#i associate light with the sun therefore the sky

[vabam-fr]

arcane : soft blues and creamy whites, cherry/ruby/cerise/wine, fire, obsidian to plum, orchid to grape. mint and mist. cerulean and abyss. a good blue with a nice accent color can feel super arcane. (heather starmap might surprise you, too. a lot of purples seem to fall into a very arcane vibe)

earth: greys, any faded blue (or greenish) color paired with an orange accent, and maybe blood/maroon if the combo allows it. just darker combos that arent brown but feel dusty. any jewel tone if youre not a coward. metals/cantaloupe/peach with pink stain, or cream/pink stain, or rose/lemon stain can give off a salt-lamp look that toes the arcane line, but with the right handling, it really pulls a room together.

water: vibrant blue/orange combos, blue/yellow combos. basically anything that could get away with looking like a beach or some coral or a fish. the world is your oyster on that one

plague: white. dark, washed out greens like algae/eldritch/hunter/camo. jewel toned greens like radioactive/hunter/jungle/emerald. a lot of greens actually... green is just a very plague color. nature who? a lot of browns are surprisingly reddish that give a browned meat vibe. the same with a lot of oranges. good ranges are between ginger-rust and pumpkin-tangerine + the washed out yellows like sanddollar/ivory for a dried bone look (ghost). dirt too.

fire: a lot of starmap reds. blood/sanguine starmap. blood koi. wine metallic/alloy. i think black suits fire best (soot/ash), though i see black as a very neutral lifter for any accent colors. browns can be a nice apparel item if you want to go for a fireplace + log vibe.

shadow: more of a dark blue flight than a purple flight to me. sapphire or sapphire stained with a deep pink or purple, or a yellow range with a purple stain (like metals/orchid). ofc bright blues like the mushrooms help, but i think accented oranges (like pumpkin) help round out the palette. radioactive/orchid combos are pretty shadow-y to me. theyre a very "trickster/jester" flight, so very neon dragons can be shadow-coded in my eyes

ice: of course, black seems to be an easy consensus, but i think blue + brown combos are kind of underrated. sky and periwinkle poitox are very ice-y to me. they remind me of half snow-y forests and tundras (a well placed spruce can wear a lot of team jerseys, lemme tell you) mint/pistachio/mist can be a nice ice-y vibe if you want to think of refreshing gum.

nature: brown. lots of rich-tone browns with green or yellow accents. pink can be nice and nature-like with a brown combo. orange/green combos (bronze) is a nice pop of color when you want something to spice up all the trees you just accidentally planted

wind: or pink can be a nice freshener with a chartreuse-y green. banana feels like it has the playfulness of wind, as does grapefruit. no notes though, wind already has a strong orange-y accent palette (but on dragons i think a subdued brown, like tarnish or tan, could go a long way paired with algae or spruce, too)

lightning: almost no notes really. theres a solid brand that you would almost thing Stormcatcher did on purpose. light blues and dark browns. what cant copper do? the linebacker and support beam for any lair that cant tell their water rep from their lightning rep with all the abyss/cyan/azure flying around. you probably already knew that though. robin feels like its sort of sitting in the back, dwarfed behind copper, and people mistake him for copper's accent color, but he works well when paired with abyss, too. black pulls up strong here when it might be more confusing in other, more colorful potential palettes.

light: buddy i think you showed up late when everyone else was picking accent colors. yes, Earthshaker will be super nice and understanding and share his pink salt-lamp dragons with you (metals/cantaloupe/cream with pink stain). and his tans and browns. thats what dads are for. what? oh, yeah sunset starmap really works too, and some subtle blues, for that "sky" look.

What's a colour you associate with a Flight Rising element that isn't the main assigned colour for it?

eg. I associate Wind with blues and whites because of the sky

[templeofelysium]

worshipping the chthonic gods

first, a note on cthonic vs ouranic: the line between these gods is one that is not really as stark as it can be portrayed. many gods have both ouranic and chthonic aspects, and neither make them any more "good" or "bad" than the other. chthonic gods are not evil gods, at least no more than any ouranic god. all deities have the capability of doing good and evil, but are largely ambivalent in nature. the advice listed below is not set in stone, simply provided as gentle guidance. if you have suggestions, feel free to add them in the comments/reblogs! :)

LIBATIONS/OFFERINGS

In Ancient Greece it was very common for offerings to the chthonic gods to be given in the form of libation--a drink (or any liquid) poured into the ground. Solid offerings, like food, were often burned in their entirety to ash or left to rot, instead of being partially shared by the offeror. Incense was not as commonly used since the smoke travels upwards, towards the heavens.

I suggest disposing of/keeping ashes and rotted food outside or burying them, seeing as chthonic sometimes refers to "-of the earth." This would be similar to how curse tablets were treated in Ancient Greece, as Hermes, messenger of the gods, would deliver them unto their underworld-ly receiver from there.

If you can't do that, consider pouring your libations down the sink or flushing them down the toilet (ONLY do this with water-based liquids, oil and honey will clog up your sink in no time flat). It's not ideal, but it gets the job done.

Common libations include: coffee, blood (animal or your own, we'll get to that at the end), honey (instead of wine), milk

Common offerings include: meat, barley/grain, oil, cheese

PRAYER

In many cases, prayers to ouranic deities are directed upwards, into the sky or delivered unto the wind by voice, song, or some sort of poem. In the case of the chthonic gods, we should be directing them downwards, towards the underworld where they reside. This may include extending your hands with palms facing down, putting your head down, or just imagining your prayers being sent below. The only exceptions to this may be Persephone, who resides in the heavens for half of the year, and Hermes, who can be considered both ouranic and chthonic.

Other recommendations I can make are: light a candle, even if you're not going to use it for pyromancy; light some incense (I do this for focus and cleansing, not so much for the deity); and perform it at night. It's not mandatory, of course, to perform your prayers at night, it's just that in antiquity ouranic activities (festivals, prayer, etc.) were done during the day and often directly enshrouded in sunlight. We can assume, therefore, that a chthonic prayer or festival should occur during the night, especially if being directed towards Hekate or Nyx.

ALTARS/SHRINES

In Ancient Greece, temples to the ouranic gods were constructed so that their doorways would directly face the sun, thus illuminating the inside (and often the main statue(s), too). We can assume, then, that our chthonic altars/shrines should be located somewhere out of the direct sunlight. This can be in a dark spot, like a closet or isolated room--or it can just simply be in a corner furthest from the sun's rays.

Again, there may be some exceptions to this: Hermes, under his ouranic epithet(s), Persephone, for her time in the heavens, and Hekate, for her association with the moon.

DIVINATION

For the most part divination with the chthonic gods is conducted in much the same way as with the ouranic. Of course, when calling upon these deities you'll want to face towards the ground, and perhaps even conduct these sessions in partial darkness. Again, maybe you could light a candle or even pour a libation before a really big reading.

I mostly use pendulums and tarot, but I've been experimenting with meditation and have had some luck. What works for ouranic deities should work just as good for chthonic, you just might have to shift your approach a little.

Some good tarot spreads for working with chthonic deities:

"Fork in the Road" spread-- for Hermes or Hekate

"The Tower" spread-- for Hermes or Hades

"The Self Exploration" spread-- for any

"The Bat" spread-- for Hades or Persephone or Nyx

EXTRAS

--Consider offering blood if you're able! Animal blood that is sourced from ethical farms is neither morally reprehensible or illegal and can be sourced from a variety of places. Offering your own blood is also a possibility, but for this I would not recommend more than a pinprick. There are limits to how much pain you should be incurring on yourself for your deities. If you have to check your blood sugar often, maybe you can soak up excess blood with some cotton and bury it outside. Make sure to always clean your wounds properly and do not engage in this behavior for the purpose of self-mutilation. That, I can assure you, your deities would not appreciate. Don't be stupid.

