really hope we get to see more of him in future arcs still because he’s Isagi’s pal and first real rival!!! He’s silly comic relief yeah but he’s also genuinely likable and has a VERY heavy and real reason to be so driven and passionate to stick in Blue Lock! And I am SO happy seeing somebody else who likes him here FINALLY! FINALLY!!! THANK YOU

THAT MAKES WHAT. FOUR? IGAGURI ENJOYERS IVE SEEN ON HERE?? WHAT THE FUCK

FOR FUCKING REEEEAL !!!!! They're mad he's still in because it makes no sense well first of all he quite literally is established to not want to train if he doesn't have to and call him lazy and it doesn't make sense he's still in WHEN IN CANON he works hard enough to be good enough to run with the beasts blue lock is cultivating, to the point where he's actually straining his fucking body and injuring himself on equipment and throwing up???? Brother if you fall face first on a treadmill set to max you are not getting back on I don't know what to tell you. He's decided to train the thing he's good at, the same thing everyone else in the series is doing, the thing that Real Life Soccer Players accepts as an actual strategy and people are getting on his ass about it cause they can't fucking accept that he's a genuinely GOOD soccer player who's playing with actual superpowered geniuses

He's also like??? Really nice compared to some of these guys?? He talks a lot of shit but like it's comparatively tame and not really all that different from like regular team animosity? You got other people on this team saying some real out of pocket shit and you're on this guy's case about it ISAGI's ruder than this guy. He's genuinely happy for his friends when they reach a new level in their progress, he's comfortable asking them for advice and help with practice, he's literally isagi's hypeman on the field and he's cheering for every goal

It's literally just because they find him ugly there's literally no other reason. He's not even ugly he's bald but he looks fine dude he's literally living in a fucking temple what do you want from him. He might not even wanna look like this he very adamantly hates the thought of continuing to live in the temple let a man be

And yes his backstory is literally The most interesting one to me hands down I need to know what his home life is like I need to know his dad his mom his friends how he got into soccer in a reportedly strict shrine especially with his personality being like Super Not Buddhist, he prays to ask for stuff and not anywhere else, his jersey number is literally a reference to the 108 earthly desires Buddhists are meant to stay away from, that he specifically indulges in while he's away from home I wonder if he's used to being squished in a room with multiple people and that's how he finds such bizarre sleeping positions cause it's so open suddenly I need to know if he makes it out which he fucking better if he goes back I'm destroying all life on the planet let my boy go

Not even gonna get into the it shouldve kira argument I've said it a million times they only want him back because he's hot but kira was not fucking making it in blue lock . you want him to but he just fuckin wasn't maybe one day I'll get into it but you know in your heart of hearts Pretty Boy McSwaggy here was getting his fucking shit rocked

Igarashi Gurimu is a GREAT LIKEABLE AMD COMPELLING CHARACTER and just because he's not exactly bishie IT DOESNT MEAN HE'S A BAD PERSON?? Ive literally seen 'igaguri would be a pervert igaguri would be homophobic' he's literally one of the few people in blue lock who hasnt mentioned girls or romance bud. And my guy put up with shidou dude I think we're Fine

[alexandriaisburning]

041: What makes Zeroranger special, anyway?

CANON FIRE is made possible by the generous contributions of readers like you. Support more writing like this on Patreon. Thank you!

Developed over a decade and layered in mysteries, Zeroranger is a shooter that’s received acclaim from both STG* fanatics and first-timers for the ways it bends genres. But for all its talk about the ways it pays homage to the genre, and the insistence that it’s something special, Zeroranger almost never gets talked about in plain terms, out of fear of spoiling the surprises that await first time players. That level of caution from its fans is almost admirable, but it leaves what makes the game special undiscussed, and makes it hard for both curious players wondering what the big deal is, and leaves Zeroranger’s best ideas unappreciated. 

With that in mind I’ll be doing a deep dive into Zeroranger’s design, with no limitations on what I talk about or spoil. 

On a basic level, Zeroranger is a vertically scrolling STG that borrows ideas from a variety of genre classics, paying homage to them through bosses, stage layouts and game mechanics. After each stage you’re given a choice between one of two weapons, each which will become useful in the next stage, but in different ways, with variations between the two playable ships. After the first stage you get a choice between back and side firing weapons, the second unlocks a lock on laser or chargeable shot, and the penultimate boss fight--against Grapefruit, the ship previously thought to be destroyed during the first attack on the enemy--unlocks a mech transformation with a powerful melee weapon that stacks damage and protects you from enemy attacks. 

Each weapon allows varied interactions with the level design, covering different areas of the screen and allowing you to approach enemy patterns in a new way. Since you can’t have both weapons of each tier, you’ll have to choose which weakness you’ll accept, and pair it with other weapons that can cover that weakness. It encourages repeat playthroughs to try different strategies and learn the stage layouts, which is good, because Zeroranger will demand repetition. 

