#it’s so fun in a universe that has such a fun connection to deities via primals

[impossible-rat-babies]

the kinda like. inherent divine-ness of zenos and the wol rattles around in my brain line a ping pong ball

[yamayuandadu]

thank you for the reply and the information! I was curious how the other fox would fit in with PCB Extra's metatextual mention of Three Lands, but I hadn't even considered it might be three worlds and not three countries. this is neat

(Original post for context)

I forgot I left the response to this in my drafts, sorry. Luckily, this means I could update it with recently acquired knowledge when I found it again. Truth to be told, my point is less that the other fox is a better match, and more that Ran being Tamamo no Mae is one of these things which make sense at first glance, but the deeper you look into it, the less coherent it becomes.

This got much longer than I planned, so for organizational purposes let's refer to this post as Revenge of the "graveyard god", or why I don't think Ran is Tamamo no Mae. More under the cut.

The early Tamamo no Mae

The main point of connection between Tamamo no Mae and Ran are the nine tails, but that’s not even really a consistent part of the former's background. The oldest version of the story - which is really fun, the seduction section is pages upon pages of Tamamo and emperor Toba discussing esoteric Buddhism -  states that she was “an 800-year-old two-tailed fox from the Nasuno Plain in Shimotsuke Province”. Early depictions of her true form follow this pretty closely:

Nezu Museum of Art, via Monsters, Animals, and Other Worlds. A Collection of Short Medieval Japanese Tales

Kyoto University Rare Materials Digital Library

Suntory Museum of Art

As far as I am aware, the two tails are actually unique to her. Other foxes of note have either one tail or nine. While it does seem the belief in the number of tails growing with age is genuine rather than a modern misconception, it’s hardly central to fox folklore (I’ve seen the portmoneu “foxlore” at least once btw, it’s very funny). And, as I will outline later, it doesn’t even seem to be behind the idea of nine-tailed foxes in the first place. Anyway, the oldest version does provide Tamamo with more backstory, but it’s closer to presenting Shuten Dōji as a manifestation of Mara than to a straightforward “Tamamo is x under a pseudonym” popular today. As we learn, the two-tailed fox is in fact a reincarnation of a “graveyard god” (塚の神, Tsuka no Kami) from India, described in the apocryphal Humane Kings Sutra (it gets namedropped directly), likely originally composed in China.

How come? It all started when Kalmashapada, a prince of Devala in India, wanted to offer 1000 skulls of virtuous rulers to this deity because a suspicious “heretical” preacher convinced him it’s a good idea. After defeating and imprisoning 999 such kings, he encountered Shrutasoma, one of the previous incarnations of the historical Buddha, who managed to show him the error of his ways. All of the kings were released, and Kalmashapada was redeemed. The “graveyard god” was less than thrilled, and swore to keep reincarnating as a fox in kingdoms where Buddhism flourished to destroy it. We are told that happened many times, but only one past identity, that of Bao Si (Hōji), comes up. Obviously, eighth century BCE China was not exactly an area famous for Buddhist devotion, but that’s irrelevant here. We are told the endgame is not just to overthrow a righteous ruler, but also to become his replacement. Alas, Tamamo no Mae obviously fails at both of these goals. Still, points for trying.

The story does not provide the deity with a specific identity. However, Nobumi Iyanaga notes that in the referenced sutra he’s Mahakala (the original Makakaraten version, not the joyful Daikokuten). In East Asian Buddhism he is described as dwelling in the graveyards due to acting as both the chief of dakinis and their subduer. At the same time, Iyanaga argues in the context of the Tamamo no Mae story it can be argued he is either implicitly replaced by the dakini par excellence, Dakiniten (closely associated with foxes), or that the deity has no identity other than the fox one.

Later Tamamo developments

Two elements which are mainstays of modern retellings are missing from the oldest version, as you might have noticed. It doesn’t feature the Sesshōseki, which was only added later, seemingly as a way to promote Zen Buddhism, since this extension of the story casts a member of this school as the new protagonist. In the early variants Tamamo’s corpse was brought to the imperial treasury, the same one which shows up in a similar context in the tale of Shuten Dōji, and there is no indication she came back as a vengeful ghost, let alone that she repented and accepted Buddhism, as she does in some of the Sesshōseki variants.

The other difference is, as I already pointed out, the tails. The oldest depiction of a nine-tailed Tamamo no Mae I am aware of is Sekien’s. Based on a few papers I read it would appear textual variants of the story giving her nine tails might have been in circulation earlier, but that’s not reflected in any of the illustrated scrolls shown above. 

Sekien's nine-tailed Tamamo (wikimedia commons)

Sekien claims that Tamamo no Mae is one and the same as Daji (I’ll get back to her later), and specifies the latter was a nine-tailed fox. He cites Zhang Dingsi’s Langye Dai Zui Bian (浪挪代醉編, “Langye’s Substitute for Drunkenness: A Compilation”) as his source for this tidbit, but does not explain where does the conflation of the two foxes come from. In contrast with the elaborate reincarnation scheme from the older version, he states Daji simply flew across the sea to reach Japan, without reincarnating.

What is now essentially treated as the “definitive” version of the Tamamo no Mae story, and what cemented her image as a nine-tailed fox, only dates back to 1805. That’s when Ehon Sangoku Yōfuden (絵本三国妖婦伝; “Tales of Enchantresses in the Three Kingdoms”) finished publication. The author, Ranzan Takai (高井蘭山), was an enthusiast of neo-confucian thought, and he wanted to write a story highlighting the time honored confucian belief that dynasties are brought down by suspicious concubines. The real goal was somewhat broader, though -the story of Tamamo no Mae was essentially repurposed as a critique of the concept of women playing an important role in public life.

It needs to be noted here that it is not impossible that the original was already part of a political polemic. Arguments have been made that Tamamo is a fictional representation of Bifukomon-in, for instance. They are certainly linked to the same emperor, Toba.

Bifukomon-in (wikimedia commons)

However, while I would not rule this out altogether, it’s hard to deny the typical medieval penchant for reinterpreting Buddhist material feels more central to the story. It is ultimately a very elaborate twist on the Humane Kings Sutra first and foremost. It belongs to the same world as other fabulous tales about figures from distant Buddhist lands arriving in Japan, alongside the likes of the legend of emperor Suwa of Hadai or the medieval Amaterasu narrative involving Mara (stay tuned for my post about that one).

Ideological motivations aside, in Ranzan’s version an anonymous nine-tailed fox appears as Daji in China, Kayō in India (seemingly a leftover of the original “graveyard god” story; here the prince is convinced to carry out his evil plans by his concubine instead though), and finally Tamamo no Mae in Japan. He also gives a unique account of Tamamo’s arrival in Japan, as far as I am aware: in his novel, she was brought there by Kibi no Makibi, a famous historical envoy to China. This was not his first time as a literary character, a much earlier picture scroll about his adventures is pretty funny (I have Touhou ocs based on it), but I’ll save this discussion for another time.

Not quite Tamamo: the influence of Daji

Daji, as depicted by Hokusai (wikimedia commons)

Daji requires some further discussion. She was initially regarded simply as a non-supernatural wicked concubine, but came to be treated as a fox posing as a human by the Song period. According to Xiaofei Kang the oldest evidence for that comes from 1101, from a Japanese text presumably reflecting an already extant Chinese belief. By the Yuan period it became a commonly accepted view, with Quanxiang Pinghua (全相平話) specifically stating Daji had nine tails. Her fox-like image was finally cemented fully by popular novels in the Ming and Qing periods.

Since there was a preexisting tradition in which Daji was a human woman, a remedy was developed: the “real” Daji was possessed by a fox, who took her name and identity. Curiously, the fox component of her story is otherwise not very important, and some modern authors basically characterize it as “tacked on”: she is the quintessential evil concubine bringing kingdoms to ruin out of a sense of cruelty who just happens to be a fox, and her story doesn’t really depend on preexisting fox-related motifs. 

There are multiple accounts of Daji’s deeds, but the most famous one, and at the same time the most likely influence on Razan’s portrayal of her (and thus Tamamo), is Investiture of the Gods. However, he skips the origin attributed to her here: in the Chinese original, Daji is an agent of the goddess Nuwa, though she eventually overdoes it and is rebuked by her former boss for excessive cruelty. This doesn’t really fit well with Tamamo’s backstory, obviously; making her and Daji interchangeable was detrimental to both characters, I feel. A Chinese story dealing with Daji reincarnating does exist, but it’s not exactly similar. In the Ming novel Zhaoyang Qushi (昭陽趣事) she reincarnated as Zhao Hede, a concubine of emperor Cheng of Han. What happens next has been described as “pornographic entertainment enlivened by supernatural and historical costumes”. For more details, check out Rania Huntington’s book from the bibliography below.

Curiously, it is possible Daji was simultaneously an object of active cult, since there is a Song imperial edict outlawing the shrines dedicated to her, Wutong (a southern Chinese spirit who was believed to bring wealth and bewitch people, compared with foxes in the north) and “General Shi” (no clue who that might be, I’d hazard a guess one of the popular pacified vengeful spirit cults but don’t quote me on that). However, another contemporary source instead mentions the outlawing of temples of “fox kings”, so it might also mean that the name of Daji was applied by officials to an unrelated popular fox cult (“fox king” is a reasonably common appellation for supernatural foxes). Both regular and nine-tailed foxes are attested in such a context across history.

Early nine-tailed foxes

An early Chinese depiction of a nine-tailed fox (wikimedia commons)

The early portrayals of nine-tailed foxes are something I started looking into recently because of Ran’s freshly revealed connection to Yuuma: I figured it makes sense that she’d be in origin someone who belongs to the same world as the taotie.

Looking at the earliest Chinese sources, multiple nine-tailed foxes appear in legends about virtuous rulers like Tang, Wen or Yu the Great, essentially as generic good omens, without much fanfare. According to confucian commentaries from the Later Han period, the nine tails were understood as a sign a given emperor will have many descendants. The exception from this generally positive tendency is the Classic of Mountains and Seas, where the nine-tailed fox is described as “man-eating” (something very uncommon in Chinese fox literature). However, it also doesn’t exactly get more spotlight than the other creatures. It’s also treated as a separate animal from regular foxes, not as a particularly old fox. You could say it is to the fox what a bai ze is to an ox, I think. Visual arts add further specimens: the source of this discussion, the nine-tailed fox attendant of Xi Wangmu, later seemingly “decanonized”, and another belonging to the entourage of Zhong Kui. Both of these are hardly eminent and seem to fit the mold of auspicious omens. In Zhong Kui’s case the fox is in one case listed alongside the bai ze which only strengthens this impression. However, it also makes sense that its inclusion would reflect Zhong Kui’s role as a demon queller: he is often portrayed with conquered demons as servants, after all.

