#Myths about Rosemary

[glazecake]

Palestine فلسطين

x / x / x | x / x / x | x / x / x

My goal with making this post is to use my platform to raise awareness and encourage solidarity and action for the people of Palestine. Over the past few weeks, I have felt powerless to watch the destruction of Gaza before the world's eyes. However, I realized that I still have a large platform despite this blog's inactivity. With this, I would like to share information about Palestine and what you can do to help.

In the above post, I have sought out videos of Palestinian food, culture, art, architecture, and nature to share. Israeli propaganda is trying adamantly to dehumanize the population of Palestine in order to further justify their genocide. Regardless, no matter where you are in the world, humans recognize and understand what it is to be human. What it is to make art, to share food with your loved ones, to travel, and laugh, and sing. To experience heartbreak and hardship, and to experience joy. To dream about the future. To stand up for what we believe in, to fight in the face of injustice.

If you are an American citizen, use your voice to stand up for what's right. Contact your representatives. Demand a ceasefire in Gaza. Boycott companies and celebrities who voice their support of the Israeli settler state. Protest. Donate. Organize. Fight. We are strongest when in community with each other. Our US tax dollars directly fund the murder of Gazan civilians. Make it known that we will not stand idly by while news outlets and propagandists lie to our faces about the atrocities enacted by the IDF and the Knesset.

Here are some links for information on Palestine, as well as places to donate:

decolonizepalestine - A website aiming to educate and dispel myths about the Palestinian people, ran by two Ramallah residents.

US Campaign for Palestinian Rights - You can use this website to find groups organizing near you.

Palestine Action US - The US branch of a directive aiming to dismantle the Israeli military regime, directly funded by the US.

Hirbawi Kufiya - The last and only Kufiya factory in Palestine, as featured in the gif above. You can pre-order a kufiya which will be shipped once the blockade has been lifted.

Let Gaza Live: Ceasefire NOW - An easy way to send letters to your representatives to demand ceasefire in Gaza.

The Palestinians: From Peasants to Revolutionaries by Rosemary Sayigh - A good introduction to the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Click to Help - One click a day can help raise donations for the UNRWA.

baitulmaal - Donate to fund relief.

anera - Donate to provide hygiene kits for displaced Gazans.

As of October 27th, 2023, Gazans are losing access to the internet. It is imperative for us to share their stories, to continue to remain active and aware of their martyrdom. The IDF will utilize this information blackout to their advantage. We must do all we can. Do not forget the plight of the Palestinian people. Do not allow their voices to go unheard.

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. 🇵🇸

[dionysianivy]

𝐌𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐧

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙢𝙣 𝙀𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙤𝙭 🌾🍎🕯

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What is Mabon?

Mabon, celebrated around September 21 to September 29, marks the autumnal equinox and the second harvest of the year. It’s a time of balance, as the hours of light and dark stand equal, symbolizing the transition between summer and winter. It's a time when witches and practitioners honor the changing seasons, express gratitude for the Earth's abundance, and connect with the energies of balance and transition. The term "Mabon" for this celebration is named after Mabon ap Modron, a character from Welsh mythology. It is often associated with the mythological theme of the abducted and imprisoned child who later becomes a hero, which parallels the changing seasons.

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Who is Mabon Ap Modron?

Mabon ap Modron, also known as Maponus, is a character from Welsh mythology. In some versions of the myth, Mabon is portrayed as a divine hero or a child who was abducted from his mother, Modron, and imprisoned. He is rescued after 3 years and plays a significant role in Welsh mythological tales. The name "Mabon" itself means "son" or "young man" in Welsh, and it is connected to the theme of rebirth and the return of the light.

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Hades × Persephone and the Autumn Equinox

Legend has it that on the last day of summer, Hades, the god of the Underworld, saw Persephone picking flowers in a field. He immediately fell in love with her and abducted her, wanting to keep her by his side as the queen of the dead. Upon discovering the disappearance of her daughter, Demeter, the goddess of harvest, set out to find her. Unable to locate Persephone, Demeter’s sorrow and despair were so overwhelming that the flowers, trees, and all vegetation withered, bringing all growth on Earth to a halt. The gods of Olympus, who were powerless to ignore the prayers of humans, reached a compromise with Hades regarding Persephone’s return. She would spend only six months each year with Hades in the Underworld. To avenge herself, Demeter decreed that during those six months, nature would mourn, and nothing would grow on Earth until Persephone ascended again from the Underworld.

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Magical Correspondences

Planets: Sun, Mercury

Season: Autumn 

Element: Water 

Time of Day: Dusk

Tarot: The Hermit 

Colors: Brown, Maroon, Red, Orange, Purple, Yellow, Gold

Herbs: Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Chamomile, Cedarwood, Juniper, Mugwort, Dried Apple

Fruits: Grapes, Apples, Pears, Plums, Blackberry, Pomegranates

Vegetables: Carrots, Corn, Onions, Pumpkin, Squash

Runes: Dagaz, Inguz, Eihwaz, Jera

Crystals: Amethyst, Agate, Citrine, Tiger's Eye, Amber, Yellow Topaz

Trees: Apple, Oak, Aspen, Cedar

Goddesses: Pomona, Demeter, Epona, Inanna, Ishtar, Kore, Modron, the Morrigan, Persephone, Banbha, Autumnus, Hestia

Gods: Dionysus, Mabon ap Modron, Hades, Dumuzi, the Green Man, Hermes, Thoth, Cernunnos, Osiris, Freyr

Flowers: Marigold, Chrysanthemum, Aster

Animals: Deer, Dog, Wolf, Blackbird, Squirrel, Salmon, Swan

Magical uses: Abundance, Accomplishment, Agriculture, Balance, Goals, Gratitude, Grounding, Harvest, New Beginnings, Reflection

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Activities to do:

🍎 create your own Cornucopia

🍎 make a special Mabon jar

🍎 bake an autumn recipe

🍎 eat apple pie

🍎 harvest your garden

🍎 light a bonfire and dance or tell stories with your loved ones around it

🍎 do a guided meditation to welcome the new season

🍎 clean your garden

🍎 listen to Mabon music on Youtube or Spotify(there are plenty of playlist you can find!)

