#libra the heavenly scales

[fairytail-multishipper]

Tell me about the celestial spirits in your rewrite, are you going to rework the magic?

THANK YOU GREEK I NEED TO TALK ABOUT THEM!!!!!!!!!

rewrite stuff ⬇️

The Silver Spirit keys are the beings born of the Celestial Spirit world. There are hundreds of Spirits for each constellation, each with their own key. They only have one life, and if a Silver Key spirit dies, they will become part of their constellation and their key will turn to dust

The Zodiac were all once like the Silver Keys, but were granted 12 lives. Once a Zodiac Key passes for the 12th time, they are reincarnated. It used to be that the most powerful Silver Key would take their place, but as wizards started to become more powerful, soon, wizards started to outclass Silver Keys. You can read more on it here! If you read this and leave a comment saying you came from this post, I’ll write a drabble of your choosing!

Onto specific spirits!

Aries ♈️

Aries is the second youngest of the Zodiac at this point. She practices wool magic, and part of that is that she can change the physical properties of the wool she handles. For example, she can make the wool solid, liquid, or a gas. She’s at the most powerful during the Aries season in the Human World. Given she is a Fire Sign, she can also use fire magic, though it’s not as powerful as most human fire wizards. She uses a shepard’s staff as a weapon if she requires one, and she can use it to aide her magic.

For the longest time, Aries was a very submissive and shy spirit, and she let her key holders do whatever they wanted to her. This changed after Leo stood up to Karen and subsequently got her killed by Angel, Aries took it upon herself to make sure none of her other friends would suffer because of her weakness. By the time we meet her in canon, Aries is much more outgoing and outspoken to her Key Holder, and very protective of her Silver Keys.

While Leo was gone, she became the “Queen of the Zodiac” and that stuck even after he came back, making her the head of the Zodiac.

Her human name was Mary, and she became the Aries Spirit in the year X272

Taurus ♉️

Taurus uses his Labrys, but he can also use Earth magic. Think Thor with his hammer, that’s kind of what Taurus’s earth magic is like, he needs his Labrys. His Earth magic is very rudimentary, and he can create earthquakes.

He’s not a creepy towards Lucy, he’s very respectful and gentle with her. He wears blue overalls and has a very subtle southern accent.

His human name was Garrett, and he doesn’t remember the year he became the Bull Spirit.

Gemini ♊️

I really like the Eclipse designs for them, so that’s how they look in my rewrite

Being very young human twins, under the age of 10, they are considered lucky to not remember their human lives

The other Zodiac are very protective of them because they’re very easily influenced

They still use Copy/Transformation magic, but they can also use flight magic

Gemi’s human name was Castor, and Mimi’s human name was Aura

One of three spirits that does not have animal traits or attributes

Cancer ♋️

Cancer takes on more of a swordsman appearance than a hairdresser, using one of his blades as a sword, but he can combine them to make big scissors. He picked up hair dressing while serving under Layla and Lucy, though.

His water magic is basically non-existent, but he is considered the most skilled swordsman in the Celestial world

He’s got six arms that he can fold away and can also turn into crab legs.

His human name was Abyl.

Leo ♌️

Leo has feline ears and a tail because i said so.

Leo is the youngest of the zodiac. He became the Lion spirit in the year X344. His human name was Loke.

Leo used Ring magic as a human, which he then translated into Regulus when he became the Leo spirit. He can use Regulus without his rings, and he can use it throughout his whole body, but it’s stronger when channeled through an item.

His rings can take many forms, and he even likes to use brass knuckles sometimes.

His fire magic isn’t really fire magic, but more of a fire hazard. He can light his tail on fire, as well as his hair if he’s in a tight spot, which will likely make an attacker let up.

Virgo ♍️

Virgo isn’t a maid in my rewrite

Her magic is the same as in the original

She’s a shapeshifter and is also, the only spirit with a gender bias. A man could never reincarnate into the Virgo spirit, but if Virgo wanted too, she could appear as a man.

One of three spirits that does not have animal traits or attributes

Her human name was Rosemary.

Libra ♎️

Gravity Magic is a sub category of Air magic, so she can use Air magic just as well, making her very hard to escape from.

One of three spirits that does not have animal traits or attributes

Her human name was Vidya.

Scorpio ♏️

Scorpio’s tail is actually a scorpio’s tail, but it has armor around it that gives the appearance of a cannon.

He uses sand magic like in canon, but he can also use water magic.

Scorpio is not dating Aquarius.

His human name was Ezio.

Sagittarius ♐️

Also like his Eclipse design better than the canon one, so he’s a centaur

His fire magic translates into fire arrows that he can summon and fire without his bow, but it’s easier to aim with the bow.

His human name was Phillip

Capricorn ♑️

Capricorn is the second eldest of the Zodiac.

Capricorn still practices his Human Subordination Magic, but he can also use Earth magic. It’s quite a deadly combination if your magic suddenly stops working and he then smacks you with a big ass rock.

For the longest time, he’s looked down on his Key Holders, but that changed when he met Layla Heartfilia, and again when he met Lucy

His human name has been forgotten

Aquarius ♒️

She’s the oldest of the Zodiac and is rumored to be the original Aquarius

She’s actually the original Ophiuchus, but was punished by the Zodiac King for meddling in human affairs and going to earth without permission

Her constellation was destroyed and she was passed over to the Aquarius constellation despite knowing Air magic instead of water magic

She quickly learned Water magic and uses Air magic for her urn, which she uses to store and transfer all the water stored in it

Pisces ♓️

The mother of the Pisces set has been around a long time, but her son was born and became the Pisces spirit not long before Aries took the mantle

The mother (Eta) was originally partnered with her brother, but he lost all his lives shortly before her son (Omicron) was born

He became the second Pisces, but he was originally half human because Eta had a relationship with one of her old Key Holders

Both practices water magic

Omicron was named after his late uncle and has always had that name

Eta’s human name was Calypso

[astrowrld300]

Astro Observations

Pt 2

It's so unreal how well Taurus placements can cook. Especially if there's Cancer in the big three. Taurus suns also have natural green thumbs

Cancer suns with Gemini Venuses are in constant conflict between they're ego and what they actually desire for love

This is definitely becoming common knowledge on the internet but all Libra placements that are personal and not generational are gay to some extent. Something about the scales allows them to go both ways I don't know . Depending on the placement and degree, it might make them uncomfortable, or the may proudly embrace it. But personal Libra placements can definitely go both ways

Cardinal signs are obsessed with each other, even though they're so toxic for each other.

5th house and Leo placements really love music. Leo rules the 5th house which is all about music, creativity and fun. So these natives really feel it.

Having your sun in the 11th house is a beautiful placement and creates a selfless person, but its the only placement for the sun to not be about "I" anymore. The sun is all about ego and self, ruled by Aries, but the 11th house is all about the collective, friends and the "greater good". Your ego is also heavily influenced by the collective and how you insert your self into the world.

Taurus moons have round/visible nostrils. They all have a green thumb for cooking as well

Aquarius suns and moons have very square shaped jawlines. Both the men and women.

The best sun+rising combo I've ever seen for Aquarius suns has to be Cancer rising. The blend is really heavenly and harmonious, the Cancer really softens out the Aquarian features perfectly (talking about the women idk about the men). This is only physical though

The best combo for Cancer suns definitely has to be Virgo in the big three. Either in the moon or rising, Virgo gives Cancer this snatched look that blends perfectly with the bone structure of cancer suns. (I'm also mostly referring to women here I don't know about the men) Although physically pretty, the combo creates a super insecure individual

Travel is such a big theme in the lives of natives with personal 9th house placements. It almost becomes the focus of life if there's a stellium.

Having your moon at 17 degrees (a critical Leo degree) makes you hella dramatic with your feelings. They're still valid, but you come off as a drama queen when feeling them.

Cancer suns are just as insecure and attention seeking as Leo when underdeveloped. Even though they're not sister signs they're ruled by the sun and moon, so essentially they are each other inside out.

Pisces is represented by the fish and the suns usually have big/swelled features and look a little bit like fish. Virgo placements have sharper/more defined features and Aries placements have prominent/tighter features.

Neptune aspecting Venus is a very underrated beauty indicator for transits and natal charts

Sagittarius rising are blessed with good luck in life since their chart ruler is Jupiter, the planet of luck. They also have hips on the larger side since Sagittarius rules the hips

Capricorn rules the skeletal part of the body and the native suns really have that skeleton bone structure in the face

Moon conjunct Rising is one of my favorite placements synastry placements for friendships. They are each other inside out and understand each other without words.

The most underrated house for the moon imo is the 9th house. The moon does really well here, there's a natural optimism and lightness to their feelings and emotions. I think this is from the influence of Sagittarius and Jupiter. They're also really funny people naturally and have a kind of intelligent humor

Cancer and Taurus placements are such big foodies. They also know how to cook very well and genuinely enjoy getting fat over other signs. Obviously all signs have the ability to cook, but Cancers and Tauruses make that home cooked comfort food that tastes like the feeling of your mom carrying you to bed.

5th house moons never feel emotionally fulfilled unless they're feeling some kind of fun or pleasure in life.

Taurus suns are the definition of work smarter not harder

Aries Mercuries are so smart especially if the sun is in Taurus or Gemini.