--Snakes are commonly associated with almost all chthonic deities, or just the Underworld in general. We see this the most with Hermes, who is pictured with two snakes wrapped around his caduceus. The god Asclepius is also pictured with a staff with a single snake on it. Asclepius is the god of medicine, and (before being deified) was killed by Zeus for making people practically immortal.

--Chthonic deities are the best places to turn to for spirit work, protective, and baneful magic. You're looking to contact a spirit? Turn to Hades. You're looking for protection against spirits/demons? Turn to Hekate or Hermes. You're looking to cast a curse? Turn to Persephone or Hekate.

dividers by @vibeswithrenai

[youremyheaven]

Shatabhisha & The Rahuvian Urge to Lie

In the light of several of you guys telling me about your experiences with Shatabhisha nakshatra natives who were pathological liars and overall terrible people. I thought I'll do my research 🤪😌and what I found astounded me.

Shatabhisha is ruled by the planet Rahu, which is known for its mysterious and unconventional nature. Rahu is associated with the shadow, the unknown, and the supernatural. In Vedic astrology, Rahu represents desires, ambitions, and illusions. It can bring both good and bad results, depending on its placement and the overall horoscope. Therefore, the lord of Shatabhisha can bring a mix of energies and influences, such as intuition, creativity, eccentricity, and spiritual growth, but also confusion, deception, and hidden enemies.

Shatabhisha is the final concluding Rahuvian nakshatra and I feel like the concluding nak of each planet is the most extreme manifestation of its energies but also the point where it transcends beyond itself.

Shatabhisha is associated with the deity Varuna, the god of cosmic and moral order. Varuna is also linked to water, emphasizing the purification aspect of this nakshatra. The connection with a thousand flowers signifies the blossoming of spiritual potential. Varuna (god of the rains/ cosmic & terrestrial waters, sky and earth). also, the mystical healer and the lord of “maya” or illusions. varuna is also sometimes referred as the “dark sun”, he influences the west direction and is active after sunset.

Given that the deity of Shatabhisha is the Lord of Illusions/Maya and Rahu is itself a shadow planet associated with deception, lies and illusions, its no wonder that these natives are often prone to lying.

Pathological lying is defined as "the compulsive urge to lie about matters big and small, regardless of the situation."

SZA, Shatabhisha Moon, Vishaka Sun is known for being a pathological liar

Here is a video exposing her lies. Tbh SZA lies about things that are so unnecessary and obvious??? she once said that BTS ignored her at an event when there's video proof of them interacting and hugging each other 😭😭She has lied about her real hair, fake freckles, her age, used to say she was a marine biologist, being allergic to fruit & more. It’s mostly little lies that literally don’t even make sense why she is even lying about it.

I feel like being dishonest is a broadly Nodal trait (no offence u guys lmao) and SZA's chart is dominated by Nodal naks. She has Venus in Mula, Mars in Swati, Jupiter in Ardra to make matters worse she has Ketu in Ashlesha (Ashleshas can be hella manipulative) and Vishaka Sun & Mercury (Vishaka is a rakshasa gana nak which means these natives are veryy self serving)

Jameela Jamil, Shatabhisha Sun, Ketu in Swati

Tbh I can't keep track of everything Jameela has lied about because she lies a lot. Here's an article that goes into it. She has a thing for claiming she has suffered from or is currently suffering from a ton of different illnesses (mercury poisoning, celiac disease, a rare tissue disorder, a breast cancer scare, she's deaf in one ear, severe peanut allergy etc) and just a ton of other sketchy stuff in general lol

Halsey, Swati Rising & Mercury (She also has Hasta Sun)

Halsey has always claimed to be half black when in reality she is 1/4th black (her dad is half black), she allegedly suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Sjogren's syndrome, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, POTS etc i don't want to speculate about someone's health but whenever someone talks about having more than 2 serious chronic conditions, it just feels hella sus??? She said she was kicked out of her house as a teenager by her parents but someone who went to highschool with her apparently exposed her saying that wasn't true and that she left on her own to pursue music. Halsey also claimed to have been some sort of edgy misfit outcast in highschool and the same person said she was actually pretty popular and was very good at Art

Victoria Beckham, Venus conjunct Jupiter in Shatabhisha and Ardra Rising

She is certainly not the only one who has tried to convince us that her chest looks the way it does because of a push-up bra. But Victoria Beckham overdid it with her lies. She had been denying for years that she had undergone surgery for a breast augmentation. But then, one sunny day in July 2009, she slipped up. It happened before an L.A. Dodgers baseball game, where Victoria was given the honor of throwing the first pitch. She walks off the field, and says loudly in her mic that she is a bit worried her pitch would displace her implants. Boom! The truth was out! Her D-cups remained intact, but the damage to her reputation was done. Some years later, the former Spice Girls member had a reduction, and she now claims she regrets of having had the surgery in the first place. She also very recently claimed she grew up super working class when its pretty much public knowledge that she's from a vvv wealthy background (her nickname is literally Posh Spice?? like girl???)

Taylor Swift, Ardra Moon, Ketu in Ashlesha

This has turned into one of the biggest social media scandals in Hollywood in the past decade. It all started with the notorious line in Kanye West’s song Famous: ‘I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/Why? I made that b**ch famous”. Swift’s reaction to these derogatory lyrics was …well… swift and brutal. She complained about being victimized by West and him taking the credit for her success. But then the Invincible Kim took matters into her hands. She broke the internet by posting a Snapchat video of a conversation between Swift and West, in which Swift was saying she had no problem with the lyrics. That was a huge blow as Swift had been whining for weeks about how she had insisted on being “excluded from the narrative.” Sister, if you really wanted to be excluded from the narrative, you should have said that first thing when the rapper called you to ask for your consent!

She also acts like some country gal when her dad is a stockbroker and she grew up on like a 200 acre farm and had her career handed to her lol

I feel like Nodal girlies love to play victim, along with Moon dominants & Ashleshas

Tyga- Ashlesha Moon conjunct Ketu

He grew up in a rich family in LA but claimed to be from the 'hood lol

Robert Pattinson- Ardra Moon

He has admitted that he lies all the time in interviews lol tbh its kinda funny

Here's an article about it. my fav bit is the one time he lied about hating the circus because he saw a clown die as a kid lmfao

Grimes, Shatabhisha Mercury

Grimes lied about throwing a snowball at Queen Elizabeth II's motorcade when she was visiting Vancouver. Somebody pointed out that on that day there was no snow in the city, so it was impossible for her to make a snowball, let alone throw one.

 She lies about bizarre things that she doesn't even need to bring up. Like, telling Rolling Stone magazine she had to get over her fears and conceive X by having unprotected sex and letting Elon cum inside her. Later, the Isaacson book proved it was IVF 🤡🤡

She has also been accused of having lied about being homeless in the past

Lana Del Rey- Ardra Sun

There is an old interview with some guy who studied with her and he said she used to lie all the time lol It was really interesting to see someone in her inner circle kinda reflect on that. His name is Ron Pope. He said

“Actually, I knew her in New York many, many years ago, when she was still going by her real name, Lizzy Grant. And I thought that she was endlessly fascinating, because she was always kind of expressing herself by being a character. She would tell you a story and you're like, "I don't think that's true, but I don't care."

Well, after we were introduced, she told me that she grew up in Arkansas in a trailer park, and was raised by her grandmother. But I'd already known that she was from a family of means in New York. So I was just like, "Huh, you don't say, Arkansas, trailer park." But it was like being around a performance artist. It's not like they're a pathological liar or something, they're just a person creating a character.”

Lana lied about her age at the beginning of her career and to this day she says she grew up poor and is "white trash" when she went to a private boarding school as a teenager ???

