#plow setting demonstration

[astronomyforastrologers]

The Bootes Contradiction ~ 25 Sep 2024

The Bootes Contradiction ~ 25 Sep 2024, Philip Sedgwick

Before diving in, a Vimeo recording (1 hr. 32 min) of the interview with Sasha Ravich during the AstroMajic event is now available. This is a limited time offer. The video will only be available for viewing through 8 November. For the price of an afternoon matinee, you can tune in to hear the source story of Galactic Astrology, what can be perceived with Galactic phenomena and more. Here’s the link to order the interview and other galactic products and consultations. And now, onto the post.

On or about 09 October, the Sun passes the degree of the Bootes Void (estimated for 2025, 16 Libra 40 / 57 N 50). On or about 10 October, the Sun to Bootes Supercluster (estimated for 2025 18 Li 09 / 34 N 53).

This is more than a fine kettle of fish; this is a most curious contradiction. First, a few background details for perspective. In space there exist eighteen defined superclusters. A supercluster is a collection of galaxies and stars gravitationally compressed into a small region of space. These are spaces of incredible object density. In space there are also three (possibly more, depending upon source material) defined void regions in space. These are areas in which objects appear not so much, thus a void.

Curiously, when projected on the ecliptic the Bootes Void and the Bootes Supercluster coexist in virtual conjunction separated by about a degree and a half of longitude. Looking vertically relative to ecliptic, the void stands about thirteen degrees above the supercluster. This is most fascinating. Two objects seemingly portraying opposite sides of the Bootes nature share virtually the same place on the ecliptic.

Any individual with a connection to the Bootes Void simultaneously enjoys a connection with the Bootes Supercluster.

To personify one of the maladies of Libra, one must make a decision which entity one wishes to portray and when. Or must they? Can a person have it both ways?

A bit about Bootes in clustering the myths together. In ancient lore Bootes was a herdsman (a goddess according to the Egyptians) with an ingenious streak. Bootes is credited with inventing the plough (plow). This creation won great favor with the goddess of agriculture, Ceres, and earned him a place in the heavens upon his death. His agricultural chops also won favor with Dionysus, keeper of the sacred wine, for obvious reasons. Also, Bootes kept the pole stars in check, as part of his flock - a Libran balancing act requiring great attention.

Within Bootes’ nature there is fertility, ingenuity, an ability to arbitrate the position of opposing entities and skill at keeping the flock together. With little imagination, these attributes certainly translate to useable talents that can be applied in the real world or online (implying only a more etheric, nebulous quality to all things done in the realm of cyber).

This fosters the question, should one choose to portray the demonstrated skill sets of Bootes in life, or would slipping into the void be a better option? Is there a more correct option? Perhaps this is like one who cultivates great knowledge that may help the world, and chooses to sit on a mountain top meditating and praying for the world to evolve. Perhaps this is like one who cultivates great knowledge that may help the world and chooses to get in the thick of it with all the people of the world and work in the trenches to ensure a positive outcome for the planet.

A few considerations deserve percolation while deciding which option best suits ones dharmic disposition.

For diving into the void:

Ensure that there is no embarrassment, false humility or imposter syndrome impacting the choice. Know that ones potency is felt with equal intensity while in the void. Recognize the sensation of ghosting felt by others in your absence. Create mitigation communication to abate the disruption caused by this effect. Agree to use ones non physical presence in all known impactful matters. Cultivate a clear intentional focus for life objectives and influence. Master instantaneous, at-a-distance energy transfer methods.

For utilizing the assets of a supercluster

Check that one has no agenda of creating favor or influence as a result of ones talents. Function from the standpoint that when the world becomes a better place because of ones action, life in the world is more palatable and less stressful. Use no gravitational or cosmic influence with the agenda of personal gain... realizing that a betterment of one life likely results from so doing... it’s simply not the intention behind the action. Decide to become a master in perceiving interpersonal energy dynamics and reporting those intricacies to those struggling to maintain personal independence or those mired within the influence of another.

Soon, the Sun transits the Bootes degrees, applying unapologetic attention to the Bootes effect. Will a person choose engagement or withdrawal, or perhaps they feel differing urges at different times? The Sun should ensure that all urges are clear, and hopefully, promptly engaged.