Conclusions

To sum up: ultimately it just doesn’t seem nine-tailed foxes are quite as big of a deal as popculture makes them seem, and nine tails are neither exclusive nor innate to Tamamo no Mae. Since that’s the only real point of connection between her and Ran save for a throwaway PCB line which leads to no further references, I maintain there’s no strong case for identifying them with each other, especially since there is no shortage of other candidates. 

There’s also the fact that, Daji aside, most other nine-tailed foxes are largely blank slates you can do anything with, while Tamamo has many fairly unique characteristics which would be wasted by randomly slapping her name on Ran, in my opinion. To be fair, ZUN does occasionally make similar mistakes - Yoshika is the main example (remember, the actual legend about Yoshika’s immortality claims he decided to pursue eternal life after having a thrilling affair and has him call himself “strongest madman under heaven”).

I would personally argue ZUN himself probably did not feel strongly about who Ran is supposed to actually be when he originally came up with her, though. None of her spellcards reference Tamamo no Mae. Or any other fox identified with her, for that matter. They do have a more or less consistent theme, but that theme is, broadly speaking, “magic arts”, from onmyodo (Shikigami "Banquet of the Twelve General Gods"), through shugendo (Illusion God "Descent of Izuna-Gongen", Shikigami "The Protection of Zenki and Goki", Superhuman "Soaring En no Ozunu") and esoteric Buddhism (Shikigami "Channeling Dakiniten", Esoteric Sign "Odaishi-sama's Secret Key"), to contemporary stage magic (Shiki Brilliance "Princess Tenko -Illusion-"). In other words, I do not think canon actually strongly supports any specific option. 

I will admit I’m biased but personally I think picking a different fox makes it much easier to accommodate Yuuma and their shared animal realm past, the most thrilling Ran development in ages. As for Tamamo, I do think she would be fun to see in Touhou, but preferably as her own character - with two tails, if possible.

Bibliography

Bernard Faure, The Power of Denial. Buddhism, Purity, and Gender

Rania Huntington, Alien Kind. Foxes and Late Imperial Chinese Narrative

Nobumi Iyanaga, Under the Shadow of the Great Śiva: Tantric Buddhism and its Influence on Japanese Mediaeval Culture

Idem, Dākinī in: Brill's Encyclopedia of Buddhism (vol. 2)

Xiaofei Kang, The Cult of the Fox: Power, Gender, and Popular Religion in Late Imperial and Modern China

Laura K. Nüffer, Lady Tamamo in: Keller Kimbrough and Haruo Shirane (eds.), Monsters, Animals, and Other Worlds. A Collection of Short Medieval Japanese Tales

Sumiko Sekiguchi, Gender in the Meiji Renovation: Confucian 'Lessons for Women' and the Making of Modern Japan

Chun-Yi Joyce Tsai, Imagining the Supernatural Grotesque: Paintings of Zhong Kui and Demons in the Late Southern Song (1127-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) Dynasties

[vacantgodling]

❤️❤️❤️❤️ ramble ACTIVATE

RAMBLE TIME ACTIVATED! i'm gonna do the same thing that you did and do multiple wips :D sooo wheel randomizer here we come lol

(1) atreyus and the black knight (aka the worthless war universe)

so i don't know if i mentioned it to anyone yet, however worthless war is kind of getting a league of other short stories centered around the entire situation and concept of worthless war. these stories are going to stick in specific tenses/POVs to communicate a specific aspect of the story and what it says about them and how they view the world.

so atreyus's pov is always second person (and is the pov character from worthless war proper)--his narrative pronoun will always be "you" because for him, the trauma of the war is an out of body experience; the person on the battlefield doesn't feel like him and he has a hard time connecting to his life after the war, so he uses "you" to create distance between himself and his memories.

the black knight (who will never get a name beyond this btw) is always going to have an "i" narrative pronoun because he is DEEPLY entrenched in his trauma. the ptsd is strong with this one. so every time he thinks about the war and what happened its like he's reliving everything. you can see that in this poem which is apart of the universe: knights on a dangerous quest

lucasta (atreyus's childhood sweetheart/wife) will have one or two short narratives in this as well, and she will always have a third person narrative; and following with the theme its because she didn't experience the war directly, so she has no personal attachment to it. she only sees how it affects atreyus.

(2) broken clouds

welp i was gonna try and find the old art that i had of green just for the sake of having something to put here, but tbh i searched through all my sketchbooks and whilst i know it is there somewhere i can't find where and that is annoying LMAO. ig the only thing i have to ramble about is i still am not sure if i want to add dulce to this wip or not; like i love dulce and he's such a fun character to draw and i do miss drawing him (since broken clouds is less of a wip and more of a bunch of unrelated doodles) but at the same time idk if he'd fit in with the crew. i also feel like i should redesign gator--i've had their design for years, but i just hate drawing their hair LMAO.

(3) the virgin of mt heredosa (aka the star child)

so, the star child and the universe of the virgin of mt heredosa, are something my partner and i recently combined into one universe so its kind of a cowritten endeavor. y'all saw my art of naseer, my ANGEL BOY i would kill for him, but he's the second kind of most important mc here--the main character of the first half of the star child is named hassan and tl;dr he's a demigod--his father is a god of war (who is actually verin from mt heredosa's eldest brother and the only one who did not shift the blame of their father's death onto him. he was unable to overrule the rest of their siblings so after verin was banished he left of his own accord and ended up becoming the main deity of the land that the star child takes place in) and his mother was a human, but became a goddess after she gave birth to him. tl;dr hassan had to be half human bc #prophecy shit.

the biggest issue with the land of the star child is that most of the ethnic groups and tribes are p much under forced occupation and slavery via a tyrant king and hassan basically is a chosen one not really but kinda is that overthrows said tyrant king and ends up becoming the new ruler of the place. he has a band of friends who help him out, as well his eventual wife and future queen, tisana who is actually a lovely trans lady :) they end up being chosen bc they were successful to raise the Actual prophecy tm child naseer because naseer is literally a young god birthed from the stars tm. hence the title, the star child :DD

i love these characters and this story a lot and i get to do So Much worldbuilding for it so i'm real excited about it :DD

(4) gothica

something about gothica is tbh idk if i'm ever gonna change the title the shit is just stuck now 😭😭 i originally gave it that (well, technically gofficka) as a temporary title because i was taking inspiration from kinda... shit written dark romance ya novels and my immortal LMAO and i remember when i read my immortal in one of the chapters she spelled gothic as "goffick" or something like that, so i named it that to be cheeky and then i started spelling it gothica and now idk what else to name it. like i could give it a more usual style title but i think it harks back to the campy roots of this mess so i'm kind of inclined to keep it. idk man LOL.

[junk-heart]

do you have any creepypasta headcanons for some of them? And are there any ideas for them or versions of the characters around the fandom that you like?

I have so many headcanons, it's not even funny:''')

Had so much time to get attached to these characters ( 10 years to be precise ಥ_ಥ ) , so I like multiple interpretations of them

Mainly 3 universes: found family of weirdos, "realistic" version and something in between

In this post I'll be talking about the headcanons connected to the versions I drew on this blog

I'll separate them by characters, and I won't talk about all of them or this post is gonna be so long:'''')

ALSO: feel free to comment your headcanons, I love hearing other people talk about these bozos

Jtk

he's emo for sure

has attempted giving himself piercings on multiple occasions, most of them failed and got infected

og story is an urban legend in his universe, the incident went down differently

his current look came about during a manic episode, he regrets what he has done to his body

he also regrets what he did to his family, although he doesn't remember much from that night

homeless, currently on the run, has been living like this since he was a teen

among other things, he's on the run because of the Operator, doesn't want to be under it's control again

16 during the case, currently 23

(I mean, I already have a post going in depth about my headcanons for him)

Ej

ex med student that got possessed by a Slavic deity (Chernobog)

he sees things in a way different way than us, something between echolocation or the way Toph sees in atla

is forced to eat people cause the deity he's possessed by finds his reaction amusing (it also prefers human flesh cause it sees people as most of us see farm animals whose products are meat and fear)

that's the reason why he lives away from any human contact, deep in the woods

when Chernobog takes control of their body, Jack is either forced to look at what happens, or he blacks out

he used to like cats, now is too scared to have any pets

after some time they start getting along (as much as a human and an eldritch horror can)

he isn't having a fun time in this version, sorry:'''/

21 during the incident, currently 25

Toby

mostly the same as in his original story personality wise

he was sheltered while growing up (homescooled until high school) and for the time he wasn't he was bullied, so he doesn't know how to interact with other people normally

malicious twards most people upon meeting them, took a long time to even start talking to Tim and Brian

once he warms up to someone, he's willing to die for them

often gets too close when talking, even when he isn't trying to intimidate people

second tallest proxy (I do count Tim and Brian in this story, yes I know they're from mh, but I grew up with them as crp so ssssh)

scrawny, built for running

big mood swings

has tics from time to time, they're more intense when he's exited, but they stop completely when he's under the Operator's influence

doesn't remember anything from his life prior to the giant fire "thanks" to the Operator

works in the interest of it cause that's all he knows, but he would disobey it if that meant helping people close to him

is interested in internet, but since he doesn't have a phone/computer he learns about it via stolen phones from people who have passed

arsonist

17 during the incident, currently 21 give or take

Brian/Hoody

Brian died in entry #86 of mh, but got revived (??) as a puppet to the Operator cause it likes tormenting Tim (idk how to explain, unlike characters who experience being influenced by it during the arg, he ends up being completely tied to it after death, even though he wasn't under it's control while alive)

so he's basically a zombie, but not really

the brains of the group

also the tallest

doesn't remember what happened during the duration of Marble Hornets, but does remember he was close friends with Tim

still, he feels uneasy around Tim, like he (Tim) has done something that can't be forgiven, but tries to brush it off

can cook, but doesn't

under his winning smile he's plotting everyone's demise

if you looked at him, you'd probably think that he's the one who's got everything under control, but that's not the case, he's just a tad bit fake