Lady Gaga, Swati Moon conjunct Ketu

Gaga once told that she was bullied in school to the point of being thrown into a trash can because she was "eccentric and theatrical", when in fact she went to one of the most expensive schools in New York (which makes unlikely that something like this would go that far).

There was a bit that she claimed her aunt possessed her and wrote a poem, which she showed to her fans on live stream; someone googled that poem and found it online.

When Amy Winehouse died, Lady Gaga told a reporter she couldn't speak a thing for 48 hours.

When recording the scene where Maurizio is killed, the only thing that went through her mind was "What did I do?"; also, she claims that she spoke with Italian accent for 6 months after the footage was finished.

Kylie Jenner, Ashlesha Sun, Swati Moon

she lied about not getting plastic surgery for yearssss, claiming she just gained weight or whatever lol

Sara Ali Khan, Ashlesha Sun, Shatabhisha Moon

She's descended from royalty on her father's side, her mother comes from a very influential family, both her parents are successful actors, she went to fkn Columbia University for her undergrad yet she claims to be a "normal middle class girl" and says that she does not pay for mobile roaming cause its too expensive?? 😩😂and she is known for her PR stunts lmao, just a few days ago she was "spotted" helping underprivileged people when its sooo obvious that she called the paps to film her lmfao

Zayn Malik, Shatabhisha Venus & Rising

When Zayn Malik quit One Direction, he claimed it was so that he could shy away from the spotlight and lead a normal life. I don't know about you, but most 22-year-olds aren't releasing solo albums. Considering Malik debuted his first solo track only a week after leaving the band, it appears as though he lied about the reason for leaving. Especially since he's released a lot of solo music. In an interview with Billboard, he came clean about One Direction not being what he expected. So, I guess he just got fed up with the boy band life, huh? He could've just been honest from the beginning, though. 

Steve Rannazzisi, Ardra Sun & Moon, Venus in Ashlesha atmakaraka

The League actor Steve Rannazzisi lied about being in the World Trade Center on 9/11. He originally had an elaborate story about that tragic day prompting him to pick up and move to Los Angeles to pursue his comedy dreams. But in September 2015, Rannazzisi said:

I was not at the Trade Center on that day. I don't know why I said this. This was inexcusable. I am truly, truly sorry.

As he says himself, this is a pretty "inexcusable" lie. I will say, though, at least he came clean about it. When it comes to honesty, better late than never.

Galileo Galilei- Shatabhisha Sun, Ashlesha Rising

Galileo was more convinced that Earth revolves around the sun. This led to his trial in 1616. Galileo obeyed the church order to end all discussion on the matter. But after 16 years, he published a book that the Catholic Church could not accept at the time.

I thought I should include him because this is such a huge example of telling the truth?? even at great personal odds?? imagine being the one to stand up to the goddamn church in an era where everyone was convinced the sun revolved around the earth lol??

it goes to show that not everyone with certain placements will turn out to be liars and deceivers.

Kurt Gerstein- Shatabhisha stellium, Saturn, Ketu and Rising

Kurt Gerstein was a deeply contradictory figure, who's life and work bear examination as an example of how a deeply flawed person can still try to do admirable things.

Born to a virulently authoritarian and later aggressively pro-Nazi father, he grew up in strongly ultranationalist circles. At university, at his father's behest, he joined a far right student association/fraternity.

At the same time, he became involved with the Confessing Church, an organisation dedicated to fighting back against Nazi influence in the Protestant churches, who's membership included a number of prominent German resistance figures. He spent a small amount of time in prisons and in camps for distributing anti-Nazi material, but his father's influence allowed him to escape serious punishment.

In 1941, he joined the SS, in his own words "acting as an agent of the Confessing Church." Shortly beforehand he discovered his sister in law had been murdered as part of what we know as Aktion-T4, the genocide of the mentally ill and physically disabled. His plan was to get inside, find whatever evidence of crimes and atrocities he could, and get them published for all the world to see.

Due to his experience in pest control and water purification, he was made head of the subsection of the SS responsible for supplying Zyklon B, an industrial rat poison, to a variety of sites in Poland. When he asked what the obscene quantities of poison gas could possibly be being used for, he was invited to witness the camps himself.

He attempted to tell the world of what he had seen at Belzec and Treblinka, telling a Swedish diplomat, a Swiss diplomat, A Dutch resistance man, and anyone else he could get his hands on, but nobody really took notice.

He spent years trying to get the story out, until in 1945 he surrendered to a French officer, telling him everything in the hope that his testimony could be used to prosecute senior Nazis and camp officials. He was given a hotel room and a typewriter and told to write his report.

After he was done, he was treated as a war criminal and transferred to a military prison where he was found hanged in his cell, likely driven to suicide by what he viewed as the final failure of his task.

After his death, his report has continued to be used as one of the definitive accounts of the Holocaust, being used in the Nuremberg Trials, the Eichmann trial, and the trial of David Irving.

Once again, it is possible to have these placements and still tell the truth and stand up for the truth. our birth chart reveals our natural tendencies, what we must do is rise above them. and contrary to popular belief, we can rise above our nature.

I hope this was interesting xx

[transgenderer]

Alawites and their beliefs have been described as "secretive" (Yaron Friedman, for example, in his scholarly work on the sect, has written that the Alawi religious material quoted in his book came only from "public libraries and printed books" since the "sacred writings" of the Alawi "are kept secret"); some tenets of the faith are kept secret from most Alawi and known only to a select few, they have therefore been described as a mystical sect.

Alawite Trinity envisions God as being composed of three distinct manifestations, Ma'na (meaning), Ism (Name) and Bab (Door); which together constitute an "indivisible Trinity". Ma'na symbolises the "source and meaning of all things" in Alawite mythology. According to Alawite doctrines, Ma'na generated the Ism, which in turn built the Bab. These beliefs are closely tied to the Nusayri doctrine of re-incarnations of the Trinity.

Alawites hold that they were originally stars or divine lights that were cast out of heaven through disobedience and must undergo repeated reincarnation (or metempsychosis) before returning to heaven. According to Nusayrite beliefs, females are excluded from re-incarnation.

Alawite theologians divided history into seven eras, associating each era with one of the seven re-incarnations of the Nusayrite Trinity (Ma'na, Ism, Bab). The seven re-incarnations of the Trinity in the Alawite faith consists of:

Abel, Adam, Gabriel

Seth, Noah, Yail ibn Fatin

Joseph, Jacob, Ham ibn Kush

Joshua, Moses, Dan ibn Usbaut

Asaf, Solomon, Abd Allah ibn Siman

Simon Peter, Jesus, Rawzaba ibn al-Marzuban

Ali, Muhammad, Salman al-Farisi

The last triad of re-incarnations in the Nusayri Trinity consists of Ali (Ma'na), Muhammad (Ism) and Salman al-Farsi (Bab). Alawites depict them as the sky, the sun and the moon respectively. They deify Ali as the "last and supreme manifestation of God" who built the universe, attributing him with divine superiority and believe that Ali created Muhammad, bestowing upon him the mission to spread Qur'anic teachings on earth.

Other beliefs and practices include: the consecration of wine in a secret form of Mass performed only by males; frequently being given Christian names; entombing the dead in sarcophagi above ground; observing Epiphany, Christmas and the feast days of John Chrysostom and Mary Magdalene; the only religious structures they have are the shrines of tombs;

Away from my computer rn but when I get back I have to read about these guys. Assad is one which is crazy given they were a small persecuted minority in Syria since like forever

[talonabraxas]

The Secret of the Golden Flower Talon Abraxas

The Celestial Mind

Naturalness is called the Way. The Way has no name or form; it is just the essence, just the primal spirit. Essence and life are invisible, so they are associated with sky and light. Since ancient times, those who realized spiritual immortality all communicated their teaching verbally, transmitting it from individual to individual.