🍎 spend time with your deity/deities

🍎 grab some autumn flowers and bring them into your home

🍎 rest and relax♡

🍎 read about Mabon

🍎 clean your house to prepare for the season

🍎 take a walk outside to connect with nature and be grateful for the summer that has passed and warmly welcome the beauty of autumn

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Food and Drinks:

apple pie, apple cider, wine, grapes, root vegetables, apples, cornbread, baked good made from wheat or grains, cakes with cinnamon or nutmeg, roasted meat, pork chops, mashed potatoes, peach jams, fruit tarts, apples in all forms, pumpkin pie

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useful sources: Magie Blanche by Eric Pier Sperandio

gifs credit: Pinterest

Tip jar🍎🌾

[joleneghoul]

Two Fallout protags and their animal friends!

More info/rambling under cut!

The Lone Wanderer (Al) and Dogmeat the wasteland mutt!

She canonically in my stuff has two puppies, which Al, because while he is a medic, he is not a vet, thought she was just fat/had worms until they appeared.

This is kind of my version of fo3's Dogmeat, i realize in the game, dogmeat is a boy dog, but I always bc of the fact puppies can appear in the cave of vault 101 just been like "omg what if girl".

Al doesn't really know much about dogs in general, but when he realized Dogmeat wasnt going to stop following him around, he was pretty fucking stoked about it.

Heres a doodle of the orange sized babies

Courier Six (Deano) and his trusted horse Rosemary + Rex the cyberdog!

When Deano found out the Kings dog was sick, being someone who cares deeply for animals (the health of them, the training, the care, etc), agreed to find him a new brain w.o any questions. In Deano's ideal future, he has 6 dogs, so he very much enjoys his time traveling with Rex.

Rosemary is a former working draft from a ranch near the Rio Grande Valley. She has been with Deano since before he was a courier (around 8 years). She loves to steal hats off peoples heads, much to Rex's delight and everyone elses annoyance.

She is very desensitized because of the life they have lived but terrified of motorcycles.

A fun fact: She has killed multiple people.

He teaches Rex how to handshake for iguana bits despite the much touted myth "you can't teach an old dog new tricks". Yes, he shows everyone this.

Also, not shown here are the various stray dogs and other animals he picks up/saves along his travels much to (sometimes) the dismay of his companions.

Rosemary the Horse based on the Sleipnir breed by @owligator !

[babysfirstpentagram]

Ostara, The Beginning of Spring:

Deities:

Brigid

Celtic

Goddess of fire, the home, and the end of Winter. 

Her holiday is technically Imbolc, but I felt the need to add her because she is, in fact, a spring goddess

Ēostre/Ostara

Anglo-saxon/Germanic

Goddess of Spring

This is her holiday, as it was named after her. There are myths about her spanning from Germany to England. 

Persephone

Greek

Goddess of Spring and the Queen of the Underworld. 

Her celebration of the return to the overworld is April 3rd. 

Flora

Roman

Goddess of flowers and the season of Spring

Jarylo

Slavic

God of vegetation, fertility, and springtime

He is called many different things depending on the country he is being spoken about in. 

Eiar

Old Greek

Hora of Spring

A hora is the goddess of a season.

Crystals of Spring:

Emerald

Known for its calming nature, bright green color, and the rest it takes to get an emerald shiny. 

May’s birthstone and a gemstone associated with Mercury. 

Aquamarine

A stone of rebirth, peace, and wisdom

March’s birthstone and a gemstone associated with Saturn

Moss Agate

A stone known for its connection with Earth, confidence, and creativity.

Moss agate is a stone of the Moon and of Earth.

Green Aventurine

A stone of wellness, prosperity, and abundance. 

Associated with Venus

Golden Apatite

A self help stone that boosts creativity, confidence, and manifestation. 

This stone is associated with Mercury

Herbs of Spring:

Chervil

Chives

Dill

Lemongrass

Lime leaf

Mint 

Marjoram 

Oregano

Parsley

Rosemary

Tarragon

Thyme

[cardicoven]

🌿Plant Spirit Devotional: 15 Day Exercise

Here's my concept for a method to facilitate bonding with a Plant Spirit or Herbal Ally over the course of a month. Obviously this practice takes far longer than a month to create a lasting bond with a plant spirit but hopefully this exercise helps provide some structure to the practice of bonding with a Herbal Ally. Feel free to use this outline yourself or modify it to your own needs.

15 days of Plant Spirit Devotion. Day 1: Introduction to the chosen plant. Day 2: The plants native habitat. Day 3: Cultivation, Foraging and Preparation. Day 4: Mundane properties (Culinary, Medicinal, Poisons etc). Day 5: Art inspired by / incorporating the chosen plant. Day 6: Magical correspondences. Day 7: Folk names and their origins. Day 8: Folklore and associated myths. Day 9: Deity / Spirit associations. Day 10: Plant's role in ritual: Cultural and Spiritual Significance. Day 11: Tarot / Oracle associations: Card spotlights. Day 12: Personal Sigil for the Plant Spirit. Day 13: Current Relationship with the Plant Spirit. Day 14: Personal goals when working with the Spirit. Day 15: Exercise conclusion, Take-aways and final overview.

My current plan with this exercise is to complete it each month for a different plant spirit / herbal ally, starting with Rosemary during February. Generally my plan is to spend the first half of the month bonding with the herb and researching it and the latter half of the month completing this exercise.

This Exercise was inspired by this post: link by @noctivague about a 15 day deity devotional. Thanks for the amazing idea!

[aronarchy]

A copy of the first reading list, if you dislike clicking on Google docs links:

The liberal news media is working overtime to silence Palestinian voices. As we sit thousands of miles away, witnessing the massacre through social media, the least we can do is educate ourselves and work to educate others. Apartheid threatens all of us, and just to reiterate, anti-Zionism ≠ antisemitism.