I'm basically trying to say that he's mostly a persona, and that he has no idea of who he really is or what his goals should be

very good at any ranged attacks and scouting (more like stalking)

the one who tied Toby down to a chair for a week until his brainscrambles got a bit more bearable

has a computer at one of their hideouts, doesn't let anyone near it

idk how old he is tbh, I guess his mid to late twenties

Tim/Masky

please give this man a rest already aksdhadklaj

watched all his friends die, and now works for the thing that caused that + tremendous amount of mental strain and horror

why you may ask? well it's very complicated, let's just say it promised to bring someone else back if he did what it wanted

shortest U_U

common sense of the group, and the leader

he's the only one that kept most of his memories (cause it's easier for the Operator to control him like that)

when Toby joined them as the new hire, he was the one to insist that they try and deal with him, cause he saw himself in Toby

has a hard time getting out of bed

only drinks coffee, has no idea what water is

very much old man energy

grumpy for most of the time

can(?) cook canned food (that's what they eat anyways, so it doesn't really matter)

wants to have a normal life so bad it's not even funny

really hates what he's stuck doing

again, no idea what age he is, but I'm guessing he's a year or so older than Brian

Lj

monochromatic clown who's trying to find his passion again

I don't like how the whole Isaac thing went down in the original, I think it could have been more scary, not just gore:///

he isn't connected to the whole Operator plotline so idk how to put him in the same place and time as other crp

to me he's off to the side with Candy Pop, Jason and other imaginary friends/fiends

who knows how old he is???

Jane

similar to Jeff, her story is mostly an urban legend

although she did suffer major burns and lost her family

she used to be obsessed with finding Jeff and making him suffer, but she's mostly over it now

found out about the Operator stuff and quickly noped out of there

probably attending group therapy with Liu and Nina/j

very much a goth

I think her and Clocky would be a great pair, and if not that, at least best friends

I can see her turning around in a spinning chair while petting a cat and saying something ominous

currently 23

Liu

survived his brother's frenzy

after all Jeff couldn't bring himself to finish him

no nurse, thanks

Sully developed after the event cause of the trauma, but he isn't a demon or whatever, he's just an alter that can't forgive his brother, and who's there in place to protect Liu

he actually saw the Operator that night, and again from the hospital bed, but by having Jeff run far away, it didn't stick to Liu properly

after years in therapy and meeting other people connected to the incident, he decided to try and find his brother, so he's currently following closely behind Jeff

like in the og story he's very kindhearted

he hasn't found Jeff in person yet cause every time Sully is in charge he tries to sabotage his plans

has a sweet tooth, and is always chewing on something

his current worry is that his brother hasn't eaten any fruits in years

14 during the case, currently 21

Nina

oh boy, this character has so much untapped potential

she was probably a true crime obsessed girl, and was very much into the Woods case

she thought he was just like her, and so she started to idolize him, or should I say, the version of him that was sensationalized

as the time went on she got more and more wrapped up in a fictional world she made in her head, to escape her everyday life, so she started plotting how to find and meet him

basically imagine a cyberstalker, but for someone living off grid

made and executed her plan (aka a copycat murder) right after she found his location

Nina is like 2-3 years younger than Jeff, and she was expecting an emo prince charming who will accept her as she is and whisk her away to a manor full of weird kids who live together

she just got an emaciated guy who hates everything he's done (and himself), and has literally 0 interest in her

you can just imagine how that conversation went down...

he was very brutal, laughed at her, told her she was an absolute idiot (was overly harsh cause of all the guilt of what he did in the past)

scene, even on her jtk e-blogs

used to get into heated arguments, cause drama and then block everyone involved

she was 13 when the Woods case happened, 15 when she met Jeff, and she's currently 21(?)

Don't feel like writing any more, sorry:'''')

I mean, this is already too long, and I haven't even explained all the characters in this universe

It's even funnier when I remember I have at least 3x as many different interpretations of these characters in my head, if anyone's interested feel free to ask me about them

Really sorry it took me so long to answer this, I didn't even know where to start

[larrythefloridaman]

Y'all like your deities with or without the shell?

Under the readmore is aaaaaaaaall color god observations and musings based on them, because I am studying to become the world's Premiere Chromatheologian and RGB Understander so under the cut is pretty much Oops! All Spoilers! up to the most recent episode of season 3.

Apparently Universal Color God Attributes:

Damage to their domain hurts them, but fixing the issue, or lashing out by using their powers destructively, can help them to repair the damage.

If they sustain enough damage, it can temporarily paralyze them and send them into a strengthened but 'exposed' state (chartreuse's spirit activation in the last fight of 19) and further damage after that will activate a failsafe, which is unique by domain but seemingly designed to give them the chance to balance things, but can get… very out of hand or backfire depending on circumstances. (see: cobalt’s failsafe sending mark's universe into a never-ending apocalyptic war because word of the cure for death became too widespread for the killing urge failsafe to affectively balance anything because every side could simply revive their fallen.)

Chartreuse's failsafe is something of a stopped time bubble quarantine where processes that require the passing of time cannot complete, allowing her the time to wear down the offending party to beat them to death or plan around finishing them.

Cobalt's is inciting war, the casualties serving to balance the scale. I'm not sure we know Crimson's yet- he's never taken enough direct damage without doing damage to compensate in order to trigger it, although i dont remember season one well enough to recall if any of the universe stuff in it tracks with the pattern bc season one is a bit fucky

Connected in a fashion that allows them to simply Sense the overall status of the others to some extent, although they don't know Why theyre in the state theyre in without asking (chartreuse [and by extension, folk, presumably on her information] confronting crimson via crimsonaut for pretending to be dead, Cobalt confronting both his siblings about how they are handling their duties improperly but not knowing about Folk. He knew about the constants deaths because hes a death god, duh, but he didnt use their names like crimson did, possibly implying they're erased upon death so thoroughly that only crimson and the constants can really recall a shattered constants' existence, not even the other guardians.)

Abilities of the guardians can be replicated by mortals through three apparent methods- through machines (dimensional bus, the time machine, presumably J0hn's part in Sephiroth's resurrection,) simply through advanced enough individual skill (Home MD curing death, potentially Dantoinette's universe portal travel, maybe Genwun's sped up time bubble that evolved them into Genfour? although that could very well have just been an illusion and theyre just like, a fuckin theater kid that was doing pretend character development for the Bit or something given GenFive turned out to be a zoroark) or through stealing some of the power of the relevant god (Dr. Order stealing Chartreuse's power, Dani maybe having stolen some of Crimson's when she beat his ass. Dani's one woman universal travel is like, wicked ambiguous)

Cobalt:

Can seemingly perceive or act through any living material. (The Tree. Cobalt instructed Larry to slap his hand on that tree, that shit glowed and he had a new deal tattoo without Cobalt ever having been physically present)

Can influence the resurrected by giving them a killing urge. Represented by an aberrant brainwave and a ringing in the undead's heads. This doesnt appear to be direct control- as the Grunk could clearly restrain himself from killing people that genuinely didn't deserve it (like nightly and cha cha, who WERE grunk event targets but not fatally so. Nagito was a crimson thing so it really doesn't count here. God poor grunk his life really is just a constant plaything in the hands of the gods huh) and Sephiroth very much had personal motivation to want to kill Folk. failsafe activates this ability on the scale of war.

Deals. The extent of what Cobalt can do with these is unclear but Iggy's god powers were taken from him as his part in the deal so what he can take isn't limited to physical things or things obviously related to his domain.

Weaknesses:

Deals. While this ability is impressive his preference for making deals for those that offend against his domain is potentially very exploitable- Larry's knowledge of the cure for death is, if word of it were to ever get out beyond Larry, wildly dangerous for this dimension, so technically the safest thing for the iron-fisted cobalt to do would be to nip the problem in the bud and get rid of him. But, fascinatingly, that wasn't even put on the table, the first thing Cobalt does is threaten J0hn, prompting Larry to make a deal. While Cobalt enforces death, he also doesn't like unnecessary death, and Larry demonstrably knows how to keep a secret for the good of the world even at great cost to himself and Cobalt is aware of this- easily clarifying to Larry the aberrant thing endangering the universe wasn't his timeloop business. So while he's clearly not letting his resurrection fuckery go unpunished, he's being pretty merciful when he doesn't have to be and from a strictly, brutally pragmatic perspective probably shouldn't be.

His control over the undead manifests as a ringing and an aberrant brainwave trackable by J0hn's equipment, and could probably therefore be accounted for and circumvented? J0hn has, wisely, largely sworn off fucking with people's brains after the sephiroth fiasco went So Wrong, So Very Wrong, Oh God Oh Fuck Someone Cool Almost Died, but if he hadn't, and if J0hn let his dislike for authority and keeping Larry safe outweigh reason like he let safety, spite and comedic value outweigh good ethical sense when reprogramming sephiroth, in theory Mr. 'hacked a time machine for breakfast?' could. y'know. probably do it. what is a god's authority to an anarchist, what better to challenge life and death than the cold and eternal machine, you get the point its a fun scenario

Olive Garden Breadsticks and Small Cute Dogs, apparently

Chartreuse's:

Time Clones: taps into parallel timelines to retrieve alternate versions of herself to utilize.

Time Travel: what it says on the tin. Travel to the past creates painful splits in the prime timeline, but through careful action and traveling back into the past, these can be weaved into a time loop. A split from the timeline is a wound, and a successful timeloop is the surgical scar it can become with attentive care, to use a medical metaphor. Carefully closed and healing. Keeping Folk here is essentially akin to chartreuse pulling out her stitches on the initial incision.

Time Stopping: creates a space wherein things that take time to complete cannot complete, where things can move, but everything within is in a perfect unchanging stasis until the bubble drops. This is the form her failsafe takes.

Timeline Creation: can create timelines from scratch.

