#Feast of Saint Mark

[justana0kguy]

2024 APRIL 25 Feast of Saint Mark Thursday

"Beloved: Clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for:  God opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble. So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your worries upon him because He cares for you."

~ 1 Peter 5:5b-6

[hearthandheathenry]

All About Imbolc

Imbolc, also known as Imbolg, celebrated on February 1st, marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox in early Ireland and Scotland, and also signified the beginning of the first signs of spring after all the harsh winter days. Originally a pagan holdiay in pre-Christian times, there is little in writing about the historic traditions and customs, although many historians believe it revolved around the Celtic Goddess Brigid, lambing season, and cleansing due to observed ancient poetry.

Brigid is a Goddess and daughter of the father-God of Ireland, Dagda. She is associated with quite a few things depending on the sources, but universally associated with wisdom and poetry. Other associations of hers are blacksmithing, protection, domesticated animals, childbirth, fire, and healing. She was also known as a protector of the home and the family.

Once Christianity arose, it is believed that the Goddess was syncretized with the Irish Saint Brigid by Christian monks due to the many overlapping associations. This caused Imbolc to quickly turn into St. Brigids Day and the next day into Candlemas with the rising Christian popularity, enmeshing the holiday associations together.

Today, many people have mixed the traditions and melded many associations from both religious and cultural history to celebrate their own unique way. Common ways to celebrate are making a Brigid's Cross, welcoming Brigid into the home, having a feast in her honor, cleaning the home and oneself, visiting a holy well, and in some parts of the world they still hold festivals and processions carrying a representation of Brigid. Many pagans nowadays are using associations of hers and their connection with nature to create their own ways to celebrate, however, and you can absolutely celebrate however you feel called to do so.

Imbolc Associations:

Colors - white, gold or yellow, green, and blue

Food - milk, butter, cheese, seeds and grains, breads, herbs, blackberries, oat porridge, wild onion and garlic, honey

Animals - sheep and lambs, swans, cows, burrowing and hibernating animals

Items - candles, corn dolls, Brigid's cross, fires, snowdrops and white flowers, crocuses and daffodils, flower crowns

Crystals - amethyst, garnet, ruby, quartz, bloodstone

Other - lactation, birth, feasting, farm preparation, cleansing and cleaning, the sun, poetry and creative endevours, smithing, water

Ways To Celebrate Imbolc:

make a Brigid's cross

light candles

have a feast

bake bread

plan your spring garden

leave an offering for Brigid

make a corn doll

craft a flower crown

clean your home

take a cleansing bath

make something out of metal

have a bonfire

look for the first signs of spring

make your own butter or cheese

do divination work and seek wisdom

write a poem

[portraitsofsaints]

Happy Feast Day

Saint Mark Ji Tianxiang 1834-1900 Feast Day: July 9

Patronage: Drug addicts

Saint Mark Ji Tianxiang, “the Trier" was a Chinese lay Catholic, doctor and drug addict. He became addicted to opium because of a stomach ailment and suffered for 30 years with the addiction. He went to confession regularly to confess his drug use, but because of the priest’s misunderstanding of addiction he would not give Ji absolution because he believed there was no firm purpose of amendment. Although being denied the Sacraments Ji continued going to Mass and stayed steadfast in his faith for 30 years praying to die a martyr. During the Boxer Rebellion (anti-foreign, Christian persecution) he and his family were martyred. He encouraged all in prison to keep the faith throughout their ordeal and sang the litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary as he was about to be beheaded.

Saint Augustine Zhao Rong  Died 1815 Fest Day: July 9

Martyrs of China

From 1648-1930, Chinese children, parents, catechists, and laborers were martyred. Saint Augustine Zhao Rong was a soldier convert who became a priest and was brutally martyred by having his arm cut off and then flayed. His last words were “Every piece of flesh, every drop of blood will tell you that I am a Christian.” In 2000, 120 martyrs were canonized including 4 Chinese diocesan priests and 34 foreign missionaries.

Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase here: (website)

Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase here: (website)

[apomaro-mellow]

steve being an offering to the village god; slightly smutty

Steve tried to let out calming breaths as his mother prepared him by brushing his hair.

“Our people can’t thank you enough for this. You’ll be hailed as a saint.”

“A saint. Right.” Steve had seen the other saints they worshipped. Young men and women immortalized in stone statues in the temple at the center of their village.

That was all that remained of them once they were gone. Steve had stood and modeled for his own statue just a week ago. They were only waiting for the actual day to put it with the others. Being worshipped in death didn’t seem like a good trade for his life in his opinion.

But he had no other options. If he refused, they would just force him anyway. And he couldn’t run. There was nowhere to go. It was fine. His parents had known from the moment he was born what he was destined for and they had told him when he was around five. That one day he was going to live with someone very important.

As he got older, he learned the entire truth. Every hundred years, one of their people offered themselves up as a sacrifice to the Many Voiced God. They knew whoever the god wanted, as they were marked from birth with dark spots across their skin. Points where the god himself had touched them.

Were it not for the offerings, their lives would fall to misfortune and disfavor. Steve knew what the stakes were. He wanted the people he had grown up with to live comfortable lives. But why did he have to give his for that?

“It’s time”, his father said, looking only at his wife. Sometimes Steve wondered if his father had ever seen him as a son, or if he’d always been a token to their god. He also wondered if they would try for another child. One that wasn’t marked for someone else.

Steve walked out of his home for a final time, dressed in simple white clothes, a shirt and pants. The walk to the temple wasn’t far, yet he felt like it was the longest walk of his life. People lined the streets, some bowing or prostrating to him. Some tossed flower petals. Offerings had come to his house for the past month, food, clothes, metal wares, all for the parents who were so noble in giving up their only son.

As they got closer to the temple, the crowd got larger and closer to Steve. A few even dared to reach out and touch as he walked by. When the saints were depicted in art they always seemed to be above it all, untouchable. The villagers’ eyes and hands on him made Steve feel otherwise. 

