#Coin's notes

[coinandcandle]

Paradigm Time! - What is a Paradigm?

TL;DR: Paradigms are how you make sense of magic and how it fits into the world in your experiences. They aren't right or wrong and they often change!

Paradigm: a philosophical or theoretical framework of any kind

Note: There are a few different definitions of paradigm depending on the field you're talking about. In the case of magic, we are using the definition above.

Paradigms are essentially how you make sense of the world around you. In magic, these paradigms are ways in which someone understands magic, how it works, and how it is used in the world.

Other people have used words like “framework”, or “beliefs/belief system”. Whatever you call it is fine!

Paradigms can and often do change over time, maybe you used to believe “xyz”, but now you’re thinking more “abc”. This doesn't make everything that you did while you believed in “xyz” invalid, it just means you understand it differently now.

Since paradigms are basically belief systems, they are not factual and are not “right” or “wrong” they simply are. One person may disagree with another, who may disagree with someone else, who may have similar but slightly different experiences than another. More than anything else, paradigms are fluid.

Furthermore, paradigms are fluid not just within ourselves but within communities too!

Here’s an example:

Say everyone in x community generally agrees that crystals hold power. However, some may believe that crystals only hold power once charged, like how a cup can only hold water once filled. While others may believe there is an inherent power within the crystal. Others in turn might believe that some crystals hold power and others don’t. Yet they all still believe the paradigm that crystals hold power.

Now let’s take a few paradigms about correspondences as another example.

In one witch’s paradigm, they might be used as ingredients that hold inherent power. -> “I am using the magical properties inherent to basil to power my money jar.” In another, the correspondences are spirits that you petition to help power the magical working. -> “I am working with the spirit of basil and asking them to help with my money jar.” In another, the correspondences are offerings that you give to a spirit that you’re petitioning. -> “I am using basil as an offering to a spirit to help with my money jar.” In yet another the correspondences are spirits that you don’t even need to petition, their very presence influences the spell. -> “I’m using basil in this spell because the spirit of basil will help influence my money jar.”

Here are some other examples of paradigms:

Spirit-Working sorcery, where spirits are petitioned for aid, and the strength of workings tends to depend on the depth of the relationship developed with the spirit, and/or success in evoking them in that instance.

Thinking or focusing on your intent in your head is fine, writing it down is better, but speaking it aloud is best.

Energy is the battery of magic. Magic is the change caused by whatever you’re doing but energy is what powers that change, be it a spell, prayer, whatever.

Gods can be called upon and petitioned for help with a spell, but the relationship between the caster and the god will determine the strength of the spell or their willingness to help. Otherwise, you can try to appeal to them with offerings to make up for the lack of a relationship, though their help will still not be as strong as if there were a pre-existing relationship.

Inanimate objects do not have spirits, but animals, plants, fungi, and humans do.

Again, these are not universal paradigms, they are just examples. I honestly don't think there even is a universal paradigm when it comes to magic and witchcraft.

Thank you to @windvexer @friend-crow @stagkingswife and @rose-colored-tarot for your help in writing this post!

[sailoreuterpe]

Using the bathroom in general is a human right and should be enshrined as such and I'm not joking. Too many groups of people are denied bathroom breaks or the use of bathrooms entirely--disabled people, blue-collar workers, children, homeless people, prisoners, students, the elderly. I'm surely missing other groups. Not using the bathroom when needed can cause serious, long-term damage, not to mention death. Free, clean, accessible bathrooms should be available everywhere. It's fucking cruel to deny someone the use of the bathroom, regardless of the reasoning. I'd rather every student in the world goof off and every homeless person make a mess and every worker "steal company time" than let one person suffer because they're denied the right to fucking pee in peace.

[freetobeafcknriot]

FIVE & BEN ft. checking up on your little brother.

[tshortik]

A devil without a name and a body of gold, dubbed "Coin" by the one he chose as his champion.

[anomalymon]

The Plural Community Needs to Write More Essays and Make More Resources

This has been a pretty big push in the alterhuman community, but hasn't quite reached the plural community yet. So

Systems: Write about your experiences! Post them!