Can fuse alternate timeline versions of the same individual to allow them to coexist. (Ryan's confirmed in the discord that Dantoinette experienced both failures in 20, because Chartreuse fused the two instances of her to save the post-raid instance from fading. Could... theoretically do this to Folk and save herself the pain, but while Folk and Therapuppy are the same person, there's seven years and untold amounts of difference deriving from the time and circumstance between them and the inherent cognitive dissonances that would result from attempting that would be wicked fucked up to inflict, and that's assuming there isn't some reason that it wouldn't be possible anyway. while the two Danis had like. A day or so's difference between them, so she could be safely fused with the only dissonant thing being that she remembers both being too slow to prevent order's time escape and beginning to dissipate post-raid, AND losing that fight to her pre-raid. RIP Dani, that perfectionism must be kicking her ass)

Weaknesses:

Unwilling to use her powers destructively in her pursuit of domain repair and thereby much easier to damage to the point of paralyzing her, making her particularly vulnerable to Power Theft

Morally Optimistic. At one point in 19, she briefly justifies Crimson's shitty evil actions to herself after experiencing for herself how Wack the kerfuffleverse is firsthand, ("and all he did was kill a couple people!" Chartreuse. Honey.) and when she fights Crimsonaut she seems to actually believe for a second that he's actually worried about her when Crimson asks if she's okay after he beats her. Additionally, as D+, she concerns herself with trying to understand doctor order's motive, and after Larry defeats Order, he makes a point of confirming she feels no remorse before making his request for what Chartreuse does with her, and appeals to the idea of letting Order fulfill her desire to be a god in a way which isn't a problem for anyone and Chartreuse is more than happy to oblige under these conditions after what Larry's done for everybody. Then immediately threatens to evaporate him for playfully teasing her about having a crush on folk. Fucked up a little bit

Crimson's:

Universe Shifting: Travel between universes.

Universe Correction: appears to replace an aberrant individual with the 'correct' version of themselves for that universe, presumably sending them back to their own. (Mario from super mario was universe corrected, but still seemingly exists in wario form as evidenced by smashup kerfuffle, and was simply temporarily replaced with his corrected universe counterpart. But like. The dimensional bus system is still active crimbo doing the Put That Thing Back Where It Came From Or So Help Me routine aint gonna work if they can come back with a shrug and bus fare. you're fighting the symptoms without treating the problem)

Universal Constants:

Three individuals per universe that serve as the pillars which stabilize said universe, created by absorbing red orbs Crimson creates. Becoming a constant grants power, but also makes the constant fragile, and death wipes them from the face of the multiverse, only crimson, those he's possessed and the other constants seemingly able to recall they ever existed, although some physical evidence is still left behind (Larry's record of Nagito's death, which is just as redacted as everything else relating to him but still is very much something Larry has. Kind of a Voidfish adventurezone type beat ironically enough? Taako really has seen all this shit before no wonder he peaced tf out)

To counterbalance the weaknesses the constants have, they have a sort of spidey-sense to alert them to danger, and an intrinsic bonded connection to their fellow constants, and additionally, Crimson apparently doesn't suffer any pain from the death of constants or the structural instability of a universe.

Possession: what it says on the tin! Seemingly can only be done with permission to living things- none of crimson's direct hosts seem to have entered that agreement unwillingly, Valentine lost a bet, Hamburger and Crimsonaut have been by all evidence intentional allies to Crimson- but electronics are fair game, as seen with The Guy's suit. Kinda curious how that rule applies to bitches that are half and half, like J0hn or the clonebot gang, as its unclear whether The Guy's suit was yoinkable without permission because it was mechanical or because its not sentient. could go either way but if it's the former that's potentially very frightening

Fusion: Two individuals from alternate universes can be fused into one shared body which can take on aspects of either depending on which is currently in control. (possibly allows someone who traveled into a given universe to become a fixed resident there without it being an issue for Crimson, whose job is to prevent interdimensional travel?) Monday Mark and possibly T.O.M. are our main examples.

Corruption:

Unpleasant As Hell and can even kill you instead of changing you if you cant handle it.

turns the corrupted individual into a twisted exaggeration of themself, allows them supernatural control over their shape, and makes them very difficult- if not impossible by traditional means- to kill, based on Garfield.

Subjects them to control by Crimson, but can be exorcised of this influence just like crimson's direct hosts can, although the supernatural changes to their physiology are seemingly permanent, judging from Shantae.

Notable Weaknesses:

Exorcism can be performed to free a possessed or corrupted individual of Crimson's influence. Its unclear how exorcism works/is learned in CPUK, but confirmed exorcists: dantoinette and yung papaya's snake dad, confirmed non-exorcists: folk

The universal constant orbs are physical objects so they are Very Stealable and they grant a power boost so theres literally an Incentive to beat his ass for anybody who wants to be strong and either doesnt know or doesn't care about the whole 'getting erased when you die' part

Crimson has lots of tools to create pawns, but all of them have drawbacks. Corruption could kill a potential pawn, possession generally seems to require permission, and he has no control over the constants' choices and actions

Manipulative bitch's highest stat is charisma and it shows. This motherfucker is selling snake oil. If he was mortal rather than a Whole Entire God he'd make an excellent ineffectual saturday morning cartoon supervillain and i think everyone, including him, would be happier for it, ngl

Something interesting ive realized that likely wasnt fully intentional, is that a lot of Dr. Order's creations, considering her motive, can kind of be sorted by a color god it appears to be a crude attempt at mimicking the abilities of. My Grunk is a poorly executed resurrection, the clonebot gang vs chartreuse's timeclones (this one deserves special mention because Chartreuse used this shitty attempted mimicry to her advantage with D+, very smart and ironic play, excellent job Treusy,) spirits are somewhat similar to universal constant orbs (orbs which can be absorbed to grant power, but which have physical repercussions- key differences being that spirits require activation and grow stronger while attuning to a user without being used, and having far less severe drawbacks, taking a heavy toll on the body, but only once they've worn off and without the risk of wiping yourself from the face of existence,) and she also augmented Perfect Spriteman and Larry, which kind of track as crude imitations of Crimson's corruption!

Garfield was an acerbic cat who loved food and hated mondays, now its an actively malicious ever-hungry amorphous entity whose only weakness is monday and whose only consistency in form is 'cat-like.'

Shantae was (to my extremely limited understanding of shantae,) a friendly heroic type who had to introduce herself often, and she became something akin to a biblically accurate angel that can *only* introduce herself.

The Grunks a tough but sweet and supportive single dad with stage presence and a tendency to fly off the handle when he or his family are slighted, and now he gets so hype in the audience when his son does well that he bursts into flames and ascends and we get random grunk events along with the associated murder charges when he gets mad and the target sucks enough that he doesn't hold himself back from killing them.

Perfect Spriteman and Larry fit the trend of exaggeration of already present traits- Spriteman fucking loves sprite and became something that only thinks about sprite, and Larry the Florida Man, characterized from minute one by unpredictability and who spent his first matches in the series pre-shapeshifter transformation staying alive keeping stocks for Shockingly Long even despite getting seventh, became literally physically random as well as developing the ability to regenerate, albeit with the ability to feel pain normally very much intact, unlike Garfield just... Soaking up damage like its nothing in his pursuit of Jon. The fact that Arbuckle legit defeated Garfield, even temporarily, is terrifyingly impressive honestly that dude is fucking built different for being so chronically bland

i dont think they're actually corrupted in any meaningful way we have to worry about, to be fully clear, Spriteman was cured with fucking antacids, i simply think they could be a fucked up attempt at making something that kind of seems like it from a functional standpoint, from the wannabe god doctor that brought us green clones whose only fundamental association with time was accelerated aging and who thought an actively rotting corpse thats just reanimated enough that it can throw hands was as good as curing death

[unendingexhaustion]

top 5 dnd races and classes?

1) Not to be basic but I love tieflings and fighters. It’s so easy to make a cool and fun tiefling design, and out of all the classes I’ve played so far Fighter has clicked the best with me.

2) The number 2 race slot is legally obligated to go to elves. I love elves, always have, and if tieflings didn’t exist elves would be #1. As for classes, I’ve never played a rogue but it sounds Very appealing and fitting for my general playstyle and overall aesthetic.

3) I think orcs make excellent player characters purely through the subversion of tropes. Classic fantasy wants all orcs to be evil, but the players said NOPE, time for nuance! As for classes, I’m playing a cleric right now in a series of connected oneshots, and though I’m not very good at it I’m having fun being a healer-tank combo. Clerics as a class have a lot of potential via the different domains and deities, and I love seeing that explored!

4) Aasimar (aasimars? how do u pluralize this) and their fallen counterparts have some great story potential, and I’ve personally not seen many in action. Much like tieflings, they’re also prime Aesthetic Bait and that’s a huge draw (lol) for me as an artist. Classwise, druids are a pretty cool one for number 4. They’ve got an interesting array of powerful spells, but I’m still searching for the Ideal Druid. My orcish druid npc is cool, but she needs more OOMPH somehow. Once I figure that out though she’s gonna be Cool As Hell so yall better watch out!  

5) Humans and wizards. I have some solid ideas for human characters, and I do enjoy the fact that they don’t really have anything particularly special about them from an in-universe perspective. Wizards are very cool, but there’s so much math/organization involved that it would probably take me a year to figure out how to play one effectively >:c I am. not great at playing casters.

[elizllport-blog]

those Big Questions central to philosophical concepts that surround life

the universe and everything, the realms of theology and religions and the nature of deities continue to fascinate. Opinions proliferate in books, articles, videos, conversations in bars and pubs, and in fact anywhere and everywhere two or more humans are in proximity. There's the pro side; there's the anti-side. There aren't too many fence-sitters. I'm still in the anti-theist camp as the following bits and pieces illustrate.

Regarding Religion

*Even if America was founded as a Christian nation - a myth [#] perpetuated by the extreme religious Right, threesome fun especially Right-wing pseudo-'historian' David Barton who insists that the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were founded on the Bible even though neither mention Christianity, God, Jesus or the Bible - that would still not of necessity mean that Christianity is the be-all-and-end-all of religious truth.

The founding fathers were deists, not theists.

*The biggest threat to any religion is its own doctrine. (via Dark Matter 2525)

*There are two types of gods, or God. There are the religious gods (or God) which collectively have numbered in the thousands each with their own specific set of traits. Zeus is but one example. Then there is the philosophical concept of a god or God. 1000 theological philosophers would come up with 1000 variations on the theme of what a deity should be like. No matter which way you slice and dice things, you can find a deity to match your philosophical or theological worldview. What we need is for god, God or the gods to actually show their damn faces and settle these ever ongoing theological and philosophical issues once and for all.