His grandfather stood at the doors of the temple. As their leader it was his duty to officiate the proceedings. Steve listened as he addressed the crowd, reminded them of why they were all here and what was about to happen. He thanked the people, his parents, and finally Steve.

Steve didn’t say a word.

The doors to the temple opened and Steve removed his shoes before he alone went inside. They shut behind him. All of the torches were lit and he could see the faces of those that came before him. The temple could be arranged in many ways for different purposes. For this ceremony, pillows and blankets were arranged in an almost nest like way in the center of the room.

Steve bowed his head and then laid himself right in the middle. He knew what would happen next, just not how. He only knew the gossip he had heard. Some say the god bit right into your neck, ended it quick before devouring the rest. Others said he feasted on you belly, the sweetest parts while listening to your cries. Would he do it here? Or take him back to the other side to enjoy his meal in the comfort of his own home?

“Well, well, well. They went all out with you.”

Steve sat up, jostling the pillows at the voice he heard. He looked to the shadows in the room, wondering if the Many Voiced God would appear from one like a specter.

“Where are you?”

The flames from the torches grew more intense before flowing to the ground. They gathered to a point and formed the shape of a person. The fire went back to the torches, revealing a young man. He shook his dark hair and something like ashes flung from it. He...really wasn’t what Steve had been expecting. The hair and face matched fine. But the drawings he’d been shown his whole life also had claws and fangs and wings. This person here was deceptively human.

“Like what you see?”

“You....you’re the Many Voiced God?”

“That I am. Although I got by many names. He Who Speaks for Many, Hundred Tongues. But I doubt they taught you my godly name.”

“Your godly name?”, Steve asked.

“The name used only by other gods. Or those that have attained my personal favor.”

Steve shook his head.

The Many Voiced God licked his index finger and then wrote in the air using fire. The amorphous shapes made it hard to make out to Steve, but he tried his best.

“Eddie?”

The flames disappeared and the god grinned. “Eddie? Is that what it looks like to you?”

“It’s, uh, kind of hard for me to read.”

“Then from this moment on, I shall be known as Eddie”, the god put a hand to his heart. “Do you know what happens next?”

Steve swallowed. “Now you’re going to take me.”

“That’s exactly right.” The god, now Eddie, leaned in and pressed his nose to Steve’s neck. “Nervous?”

Steve’s heart had in fact been pounding. But at the question, he asked himself why. He had known this was coming for a long time. Knew the basics of what to expect. With a breath, he closed his eyes and laid back into the nest. 

“However you do it, I only beg that you make it painless.”

Eddie gave pause at that. “Did they tell you it would be painful?”

“I’ve heard a lot of things”, Steve said. “I just want it to be over it.”

Eddie moved away from Steve, sitting on the other side of the nest. “What did they tell you exactly?”

Steve opened his eyes and sat up slowly. “That you would take me.” He continued after Eddie prompted him. “As in like, eating me, I guess?”

“I’m sure you taste sweet but actually feasting on you isn’t what I had in mind. When I take my offerings, it means to take you as a husband.”

“Husband? Me? You want me? Me as a husband?”, Steve rambled.

“You’re gorgeous and willing to give yourself to me for your people. And I am more than happy to spend the next century with you. But only if you say ‘I do’.”

Steve was suddenly reminded that after him, there would be others. And would probably have more to live for than him.

“Can I make a condition?”, Steve asked, deciding to try his luck. Eddie was still a god, still fully within his abilities to burn him alive if he displeased him. But he had nothing to lose at this point.

“A condition?”, Eddie grinned, clearly in good spirits.

“If I say yes, make me the last.”

“The last...sacrifice?”

Steve nodded.

Eddie’s grin turned into a full on blinding beam of a smile. “Are you proposing to be with me for all eternity?”

Steve let out a breath and nodded again.

“Then I make this vow. As long as the tapestry of time is spun, I shall not take another. Just as you are mine, I am yours.”

Eddie grabbed Steve’s hand and kissed the back of it, then up his arm. Steve felt each kiss like an electric brand, making his skin buzz. Eddie kissed his shoulder and then their lips were just a breath apart, but he waited.

Steve almost wondered why but then remembered.

“I accept this vow.”

Eddie sealed the promise with a kiss and Steve could feel his destiny being tied with the god’s. They really would belong to each other for the rest of eternity. Slowly, Eddie parted his lips and Steve let him inside. It felt like he was melting and all they had done was kiss.

Eddie’s lips went down to his jaw and neck, taking in a breath as he savored what was before him. “Even if you hadn’t asked, I think you would have been it for me.” He took off Steve’s shirt and ran a hand down his chest. “It’s like you were made just for me.”

Steve almost said that he was, carrying the spots on his skin that were supposed to be the god’s own markings, but now he wasn’t sure how much of that was true. He grabbed Eddie’s face and pulled him in for a kiss, all he knew was that he wanted more.

He fell back against the pillows, bringing Eddie with him. Steve opened his eyes at just the right moment to see Eddie’s clothing disappear off him in a haze of smoke, revealing tattoos all over his body. Some were from the stories of his feats. He remembered the story of the bats most. But others were symbols that graced these very walls. The sigils of the sacrifices that had come before him, created after they were taken. Steve wondered what his would look like.

He was taken out of his thoughts when he felt lips against his neck, making a trail to his chest. The lower Eddie got, the more of his tongue that Steve felt, licking him like the sweetest treat. Eddie spent a languid amount of time, nibbling at his hips. To the point where Steve found himself getting impatient and rolling his bottom half, then spreading his legs a little.

Eddie looked up at him while he played with the top of Steve’s pants, his eyes asking for permission. Steve nodded and even began to help push his pants down. Steve let out a breath when Eddie began to kiss his thighs.

It wasn’t that he was inexperienced. While the elders preached that he should remain untouched, marked as he was, there was always someone who wanted what they couldn’t have. Steve had the pleasure of kisses stolen in secret, rushed rendezvous. People who wanted a taste but knew he could never be there.

Never anything like this. He never had the luxury of taking his time. Eddie was in the middle of nosing at his crotch hairs when Steve flipped them over, taking a little joy in his wide eyes.