It doesn't have to be good or coherent, but we want to see more experiences that aren't just bland, blanket positivity posts or term coining with zero substance. Some of our favorite writings we've read have had poor grammar and disjointed paragraphs!

Reasons to write about your experiences:

It can make people who have that experience both realize they're not alone and learn ways they can explore that experience

It can be education for people who don't experience that so they can learn what it's like

It gives more potential for citation for those who are making more comprehensive resources

They can be used several years down the line to track trends and events within the plural community

Also want to combat anti-endos? Write about your experiences. Humanize yourself (for lack of a better term). Create solidarity with others and encourage them to be out about themselves. Don't let psychiatric texts, syscourse rants, and simple definitions be the only information about your group!

We'll tack on what we're interested in seeing, but feel free to reblog and add anything too:

Guides! Guides on how your system does things, or guides that can help other systems

How plurality intersects with other disabilities or neurodivergence

Headspace tours, art about your headspace, collages

The effects drugs or medication has on your system

Non-traditional roles, or even how traditional roles do their day to day tasks

Different types of plurality intersecting (i.e. systems who fit more than one of DID, endogenic multiplicity, medianhood, soulbonding, etc)

Spirituality and religion intersecting with plurality

Seriously, whatever you want to talk about

[nenoname]

Details in Stan's letter that still haunt me

(how long will I continue thinking about a two page letter that's technically not even that long because Stan's handwriting is fricking large? .....you don't need to worry about that.)

The bro code only shows up in the Lost Journal pages, and to me Stan's message feels like it purposely echoes Ford's "miss you" in the college photo (and for some reason the message doesn't appear in the website version of the photo?) ....or alternatively Stan simply noticed how distressed Ford was about this entire thing and wanted to support him in a way so he can be sappy but without the kids knowing, or both!

Stan's claim about the Oregon lottery contradicts what the Lost Legends website said about Tate McGucket's ability to predict the winning numbers!! ...but also breaking into the Lottery HQ is definitely a very Stan thing to do and it's not the first time small gags have been retconned

Despite spending most of his letter nonchalantly destroying him, the taunt about ripping a dollar bill in half is the only part where Stan is directly responding to Bill. Maybe it's the two of them having similar ways of thinking but it's rather specific considering Bill taunts the reader about it...

And after Bill spends an entire book calling Ford Sixer despite normally using a pretty wide range of nicknames for him, Stan then spends his letter mainly referring to Ford as Sixer, even though post-Weirdmageddon he tends to use a mix of nicknames. And it's not like he'd gotten to see Bill himself for long, let alone see him steal that childhood nickname (that is only used twice in the actual show btw!). Did Ford tell him what happened or...?

With all this and the website's "still on your mind" message, what I'm getting at is my tinfoil hat theory of Stan somehow seeing some of the pages the irl readers saw, even when it should be personalised to the specific reader, and he's been lying about it for some reason. Considering that the book flat out doesn't make an attempt at convincing Soos, I find it a stretch that whatever Bill was telling Stan via the book was an attempt to convince him either.

Wouldn't be the first time Stan's skimmed through a book and lied about what it meant to him.

(...Now I kinda wanna see a story about the family reading their versions of the book and making fun of it while Stan is improvising every single one of his pages and blatantly ignoring Bill's attempts to mock and taunt him)

But also I'm fascinated by the letters that only showed up on the website (aka the Soos+Wendy+McGucket+Pacifica ones). I'm assuming that Mabel had stuck them on after Stan's letter... but they were basically eaten by the book itself because seeing Stan's letter kick-started Bill's breakdown which takes up the rest of the book

[froggos-are-superior]

Not becoming the thing you sought to destroy or destroying the thing you sought to become, but a secret third thing: in an effort to destroy the thing you accidentally become it without realizing until it consumes you completely and there's nothing left of the person you once were or your original intentions and now the lines are blurred between greater and lesser evils. In this essay I will

[pixlatedvampire]

You gave those wounds to your god, Enki. Did you think they would heal so easily?

