#Latvian goddess

[theaskew]

How Laima Made Three Wishes Come True, from the Tales of the Amber Sea: Fairy Tales of the Peoples of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Anatoly Belyukin (Illustrator), Irina Zheleznova (Translator): Progress Publishers, 1974.

[thesorceresstemple]

Lovers" from "Latvian Tarot" by Arthur Berzinsh

[latviannativefaith]

The veneration of God Perkons. #LatvjuDievi #LatvianGods #DievsPērkons #GodPerkons #pagānisms #paganism #neopagānisms #neopaganism #Pērkons #buršanās #witchcraft

[whitedarkmoonflower]

Paris, Pyramids, and Werewolves: Eacon4 Friday evening

Just like last time, I went to the convention with my friend. She still hasn’t watched The Last Kingdom all the way through (don’t ask), but she loved the event last year. Plus, we don’t get much time to see each other, so when I asked her to come along again, she was immediately on board.

We were late. Again. Honestly, Paris traffic is like a personal vendetta against me. I hate it, and I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual. Somehow, though, we made it—just barely. We grabbed our tickets with about five minutes to spare, bolted upstairs to our room, and I slapped on some makeup like my life depended on it. Quick mirror check, and then we dashed back down for the cocktail party.

We stumbled into the room, still catching our breath, and were promptly shepherded to the last free table. No time for drinks, no chance to collect ourselves—just, “Here’s your spot, good luck!” There were only three of us at the table: me, my friend, and a lady we’d just met. And before we could even blink, the actors arrived, and Jeppe was suddenly at our table.

Let me tell you, Jeppe was a total vibe from the start. He casually mentioned that he’d spent the day exploring Paris and—get this—managed to find a restaurant that served food before 8 p.m. A legit Parisian miracle! We laughed, totally impressed, because, let’s be real, finding a decent early dinner in Paris is like spotting a unicorn.

Then, out of nowhere, he pulled out a box of chocolates. Yes, chocolates. He told us they were from his home country and boldly claimed they were the best milk chocolates ever. They were these cute little chocolate hearts, and we, of course, thanked him and graciously accepted.

Now, here’s the thing: Latvians are fiercely proud of their chocolate. Like, fiercely. We’re convinced it’s the best in the world, and we’ll die on that hill. My friend and I exchanged knowing looks, silently agreeing that poor Jeppe clearly hadn’t experienced Laima yet—our pride and joy, named after the Latvian goddess of happiness. But this was not the time or place for a chocolate debate, so we kept our opinions to ourselves, smiled politely, and thought, You don’t know what you’re missing, Jeppe.

Jeppe asked where we were from, and, as expected, the moment I said Latvia, his immediate reaction was, “Oh, like Arnas?” I couldn’t help but laugh—I’m so used to people mixing up Latvia and Lithuania that it didn’t even faze me. “Nope, not Lithuania. Latvia. Close, though. We’re neighbors!” I explained, and Jeppe was so sweet about it.

He also mentioned that he’s currently performing in Jesus Christ Superstar, which immediately had us all going, “WOW!” because, seriously, how cool is that? But before we could dive deeper into that conversation, his time with us was up, and it was Cavan’s turn.

Now, Cavan came over with this sweet, slightly nervous vibe, like he wasn’t quite sure where to start. Naturally, we ended up talking about Paris again (it was clearly the theme of the day). He mentioned that he’d been trailing Toby around because, apparently, Toby knows all the best spots. One of their stops was the Musée de l'Orangerie, and Cavan was absolutely mesmerized by Monet’s Nymphéas. The way he described it, you could tell it left a real impression on him—he was genuinely moved.

And then Toby arrived, and let me just say—I was not ready. This man is royalty personified. Everything about him, from the way he stands to the way he moves, just oozes regal elegance. And the voice. Oh. My. God. That voice. It’s like dark velvet and warm honey had a love child—rich, smooth, a little mysterious, but still soft and inviting. Honestly, words don’t do it justice. And the way he speaks? It’s like he’s performing Shakespeare by candlelight, even if he’s just answering a question about breakfast.

We asked what he’s working on, and he told us about a new series he’s filming, set to release next year. It’s about an aristocratic family in England during World War II, centered on the Mitford sisters. He was so excited as he talked about the story, the complex lives of the characters, and especially one of the sisters who ended together with England’s most infamous fascist, Sir Oswald Mosley. You could tell he was genuinely invested in the project, and it was impossible not to share his enthusiasm.

I’d love to say I remember everything Toby said, but honestly? I was completely hypnotized by his voice. He could’ve been reciting a grocery list, and I’d still have been standing there, utterly transfixed. No exaggeration—I could listen to him talk forever.

Then came Jacob, and wow, what a difference a year makes! Gone was the shy, uncertain vibe he had last time. He’s grown so much, and you can tell he’s been working on himself—his voice, his stance, everything about him radiated confidence. He walked in like he owned the place, and honestly, it was so great to see.

Naturally, our chat turned towards Seven Kings Must Die and his role in it. Jacob shared that when he first got the part, he’d actually broken his leg. So, while stuck at home, he had nothing to do but dive headfirst into The Last Kingdom world—reading the script and binge-watching the show, immersing himself completely in that world.

He laughed as he told us how he was initially informed that his character, Osbert, was brand new, so he didn’t expect to find any reference to him. Then, while filming had already started, Jacob finally made it to Season 5—and bam! There’s Osbert, walking on the shore with Hild. Except… that Osbert looked nothing like Jacob and even had a completely different accent.

Jacob, being the perfectionist that he is, decided he needed to match that one-line accent for authenticity. Can you imagine? I mean, if someone tortured me, I couldn’t tell you what accent that Osbert had. The level of dedication is both hilarious and impressive, and we all had a good laugh about it.