“I’m yours and you’re mine, right?”

Eddie smiled. “Exactly right.”

Steve kissed him while his hands explored his body. His hand brushed against the hottest part of his body, red and leaking at the tip and Steve heard a sound he never thought he’d hear from a god.

A whimper.

He couldn’t help the grin that came across his face. Steve slid down his body and kissed the tip, then down the length, enjoying the way an almighty deity was holding back. But Steve didn’t want that. He wanted to be touched and used and treated like they had all the time in the world to learn about each other. He took Eddie all the way down to the root, breathing through his nose. Then he reached out and grabbed Eddie’s hand, then put it on his head.

“Someone’s eager”, Eddie said. “Tap me if it’s too much beautiful.”

Steve’s reply was a whine in the back of his throat before Eddie started to thrust up into his mouth. It felt so good. Especially, when he felt it begin to change while inside of him. It got bigger, and he felt ridges as it passed through his lips. Steve was so lost in it when Eddie pulled him off by the hair.

“That mouth of yours should be sanctified.”

Steve was under him again, on his stomach this time while Eddie kissed at his shoulders and back. He reached around, letting his fingers brush against Steve’s cock in teasing touches. Eddie rubbed himself off on Steve. He used both hands to part Steve’s cheeks and press against his hole.

He pushed just the head in, then pulled out, then pushed a little more in, then out again. Steve was left a babbling mess, knowing he was being treated gently but wishing they could skip to him just being full and fucked.

But then Eddie was finally all the way in and from that moment on Steve lost track of time. He lost track of space as well and how many times either one of them had come.

When he did regain full consciousness, he was still in the nest, but was no longer in the temple. Above him were stars of a sky he didn’t recognize. And next to him was Eddie, looking at him with nothing less than absolute adoration.

He took Steve’s hand and kissed each of his fingers. “You’re the end for me, Steve.”

Steve smiled and brought Eddie’s hand to his own lips. “And you’re my beginning.”

[talonabraxas]

Thu, 1 Aug 2024

Also known as Lammas, Lughnasadh is the first of three autumn celebrations in the Wheel of the Year. Lughnasadh is celebrated on August 1, which is in the sign of Leo, when the sun reaches 15 degrees of Leo.

2024 Wheel of the Year (Sabbats)

Pagan Wheel

Feb 2 – IMBOLC (also called Candlemas, Imbolg, and Saint Brigid’s Day) It is midway between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. This sabbat reminds us that the light is growing stronger and that the harshness of winter will start to fade. To celebrate the growing light, many Pagans will light candles on this holiday.

Mar 19 – OSTARA /Spring Equinox: light and darkness are in perfect balance on this day. Moving forward, daylight will continue to grow as we head into Spring. It is a time to celebrate balance and the arrival of Spring. It represents new beginnings and the freshness of a new day. What’s past is in the past and past and it’s time to move forward.

May 1 – BELTANE (also known as May Day) (pronounced BELL-tain) This is an exciting and energetic holiday that celebrates sexuality, fertility, and all of the life that comes with Spring. It is a time of great joy and celebration! Feel the creative energy of the Universe. It is a time of renewal and rebirth … a time to grow as a person and reinvent yourself if you so desire.

June 20 – LITHA / Summer Solstice The Sun is at its maximum strength … it is the longest day of the year. This is a season of growth, fruitfulness, abundance, and strength. It’s a great night to perform spells for money, abundance, and financial security … and the strength to do what you need to do to be successful.

June 23 – Midsummer’s Eve: the night before Mid-Summer (June 24). It is considered a night of potent magick. Many Witches will be performing rituals and casting spells on this night. It is also a night when fairies roam the land. If you work with the fairy realm, this is an important night for you!

Aug 1 – LAMMAS (also known as Lughnassadh) the first harvest festival. It celebrates the first grains harvested for baking bread. Celebrate by baking or buying a loaf of bread and sharing it as a celebration.

Sept 22 – MABON / Fall Equinox: the light and darkness are in balance on this day. But it marks the change from the light half of the year to the dark half of the year. Moving forward the darkness will grow longer and the daylight will grow shorter. It is a celebration of the second harvest festival and is celebrated by feasting and visiting with family and friends.

Oct 31 – SAMHAIN (pronounced SAH-win) (as known as Halloween) This is the Witches’ New Year! The veil between worlds is thinnest and the dead are thought to return and visit. It is a night to communicate with the spirits, spirit guides, and ancestors. It is also a night to work with Tarot cards and Crystal Balls!

Samhain is also a time when we come to terms with death and are openly encouraged to let go of our fears of it. It is a time when we acknowledge the hard moments of life that we usually don’t think or talk about. If there are things we need to let go of, Samhain is a good time to release them!

Dec 21 – YULE / Winter Solstice: The real reason that this time of year was celebrated .. before christianity existed. We are halfway through the dark part of the year. The darkness is at its peak…moving forward the light begins to grow stronger and days become longer. You can see why the newly formed cult of christianity, which is what it was at the time, choose this time of year for the birth of christ…the light grows strong and brighter…the Sun is reborn. Yule traditions include burning a Yule log, kissing under mistletoe, and placing an evergreen tree in your home to represent the sustaining of life during the winter.