(Uh Oh! Someone gave the priest catholic guilt!)

[galedekarios]

gale, waterdeep & coinage

just musings on gale's means as well as waterdeep lore bc i love waterdeep:

Gale: Believe it or not, but I witnessed a similar standoff back at the Yawning Portal. Of course, an establishment like that invites all sorts of outlandish entertainments. Player: What's the Yawning Portal Gale: An inn in Waterdeep. Never a dull moment there. Adventurers come from all over Faerûn to try their luck down the well: Leads into the Undermountain, you see - full of death, danger, and vast amounts of treasure. Hard to resist. Player: What was the standoff about? Gale: Oh, a drow, a dragonborn, and a cleric of Cyric walk into a bar. Your standard fare. Maybe someone was cheating at cards, maybe it was some weird lovers' quarrel. In any case, out came the crossbow, and a hush fell over the entire room.devnote Player: What happened next? Gale: I stood up and yelled: 'Shadowdark ale for everyone!' The crowd cheered, the tension drained into five dozen tankards, and soon all was well again. Gale: In a place like the Yawning Portal, the most powerful magic is calling for a round of drinks. Gale: Mind you, all I did was call for ale, but you went and stood in front of that crossbow. I'd drink to that.

i will definitely take a look at the yawning portal itself at a later date (as well as other points of interest within the city) bc it's very interesting as a focal point in waterdhavian history and society.

while we can only speculate about what gale's background in terms of means, wealth and standing looked like since things like tutors and even maids were not uncommon in waterdhavian society, it is interesting to note that he - whatever his personal means at the time this event took place - felt the need to defuse the brewing fight with 'five dozen tankards'.

we do actually know how much one such tankard costs at the yawning portal:

[source]

17cp x 60 = 1020cp

this was interesting to me in terms of this meant in actual terms of coinage and wealth and money spent.

here's an overview of waterdeep's various coins:

source: volo's waterdeep enchiridion

gale spent over a 1000 nibs/copper pieces that evening (or more than one sun/platinum coin) to de-escalate a potentially lethal fight.

to put that into perspective, i'm adding this reference of prices here:

source: volo's waterdeep enchiridion

gale also attended blackstaff academy, with elminster as his mentor. the academy had costs attached with it:

Acceptance to the Academy was predicated on either demonstrating extraordinary magical aptitude (those who could not cast arcane spells were very rarely admitted) or having a particularly compelling personal history. Joining the Academy was free, however monthly dues were required to continue attendance. These fees started at 10 gp per month and increased as a student gained seniority and required more advanced tutelage. In addition, it was a requirement that any new spell that was discovered or researched by an apprentice had to be added to Blackstaff Tower's library. [source]

ten gold pieces per month as fees, although with gale being elminster's mentee, he may have chosen to assist gale and morena partially or fully with any costs that blackstaff academy may have charged.

it does sound, however his childhood may have looked like with a presumably absent father and a mother with her hands full with a young genius, able to conjure rabbits as a babe, summoning a tressym, a magma mephit who set a room on fire, as well as casting a level 3 spell (fireball) at age 8 or younger, that gale at least during the height of his career as a wizard, lived comfortably.

ending this with more food for thought and a banter between gale and karlach:

Gale: They say wealth offers a form of magic. Alas, it's one I've rarely dabbled in. Karlach: Nor I. Never had more than a few coppers in the city, and any soul coins in Avernus went straight to Zariel. Gale: Make no mistake. Souls are sold for coins up here as well. All too cheaply, in most cases.

[coinandcandle]

Sympathetic Magic - Coin's Notes

Hi-res download of infographic available on my ko-fi for all supporters!

What is Sympathetic Magic?

The idea of sympathetic magic, the term was likely coined by James George Frazer in his book The Golden Bough (1889). Though Richard Andree wrote of sympathy-enchantment in 1882, and the idea existed in some form or another since ancient times.

The definition of sympathetic magic in the merriam-webster dictionary is magic based on the assumption that a person or thing can be supernaturally affected through its name or an object representing it.