At the core of Zeroranger is the theme of karmic cycles, repackaging long standing genre concepts in a way that ties them to the ongoing narrative. Like Neverawake, Zeroranger plays with the concepts of Loops--second playthroughs that remix the original stages--but here it acts closer to something out of the Nier series. The initial playthrough is only setup, with a repeat playthrough being the de facto second act, with altered context that builds on your original understanding, followed by a third and final act that brings a proper conclusion. 

The karmic themes even affect the meta progression of Zeroranger. Score contributes towards earning the next of nine total continues, used to retry a stage from a checkpoint after death. Continues are represented by the nine orbs that fill out a wheel at the end of the run, which itself resembles the Wheel of Samsara, often used by Buddhists to describe the cycle of existence that mortal beings are subject to. 

By framing each attempt as another cycle or reincarnation, it implies that each death has in fact happened, and the only way to escape the cycle is with enough perseverance and knowledge. It blows up the scale to a cosmic degree, and makes your journey to the end of the game, and the knowledge you build of its world, into a form of mechanical and narrative progression. 

This knowledge of the world becomes integral to the second loop, which introduces major changes to the patterns and layouts of the first loop, but allows you to return with all your weapons. With these previously unavailable weapons you can easily dispatch enemies that were hard to deal with, and details that seemed mysterious on the first loop fall into place. One of my favorite examples of this are the enemies who appear in the background, before flying into the foreground to attack. On the first loop they seem like a cool, decorative detail, but on the second loop, with the lock-on laser available, suddenly they’re targets you can pick off before they get a chance to attack.

The final act begins when you meet the Grapefruit for the second time and reveal your mech form, allowing you to have a proper duel where they’ll whip out several abilities, including more powerful versions of your own weapons, revealing why they were the first choice in dealing with the enemy. 

After defeating Grapefruit you’ll once again face the final boss, but this time instead of the boss rush of the first loop, they’ll give up and offer you another power up. 

Here Zeroranger shifts into its final act, requiring you to solve a series of puzzles before gaining access to the true ending. Grabbing the powerup shows you the “ending” and puts you into a loop where you’ll replay the first stage in Final Boss mode, leaning harder into Zeroranger’s CAVE** influences by changing out your default weapons for a Dodonpachi style barrage of bullets and bombs. Completing the stage and grabbing the powerup puts you into another brief minigame before glitching out and returning you to the title. 

To escape this you’ll need to reject that final powerup, either within the Final Boss stage or before, during the boss room where the boss rush takes place. By rejecting the offering you gain access to Despair, the real final boss hidden beneath the facility, who naturally has several phases to complete. The first phase is a puzzle itself, requiring you to carefully observe the orbs emitting the attacks, and time your own attacks to destroy them close to simultaneously, or otherwise be stuck helpless in yet another looping trap. 

Completing the first phase reveals the true form of the final boss, Despair, a suitably terrifying challenge with a massive suite of attacks whose design could inspire its own essay. Compared to the cerebral challenges preceding it, this final form is more straightforward, but learning the complexities of the patterns often felt as hard as the combined challenge of every obstacle met on the way here. 

Defeating Despair reveals the true final boss challenge--a sequence that reveals the origins of Zeroranger’s world, and connects several unresolved narrative threads. Not only must you complete it completely stripped of your previous arsenal, but you’re given a single chance to do so. 

Not quite understanding the gravity of what the game was implying there, I took on the final challenge after an exhausting struggle with Despair, desperate to finally see the ending--only to have my save deleted after I failed. 

Not only do you need to scale the mountainous challenge of defeating Despair, but you need to complete it with continues to spare, as each continue orb becomes a health point for your final confrontation. In addition, you have to quickly adapt to playing without any of the weapons you’ve built familiarity with during your playtime, and learn the new boss patterns on the fly while unraveling how exactly you can damage the boss. Practice runs are impractical, as you’ll have to complete the whole game at least once before returning, making the minimum time between attempts nearly an hour, if you’ve complete mastery of the rest of the game. 

So I cheated. I downloaded my save from the cloud, backed it up, then went back and completed it on my third try, after restoring my save twice. As I finished the final challenge, Zeroranger left me with the same message it began with:

May you attain enlightenment. 

By circumventing the challenge, by failing to persevere in the face of disaster, I’d arguably failed this goal. I’d given in to my material desires and skipped the suffering necessary to achieve the knowledge needed to break free of the cycle. Fitting then, that Zeroranger’s conclusion is one that’s hopeful, but open ended, implying that this current cycle has been broken, but the events that caused it may one day repeat themselves. 

Then Zeroranger deletes your save. 