In obedience to a directive, I am acting as a guide to liberation. Herein we will bring light to the source message of the golden flower of absolute unity. The absolute unity refers to what cannot be surpassed. There are very many alchemical teachings, but all of them make temporary use of effort to arrive at effortlessness; they are not teachings of total transcendence and direct penetration. The doctrine transmitted here brings up working with essence and does not fall into a secondary method. That is the best thing about it.

The golden flower is light. What color is light? It is symbolized by the golden flower, which in Chinese characters also conceals the words one light within. This is absolutely unified real energy of celestial immortals.

The whole work of turning the light around uses the method of reversal. The beauties of the highest heavens and the marvels of the sublimest realms are all within the heart; this is where the perfectly open and aware spirit concentrates. Confucians call it the open center, Buddhists call it the pedestal of awareness, Taoists call it the ancestral earth, the mysterious pass, the primal opening.

The celestial mind is like a house; the light is the master of the house. Therefore, once you turn the light around, the energies throughout the body all rise. Just turn the light around; this is the unexcelled sublime truth.

The light is easily stirred and hard to stabilize. When you have turned it around for a long time, the light crystallizes. This is the natural spiritual body, and it steadies the spirit. This is what the Mind Seal Scripture refers to as “silently paying court” and “soaring upward.”

The transmutations of spiritual illumination are all guided by mind.

The Original Spirit and the Conscious Spirit

From the point of view of the universe, people are like mayflies; but from the point of view of the Way, even the universe is as an evanescent reflection. Only the true essence of the original spirit transcends the primal organization and is above it.

Vitality and energy degenerate along with the universe, but the original spirit is still there; this is the infinite. The production of the universe all derives from this. If learners can just preserve the original spirit, they live transcendentally outside of yin and yang. They are not within the three realms.

This is possible only by seeing essence. This is what is called the original face. What is most wondrous is when the light has crystallized in a spiritual body, gradually becoming consciously effective, and is on the verge of moving into action. This is the secret that has not been transmitted in a thousand ages.

Turning the Light Around and keeping to the Center

Turning the light around is not turning around the light of one body, but turning around the very energy of Creation. It is not stopping random imagination only temporarily; it is truly emptying routine compulsion for all time. Usually people wind up pursuing objects and come at age in conformity with life, never once looking back. Just observe deeply, and when your breath grows quiet you then become accurately aware. This is application of the method of reversal.

The light is neither inside nor outside the self. Mountains, rivers, sun, moon, and the whole earth are this light, so it is not only in the self. All the operations of intelligence, knowledge, and wisdom are also this light, so it is not outside the self. The light of heaven and earth fills the universe; the light of one individual also naturally extends through the heavens and covers the earth. Therefore, once you turn the light around, everything in the world is turned around.

The light rays are concentrated upward into the eyes; this is the great key of the human body. You should reflect on this. If you do not sit quietly each day, this light flows and whirls, stopping who knows where. If you can sit quietly for a while, all time-ten thousand ages, a thousand lifetimes-is penetrated from this. All phenomena revert to stillness. Truly inconceivable is this sublime truth.

Nevertheless, the actual practice goes from shallow to deep, from crude to fine. Throughout, it is best to be consistent. The practice is one from beginning to end, but its quality during the process can be known only by oneself. One winds up at the point where “heaven is open, earth is broad, and all things are just as they are.”

What has been communicated through successive sages is not beyond reversed gazing. Confucians call it ” reaching toward knowledge.” Buddhists call it “observing mind.” Taoists call it “inner observation.”

The essential teaching is summarized above; as for the rest, matters of entering and exiting stillness, the prelude and the aftermath, one should use the book Small Stopping and Seeing as a touchstone.

The words focus on the center are most sublime. The center is omnipresent; the whole universe is within it. This indicates the mechanism of Creation; you focus on this to enter the gate, that is all. To focus means to focus on this as a hint, not to become rigidly fixated. The meaning of the word focus has life to it; it is very subtle.

The terms stopping and seeing basically cannot be separated. They mean concentration and insight. Hereafter, whenever thoughts arise, you don't need to sit still as before, but you should investigate this thought: where is it? Where does this come from? Where does it disappear? Push this inquiry on and on over and over until you realize it cannot be grasped; then you will see where the thought arises. You don't need to seek out the point of arising any more. “Having looked for my mind, I realize it cannot be grasped.”

This is correct seeing; whatever is contrary to this is false seeing. Once you reach this ungraspability, then as before you continuously practice stopping and continue it by seeing; practice seeing and continue it by stopping. This is the twin cultivation of stopping and seeing. This is turning the light around.

The turning around is stopping, the light is seeing. Stopping without seeing is call turning around without light; seeing without stopping is called having light without turning it around. Remember this. Lu Yan (829-874)

[ltwilliammowett]

Sailor's weather superstition

Of course superstition doesn't stop here either and to be clear it's only a thing with sailors but also with farmers and so on. But here are a few:

A ring around the sun or moon, means that rain will come real soon

If you see a halo around the moon on a clear night, it could be an indication of bad weather. This is not a spooky prediction, but quite banal science. Although it looks like a ghostly ring, it is really just the light of the moon refracted (or bent) by ice crystals. These ice crystals form the cirrus clouds - the tuft-like clouds we find high up in the sky. These cirrus clouds don't cause rain or storms, but here's the thing: they precede some low pressure areas by a day or two, and low pressure areas bring precipitation.

(x)

In other words: If you see these ice clouds refracting the light around the moon, it means that cirrus clouds are present, which could indicate a coming storm. also goes with the sun, but please don't look in there, it's not good for your eyes.

Mackerel sky, not 24 hours dry

A mackerel sky looks like a sky full of fish scales. These are cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds formed by atmospheric waves at high altitudes.  As these high clouds gradually penetrate the sky and the air pressure begins to drop, precipitation associated with the disturbance can be expected in about 6 to 12 hours.

(x)

A thickening and lowering of cirrocumulus to altostratus or altocumulus in the middle tier is a good sign that the warm or low pressure front has moved closer and rain may begin to fall within less than six hours.

Clear moon, frost soon

Well, that's what they say about clear nights in winter, clear moon, frost soon. And we can be sure to expect a cool morning. This is not untrue, because if there are no clouds, the heat that has been collected during the day can escape from the earth's surface through the non-existent cloud cover and can therefore cause frost in autumn and winter.

Red at morning, Sailors warning; Red at night, Sailors delight

Since I have already made a separate post on this, please forgive me for only attaching the link. https://www.tumblr.com/ltwilliammowett/670757025738866688/red-at-morning-sailors-warning-red-at-night?source=share

Hair curls at high humidity

Human hair is extremely sensitive to changes in humidity. There are even hygrometers that use human hair as a measuring instrument. Your hair can absorb water from the air through hydrogen bonds. Since humid air contains more moisture, a strand of hair can form more hydrogen bonds and you suddenly look like Curly Sue - of course not, but your hair can frizz.

Feeling a storm in your bones

Oh, every old slat is there, and will certainly stand on deck all the time and tell you from their aching bones and joints that the weather is going to be bad. Well, some people are sensitive to the weather and rheumatics and people with arthritis often react more sensitively to temperature and weather fluctuations (I can tell you a thing or two about that). This is because their body fluids are in a constant equilibrium with the ambient air pressure. So when the barometer drops - like an approaching storm - your tissues can swell, irritating nerve endings and causing you additional pain. However, not everyone is like this and therefore rheumatics are not to be used as living barometers.

Thermometer cricket

No thermometer on board for once ? No problem, grab a cricket, preferably the ecanthus fultoni, aka the thermometer cricket.