Of course maybe there are no gods, god or God.

Then too the gods, god or God would have been just E.T. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic if you aren't in possession of that technology or don't understand that it even is technology. A flashlight to a human being who lived 50,000 years ago would be something supernatural.

Regarding Religion vs. Science

*The good thing about science is that it remains true regardless of whether or not you believe it.

*Another illustration of the double standards that religion adopts is that if science should support their beliefs, then it is a thumb's up and science rules, OK? Of course if that exact same science refutes their beliefs, then it is an absolute thumb's down. For example, if one finds a piece of wood that might have some connection to Noah's Ark and carbon dating dates that wood to the time frame associated with Noah's Ark, well that's a thumb's up. Of course when carbon dating doesn't support a suitable age for the Shroud of Turin, well of course carbon dating is totally unreliable and lacks credibility so it's a thumb's down. Sorry True Believers, you can't have it both ways.

Regarding Faith & Belief

*Say you walk into a bar and tell all and sundry loud and clear that you believe in the actual existence of the following: the Creature from the Black Lagoon; the Cyclops; dragons; the Easter Bunny; fairies at the bottom of your garden; human-alien hybrids; an invisible magic man in the sky; phantom trains; Santa Claus; spectral hounds; talking snakes; Thor; the Tooth Fairy; unicorns and the walking dead (zombies). In nearly all cases, you'd be given rather strange looks and avoided like the plague as a nut case. I said "nearly" all cases. What's the exception to the above, the one example where nobody would think you odd at all? If you answered "an invisible magic man in the sky" you'd be correct! [Actually you might also get brownie points for dragons, talking snakes, unicorns and zombies since they are all cited in the Bible.]

*It is much easier to be told what to think than to actually think for yourself. That's the whole beauty of religion. (via Dark Matter 2525)

Regarding Murder

*Why is murder wrong? Either murder is wrong because it is independently, fundamentally, intrinsically wrong, or else is murder is wrong just because God says it is wrong. Let's examine the latter first.

God Says Murder Is Wrong 1: If God says murder is wrong, then God is a total hypocrite since God Himself murders. God's philosophy with respect to murder is do as I say, not as I do. That's God of the double standard. If it's not murder when God does it, then isn't this a case of special pleading? In any event, this theological paradox then suggests that if murder is wrong just because God says it is wrong, even though God murders, then all that just means is that morality is arbitrary on the grounds that it is different strokes for different folks (and deities).

God Says Murder Is Wrong 2: Many argue that if God created you then God has the right to uncreate you (i.e. - murder you). Of course God may have started the human race off by creating Adam and Eve, but God didn't create any other human and certainly didn't create me and so therefore has no moral right to kill them or me.

God Says Murder Is Wrong 3: Most theists would say that murder is against God's nature (in which case these theists haven't read the Bible), but then what gives these theists the authority to decide what God's nature should be? In any event, if murder is against God's nature, was it God Himself who determined what His nature would be or was it determined by circumstances beyond God's control?

God Says Murder Is Wrong 4: If God murders, then that murder / those murders are all done according to God's Master Plan and God's Master Plan is ultimately good. Of course theists are just inventing things here, like a Master Plan and further that any Master Plan of God must by definition be good. That logic doesn't follow. Hitler had a Master Plan and look how that turned out!

Murder Is Really Wrong 1: If murder is wrong because it's really wrong, and wrong whether or not God exists or whether in fact God says murder is wrong, then morality doesn't require God which would mean God isn't a requisite of or for morality.

Murder Is Really Wrong 2: On the other hand, if there really is no God then murder is unjustifiable (because there is no God setting us a bad example) and thus highly consequential.

Murder Is Really Wrong 3: Well the non-believer doesn't believe in an afterlife which means their current life is all they get. So, a) if they murder someone then their only shot at life is ruined by spending time in prison or being executed; b) by taking someone's life they would believe that they had shortened that person's life forever - the ultimate violation. Empathy, whether for self or for the victim, would make that act of murder therefore a highly untenable proposition.

[rayonfrozenwings]

Fan Theory: Maeve as Lani. Goddess of Dreams and therefore the first embodiment of Desire in the universe.

Ok, so I make connections by reading, talking etc and I have been talking with @laces-of-life recently and shes helped me bridge the gaps in some of my theories, just by asking questions and the discourse we have had - it has been amazing for getting my brain working again. Also I am super excited if she shares her ideas because I think she might have it. Also don’t spoil her. @laces-of-life you cannot read this until you have finished Tower of Dawn. 

**SPOILER ALERT - I will Talk about things shared in Tower of Dawn**

and tagging some peeps. coz why not....I wont be offended if you don’t read it. Because tbh I don’t write these things out properly, I just want to get ideas out there.

@paperbacktrash, @rowaelinsmut, @propshophannah​, @bookofmirth​, @tntwme​, @sparkleywonderful​, @katexrenee​, @iamthebonecarver​, @crownstealer​, @throne-of-ashes-and-beauty​, @nightfae​, @aqueentorattlestars​,  Ok all caught up I think. 

Origins - A Bit of a Warm up. 

Here’s some lovely Greco-roman myth to start us off….

In Hesiod, Chaos was the first thing to exist: "at first Chaos came to be" (or was)[12] "but next" (possibly out of Chaos) came Gaia, Tartarus, and Eros (elsewhere the son of Aphrodite).[13] Unambiguously born "from Chaos" were Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx(Night).[14] For Hesiod, Chaos, like Tartarus, though personified enough to have borne children, was also a place, far away, underground and "gloomy", beyond which lived the Titans.[15] And, like the earth, the ocean, and the upper air, it was also capable of being affected by Zeus' thunderbolts.[16]  (link)

So Keep this in mind because I’m going to give some of our favourite (or not) people masks to wear to explain the similarities.

So In the Beginning there is void/darkness/nothing/the other side of the wyrd gate. This is Chaos. In Throne of Glass, this could be whatever is on the other side of the Wyrd Gate. There could also be a link to this place via “gaps” in the world.

From Chaos came Gaia (Erilea), Tartarus (Valg King 1), Erebus (Valg King 2), Nyx (Valg King 3), and then also Eros (Desire/sexual love/Valg Queen/Maeve ). The Valg Queen would be sibling to but also potential partner to the Valg Kings in true Greek Myth Fashion.

So Erilea is separate from the void but still linked to the void. That’s where it originates from. If you like ACOTAR you will be getting the whole made/unmade cauldron talking vibe too. There may be a gate on Erilea to the Void - either Via a wyrd gate, or “Gaps”. I’m going to say here that I think there is a “Gap” near Anneille, and that the Ferrian Gap is one of these openings to the void and that’s how Erawan is able to pull through the wyvrens even though they haven’t been seen in Erilea for a very long time. It also means there is potential for new creatures to be pulled from the void if a gap still exists.  

The Three Valg Kings are all embodiments of Darkness so it makes sense for them to be Erebus, Nyx and Tartarus.

Erebus - Darkness Nyx - Night (represented as a female deity in greek myth though) Tartarus -  The deep abyss

So Desire/Eros (Maeve) comes along and these creatures of the night want her (Tower of Dawn has the Backstory). She Chooses one and settles down. Then she decides she wants freedom and runs away. The kings follow her into Erilea.

And then the Valg Wars Start...

---------------------------

Maeve as Lani. Goddess of Dreams and therefore the first embodiment of desire in the universe.

(working my way back…figuring out who Maeve was...)

Maeve as the Goddess of Dreams

Maeve as Desire because Dreams are Desires

Maeve as the first embodiment of Desire in the Universe.

Dreams are just desires

So Freud said that Dreams are just desires. And basically that dreams are a way for us to manifest our desires so we know what we want. (link)

I Have a quote from the website above - because I want to jump from this idea…

“The 19th Century Austrian psychotherapist Sigmund Freud revolutionized the analysis and interpretation of dreams. He famously explained dreams as a window into our unconscious and a manifestation of our deepest desires and anxieties (mostly of a sexual nature), and particularly of repressed childhood memories or obsessions. According to Freud, through our dreams, our subconscious can uncover the wishes that our conscious mind has learned to repress, and we use dreams to live out our deepest wishes and desires. But often the dreams we remember are partially obscured and mentally censored, and a skilled psychoanalyst is needed to decipher a dream’s real meaning and reveal its latent content.” (link)

So if our dreams are essentially our desires and we have Maeve who we know from Tower of Dawn was desired by the three Valg Kings then maybe that is because she IS Desire in physical form.

In Blackness - in the nothing of their world she was the first female, and was wanted, coveted by them.

I believe that the Valg come from the void - (Chaos), and I feel like the way back to their world is through the “gap” in the world.

So these kings came through the gap in the world as embodiment of Darkness (sired by Chaos/Void) chasing the Dark Queen. The Dark Queen is Maeve - and we know this thanks to a chatty stygian spider in Tower of Dawn.

So If I Continue with the idea that Maeve IS Desire and that desire is linked to Dreams then I can pull together a couple of theories. I’ve had them on the back burner with no real evidence, but I feel like there are threads I can pull together.

First I want to share a few things we know about Lani aka Goddess of Dreams - Which isn’t much mind you. In the Assassin and the Desert (In the Assassin's blade novella collection) we encounter the priestesses of Lani in a Marketplace.  They have hair of White and are described as being beautiful and they are selling a lilac perfume.

Quote - the assassin and the desert

"the lilac perfume she’d smelled at a wagon owned by white-haired maidens. The maidens claimed they were the priestesses of Lani, the goddess of dreams—and perfume, apparently."

First it says “claimed” which is a bit odd. But also we now know this goddess exists and what she has dominion over them (apparently) and that there is a tie to perfume.

The perfume of the priestess is hard to resist and smells of liliacs.

Quote - the assassin and the desert 

"She wound up buying the shoes, though it was nearly impossible to pass over the lilac perfume, which smelled even more lovely the second time she approached the priestesses’ stall."

I could be reading too much into this, but there is a quality to the perfume that almost pulls Aelin to the Stall, but she manages to resist and go about her day.

Now … a snippet I found on the internet about Liliacs… and Liliac oil, and Liliac scents….

Liliac is used as a sedative.

What a convenient thing to have for a goddess of dreams. For her priestesses to be selling a sweet smelling perfume that could potentially put you to sleep. Maybe they aren't selling it at all but gathering acolytes who dare smell too much?