Academic Works, Poetry and Memoirs

The Revolution of 1936-1939 in Palestine: Background, Details, and Analysis, Ghassan Kanafani (1972)

Palestinians: From Peasants to Revolutionaries, Rosemary Sayegh (1979)

Popular Resistance in Palestine: A History of Hope and Empowerment, Mazin Qumsiyeh (2011)

My Life in the PLO: The Inside Story of the Palestinian Struggle, Shafiq al-Hout and Jean Said Makdisi (2019)

My People Shall Live, Leila Khaled (1971)

Poetry of Resistance in Occupied Palestine, translated by Sulafa Hijjawi (Baghdad, Ministry of Culture and Guidance, 1968)

On Palestine by Ilan Pappé and Noam Chomsky (2015)

Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on the US-Israeli War Against the Palestinians, Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappé (2013)

The Politics of Dispossession: The Struggle for Palestinian Self-Determination, 1969-1994, Edward W. Said (2012)

Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique, Sa’ed Atshan (2020)

Stone Men: The Palestinians Who Built Israel, Andrew Ross (2019)

Ten Myths About Israel, Ilan Pappé (2017)

Blaming the Victims: Spurious Scholarship and the Palestinian Question, Christopher Eric Hitchens and Edward W. Said (2001)

Palestinian Walks: Notes on a Vanishing Landscape, Raja Shehadeh (2010)

The Gun and the Olive Branch: The Roots of Violence in the Middle East, David Hirst (1977)

Gaza: An Inquest into Its Martyrdom, Norman Finkelstein (2018)

Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel and the Palestinians, Noam Chomsky (1983)

Israel and Palestine: Reappraisals, Revisions, Refutations, Avi Shlaim (2010)

Politicide: Ariel Sharon’s War Against the Palestinians, Baruch Kimmerling (2006)

The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering, Norman G. Finkelstein (2015)

Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire, Jehad Abusalim (2022)

Nakba: Palestine, 1948, and the Claims of Memory, Ahmad H. Sa’di and Lila Abu-Lughod (2007)

Peace and its discontents: Essays on Palestine in the Middle East peace process, Edward W. Said (2012)

Three Poems by Yahya Hassan

Articles, Papers & Essays

“Palestinian history doesn’t start with the Nakba” by PYM (May, 2023) 

“What the Uprising Means,” Salim Tamari (1988)

“The Palestinians’ inalienable right to resist,” Louis Allday (2021)

“Liberating a Palestinian Novel from Israeli Prison,” Danya Al-Saleh and Samar Al-Saleh (2023) 

Women, War, and Peace: Reflections from the Intifada, Nahla Abdo (2002)

“A Place Without a Door” and “Uncle Give me a Cigarette”—Two Essays by Palestinian Political Prisoner, Walid Daqqah (2023)

“Live Like a Porcupine, Fight Like a Flea,” A Translation of an Article by Basel Al-Araj

Films & Video Essays

Fedayin: Georges Abdallah’s Fight (2021)

Naila and the Uprising (2017)

Off Frame AKA Revolution Until Victory (2015)

Tell Your Tale Little Bird (1993)

The Time That Remains (2009)

“The Present” (short film) (2020)

“How Palestinians were expelled from their homes”

Louis Theroux: The Ultra Zionists (2011)

Born in Gaza (2014)

5 Broken Cameras (2011)

Little Palestine: Diary of a Siege (2021)

Al-Nakba: The Palestinian catastrophe - Episode 1 | Featured Documentary

Organisations to donate to

Palestine Red Crescent Society - https://www.palestinercs.org/en

Anera - https://support.anera.org/a/palestine-emergency

Palestinian American Medical Association - https://palestinian-ama.networkforgood.com/projects/206145-gaza-medical-supplies-oct-2023

You First Gaza - https://donate.gazayoufirst.org/

MAP - Medical Aid for Palestinians - https://www.map.org.uk/donate/donate

United Nations Relief and Works Agency - https://donate.unrwa.org/-landing-page/en_EN

Palestine Children’s Relief Fund - https://www.pcrf.net/   

Doctors Without Borders - https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/what-we-do/where-we-work/palestine

AP Fact Check

https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-gaza-misinformation-fact-check-e58f9ab8696309305c3ea2bfb269258e

This list is not exhaustive in any way, and is a summary of various sources on the Internet. Please engage with more ethical, unbiased sources, including Decolonize Palestine and this list compiled by the Palestinian Youth Movement.

[transmutationisms]

i wasn't baiting u. seriously i've been reading up on shit and to deny fictions effects is to deny reality. jaws caused the shark decline. rosemarys baby caused the satanic panic. this is common knowledge

ok. this is incorrect in regards to the specific cases you cite and incorrect in general in regards to the outsize causal role you attribute to media products in cultural phenomena. it is fundamentally unserious to assert that the film jaws is 'the' cause of shark population declines when killings of sharks by humans occur the vast majority of the time for reasons like the use of industrial fishing nets; global populations of many animals have declined since jaws for reasons similarly economic and wholly unrelated to it; and people feared sharks long before the release of jaws and have instituted legal protections for the great white, in particular, since then. it is similarly unserious to assert that the film rosemary's baby is 'the' reason usamericans in the 1980s fear-mongered about secret satanic cults committing ritual child abuse when this was a myth deeply useful in shoring up the legal and social power of parents; was copacetic with an overall pro-cop law-and-order attitude picking up steam for many reasons including the wake of the civil rights movement; and was never even believed by most people because it appeared outlandish. again the broader stance here (that media can or has singlehandedly caused massive cultural phenomena arising de novo from those works) is simply an indefensible argument. where do you think these narratives arise from in the first place? what makes them coherent, compelling, and possible to parse as meaningful for audiences? i would suggest reading up on some basic tenets of the base/superstructure relationship and start questioning narratives that make tidy and emotionally compelling arguments about film as an omnipotent and unilateral engine of social change without considering other explanations for the phenomena and data in question, or the factors that lead to the production of cultural artefacts like films in the first place.