Next up was Timothy, and again—what a transformation! I still remember how shy and unsure he seemed last time. But this time? Total 180. He was confident, cracking jokes, and he was actually the one asking us questions like how we got into watching The Last Kingdom and whether we’d watched it together. The vibe was so fun and relaxed, and it was clear he felt much more comfortable in his own skin.

Next up was Eliza, and oh my gosh—what a whirlwind of energy and charisma! The moment she arrived, we were all immediately hugged—or more accurately, squeezed—while she bubbled over with excitement about seeing everyone again. She kept gushing about how gorgeous we all looked, which, let’s be honest, made us feel amazing.

We congratulated her on her baby, and naturally, the conversation shifted to kids. She told us her little girl was staying with her at the hotel because she wanted her Last Kingdom family to meet her too. Apparently, she barely got any sleep the night before because the baby had kept her up, but you’d never know—Eliza was absolutely glowing. She raved about how gorgeous her baby was and how thrilled she was to be a mom. Then, with her signature humor, she laughed about how playing Aelswith had given her a crash course in motherhood—and even grandmotherhood—so now she’s just putting all that “acting experience” into real-life practice.

You could practically feel the love and pride radiating off her. We joked about how this phase of parenting is actually the easy part, and how traveling with a toddler is a whole different beast. I even shared a story about how, when my son was two, he decided a shopping mall was the perfect place to play hide-and-seek with me. I thought I’d lost him, but nope—he was just testing my heart health. Eliza cracked up and totally got it.

Then it was Mark’s turn, and I almost didn’t recognize him without the beard! By this point, my head was spinning—from the excitement, the endless conversations, and, let’s be real, the champagne. I hadn’t eaten a thing because, honestly, who wants to risk being mid-bite while chatting with actors? So the mini sandwiches on our table just sat there, silently judging me.

Mark started off asking about holiday plans, which, of course, led to him sharing his own. He’s heading to Egypt for a Nile cruise, and let me tell you, he was clearly excited about it. He asked if anyone at the table had been to Egypt, and as luck would have it, my friend and I had just been talking about it. She’s dreaming of a trip there, and I visited about 20 years ago.

I told him honestly that the pyramids hadn’t left much of an impression on me back then, and I explained why. The route to get there took us through a very poor part of Cairo, where people were literally living in cardboard boxes. Seeing that level of poverty made it hard for me to fully appreciate the grandeur of the pyramids.

I can’t remember the exact order of the guests after that, but Micky was just the sweetest. Seriously, so lovely. We asked him what he’s up to these days and if he has any new projects. He almost looked apologetic when he said he’s not acting anymore but is now teaching acting. Of course, we were like, “WOW, that sounds amazing!” He seemed genuinely happy to hear that and told us a bit about his work as an acting coach. He was super interested in us too—asking where we’re from, what we do, and just being all-around delightful.

And then there was Magnus. I think I might have fallen a little bit in love. He was so easygoing and natural, like he’d just wandered in from a chill pub night. The first thing he noticed? Our glasses were nearly empty. Without missing a beat, he grabbed a bottle and refilled them for us. Naturally, we toasted together, and he laughed, calling this whole setup “speed dating,” encouraging us to fire away with questions.

Except… he didn’t really let us. Turns out he wanted to do all the asking. He wanted to know where we’re from, what we do, and of course, the classic: our favorite Last Kingdom scenes and characters. My friend admitted her favorite was Erik, which he was very pleased to hear. You can probably guess mine, and the other lady at our table admitted to being a Finan fan. Magnus just laughed and said he didn’t expect anyone to name Cnut anyway. His humor and warmth made the whole interaction feel so effortless and fun.

And last but not least Arnas. I have to say, he looked pretty tired. It was such a contrast to last time when he practically stormed over to our table, champagne glass in hand, hugging everyone, making toasts, talking and laughing non stop. Back then, he was like an overexcited puppy, especially when he found out there were Latvians at the table. I still remember how he confessed he’d never been to Latvia, even though we’re neighboring countries. My hands were shaking so much while trying to clink glasses with him that I almost missed.

This time was completely different. He was calm, no big excitement, just low-key and collected. I wasn’t sure if he’d even remember me. Our interactions last year were so sweet, but let’s be honest—he meets a lot of people, and it had been a whole year.

But then he walked up, greeted us, and suddenly said, “Oh, Līga!”

I swear, I just stood there grinning like an idiot.

Arnas: “You gave me that dragon book of yours to sign last time, right?”

Me (finally finding my voice): “Wow, you remember!”

Arnas: “Of course I do!”

He then turned to my friend but looked confused when he didn’t recognize her. She didn’t interact with him last time because she was too busy fangirling over Cristian. We told him how sad we were that this convention is supposed to be the last one in Paris, and then shared our “secret” plan: a 10-year reunion in Bebbanburg.

Arnas pretended to be surprised about the idea of a 10-year anniversary. We quickly declared that Alex would definitely be invited to the party, and the conversation shifted to Alex, who’s avoiding conventions. That’s when Arnas lit up as he suddenly remembered Alex’s grandmother, who had once even visited the set.

He started swooning over how she was the most lovely and charming lady he’d ever met and that he wants to be like her when he’s older. He said something like he would want to have those genes, to which my friend, without missing a beat, suggested the only way to ensure those genes would be to marry Alex and pass them on to their kids. Arnas paused, and then agreed it was a solid plan. We all burst out laughing—it was pure chaos, and it started to feel like the playful energy from last time. You could see Arnas lighten up a little.

Finally, I mustered up the courage to ask him the question that had been bugging me: “So, are you playing a villain in Mutiny?” I admitted right away that I know he probably won’t tell this to me anyway, but I just had to ask.