[slashers-and-rats]

thomas hewitt x fem!reader | nsfw |

kinktober day 3: markings

thomas ran his hands up and down your side, letting his fingers travel over each hill and valley on your body. they traced from the top of your thigh, over your hips and the length of your stomach, up to the groove near your under arm.

with every movement, timed to the rhythm of your breathing, he also passed over the bruises littered across his path.

that night had been eventful, to say the least. thomas was usually a well-behaved man. his mama had taught him well, she made sure to give him manners and “morals”, or their equivalent to them. women were fragile things, he needed to be sweet and gentle. he knew this, it was etched into his bones.

yet, when you put your hands on him, and spoke to him in your most dulcet tones, and looked up at him with that lustful gaze… it all disappeared. all sense of self would melt away; any ropes holding him back snapped amidst the weight of his want.

that’s what had happened. your marks painted a picture of pleasure and ecstasy. they whispered retellings of your night.

the ones on your hips sang tales of his strength. the way he would maneuver you, your size being nothing to him. years of working with heavy meats, and helping his family with their own work had built up muscle underneath the soft of his pudge. you yourself were soft, maybe heavy for the average man, but somehow small to him. he knew how to move you, how to manipulate your body until you were right where he wanted you underneath him. his fingers would dig into the chub of your hips, creating grips for himself with which to fuck you.

it lead into the hickeys on your chest. he remembered the feeling on his lips. the hickeys mumbled rumours, spreading the word of thomas’ filthy mouth. it was all true, he was vile when he wanted to be. he’d push his face into your breasts, biting and sucking as if he was a leech. he’d mutter things then, letting his stream of consciousness spill over you as he drowned in it. praise was usual, but the way he did it felt even more sinful. he worshipped you like a god, apologizing to you for tainting such a holy saint with his needs, but confessing he could not stop himself if he wanted to. he bathed in you, consuming each part of you he could. he’d gnaw on your shoulder, he’d nibble at your neck, he’d suck on your nipples, and he’d lick over collarbone. you were a feast in the banquet hall of heaven. you were his church.

the scratch marks on your thighs hissed obscenities. they crackled with the memories of his release from it all. thomas felt like a beast whenever he came. he’d rut into you, growling and panting over you like some dog. you’d look up at him then, so much prettier than him during your own throes of pleasure. you’d coo at him, coaxing him closer and closer to that edge. it was as if you were leading him towards the light. you knew he was especially close when his thrusts became nothing but grinding into the depths of your pussy, pushing himself as far inside as he possibly could. you’d curl yourself around him then, letting himself bury deep inside of you while he clawed at your skin, releasing everything he had inside. you’d drain him, letting him shake and squirm against your body, and you’d take every drop.

thomas rubbed a thumb over one of the bruises on your hip, pulling you a bit closer to him. it caused you to stir, glancing down at what he was paying so much attention to. noticing the way he fixated on your marks, you giggled.

“pretty, huh? i like them. feels like they’re tellin’ a story or somethin’,” you commented with a shrug, before resting back against his chest.

if only you knew the things they were saying.

[spooky-spextre-arts]

It's the first day of August, so, Encanto fandom, you know what that means... 👀🎁

Isabela Madrigal: August 7th | 🏵💠🌹

(From what the Disney wiki tells me:

Day that marked the end of the Battle of Boyacá, and during the month of the Festival of Flowers in Colombia)

Dolores Madrigal: August 31st | ☀️🔊🎀

(The same time of the International Day for People of African Descent, as well as Saint Raymond Nonnatus's Feast Day, the patron of confidentiality.)

*Since I just read the trivia sections of the Disney Wiki, I know there's still a lot I'm not aware of, so if I misinterpreted the cultural significance of these dates, don't hesitate to say so.*

[forgottenbrigit]

Malconaire Imbolc Traditions

It is said that Phaedra, the goddess of spring, is often granted this one day by Xerxes, the god of winter, to allow the everyone to gather enough firewood to last them the rest of the winter. If the weather on Imbolc is fair, then the mornings are spent harvesting firewood in preparation for the rest of the winter to come. If, however, the weather is fowl, it is taken as a sign that winter is to come to an end soon, and instead everyone spends their mornings around the fire with warm drinks in hand celebrating that warmer days are ahead.

The evergreen trees are often decorated for Imbolc and the great tree that grows through Malconaire has always been decorated by the children of the current Lord the night before

It has always been a tradition for the four girls to stay up late into the night placing garlands and ornaments upon its branches.

In the afternoon, the unmarried girls partake in a parade where they all wear white with their hair unbound as a symbol of purity and youth

They go from house to house in the village and receive food that shall be offered to the guardians that evening

It is said that Imbolc is the coldest night of the year and that it is the one night that the god Xerxes is allowed a warm haven from the cold winter nights

It is said that, if he is not invited in, that he shall cover the land in a great blizzard and his wrath shall know no mercy until the first day of spring comes

In each house, a bed is made up for Xerxes

A family member is then chosen to represent Xerxes (at Malconaire it is often Brigit given that this was her nameday)

Wearing a crown of ivy and snowdrops, they circle the house three times before knocking thrice upon the door and asking to be let in. On the third time, they are welcomed.

There is then a great feast in the evening to mark the last night of winter. Food and drink are set aside for the guardians.

After the festivities, they light candles and visit the graves of their loved ones -- decorating them with garlands of holly and ivy -- and saying silent prayers

Before going to bed, clothing is left out for the guardians to bless, with the hope that they shall give their wearer both healing and protection

The day following the festival, the entire village undergoes a "spring cleaning" as they look forward to the next season (brigit hated this part ngl)

They also rake the ashes smooth from the fire in the great hall to see if there are any signs that Xerxes had, indeed, visited

If there was nothing, it would be believed that bad fortune was coming to them during the next winter unless they made enough offerings to the guardians

Brigit's Birthday Traditions

Since Imbolc is actually Saint Brigid's day, I'm headcannoning that Brigit was actually born on Imbolc!