[cursecuelebre]

All About Lady Hekate

Her Attributes

Witchcraft

Magic

Crossroads

Death and Life

Liminal spaces

Protection of The Home

Necromancy

Spirits

Childbirth and Midwifery

The sea

The stars/Moon

Symbols:

Torches

Snakes, Dragons, Serpents

Dogs especially black

Corvus birds

Fish

Wands

Daggers

Keys

Cats

Moon

Crossroads (three way road)

The number 3, 6, and 9

Hekate’s Wheel or the Stropholos

Skulls or bones

Ferrets

Pomegranates

Any black animals

The color black

Offerings

Libations of wine

Fish

Cakes, breads, any kind of pastries

Herbs like Mugwort, Rue, Belladonna (poisonous), Garlic, Rosemary, Chives, Black Nightshade (Poisonous), Lavender.

Fruits: Pomegranates, Apples, Lemons

Anything related to dogs

Spiritual or magical tools or items

Creating spells and offerings i.e I created a spirit board for Hekate

Spirit communication

Taking care of Children and supporting mothers and soon to be mothers

Epithets (Greek and a Roman title)

Trivia - A Roman title given to Hekate and Diana relating to the crossroads. It’s also said Trivia could’ve been a Roman Goddess on her own.

Brimo - Angry, Terrible one. It’s a title for a god who is showing their scary aspect Hekate, Demeter, Presphone is known for this also male deities like Dionysus. Hekate in this aspect is usually depicted with three heads of animals like dogs, owls, and a serpent but she can take any form that can be terrifying. Usually invoke during rituals and magic spells. Also very good in curse workings, this aspect infamously shows up in the myth of Jason when she is evoke by Medea who is a witch.

Perseis- Destroyer, child of Perses. Hekate’s Father is a Titian Perses who embodies destruction.

Aidônaia - Of the Underworld - Hekate is considered to be a Psychopomp like Hermes she guides souls to the underworld

Kthonia - Of The Earth - many earth deities have this title it can still relate to the underworld but also the physical world like Demeter a earth goddess.

Phosphorus - Light Bringer - Hekate’s main symbols are torches being a guiding light to those who are lost, also to help guide lost souls. Common depiction is how she guided Persephone out of the underworld and guided her so she won’t be lost.

Kourotrophos - Nurse of the young - She is considered to protector of children like how Hera and Artemis is.

Genetyllis - Protector of Births - Hekate is also a midwife goddess and fertility, evoke during births. One myth says she taught Artemis the ways of Midwifery when Leto was giving to Apollo.

Aeneos - Eternal, everlasting.

Trimorphis - Three formed

Trioditis - The three ways or crossroads

Einodia - The one on the Road - Relating to her and the crossroads.

Nyktipolos - Night wandering

Atalos - Tender, Delicate

Skylakagetis - Leader of Dogs

Anassa Eneroi - Queen of those below

Festivals:

Noumenia- Beginning of the new month which is the New Moon. Hekate along with Artemis and Selene are worshipped during this day.

Feast of Hekate is on August 13th where people would bring offerings like honey cakes on the crossroads. The reason being to make sure she won’t summon storms to kill their crops.

In Rome she was honored monthly on the 29th day of the moon.

Tarot Associations

The Moon

The High Priestess

Hierophant

The Hermit

The Two of Swords

General Information

Hekate’s name means “Far-darting” or “who works from afar”. Hekate is the daughter of Perses Titian of Destruction and Asteria Titan of the Stars. It is also said she is also the daughter of Helios and the Oceanid Perse. She is also linked with Circe as her Mother or sister or regular servant to Hekate. As Helios is the father of Circe and Medea who also evokes Hekate a lot in her spells. Helios and Hekate have common myths together.

Hekate is associated with the Full moon and New Moon, stars, and other Cosmic events. She is associated with the sea but most commonly she is associated with earth and the underworld as being a guide to souls to the after life and those coming out. It’s said lost souls follow her along with her nymphs carrying torches. She has black dogs always beside her, it is said you can hear Hekate approching by the howls of dogs.

Hekate is also the protector of the home, keeping a statue of her at the front door will help keep danger away. Protector of liminal spaces and doorways. She can protect a person from curses but she can also help you cast them but she won’t do it unless there’s a good reason. Hekate is goddess of spirits, she can help guide them as I said earlier but also get rid of evil spirits from the home.

At the crossroads is where most likely you’ll find her especially if you need her help. The crossroads are important when it comes to transitions and change and it’s by your choice and of her guidance. But you can also do magic at the crossroads by summoning a spirit or getting rid of one, you can do a simple ritual of banishing a spirit with the item being buried and then you walk away it’s been advised by experienced witches even historians to not turn around after doing the spell. Necromancy is in the context is this, no you’re not summoning the dead back to life or evil spirits, necromancy is simply spirit communication and workings. Of course you’ll be careful with each spirit first encounter with.

Hekate has been a powerful goddess throughout centuries, her origins in Ancient Turkey who was seen as a mother goddess before she was adopted into the Greek Panetheon. She is quite remarkable in Roman religion and even modern day times she is separated from these ancient practices and still a goddess that people go to for all things in life. She is open to all for those who wish to make her involve in your life. Hekate will not be the same for everyone of course, but similarities are true she is very much like a Mother and very protective of her children.