Regardless of the mode of life involvement chosen, recognize engagement, direct or indirect, is in progress. Establish personal energetic intention to support either mode and engage fully and without reservation or hesitation. If the mode of engagement selected presents a radical change of life operational dynamics, consider informing those in your personal sphere of your decision. This ensures that no unwanted energy threads get directed toward you, regardless of your engagement or disengagement.

Is there a convergence zone in which both polarities can exist much like the pole stars Bootes oversaw? Can one change modes of operation over the course of a solar transit? Perhaps. Keep in mind that these degrees of Libra possess extreme drawing power... a.k.a. charisma and charm of the highest order. Once a person taps into the gravity of these degrees, others will be inexplicably captivated by their words, thoughts and actions... and they will not take kindly to being dismissed once engaged.

Is this contradiction Hamlet personified? To be or not to be...? Perhaps the reframe states: To Bootes or not to Bootes... that is the question.

More soon.

There’s nothing like the time of Libra for a cosmic reality check with the transits to create alignment with what one wants to accomplish and how others perceive accomplishment efforts. Whether a half-hour, full-blown session or sequence of sessions, the transits and discovery of galactic intricacies assist the cause. For those wanting to pose a question or two, that’s an option. So is ordering a Galactic Report or diving into the Galactic Trilogy.

One Stop Shopping Order Form Astrological Texts

Meteoric the Movie on Vimeo ZAP! on Vimeo

[lilaroxa]

RF1: Year 1 - Spring 20

Raguna finally sets foot in Toros Cave!

On his first day there, he mostly spent his time chopping the absurd amount of wood there. Though, I'm not complaining, you need so much wood to upgrade your house, and an extra 1300 wood if you want to fulfill Tabatha's marriage requirements!

But something that struck me as odd was Godwin's reaction to us completing Carmite Cave. He says:

"Is it true that a Greater Daemon was in Carmite Cave? I’m sure there wasn’t one that big in that cave? It’s a bit of a worry. Well, besides that, Raguna, you’ve plowed Carmite Cave enough for me to issue you a pass to Toros Cave. Okay, Here’s the pass. Take care entering the cave."

His wording is not that odd, there are many other villagers who had a similar reaction: "What? A Greater Daemon? You have to be careful!" or "Wow, I'm so impressed!". But Godwin was the only one who commented on it "probably not being that big".

That combined with Felicity's unique reaction:

First of all, I respect Felicity for being the only one to ask a direct question like this. The only other people who are close to feeling concerned are Mei and Tabatha who say it's "strange" for the Greater Daemon to appear here. Since Greater Daemons are not common in their homelands.

But a crazier theory came to mind.

** RUNE FACTORY ENDGAME SPOILERS BELOW **

It had me wondering, what if Godwin had something to do with the Sechs Empire?

His motives for doing so, I'll let you be the judge of that. There could be plenty of reasons such as forging a peace agreement with the Sechs Empire, or maybe he was a Sechs spy all along.

And his daughter being the closest one to the truth? That's some writing I can get behind. You often hear Godwin and Felicity talk about making Kardia the best place it can be, but I've always felt that Felicity was the one most connected with the residents whereas Godwin takes a more "logical" approach. Hence, this is why I theorize Godwin agreeing to a Sechs bribe/agreement doesn't sound too farfetched.

Regardless, I always thought it was kind of weird that Godwin made you plow a certain number of squares before issuing the next pass. He's also the one who determines the order you go to each cave, so issuing a Misty Bloom Cave pass in the middle of summer is...well, a convenient way to stall Raguna, isn't it?

I also found it kind of funny that the only caves Godwin pushes you to explore are Danaan and Greed Cave, the two most important caves for the Sechs Empire.

Throughout my playthrough, I read all of Godwin's reactions as a mayor worried for the town. And I'm sure that the logical explanation is that the developers wanted to make sure you fulfilled the requirements to feel the impact of the ending. Godwin pushing you to the last caves demonstrates urgency.

I'm also sure I'll come across one of his dialogues that fully debunks my "evil Godwin" theory. But the idea was just too fun not to share.

** RUNE FACTORY ENDGAME SPOILERS END*

Godwin, whatever motives you may have, you're still my favourite mayor.

Row 20 goes to Raguna embarking on his next adventure in Toros Cave!