Her mother was not due for many weeks yet and when she suddenly went into labor during the celebration and festivities, it all came to a halt

It did not look well and they were concerned that neither she nor Brigit would survive

In the chaos, a bed was never made for Xerxes and a terrible storm blew through Malconaire which prevented the doctor from being sent for

When Sorcha realized what had happened, she stood from her own bed and opened the window, whispering out to Xerxes that her bed was his own, if he would spare her child

Despite Bran's insistence, Sorcha would not get back into her bed

A few moments before midnight, Brigit was born and as soon as she came into the world the wind and the snow stopped

When the doctor did arrive, he was stunned to see both mother and child were in such good health

In the morning, when the fire had burned out and the ashes were made smooth, there was a small rock found beneath them that Sorcha swore resembled a horse

She said that they should all take it as a sign that Xerxes has been there, after all, and it was he who saved them. She also said that she feared that this would mean that her Brigit would be as untameable and fierce as a wild horse (she was right)

Brigit's mother used to tell her this story whenever Brigit felt like she was out of place

When she was little, she believed it wholeheartedly, but as she grew older, she started to think her mother just told her this to make her feel better

It wasn't until she started to see the guardians for herself that she started to wonder if, perhaps, it was all true after all

She still has the rock that was found in the ashes

Brigit's present on her 18th birthday was the bow that belonged to her grandfather, Commander Lorcan

His sword and armour, of course, stayed with Lorcan and are in Padraig's possession but both her cousin and her father determined that Brigit ought to have his bow <3

@forgottenaoife & @forgottenroisin : I'm not sure if this has been established anywhere before, but I was wondering what the Malconaire's parents stance was on religion? Writing this, I feel like Sorcha was rather religious but Bran was more just in it for tradition? Thoughts on this???

[catholicsapphic]

Just. Rita of Cascia and Mary of Magdala. You want to join a convent named after the disciple of disciples, no other will do. You get refused two times, but when your neighbors ask you why you’re forlorn, you still say it was your home they locked you out of. You make it in, aided by your patron saints. She wasn’t among them, but maybe that’s only because she was already waiting for you inside. You celebrate her feast day every year for forty years, until your death. Maybe you even celebrate her feast day whenever the 22nd rolls around each month, unaware that every May you’re celebrating your feast day as well. You would feel envious of her, for never having been tied down to a man she didn’t want, a man other than your Lord, but only if you were a little less saintly, a little less marked for Heaven, but you are what you are (and you are just like her) so you can only feel bone deep admiration. It’s good that you don’t mind, because in the end, the centuries will write you both to be just wives — folklore cares very little about the truth; people adore a love story, and the one she had with Him was too visceral to comprehend, so they reduced it to romance. They held your story as a romance, too, when it was a trial, a fight for change, a proof of patience (You're not sure what 'romance' is supposed to mean anymore). Her face in your casket, the original one, the one that was painted when only the people who knew you were aware that you were a saint; the only other person in it is the One that binds you two together. Her convent will become yours. The entire city will be known for you, and few will remember it was the convent of Mary Magdalene to begin with. I think you still feel guilty for it. I think she’s thrilled for you. I think God remembers, always, that it was the women by the Cross.

[whencyclopedia]

Holidays in the Elizabethan Era

During the Elizabethan Era (1558-1603 CE), people of all classes greatly looked forward to the many holidays and festivals on offer throughout the year. The vast majority of public holidays were also religious commemorations, and attendance at service was required by law. Still, the feasts that accompanied many of these 'holy days' were anticipated with pleasure, and many secular traditions began to appear alongside them such as playing football on Shrove Tuesday and giving gifts to mothers on the third Sunday before Easter. Holidays were also an opportunity to visit towns for a local fair or even travel further afield. The Elizabethan period was the first time the idea of a Grand Tour of Europe caught on amongst the rich, seen as a way to broaden a young person's horizons and round off their general education.

Holy Days

The concept of an extended holiday as a period of rest from work is a relatively modern idea. Throughout the Middle Ages, the only time a worker had off work was Sundays and holy days, that is days established by the Church to celebrate a religious matter such as the life of a particular saint or such events as the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas and his resurrection at Easter. In the 16th century CE, these holy days became known by the now more familiar and wholly secular term, 'holidays'. The Elizabethan period was also the first time that such religious holidays came to be associated less with Church services and more to do with taking a 24-hour break from everyday life and, if possible, enjoying a little better quality of food and drink than one usually consumed. However, it is to be remembered that attendance at church on the main holy days was still required of everyone by law.

In the second half of the 16th century CE, there were 17 principal holy days recognised by the Anglican Church, some of which, as today, moved particular dates depending on the lunar calendar. These holy days, and their celebratory or commemorative purposes, were:

New Year's Day (1 Jan) - the Circumcision of Jesus Christ.

Twelfth Day (6 Jan) - the Epiphany when the Magi visited Jesus.

Candlemas (2 Feb) - Feast of the Purification of Mary.

Shrovetide/Shrove Tuesday (between 3 Feb & 9 Mar) - the last day before the fasting of Lent.

Ash Wednesday (between 4 Feb & 10 Mar) - First day of Lent, the 40-day fast that leads up to Easter.

Lady Day (25 Mar) - Annunciation of Mary and considered the first day of the calendar year in England (when the year number changed).

Easter (between 22 Mar & 25 Apr) - the Resurrection of Christ and including nine days of celebration.

May Day (1 May) - commemorating St. Philip and Jacob but also considered the first day of summer.

Ascension Day (between 30 Apr & 3 Jun) - Ascension of Christ and a major summer festival.

Whitsunday (between 10 May & 13 Jun) - Pentecost when Christ visited the apostles.

Trinity Sunday (between 17 May & 20 Jun) - Feast day of the Trinity.

Midsummer Day (24 Jun) - also commemorates John the Baptist.

Michaelmas (29 Sep) - marks the end of the harvest season and commemorates the Archangel Michael.

All Hallows/Hallowtide (1 Nov) - the feast of All Saints (Hallows).

Accession Day (17 Nov) - commemorates Elizabeth I of England's accession.

Saint Andrew's Day (30 Nov) - commemorates St. Andrew.

Christmas (25 Dec) - the birth of Jesus Christ.

Continue reading...

[three--rings]

OFMD and Rime of the Ancient Mariner

I have to shout out @nonsensicalramblings79 who wrote their own analysis of the connections. It's very worth reading. But I want to talk less about symbols and more just bits of the poem that vibe with the season so far.

The "impossible bird" that Ed references in ep 1 immediately made me think of an albatross, because there was a sailor legend that albatrosses always flew across the ocean and never stopped on land.

And because there's a strong connection between sailors and albatrosses, most famously as a result of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1834).

So because the other post linked above didn't quote the actual poem much, that's what I'd like to do to point out WHY it feels like this is an actual connection.