[dragonomatopoeia]

Air's End-of-Year Youtube Video Rec-List Round-Up

In light of recent events and also because I wanted to, I have put together a rec list of various (mostly longform) videos that I've enjoyed this year. Not all of these videos were released this year, however-- I just happened to see them for the first time in 2023. For readability and quality of life purposes, I have put this list under a readmore and divided the videos up by category, then creator, which means that some youtube channels might appear in multiple categories

I reserve the right to edit this later as I remember more videos, but I feel comfortable publishing it as is, considering it has almost 100 videos on it at this point

Cooking

Get Curried Chili Garlic Rosemary Chicken Recipe | How to Make Chili Garlic Rosemary Chicken at Home | Prateek Anardana Chicken Recipe | Delicious Himachal Style Anardana Chicken Recipe at Home | Chef Prateek Old Delhi Style Tangdi Kebab | How to Make Indian Starter Tangdi Kebab Recipe | Chef Prateek Dhawan

How to Cook That The $10 Million dollar lie (Betty Crocker) Debunking the Pink Sauce Controversy | How To Cook That Ann Reardon Top 7 Best Easy Lemon Recipes 🍋 | How To Cook That Ann Reardon Toxic Foods promoted on TikTok! | How To Cook That Ann Reardon Why is Pyrex exploding? | How To Cook That Ann Reardon

Library of Congress' Youtube Channel El Camino del Mole a New Orleans El Camino del Pan a Baltimore

Immaculate Bites LEMON BUNDT CAKE FIRECRACKER SHRIMP

Simply Mamá Cooks 3 EASY Beef Pot Roast Recipes perfect for the cold weather EASY Chicken Tamales Recipe | How To Make Tamales Easy NO-KNEAD Soft Dinner Rolls + FLUFFY From Scratch Milk Rolls Recipe Zuppa Toscana Recipe EASY | Olive Garden Potato Sausage Soup Recipe

Fraud, Grifts, and Scams

FoldingIdeas Contrepreneurs: The Mikkelsen Twins The Future is a Dead Mall - Decentraland and the Metaverse In Search Of A Flat Earth This is Financial Advice

Maggie Mae Fish Is the "Off-Grid" Lifestyle a Lie??

Münecat I Debunked Every "Body Language Expert" on Youtube The Problem with Tony Robbins (Deep-Dive - Pt.1) The Problem with Tony Robbins (Deep-Dive - Pt. 2)

Super Eyepatch Wolf The Bizarre World of Fake Martial Arts The Bizarre World of Fake Psychics, Faith Healers, and Mediums Influencer Courses are Garbage: The Dark Side of Content Creation Tom Nicholas Griftonomics: Why Scams are Everywhere Now

We're In Hell A History of Spam on the Internet Hustling America: I Can't Believe This Show Is Real The Problem with Voluntourism WE Charity & the Nonprofit Industrial Complex

Gaming

Hbomberguy Halcyon Dreams: The Legacy of Dragon's Lair

Jacob Geller Games that Aren't Games How Can We Bear to Throw Anything Away?

Li Speaks An Exploration of the Avata Star Sue-niverse It's Time For You To Play Flash Games Again The Strange Case of Kissing and Flirting Games Untangling the Lore of Devilish Hairdresser

Mandaloregaming The Mystery of the Druids: A Bizarre Adventure Game

People Make Games The Games Industry Must Not Stay Silent on Palestine Investigation: Who’s Telling the Truth about Disco Elysium? Working at Valve: 'A Fearless Adventure' or 'Lord of the Flies'?

PowerPak Dead Space 3 Is Worse Than I Thought King's Quest - The First Adventure Game King's Quest 2 - A Bridge Too Far... MyHouse.WAD - Inside Doom's Most Terrifying Mod Squirrel Stapler is Absolutely Nuts Tunic is Deceptively Brilliant

Super Bunnyhop Perusing Pentiment's Boisterous Bibliography

History

BobbyBroccoli The image you can't submit to journals anymore

Cambrian Chronicles Wikipedia's King who Doesn't Exist

Defunctland Journey to EPCOT Center: A Symphonic History

Elliot Sang How Tea Became European McMindfulness: When Capitalism Goes Buddhist

Intelexual Media Creating The Conservative New Right In The 1970s A Buffet of Black Food History

Kaz Rowe A Deep Dive into the Deadly World of Victorian Patent Medicine Why Have So Many People Seen Ghost Ships? Why the Myth of the Library of Alexandria Is Wrong

Kendra Gaylord 500 years of dollhouses and what it meant to teach girls Alice Austen, the 1880s photographer: her house, her photos, her love life What happened to cheap food? Diners, Automats, and affordable eating

Nerdsync Bonkers origins of superhero memes The Scandalous REAL Origin of Superman's Lois Lane Superman's Uncomfortable History with Nuclear Weapons

Premodernist Advice for time traveling to medieval Europe

Stepback History How The Vietnam War Birthed a Generation of White Terrorists OK Fine I’ll Talk About Ancient Apocalypse

Tantacrul Notation Must Die: The Battle For How We Read Music

Film and Television

Be Kind Rewind How Breakfast at Tiffany's Turned into a Totally Different Movie | Adapting a Classic Casting the Women of Valley of the Dolls | PT 1 The Making of Valley of the Dolls | PT 2 How the "Old Ladies N' Hijinks" Subgenre Became a Thing How a "Sacrilegious" Film Changed Hollywood Forever... So I watched BLONDE... Why Tallulah Bankhead Never Became a Movie Star

Big Joel The Song That Broke West Side Story

Cherrybepsi Can We Kill the Final Girl Trope Already?

Hazel weird & kinda scary tokusatsu girls

Jane Mulcahy The Lunacy of Teen Wolf (Part 1) What is the 'psycho biddy' genre?

Maggie Mae Fish BLACK CHRISTMAS Before & After "Me Too" The War on "Woke" Hollywood: A History of Blacklists and Strikes Why is Clint Eastwood

Princess Weekes Black Trauma vs. Black Horror Why Are There So Many Confederate Vampires? Why Don't Worry Darling Doesn't Work ...

Shanspeare EUPHORIA: Sam Levinson’s Unfulfilled Fantasy The Girlboss-ification of the Horror Genre TikTok Femininity Coaching and Aestheticizing Racism

Science and Technology

BobbyBroccoli The $21,000,000,000 hole in Texas The man who faked human cloning How to catch a criminal cloner

Eastman Museum's Youtube Channel Photographic Processes Series

Technology Connections What's the deal with the popcorn button?