As expected, he didn’t spill a thing. Instead, he just smiled mysteriously and said, “Oh, you’ll see.”

And just like that, it was over. The group pictures were next, and before I knew it, Eliza had pulled me into another hug and dragged me to her side, yelling, “We’re doing hearts!” So naturally, we all did hearts. It was chaotic and hilarious, as usual with her.

By this point, I was feeling pretty dizzy from all the excitement and conversations—and mildly panicking about the werewolf game. The night before, I had won a ticket to Jacob’s team for my friend, and as the sweetest birthday surprise, she had gifted me a ticket for Arnas, Jeppe, and Cavan’s team. No pressure, right?

After a bit of queuing, we took our seats in a circle set up for the game. Our team was small—just me and four other ladies. Arnas arrived first and immediately announced, “You’re all doomed, you’re going to lose because I’m the werewolf, and I’m getting you all!” We laughed, and I shot back, “That’s not up to you—it depends on the role you get.” He grinned, and to my absolute shock (and slight terror), he chose the seat right next to me, making my heart jump straight into my throat.

Cavan and Jeppe hadn’t arrived yet, and while I was busy internally spiraling—trying to convince myself to stay calm and mentally cursing every goddess of fate for making me say something that probably prompted him to sit next to me—Arnas turned to me and casually asked, “So, what’s your absolute dream book to translate?” I have so much respect for Arnas for genuinely paying attention and remembering the people he meets. Not only did he remember my name, but he also remembered the book I gave him to sign and that I had translated it. Honestly, how does he even do that?

I told him I’m currently looking for a publisher for a beautiful German book for teenagers. I explained how there aren’t enough good books for kids and teens in Latvian, and the few publishers out there tend to focus on profits, which makes it hard to pitch books for a smaller audience. He wished me good luck, which was so sweet, and just as I was about to get emotional, I was saved by the bell—or more accurately, by Jeppe and Cavan arriving and the Nevastalgia girls jumping in to explain the rules of the werewolf game.

In the first round, I got the role of Cupid. My job? Pair up two players as a “couple,” meaning if one dies, the other does too. Naturally, I paired Jeppe and Arnas. Little did I know how lucky that choice would turn out to be. It turns out Jeppe was the Witch, and on the first night, the werewolves (of course) targeted Arnas. Jeppe had to use his healing powers to save Arnas, which kept both of them in the game. Talk about a power couple!

I love this game and tried my best to focus, but my concentration took a hit when Arnas casually placed his arm on the back of my chair. Seriously, how is one supposed to concentrate when that happens? To my surprise, the other ladies on the team were very quiet, so it was mostly me, Jeppe, and Arnas arguing and accusing each other of being werewolves. Jeppe, by the way, was absolutely thriving. He bickered with Arnas the entire time in classic Haesten style, teasing him non-stop. Cavan was a bit reserved at first but got more into the game as it went on.

Unfortunately, both games ended the same way—with one villager and one werewolf left alive, meaning the werewolves won. Poor Arnas didn’t even get to play as a werewolf either time and was eliminated super early both rounds. The final moments of the last game were intense. I knew the other lady was the werewolf and tried to convince Cavan and Jeppe, but while Jeppe believed me, Cavan didn’t. So we lost again.

But honestly? It didn’t even matter. The whole thing was hilarious. The banter, the accusations, and Jeppe’s jokes had me laughing so much that by the second round, I completely forgot about Arnas sitting next to me and finally just enjoyed the game and all the ridiculous fun that came with it.

[yoga-onion]

Legends and myths about trees

Legendary tree deities (23)

Metsaema – the mother spirit of the forest in Estonian mythology.

The name Metsaema translates to "forest mother" in Estonian (from metsa "forest" and ema "mother"). For this reason, the word metsaema can also be used as a descriptor of other similar deities in Eastern European mythology, for example Vir'ava.

The mother of the forest acts as ruler and guardian. She is sometimes also connected with fertility, acting as a midwife in some texts. Forest spirits are said to be found in each forest, ruling over the animals, birds, trees, and berries. Wild animals such as bears, snakes and wolves are commonly connected with them across European mythologies.

The shared elements of Finnic, Slavic, Baltic and Turkic mythology can be seen in similarities between forest mother spirits. Metsaema has strong similarities with the forest mother spirits Vir'ava, from Mordven mythology, and Meža mate, from Latvian mythology. Other related deities are the Lithuanian goddess of the forest and animals, Medeina, and the Finnish goddess of the forest, Mielikki (Ref).

[Photo below: European pine marten ]

木にまつわる伝説・神話

伝説の樹木の神々 (23)

メッツァエマ 〜 エストニア神話に登場する森の母なる精霊

メッツァエマという名前は、エストニア語で「森の母」と訳される（メッツァは「森」とエマは「母」の意）。このため、メッツァエマという言葉は、例えばヴィラーヴァのような、東欧神話に登場する他の類似した神々を表す言葉としても使われる。

森の母は支配者であり守護者である。彼女は時に豊穣にも関係し、助産婦のような役割を果たすくだりもある。森の精霊はそれぞれの森に存在し、動物、鳥、木、木の実を支配していると言われている。熊、蛇、狼などの野生動物は、ヨーロッパの神話に共通する。

フィンランド神話、スラブ神話、バルト神話、テュルク神話に共通する要素は、森の母なる精霊の類似性に見ることができる。メッツァエマはモルドヴェン神話の森の母なる精霊ヴィラーヴァやラトヴィア神話のメジャ・マテと強い類似性がある。他にも、リトアニアの森と動物の女神メデイナや、フィンランドの森の女神ミエリッキ（参照）が関連している。

[babysfirstpentagram]

What is Mabon?