Records carry over, and the color palette and story change to reflect your achievement, but progress unlocking stages is once again reset. You’re free of the meta trappings of the story, but are given one more reminder of how temporary progress is, and challenged one more time to complete a run to get the complete credits sequence. 

It’s a novel approach to player progression in a STG that not only reframes common genre ideas with a thematic approach, but slowly pushes players towards goals that the genre diehards naturally shoot for. By visually indicating the progress towards extra lives and continues through its score counter, it alerts players towards the importance of scoring for continued survival as well as the leaderboards, and encourages them to look for opportunities to maximize score. 

The harsh requirements to witness the ending almost guarantee that a player will be forced to start over, and unless they cheat (guilty), forces them to learn the stages and scoring systems to quickly earn back their progress. That process, and the need to hold onto as many continues as possible for the finale, pushes them closer to attempting the 1-credit clear, what most STG players consider the first major milestone in learning a game. Simply put, it’s a run where you complete all the stages in the game without using up a continue, and often denotes mastery. 

The parade of secrets and homages, alongside the narrative driven recontextualization of game mechanics and premise shifting final acts create  a novel approach for both genre veterans and newcomers, upending expectations with each new twist. Zeroranger’s revelations mark it as equal parts mystery and action game, and asks you to dig deeper, coming to an appreciation of its layered design in the process. 

Personally, as much as I respect the final act’s commitment to delivering on Zeroranger’s themes of struggle, persistence and reincarnation, the harsh penalty of deleting your save was demotivating to a degree that I didn’t feel was worth the tension it imparted. I can only imagine how a less experienced player might feel, struggling for hours to reach that point, and possibly being unsure if they could reach it again. Zeroranger’s patterns and stage design are often less demanding than most of its contemporaries, but they come with harsher penalties for failure. 

Even given that, it’s not hard to see why Zeroranger captured the imagination of so many. Designed intentionally to be approachable, with enough mystery to satisfy the lore hungry theorycrafters, Zeroranger provides many entry points. Paired with its striking two color palette and memorable soundtrack, it paints the picture of a greater world beyond its borders. The drawn out finale demands you engage Zeroranger with your entire attention, and its dramatic set pieces and score bring an emotional climax that the more traditional arcade style titles often can’t spend the runtime on. 

Even after the credits roll, Zeroranger leaves plenty to discover, both within its boundaries and outside. Its themes of karmic cycles and open-ended conclusion invite you to explore it further, and its homages and secrets point to other games and worlds whose influence helped bring it to life. It’s an introduction to the mindset of a genre fanatic, an homage for all those who’ve already journeyed through the genre to arrive here, and an invitation for those who haven’t to share in that same passion. 

--- Zeroranger is availble on PC. Homebrew ports are availble for the Switch and Linux based handhelds via Portmaster.

--- *STG: ShooTing Game, aka SHMUP or Shoot-Em-Up. A community term for the genre of arcade style shooters used to differentiate them from the more common first and third person shooters.

**CAVE: Developer of several major entries in the genre, and credited with popularizing the danmaku (bullet curtain) or bullet hell sub-genre. Their games are often marked by complex enemy bullet patterns, with a powerful player arsenal that can hit many parts of the screen at the same time.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

#20yrsago Virus writers profiled https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/08/magazine/the-virus-underground.html

#20yrsago Open WiFi ethics https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/08/magazine/the-way-we-live-now-2-8-04-the-ethicist-wi-fi-fairness.html

#15yrsago Neil Gaiman on the humble button https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQC0QVXa33o

#10yrsago Verizon support rep admits anti-Netflix throttling https://web.archive.org/web/20140205145403/https://davesblog.com/blog/2014/02/05/verizon-using-recent-net-neutrality-victory-to-wage-war-against-netflix/

#10yrsago Seattle cop fired for harassing photographer https://www.thestranger.com/blogs/2014/02/03/18816445/sheriff-fires-cop-who-threatened-to-arrest-me-for-taking-photos-of-cops

#10yrsago Parents of Buddhist student sue “Bible Belt” Louisiana school over forced prayer, religious discrimination https://action.aclu.org/petition/end_discrimination_negreet_high

#5yrsago Juul’s strategy for success: target children, steadily ramp up nicotine levels https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/28/6/623

#5yrsago Swedes are entitled to six months’ leave to start a business, look after a sick relative, or study https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190206-swedens-surprising-rule-for-time-off

#5yrsago Leak reveals that hundreds of bounty hunters have had access to super-fine-grained mobile location data for years https://www.vice.com/en/article/43z3dn/hundreds-bounty-hunters-att-tmobile-sprint-customer-location-data-years

#1yrago The Collective Intelligence Institute https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/07/full-stack-luddites/#subsidiarity

[pure-land]

Suggested Further Readings Jodo-Shinshu;

Bloom, Alfred. Life of Shinran Shonin: The Journey to Self-Acceptance. 1968. Reprint. Berkeley: Institute of Buddhist Studies, 1994. 80 pp. One of the earliest treatment of Shinran’s life in English by a Western scholar. Scholastic in nature but this monograph can be enjoyed by non-specialists. The author raises many intriguing questions, for example, 1) why did Shinran enter the monastery, 2) why did he leave, 3) what were the specific charges against him, and 4) what prompted his return to Kyoto.