Practical Engineering How Flood Tunnels Work What's the Difference Between Paint and Coatings? Why Is Desalination So Difficult? Why Railroads Don't Need Expansion Joints

[divineintervention-comics]

You’ve been talking about horror adaptations of Greek myths and it got me thinking of Alcmene, her story is perfect for body horror, specifically pregnancy horror like Rosemary’s Baby.

OMG YES!! Rosemary's Baby is one of my favorite horror movies and my favorite filmmaker, David Cronenberg, has made so many films about pregnancy horror. i definitely want to look more into this story and see what i can work with. thank you for the suggestion!!

[pawborough]

May 2024 Check In

Hello, all! 

Thank you for keeping up with our development! Let's jump right in on what we've been working on! 

We have received over 400 applications for Alpha testing. We are currently on track for a June start date, and we’ll divulge the gritty details of where we're at in development at the end of this update. 

However, we had mentioned a fauna present going to chosen volunteers in exchange for the requested labor. 

We wanted to give everyone a peak! Introducing… 

Nephrune 

Design and illustration by Hydde

Researchers are not certain if this legendary creature truly exists or if it is a fable-born myth, but folklore says the Nephrune slumbers underground among the earthen bounties. As the only natural creature made entirely of crystalline inorganics, legend has it that this mighty beast is the mother of all magics in Mewmoia. Its awakening would spell disaster.

It is worth mentioning once again that Alpha volunteering will not be the only way to obtain a Nephrune. We plan to have this fauna setup as an exclusive incentive for bug hunting and reporting (a bug bounty) in the future. We do not intend to permanently retire the beast, however it will be rare. 

New Icons 

Turmeric, Ink Jar, Lotus, Basil, Rosemary, Sage, and Oregano illustrated by Tybaxel

New Accessories 

We have continued accessory illustration! Last month, we previewed the fourth set of our catalog: 

The Woolen set! 

Illustration by Remmie

Alongside, we have continued working on backer accessories!

It has been our goal to develop several points of synergy in the aesthetics of our accessories. This includes backer accessories. As it turns out, several backer accessories worked together well enough to commit to one more set.

The Regal set! 

Illustration by Hydde

The Regal Crown and the Pheonix Mantle were both concepted and sponsored by SolsticeStar and Ralsha respectively. We've added to their concepts to create a versatile outfit! 

We also have further renders of the Kickstarter item:

Necromantic Cloak

Illustration by Hydde

Dynamic Accessorizing 

We wanted to take a moment to briefly talk about the dynamic layering we’ve implemented in accessories! 

We’ve implemented a system which allows the back of accessories to layer behind  accessories they're on top of. 

What this means: Socks will layer over the back hem of boots while remaining under the boot, items with back capes like the Necromantic Cloak can have poofy pants under them without clipping, wigs can be worn under hats or hoods without clipping the back brim, and the list goes on! 

It's a small QoL addition, but it makes layered outfits much easier to construct! 

Sol Site Theme

Daily Duties 

Next, take a look at our designs for play of the Territory Grounds section! 

NOTE: These are early concept mockups, and still need significant tweaking before final approval!

Performing a cat’s daily duty in your Territory is a consistent way for your camp to get item resources. 

Cats can participate in a number of different daily activities in order to gain different items. Hunting will gain items like the Common Mouse, while fishing will gain items like the Red Snapper. 

How well your cat does at a duty will depend on their statistics! In addition to playing the Guild, a cat which frequently does activities will raise their statistics. 

However, we wanted to make this process customizable and streamlined. 

Which is why we designed territory parties! You can create and save a party of cats with a certain territory activity, then send all the party cats on their daily duties at once. 

This way, if you really need meat items, you can choose to send all your cats hunting without painstakingly clicking several times. You can curate a consistent daily gain pool while at any time choosing to deviate from it! 

Parties are also versatile. Even if a cat has already been sent on a different duty, you may still send the party without that cat. 

This system will need testing to find any kinks or pain points, but our goal is to reduce the amount of clicking while still requiring some resource management strategy from the user! 

Map of Mewmoia

Above is the political map which presents Borough boundaries, however we also present a climate map, which outlines the conditions of each location: 

Map illustration by Hydde

Lore is finally something we can take some time to focus on. 

Refreshing and lengthening the writing found on our original prototype website is now being done. We have mockups for a better, interactive lore page! 

However, we must stress that this page does not take precedent over the game itself, so while we can communicate that its on our radar, we can't promise it before delivering on MVP mechanics. 

Speaking of lore… 

The Metropolis Logo

Illustration edits by Tybaxel The moon has now been better placed to represent the eyeshine, and a World Spire has been made front and center. This tower is sculpted to resemble a cat’s pupil, thus better fitting in with the other simplistic yet intentional visuals. 

The Metropolis will have its visuals updated on our demo website during our next improvement push!

Development Update

So where are we on development? 

Well, recently we wrapped up Alpha combat development. This includes movement, conditions, tile generation, NPC behaviors, item use, and combat abilities. 

Introducing Errands 

Take a peak at Errands, which is the Alpha version of the multiplayer Missions. 

Errands are smaller, short-term jobs that only one cat may go on. They take 1-3 minutes (VS. Missions taking 10-20 minutes) and will similarly have different objectives to accomplish.

Going on an errand will still gain you experience, items, currency, and help you raise the rank of your Team, but they are tailored towards casual play. While missions will be available for longer play-sessions, errands are for when you want to do something smaller!

Here you can see the method of browsing errands. Current errands can be refreshed via clearing all of them, re-checking the next day, or a premium instant refresh. Errands can also be clipped and saved for later if you don't want to start them immediately, but see one you're intrigued by! 

Dev Progress Check

Going forward, the big things we are currently working on, in order: 

Daily Duties 

Forums

Item Integration

Player to player trade; markets and currency

Dashboard Functionality 

Cooking / Crafting Functionality 

After which, all further features will be additional buffs to the loop and QoL features. Things such as a player and Team notebook to post and feature journal entries, aesthetic buffs to the scene builder (color tints on items, shadow tints, etc.), mobile QoL, the achievement badge system, a tagging system, and integrating multiplayer combat functionality. 