MABON is the pagan holiday of the second harvest. It typically falls between September 20th and 23rd, however you can celebrate for as long as you please. This is also called the Autumn Equinox and it is when the days start to get shorter and cooler outside. This is a period of hardwork and change, but also balance as this is when the day and night are equal. Many pagans consider this a time to give thanks to loved ones and the earth for a healthy harvest. In this post, I will discuss how to celebrate, what to expect, spell work, and much more.

What are some symbols of Mabon?

Apples are a huge symbol of Mabon. They represent fertility though the soil and health through the body. Grapes and wine are another big symbol, especially in Greece or with Greek Pagans. There is a harvest festival of grapes around this time in honor of Dionysus. Seeds are another obvious sign as this is when you start to store your seeds for the next spring. Baskets for the harvest and harvesting tools like sickles are also symbols of the holiday. For herbal witches, some herbs you might use are acrons, grains, honeysuckles, rose, and tabacco (be responsible). Kitchen witches might make bread, or foods using apples, nuts, or pomegranates. Stews with potatoes, carrots, and onions are also very popular. Color witches should wear more Earthy tones like deep reds and browns. Gold would be a wonderful enhancement! Crystal witches should stock up on sapphire, lapis, and golden agates.

Some ways to celebrate:

You can celebrate Mabon by drying herbs, making wines and ciders for the cooler months, going on nature walks to respectfully find new decor for your altars, adorning burial sites of loved ones, making bird feeders. This is a time to really remember your loved ones as you celebrate the harvest and thank them for protecting you and your home.

Types of witches that go BONKERS for Mabon:

Hedge witches, cottage witches, garden witches!

Deities that represent the season:

Greek: Demeter, goddess of the harvest. Persephone, Goddess of spring and Queen of the Underworld. Her story of following Hades to the Underworld is the reason we have Autumn and Winter anyway! Dionysus, god of wine. Cronos, Titan of the Harvest. Gaia, Mother Earth.

Celtic (British, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh): Mabon ap Modron, God of Freedom (Welsh). The Green Man, spirit of the woods (British). Modron, Mother Goddess (Welsh). Lugh, god of balance and the harvest (Celtic).

Roman: Pomona, Goddess of Fruit Trees. Bacchus, god of wine. Ceres, goddess of the harvest.

Norse: Freyr, god of farming. Gefjon, god of the harvest.

Slavic (Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Latvian, Estonian, Polish, Lithuanian, sometimes Finnish): Žemyna (Lithuanian), mother-goddess of agriculture. Jarilo, god of vegetation and the harvest.

Egyptian: Osiris, god of agriculture. Renenutet, goddess of the harvest.

Christianity: St. Isidore of Farmers.

Consider donating to my wedding fund! $carterofval

[quitealotofsodapop]

Answering all three of these asks by @latvian-spider in one post cus they reference the same one.

Referencing: MK's birth & later the Twins

Answer 1:

MK's birth worsens a pre-existing weather event. Macaque has minor wind powers (a ref to another Macaque character in JttW) in addition to his shadows. So when Macaque goes into labor, his latent powers of wind + shadow activate, creating a burst of magic to "protect" him that worsens the regular rain and wind outside. Think regular autumn rain turning into something like Florida. Luckily its more "annoying" than "deadly", but the force of the winds surge during contractions. The Megapolis weather station is confused af trying to control it.

Answer 2:

Connected to the answer above; SWK is heavily associated with earth and stone. Some theories even suggest that his stone egg was one of the stones used by Nuwa (creator of humanity) to patch the hole in the sky, and/or was spawned by the earth goddess Hou tu (considered an entity equal or even higher than the Jade Emperor). So when both SWK and Mac are having the twins, SWK's earth powers start acting up and creating similarly annoying earth tremors. Not fun.

Answer 3:

I absolutely adore this idea for Guanyin, especially since there is a chapter in JttW where she's not "looking her best" and it is hilarous. I feel like she flew into Megapolis via her own cloud, thinking it was just a normal earth storm like predicted - only to get tossed about by the magic high winds, and look royally messed up once she actually makes it inside the shop. Pigsy just staring as she slams the door behind her.

Guanyin: *panting, soaked with rain, hair tossed everywhere, makeup ruined, gifts she brought have been jumbled* Pigsy: "Uh... you ok there?" Guanyin, out of breath: "Where... baby... and parents?" Pigsy: "Through the kitchen, go up the two flights of stairs and through the door on your left." Guanyin, shuffling across the room: "Thank you, Chef Zhu." *walks up stairs* Tang, just recovered from fainting: "...that was Lady Guanyin." Pigsy: "Yup." Nezha, chilling downstairs with them: "She's here to bless the baby." Tang: "You think she'll stay for dinner or...?" Guanyin, calmly walks back down stairs sans gifts: "Baby and parents perfectly healthy. Nezha, your brothers say hello. Namo Amitabha." *braces herself and walks back out into the storm, gets carried off on her cloud like a plastic bag* Pigsy: "I ain't sayin' nothing..." Tang: "If we did, nobody would believe us." Nezha: "She has attended more..." *thinking of his own* "...interesting births." Sandy, from the stairs: "Hey guys! A nice lady just dropped off a bunch of gifts for the baby! You didn't let her go out in that storm did you?"

The gifts Guanyin brought included the traditional sheaths of rice (food blessing) and a vase of pure water (medicine and pain relief for parents and baby). She also smuggled in a bunch of gifts from other immortals who knew about "The Egg" - Lao Tzu sent welding googles in case the little guy had lazer eyes like his dad.