(x)

Because as soon as the temperature rises, the animal chrips much faster, when it drops, it's the other way round. But not only that, you can even determine the temperature exactly. The chirp rate is counted in the time of 13 seconds and then the number 40 is added. This value corresponds almost exactly to the temperature in Fahrenheit.

[brookstolemybrand]

Rambling about Hiyori's name and ch1044

I don't know if this is something that's been already talked to death but I've been going nuts over Hiyori's name for the past 24 hours (ish) and I think I just need to ramble about it, sorry if this is all old news to everyone

I just somehow never looked up her name in Japanese or what it might mean, but then I was re-reading chapter 1044 and the scene where she declares her name to Orochi and I was wondering about the wording in Japanese so I looked up a scan of that page and

That name just hit me like a brick

I didn't know the word 日和 (hiyori) before! Here's the entry in Wiktionary for quick reference:

日和(ひより) • (hiyori)  1. weather (conditions) 2. a clear sky, nice weather 3. a circumstance, situation 4. Short for 日和下駄 (hiyori geta): clogs for use in dry weather

Wakan gives me:

(1) weather; climatic conditions ; (2) fine weather; clear day ; (3) situation; state of affairs ; (4) sea conditions; good day for sailing

Firstly: this is obviously striking because in this same chapter the sky is overcast as Luffy's lying lifeless in the ground, and then it suddenly clears up completely as Nika rises, not a single cloud in the sky:

But what ACTUALLY caught my attention was the characters in her name

This is probably gonna get super long so I'm putting a cut here:

光月 (Kozuki) was already familiar to me because I already obsessed over it and the way it's written "light" + "moon" and all the possible connections that could have

But 日和! It's written with 日 which means "sun" or "day" or "sunshine" and 和 which is a character I was ALSO already obsessed with because of the ways in which it connects to Wano (and Yamato!) and also Japan

In fact, both of these characters in her name have a connection to Japan!

和 means "peace" and "harmony" but it also came to be used to represent Japan and Japanese culture, to replace the derogatory Chinese name for Japan 倭 (read as "wa" or "yamato") which means "dwarf"

(If you've seen bill wurtz' "history of japan", you might remember this fun fact)

(Also yes, the Wa in Wano is almost definitely a reference to this... Probably more to the "harmony" interpretation rather than the original "dwarf" one though lol)

(EDIT: also this panel!)

(So yes, Wano is the country of "harmony". Anyway, END OF EDIT)

和 (harmony) was chosen because it can also be read as "wa" and it has a much more positive meaning. And the name Yamato (nowadays spelled 大和, probably to differentiate it from other possible readings of 和) is a name of an ancient kingdom/province in Japan and also a male name and a surname, but it also gained the meaning of just "Japan" in general

(In One Piece Yamato's name is written in katakana, and so is the name Wano, which obscures the fact that if they were written in kanji, it would almost definitely be the same 和 for both, but it absolutely links them together thematically; it reinforces Yamato's destiny as Wano's guardian spirit)

But guess which character is ALSO associated with Japan? 日, obviously. The Japanese name for Japan is 日本 (Nihon), which literally translates to something like "the origin of the sun"

Which.... in case anyone was still wondering why Oda chose Wano, the country based on Japan, as the place where the Sun God Nika re-emerges.... well here's your answer. Literally the origin point of the sun

Sidenote: I've seen various explanations for the name "Nika" and my favourite is the "smile" or "grin" one which I definitely think is very deliberate, I mean it's not even subtle:

The sound effect here literally reads "nika!" ("grin!")

But the syllables "ni" and "ka" are both also possible ways to read the kanji 日. The "ni" reading is literally used in Nihon, so that's another connection with Nika and Japan and therefore Wano. The "ka" reading is a counter for days, like say ���日 (sixth day) for example

Anyway, this also connects Hiyori to Nika, her name literally starts with the character for "sun" (with the reading "hi" this time)

Not only that, but her full name 光月日和 juxtaposes the moon and the sun (月日) together, which immediately made me think back to that Nika reveal panel again:

And the first character of her surname 光, light, also fits with this image of bright moonlight.

Especially combined with the "clear sky" meaning of the word "hiyori" itself: bright moon, clear sky

(And its stark contrast to the panel of Hiyori crying in anger, like a rain storm in human form)

So yeah, there are so many narrative reasons why these two scenes needed to go together, but I think all this wordplay underlines that fact beautifully

Because Hiyori's name was foreshadowing this exact chapter all along

Foreshadowing the Dawn

The bright (光) setting moon (月) eclipsed by the rising Sun (日)

In the country of Wano (和)

Against a clear sky (日和)

And the fact that Hiyori is the ONLY member of the Kozuki family whose name is written in all kanji makes this feel very intentional

[thearcanaeumsresident]

A Brief Analysis of Arcana Restored

I've been sitting in the Arcanaeum for a good while now, and came across a copy of "Arcana Restored" and so I begin my study into it:

Arcana Restored is a ritual text meant to show how one is to restore the energy of an enchanted item. We note that this is done with Soul Gems but the brutality of spells like Soul Trap brings the practice into ethical question. We note that Neloth of the Telvanni described the spirit as being bound by three knots, and this knot is often what impedes necromantic processes. Therefore, Arcana Restored (though lengthy) presents an alternative.

"Makest thou the Mana Fountain to be primed with Pure Gold, for from Pure Gold only may the Humours be rectified, and the Pure Principles coaxed from the chaos of Pure Power. Droppest thou then the Pure Gold upon the Surface of the Mana Fountain."

Now, we meet two particular issues. The first is Pure Gold. The only definition given is that it must be pure, and we know that Gold is associated with the Sun. We might then understand this to be colloidal gold, gold atoms suspended in a liquid solvent. A tincture may be prepared of it by a few drops of colloidal goal in ethanol. A basic Gold Infusion can be made by heating a small piece of gold until red, and then submerging it in distilled water. In lieu, a simple Fluid Condenser may be made.

What defines Mana Fountain? We note that during the Creation of Mundus, Magnus and the Magna Ge fled and ripped holes in the Heavens which we find as the Stars and Sun. These holes allow for the flow of Magicka from Aetherius down into the Material World - and so we can establish that a Mana Fountain is simply a condenser of this Magicka.

We can find some understanding of the Mana Fountains in Jarol's "Magic from the Sky" which describes the creation and workings of the Ayleid Wells.

"They believed the most sublime form of light was star light. The stars are our links to the plane of Aetherius, the source of all magical power, and therefore, light from the stars is the most potent and exalted of all magical powers."

The Ayleids were described as making use of meteoric substances (primarily iron) so as to form their wells though we might find further items such as certain crystal materia as being capable of condensing Magica. There is an especial note made as for the Welkynd and Varla Stones but the Ayleid Wells seemed to have functioned on a circuit - drawing down energy from Aetherius and sending it back in balance.

We can therefore assume that stones or materia of the like which were exposed to great amounts of power (volcanic stones, such as the Heart Stones of Red Mountain, exposed to the Heart of Lorkhan) or Meteorite Stones are suitable in condensing this force into a liquid substance, mixed with the Colloidal Gold

The second is the word, which designates Logos or Will Made Form.

The Third is to have the item to be restored, held in the Fountain. The book makes no mention of the incantations, though I would well assume these to be declarations of intent based on the enchantment in question.

The Fourth action is to then seek healing, to conclude the ritual by withdrawing back to Nirn.

What is left is to discern the enchantment itself. A particular book describes a form of magic used in defense of Turala, where a conjurer called Mynista Skeffington invoked the names of the Fingers of Kynareth - therefore we can assume that there is an invoking of deities in the process though this deity would probably be limited to Julianos or Magnus.