First of all, the poem takes place At a Wedding, in which the Ancient Mariner is a fairly unwelcome guest. We learn at the end that he is cursed for the rest of his life to forcibly spill out his story to people when he sees someone who he's Meant to tell. So he's talking to a Wedding Guest in the middle of a wedding party.

It is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three. 'By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp'st thou me? The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: May'st hear the merry din.'

This is how it begins. The mariner has a "long grey beard and glittering eye." Okay, Ed-core. He's at a wedding and stops this bridegroom's next of kin, who complains why are you making a fuss, the party is going on right now, they're going to hear you. Definitely evoking Ed crashing the wedding in ep 1.

So the Mariner was on a ship, a storm came and blew them off course, then they saw an albatross in the sky and were able to get free of the ice. I find it interesting that the albatross:

It ate the food it ne'er had eat, And round and round it flew... And a good south wind sprung up behind; The Albatross did follow, And every day, for food or play, Came to the mariner's hollo!

The albatross ate the food it had never eaten, it flew around and came everyday when they called it for food and play. This evokes Ed and Stede in their honeymoon days on the Revenge, Ed trying new food, them playing different roles and eating good meals...

Then more fog and ice came and so the Mariner shoots the albatross. Everyone is happy about it because they think it brought bad weather until they become becalmed. We get the most famous lines of the poem:

Day after day, day after day, We stuck, nor breath nor motion; As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean. Water, water, every where, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink.

That has nothing to do with OFMD it's just Good Poem. I do find the next stanza evocative:

The very deep did rot: O Christ! That ever this should be! Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs Upon the slimy sea.

Very Kraken-y. It will come up again. The crew decides the Mariner did this to them by killing the albatross that had been their friend and good luck. They tie the bird around his neck as a mark of his crime.

It goes on to describe them all dying of thirst and how then Death comes on them and all the men on the ship, 200 of them, die EXCEPT for the Mariner. All of them die looking him directly in the eye, cursing him in death.

Alone, alone, all, all alone, Alone on a wide wide sea! And never a saint took pity on My soul in agony. The many men, so beautiful! And they all dead did lie: And a thousand thousand slimy things Lived on; and so did I.

So I said the slimy things would be back, the Mariner is relating himself to them, again like Ed and the Kraken. Here we get to the part of the poem that is about the Mariner's inability to die. He's been cursed and so he cannot die, despite his desperate situation. This is where it really resonates with Ed in the early eps of S2. He desperately wants to die. He feels he is a curse on humanity, which he acts out in his violence, and also a curse on his crew, who he is ruining. He wants to die but cannot, despite all his attempts at getting someone to kill him.

An orphan's curse would drag to hell A spirit from on high; But oh! more horrible than that Is the curse in a dead man's eye! Seven days, seven nights, I saw that curse, And yet I could not die.

He tries to pray, but his heart is "dry as dust" and he cannot. But after seven days he starts watching the snakes in the water and enjoys the beauty of the world around him, and the albatross falls off of his neck and he can pray. He prays and basically a spirit or God or Mary answers him. It rains and he drinks water and then the corpses of the crew, which have not rotted at all, stand up inhabited by spirits and begin working the ship again. Wind carries it back to his home.

Yeah zombie sailors, dead men crewing a ship, WAY before Pirates of the Carribean.

So anyway, eventually he hears two voices speaking on the air.

'Is it he?' quoth one, 'Is this the man? By him who died on cross, With his cruel bow he laid full low The harmless Albatross. The spirit who bideth by himself In the land of mist and snow, He loved the bird that loved the man Who shot him with his bow.' The other was a softer voice, As soft as honey-dew: Quoth he, 'The man hath penance done, And penance more will do.'

I find the lines about the spirit who loved the albatross, who loved this man, who shot him. So the Mariner killed something who loved him, and that was his sin that brought the curse on him. But now he's done penance and will do more and that's why he can be saved.

Could make a connection to Ed shooting Izzy, but also it feels like Stede is also the albatross, but rather than Ed killing him, the albatross failed to love him? IDK Maybe Stede is the spirit who loved Ed the albatross and Blackbeard killed the Ed that Stede loved....that fits best. And it's the spirit who saved him ultimately. As Stede in mermaid form saves Ed.

Getting to that, the boat approaches land.

Oh! dream of joy! is this indeed The light-house top I see? Is this the hill? is this the kirk? Is this mine own countree?

Lighthouse imagery, of course. So a boat approaches this ship, with a "Good Hermit" in it. The ship however basically cracks in half and sinks right in the bay, and they fish the Mariner our of the water and think he is dead, but he wakes up and scares the crap out of them. Then he starts to row for shore.

'Ha! ha!' quoth he, 'full plain I see, The Devil knows how to row.'

They call him The Devil, which I point out because Ed calls himself that.

Basically he tells his whole story and here is where we learn he's compelled to tell his story when he meets the right people. He closes by talking about how alone alone alone he was and how he appreciates being with people and walking to church with them, going to a wedding. And also learned how important it is to cherish all creatures in the world.

And finally the Wedding Guest who heard this whole story:

He went like one that hath been stunned, And is of sense forlorn: A sadder and a wiser man, He rose the morrow morn.

IDK I just like this image of being sadder and wiser when you wake up in the morning, which again feels evocative to how Ed is going to wake up maybe?

IDK. I don't think we can say "oh clearly they had this poem in mind while writing these episodes", but they feel to me like they were written with this somewhere in the back of their minds. The reference to the impossible bird feels very much like a literary reference to an albatross, which would immediately conjure the "what happens if you kill an albatross" from this poem.

If you're still reading, hope you enjoyed this little journey into poetry. I'd encourage you to read the whole thing. It's very very weird and unique.

[hearthandheathenry]

All About Samhain

Samhain, typically pronounced "sow-in", is an ancient Gaelic festival originating from a pagan spiritual tradition. It falls on November 1st in the northern hemisphere, but celebrations start at sunset on October 31st due to old Celtic timekeeping. It falls about halfway between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice. The holiday also ushers in the end of the harvest season and the start of the dark months ahead, a.k.a the winter.