[specialagentartemis]

Art of the last two days:

I went to see Flow with Runo and it was gorgeous.  It's a Latvian animated movie set in a world without humans.  A cat finds unexpected friendship with a capybara, a lemur, a dog, and a secretary bird after a flood inundates the world and they take refuge in an old boat travelling the new worldwide ocean as the waters continue to rise.  It was gorgeous, magical in a strange and lonely and wondrous way.  There's no dialogue.  It's carried by the animal body language and music and it was majestic and lovely.

And on the airplane I finished reading the novella Sordidez by E. G. Conde. It's a climate fiction novella, compelling and powerful, a worthwhile read I'm still mulling over, but some parts became a little too obviously black-and-white. The writing was beautiful. The depiction of a climate-change-ravaged future, where both the careless greed of the global powers and the vindictive and deliberate use of environmental devastation against political dissidents, was lyrical and heartbreaking and way too resonant. The struggles and triumphs of community-building from the rubble, Native people once again tending to their Native lands after the colonizing powers rise and fall and rise and fall again, was deeply moving. The timeskips, the span of time this short novella covered, could sometimes feel jumpy, but I think that mostly worked. I loved seeing Doña Margarita's survivors' community in the rural Yucatan. I really liked the perpetual low level conflict between the UN, the People's Government, and the local rural people. I liked Vero and his struggle to figure out what he was meant to do and who he was meant to be. I was... unsure how to feel about La Loba Roja. The explicit parallel drawn between her and the military dictator was weird, because she was also portrayed as right. I also. Well. I wasn't as enthused about her unilaterally declaring herself a goddess-queen of the new Yucatan as it felt like the book was. And appointing Vero the returning king of Puerto Rico. That felt like nothing good could come of unilateral declarations like that. I feel like the results of her movement were not adequately covered, they were just timeskipped over. I also thought one of the late-book reveals about the UN kind of cheapened the politics of it somewhat--made it a little too... obvious, a little too trite.  Which was unfortunate, because so much of it was so good and thoughtful!

Very different takes on climate fiction, and both really cool and kind of hard to describe my feelings on.

[vikaflora-margarita]

Dēkla. The goddess of fate, Laima.

Laima is arguably the most prominent and well-known latvian pagan deity. She decides a person's fate from the moment they are born. In some folk songs she is said to cry over her duty, a trait no other god of fate has been recorded to share with her.

Dēkla is an another name Laima went by in the region of Courland. At first, it was thought that she was one of the three sisters of fate (a common motif in many indoeuropian religions), but no substantial evidence was found in favour of this theory in more recent years.

I decided to call her Dēkla, because her clothes were inspired by Curonian folk costume.

If you want to learn more about Laima and/or Dēkla, I warmly recommend reading this latvian mythology/folklore archive (in latvian)

[inkys-neos-n-names]

Hi! Are you willing to do names based off Homura Akemi from Madoka Magicka?? I have a fictive of her in sys, but she honestly doesn't identify with Homura?? but for now, that's just what we call him.. Also, preferably names that are either open or are from african or latine culture as we are afrolatine! Thank you!

Sure!

I've never watched Madoka Magica, but I read through Homura's wiki page and based the names on the information from that. According to the wiki, Homura (ほむら) means 'flame, blaze', while Akemi (暁美) means 'dawn' and 'beauty'.

Aurora (Latin - 'dawn')

Zora (Serbo-Croatian - 'dawn')

Zuri (Kiswahili - 'good, beautiful')

Salana (Latin - 'sun')

Lesedi (Tswana - 'light')

Thandeka (Zulu, Ndebele - 'lovely')

Zenzile (Zulu, Xhosa - 'you are responsible for what you've become')

Nuru (Swahili - 'light, born during the day')

Oriana (Latin - 'dawn')

Clarence (Latin - 'bright')

Brigid (Irish - 'strength, exalted one', the name of a fire goddess)

Roxanne (Persian - 'dawn')

Noor (Arabic - 'light')

Eos (the Greek goddess of the dawn)

Dawn (English word name)

Luz (Spanish - 'light')

Sahar (Arabic, Persian - 'dawn, morning, awakening')

Zerlin (Arabic - 'beautiful dawn')

Zorina (Slavic - 'golden dawn')

Zerah (Hebrew - 'to arise, dawn')

Asahi (Japanese - 'morning sun')

Austra (Latvian - Latvian goddess of the dawn)

Sabah (Arabic - 'morning')

Ahaan (Sanskrit - 'dawn')

Diaz (Spanish from Latin - 'days')

Shahar (Hebrew - 'dawn')

Savera (Hindi, Urdu - 'dawn, new morning')

Uri (Hebrew - 'my flame, my light')

Aithne (Irish - 'fire')

Agni (Sanskrit - 'fire')

Azar (Iranian - 'fire')

Nuri (Arabic, Hebrew - 'light, my fire')

Tanwen (Welsh - 'holy fire')

Anala (Hindi - 'fire')

Shula (Arabic, Hebrew - 'flame, peace')

Zweena (African - 'beautiful')

Uzuri (African - 'beauty')

Zayn (Arabic - 'beauty, grace')

Noya (Hebrew or Cherokee - 'beauty, sand')

Sabbia (Italian - 'sand')

Saori (Japanese - 'sand, weaving, already, silk')

Maisha (Arabic, Bengali, Japanese, Swahili - 'sand, life, dance')

Zanden (Swedish - 'sand')

Ramla (Arabic, Malay - 'sand, grain of sand')

Satori (Japanese - 'sand, capital, village, awakening, comprehension, understanding')

Maisa (Arabic, Finnish, Georgian, Hebrew, Portuguese, Swedish - 'sand, beloved, graceful, dance')

Ramal (Arabic - 'sand, geomancy, division, magic')

Renu (Indian, Sanskrit - 'sand, dust, pollen')

Saaya (Hindi, Indian, Japanese, Sanskrit - 'sand, protection, shadow, shade, shelter, second')