Types of Sympathetic Magic

Similarity: That which resembles something can represent or substitute that thing. Such as a citrine to represent the sun or a walnut for the brain.

Contagion/Contact: That which comes in contact with something can represent or substitute that thing. Such as moon water, water that is charged under the moon to hold its power and likeness.

Imitation: Close to similarity except it often involves specifically creating something to look like that thing such as idols, effigies, poppets, etc.

Correspondence: The idea that something can influence another thing due to their resemblance or relationship. Such as oranges and the sun or Aphrodite and roses.

[atelierlili]

I really hope that Katniss one day gets her exile lifted. Idk I think it’s so sad that she unwillingly gave up so much for the rebellion and she can’t even see or experience the new free Panem.

I want her to have a real victory tour with Peeta. Maybe they could have a proper one as a honeymoon trip 🥲

[pianokantzart]

Bowser's minions out here making me feel conflicted and shit. They're so cute and sweet when interacting with each other, but at the same time I can't say that Mario and Luigi don't treat them with undue friendliness and offer them every opportunity to stand down.

I feel especially bad for that one random Koopa given spur-of-the-moment responsibility for guarding the lever in the castle. We tried to let him run away but darn it he was just too loyal. Part of me was looking for a "spare" option when we entered combat like I was playing Undertale or something.

[ironraven]

udon in the moss

[kingsofjersey]

Okay but like can i talk about same coin theory can we please talk about same coin theory please---

[renmorris]

same coin theory makes me so insane

you’re the unwanted son, the fuck up, the homeless bum, the truck stop whore, the drug mule. you’re turning tricks in tijuana for enough coke to keep withdrawal away for just one more night.

the stars lure you outside and they’re the brightest you’ve ever seen. like you’re somewhere else. your gums still sting and tingle under your smile. you imagine it, the boat on the water, rocking in the night. far away from here.

you grin through every slur and take every hit life throws at you until you can’t, until you break. you punch and kick until you’re spitting out your teeth in the bathroom sink.

you’re in a prison. no, you’re insane. it blurs. it all falls away. now you’re in the loony bin. they show you stupid ink blocks and ask you what they are. your father's frown and an angry bruise. a drowned rat in a bucket. a world in flames.

you weren’t supposed to be born, you tell them. you tell them things you’ve never told anyone because you know they won’t listen. (sexual deviancy is scrawled on the doctor’s chart.)

you tell them you’ve always known.

you weren’t meant to exist. you’re a curse. your mom says it was a surprise, and a blessing. your father knew better. he must’ve known. why else would he hate you so much? why would the whole world hate you so much?

[smallidarityfan]

sos smallidarity.... save me.......

Transcript:

(about reviving with the fate coins)

Jimmy: So you're telling me... you're telling me that because i spoke to someone else you'd go for Fwhip first and not me. Right, guys you're making enemies of me already, this is— this is— why would you not get me?

Scott: I don't— I don't quite know how me coming here giving you two stacks of steak FOR FREE is me making an ENEMY of you??

Jimmy: You said you wouldn't give me the coin, and you would save Fwhip.

Scott: Okay if I die and Sausage dies, who would you come to save?

Jimmy: I'd come to you.

Scott: Okay I die and Oli dies.

Jimmy: *pauses*

Scott: Yeah,

Jimmy: Wait lemme think about it, let me think about it... I'd come to you! I'd come to you. He called me a silly man in his episode one—

Scott: Me or Joel dies—

Jimmy: *immediately* I'd go to Joel. I'd run to Joel. I'd run— I'd frolic through the fields to Joel. um I'd run to him. But that's okay!

Scott: If chat ever needed confirmation that Flower Husbands is dead; that was it right there.

Jimmy: *laughing* I die and Joel dies—

Scott: Him not only saying he'd pick Joel but describing it that you would frolic through fields to him like that kind of level? I'm like yeah it's dead it's gone.

Jimmy: I full sprint, I break records. To be fair I haven't even seen Joel in this series yet I don't even know where he lives