Bloom, Alfred. Shinran’s Gospel of Pure Grace. Tucson: The Univ. of Arizona Press, 1965. 95 pp. The first systematic and “theological” treatment on Shin- ran by a Western scholar. Extremely popular in college classrooms and still in print after thirty years.

Bloom, Alfred. Tannisho: Resource for Modern Living. Honolulu: The Buddhist Study Center, 1981. 102 pp. Explains the most important chapters that illumine the heart of Shinshu teaching from the perspective of modern issues and concerns. Re- cently it was republished as Strategies for Modern Living by the Numata Center for Buddhist Re- search and Translation with a new translation of the Tannisho.

Bloom, Alfred. Shoshinge: The Heart of Shin Buddhism. Hawaii: Buddhist Study Center Press, 1986. 107 pp. A commentary on the set of poetic verses expressing Shinran’s indebtedness to his spiritual masters and one which has played a central role in the Shinshu liturgical tradition; contains an Eng- lish translation of the verses by T. Nagatani and R. Tabrah.

Dobbins, James C. Jodo Shinshu: Shin Buddhism in Medieval Japan. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1989. 242 pp. An excellent his- torical treatment of the development of Shinshu institutions from Shinran to Rennyo. This book, in particular, fills “gaps” in previous scholarship in two areas: 1) contributions of Kakwnyo (third abbot) and his son Zonkaku and 2) developments of the other Shinshu branches. The discussion of doctrinal heresy offers an innovative and insightful approach to our understanding of doctrine and its historical evolution.

Fujimoto, Ryukyo. Shin Buddhism’s Essence: The Tannisho — Prof. Ryukyo Fujimoto’s Translation, with Extracts from His Writings as Commentary. Edited by Tetsuo Unno. Los Angeles: Prof. Ryukyo Fujimoto Memorial Publication Ad Hoc Committee,148 pp. Contains the author’s translation of The Tannisho and a collection of brief essays on Shinshu doctrinal and historical topics. The book provides a glimpse into a respected scholar and teacher who inspired many of the Shinshu teachers in North America. Kakumura, Northiko. Shinran: His Life and Thought. Los Angeles: The Nembutsu Press, 1972. 192 pp. A concise book that introduces Shinran through the main phases of his life. It critically examines the scholarly theories surrounding the areas of con- troversy.

Kiyozawa, Manshi. December Fan: The Buddhist Essays of Manshi Kiyozawa. Trans. and ed. by Nobuo Haneda. Komiyama Printing Co., 98 pp. Kiyozawa (1863-1903) is one of the most pivotal Buddhist leaders in modern Jodo-Shinshu history. Belonging to the Higashi Honganji branch, this progressive priest helped to reform the teach- ings with message that resonated with modern Japan. Nobuo Haneda has translated other worksby teachers of the Higashi branch, notably those of Maida Shuichi (1906-1967), in Heard by Me and The Evil Person. Rogers, Minor L. and Ann T. Rogers. Rennyo: The Second Founder of Shin Buddhism. Berkeley, California: Asian Humanities Press, 1991. 434 pp. A thorough study of the eighth abbot (monshu) of the Hongwanji branch, Rennyo (1415-1499), with a translation of his letters and a discussion and analy- sis of his life and his preeminent role in the devel- opment of the largest Jodo-Shinshu institution.

Ueda, Yoshifumi and Dennis Hirota. Shinran: An Introduction to Hts Thought. Kyoto: Hongwanji Int. Center, 1989. 372 pp. The most comprehensive and systematic presentation so far of Shinran’s thought in a single volume. It places Shinran within the development of Mahayana Buddhist thought. It contains ample translations of key passages from his writings based on major doctrinal themes. Authored by two main translators of the Shin Buddhist Translation Series.

Yamaoka, Seigen. True Pure Land Buddhism: Jodoshinshu: An Introduction. Los Angeles: Pure Land Publications, 1991. 65 pp. Provides a good traditional overview of the major doctrines, supported by appropriate citations from the original sources. Written from within the tradition with emphasis on orthodox doctrine. May prove to be difficult reading for those looking for spiritual edification on an introductory level. Translations of Jodo-Shinshu scriptures Inagaki, Hisao. The Three Pure Land Sutras. Kyoto