Geminis are known to talk with their hands and Italy's rising sign is literally Gemini...

You can always tell someone is Somali from the size of their forehead and the countries rising sign is literally Aries

Venus in the 8th house natal and synastry is that kind of ride or die love

Capricorn sun men actually think people what to hear their life lessons/lectures. It's really corny but they genuinely think they're helping. They also care so much about their rep but will never admit it. It makes sense because they rule the tenth house which is the house of popularity and is associated with our public image and rep. So obviously when Capricorn is in the sun, planet of self, their ego is closely tied with how they're perceived by others.

Scorpio moons are low key delusional but it's okay you guys had a rough childhood/relationship with your mother

The sexual attraction is crazy when you have the same mars sign as your partners rising sign (example. Leo mars-Leo rising) or if you have your mars opposite to their mars (example. Leo mars-Aquarius mars)

Aries moon women in red or leopard print is so perfect

Your gonna love the sun sign of whatever your rising sign is since the sun will naturally embody all the traits that you admire and will effortlessly be everything you want to be portrayed as.

Taurus risings, suns and moons look like bulls

Cancer venuses can lowkey hold down gemini venuses, it’s really harmonious for friendships. Not as compatible relationship wise because cancer venuses really don’t mess with how gemini venuses love. The love languages are just too different but when there are no constricting boundaries and it’s more of a playful friendship this pairing really works

[story-weavr]

A Study in Astrology:

Arising from its ability to indicate the seasons and their respective natural activities, astrology has played a massive part in human cultures.

The importance of them even goes as far as to indicate what a person is like when they are born.

Rather than the stars being determinators of a person’s character, I believe astrology is a tool that God gave us to be more introspective of ourselves.

To honestly look inside ourselves and see who we truly are and what we need, whether it’s to enhance our strengths or address our flaws.

Below is how I interpret the planets and the stars. I highly encourage the reader to use this as a tool for their own interpretation of or investigation into astrology.

Planets:

I am only considering those planets that would have been visible to the naked eye as they would be the ones that would indicate events. I will also include which Babylonian god rules them.

The first three are what is considered the inner world of a human

Sun ☀️ _the ego, consciousness _ Shamash

Moon 🌙 _ Emotion, unconsciousness _ Sin or Selardi

Rising/ Ascendant/ 1st House ⭐️ _ expression _ as it the constellation that is rising from the horizon at one’s birth

The following are how one interacts with the world

Mercury ✍️ _ communication, logic _ Nabu

Venus ♥️_ expression of love _ Ishtar

Mars 🔥 _ passion, drive_ Nergal

The next two planets are both about growth as indicated by their brightness & must always be considered together.

Jupiter 💼_ ambition, “to reach” _ Marduk

Saturn 🧙‍♂️_ wisdom, experience_ Ninurta

Descendant/7th House/House of Balance_ the shadow self, the part of a person one doesn’t realize that they have_ the star sign which setting on the horizon at the time of one’s birth

Stars

Each constellation and their symbols are tired very closely with the mythology of different ancient cultures: Babylonian, Egyptian, and Greek just to name a few.

They will be listed according the Babylonian New Year, which began in March-April

Aries ♈️ _ Babylon_ Agrarian worker -> ram due to association with Dumuzid, god shepherds & agriculture, 1st husband of Inanna, -> Canaanite = Adon -> Greek Adonis

Dumuzid spends half the year in the underworld and the other half above with his wife -> his yearly death brings hot dry summers

Egypt_ Amun-Ra = ram, fertility, creativity; Greek _ the ram who saved innocent children; Chinese _ cattle sacrifice, harvest

Bringer of plenty, self-sacrificing, adaptive to changing situations

Taurus ♉️ _ bull, related to “Seven Maidens”; spring equinox;

Heavenly Bull_ Sumerian-Inanna (divine wrath) & Egypt (sacrifice for sake of spring)

if provoked frightening

Gemini ♊️ _ the twins,

Babylon- minor gods guarding doorways or specifically Underworld or representations of major god Nergal, plague and pestilence & King of Underworld (warlike but necessary for protection of the peace)

opposing traits (peace & war, life & death) working in conjunction

Cancer ♋️ _ Greek-Hera’s crab, Egypt-Scarab (immortality/rebirth -Sirius), Babylon- snapping turtle (death, passage to underworld) + Enki,

initiate summer solstice

basically will justifiably bite a bitch; literally what turtle does to get rid of Nergal and summer; shell protects inner soft bits

Leo ♌️ _ lion, Egypt-Sekhmet or Sumer’s Inana

- protection, regality, Sun

- fierce hunter, passion, aggressive

Virgo ♍️ _ female (maiden or mother)

Demeter &numerous Greek maidens

Egypt = beginning of harvest

Babylon-Shala war of grain

Libra ♎️ _ Greek- Scales (Themis-justice); Babylon-claws of scorpion & the balance/ scales (Shamash- Sun, truth, justice)

Scorpio ♏️ _ Babylon = the Scorpion with Libra as its claws = scary guardians, serve higher beings

Sagittarius ♐️ _ centaur firing a bow & arrow

Babylon_ Nergal the chimera-centaur; Sumerian _ Pabilsag, elder/Chief & warrior/hunter; Greek _ centaur or satyr

The cunning intelligence of man and wild instinct of animal

Goal oriented, fierce

Capricorn ♑️ _ sea goat, Babylon- Enki = water+earth, fertility, hope

- stability, creativity

- high expectations, ambitions, standards

- sensitive and emotional;

- wary and kind(nurture in others/ survival)

Aquarius ♒️ _ water carrier, Babylon-Ea or Sumerian-Enki,

flood of water- positive or negative depending on region

Pisces ♓️ _ Greek - 2 fish, Babylon - 2 constellations: “the great swallow”(dove?) & “the lady of heaven” (Inanna?), Egypt - great fish who saved Isis

plentiful bounty _ the sun, wisdom, helpful

I hope this guides you on your journey of introspection, both of yourself and those around you. 🌌 🔮

If you want to find you’re birth chart, use the following site:

[thelivewireoracle]

Weekly Tarot 2/19/24 - 2/25/24

The Sun, 7 of Presents (Pentacles), 5 of Potions (Cups) + Libra

“Everything in moderation.” This week leading up to our Full Moon in Virgo will give us an opportunity to really tap into what it feels like to be at ease. Many of you may be feeling the pressure to get out of your current situations and experiences by means of disassociation or escapism. When you’ve had your fun, you are met with the stark contrast of your current state of affairs. And as mentioned in previous weeks, there is a consistent question of “When will things change?” and “When will I get there?”. You might find yourself looping back around to the same cycle of feeling the burst of inspiration that then leads to the slow lull of demand avoidance brimming. The pattern eventually will come to a halt, but only once you take initiative to do something differently. A new road is not built without effort.

With The Sun making its appearance this week, we are guided to embrace our long forgotten joys. In order to find the energy to press onward, it usually helps when we have something to look forward to. The ultimate end goal. Whether the results unfold in the exact way we envision or not isn’t entirely in our control, we do have the option to take aligned action that guides us in a new way. What dreams, goals, stories, activities etc make you feel well? Find ways to connect the actions you’re taking to the pathways that will allow you to enjoy more of the positive things in your life. Practice building and investing more into what truly nurtures your spirit.

On that same note, the 7 of Presents (Pentacles) is a reminder of gratitude. We hear it so often that we tend to scoff or overlook the idea. But when we remind ourselves of what we already have, it makes it THAT much easier to accumulate even more because we are already building on top of a foundation. Many of you have been working diligently over the last several months on restructuring your inner and outer world. As time has passed, you may have begun to realize that you might not need much to feel abundance. And for others, you may have realized that you’ve been settling for crumbs when you could really experience richness in unfathomable ways.

5 of Potions (Cups) gives us the opportunity of perception. We can acknowledge our lack and losses, but still honor the fact that we might have more than someone else. We might be in a better situation now, but still struggle in other areas of our lives. More than two things can be true at once. It’s the beauty of the human experience. At the end of the day, it’s how we condition ourselves to see our experiences. Of course, there will always be things outside of our control. The magic is that no matter what the external realm may try to make you believe, you can choose to honor your own experience by making choices in alignment with who you are at any moment in time.

Lastly, the Libra card is a great example of the inevitability of ebb and flow in our lives.  Many of you might struggle with the ideal of perfection and how conditions must be a certain way in order for you to take action or be well. Commitment to the outcome with diligence will lead you up the mountain faster than merely wishing your way up there. Libra is a sign that is associated with scales often representing two polarizing forces. There are not many people who have not experienced some kind of struggle or discomfort during a part of their lives. This gives us a point of reference to know what is and is not good for us. What does peace feel like? Pay attention to how you feel throughout this week. What are your emotions and body trying to tell you? What decisions can you begin to make that will allow you moments of ease?