Now this is basically all we get. Why did SJM even bother to have these people mentioned?

Well, remember that Fireheart chapter in Tower of Dawn.

Of Course you do - remember the one where we all went....

“WhAT<<>? NOOOOOOOoooo!”

Well in that chapter there is ….a Wafting a sweet smoke entering through the air holes in the iron coffin.

Quote - "She slept, for they had forced her to—had wafted curling, sweet smoke through the cleverly hidden airholes in the slab of iron above. Around. Beneath." Fireheart ch tod.

This sweet smelling smoke could be made of lilacs and just a commonplace herb / remedy that everyone knows about. Or perhaps the goddess of dreams uses it. Which Would make Maeve, Valg Queen also - The Goddess Lani.

The Goddess of Desires. The Goddess of Dreams.

Thanks to Tower of Dawn we know that:

- Maeve ran away from the three Valg Kings

- Maeve was partnered/married/with one king

- Maeve has the stygian spiders as her handmaidens - which fun coincidence in HOF say to Manon "And your dreams … what dark, horrible dreams they must be, Blackbeak. I do not think I should like to eat them—not those dreams.”

- Maeve is called the Dark Queen

- Maeve managed to trap/send back 2/3 Valg Kings including her husband leaving the youngest Valg King Remaining

- Maeve is a Valg Queen

Because Maeve and the three kings all come from the same Void then they are all siblings too (think early greek and roman mythology here if you didn’t already have an inkling that this all sounded very familiar).

Perhaps Maeve’s power lies in her abilities to weave dreams and desires until they seem like reality. This could also be how she is able to use her abilities to manipulate people. Other than the blood oath that she uses to hold the Cadre.

This could also be how she brings the Cadre to her in the first place. She looks in their dreams and searches for their deepest desires and then breaks their spirit. Uses her abilities, to appear as if she is the only way for these men to be happy. As a goddess of Desire it could also explain her hold over some of the Cadre before they take the blood oath. Like a siren. She takes their happy ending from them and turn this creates a wish for things to be better (from the Cadre). She may even be feeding off this constant longing of a better life they seek.

I’ve gone down the path of what ifs now. and have less supporting evidence (its a little thin anyway). So I’m going to Leave Maeve there for a bit… let her stew if you will….But this is a real possibility. 

---------------------

oh and a link to my poem that hints at links but has no evidence... the weavers lament. 

[aion-rsa]

Resident Alien: Inside That Hair-Raising Cameo

https://ift.tt/3coECRH

This article contains spoilers for Resident Alien episode 9.

In the Syfy series Resident Alien, Harry Vanderspeigle, or the extraterrestrial in the Harry human suit, to be specific, has been trying to get back to his home world after completing a mission to kill everyone on earth. But in the newest episode, “Welcome Aliens,” he has a close encounter with humans in alien suits — as well as one “high-haired gentleman” — at a UFO convention in Dulce, New Mexico.

The penultimate episode of the season occurs as Harry (Alan Tudyk) and Asta (Sara Tomko) head to the con to find an abductee embedded with an alien chip, which he can use to fix his humanity-ending weapon. And along with cosplayers and experiencers, he meets Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, the researcher best known from History Channel’s Ancient Aliens and the “I’m not saying it was aliens…but it was aliens” meme (which is not what he actually said).

Tsoukalos first appears on stage during an Ancient Aliens presentation, where he says human ancestors had teachers, and our knowledge came from beings from the stars. Apparently, he’s right on the mark because Harry says he likes this high-haired gentleman, and it’s about time aliens received a little credit. But when Harry hides in Tsoukalos’ green room — to avoid the Alien Tracker (Terry O’Quinn from Lost) — the researcher goes deep with his theories.

Read more

TV

William Shatner On Looking For Ancient Aliens

By Alejandro Rojas

In addition to being a fun cameo for anyone aware of Ancient Aliens, or the meme (which is everyone, right?), it also further connects the Syfy show to UFO lore, which the comedy-drama treats with respect.

This is intentional, says show creator and Executive Producer Chris Sheridan, who shared in a recent interview that he has, “spent many years going down a lot of different rabbit holes” in the paranormal and alien genres.

Sheridan said the appearance, which he calls a “great get,” came about due to a connection with Ancient Aliens producer Kim Sheerin via production company Amblin Television. Sheridan says he originally had an idea of how he wanted Tsoukalos’ interaction with Harry to go and wrote some material that was more about aliens in particular.

“[But] he’s a little bit more about being ancient monuments. That’s more of his background, so I tailored it a little bit to fit more of really who he is … I was basically working with him to try to get the depiction of him as accurate as possible.”

The result is Tsoukalos talking about the nearly identical masonry of Delphi and Sacsayhuaman as “navels of the world where deities descended from the sky and imparted knowledge to the local population,” with Harry obliviously replying that he should be on television.

But the fictional version of Tsoukalos likewise says he has no problem hiding aliens, if indeed Harry is one. So is he onto Tudyk’s character?

“The way I see it, I think there’s part of Giorgio who thinks this guy is actually an alien, but he’s totally fine with it,” says Sheridan. “Like Giorgio thinks he might be, and doesn’t judge him for that: ‘Okay, well have a seat. Let’s talk.’” Sheridan adds that when Tsoukalos and Sheerin arrived on the Vancouver set to shoot the convention scenes, he had a blast, and handed out pins of the Pre-Colombian Quimbaya gold airplanes — which are part of ancient astronaut theories, and have already made an appearance on Resident Alien. And Sheridan now has his pin attached to his baseball hat. Beyond Tsoukalos’ appearance, the UFO Con allows the show to acknowledge other lore within ufology. Since Asta now knows Harry is an extraterrestrial, he can freely dish about conspiracy theories, including Stanley Kubrick faking the moon landing (“Astronauts did land on the moon, and their bodies were taken over before they returned.”) He also reveals more about alien races the Greys (“Insidious assholes.”), Arcturians (“Jerks. So cheap.”), Little Green Men (“They are cute, but they SO know it.”), Mantis (“One of them owes me money.”), and Blue Avians (“They’re actually very nice.”). This gives more of a perspective about life out there, along with his reference in last week’s episode, “End of the World As We Know It,” that Reptilians are, scaly, also insidious, and “trying to take over the universe by using the earth as a laboratory for hybridization,” as well as gross with “major hygiene issues.” Also, the location of the UFO Con? Dulce is called the Roswell of Northern New Mexico, and since the 1930s, it has been a hotspot for purported sightings of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) sightings, cattle mutilations, and human-alien hybrids. Some theorists even think it’s home to an underground alien base.

Apparently, even when Resident Alien is not saying it was aliens, it’s aliens.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Check back next week for more of our interview with Resident Alien EP Chris Sheridan, where we discuss Terry O’Quinn’s guest starring role, debrief after the big season finale, and find out about what’s in store for Season 2.

The post Resident Alien: Inside That Hair-Raising Cameo appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3skqT3z

[angelsandcelestials]

Messages from your Angels & Guides~January 15-22, 2018

The universe only knows abundance. If you believe that to be true, and seek to be one with it, then you, too, will live abundantly.

Love You,

Your Soul (Carol Ritberger)

We start this week off with a wee bit of manifesting magic.

The universe is very abundant, the lack is only in your eyes and in your mind. You can choose to focus on lack and poverty or you can choose to focus on prosperity and abundance. It is up to you!

Manifesting, of course, is not just about wealth and money, it’s about having an abundance of love, happiness, family harmony, good health, and friendship, too.

Here are some tips:

Plant seeds of happiness, hope, success, and love; it will all come back to you in abundance. This is the law of nature.

Keep your best wishes, close to your heart and watch what happens.

When you focus on being a blessing, God makes sure that you are always blessed with abundance. – Joel Osteen

Monday-Wednesday~New/Waxing Moon

In light of the new moon on January 16, this message is quite apropos.

This message is asking you to expand and stimulate your nightly visions through active dreamwork, which might consist of affirmations, setting dream intentions, journaling, dream meditations, and learning dream recall techniques.

New moons are the time for setting goals, making wishes, and manifesting. People write abundance checks during the new moon and release them during the full moon.  You can choose what it is you wish to manifest. Just be sure of your intentions and that it is for the highest good.

You may or may not be aware of the intentions you set forth, so pay close attention to the messages your dreams are sharing with you during this lunar cycle. Goals will begin to manifest during the waxing moon, and your dreams will reveal what stage they are in.  As the moon grows, so do your goals come closer to being realized. Be sure to put action behind them.

Additional Meanings:

Archangel Haniel is associated with this symbol as is the Egyptian deity Thoth.

A deep meditation or rest is called for.

Allow your thoughts and ideas to germinate.

The timing is right for attracting and manifesting that which you desire.

Dream Dictionary~Moon

The moon represents the cycles of life, but can also mean the announcement that something good is about to happen; it can be a love or a project.

It also relates to all feminine things and fertile, especially with love and romance. The phases of the moon will indicate the degree of evolution than forecast.

-- If in our dream we see a BUILDING and above it, we see a moon, it means we can move forward with our projects since there is no danger or risk.

-- BY COLOR:

Dreaming of a RED MOON, means we are in danger of having an accident. I can also predict religious or social conflicts.

If in our dream we see a YELLOW MOON, the dream tells us that think things, can protect us from danger.

-- To dream about a very DARK NIGHT but then we look up and see the moon, means that despite what it may seem we are safe from the dangers that can actually arise.

-- If we dream that the moon begins to DARKEN OR SOMETHING COVERS, warns us that danger is approaching.

-- A moon ECLIPSE indicates love problems that can come to a complete rupture. It may also mean that there is a danger that happens, unfortunately.

-- To dream that a friend or family member, WHO HAS LEFT THIS WORLD, says to us that he is going to go to the moon and no negative things in the dream, it means that he(she) has completed his cycle in this world but he(she) will live in Heaven (That cycle in this world ended, but his(her) essence, his(her)soul still living and also in a better place).

-- Dreaming of a LANDSCAPE MOONLIT indicates love and romance.

-- If we see, MANY MOONS IN ALL THEIR PHASES at dawn, means that a new cycle or a new stage in our life, it is approaching.

-- If in the dream we see NINE MOONS the dream tell us that something good is about to happen, and is related to love and or motherhood.