Areena (Catalan, Greek, Latin, Spanish - 'sand, torch')

Meisha (Chinese, English - 'beauty, sand, berry, rose')

Ramila (Arabic, Nepali, Sanskrit - 'beauty, good looking, sand, magic, loving')

Idan (Hebrew - 'era, time')

Aroa (Basque - 'era, time')

Devran (Turkish - 'world, fate, time')

Amser (Welsh - 'time')

Mara (African - 'a time')

Miku (Japanese - 'long time, beautiful, sky')

Kumiko (Japanese - 'long time, beautiful')

Aika (Japanese - 'time')

Horas (Latin - 'hours')

Irais (Greek, Spanish - 'warrior, hero, period of time, to be chosen')

Kalathar (Indian - 'one who controls time')

Chronos (Greek Titan of time)

Saat (Arabic - 'moment, time')

Ira (Basque, Greek, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Turkish - 'warrior, period of time, to be chosen, watchful, devoted, fern, enjoyment')

Jamila (African - 'beautiful')

Zuri (Swahili, Eastern African - 'good, beautiful')

Addae (African - 'morning sun')

Hasana (African - 'beautiful, fair')

Sorry I took so long to do this, I was busy and then I got sick. Hope this was helpful!

[theaskew]

Agita Keiri (Latvian b. 1978), Trīs Māras meitas (Three Daughters of Mara), oil on canvas.

[hedgewitchgarden]

A beautiful statue of Žemyna at a modern shrine to the Goddess Žemyna. Žemyna (derived from žemė – earth) is the goddess of the earth in Lithuanian religion. She is usually regarded as mother goddess and one of the chief Lithuanian gods similar to Latvian Zemes māte. Žemyna personifies the fertile earth and nourishes all life on earth, human, plant, and animal. All that is born of earth will return to earth, thus her worship is also related to death. The goddess is said to be married to either Perkūnas (thunder god) or Praamžius (manifestation of chief heavenly god Dievas). @ Society For The Protection and Promotion of Polytheism

[hildathesaint]

Perkūnas

The Lithuanian god of Thunder

Attributes: lighting, storms, the sky, an axe or sledgehammer

Animals: goat

Plants: oak

Colours: black, white, grey

The sky deity of the Baltic religion, Perkūnas, is regarded as a fertility god and the guardian of law and order apart from being the god of thunder and lightning. Perkūnas is the most important Lithuanian god, and is the central figure in the Pantheon. The oak, which is the tree most frequently struck by lightning, is regarded as sacred to him.

Perkunas is usually depicted as a middle-aged man riding a two-wheeled cart with goats. In some accounts, the thunder god is seen driving a flaming horse or a cart of white and red horses through the skies. He would be identified by the constellation of Ursa Major.

On his heavenly chariot, Perkunas is holding a goat with one hand while he uses an axe or horn on the other.

Mythology

Folklore usually emphasises that Perkūnas is a patron of weather, he lives between the heaven and the earth in the clouds, he commands the thunder and lightning. Thus Perkūnas occupies the centre of the structure of the universe, becomes the master of the atmosphere (Perkūnas is correspondingly associated with the heaven and the devil - Velnias with the earth, underground, water). Perkūnas possesses a two-wheeled cart harnessed by two goats or horses , and rides through the sky , the sound of the wheels often causes thunder. Perkūnas strikes and chases the devil or devils, though often it is said that this animosity is based on personal grounds because of a certain act the devil committed (theft, insult, abduction of Vaiva, as mentioned below).

An important function of Perkūnas is to fight Velnias. He is sometimes considered the antithesis of Perkūnas and is the god of the underworld and death. Christianity considers "Velnias" akin to their "devil", though this is not in line with ancient beliefs.

Perkūnas pursues his opponent, Velnias, for picaroon or theft of fertility and cattle. Velnias hides in trees, under stones, or turns into various animals: a black cat, dog, pig, goat, lamb, pike, cow or a person to avoid Perkūnas.

Perkūnas pursues an opponent in the sky on a chariot, made from stone and fire (Lithuanian ugnies ratai). Sometimes the chariot is made from red iron.

Perkūnas possesses many weapons. They include an axe or sledgehammer, stones, a sword, lightning bolts, a bow and arrows, a club, and an iron or fiery knife. Perkūnas is the creator of the weapons (Akmeninis kalvis, "the stone smith") or he is helped by the heavenly smith Televelis (Kalvelis).

Perkūnas simultaneously is given the function of the patron of fertility, when he rolls his thunder for the first time in spring the grass starts growing, the processes of vegetation begin, Perkūnas also appears in the wedding symbolism. One other function of Perkūnas is keeping justice. He chases devils but he also punishes bad people, fights evil spirits and keeps the order of the universe.

According to ancient tradition, people who were struck by lightning were protected from devils. The objects that were struck by lightning were also used to cure various ailments, such as fever, toothache, and anxiety. Perkūnas is thus seen as a god of healing as well as destruction.

In some songs Perkūnas, on the way to the wedding of Aušrinė (dawn; the daughter of the Sun), strikes a golden oak. The oak is a tree of the thunder god in the Baltic mythology. Lithuanian Perkūno ąžuolas or Latvian Pērkona ozols ("oak of Perkūnas") is mentioned in a source dated to the first half of the 19th century.

Perkūnas is also connected to Thursday. Thursday is the day of the Thunderer in many traditions: compare Polabian Peräune-dǻn ("day of Perun"), Lithuanian Perkūno diena. Perkūnas is associated with the Roman god Jupiter in early sources. Thursday is a day of thunder-storms and rains, and also of weddings.

Family

In most myths, Perkūnas’s wife is Žemyna, the goddess of the earth. In some myths, Perkūnas would expel his wife and children and then remain in the sky by himself. The reason for this is that Perkūnas was given the responsibility of the stones in the sky whose rumbling and rubbing against each other tend to generate thunder and lightning during storms.