LILA'S RUNE FACTORY TEMPERATURE BLANKET

[bluemoonpunch]

Leo Season 2024 Collective Reading

Leo Season 2024: July 22 - August 22

At the very center, the word FARMER lays over The Storm which already paints an interesting picture of the general collective energy that will be at play throughout Leo Season. On one hand, The Storm spells out trouble for the Farmer as plans for the initial plowing and planting of the fields are affected by the sudden change in weather. For other Farmers in Leo Season, this storm, though sudden and loud for everyone equally, suggests refreshed and rejuvenated soil that will only support and amplify the growth of the desired harvest going forward. For everyone, Leo Season will mark some kind of wake-up call or checkpoint of clarification all for the sake of locking into place some of your steps for the journey forward.

At the head of the spread, Gaia puts a focus on the energy of the environment, bringing to mind the soul of Gaia versus the physical form of Mother Earth. This alongside Happy, Happy, the Lizard, and Decision, there’s an emphasis on generating energy, matching energy, and directing or driving energy with deliberate intent, further expanding on that idea of everyone operating as a Farmer in Leo Season.

The Lizard feels like an energetic slingshot that is just buzzing to get moving, with Happy, Happy the one setting the aim and Decision being the bird’s-eye-view of the desired targets that are on display and within reach. With Happy, Happy in such a prominent position, it feels like maintaining a happy or optimistic outlook is crucial for being able to hit the markers of Decision, and may even decide whether or not you see those opportunities at all.

In the image of Decision, the woman in blue mirrors the fairy in blue in Happy, Happy. This affirms the sense of Happy, Happy’s vision being what directs the Lizard’s energy toward Decision, mobilizing her on or toward the chess board or battlefield. In the image of Decision, the golden hues of the chessboard are juxtaposed by the dark shadows of the mysterious doorway in the upper right-hand corner. This cross between light and dark reflects the image and message of the Solar Eclipse on the far right. All together, this seems to put significance on perspective, perception, and your ability to navigate and guide yourself on a path or through a strategy that you have constructed for yourself. Going back to the mix of Farmer and The Storm, this can demonstrate the significance of co-creation and personal alignment with the Universe or natural flow and order alongside personal desire and achievement.

The sign of the Solar Eclipse suggesting shadows over the board, missing links, blindspots on the current path or within the current plans, brings us into the lower half of the reading. Where the top half seems mostly stimulated and illuminated by Fire and Light energy, the lower half of the reading is more steeped in Water energy. At the head there is The Moon, followed by the Third Eye’s Visualisation, the Full Moon in Scorpio, and the Electric Eel. Another Decision card from another deck came out in the center, carrying the same energy of the original one up top, but painted in a different light.

On the lower half, the image of Decision feels like the chess board from up top was shaken up and all of the game pieces were scattered around the table. The image of the lower Decision, showing multiple arrows falling and pointing in different directions, is meant to point to the pressure and overwhelm of decision-making while on the move, and here it feels more like someone’s travel bag was ripped open and spilled out on the floor of the airport.

Full reading with 5 pick-a-card readings to choose from here!

[beevean]

What pisses me off the most about NFCV is the way it disrespects the original medium of video gaming. The show sets up a potential action setpiece similar to a level from the game (the turning wheel, s1e3 I think) and then just *walks around it*. Everything about the way "Devil Forging" works in the show demonstrates that Ellis didn't even consult a cutscene compilation, much less the game. And sure enough, the fucker admits he never played them. Why adapt source material you've never experienced?

*Captain N* (a show I defend to the death) was better than this. It embraces the action montage, and even if things aren't 1-to-1, they do capture the appeal of the gameplay they adapt. It understands people love the original work. NFCV plows through the formalities of adapting a guy skimming the wikipedia summary of the game and then sits everyone in a basement for a full season.

The only times I felt I was watching an adaptation of Castlevania was in S1, with things like the fight against the Cyclop who petrified Sypha and Trevor falling into the deepest catacombs where Alucard hid himself, and in S4, where the last fight before the final showdown with Death happens in a clock tower, his iconic hideout.