These additions are all things we hope to prioritize adding over the lifespan of our beta! 

Wahoo! Lots of good things! Everyone on the team is buzzing with excitement over how close we're getting to something fully playable. Thank you for being along for the ride!

To Summarize: We showed the Nephrune, new accessory sets and accessory dynamics, the Sol site theme, Territory Ground play, the Site Map, a new Metropolis logo, Errand setup, and the check-in for where we are in mechanic development. 

What to expect next month: Alpha functionality, further asset renderings, potential recolors, potential Moontail update!

[redux-iterum]

So. Bright ginger cats like Fireheart don't seem to be too common in the Clans, and he is a great deal smaller than ThunderClan cats but.... I wonder if, sometimes, Bluestar may be starting to confuse Fireheart for another ginger cat. Her predecessor Sunstar, for example - or perhaps even Redtail?

Granted i don't recall TC's line of succession super well off the top of my head, but i know Sunstar is Blue's canon predecessor in leadership, and IIRC he was noted in the books for his orange fur. Or for Redtail, she'd remember Fire as a young apprentice then, so maybe her brain is filling in some gaps? I could easily be overthinking this. Something about that nod to Fireheart at the end of the recent chapter just makes me suspect her thoughts are somewhere else entirely, even if she SEEMS present, but that's just my hunch!

There is a myth that rosemary wards off vampires that started in an 11th century monastery when it was noticed that the plant proved to be a natural insect repellent!

[atopvisenyashill]

apologies if you're not american, but i was watching a youtube video about the kennedy family and their various misfortunes and it just made me think about a twentieth century AU of jaehaerys and alysanne's family. if you didn't know, joseph p. kennedy was jfk's dad and ever since his first son was born, he was pushing for one of his kids to become the first catholic president of the united states. he had nine kids with his wife and pushed all of them to successful in one way or another.

most horrifyingly, joseph had his eldest daughter, rosemary, lobotomized because she was born with an intellectual disability and while she was at a convent, she had snuck out a couple of times and the nuns feared she engaged in pre-marital sexual activity. the lobotomy took away rosemary's ability to speak or walk and joseph had her carted away to an institution and never visited her. rosemary's siblings wouldn't know about the lobotomy until 20 years later. that entire story just made me think of gael, daella, and saera all at once.

Okay first off, i am an american, i wouldn't say i know a LOT about politics but there are a few eras I've read a few books on and gone on wiki spirals over because they're interesting to me personally, and second of all, I THINK ABOUT ROSEMARY KENNEDY AT LEAST TWELVE TIMES A DAY.

I have like, a whole rant that revolves around her that I will spare everyone but omg. Her story is like, breathtakingly horrific, and she isn't the only person to be subjected to this sort of behavior as a form of social control; a lot of women were lobotomized by their fathers and husbands for "unruly" behavior that usually amounted to them either having some sort of mental illness (like bipolar disorder or depression) or were just like, regular horny 20 year olds. The Kennedys in general are insane and I will admit to finding them a bit fascinating because the entire concept of Camelot was essentially just some rich american family attempting to remake the concept of Divine Nobility in the usa? Insane behavior especially when you look at contemporary royals who are often miserable as fuck on an emotional level (which monarchy is it where they're so strict about marrying they're practically gonna die out soon icr but it's like...these people are INSANE why would you want to emulate them, emulate some rich people who don't regularly get guillotined at least damn). But anon, if you're interested in this, one of the podcasts i listen to, behind the bastards, has a two parter on the guy who invented lobotomies and just did a two parter about the kennedys (with a focus on rfk jr, but he went into the kennedys in general). the lobotomy one is real good it made me want to throw up a bit lol.

ANYWAYS. I definitely agree that the Kennedys are a really good modern example of the Jaehaerys & Alysanne era Targaryens. Like, a patriarch attempting to make himself and his family into legendary heroic myths while they're still alive, willing to feed as many children as necessary into the meat grinder if it means getting a leg up, the public having this beautiful idyllic image of them but its all this fake, hand crafted image to hide this incredibly sinister reality. can't have your girls exhibiting sexual agency, but can't let them exist without Serving The Family as baby making machines either, so you punish them for having sex when you don't want to, and when their bodies fail because they're too damn young to have kids, you punish their mothers for grieving. you force your wife to have more kids that you won't take care of, you punish your wife for not wanting to be parted from them, you punish your wife for not wanting them married young, you ensure your sons will never lift a finger to help their sisters, and you play god with your own family and then rage at them when they don't act like puppets on a string for your benefit.

[witchescollection]

notes on the craft #1

(feat sources bc credibility and further reading is good! also please discuss these with me below if you want!)

the wheel of the year isn't super historical! especially a lot of the modern rites we have (Hutton, 2008). In fact contemporary paganism as a whole is new and has... not the most reputable origins (York, 1999). What I infer from this is that, since the origins of a lot of contemporary paganism is stretching the truth at best, and downright fictitious at worst, the "tradition" of witchcraft is untrustworthy. there is no doctrine, no guidebook - only suggestions, and you can absolutely ignore them.

lots of articles and videos glamourise witchcraft. there are a lot of (and i mean a lot of) issues within contemporary pagan spaces, in varying degrees of severity (nazis, superiority complexes, cults, a disrespect for others). with articles entitled "How To Use Magic To Get Over Someone You Dated" (vogue, 2019), and tiktoks about "being the strongest witch in North America" (@/mami.onami, n.d), an appeal to witchcraft has been made for people who have been mistreated by society and ache to have power over those who have hurt them. whilst it's true that witchcraft is powerful, if the draw to a religion or practice is rooted in revenge or anger, the practitioner is not going to stay in the craft for long. furthermore, this shallow depiction of witchcraft is the reason why even people who seek out the craft for other reasons may struggle to stick with witchcraft. it's not seen as a part of your being, it's seen as an aesthetic or a tool to control others, and is then discarded when the goal has been achieved or the aesthetic becomes boring or out of fashion.

and finally, hot take: if you're doing all your research from tiktok, or tumblr, or instagram and then complain your craft is not fulfilling, that is why. because tiktok is filled with videos rooted in nothing but myths or beliefs masquerading as facts or science (see here, here [which seems to be referencing a variety of folklore that isn't fae, and generic horror tropes], and here). social media can be absolutely beneficial in your practice, but factchecking is key. contrary to popular belief, rosemary and clear quartz are not substitutes for everything (unless you decide them to be).