As always, take what resonates and leave the rest. I hope you all have a wonderful Full Moon week. Be blessed :) -Lilith Jane

Decks Used

Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Tarot by Minerva Siegal, Illustrated by Abigail Larson

Heavenly Bodies Astrology Oracle Deck by Lily Ashwell

[pinchepeachyxo]

🌟Gate of the Heavenly Scales, Libra!🌟

I’ve been procrastinating to finish this one, but alas it’s done. Hope you guys enjoy! ❤️

[fashiontechgems]

Wearing the Universe: Opal Jewelry, Birthstones, and the Craft of Astrology - How and What to Pick

Gemstones have been esteemed since the beginning of time for their wonderful magnificence as well as for the mysterious energies they are accepted to convey. Among these pearls, opal stands apart as a heavenly stunner, spellbinding hearts with its brilliant play of varieties. In this investigation, we plunge into the entrancing universe of opal jewelry, revealing the association between opals, birthstones, and the many-sided craft of astrology. Find how the universe lines up with opals, and gain proficiency with the specialty of picking the ideal piece in view of your zodiac sign.

Opal's Astronomical Orchestra

Opals are known for their entrancing play of variety, a peculiarity called opalescence. This optical impact happens when light diffracts through the small silica circles inside the diamond, making a range of shades that dance across the surface. Opals are found in different areas around the world, including Australia, Mexico, Ethiopia, and Brazil, each creating opals with special qualities. Considered an image of trust and immaculateness, opals have been loved by societies over the entire course of time. Antiquated Romans accepted opals were the most valuable and strong of all gemstones, as they enveloped the shades of any remaining pearls. Opals have additionally been related with motivation, love, and assurance against negative energies.

Opal Jewelry and Birthstones: A Divine Embroidery

In the domain of birthstones, opal becomes the overwhelming focus as the otherworldly jewel related with October. Birthstones, accepted to bring karma and security, have a unique importance for those brought into the world in every month. Opal, with its vivid brightness, is remembered to epitomize the assorted characteristics of people brought into the world in October. Wearing opal as a birthstone turns into an individual festival of one's introduction to the world month, welcoming the energies related with opals into one's life. The play of varieties inside opals is said to mirror the changed qualities and qualities of October-conceived people, making opal jewelry a significant and customized decision.

Astrology and Opals: Exploring Heavenly Energies

Astrology, the investigation of heavenly bodies and their impact on human issues, winds around a grandiose story that meets consistently with the universe of gemstones. Opals, with their heavenly play of varieties, find reverberation with explicit zodiac signs. Every zodiac sign is related with gemstones that enhance the energies and characteristics of people brought into the world under that sign. Opals, with their ethereal magnificence, line up with a few zodiac signs, including Libra, Scorpio, and Pisces.

Libra (September 23 - October 22): 

Opals are viewed as an optional birthstone for Libra, the sign represented by the Scales. Librans, known for their feeling of equilibrium and congruity, may view opals as an ideal supplement. The opalescent varieties inside the pearl mirror the Libran mission for balance and tasteful excellence.

Scorpio (October 23 - November 21): 

Opals proceed with their grandiose excursion into Scorpio domain, filling in as a birthstone for those brought into the world in the last option part of October and early November. The serious and extraordinary nature of Scorpio is reflected in the opal's dynamic play of varieties, representing the profundities of feeling and enthusiasm.

Pisces (February 19 - Walk 20): 

Opals are likewise connected with Pisces, the water sign known for its marvelous and instinctive nature. The ethereal excellence of opals reverberates with the innovative and profound characteristics of Pisceans, making an amicable association between the gemstone and the zodiac sign.

Picking Opal Jewelry In light of Your Zodiac Sign: An Enormous Aide

Choosing opal jewelry in light of your zodiac sign includes a smart thought of the one of a kind qualities and energies related with your visionary profile. Here is a manual for assist you with picking the ideal opal piece that lines up with your zodiac sign:

Libra (September 23 - October 22): 

Settle on opal jewelry that mirrors the equilibrium and polish of Libra. Think about pieces with balanced plans or those consolidating different gemstones that upgrade the opal's play of varieties.

Scorpio (October 23 - November 21): 

Embrace opal jewelry that reflects the force and extraordinary nature of Scorpio. Search for opals with profound, lively tones or one of a kind plans that catch the substance of Scorpio's energetic energy.

Pisces (February 19 - Walk 20): 

Pick opal jewelry that resounds with the marvelous and instinctive characteristics of Pisces. Pieces with a sensitive and ethereal appearance, maybe highlighting opals in blend with other water-motivated components, can upgrade the Piscean association.

Also Read: Preservation Of Elegance: A Guide To Nurturing Your Prehnite Gemstone Jewelry

General Ways to pick Opal Jewelry:

Variety Inclination: 

Opals come in different tones, each addressing various energies. White opals are known for their smooth glow, while dark opals show a more extraordinary play of varieties. Fire opals, with warm tints, bring out energy and imagination. Pick the variety that resounds with your inclinations and energy.

Setting Styles: 

Consider the setting styles that enticement for you. Opals are many times set in rings, neckbands, hoops, and arm bands. The setting can impact the general tasteful of the piece, from exemplary and immortal to current and cutting edge.

Quality Check: 

Evaluate the nature of the opal, taking into account factors like play of variety, clearness, and cut. Top notch opals show a distinctive and dynamic play of varieties, enamoring the onlooker with their divine charm.

Conclusion: 

Opal jewelry, with its inestimable play of varieties and heavenly associations, welcomes people to leave on an excursion of self-articulation and individual importance. Whether worn as a birthstone or picked in view of visionary experiences, opals weave a divine embroidery that reflects the novel characteristics of the wearer. As you investigate the charming universe of opal jewelry, let its heavenly ensemble guide you toward pieces that reverberate with your zodiac energies and individual style. Wearing opals turns into a divine festival, an encapsulation of the inestimable energies that dance inside and around us. Whether you're attracted to opals for their enchanted excellence or as a portrayal of your introduction to the world month, permit these divine jewels to turn into a loved piece of your inestimable excursion through life.

[itsmonika]

october 19 zodiac

Assuming you were brought into the world on October 19, you have an autonomous mentality. You are a benevolent individual who needs awesome for society.

Your extraordinary instinct will lead you to  october 19 zodiac accomplish the absolute best things in your day to day existence.

We have assembled the accompanying horoscope report for you. Peruse on to figure out your adaptable character.

You are under the zodiac indication of Libra. Your visionary image is the scales. This image addresses individuals brought into the world between September 23 and October 22. It permits you to radiate characteristics like balance, tact, and assurance.

Venus is the planet of the goddess Aphrodite. This heavenly body impacts your enthusiasm, love, and desire.

The Component Air is responsible for your life. It works intimately with Water, Earth, and Fire components to add knowledge, usefulness, and energy to your life.

Character The decision planet on this day - the Sun gives them an innovative person and high upright beliefs. These are autonomous and expressive individuals. Their memory is extraordinary in any event, with regards to trifles. Inquisitive and to some degree dubious in nature, they are chatty on one day and quiet on the other. On occasion eccentric and shut. Regardless of this, the work is brimming earnestly. They have superb business characteristics and are very much aware of others.

They have an uncommon gift to consolidate emphaticness and appeal. Generally, these are inventive and delegate individuals.

In affection, they romanticize accomplices and connections, consequently they frequently experience dissatisfaction. They are to some degree delicate sincerely and need steady consideration and love. They maintain that their accomplice should be cheerful, so they instinctually satisfy their accomplice's longings. In a drawn out relationship, they are committed and loyal. Some selectivity and uncertainty can keep them from consenting to a drawn out relationship for quite a while.

In the room, they are loose and enthusiastic sweethearts.

Qualities: influence, determination, and adaptability.

Shortcomings : stubbornness, love to contend, and over the top explicitness.

Mysterious outline October 19 zodiac individuals are on the Libra-Scorpio cusp. This is the cusp of show and analysis. The planets Venus and Pluto rule this cusp. While Venus is accountable for your Libra character, Pluto administers Scorpio.

Being under these two glorious bodies gives you a few exceptional characteristics. Individuals see an inquisitive and dazzling component around you. They will most likely be unable to make sense of it that much, yet this nature of dim magnificence that you get from this pinnacle, they basically can't disregard.

In any case, others rush to see your obtuseness. This quality threatens many individuals. Be that as it may, everybody feels a debt of gratitude. You consider ethical quality to be an issue of highly contrasting. Accordingly, it is simple for you to bring up when you see something as unjustifiable.

[xtsundere-princess]

Celestial Spirit -- Libra

“The Heavenly Scales” Libra is a young woman in an exotic dancer's outfit who hides her face behind a veil and is equipped with half of a set of balancing scales on each hand. Libra uses Gravity Change to alter her opponents weight.

[yume-yume-jk]

The Heavenly Scales [♎]

[tiramisiyu]

【未定事件簿】 Tears of Themis: 【夏彦拜访剧情】 Xia Yan’s Personal Story 1-4 Translation

Translated parts: Xia Yan’s Visit Chapter 1: 1-1 / 1-3 / 1-4 / 1-6 / 1-7 / 1-9 / 1-10 / 1-11 / 1-12 / 1-13 Translation Masterlist: here

Video: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1fA411J7cW?p=3

A quick explanation of how this feature works is that each boy has their own section that you can “Visit”! Part of it is like MLQC’s GSH feature, where you can talk to the boys (with Live2D!) and raise intimacy by interacting with them. The other part of it is a storyline that centers on the MC running around with the respective boy to deal with a certain case or situation.