Samhain is marked as one of the most important fire festivals of the Celts, and is mentioned even in 9th century Irish literature. It was such an important time of year that neolithic passage tombs in Ireland aligned with the sunrise around this holiday, predating any historical text on it. Samhain was a celebration of large feasts and gatherings and was said to be a time where the portals to the otherworld were open and when spirits were close. However, the festival was not recorded in great detail until more early modern times.

At that time, it was mentioned how cattle were brought down from the summer pastures and slaughtered, special fires were lit for protection and cleansing, and offerings were made to the Fae and to the departed souls thought to visit their loved ones on this liminal holiday. Mumming and guising (wearing costumes and going door to door reciting verses in exchange for food) were recorded at this time. Divination also seemed to be a big part of celebrations at this time, usually involving nuts and apples.

In the 9th century, the western church declared November 1st All Saints Day and later November 2nd All Souls Day. It is believed that modern Halloween is influenced by all of these different holidays and their traditions since most of American Halloween was inherited from Irish and Scottish immigrants.

Samhain played a big role in Irish mythology, and many tales were passed down about this time of year and eventually written down by Christian monks in the Middle Ages. Most tales tell of large feasts, interactions with the Fae and the Otherworld, and of making offerings around this time of year within those tales.

In some Medieval texts, it is said that Samhain at Uliad lasted 3 days before and 3 days after, or a whole week. There were great gatherings where they held meetings, drank, feasted, and held contests. Bonfires were noted in many texts, often being lit by Druids and used to relight hearthfires and for sacrifices to the Gods. By the early modern era, they were most common in the Scottish Highlands, and by the 18th and 19th centuries, the fires, smoke, and ashes were said to have protective and cleansing powers. They were also used for divination and had a ritual involving laying stones around the fire, one for each person, and then left overnight to observe in the morning. It is said that if one of the stones had been mislaid, then that person would not survive the year. Other older customs suggest throwing the stones into the fire itself instead.

Divination on Samhain usually revolved around death or marriage. Apples and hazelnuts were common divination tools for these games and customs, apple bobbing being a common one even way back then. Food and drink were also used for divination, along with animals and dreams people had later that night.

Samhain was also noted to have many traditions involving the Fae and the deceased. People would take extra precautions to protect themselves against the Fae or even give offerings to appease them. It was also thought that the dead would revisit their homes, seeking hospitality in the cold, so places for them were set at the table. Thankful souls were thought to bring blessings, while a wronged person could bring revenge.

Mumming and guising were also recorded in the 16th century, where people would go door to door in costume and recite verses in exchange for food, sometimes for the feast itself. It was suggested that those who disguised themselves as Fae would be protected, but other sources talk about representing the old spirits of winter who demanded reward in exchange for good fortune. However, disguising as Fae led to many young men taking the step to play tricks and pranks on people as well, leading to Samhain being nicknamed "Mischief Night" as far back as the 1700s.

Modern pagans today seem to celebrate Samhain in many different ways, incorporating ancient traditions from a few of the overlapping festivals and ways unique to their own practice. Overall, it's a wonderful and fun time filled with feasting, fires, dressing up, and honoring the dead. Samhain has survived many generations despite the time passed and traditions varying throughout the years.

Samhain Associations:

Colors - orange, red, yellow, black, purple

Food - apples, pomegranates, nuts, squash, alcohol, ciders, breads, sweets

Animals - cattle and other farm animals, nocturnal animals

Items - carved vegetables, treats, protective totems, disguises

Crystals - obsidian, carnelian, bloodstone, citrine, onyx, smokey quartz

Other - bonfires, divination, costumes, mumming, feasts, death, souls, Fae

Ways To Celebrate:

carve a vegetable to represent a spirit (carve a pumpkin)

go mumming and guising (trick-or-treating)

have a bonfire

have a feast

enjoy some cider or mead

dress up in a costume

practice divination

play games like apple bobbing

honor your ancestors

leave offerings to the spirits

prepare your home for the upcoming winter

cleanse and protect your home

make a simmer pot

create an altar

gather with friends and family

give treats to others

[portraitsofsaints]

Saint Longinus the Centurion

Died: 1st century

Feast Day: October 16 (new) March 15 (trad.)

Patronage: the blind and those with poor eyesight, for discernment, Mantua

Saint Longinus was the centurion that pierced the side of Jesus at the Crucifixion. He was losing his eyesight at the time and when Christ’s blood fell into his eyes his sight was restored. He then said, “Indeed, this man was the Son of God.” (Mark 15:39) Subsequently, he received instructions from the apostles, converted, left the army, and became a monk. He was arrested, tortured (teeth pulled out and tongue cut out yet could still speak clearly), and martyred. His relics are in Rome and his lance is contained in one of the four pillars over the altar in the Basilica of St. Peter’s.

Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase here: (website)

[scotianostra]

Holy Rood Day is a religious observance celebrated on May 3rd each year.

The feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, to give it it's more convulated name, celebrates two historical events: the discovery of the True Cross by Saint Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine, in 320 under the temple of Venus in Jerusalem, and the dedication in 335 of the basilica and shrine built on Calvary by Constantine, which mark the site of the Crucifixion.

So what is this got to do with Scotland? Well it ties in directly in with one of our fondest remembered Queens, Margaret, and one of Scotland's most treasured and enigmatic relics, the Black Rood, said to be a piece of the True Cross set in an ebony crucifix. Here's the story to date.

The Black Rood is said to have been brought to Scotland by Margaret who fled north in the years after the Norman Conquest and married Malcolm Canmore, Malcolm III. A bit of Margaret's background is relevant. She is said to have been born in Hungary but was in England during the reign of Edward the Confessor who was her grand-uncle.

On her death in 1093, Margaret is reported to have left the Rood, described by contemporary historians as a ''great national palladium'', check out the link for a great telling of how Margaret called for the rood as she lay dying in Edinburgh Castle.