[natalyarose]

𝓔𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓱 𝓢𝓲𝓰𝓷𝓼 - 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝐸𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒽 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒷𝑜𝓇𝓃? 🌏

I've always wondered why it is that in traditional astrology, Earth isn't typically considered a planet used when reading a birth chart. Kinda rude to our mother if you ask me, tsk tsk!

It made sense to me in my mind that the energetic influence of the planet that we actually live on would be very important, if not possibly even the most important of all of our placements.

I decided to start exploring the concept in my everyday astrological musings. From what I'd read, I found that the main reason Earth wasn't considered a planet in traditional Astrology is solely because we are actually on the planet and therefore we cannot visually see it when gazing out out into the night sky. For this reason, people deemed it unnecessary to consider it an influence. Almost like 'if we can't see it externally, it's not relevant'... huh? I mean, all due respects to the ancients, but this always struck me as very strange logic- it's like saying that the state of your own house doesn't matter, because the houses across the street is what you see when you look out the window. Or that a person'ss inner state is irrelevant because you physically can't see your face without a mirror, you can only see other people.

So, I did what a good little Astrologer does and started to test merging interpretation of Earth signs into my practice. I'll have to do a seperate post outlining examples at some point, but time and time again I found that the sign & Nakshatra that the Earth is placed in absolutely manifests, sometimes seemingly even more strongly than their Sun's placement. Correlations were found in life experiences, talents, everyday habits, choices, etc. Earth signs kept showing me that they do play a very significant role in the celestial makeup of a person. Appearance-wise too. I realised a lot of times when I'd felt someone would likely have a planetary influence that they didn't seem to have when I checked, it was in their Earth sign.

After seeing the very clear pattern and establishing that Earth Signs do have an obvious influence, the next step was to try to understand what the Earth sign actually meant.

There definitely has been literature written about Earth signs to be clear, I'm definitely not the first ever person to talk about the idea, but I did struggle to find a piece where it was actually delved into beyond a one page novelty article for example.

Here are my thoughts- Earth in our charts is going to represent our natural state of being. The state physically, mentally and emotionally that makes us feel most at home and aligned with our divine purpose. Some say that Taurus could be considered ruled by Earth, given archetypal 'Mother Earth' associations.

Where it becomes interesting/complicated, is when looking at the fact that Earth is always 180° opposite the Sun- so your Earth Sign is directly opposite your Sun sign. Sun at 11° Taurus will be Earth at 11° Scorpio. This adds a beautifully complicated layer when it comes to interpreting what exactly the Earth sign is.

Especially in more Tropical/Sun sign centred astrological schools of thought, I often see people talking about duality and how people can often embody the traits and energies of the opposite sign. This could definitely be people picking up on Earth signs.

The Sun is essentially, a person's outwardly projected nature. The traits, goals, experiences and general character consciously portrayed. The Moon is the subconscious mind, emotions, the more instinctive personality. The Earth can be seen as representing a person's soul, the foundation, the 'mission on Earth'. Whilst the Sun is projecting an image, a goal, actively working to radiate light, the Earth simply 'is'.

To wrap my head around this, I think of how in order to want something, to have a will to obtain or be something (the Sun representing willpower), we must understand what it's like to be in the complete opposite energy. Earth can represent the skills and resources we already naturally have, and Sun is the raw and powerful potential/ability to manifest the exact opposite.

Eg. the soul of an Aries Earth has a deep understanding of passion, impulse, carnality, independence and was born naturally/organically into the Earthly plane with those abilities. In this lifetime, this person has the extreme will and drive (Sun) to embody Libran energy- radiating kindness, pursuing harmony and partnership, to learn about people.

I have a lot of different thoughts and ideas on Earth Signs and I'm really excited to continue to share them as I keep learning, researching and reading whatever I can find. I realise a lot of what I've written so far here are kinda open ended and still developing thoughts, but nonetheless I've been sitting on these thoughts for years now and felt it was time to document them!

Now when I look at charts, I always consider Earth and it really has added a whole new layer to Astrology and the way I understand people.

As always, I have no desire to push anyone else to use this in their practice- also, I respect the simplicity of traditional astrology. I'm just grateful to be part of the ever evolving yet ancient magic astrology is & share my thoughts.

Peace & love! <3

[santoschristos]

Today August 13, we enter the manifestation period of the Ansuz Runa, whose influence will accompany us until August 29

Ansuz. Sound

The Runa Ansuz is associated with sound, and is also known by the apt name Runa of sound especially in the language meant for intelligent communication and awareness. it means honesty, messages, meetings and success in exam or test.

If during divination the Ansuz rune plays a forefront role, it means that the consultant is a rational person, or a person who loves dialogue and exchange of views or even a subject looking for something.

The consultant will always meet new people who will help him evolve.

Divination

If in the Divinatoria phase, the Ansuz rune appears straight, it reminds us that the answers lie within ourselves and in nature. It is enough to pay attention to what is happening and to pause to interpret the signs of all the elements that are part of your reality.

This rune recommends enlightening your confusion by seeking information and expanding your knowledge.

Many times you get stuck only because you don’t know that there are other possibilities, other roads to go. This rune encourages you to discover every seemingly hidden path.

He must be prepared for any deception and be aware that cultivating one's talents takes a long time.

On the other hand, it is a harbinger of bad advice, lies, deceptions, and therefore advises caution in relationships with others, in addition, it warns us that a mistake is being made, and that it is a victim of an arrogant attitude that prevents us from listening and will not help us find the answers we need close up.

Runa Ansuz's basic advice is not to belittle the advice of others, despise them or be intolerant of the opinions of others, it is not a smart way to act.

They are looking for help, so you should be more humble and don't think you already know the truth. Ansuz then tells us to learn from our own experience and avoid repeatedly falling into the same mistakes.

Regarding love, the Runa Ansuz tells us that we need to consider the mistakes made in the past and avoid repeating them. This way you will try to overcome the problems in a different way, always with the aim of increasing love for your partner.

Whereas for Work, Ansuz tells us that new opportunities (trips or interviews, advancements) will present themselves. However, we need to be responsible and complete the commitments already made. For this Ansuz recommends organizing time well and setting your priorities.

And in the end, but not by importance there is Health, as far as Health is concerned La Runa Anzus

they tell us that we need to save energy, maybe because we are experiencing a moment of transition or there are problems that require maximum effort to solve.

The best thing is to get enough rest to allow the body to recover its energy.

Correspondence

Syllabus: a Divinity: Associated with god Odin. Tree: Frassino Weed: Weed of St. John Crystal : Emerald Colour : Sky Blue Zodiac sign: Cancer, period from June 21 to July 5. Animal : Firefly Tarot cards: The Archana Major - Il Bagatto Astrology: Sun in Gemini / Moon in twelfth house I Ching: 59th Exagram, Huan - The Dissolution (or Scattering) Animal : Firefly Tarot cards: The Archana Major - Il Bagatto Astrology: Sun in Gemini / Moon in twelfth house I Ching: 59th Exagram, Huan - The Dissolution (or Scattering)

Fountain Runemal the Book of Runes Runica Paths of light The Power of the Runes the magic of the runes Credit: L'Antro celtico

[raxistaicho]

You've got it all wrong. You were the lightning in that rain. You can still shine through the darkness.

So in keeping with the general... completely fucking nonsensery that is, “Edelgard is associated with darkness except when light is bad and therefor Edelgard is bad”, I’ve seen it argued that Edelgard’s execution of Dimitri still image of Crimson Flower is representative of that darkness.

Cause, see? All those storm clouds? That means the light in the sky is lightning! And lightning is bad, right?

And it’s just... am I being gaslit over here? Lightning in Fodlan makes defined shafts of light, like the one Edelgard is standing in? Lightning in Fodlan is quiet, since we don’t hear any thunder during the scene? Lightning in Fodlan makes soft shadows instead of violently lighting a wide area very briefly and intensely?

Making things even worse, the rain stops after this. The storm is over after this scene.