Commerce Street

MC: Are you sure it’s here?

Xia Yan: Of course I’m sure.

--

[Flashback]

After Xia Yan looked at the message that Sphinx sent to me, he arrived at the answer very quickly.

Xia Yan: A likeliness that symbolizes “justice” – one is the mythical beast Xiezhi*; another is the goddess of justice, Themis.

Xia Yan: The riddle uses “her”, so we can directly exclude the possibility of it being the mythical beast.

MC: But if it is Themis, then “her gaze” doesn’t make sense.

MC: Goddess Themis’s eyes are blindfolded. The motto of law, “Order is the cloth that blindfolds justice” came from this.

Xia Yan: But Themis wasn’t born in the heavens as blind. Not all the likelinesses will have a blindfold…

Xia Yan: I’ve got it! Come with me!

[Flashback end]

--

Xia Yan: Look over there.

I looked towards the direction Xia Yan was pointing. There was a sculpted fountain of the twelve Titans of ancient Greek mythology.

At the 8-o-clock position on the fountain, there was a statue of an unblindfolded Themis.

MC: The fountain in the middle of this street is so small – most people wouldn’t notice the statues on the fountain. How did you think of it?

Xia Yan: There aren’t that many statues of Themis in Stellis City, and only this one doesn’t have a blindfold.

Xia Yan: Plus, have you forgotten – we came here to play when we were young. You even dropped your new hairclip in the fountain, and it was me who grabbed it out for you.

MC: I even did this kind of thing when I was a kid, huh… I really can’t imagine it now.

Xia Yan: That time, you cried so miserably that uncle told us the story of the twelve Titans to soothe you.

MC: Dad really is too much – he actually left it to you to grab the hairclip. Mom must have gotten mad at him.

Xia Yan: I move pretty fast, after all – by the time uncle and auntie noticed you were crying, I had already grabbed the hairclip back.

Xia Yan: In fact, I feel like I was pretty lucky.

Xia Yan: Though my parents departed early, I was fostered at your home. The parental love and warmth of home that I got was no less than any other kid.

Xia Yan: The most important is that I could accompany you in growing up.

Xia Yan’s words made a bit of inexplicable fluster flash in my heart. I subconsciously turned the words back to him.

MC: My mother and your mother were best friends, after all, so this is what we should have done. Let’s stop talking about this – we should go to the place that the riddle points toward.

Xia Yan: Following the gaze of goddess Themis… there, Libra Bookstore.

MC: The heavenly scales also have meanings of fairness and justice. Our lawyer’s badge is the “Thorned Heavenly Scales”. The riddle must definitely be hinting to this place!

Bookstore

MC: Uh… so what should we do now? Look for the wooden box?

Xia Yan: The total floor area of this bookstore is over 5000 square meters. If we rely on just us two to look for the wood box…

Xia Yan hadn’t finished speaking when his phone sounded.

Xia Yan: It’s a new message from Sphinx.

Xia Yan: “Help me send my greetings to that group of rabbits from Pisa, and invite them to sing one line from “O Sole Mio”** for me.”

Xia Yan suddenly put down his phone and looked all around, vigilantly looking over every person who walked past us. 

Xia Yan: We just got to the bookstore when he sent the message. Could it be that he’s following us?

Xia Yan: I didn’t notice anyone suspicious within sight… could he have gotten into the monitor system?

MC: Right now, we don’t know what his physical characteristics consist of. Even if he’s right in front of our eyes, we wouldn’t be able to recognize him.

Xia Yan: Oh well, let’s look at the riddle first.

I returned my attention to the riddle, missing the fleeting sharpness in Xia Yan’s eyes.

MC: I know “O Sole Mio” – it’s a very famous Italian song. But what does this have to do with rabbits?

MC: Plus, “O Sole Mio” was written in Naples, not in Pisa.

Xia Yan: Pisa… rabbit…

Xia Yan: I got it, it’s the Fibonacci Sequence!

MC: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21… starting on the third number, each number is the sum of the prior two numbers.

MC: I know about this number sequence, but how did you think of it using “Pisa” with “rabbit”?

Xia Yan: At the very beginning, the Fibonacci Sequence was drawn from the example of how rabbits breed, so it was also called the “Rabbit Sequence”. 

Xia Yan: “Pisa” thus points to the researcher of this numerical sequence, Leonardo Fibonacci. He was also called Leonardo of Pisa.

MC: So it’s like this. If so…

>The riddle’s answer is related to number-related books (incorrect)

>Suggest that changing the sequence of numbers is the essential part to solving the riddle

MC: The answer to the riddle should have something to do with number-related books, right?

I checked the bookstore’s shop map.

MC: The number-related books are all on the third floor. How about we go up and look?

Xia Yan: That’s not right; the latter half of the riddle says, “invite them to sing one line from “O Sole Mio” for me.” This should be hinting that we need to make changes on the sequence.

Xia Yan: I speculate that the answer of the riddle isn’t a book – instead, it’s a set of numbers.

>The riddle’s answer is related to the electronic books 

>Suggest that changing the sequence of numbers is the essential part to solving the riddle

MC: The riddle also has a second half, saying “invite them to sing one line from “O Sole Mio” for me”…

MC: Could this be hinting at us that we need to make changes on the sequence?

Xia Yan: I’m thinking in the same way as you. The way to change the sequence is hidden in the song verse.

Xia Yan: The answer to this riddle should be a string of numbers.

--

TL Notes:

*Xiezhi are found in East Asian mythology.

** “My Sun”. 

[madamlaydebug]

Heavenly Hallows

The Equinox Has Ended

And The Solstice Draws Near

Bellicose Aries Opposes The Sun

Illuminating Our PresElections

Taurus And Pleiades

Shoulder The Blue Moon

And The Sun Tips Libra's Scales

Embracing Scorpio's Seduction

Today Is The Day Of The Dead

—RLR—

[aethelflaedladyofmercia]

Of Aliens and Alpha Centauri: Space in Good Omens (1/3)

. So just yesterday, in one of the many discussions of Alpha Centauri and the practicality of our two favorite disasters running off together, @theniceandaccurategoodomensblog raised the perfectly valid question: “Why are we assuming there are no aliens?” And I said I had a lot of thoughts on the subject. This meta is the result of those thoughts and questions.

Broadly, the question of whether or not there would be aliens comes down to “what is the purpose of all that space in the Good Omens universe?” Everything we see is focused on Earth and the creation and destruction thereof, which, when you consider the scale of the whole universe, is really not that Big a story at all.

But the treatment of space is a little different depending on which version you use as your source material. If you try to combine the book and the TV show, you get some contradictions.

So I’m going to tackle each separately, starting with the book below the break, pulling together all my observations and thoughts on What does Good Omens really have to say about space?

I’m not going to do this on a strict schedule, but I have three parts planned and will post them as I find the time to write them!

(Source: I’m a huge sci-fi nut and think way too hard about everything, but I’m not any kind of expert. Other insights and comments are 10000% welcome.)

Good Omens Book

The book has, perhaps, the simplest approach to space: it’s barely mentioned.

For those unfamiliar, there is no mention of Alpha Centauri, or running away, or Crowley helping create stars/nebulae/whatever it is he made. Unless I missed one, all references to space in the book are:

The Earth is a Libra (p.17)

Crowley’s amazing drunken rant about the bird and the spaceship (p.54-57)

Adam and The Them talking about aliens and how aliens are now all about peace and harmony and being some kinda space cops “They all have this bright blue light around ‘em and go around doing good. Sort of g’lactic policemen, going round tellin’ everyone to live in universal harmony and stuff” (p. 156, part of a slightly longer discussion)

Newt meeting aliens who talk about peace and harmony while being some kinda space cops (p. 197-199)

That’s it; Crowley (then Crawly) doesn’t even ask about putting the Tree on the Moon, the line is instead “why not put it on top of a high mountain or a long way off?” (p.10).

Just because it’s simple, however, doesn’t mean we can’t learn a great deal.

Humanity has watched the stars for all of our history; they can be used to navigate, to tell time; the constellations are used to record stories; astrology attempts to make sense of the chaos of everyday life through the motions of heavenly bodies. The motions of the stars and planets has been calculated and recorded for as long as we’ve had enough knowledge of math to do that (so ancient Sumeria and Egypt, and by ancient I mean 4-5 thousand years ago), while less predictable events such as eclipses and comets have been taken as  ill omens or signs of Heavenly disfavor.*

The prevailing model in the West was geocentric (Earth in the center) and contained what we call the “Heavenly Spheres”; Earth was a globe surrounded by clear layered spheres, and across each sphere one of the seven planets moved in its predictable track. (The seven planets were: The sun, the moon, Mars, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn - a planet being defined as a “wandering heavenly body that does not follow the fixed course of all the other stars”). Beyond all these was the final sphere, containing all the stars like a painted ceiling, and all moving together, rotating around a point near Polaris, the North Star.

The stars were predictable, but mysterious, unexplainable - but they existed to serve the story of mankind because why else would they exist? 