-- MOON PHASES:

If is a FULL MOON indicates the culmination of one love.

If is a NEW MOON, the dream speaks of harmony, of a love that is born.

If is a WANING CRESCENT is a burning love that grows at times.

If is a WAXING CRESCENT is a mature love that stimulates the desires of motherhood or fatherhood.

-- If in our dream we see the moon REFLECTED IN A LAKE means we will have good fortune.

-- If in our dream we see MOON AND SHOOTING STARS means we have good luck in love or something we've been wanting.

-- The moon SURROUNDED BY AN AURA portends penalties.

-- If we dream of TWO FULL MOONS, it means to be well protected from any disappointment, we will defend our interests may seem that we are evil or too severe.

-- If in our dream is dawning and in the sky, we see MOON AND VENUS (the star to see in the sunrise and sunset, and is seen next to the moon), it means that our worries are over and augurs the beginning of something good.

via http://nelamoxtli.com/

Wednesday-Friday~Gold

Value* Confidence* Self-Worth* Money* Wealth

Gold is a symbolic reflection of your true inner worth. At the core of your being there exists a pure golden essence with an infinite capacity to create!

The thing is do you believe that you are worthy? Do you subscribe to beliefs such as "money is the root of all evil"? That it is sinful to want nice things and live in luxury?  Most likely, that kind of poverty thinking stems from familial patterns that have been passed on to you. And /or past life connections where you lived as a poor person. This kind of mentality leaves your root chakra blocked. And it will affect your financial peace.

Money in and of itself it not evil, it is an energy exchange, something to be valued and put to good use.

You can have the life you desire.  Start with goals that are attainable in the short term. Focus on it each day until it starts to manifest. Then set a new goal and so on. Goals can be reached one step at a time; an ongoing journey you take. Be clear about your goals, but stay presently focused. For it is in the present that all unfolds. Remember, you deserve to have all your dreams made manifest.

Affirm~

Within my heart flows a river of gold.

I am one with the eternal light of creation.

I manifest my dreams.

I create abundance in my life through love.

Just For Fun~Inducing Prophetic Dreams

The winter months are generally a time for introspective work. Utilize those energies and the lunar energies associated with Mondays and work on channeling prophetic dreams.

You will want to create a sachet that will aid you in your workings and place it under your pillow. A common herb that can be used is a bay leaf. You can also add peppermint, mugwort, yarrow, holly, or cedar. Once you have combined the herbs into the bag, place it under your pillow. When you awaken from your slumber, you can write down any of the details of your dreams to interpret throughout the day.

Friday/Weekend~Lord Ganesh/Infinite Abundance 

It is important to not dwell on your limitations. Thinking that it is "not meant to be" is not conducive. Instead say to yourself, " If it is for my highest good then the universe will support me". Ganesh is illuminating those self-imposed blocks. And he can help you remove the obstacles that impair your path. He can help you clear up any inner conflicts. Know that you can eliminate the roadblocks as Ganesh will be there to help you every step of the way. Don't forget to thank him for his help though...lol  Use this Sanskrit chant " Om, Gom, Ganapataye Namaha"! to help with increasing your connection to him.

This week’s message comes to you courtesy of The Angel Dreams, Crystal, & Keepers of the Light Oracles.

I do hope that this week’s messages resonated with you. If it hasn’t upon first glance, then feel free to re-read them. There may be a deeper or hidden message specifically for you from your angels and/or guides. These messages may also apply to several people and/or the collective. That’s how Spirit works..lol   Let me know though I would love to hear from you. Also, please share, reblog, and like. This way you will be paying it forward for others to receive this guidance. Follow Angels & Celestials on Instagram And on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AngelsandCelestials111/

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

[kitten-witchling-blog]

A fun melting pot of various beliefs

I’m still figuring some of this out, but my (current) spiritual beliefs consist of the following:

We are all connected via (what I call) The Divine Energy. We are all made up of energy after all, as are other life forms and non-life forms of this universe. What we do, the energy we express, effects those around us.

Deities are a thing, as are other spiritual entities such as angels, demons, ghosts. I believe they exist on a slightly different “plane” than we do, but we can sense them due to their sharing in the Divine Energy that we contain.

Since they are of a different plane than this physical one we reside in, deities and other spiritual beings can influence things here, but not control. So while we can gain guidence, maybe seek some extra energy or strength, they cannot *make* anything happen. We have to put in the work.

We have a soul, which is our whole energy being. Our spirit is the essence in which holds our… let’s call it “individuality”. I’ve recently discovered a perspective called “non-duality”, where the idea of “I”/ego is a concept made up in our brain but doesn’t actually exist. Not quite sure yet what I think of it.

Magick, as I understand it, is the use of energy to bring about change, or to change something in the physical world. So chemists, doctors, chefs - now we call what they do “science”, but essentially what they are doing is what passed generations considered “magic”. I think modern witches simply partake in more traditional methods. This isn’t to say I don’t believe in science - I do. I think magic and science can go hand in hand, one being more logical, the other more spiritual.

Energy in, energy out - everything we bring into our soul/physical being has an effect on us. This includes the food we eat, the people we surround ourselves with, our enviornment, the media we consume. In turn, the energy we express/release also has an effect on us - our work output, our fitness, the way we interact with others and even with ourselves, all effect our overall wellbeing.

We are the decisons we make. This means that our character, the “kind” of human we are is determined by what we choose to do. What I like about this way of thinking is that we can decide in any given moment to make different decisions and be a different “kind” of human. Made a lot of harmful decisions in the past? That no longer has to be “who you are” once you decide to stop making those kinds of decisions, and instead make ones about helping and love.

Lastly, I do believe our souls have multiple life cycles, to learn what it is the Divine has set for us. Each cycle has lessons, ones we carry to each cycle, that shape how we experience each new cycle. This occurs until we reach a point of complete knowledge, in which we then proceed to a different plane of existance. Some call this plane Heaven, some call it Summerland, but whatever it is called, we only reach it once all the lessons we are meant to learn have been learned.

[thefatfeministwitch]

It's Kushcraft! Weed in Witchcraft

Today is 420 – the official weed holiday for people who love weed. Thanks to a group of teens (bless ’em) in San Rafael California who used to meet up after school to get baked, April 20th has become a day for stoners every where to partake in and brag about illicit drug use. No, it’s not in any way related to Bob Marley and the fact that it’s Hitler’s birthday has nothing to do with weed.

It’s not just fun and games for everyone, though, many cannabis activists use today to fight for their right to medicate or fully enjoy cartoons made for grown ups and considering the Canadian government has recently released a first look at the legislation for the upcoming legalization of cannabis in Canada I’d say weed is really getting shit done these days.

I wrote, and podcasted, about this subject once before – check out Weed, Women & Witches here

This is because, all jokes aside, Cannabis is an incredibly powerful and magickal plant that could be worked into your witchcraft, whether you smoke it or not.

Magickal Mystical Marijuana!

Cannabis has been used as a medicine and in ritual and religion for thousands of years. Archeological sites in Romania from 5000 years ago point to the people there using cannabis as a religious incense for generations even before that point. It found its way into Chinese herbal medicine via Emperor Shen-Nung and was prescribed for everything from menstrual problems, to constipation and even malaria. A Taoist priest also once described its spiritual uses in divination and necromancy. An ancient european tribal people, the Scythians, also heavily featured Cannabis in their death rituals by throwing stalks of the plant onto a fire after the funeral to pay homage and honour their fallen leaders. In ancient Mesopotamia the aroma of cannabis or hemp was believed to be pleasing to the gods. In ancient Egypt, it was featured in death rituals and was believed to have been a creation of the sun god Ra. Topical healing salves made from Cannabis were popular all over the ancient world, and some scholars believe that Jesus’s healing miracles can actually be attributed to weed!

Why is this important? Look, I’m not going to tell you what you should believe or feel about weed and legalization, or that smoking a joint and watching cartoons is an inherently spiritual experience, but there is ton of historical evidence that cannabis is magickal and powerful. As with any kind of herb or spell though, it’s all about intent.

The Sketchiest Herb of All!

Planets: Saturn, Venus, Jupiter

Zodiac Signs: Capricorn, Gemini

Elements: Earth and Water

Deities: Ra, Pan, Dionysus, Osiris, Shiva, Isis, Bastet, Hestia, Venus, Freyja

Uses: Magickal magnification, manifestation, programming, healing, money and abundance, clearing negative energy, love and sex, protection, sleep, death, communication with spirits, cursing and binding, meditation

Cannabis, magickally speaking, is like an herbal quartz crystal. It can serve multiple purposes based on your intent and “programming” of it. It also serves as a magickal amplifier and catalyst to beef up regular spells and energy! You can add the dried leaves or flowers to incense blends, mojo bags, herbal sachets, salts and other powders to amplify your intent and help you manifest your goals more quickly. Burn the herb on its own or along with things like sage, lavender, sweetgrass, or palo santo to help cleanse the area of negative energy.

Of course, you can’t ignore weed’s psychoactive properties! If you don’t want to smoke or ingest drugs that is totally up to you and you should never feel like you have to be a witch, but if you are already a regular user I’m sure you’re aware of the physical side effects. Cannabis can put you into a very relaxed state, physically and/or mentally, and is great for use right before meditation and divination. It’s psychoactive properties plus it’s long history as a ritual and magickal aid will help you truly relax and open up spiritually, if that’s your intention.

Smoke ‘Em if You Get ‘Em

The most popular use of Cannabis, by far, is smoking. The psychoactive chemical in weed that gets you high, THC, is activated by heat and fat and alcohol soluable. That makes smoking one of the easiest ways to use it. Anything you do in your mundane life can be a magickal act if you want it to be, and smoking is no different. Use weed’s calming and relaxing effect as part of your meditation ritual, before divination or spellwork, to initiate ritual, or with other members of your coven. (I swear to god if you call it a peace pipe and you’re not native I will astral project there and cuss you out though). Here are a few ways to incorporate a little kushcraft into the simple act of smoking a bowl.

💚 Pay attention to the strain! I know not everyone who buys and smokes weed knows exactly what strain they’re buying, and that’s ok! Most of the time the person selling it can at least tell you if it’s “heady” or gives a “body buzz”, which means it’s either and Indica or a Sativa. Indica is the body buzz, and tends to me much more calming and sedative. This is great for healing, self love, protection, meditation, and psychic work. Sativa strains are great for high energy spells and magick like love and lust, luck and money, creativity, curses, and hexes.