As for the rest, I remember some snarky fans defending the show's wildly different direction with things like "what, did you expect to see Trevor jumping on platforms?" I don't know but it sure as shit would have been better than the trio wasting the entirety of S2 cooped up in a library! Yes, I would have preferred to see them travel through forests and caves and swamps, instead of wasting my time watching N!Alucard being a complete jerk to N!Trevor for no good reason! (and no, defending vampires is not a good reason)

bro. bro not even the vampire killer is treated with respect. it's replaced with the morning star which is a different weapon, and then n!trevor drops it in favor of a knife pulled out of the story's ass. the morning star pisses n!dracula off, but a fucking stick is capable of killing him. are you doing this on purpose.

And don't get me started on Devil Forging. I actually don't mind too much the idea of making it more similar to necromancy, because it would fit with the idea that it's a cursed, disgusting, blasphemous art. I also can concede that the knowledge that Dracula infused Hector and Isaac with his own power is very obscure, vaguely implied in one cutscene in CoD and one panel of PtR, and confirmed in a pre-release interview. But everything else is so less interesting. It's an art that apparently N!Hector was born with for no reason and N!Isaac could study on his own, removing the personal connection between Dracula and Forgemasters. There are other Forgemasters in the world: those two are not special (which also makes me wonder why N!Dracula bothered to hire N!Hector with a lie when he could have travelled some more: I'm sure Miranda would have helped him). N!Isaac eventually becomes so OP he can stibby stabby to create new Night Creatures without any effort. None of the interesting themes about dehumanization or forcing pure creatures to sin are hinted at*. Even N!Hector's unique cavalier relationship with death, a genuinely but interesting childish mentality of "oh no, death is sad! but I can fix it!", is never explored, because the story was too busy making him look stupid and breedable. And to top it all off, Nocturne literally introduces the concept of a Devil Forging machine which is so bad it sucks even in universe.

*the closest thing to this is in S4 with this line from N!Isaac: "You believe you are tools of destruction only because this is how your kind have always been used". Admittedly, it's a cool line I would have loved to apply to Hector and Isaac. But it doesn't quite work because by definition Night Creatures are not innocent, being demons from hell... and anyway he keeps using them to kill people in Styria because N!Isaac is a bastard and unlike Isaac he won't even admit it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ that line comes off as so self-aggrandizing and I hate how much the show shills him so I won't cut it any slack because I'm petty.

As for Captain N, I will say this: the inclusion of the Poltergeist King is, of course, totally wrong from a lore stand point, but to me it tells that the writers actually read the manual in search of information, and the American manual really was the only resource they had at their disposal at the time. Just like that, they put in more effort than Warren "somehow didn't realize on his own that Mathias Cronqvist was Dracula's human name while reading a wiki page" Ellis.

[greenerteacups]

Which is your favourite and least favourite harry potter book?

while i think Prisoner of Azkaban is the best on a technical level, my favorite is Goblet of Fire. because it's a fucking blockbuster. like, this is a book that is firing on all cylinders, trying to do a million billion things at once, and it executes the fuck out of basically everything. besides the fact that it dives deeper into character dynamics than any previous book (ron and harry! hermione and ron! hermione and krum! sirius and harry! ron and percy! etc!!), it's a massive expansion of the universe: it opens up whole new wizarding hemispheres, new countries, new cultures, TONS of new characters, the Quidditch World Cup, the Triwizard Tournament, the Ministry of Magic's bureaucratic politics, the Old Guard death eaters, and the beginning of the Order of the Phoenix. it gives us Fleur and Krum and Mad-Eye Moody and Cho and Cedric and Charlie Weasley, and the first taste of Snape's backstory, not to mention pensieves and mermaids and fucking dragons, like sorry, are you seeing this shit??

and then, finally, it gives us the beginning of the second wizarding war. it gives us the graveyard scene and Cedric Diggory's sacrifice, one of the best and most important moments in any book ever, because it's the whole story in a nutshell, and it's also the moment that the plot starts. Goblet is the crux of the entire series, and it nails almost everything. (the exception being the Moody plot twist, which... I did not love, but like: must a conclusion be "good"? is it not simply enough for a story to plow headfirst off the rails in a wildly entertaining direction, and then end? i think it is.)

so those are what I see as the Objective Goods of Goblet. my Subjective Goods are: i love a tournament arc, i love a GAME, i love a set of rules and rituals and ceremonies and opportunities to demonstrate character through contrasting behavior in response to pre-ordained challenges and rule sets. i love you Yule Ball, i love you prom arc, i love you dressing characters up in silly little outfits and making them take each other on dates, i love you teenage drama and misunderstandings and jealousy and teenybopper romantic subplots. i love you goblet of fire.