This mindset carries into Good Omens - at least the book, and probably the Radio Drama as well (I haven’t heard it in ages, but I don’t think it deviated from the major points). The universe is vast and huge and filled with “loads of buggerall” (p. 56) - Aziraphale’s comments confirm that, at the very least, angels and demons are confident that the universe is a vast vacuum (matching our modern ideas of cosmology) and also that it has a physical end somewhere (due to the way space-time curves, this might not necessarily be the case).**

And yet.

All these vast loads of burgerall are slated to be destroyed along with the Earth, aren’t they?

It certainly seems they were created at the same time. We know that there had only been “rather more than seven” days as of the start of the book, and that “rain hadn’t been invented yet” (p. 9). The language suggests not only that Earth is a new thing, but that there isn’t another planet out there that already experienced days and rain. Crowley, at least, believes that God created the whole universe (p. 373) and there seems nothing in the book to contradict this.

As for Armeggedon, it’s referenced as the “final test” and as “testing everything to destruction” and so forth (p. 48). At the final showdown on the airbase, Metatron refers to the great plan of a world lasting six thousand years (p. 352), and again this could refer to Earth only, or it could be the universe as a whole. In fact, as a general rule, the book simply conflates the earth and the universe, as if they were the same thing. And they are. Much like in the more Medieval and Classical worldview outlined above, there could be lots of stars and things out there but they only serve as a backdrop to the real important things going on here on Earth. Everything was created at the same time, and the only reason it might not be destroyed all at once is if the winning side decides they like the view and want to keep it.

The only hint that there might be more to the universe than Heaven, Hell and the little stage for their cold war (Earth) is the appearance of the aliens to Newt.

And yet, what are they described as? One is “stubby and green,” the one that talks to Newt is “a yellow toad dressed in kitchen foil...wearing the kind of mirror-finished sunglasses that Newt had always thought of as Cool Hand Luke shades” and the third is “a pepper pot.”

Two aliens as designed by a child, one clearly doing some vague Space Cop look, and a Dalek. The ship itself “looked like every cartoon of a flying saucer Newt had ever seen” (p. 197). I never ever got the impression these aliens were anything other than figments summoned from Adam’s head, spouting buzzwords he’d seen in New Aquarian (acid rain, albedo, polar ice caps) while acting like cops do in movies. And their message “We give you a message of universal peace and cosmic harmony an’ suchlike” (p. 198) - the “an’” instead of “and” is one of the distinguishing marks of how Adam and The Them talk. This is another one of his stories and games, played out on a much wider scale.***

My primary conclusion here would be that aliens cannot exist in the Book!Omens universe. The universe is the backdrop, Earth is where the real drama plays out. The universe has only existed for 6,000 years, not nearly enough time for other life to have evolved separately. God could have created life on the other worlds, but there is no indication that this ever happened, that there are other playgrounds on which this fight is being acted out - Crowley and Aziraphale never even consider the possibility that they’ll be reassigned elsewhere. It’s Earth, and then eternity in Head Office, no other options.

Book Omens: Other Possibilities?

I do think there is one alternative possible for Book!Omens: if we are willing to throw away the strictly supernatural elements of the book, it could be re-envisioned as a sci-fi story, in which God, angels, and demons are actually super-dimensional aliens who, by Clark’s Third Law, are sufficiently advanced to be indistinguishable from actual angels and demons. I refer to this as the Stargate Interpretation.****

More accurately, God would have to be the super-dimensional being, and would have created the Earth as a place to let the story play out; the angels and demons are then direct creations who buy 100% into the narrative they are given. Everything else can still exist - Lucifer rebels because of the same reasons, takes along all the unsatisfied angels, Heaven and Hell are only concerned with Earth because that’s all they’ve been told to concern themselves with. Their afterlives exist still, but only because humans were created to fit into that system.

Meanwhile, literally anything could be going on in the rest of the universe. There could be alien races thousands of years older than the earth. There could be galactic empires. Who knows? Not people on Earth. Our world was isolated from all that by superdimensional shenanigans.

But, and this is important, in order to maintain the illusion, angels and demons must be kept as much in ignorance of all this as humans. Might lead you to question the power of the being with the Ineffable Plans if those plans only extend to the edge of the solar system and don’t even go particularly far back in time.

Now, do I think this is the best headcanon for the book? Nope. This is a supernatural story, the threat of Heaven and Hell is so looming and menacing because there’s no other force out there, nowhere to appeal except the “higher authority” that isn’t, apparently, listening, and there’s no option to escape just by relocating to a new world. I think trying to force the Stargate Interpretation on it would diminish the story, and I really don’t think it’s what the authors intended at all.

However, I also think this would make for a very interesting fanfic in the hands of the right writer. Book Aziraphale or Crowley suddenly discovering that the scope of Head Office’s powers is much more limited than they’d thought? Who knows about this - have the Archangels and Lords of Hell been covering this up to keep the lower-level angels and demons from rebelling? Would their “miraculous” powers still operate the same on these alien worlds? Are there other beings out there more powerful? Or going the other direction - are there other worlds also playing out their own little pantomime of Eden and Armageddon? Are they created by the same God, or other members of the same race, and what are the implications either way? Does each world have an Aziraphale and a Crowley, or is the main GO world the first to screw up the Apocalypse so badly they survive it - and what is the implication of that?

There’s a whole lot of scope for interesting AUs out of this, and I’d be rather surprised if no one has written any, seeing as the book came out thirty years ago. (If any are available on AO3, send us links - this sounds a bit niche, but I’d love for fans to be able to find these!) I would consider them AUs though; the default assumption of the book is no aliens and including them is a deviation, just as adding in Hogwarts or Charles Xavier’s school while keeping everything else the same is a deviation.

However, in the TV series, space is certainly more present in the narrative, and the Stargate Interpretation doesn’t work as well. Can we reach any clear conclusions? I’ll attempt to find out in my next meta!

(Too important to footnote: We know that Atlantis vanished (p.372) so most likely Adam’s aliens did as well. There is, still, the possibility that they continued to exist after the end of the world. I think their somewhat shoddy appearance and very cliched dialogue suggest the aliens would, at best, continue to cycle through similar interactions to what we saw with Newt until Adam either “deactivated” or “updated” them. What would they do then? Did he create entire races and homeworlds for them or - as I rather suspect - did he just make the one ship full and then move on to the next?)

-- Footnotes --

*Note: the math for predicting eclipses has also existed for thousands of years, but was more difficult for ancient cultures to confirm because only a fraction of eclipses are visible from a certain spot. Several ancient cultures were eventually able to work out the pattern, notably ones that either ruled over a lot of land or else had good information exchange with their neighbors. Comets took a LOT longer, and indeed as late as the 16th century many believed each comet was unique and traveled linearly through the solar system, never to return. Edmond Halley (working partly from observations by Isaac Newton) was able to demonstrate that comets did in fact orbit the sun, and predicted the return of the comet now named for him in 1758. He also was the first to observe and describe the proper motion of stars, that is, the fact that they don’t actually travel in one large fixed group. 

**Also, I find it delightful that, along with thinking dolphins are fish, Aziraphale says the bird crossing the universe would need a generation starship - which as a sci-fi trope has been somewhat out of fashion since the 1970s, in favor of faster-than-light starships. This alone says volumes about his taste in literature and science.

***The fact that the alien refers to its own message as “one of them pheonomena” (p.198) - a term Shadwell uses - does suggest that Newt’s own imagination is filling in the gaps left by Adam.

****Just gonna go ahead and out myself as a lifelong Stargate fan don’t mind me. That said, Terry Pratchett also explores a world made in this style in his pre-Discworld novel, Strata, which contains a flat world in a sci-fi setting, where everything operates according to a medieval worldview. It is a fascinating read, not least for the inclusion of several elements that would later find a permanent home in the Discworld series. If you can find it, read it.

tagging the commenters who said yesterday they would be interested:

@sarahthecoat​ @ineffableove​ @akawestruck​

[folkmagick]

Almanac Magical Timing Revisited

Working in Tune With the Moon

This post revisits and expands past discussions on this blog about how the lunar system of the traditional almanacs can be applied in folk magic. These texts have a long use in popular astrology, magic, and even folk medicine. And this approach to magical timing remains relevant for practitioners today, when the information is never more than a few clicks away.  

Following Lady Luna

In the days when small family farms dotted the American landscape, a fruitful crop meant the difference between success and starvation. People naturally looked to the heavens for help, and the traditional almanacs – The Old Farmer’s Almanac, The Farmers’ Almanac and their cousins –  provided useful lunar information that informed a host of traditions. Farmers used the Moon’s activity as a guide not only for planting and harvesting, but for many areas of life (from the most fortuitous day for a wedding, to the best time to have a tooth pulled). In parallel to this down-home practice, lunar timing can be found in grimoires and other magical texts dating back centuries, so it should come as little surprise that the almanacs earned a place in folk magic as well.