In songs about a "heavenly wedding" Saulė is married to Perkūnas amd cheats on Perkūnas with Mėnulis (the Moon); Perkūnas splits Mėnulis in half with a sword, which accounts for the moon phases we see today.

According to another, more popular version, Mėnulis cheats on the Sun with Aušrinė (the morning star) just after the wedding, and Perkūnas punishes him. However, he does not learn and repeats the adultery and is punished again every month. Other explanations say it is why the Sun shines during the day and the Moon at night. Though divorced, both want to see their daughter Žemyna (the Earth).

Some stories claim that Perkūnas and a woman known as Vaiva or the rainbow were supposed to get married but the bride was kidnapped by Velnias, the god of the underworld. Since then, Perkūnas has been hunting Velnias. Some stories also claim that there are four sons of Perkunas who are representative of the four seasons or the four cardinal directions. Sometimes there are seven or nine Perkūnai referred to as brothers. It is said in Lithuanian "Perkūnų yra daug" ("there are many thunders").

[latviannativefaith]

Dieva Pērkona godināšana. #LatvjuDievi #LatvianGods #DievsPērkons #GodPerkons #pagānisms #paganism #neopagānisms #neopaganism #Pērkons #buršanās #witchcraft

[gellavonhamster]

monthly media recap: september 2023

read:

Angélique, the Road of Hope and The Victory of Angélique by Anne Golon - can't believe I finished this, lol. It's a pity book 14 wasn't published, but book 13 provides a conclusion to many main plotlines, so it's still a decent ending. I will always wonder if another one of my brotps was supposed to reunite in the last book, though :D For all its faults, enjoyed this series tremendously; it's the people helping and supporting each other even in the bleakest circumstances for me

Ten Thousand Stitches by Olivia Atwater - Regency Faerie Tales part two, even cuter than part one. Seriously, these books are such a delight, I need to read part three ASAP

Spēlēju, dancoju / I Played, I Sang by Rainis - girl help, my Latvian vocabulary does not include that much archaic and/or poetic language, but I did understand enough to see how beautiful it is

Gaywick by Vincent Virga - I read that one liveblogging thread/channel, so I was familiar with the plot, but it was still so interesting to see it all happen. Incredible how a book can cover so many disturbing, truly Gothic themes and still be hopeful and sweet, loved it

Vadriel Vail by Vincent Virga - Gaywick Trilogy book 2, not nearly as good as the first one. Constant timeskips, important events only told in passing, one of the MCs is a boring Gary Stu and the other disgusting. Bearable thanks to the first one's wife and characters from book 1

The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton - it's not terrible and had some interesting stuff, but still felt sort of... superficial? Most of the characters felt underdeveloped, the story often felt like an outline. I bought it mostly because it was cheap and I'm glad it was.

+ currently reading Children of Paradise (Gaywick Trilogy #3)

watched:

Apteeker Melchior / Melchior the Apothecary (2023) - a murder mystery set in medieval Tallinn. Something bugged me about the dialogue, but I mostly enjoyed the plot and the familiar setting

The Skeleton Key (2005) - Southern Gothic, a grim old house, and Hoodoo magic. Enjoyed the final plot twists and how they recontextualize a lot of stuff earlier in the movie. Was rooting for the heroine but also had to hand it to the antagonists in the end, good for them

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) - so, so charming. Impossible not to hum and move along to the songs. Marilyn Monroe, of course, is a goddess, but Jane Russell tho... gentlemen might prefer blondes but I'm no gentleman

How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) - also charming and funny, though I found it a bit less interesting than the previous one; still good though

Constantine (2005) - I frequently felt like I was missing some context. Either I'm stupid or it's just because I haven't read the comics, but shouldn't a movie adaptation be understandable even for those unfamiliar with the source? Otherwise it was ok and had Rachel Weisz in it

Rebecca (1940) - not nearly as haunting as the novel, but a good film nevertheless. Mostly I just wanted to protect the narrator :( she's so cute

also, a bit unrelated, probably, but I saw two theatre performances last month - one was a live screening of Good by the National Theatre (powerful, amazingly done, probably wouldn't have decided to see it by myself, so thanks to the friend who suggested it) and the other The Three Musketeers neo-classical ballet at the Latvian National Opera and Ballet (really nice, cool stage design, I posted a trailer here)

[nyxelestia]

Seeing as apparently FFN is about to die or people are already unable to access it, just saving this screenshot. While I was in fandom on other platforms and under other names before I joined FFN, this was the oldest profile/account I had that was still continuously running as of June 2023.

I’m putting the complete profile below the cut for my own personal reference/nostalgia. (Prior to the proliferation of machine translation and language websites, I collected translations of “Hi, I’m Nyxie” from fans for years.) This is also my record of my original construction of my current name/identity.

Author has written 87 stories for Harry Potter, Psych, StarTrek: Voyager, Alex Rider, Merlin, Legend of Korra, Avengers, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Breaking Bad.

I do not accept requests!

(But I do still accept new languages for my greetings list below!)

I'm afraid I don't really hang out here, anymore. Come find me on Tumblr and AO3, where my much more recent - and thus much better - fanfic is now posted.