[officialleehadan]

Across Iron Bars

The Silver Rose

+++

In a way, it would have been easier if Tanglethorn could scream as he took his first pained step across the anti-faerie borders of Mucker’s land.

The gasps, edged with a barely-there whine were worse. As if he was in so much pain he couldn’t even get the air to scream. As if his mind was slipping away under the assault his body was under. Tears ran down his cheeks, unheeded as he walked forward, helpless under the demand of his True Name in Jax’s grasp.

“Don’t make me do this more than once,” he had said, and since that was the only mercy Jax could give him, he would do his best to give it.

“Tserafel, come to me,” he said again, over and over as he stepped back just as Tanglethorn reached him, but before he could escape the hold of his Name. “Tserafel, come to me.”

Step by agonizing step, Jax ignored the shallow, panting gasps of the faerie before him and dragged him across the wards. By the fourth step, Tanglethorn was staggering, drunk with pain. By the seventh, Jax had to fight with himself not to try and help. He couldn’t. If he let Tanglethorn actually reach him, the spell of his Name would break, and they would have to try the whole, horrific process again.

They barely made it over the final step, across the thick bars of iron that crossed over the first fourteen paces of Mucker’s road, before Tanglethorn collapsed.  Jax barely caught him in time and dragged him the final step, hoping and praying that it was far enough that if Tanglethorn did try to bolt on him, he would do it from inside the wards.

He needn’t have worried. As soon as they crossed the final bars of iron, Tanglethorn collapsed to the ground and curled in on himself, sobbing helplessly into the dirt.

Jax might not like him very much, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave Tanglethorn. Not now. Not after the horror of what had just happened to him.

“I got you,” he said and pulled Tanglethorn into a hug so the faerie could cry into his shoulder, rather than the dusty soil. Tanglethorn struggled a little, weakly, until he figured out what Jax was doing and went boneless again. For once, he was utterly artless, struggling against the pain that still wracked him. “Take as long as you need. We’re done. You’re done.”

Jax wasn’t sure how long they sat there on the dusty road, but it was long enough for Mucker to drive Jax’s car inside the property lines, and then to lumber back for his tractor. The plow that dragged behind it cut deep furrows through the rows already cut and left deep crosses in its wake.

“Meet me at the house,” he said when he paused beside them, visibly uncomfortable with the way Tanglethorn seemed a shadow of himself, halfway bundled inside Jax’s heavy leather coat, still sobbing. “I’ll come back and finish the cross-plow. Either way, nothing’s coming inside after you. Not through that.”

“Thanks,” Jax said, and carefully wiped the dust-red dirt from Tanglethorn’s skin before the iron shavings could begin to burn him. He never wanted such a clear, painful demonstration of Mucker’s defenses, but he couldn’t deny their effectiveness. Not after seeing what it did to his faerie, who knew how bad it would be and chose to face it anyway. Lydia would never trust anyone enough to permit the same. “Might be a while.”

“That’s fine. Look after him. He means more to more people than you can imagine.”

With that cryptic statement, Mucker left his tractor ready to finish crossplowing the road, and headed off towards the farmhouse Jax could just barely see through stands of fruit trees, and sprawling gardens surrounded by thick-planted fields.

By the time Tanglethorn’s tears began to fade, the sun was starting to set. The whole road glittered with iron shavings, old and new. The air was starting to cool, and Jax’s legs were going to sleep from sitting in the same position for so long.

“Come on,” he said quietly. Tanglethorn made a small inquisitive noise but didn’t move. “We gotta get to the house. Think you can walk?”

“Probably not,” Tanglethorn said through a hoarse, painful-sounding throat. “You did well. With my Name.”

“Wish it hadn’t come to that,” Jax said honestly. H might not like Tanglethorn very much, but nobody deserved that. He wasn’t sure how exactly Tanglethorn planned to manage getting across it again when they had to leave. “Get your arms around my neck. I’m gonna carry you.”

Tanglethorn made another noise, this one of vague agreement, and did his best, which still wan’t very good. Jax hot his arms under his faerie charge and stood, grateful again that he was a tall black man, and that Tanglethorn was barely an armful even limp with exhaustion.