It’s important to say at the outset that almanac-based timing is entirely lunar – not solar like popular horoscopes – and relatively simple, without the complicated calculations of full electional astrology. The two key elements are the Moon’s sign and the Moon’s phase, which you can find in your favorite almanac or online. (My favorite site for this is Astro Seek. In print or e-book form, readers might enjoy The Witches Almanac alongside the traditional farming options) 

Let’s begin with the moon’s signs. 

~~~~~~~

Attributes of the Signs

The Moon travels through a new sign of the Zodiac every two or three days. Each sign has four key attributes to consider:

Element: Each sign is associated with one of the four classical elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Broadly speaking, farmers who “plant by the signs” prefer to plant in Water or Earth signs, and prune or harvest in the Fire or Air signs. For magical and planning purposes, the correspondences of the elements can be used.  

Humor: The four humo(u)rs relate to the four elements. In the classical medicine of Hippocrates, they were thought to be present in the blood and rule our temperaments and health. It can be useful to think of these as part of the “personality” of each sign – as well as how we as physical creatures embody the elements – and work accordingly. Fire signs are Choleric, Earth signs are Melancholic, Air signs are Sanguine, and Water signs are Phlegmatic. (See this link for more on the humors from the author of the excellent history Passions & Tempers.) 

Planet: Each sign is ruled by one of the classical planets, which provide another useful correspondence for planning. Since the classical planets also rules a day of the week, you can match the appropriate moon sign to a compatible day of the week for extra oomph. 

Body Part: Every sign represents part of the human body, as seen in the curious “Zodiac Man” illustration at the top of this post. Each body part or organ was thought to be especially sensitive when the moon was in that sign, leading to a tradition that one shouldn’t have surgery done on a region of the body when the moon moved through the associated sign. The body part associated with each sign is also often used as a nickname for the sign among old-time almanac users (as can be heard in this podcast interview of Appalachian farmers), so it’s listed beside the name below. Magically, the bodily association adds a useful additional correspondence.

~~~~~~~

The 12 Signs 

Now, let’s take a look at each individual sign and favorable workings or activities to pursue when the Moon is in it: 

Aries ♈︎ (the Head): The Ram is useful for achieving rapid and short-term results, shoving a situation forward, boosting confidence, or confronting or controlling an opponent. (Element: Fire, Humor: Choler, Planet: Mars.) 

Taurus ♉︎ (the Neck): The Bull is a fruitful sign associated with matters of money and prosperity, material goods, creature comforts, long-term goals, and achieving slow and steady progress that lasts. (Element: Earth, Humor: Melancholy, Planet: Venus.)

Gemini ♊︎ (the Arms): When the Moon is in the Twins, work for communications, travel, social interaction, tasks requiring cleverness, studying, and multitasking and other “Mercurial” pursuits. (Element: Air, Humor: Blood, Planet: Mercury.)

Cancer ♋︎ (the Breast/Chest): The Crab is associated with home life, domesticity, family, and depth of feeling. (Element: Water, Humor: Phlegm, Planet: The Moon.)

Leo ♌︎ (the Heart): The Lion is a positive sign of courage, determination, charisma and creativity, and it’s often said to be a strong sign for love and romance, as well as work relating to children.  (Element: Fire, Humor: Choler, Planet: The Sun.)

Virgo ♍︎ (the Bowels): The Virgin is associated with matters of health, employment, professional skills, diet and weight loss, organization, and day-to-day routines. (Element: Earth, Humor: Melancholy, Planet: Mercury.)

Libra ♎︎ (the Kidneys): The sign of the Scales is appropriately one of balance, partnership, and justice. (Element: Air, Humor: Blood, Planet: Venus.)

Scorpio ♏︎(the Loins): Old-time almanacs often call the part of the body associated with the Scorpion “the Secrets” (i.e., the loins/genitals). This is appropriate, as the Moon in Scorpio is an ideal time for work relating to secrets, the esoteric, divination, research and investigation, uncovering mysteries, and sex. (Element: Water, Humor: Phlegm, Planet: Mars traditionally, but some today link Scorpio to the “new” heavenly body Pluto.)

Sagittarius ♐︎ (the Thighs): The Archer is an expansive sign, and his arrow points to personal growth, philosophical pursuits, the arcane arts, athletics, travel, and adventure. (Element: Fire, Humor: Choler, Planet: Jupiter.)

Capricorn ♑︎ (the Knees): The Goat is a great sign for stubbornly pursuing progress in areas of life pertaining to self-discipline, endurance, and control, including financial and practical matters. (Element: Earth, Humor: Melancholy, Planet: Saturn.)

Aquarius ♒︎ (the Legs): Despite being called the Waterman and having aqua in the name, Aquarius isn’t a water sign. (Don’t blame me; I don’t make the rules.) It is, however, a good sign for social relations, friendship, group work, and cultivating new possibilities. Some say it has an undercurrent of rebelliousness that can be tapped into to cause change. (Element: Air, Humor: Blood, Planet: Traditionally Saturn, but also the “new” planet of Uranus)

Pisces ♓︎ (the Feet): The Fishes swim deeply, and this is a strong sign for inner work of all kinds, including psychic development, dreaming, spiritual practices, and banishing negative energy. (Element: Water, Humor: Phlegm, Planet: Traditionally Jupiter, but also the “new” planet of Neptune.)

~~~~~~~

Moon Phases

Running in parallel to the Moon’s journey through the Zodiac are its monthly phases. The current phase of the Moon is the second essential piece of information for lunar magical timing. The two basic trends are waxing (when the Moon appears to be growing) and waning (when the Moon appears to be shrinking). Generally, use the waxing phases for increasing and drawing something to you, and waning phases are best for reducing and pushing away that which is unwanted. 

🌑New Moon: Sometimes called The Dark of the Moon, the New Moon is a time for soul searching, personal reflection, breaking bad habits, retribution, and things to be done under the cover of darkness. It is the end of one lunar cycle and the beginning of another. 

🌒Waxing Crescent: Confusingly, some refer to this phase the New Moon, as it’s when a small shining sliver of Moon first becomes visible. Whatever you call it, this is the time for new beginnings in any domain of life, setting intentions, and planning – "planting seeds" that will blossom in the future. It is also an appropriate time to begin constructive work associated with the waxing moon overall – drawing, increasing, growth, health, friendships, love in all forms, success, and positive work in general.

🌓First Quarter and 🌔Waxing Gibbous: Work for drawing and attracting success, increasing opportunities, growth, health, love in all forms, and constructive action in all areas of life.

🌕Full Moon: This is the time to pursue the most vitally important things that one seeks to manifest or cultivate. The Full Moon is Luna at her most influential.

🌖Waning Gibbous, 🌗Last Quarter, and 🌘Waning Crescent: The waning moon is a time for removing, repelling, reversing, releasing, and decreasing that which is undesirable or harmful. 

~~~~~~~

Putting It All Together

As you’ve probably guessed, the almanac timing system culminates in a combination of the Moon’s place in the Zodiac and its current phase. Using the attributes of both creates the best “lunar weather” for the type of work you seek to do. For example, you might do money-drawing work when the Waxing Moon is in Taurus. And if it’s a Friday (the day of Taurus’s planet, Venus), or a Thursday (the day of expansive Jupiter) so much the better! 

The possibilities are virtually endless, and this post just scratches the surface. With an almanac is your guide, each day brings new opportunities to work with the greater cycles of nature.

[astromias]