The light in the sky is the sun breaking through the clouds, symbolizing how Edelgard’s new dawn is breaking through the long, dark night of the war she began to usher that dawn in.

[what-about-the-stray-cats]

Yin-Yang: when the black dragon and white tiger meet

The yin-yang is a major and recurring motif in the story of BSD. Many characters are each other's complementary opposites. The main duo, Atsushi and Ryunosuke, are no exception. You cannot talk about one without having to mention the other: they are a package deal. These two are linked on multiple levels, not only with their writing but also their designs are perfect mirrors of one another. I have highlighted all the similarities in their designs in the image below.

Ryunosuke’s Ability, Rashomon, is represented by the color red. Meanwhile Atsushi’s Beast Beneath the Moonlight has a blue aura to it. These two colors are placed exactly oppositely on the color wheel, a hint to their yin-yang symbolism. Their hair is another hint, Ryunosuke has black hair with white ends; Atsushi has white hair with a black streak. Where Ryunosuke has white cuffs and a white collar, Atsushi has black gloves and a black tie. This might sound like a stretch, but Ryunosuke has 2 long sidebangs whereas Atsushi has 1 sidebang. 2 is often considered a ‘feminine’ number while 1 is considered ‘masculine’. The yin, the black side of the emblem, is said to be the feminine part, whilst yang, the white side, is supposedly masculine. Even their belts reflect this: Ryunosuke has 2 sides falling and Atsushi has only 1 side that is loose. My favorite detail lies in their eyes: Ryunosuke has dark gray eyes, similar to the color of the night sky. This is because the Port Mafia resides over Yokohama in the nighttime. Ryu is therefore the guardian of the night. Atsushi has sunset colored eyes because the ADA operates and resides over Yokohama during twilight; he is the guardian of the day. Ryunosuke’s name also means “son of dragon”, and Rashomon bears resemblance to a black dragon. Opposite to this, Atsushi is a white tiger.

The yin-yang is an emblematic of valuational equality, meaning that both sides are of equal importance. These two sides, however, used to exist separately before being combined into one. It can be interpreted in three ways:

as the coherent fabric of nature and mind, exhibited in all existence,

jiao (=interaction) between the waxing and waning,

 as the process of harmonization, ensuring a constant dynamic balance of all.

I think that the third definition is the one that fits Shin Soukoku (“New Double Black– codename for the duo consisting of Atsushi and Ryunosuke).

Ryunosuke represents the yin side, aka the black one. Things often associated with the yin are; darkness, death, femininity, cold, moon, passivity. This is a pretty spot on description of Ryunosuke, who has all of the aforementioned elements in his character. Even the passivity; due to his bad condition, his Ability is best used when supporting someone else, thus when playing a passive role in combat.

The yang, aka the white side, is represented by Atsushi. Light, life, masculinity, warmth, sun, activity are things often associated with it, which is another spot on description of the character. Beast Beneath the Moonlight is a great combat Ability and is best used actively in a fight. It also allows for Atsushi to regenerate any wounds, for this reason, unlike Rashomon it does not bring death but life.

Shin Soukoku is, however, not opposite forces of each other. They are of equal value (=yinyang) and even carry characteristics of the other one. Instead of competing against, they must find a balance and harmonize with one another. Both of their views on life are vastly different, but both are equally bad for their own mental health, and it is through this difference that they will challenge each other and finally grow as people. For clarification, Atsushi is super selfless and throws away his life on a whim to save anyone. By doing this, he hopes that he can earn the right to live. Ryunosuke believes the contrary, only by killing everyone and becoming the strongest can he earn the right to live and find value in doing so. They need to work together to move on from their past traumas. In a way, they are both each other’s pupils and mentors; they learn from one another and also teach things to the other. By constantly challenging each others’ mindsets, they are able to change and mature and even empathize with each others’ suffering. In short: they are one another's salvation. Quite poetic, in my opinion.

[phoebosacerales]

Is there a reason the signs have the specific order they have?

Yes, of course. The earliest traditions in Mesopotamia used Astrology in a very different way than we do today. In addition to the use for predictions about kings and politics in general, Astrology had much more relevance to agriculture, to predict natural phenomena, the seasons, the quality of the harvest that would be produced in the year, etc. ALL the signs and constellations came up with meanings full of relevance for the field worker and always thought about in relation to the seasons, which are regular, consistent and follow a natural order. Every sign meaning has an astronomical explanation of natural celestial phenomena that we see happening in the sky of the northern hemisphere, which is the origin of the Astrology we study ¹. And of course, everything is designed from the relationship between the Sun and its path around the ecliptic, because that's what creates the seasons. The Sun rules Leo because that's the height of summer. But summer begins when the Sun peaks in the sky and begins to descend, and that's Cancer season. The beginning of summer was always associated with the flooding of rivers and it makes sense for Cancer to start the season. Leo season though is always extremely hot and leads to Virgo, which is harvest season and when the earth becomes barren, and so dry that fires start. The Scales of Libra begin autumn, when the harvest taken in late summer will be accounted for, in preparation to withstand the cold of winter. This is when the nights become longer than the days, exalting the darkness of Saturn, as Aries does the opposite by exalting the Sun and weakening Saturn to celebrate the days getting longer. I could go on, but there's something else about the rulerships. The Sun is put in the middle of summer due to obvious reasons, but then, what about the other rulerships? The others go in the Chaldean order, which organizes the planets by speed. If the Sun rules Leo, the next sign (Virgo) has to be ruled by Mercury, which is the fastest planet, the second fastest is Venus, therefore comes Libra. Next is Scorpio ruled by Mars; next is Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter; and finally comes the Saturn signs, both opposing the luminaries' rulerships. Saturn is the slowest, dimest and furthermost planet, it represents everything opposed to life, in contrast the Sun and Moon are life-givers.

This is how the planets are organized in their respective places. The same happens on the side of Cancer and the rest of the zodiac. Notice the symmetry. The Sun and the Moon side by side in the liveliest season. Saturn is opposing both of them in the winter. Mercury by the sides of both lights, as it represents those who assist power. Venus makes sextiles to the Lights, Taurus to Cancer and Libra to Leo, because she's the minor benefic and sure has to make a harmonious aspect. Mars makes squares, a quarrelsome aspect, and Jupiter makes trines, the most fertile aspect.

¹ This is always a point of debate, because since everything in Astrology has been thought of in relation to the northern seasons, how does it apply to the global south? As a Brazilian astrologer, this concerns me, and that's why I got to know a little bit about the Guarani sky. Guaranis are an indigenous people from Brazil who already had a type of astrology before the arrival of Europeans in their territory. And it's amazing that with all the differences between Guarani sky symbols and the traditions of the northern hemisphere, there are still striking similarities in the symbolism for the same time of year but different seasonal phenomena, which reassured me and makes me no longer question the effectiveness of Astrology for the global south. I'm still interested, however, in any good attempt at trying to think of an Astrology for the South American context, in a kinda anthropophagic effort and without resorting so quickly to northern symbologies.

[foggynightdonut]

Khalaqa & Ja'ala

First of all if you read the Qur'an starting with al-Fatihah moving to al-Baqarah and so on this constellation isn't the first were the verbs "khalaqa" خَلَقَ and "ja´ala" جَعَلَ are used for things that have been created by Allah. Therefore tafsir scholars here often refer to earlier explanations.

In tafssir al-Qurtobi -here in Arabic- on this verse you may read: In the following I will translate from Arabic language, if I haven't added a source of the translation, the translation is of my own take it carefully

وجعل هنا بمعنى خلق لا يجوز غيره قاله ابن عطية And "ja'ala" here means "khalaqa" no other synonym can be used this was said by ibn 'Atyah (see the original statement here in Arabic)

Al-Qurtobi added (same reference):

قال النحاس : جعل بمعنى خلق وإذا كانت بمعنى خلق لم تتعد إلا إلى مفعول واحد An-Nahhass said: "ja'ala" is -here- in the meaning of "khalaqa" and if this is the case it doesn't require more than one (grammatical) object.