To the Scottish people. It is recorded as having been taken south along with the Stone of Destiny in 1296 as part of Edward I of England's booty from his Scottish ''tour''. Its significance for the Scots is indicated by the fact it was only restored by special treaty.

Almost half a century passes before it surfaces again, this time as one of the relics carried by the Scots army in 1346 to the Battle of Neville's Cross near Durham where we were soundly drubbed and David II was taken into captivity, (Remember my wee post on this the other day courtesy f my friend Andrew Spratt)

The English considered the acquisition of the Black Rood almost as important as the victory itself and it was kept for the next 200 years in Durham Abbey ''on the pillar next to St Cuthbert's shrine in the south aisle''. During the chaos of the Reformation, like so many other religious artefacts, it disappeared.

You don't have to believe in all the religion surrounding the Holy, or Black Rood to understand that this was one of the most treasured relics from our medieval history, just rooting around in history and you can find other legends regarding pieces of the Cross, so much so the reformer John Calvin thought there were enough pieces of the "True Cross" floating around to build a battleship or I would add, perhaps an Ark.

Check out the link for more info on the Black Rood here

[sgiandubh]

Sunday sounds: Ascension. Lumen gentium

On this Feast of the Ascension, the miraculous dimension of what happened on Easter Sunday is now being entirely confirmed. At least to the believers, of course - a matter of personal choice, resonance and dialogue, no matter how all those three happen. I, for one, have always been a strong proponent of the free dialogue between the Creature and its Creator. No pompous words needed, no props - the only thing that's mandatory is complete honesty.

On this day, the visible part of the Gospels' narratives is apparently finished, but one could immediately think of those words, Mary Queen of Scots embroidered while waiting for her execution in an English prison:

'En ma Fin gît mon Commencement'. /'In my End is my Beginning.'

Today's Gospel invites The Twelve to ' go (...) into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (King James' Bible, Mark 16:15).' With this bidding, the Story is continued with the whole human adventure of the construction of a Universal Church. But I think there is more about it, since this invitation is not extended just to them, but in reality to all of us. And it's perhaps simpler and deeper than building hierarchies, doctrines and institutions, because what is also meant is just something along the lines of 'be the light you want to see in the World.'

Gandhi never said that. But a humble nun and convert from New York, Elizabeth Ann Seton, did. She later became a saint - something I never set myself to achieve, by the way.

PS: no Mother's Day in my country. Legally, it's always supposed to be celebrated on the first Sunday in May, but as for every recent and foreign inspired innovation, nobody does. It's somehow included in the whole International Women's Day Communist lollapalooza, on the 8th of March. That tells a lot, actually, about the way my own society and culture looks at this sacred waypoint in everybody's life - sideways, and it's a real problem.

But to all Moms, Daughters and Sons who do celebrate, I send a heartfelt thought of love and sympathy. What we all share with Mom, who will always be there for us, might sometimes be dramatic, hard and even unfair. However, that mysterious bond is never to be broken. Not even by Death itself. And no matter who we sometimes choose to call Mom.

[talonabraxas]

2024 Wheel of the Year (Sabbats) Pagan Wheel

Feb 2 – IMBOLC (also called Candlemas, Imbolg, and Saint Brigid’s Day) It is midway between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. This sabbat reminds us that the light is growing stronger and that the harshness of winter will start to fade. To celebrate the growing light, many Pagans will light candles on this holiday.

Mar 19 – OSTARA /Spring Equinox: light and darkness are in perfect balance on this day. Moving forward, daylight will continue to grow as we head into Spring. It is a time to celebrate balance and the arrival of Spring. It represents new beginnings and the freshness of a new day. What’s past is in the past and past and it’s time to move forward.

May 1 – BELTANE (also known as May Day) (pronounced BELL-tain) This is an exciting and energetic holiday that celebrates sexuality, fertility, and all of the life that comes with Spring. It is a time of great joy and celebration! Feel the creative energy of the Universe. It is a time of renewal and rebirth … a time to grow as a person and reinvent yourself if you so desire.

June 20 – LITHA / Summer Solstice The Sun is at its maximum strength … it is the longest day of the year. This is a season of growth, fruitfulness, abundance, and strength. It’s a great night to perform spells for money, abundance, and financial security … and the strength to do what you need to do to be successful.

June 23 – Midsummer’s Eve: the night before Mid-Summer (June 24). It is considered a night of potent magick. Many Witches will be performing rituals and casting spells on this night. It is also a night when fairies roam the land. If you work with the fairy realm, this is an important night for you!

Aug 1 – LAMMAS (also known as Lughnassadh) the first harvest festival. It celebrates the first grains harvested for baking bread. Celebrate by baking or buying a loaf of bread and sharing it as a celebration.

Sept 22 – MABON / Fall Equinox: the light and darkness are in balance on this day. But it marks the change from the light half of the year to the dark half of the year. Moving forward the darkness will grow longer and the daylight will grow shorter. It is a celebration of the second harvest festival and is celebrated by feasting and visiting with family and friends.

Oct 31 – SAMHAIN (pronounced SAH-win) (as known as Halloween) This is the Witches’ New Year! The veil between worlds is thinnest and the dead are thought to return and visit. It is a night to communicate with the spirits, spirit guides, and ancestors. It is also a night to work with Tarot cards and Crystal Balls!

Samhain is also a time when we come to terms with death and are openly encouraged to let go of our fears of it. It is a time when we acknowledge the hard moments of life that we usually don’t think or talk about. If there are things we need to let go of, Samhain is a good time to release them!

Dec 21 – YULE / Winter Solstice: The real reason that this time of year was celebrated .. before christianity existed. We are halfway through the dark part of the year. The darkness is at its peak…moving forward the light begins to grow stronger and days become longer. You can see why the newly formed cult of christianity, which is what it was at the time, choose this time of year for the birth of christ…the light grows strong and brighter…the Sun is reborn. Yule traditions include burning a Yule log, kissing under mistletoe, and placing an evergreen tree in your home to represent the sustaining of life during the winter.