Libra women are so full of love and loveliness, it really does seem as though bells ring  when  one  is  in  their  presence.   Bells  ring  around  most  Gemini  and  Virgo  girls too, but they have a more delicate sound.  Libra bells are deeper, more like the  chimes  you  hear  at Easter  Sunday sunrise.To  add  to  the  dreamlike  quality  of the  experience,  the  Libra  girl  who  has  enchanted  him  looks  an  awful  lot  like  an  angel.   Venus  never  fails  to  bestow  upon  those  who  are  her  children  a  haunting  beauty  of  feature … if  not  that,  then at the  very least,  a  smile that  can  gladden the  weariest  soul.   Sometimes  a  Libra female  is fortunate  enough to  have received both  of these  Venus blessings at birth A  Libra  girl  usually  comes  on  gently,  with  a  penuche  fudge  voice,  starlit  smiles, a hint of autumn’s golden-scarlet hues in her aura.  She makes you think of  football  games,  soft  cashmere  sweaters,  toasting  marshmallows  in  an  open  fire,  walking  through  burnished  leaves,  Indian  summer .. sunset.. the  smoky  season.    She  makes  you  think  of.. well..  television  newscasts. The Libra woman receives her charm, her dimples, her honeyed voice, curvy figure,  and  general  beauty  (also  her  appealing  manners)  from  her  Venus  ruler-ship.   Her  masculine  Sun  Sign  is  responsible  for  her  lingering  air  of  feminine  macha.   She  somehow  knows exactly  how to smooth his trou-bled  brow.   This  is  an  enormously  poised  woman,  unless  she’s  upset,  then  she  can  be  totally  unreasonable.   Nevertheless,  she’s  well  suited  to  marriage.   Li-brans so  much need to be married,  they  often rush into wedlock with the  wrong  mates.   But practice  makes  perfect.  A  Libra  woman  reminds  you  of  many  things.   She  reminds  some  people  of  a  cross between  a floating balloon and  a  pillow.   A  soft, fluffy pillow,  stuffed with down,  covered  in satin  or velvet,  with silk tassels,  nicely plump and  inviting.  She  reminds  other  people  of  a  golden  harp.  Sometimes  this  image  is  conjured  by  her  "harping"  about  various  things  when  she’s  mentally  stimulated,  but  mostly  it’s  because  of  her  melodious  voice  and  musical  manner.    She’s  so  charming,  so  graceful,  so  determinedly  cheerful  … and  she  smells  so  heavenly.   Nearly all  Libra  women  are  well  supplied  with  scented  soaps,  perfumes,  colognes,  talcums - fragrant  candles  and  exotic  in-cense.  Many of them have temple bells hanging over their beds.  Libra rules the mysteriously  wise  Orient,  you  know,  which  may  be  why  lots  of  Librans  lean  toward  Zen  and  Zeno.   If this  seems  to contradict her Venus-inspired  sentiment  and affectionate  nature,  you must  remember that such contradictions  constitute  the  whole purpose of Libra’s  Scales.   The  older  Librans  grow,  the  wiser  they  become.   After  playing  both judge  and  jury, and weighing decisions of yes or no, wrong or right, stop or go, thousands of times,  a person gradually begins to have  confidence  in what he  (or she)  is doing. It takes  practice Libra is deeply concerned with injustice in any form,  instinctive-ly desiring to  bring about  equality and  goodness  in the  world;  yet she  may,  like   698    ⋆    LIBRA-AQUARIUS    all  Librans,  shrink  at  first  from  facing  the  necessary  specifics  of  healing  the  world’s  ills  because  of her natural Venus reluctance  to  face and accept the nega-tive  aspects  of Life Yes.  Libra’s Venus smile, its powerful force of energy and light, can be seen by the faithful, the believers and the skeptics alike.  No one can resist it.  No can deny it.   No one  can  fail to be moved  by it. In some ways, this may seem to give her an advan-tage,  because  she  can  think  like  a man,  yet appeal to him  in  irresistible  female  ways.   It’s  a  powerful  combination,   A  Libra  woman  speaks  musically,  moves  lyrically.   She’s  graceful,  tender  and  sentimental… as  intoxicating  as  a  fragrant  rose.    Yet  she  is  also  deter-minedly independent,  however well hidden may be her driving ambition and in-telligent  mind  behind  the  satiny  facade  of  her  velvet  Venus  smile  or  dimpled  grin.  She can coax and cajole most any man into willingly  (even ecstatically)  do-ing things  her  way.  A  Libra  girl  nearly  always  is  beautiful.   Even  if her  features  are  plain,  her absolutely stunning smile makes you think she’s beautiful.  She has dimples, her eyes  are  soft,  her  voice  is  clear  and  lovely,  her  manners  are  graceful.   She  lets  you pull out her chair, hold open her door, and carry her packages with an air of appealing helplessness.  Outwardly, she’s an angel of femininity.  Inwardly, she’s driven  by  the  masculine  principles  of  her  Cardinal  Sign  of  Leadership:  force -strength -  courage  -  positive    action -  penetration  -  conquer    and    dominate.    She can  manage her  own career, and she’s adept at getting everything she  wants  out  of  life - or  from  a  man.   It  doesn’t  mean  she’s  invulnerable  to  hurt,  but  she  wears  a  tougher  suit  of  armour  to  protect  her  from  it  than  her  manner  might  suggest            and  she  recuperates  quickly.

[lanegrooms]

Mystery Babylon Revisited 02: Notes from the “Sun of God”

Part 2 of Bill Cooper’s “Mystery Babylon” series:

Remember: These are not the beliefs of Bill Cooper or myself. These are the beliefs of the mysteries schools of thought that make up what is known as, “Mystery Babylon” or the Babylonian religions.

Notes Below:

Mystery Babylon: Hour 02, Sun of God [Bill Cooper’s “The Hour of the Time” Radio Broadcast]

The Mystery Schools:

The Order of the Quest

Freemasonry

The Ancient Order of the Rose and Cross

The Knights Templar

The Sovereign and Military or of the Knights of Malta

The Order of Saint John of Jerusalem

The Priori of Zion

The Thule Society

The Skull and Bones

The Russel Trust

The Jason Society

The Scroll and Key

The Illuminati

and on, and on...

These have all been known collectively as...

The Illuminati

 which means “illumined ones”

Internationalism 

Socialism

Communism

They have infiltrated society.

The beginning of mankind according to the mystery schools:

Evolution

Apes were the most intelligent of the ancient world

Apes while walking on their back legs, freed their hands for early tools

Survival of the fittest; in man’s case: the smartest

Over time, man became better at using his brain, leaving the less intelligent behind.

Natural selection lead to the doubling in size of man’s brain.

Nuts

2 rocks to open.

Accidentally cuts his hand

original thought: the knife

Natural selection favoring better knife makers

An early man found a good long, sharp stick

he remembers a panther attack

thinks it might be better than a club for fending of predators

looked like one of the digging sticks the women used.

Smart enough to not cave in to the pressure of others.

After successful use of the spear, the knowledge was passed on to their children.

These were now better fit to survive.

Early woman threw rocks predators and into trees.

These rocks brought down fruits.

More food for these

More survivors

Throwing of spears brought about highly successful hunting.

Man’s first enemy was Darkness, his first friend: the Sun

No people of the ancient world believed the Sun to be God.

they saw the Sun as the symbol of the creator God.

The light of the world.

The morning Sun focused man’s attention on heaven

Became the symbol of guidance from heaven

The Great Fire of Day

Old Testament: A consuming fire in heaven

When you have you seen the Sun, you have seen the Father

The father is glorified in his Sun.

Sun sustained life.

The Sun gave his life (by setting) to give life to the world.

But he must rise again

As long as the Sun continues to be reborn each day, the world will be given “eternal life”, life on earth forever.

The Sun was man’s savior.

Note: The Mystery Schools believe that Christianity is a perversion of these teachings.

All evil deeds were the work of Darkness

God’s Sun was the Prince of Peace

Evil is of the Prince of Darkness .i.e. the Devil

Light good, dark bad

God’s Sun, the light and the truth

Solace: from same root as “Sol” or “Solar”

Two cosmic brothers: Princes of Good and Evil

Darkness and Light

Egyptian Sun

The Early Morning Sun is pictured as the newborn babe, Horus.

pictured in two ways, the Dove or the Hawk

Dove: Bringer of Peace

Hawk: Bringer of destruction to enemies in war

Hallelujah: Horus is Risen

Horus Risen: Horizon

The Prince of Darkness: The Egyptian god, Set

The Sun is put to death by Set: Sunset

Set is also known in the mystery schools as Typhon

God’s Sun, goes to it’s death wearing a Corona (Crown)

The Statue of Liberty wears a corona, given to the US by Masonic France

Kings still wear a round crown of thorns

those thorns are the rays of the Sun

The Mysteries of Time

Ancient cultures had a 3-in-1, triune god

the first trinity was the 3 stages of the sun

Egyptians knew that the Sun was at it’ most high when the Pyramid cast no shadows: the “Most High God”

The sky was the heavenly temple of the Most High

Ancient man kept track of time by the Sun

hours, days, months, years

kept with round calendars

divided into 4

the reason for 4 gospels

the houses of the Sun

the zodiac

the round calendar divided with lines connecting the solstices and equinoxes into 4 creates a cross

The “Cross of the Zodiac”

on Dec 22, the Sun stops it’s movements in the sky.

The sun is said to be in the “Souther Cross” for 3 days

Consider the number of times 12 is mentioned in the Bible. 12 is the number of signs in the Zodiac.

Consider the stars of the Pleiades, 7 of them.

Leo, was the sign of the Sun

Cancer: the Moon

The others are assigned to the planets

The Zodiac Signs

Aries: The Ram

Lamb of God

Taurus: The Bull

The Golden Calf

Gemini: The Twins

Cain and Abel

Jacob and Esau

Jesus and Satan

considered brothers or sometimes the same

Cancer: The Crab

Leo: The Lion

of the tribe of Judah

Virgo: The Virgin

Spring birth of God’s Sun

Mary (mari means pure)

Isis with the child Horus

Libra: The Scales

Scorpio: The Scorpion

The back biting traitor Judas

Sagittarius: the Archer

Capricorn: the Sea Goat

the Goat of Mendes

Aquarius: The Man with the Water Pitcher

Pisces: The Two Fish

The age that we are leaving

Entering into the age of Aquarius

The New Age will be the dawn of the illumined man

The number of the man is 666

Death in the ancient world: Passed Over

One life to another

Over the river

New Life: Sunrise Easter Service

For the Jews: The Pass Over Feast

The first Deacon of Virgo is Coma: The Desired One of the Nations

The Astrological symbol of Virgo is an “M”

as in Mary

the Mother with the Child

Mention of the immaculate conception of Horus by Isis

she changed into a bird and fluttered over the body of the dead Osiris.

Osiris: the Sun; Isis: the Moon

more on this in a later episode

More Mystery School beliefs

We belong to one another

We are part of God’s Creation

We are called to pray in the morning

The rising sun is the image of Christ

All these points taken from a protestant churches invitation to Easter Morning Service

The cornerstone

the peak of a pyramid

the Master Mason is the cornerstone

The Great Pyramid was dedicated to Horus

Heliopolis: the city of the Sun

The eye of Horus, the peak of the pyramid

the pupil of the master

sometime after 2010, we will enter the age of Aquarius

God’s Sun will bring us into the new House

In my father’s house, there are many houses.