[salixsociety]

Botanical Folklore and the Divine

On using herbs in your relationship with the divine. Inspired by @adhdcatholicheretic's post about Marian Gardens.

As anyone who's ever had to listen to me talk for more than five minutes will gladly tell you, I am very passionate about folklore, and I think it is something that us contemporary practitioners of magic tend to ignore. Most of us using herbs find ourselves stuck repeating the same patterns of practical herbal magic: teas, poultices, soaps, tinctures. Maybe the occasional loose leaf smoke cleanse instead of some incense. But rarely do I see people use herbs in their encounters and connections to the Gods, and that's what I'd like to write about today; because it's easier than you think.

The Lore

Folklore regarding plants is rife with stories about divinity and its associates. Back when we needed stories not only to remember what plants looked like, but also to explain why they looked the way they did. If you look deep enough, almost any plant in your surroundings is bound to have some stories, a creation myth, an explanation for some peculiarity. Take Lady's Mantle, alchemilla vulgaris, native to Northern Europe, Iceland and Greenland. The large foliage of this herb have an interesting structure and soft texture, and tend to capture dewdrops around their edges and in their middle, which speak to our imagination to this day. The story goes that the old Teutonic peoples thought it to be the tears of either Frigga or Freyja, who were later syncretized into the Virgin Mary. Nowadays the name Lady's Mantle is in reference to the shape of the leaves and how they may resemble Mary's cape, which in turn is subject to much more folklore, as of Rosemary it is said the bright azure flowers got their color from the Virgin throwing her cape over one such bush to let it dry. The saints also get their share of lore, some more explicitly than others. Some got their lore because of pagan rites being Christianised, such as St. John's Wort (hypericum perforatum), which was usually gathered on midsummer's eve or day for its magical properties. That day was later Christianised into St. John's feast day, and the plant turned into a prominent folk-magical plant to ask for St. John's intercession. Others got their lore from their appearance, such as pansies, with their three petals, and then there are of course those with Biblical appearances such as palm and hyssop. But fear not, all my friends worshipping the infernal: Christian folklore regarding plants doesn't end at the Virgin or the Saints. Devil's Bit (succisa pratensis) is one of my favorite examples. A dainty, delicate flower with strong curative properties. What does the Devil have to do with it, then? Well, in his anger at how good it was at curing various ailments, supposedly he rose up from his seat in Hell and bit off the rootstock of every single one. And indeed, if you dig one up, you'll see how strange the root looks, almost as if it's not complete.

The wealth of folklore goes on and on and on. Not just covering Christian divinity: despite my failure to cover it, the lore regarding the pagan gods and their spirits is very much there! Look deep into the Christian lore, oftentimes it had to come from an already extant pagan story. But instead of droning on about examples, I'd like to tell you how to find your own and then apply them in your magical practice.

The Research

I highly recommend researching plant folklore, as its applications go far beyond this little snippet. But it can be overwhelming, so allow me to try and grant you a place to start.

Your first considerations should definitely be your location and your practice, and how they balance each other out. If you are a Danish folk practitioner but you live in the tropics, consider whether you value sticking to traditional plants or using what's outside your door, more. The question for you, reader, is: do you want to use what's traditional, or what's available? Work from there. Make a list. If you want to use what is traditional, make a list of some of your favorites (including herbs you already have!) and the ones you could easily get. Research those first. If you want to use what's available to you in your environment, make a list of plants you already like to use or know a bit about, or if you're a bare bones beginner, plants that stand out to you. See also my post about connecting with the plants in your environment.

The best places to start research are definitely peer-reviewed and academic sources, not something like Wiccapedia. Folklore has logic, and structure, and anthropologists, ethnobotanists and folklorists are by far the best at conveying it. Often Wikipedia will have some tidbits to jump off of, but if not, look regionally. Archives, books about certain regions or countries, museums, universities tend to have the best sources. See the end of this post for some source recommendations.

The Application

So how does one actually go about applying all this? That, of course, depends on your practice. But the idea is to use this lore, and the connection it gives you to your divine, their behavior, their motivations, their stories, etc, to bring you closer to your magic and your faith. Some ideas:

Plant a devotional garden, big or small, with plants that feature your divine in their lore, perhaps in combination with plants that remind you of them.

Burn or make incense with the plants and use it for rituals, during prayer, to invoke them, etc.

Offer the plants (ethically sourced) to your divine.

Use the plants for something practical (make food with berries, fiber with flax, syrup with flowers) and offer your labor or part/all of the finished product to your divine.

Make art with the plants of your divine (weave something, make dye/paint out of them).

Put in conservation efforts or donate to those making the conservation efforts to preserve the plants, if they are endangered or about to be.

If it is a tree or several trees, find a stand of them (or just a single one that you like) near you, and use it as a place of worship or make a shrine there.

But it could be even as simple as thinking of your gods when you see the plants in question. Ultimately, that is where the lore came from, and that is what the lore is for. Knowing the stories, and feeling what they mean to you, is an important way to connect with your Gods.

Just a Few Source Recs

Note: my practice revolves around Alaska and Europe, so that's what my sources reflect. But my ask box is always open for resource requests, and I may do a little looking around for you!

Compendium of Ritual and Symbolic Plants in Europe - M. Cleene and M. Lejeune (available on Archive.org)

Native American Ethnobotany Database

Forestry Service/U.S. Dept. of Agriculture

The Medieval Garden Enclosed

Masterlist of Ethnobotany/folklore/etc sources coming soon.