💚 Mix in other magickal herbs! This seems like a fairly simple idea, but if you think about it do you actually know other herbs you can smoke? Always be careful when smoking or ingesting ANY herb or plant and if you are in any way unsure about its safety, bail out immediately. Lots of herbs used for magick and witchcraft are safe to smoke and even eat, but just as many can have negative effects when smoked or are just outright poisonous. Some can also interfere with medications you’re taking (St John’s Wort interferes with many anti-depressants!), and some are only harmful if you’re pregnant or nursing (like mugwort, which is otherwise safe to consume) so don’t go forward without knowing what herb you’re using and how it works.

Smoking magickal herbs is much like burning them in incense or in a smoke cleansing ceremony, but you’re also taking that energy directly into yourself. Most of the herbs I recommend trying won’t actually make you high or affect how the weed makes you feel at all, but they will change the taste and smell of your smoke.

Lavender is good for healing, relaxation, and sleep

Rose petals are included in magick for love and beauty

Damiana will increase the calming and relaxing effects of the weed, and magickally is a strong inducer of lust and passionate love

Mullein is used for communicating with spirits and protecting oneself from evil spirits

Blue Lotus petals again will increase the euphoric feeling of the weed and is used for lunar magick, divination, connections with deities and opening (your mind, doors, the way, etc)

Wormwood and Mugwort can both be used for divination, magick, protection and psychic powers

Mint and peppermint are incredibly useful! Not only do they lend a refreshing minty flavour to the smoke, but mint is used for everything from good luck, money, energy, love, protection, travel, and clearing negativity

Ground cloves smell amazing, clear negative energy, attract money, stop gossip and have sexy vibes (to me anyways).

Red raspberry leaves are a common ingredient in tea for people with uteri to help ease symptoms of PMS and facilitate birth. Magickally, they lend power to those who identify as women, offer protection, and bring on feelings of love for the women in your life.

Catnip is good if you’re working with a familiar. Be sure to share it with them, though! This herb will help make the energy in the space more welcoming to your familiar, make you more open to communicating with them, and attracts goodness and happiness. Special bonus: smoking catnip relieves period cramps super quick

Motherwort can be used to help induce astral travel, channeling, and increasing psychic awareness. It’s also a protective herb that helps you feel confident and trust in the universe. It’s great before ritual to help with both anxiety and getting in a magickal head space.

When it comes to actually blending it together, I like the instructions given HERE, but even if you take a small amount of your cannabis and add in small portions of your chosen herbs you should be able to smoke it just fine. If you want to roll your herbal mixture into joint or cigarettes I suggest following the formula with the cannabis as your base herb. As you mix your blend focus on your intent and infuse that energy and intent into the mixture. When you light it, treat it with the same reverence you would a magickal candle. Feel or visualize the energy of the herbs you’re smoking surrounding you and filling your space and lungs with their energy.

💚 Cast your circle with weed! You’ll have to ask your other coven mates if this is ok, and be completely honest. Tricking anyone into ingesting drugs is illegal and unethical to the max. Get comfortable in a circle and bring your weed, any herbs you want to include, and everything you need to smoke as a group. I like adding blue lotus, mugwort, damiana, and motherwort for these purposes as they all help with opening, magick, and psychic energy. Pass the pipe/joint around clockwise/deosil to each member of the coven as you call the quarters or open the circle. Be sure to surround yourselves with the smoke to cleanse yourself and the space. (If you’ve never cast a circle before, here’s a simple little guide!)

💚 Draw sigils on rolling papers! Start with a natural and NON-TOXIC ink and draw your sigils and magickal symbols onto your papers before rolling them and smoking them. Burning the paper a sigil is drawn on is the number one way of activating them, which makes them perfect for this. As you smoke your joint visualize your wish or intent being released into the world/universe/god’s hands/whatever and cunt on cannabis’s powerful energy or manifestation to bring that to you.

💚 Channel your inner kitchen witch! Did you know that apples are a common ingredient in love spells and love magick? Making a pipe out of an apple just got a little more magickal didn’t it? You can also work your kitchen witchery into magickal and medicinal edible foods. Though it won’t get you high, you can also get the magickal effects of cannabis in teas and salads. Smoking out of an apple would be especially appropriate around Mabon and Samhain, since the apple is associated with this time and it’s a popular time for spirit communication.

Magic Rocks to pair with your Sketchy Herb!

What’s a sketchy herb without a magic rock to back it up, am I right? There are a couple of ways to use what you already know and do with crystals to make your smoking experience more pleasant, and also infuse it with some truly magical energy.

💚 First you can create crystal grids, or even just charge your weed with crystals while you’re not smoking it. If you grow the plants yourself you can stick certain crystals in the pot it’s growing in, the soil around it, or add crystal elixirs to its water supply. Avoid anything like malachite, which can be toxic to humans, or anything that might leave debris in your herb if it’s something you’re going to smoke or eat. Charging or clearing your weed with a crystal ensures that any negativity attached to herb from either the dealer or the production (which can be rife with corruption, greed, and human exploitation depending on where it comes from) and also injects whatever vibe you’re trying to get out of the weed into it. The weed also will cleanse and clear your crystals in return. If you want to clear your crystals and there’s no full moon coming, mindfully exhale over your crystals next time you’re smoking.

A few good candidates to charge your weed are:

Clear quartz – the crystal version of weed. It can be used for any purpose and is the ultimate healer and cleanser

Amethyst – divination or psychic work, or reducing anxiety and promoting restful sleep

Citrine – happiness, confidence and good luck

Rose Quartz – love, self-love, gentle affection

Moonstone – full moon magick, goddess connection, safety while traveling

Fluorite – mental clarity, psychic work, and calming anxiety

Obsidian – protection, scrying, working with spirits, absorbing negativity

Green aventurine – good luck, money, success

Garnet – depression, suicidal ideation, self confidence

Carnelian – fire, energy, passion, creativity, sex

💚 Now I want you to take all of those reasons it’s great to combine your weed with crystals and times them by a thousand when you learn CRYSTAL PIPES EXIST. Not only will the pipe have the benefits you see above, but because they’re often carved into points these crystals make excellent wands and energy conductors! If you like the circle casting idea above, imagine how great it would be with a ceremonial amethyst pipe? One that’s only used in ritual and blessed for that purpose! If you regularly do love or money spells for others, look into using a rose quartz or aventurine pipe. I also like the idea of a moonstone pipe for use during special cosmic occasions.

Plus they’re so pretty!

Hemp

The distinction between hemp and Mary Jane is a line that tends to get blurred, indeed it’s a little hazy. It’s really just semantics. Hemp and Marijuana are both Cannabis, but hemp has been bred and grown (yes, genetically modified) specifically for fibers and food and other uses but not to be an intoxicant. Basically the difference is legality and THC. If you’re not into breaking the law where you are, or aren’t into weed’s psychoactive benefits legal hemp can be used in its place.

I will say that, in my own opinion, hemp tends to have a more earthy and stable energy than its flighty counterpart. while weed definitely has earth vibes, it’s mysticism and tendencies for mayhem make it better for more metaphysical pursuits while I like hemp for more mundane things. Though both versions of cannabis can help attract wealth and abundance, I find hemp more appropriate for this purpose since it’s an incredibly profitable cash crop. I also find eating hemp hearts very nurturing and stabilizing, as opposed to mind altering.

💚 Hemp twine has a number of uses like knotwork or a witch’s ladder, it can be used in binding spells and rituals, and are great for wrapping your herb bundles for burning. You can also get hemp twine specifically for lighting pipes, cigarettes, and bongs so your magickal smoking ritual can do double duty.

💚 Use hemp paper for writing spells, activating sigils, and in your book of shadows. Use that magickal manifestation power!

💚 Put hemp oil in baths or on your skin, include it in flying ointments, room sprays, and floor washes. You can use this in all the same ways you’d use any other magickal oil.

💚 Use hemp cord and fabric to wrap and protect your magickal items, increase the potency of a sachet or mojo bag, create handles for your brooms or wands, create dream pillows, and even cleanse your body before ritual.

💚 Of course, dried hemp leaves can also be added to incenses and herbal smoking blends but are fully legal and do not contain THC

Other Fun Things

When it comes to working weed into your modern witchcraft, it’s a lot of trial and error and spontaneous internet finds. I regularly find great ideas for weed witchcraft on Twitter, Tumblr (especially!), and Pinterest.

💚 Bongs that have water are generally thought to symbolize the elements with the water inside, the smoke for air, the lighting for fire, and the herb for earth with you as the spirit.

💚 Speaking of bongs, try adding magickal water to yours! I don’t recommend anything with artificial perfumes but flower essences and crystal elixirs only require a few drops and I love the idea of using full moon water.

💚 The water in a bong that’s been used a few too many times is truly putrid and is an excellent addition to curses and hexes. Even just splashing that nasty stuff on someone’s house could be a curse if you will it. This is honestly one of my favourite tips.

💚 Orgonite is an interesting metaphysical tool that combines organic materials like crystals, or in this case a cannabis leaf, with inorganic materials like resin and metal, to create a cleansing tool that rids yourself or an object of negative energy. It often comes in the form of a pyramid or a plate, like mine. If you’re a fan of beat writers like Jack Kerouac or William S Burroughs you might have heard of it before in a mainly sexual context with some sketchy overtones. Orgonite can include any crystals or materials and be for any purpose! This one is used for cleansing or charging items and magnifying the energy of any spells I think need it.

💚 Save the ashes from your smoke to include in black salt, and other spells that include ashes. You might also find the ashes to be a better way to include cannabis in things like mojo bags, since they don’t have such an incriminating smell. Finally, you can put the ashes into your garden to bless your plants and accelerate growth!

I bet you thought you wouldn’t learn anything today, didn’t you?

So smoke up, witches! Maybe if we all get high and cast a pizza delivery spell at the same time we can all avoid the munchies!

  sources

Using Weed in Witchcraft – Tumblr

Making Herbal Smoking Blends

Herbal Smoking Blend Recipe

Magickal Properties of Hemp by AarTiana from Llewellyn Wiccan Almanac 2007

Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham

The Pot Book: The Complete Guide to Cannabis by Julie Holland M.D.