12 houses of the Zodiac

Planets and Houses are said to affect the virtues of all things.

I will be with you, even unto the...

end of the world

end of aeon

end of the age

age is aprox. 2,000 years

Soon, God’s Sun will come again, into his house of Aquarius.

Note: This is the mystery school interpretation. This is the reason why they believe Christianity to be a perversion of the Mysteries, and why they hate Christians.

When viewing the sea at Sunset, one can still see the Sun’s reflection as it passes over the horizon; God’s Sun walking on water.

[thesunlounge]

Reviews 361: R_R_ (Reinis Ramans)

Very few things in music make me happier than when Growing Bin goes ambient, and the newest exploration of horizontal stylings released on the label–the Train of Thought LP by R_R_–is truly something special. R_R_, short for Reinis Ramans, is an alias of Reinis Semēvics, a multi-faceted artist, composer, and lecturer based in Riga, Latvia and working in music, soundtrack, and radio. As described by Patrick Ryder in the press note for the LP, and as suggested by the soothing liquid visage on the front cover, Train of Thought is “inspired by the rhythmic movement of water and how its rippled reflections bend our perception”–and the album sees a wide range of field recordings, samples, acoustic instruments, and synthesizers combining for a sonic experience that is as meditative as it is beguiling. Water, as a thematic centerpiece, is heard in many forms...sometimes cleansing and pure, other times corrosive and blended with noxious chemicals…and birds and insects sing while the sounds of seaside cities filter into the stereo field. Synthesizers, orchestral samples, and otherworldly electronics morph and mutate between billowing clouds of subsonic smoke, spaceage cascades of radiant tropicalia, progressive electronic and new age sequencer studies, and droning choral incantations while pianos and digitized mallet instruments alight on polychromatic dream explorations. Elsewhere, bouncing basslines, IDM drum fx, and hand percussions coalesce to sweep the body towards alien island paradises and at certain crucial moments, four-four kick drums emerge to lead muted and vaporous expanses of oceanic deep house. As well, the entire album is artfully arranged and segued, with the individual compositions seamlessly flowing into and out of one another, creating the effect of a delirium hallucination.

R_R_ - Train of Thought (Growing Bin Records, 2020) Synthesized dream sonics descend over effected wave crashes at the start of “Entering,” with the sonics evoking mirage-like visions of leaves falling from trees. The melodic temperament of the track soon changes however, as the feathery pad descents are replaced by pooling clouds of black smoke and boat engine drones, with a vibe not unlike the murky ambiance of II by Wilson & Tanner. The immersive and softly caustic waves of sound grow ever denser as smoldering bass currents swirl slowly…their sounds evoking the mutated arias of an extra-terrestrial druid choir while scraped metals and abstracted clacks fill the air. As the track progresses, the mind wanders along desolate beaches adjacent to abandoned industrial factories, as sea-horns blow from unseen sources and air brakes releasing at nearby bustops. The inky hazes of unsettled ambiance hovering above the horizon eventually fade away and at some point, all sense of melody or tonality disappears, leaving behind the sounds of a decaying seaside city and a thick, soul-swallowing buzz. And as the track ends, post-classical angel breaths are carried on fluttering echowaves, crickets sing their chirping serenades, and the field recordings of lapping water return, only this time free of fx, with a sound clean and pure. The heavenly organ-esque tones of “Opposite” are birthed from this liquid soundworld. Chiming pads intertwine with sleepy-eyed keyboard phrases to bring atmospheres of a cosmic lullaby and hypnagogic bass pulsations float the body and spirit while treble frequencies shimmer at the edges of the mix...like myriad insect wings vibrating in anticipation. Dreamscape synth leads mimic the refractions of sunlight on a rippling ocean surface and after a sudden fade to silence, phased and flanged reveries of post-classical romance swim around each other, resulting in a glorious sunrise ritual blurred by layers of alien filtering, wherein shadowy formations reference previously heard progressions.

Field recordings of water and insects are slowly brought into focus at the end of “Opposite,” from which emerge the lulling arps of “Luminosity”…like fantasy sequences of kankyō-ongaku-inspired innocence. Cymbals tap out breezy rhythms and FM-synth star clusters descend from the night sky as gently physical tom tom rhythms give the horizontal groove a soft tribal pulse. Bleary synth arpeggiations continue their sleep-inducing dance and at some point, the rhythms cut away, leaving bass notes to pound like currents of heavy air. Wailing streaks of muted brass synthesis work into the mix alongside vaporous rhythmic accents and as further melodic cascades fall onto the mix, they bring with them drunken dream energies and whooshing celestial winds. The barely-there rhythms are given further hypnotic momentum by soft shaker murmurations and certain drum hits fly out through liquid dub fx chains. Phase-shifting wisps of fragile keyboard magic blow in from the edge of the mix, chill-out tracers and minimalist synth cycles dance joyously overhead, and galactic chimes swim through star oceans as rimshots work against the rhythmic flow, though the effect is brief and the track eventually breaks apart. Segueing into “Opening Up (Improv Take),” echo fx comprised of either birdsong or drum detritus move backwards in time, with manic repetitions obscuring Ramans’ REM-cycle piano explorations. Eventually, the clicking delay tracers recede, leaving glowing piano incantations to work through clouds of sustain pedal resonance, which overlap to create slowly moving vortices of ivory ambiance. And increasingly these tales of piano sustain and decay are caught through delay and reverb machines, which morph the sounds towards aquaeous fogbanks and deep sea cloudforms even as the playing grows ever more intense and accelerated, with runs of joyous abandon struggling to be heard within a droning maelstrom.

A fade to near silence introduces “Deleting Doubts,” wherein the pianos of the preceding track briefly re-emerge, with clustered notes generating clouds of deep sea ambiance. A Berlin school sequence diffuses in while asymmetrical delay fx move in counterpoint, resulting in a dance of psychoacoustic splendor. A four-four kick enters alongside emotional bass slides and the whole thing evokes into a sort of hyperventilating slice of Yume Bitsu-style post rock, with dub fx ricocheting across the mix and further sequential synth patterns entering to harmonize with the percolating kosmische electronics. Gentle hisses and glitches intermingle with birdsong and isolated three note piano melodies beam in from an entirely different song while woodblocks and rimshots bounce around the mix. And as sequences fade through echo chambers while sonars ping across the sky, huge roaring swells wash the mix clean, until all the remains is birdsong. “Melodic Harmony” begins the B-side, with further birdsong samples being quickly disturbed by unsettling liquid gurgles and extra-terrestrial laser whistles. White noise atmospheres flow over emotional basslines while IDM electronics flash cross the mind and as the track progresses, the vibe grows increasingly tropical even as it pushes towards alien landscapes, with a sound not unlike the work of X.Y.R, especially on Big Chill. At some point, equatorial chords drop, bringing with them soothing balearic vibrations and a sense of seaside warmth, which is only enhanced as metalloid taps form into a hypnotizing horizontal groove…the effect like watching a cinematic sunset on some faraway exo-planet, where the horizon explodes in colors never before imagined. During an ambient breakdown, birds sing again over hovering solar wavefronts and braindance cymbal FX, out of which emerges a completely transcendent passage, wherein instruments evoking a marimbas made of human breath executes minimalist fairy dream dances in the style of The Swan and The Lake. And effortlessly, the strangely swaying island life groove resumes around the angelic idiophones and now features muted brass fanfares reaching towards a sunburst sky.

In “New Wind,” a choir sitting at the center of existence blows out waves of blackened radiance, through which swim psychotropic laser clusters. Angelic hazes diffuse through the darkness, bird chirps echo, and cooing brass synths bring rays of warming light as a four-four beat and bassline pulse through the shadows. Further beings from celestial skies breath wordless melodies and echoing toms beat in tribal anticipation while hi-hats shimmer before resolving into focus, with everything coming together like the lunar ocean new age and rainforest club experiments of Sign Libra. Imagine a dance party on the seafloor, only as if heard thousands of feet away on the water’s surface, with throbbing and blurry rhythms causing the heady and body to fully zone out. We move from open water to the seashore in “Step by Step,” as effected waves crash and crystalline keyboards dance in a spirit of tropical effervescence. Blurred piano chords land like gemstones as they anchor a developing groove, which is constructed from the ritualist pitter patter of hand drums and tom toms. Leads awash in vibes of new age and coastal jazz sparkle like diamonds in the sunlight, alternately descending down infinite scales or alighting on understated solo explorations. Melodic bubble cascades glow in hues of ruby, sapphire, and emerald and are given further shape by a smacked snare, which imbues the track with a sort of dubwise riddim flow, one bringing evocations of Gaussian Curve’s balearic bliss outs and the Growing Bin classic Overworld by A.r.t. Wilson. Synthesized FM sequences join the island sway as the melodic and rhythmic begin to blur, with additional ceremonial drum layers joining in and seagulls crying overhead. And the track seems to space out as it proceeds, growing airier and landing increasingly like a dream…like a tropical paradise only remembered, with the mental visage blurring around the edges as the mind flits between scenes both real and imagined. As for “Outro,” whooshing waves and descending dream energies are joined by swells of ethereal string synthesis…as if an eternal orchestra of ocean and sky is bidding the listen farewell.

(images from my personal copy)