Hi. I'm Nyxie. - English (My first language)

Hola. Me llamo Niksi. - Spanish (My second language that I forgot as soon as I left high school)

নমস্কার. আমার নাম Nyxie. (Nômoshkar. Amaar nam Niksshi.) (My other first language that I have now mostly forgotten) - Bengali

Bonjour. Je m'appelle Neiksi. - French (Courtesy of Arithilim)

Salut. Je m'appelle Neiksi. - French, alternative greeting (Courtesy of Jaygirl94)

Hallo. Ich heisse Niksie. (Courtesy of MadCatta) - German

Ciao. Mi chiamo Nyxie. (Courtesy of Iamawesome) - Italian

Hallo. Ik heet Niksie. (Courtesy of Amore) - Dutch, Formal

Hallo. Ik ben Niksie. (Courtesy of katelinmr) - Dutch, Informal

Niksii اسمي .وسهلاً. (Ahlan. Ana ismii Nyxie.) (Courtesy of HallowedInk) - Arabic

Čao. Zovem se Niksi. (Courtesy of a family friend) - Croatian

Hajimimashite. Nyxie desu. (Courtesy of Le Sang De La Morte) - Japanese, with edits from Dark's Mistress

Konnichiwa. O namae wa Nikuse desu. (Courtesy of Cararook) - Japanese, with edits from Whisper-Otonashi

こんにちはわたしはニクシです。(Konichiwa. Watashi wa Nyxie desu.) (Courtesy of SecretMangaLover) - Japanese, with edits from Whisper-Otonashi and Dark's Mistress

你好，我叫 Nyxie。(Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Nyxie.) (Courtesy of t8t8t8) - Mandarin Chinese Simplified

Shwmae. Nicsi ydw i. (S'huhmai. Nyxie iudu ih.) (Courtesy of rhymneyfairies) - Welsh

नमस्ते। मेरा नाम Nyxie. (Namaste. Mera nam Nyxie.) (Courtesy of my dad) - Hindi

Hei. Jeg heter Nyksi. (Courtesy of Gin Dyps) - Norwegian

Mabuhay. Ako si Nyxie (Courtesy of ikot-ikot) - Tagalog

Boozhoo. Niksii indizhinikaaz. (Courtesy of goddess of all daleks) - Ojibwe

Cześć. Nazywam się Nyksi. (Courtesy of water kangaroo) - Polish

שלום. שמי ניקסי (Shalom. Shmi Nyxie.) (Courtesy of TheOneThatIsAddictedToHPfics) - Hebrew

Hej. Jag heter Niksi. (Courtesy of Barbasulrico) - Swedish

Καλημέρα. Μου όνομα ρήμ Νικσι. (Kalimera. Mou onoma rhim Nyxie.) (Courtesy of TribalForEagle) - Greek

Καλημέρα. Το ονομά μου είναι Νίξι. (Kalimera. To onoma mou ine Nyxie.) (Courtesy of roxake19) - Greek, alternative

Apa khabar. Saya Nixie. (Courtesy of Akira Setsuka) - Malay

Halo. Nama saya Nyxie. (Courtesy of biota9) - Indonesian

Sziasztok! A nevem Nikszi. (Courtesy of Amirea) - Hungarian

Labdien. Mans vārds ir Niksi. (Couresty of Lindala) - Latvian

నమసారము. నా పేరు నిక్సి. (Namaskaramu. Naa peru Nyxie.) - (Courtesty of Shadow's Life) - Telugu

Hei! Minä olen Niksi. (Courtesy of Jaleine) - Finnish

안녕, 내 이름은 닉시야. (Ahn nyung! Nae ee reum eun Nyxie ya.) (Courtesy of JackieDanielStark) - Korean

Ellohay, ymay amenay isway Yxienay. (Courtesy of WiccaKat) - Pig Latin

Oi, meu nome é Nixi. (Courtesy of Hedwig Edwiges) - Brazilian Portuguese

Dia daoibh. Is mise Nicsi. (Dee-a deev. Is mishuh Nyxie.) (Courtesy of Dolorosa) - Irish

'O Nīkī ko'u inoa. (Courtesy of Draconic Caduceus) - Hawaiian

Salve! Nomen mihi Nyxia est. (Courtesy of lege et lacrima) - Latin

Здравейте. Аз съм Nyxie (Zdraveite. Az sum Nyxie.) (Courtesy of ColiexChaos) - Bulgarian

Buna. Ma numesc Nixi. (Courtesy of Aralinne) - Romanian

Привет. Меня завут Никси. (Privyet. Menya zavut Nixie.) (Courtesy of lpgirl14) - Russian

Hej. Jeg hedder Nyxie. (Courtesy of Lady Drace) - Danish

سلام!میرانامﻧﻜﺲ.ہے (Salam! Mera naam Niksi hai.) (Courtesy of silkchemise) - Urdu

Gude, nem bilong mi Nyxie. (Courtesy of Scooterstripes) - Papua New Guinean Tok Pisin/Neo-Melanesian

(I don't know if all of them are right - if you see something is incorrect, please let me know.)

Additional languages to say this in are always much appreciated (including, if possible, the characters/spellings for my name). Thank you very much to those who have already given me the extra languages. 45 greetings in 39 languages and counting!

Random Personal Information

Name: Just call me Nyxie

Age: Old enough to read what I write

Location: California

What's In A Name

Nyx is the ancient Greek goddess of the Night, known for having sway over Man and God, and even Zeus didn't like to upset her. She gave birth to many powerful spirits and deities, and is often referred to as a sister of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, the sons of Cronus and Rhea and the fathers and leaders of the gods. She is fond of mischief and mystery. Every night, she casts the darkness so the stars can come out the play, and every morning, she sends them back to sleep.

'-elestia' comes from 'celestial', because I love the night sky and am an occasional space geek (I've even been to space camp). I dropped the ending l for a smoother sounding name. Along with which, "Celestia" is a computer program for space viewing, and what a lovely program it is...not to mention the fact I'm on a computer so much. I dropped the c for easier spelling.

Nyx celestial - c - l = Nyxelestia

Enjoy my fics! No matter how old the fic is, reviews are always appreciated. :)