In the English translation of tafsir al-Qurtobi (VolI., p 180)of verse (2:22):

الذي جعل لكم الأرض فراشا والسماء بناء وأنزل من السماء ماء فأخرج به من الثمرات رزقا لكم …

[He] who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling and sent down from the sky, rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you …

you may read:

The word "made" (ja 'ala) can mean "create" as is used in the ayat "He who created/appointed (ja'ala) the darkness and the light." (6: 1) and can also mean "designate" as in "We have made (ja'alna) it an Arabic Qur'an" (43:3) and "They have assigned (ja 'alii) to Him a portion" ( 43: 15)

Imam az-Zarkashi الزمخشري in his al-Kashaf تفسير الكشاف -see here in Arabic- made a statement about the major difference between the two verbs saying:

والفرق بين الخلق والجعل : أن " الخلق " فيه معنى التقدير ، وفي الجعل معنى التضمين ; كإنشاء شيء من شيء ، أو تصيير شيء شيئا ، أو نقله من مكان إلى مكان ; The difference between (the verbs) khalaqa and ja'ala is that khalaqa includes a meaning of ability (being able to create) while ja'ala includes the meaning of inclusion, like creating onething from another, or forming one thing from another, or moving/carrying it from one place to another.

ومن ذلك : وجعل منها زوجها [الأعراف : 189] وجعل الظلمات والنور ; لأن الظلمات من الأجرام المتكاثفة ، والنور من النار وخلقناكم أزواجا [النبأ : 8] أجعل الآلهة إلها واحدا . Examples of that are: "…and created from it its mate …"(7:189), and (in this verse) "… made the darkness and the light …" because the darkness comes from concentrated celestial bodies, while light comes from fire, "And We created you in pairs" (78:8) and "Has he made the gods [only] one God? …"(38:5)

Sheikh at-Taher ibn 'Ashur in his at-Tahrir wa Tanwir التحرير والتنوير -see here in Arabic- added another difference saying:

، وفي الجعل ملاحظة معنى الانتساب ، يعني كون المجعول مخلوقا لأجل غيره أو منتسبا إلى غيره ، فيعرف المنتسب إليه بمعونة المقام . فالظلمات والنور لما كانا عرضين كان خلقهما تكوينا لتكيف موجودات السماوات والأرض بهما . … And the "al-J'al" includes the meaning of association/affiliation, this mean that the object which was made actually was created for another or related/associated to another, so one may know the associated object by the connection. As darkness and light were "visible symptoms" their creation was in order to make an adaptation of the existing objects (in/on/of/the) heavens and earth by both of them.

So darkness and light (a-Dholomat and an-Noor) are a created to make for example the day on earth bright and the night dark. Or to enlighten a (part of a) planet by the reflection of the sun light or leave it dark (if we refer to as-Samawat as universe/heavens etc.).

[drew-mga2022mi6021]

Storyboards | Shading Process

Continuing on with shading, this section majorly takes place between 5.00 and 6.00 a.m, so the lighting does not change much. In panel 5, where Katu looks out to the horizon, they don't actually see the sunrise, just the clouds catching the rays from the slowly dawning sun. This is also what is happening in the establishing shot of Bambalapitiya/Galle Road.

This is due to the water droplets concentrated within clouds catching the suns rays and reflecting them. At sunrise and sunset, the Sun is low in the sky, and its light passes close to the Earth’s surface where the atmosphere is most dense. As light enters the atmosphere at this angle, it refracts with the greatest bend due to this higher density, causing the light's path to lengthen, further allowing for what is known as Rayleigh scattering.

Most of the shorter blue wavelengths are scattered on this longer path, leaving the majority of longer waves to continue. As light continues to move through the atmosphere, yellow wavelengths are scattered leaving orange wavelengths. Further scattering of orange wavelengths leaves red as the predominant color of sunlight. These result in the picturesque reds, oranges, and pinks that are normally associated with the sunrise and sunset. Therefore, near sunrise and sunset, a cloud's color will be whatever sunlight color it receives after Rayleigh scattering. Mie scattering scatters all remaining wavelength colors equally within the cloud.

Another detail that I added in my animation comes in the form of the bus stop that the Tuk-Tuk zooms past in panel 9. This split second panel serves to establish a few things.

The story takes place in South Asia, specifically Sri Lanka.

The outside world in contrast with the interior of Studio Curve, through the use of more vibrant colours and organic shapes and forms vs. the more "perfect" forms of the office.

Solarpunk technology and aesthetics, through this modified Tuk-Tuk, futurist bus stop and the payment device that tells the time.

I am happy that I found a better purpose for this scene other than just using it as a means to tell the audience that Katu is in a Tuk-Tuk now.

[ringworldbuilding]

Geography Part I

"...and Nunerion did crown the world with the great bow, Aurcus, so that we might judge the passage of time, and Belerion his son did gift it light." - exert from The Impiriad

Ring World does not receive its light or heat from a sun which it orbits, as ours does, rather it is encircled by a ring, not unlike that of Saturn, but this ring is not made of rock and ice, but a single loop that emits solar-like energy.

What is the ring made of? The inhabitants of Ring World don't know. To them it is made of the element of light, and was placed there by the gods. Their word for the ring is the Aurcus, which comes from an archaic word meaning "light bow", not "light ring", as to them the ring appeared to be a great arch in the sky akin to a rainbow, they had no way of knowing what their astronomers now know

The ring rotates around the planet north-south, whereas the planet itself spins east-west. This means that, at its extremes, the equator is almost always daytime but the poles are mostly night. If you were to stand at the equator, one 24 hour cycle would consist of 4 "days" interspersed with very short "nights." Depending on the position of the ring these "days" are called "parallel days" or "meridian days" which are used similarly to our AM and PM. The further north or south you travel the shorter the days and longer the nights become, until you reach a pole where you only have two short days interrupting almost constant night.

The result, similar to our world, is that the equator is very hot, the poles very cold, and the lands in-between are temperate. Lands in the northern hemisphere are called the Dawnlands and lands in the Southern hemisphere are called the Dusklands. However people and animals haven't evolved similarly as they have in our world, as our equator might also be hot, it does also have long, cooler nights, which don't exist on the ring world.

The output of energy from the Aurcus does not remain constant. Once every four weeks, for a period of about 48 hours, it doesn't "shine" as it usually does, but "glows". During a glow, the world is illuminated by a ghostly pale light, a lot like our world on a clear full moon night. Also, over the course of 13 months, the intensity of output pulses, when it's at its most intense the planet experiences summer, and when it's at its weakest the planet experiences winter. This means it's the same season no matter what hemisphere you are on.

So, by observation of the ring you can tell what time of the day, month and year it is, and so the Aurcus is associated with Nunerion, God of Time. His wife is Sereni, Goddess of Space, who hung the stars in the heavens, by which you can navigate space. Their son, Belerion, is the God of Light, as light comes from both the Aurcus and the Stars. His children, who he had with Elonia the Goddess of Waters, are the various Spirits of Colour, as rainbows come from light and rain. Of course not all cultures believe in this religion, just as not all people in our world believe in Jupiter or Mars but still acknowledge the planets, or they do not believe in Woden or Thor but still acknowledge Wednesday and Thursday, so I mention them here. This is an old religion that belongs to an empire, therefore its influence on many cultures is considerable.

I hope you've enjoyed this introduction to the Ring World. I can't keep calling it that though, it needs a proper name. If you like this project please follow for more and suggest a name. Thanks for reading.