“Try to stay awake long enough to get to the house, and get clean,” he said once Tanglethorn was settled into the car, already starting to doze. “Those robes of yours are good for dancing, but you won’t have a good night if you try to sleep covered in iron dust.”

“Been through worse and walked away,” Tanglethorn muttered, but he did do his best to rouse himself. “Don’t worry about Mucker’s clan. They might seem intimidating, but they’re the best people I’ve ever known. Certainly better friends than I deserve.”

“We’ll let them be the judge of that,” Jax said and got them moving down the bumpy dirt road towards safety. “Just hang on a little longer. We’re almost to home base.”

+++

At the Sign of the Silver Rose:

Cold Iron Buckshot

Troll Market 

Strike a Pose  (Subscriber Only!)

For My Life  (Subscriber Only!)

Reach the Door (Subscriber Only!)

Iron Spike (Subscriber Only!)

West and South

Rowan, Holly, and Iron

Across Iron Bars (New!)

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MASTERLIST

[cagemasterfantasy]

Elves

Elves are a magical people of otherworldly grace living in the world but not entirely part of it. They live in places of Ethereal beauty in the midst of ancient forests or in silvery spires glittering with faerie light where soft muisic drifts through the air and gentle fragrances waft on the breeze Elves love nature and magic art and artistry music and poetry and good things of the world. With their unearthly grace and fine features elves appear hauntingly beautiful to humans and members of other races. They are slightly shorter than humans on average 5 1/2 feet. They are more slender than humans weighing about 125 pounds Males and Females are about the same height and males are only marginally heavier than the females Elves coloration encompasses the normal human range and also includes skin in shades of copper bronze and almost bluish-white hair of green or blue and eyes like pools of liquid gold or silver Elves have no facial and little body hair They favor elegant clothing in bright colors and they enjoy simple yet lovely jewelry. Elevs on average live to be 750 giving them a broad perspective on events that might trouble the shorter lived races more deeply They are more often amused than excited and more likely to be curious than greedy They tend to remainaloof and unfazed by petty happenstance When pursuing a goal however whether adventuring on a mission or learning a new skill or art elves can be focused and relentless They are slow to make friends and enemies and even slower to forget them They reply to petty insults with disdain and to serious insults with vengence Like the branches of a young tree elves are flexible in the face of danger They trust in diplomacy and compromise to resolve differences before they escalate to violence They have been known to retreat from intusions into their woodland homes confident that they can simply wait the invaders out But when the need arises elves reveal a stern martial side demonstrating skill with sword bow and strategy Most elves dwell in small forest villages hidden among the trees Elves hunt game gather food and grow vegatables and their skill and magic allow them to support themselves withought the need for clearing and plowing land They are talented artisans crafting finely worked clothes and art objects Their contact with outsiders is usually limited though a few elves make a good living by trading crafted items for metals (Which they have no interest in mining) Elves encountered outside their own lands are commonly traveling minstrels artists or sages Human nobles compete for the services of elf instructors to teach swordplay or magic to their children Elves take up adventuring out of wanderlust Since they are so long lived the can enjoy centruies of exploration and discovery They dislike the pace of human society which is regimented from day to day but constantly changing over decades so they find careers that let them travel freely and set their own pace Elves also enjoy exercising their martial prowess or gaining greater magical power and adventuring allows them to do so. Some might join with rebels fighting against oppression and other might become champions of moral causes

Traits

Dexterity increases by 2 Elves love freedom variety and self expression so they lean strongly toward the gentler aspects of chaos. They value and protect others freedom as well as their own and they are more often good than not The drow are an exception their exile into the underdark has made them vicious and dangerous Drow are more often evil than not.

Elves are usually 5 1/2 feet and have slender builds your size is medium Your walking speed is 30 feet

Accustomed to teilit forests and the night sky you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light and in darkness as if it were dim light You can't discern color in darkness only shades of gray.

Keen senses: You have proficiency in the Perception Skill.

Fey ancestry: You have advantage on saving throws against being charned and magic can't put you to sleep

Trance: Elves don't need to sleep Instead they meditate deeply reamining semiconscious for 4 hours a day While meditating you can dream after a fashion such dreams are actually mental excersises that have become reflexive through years of practice. After resting in this way you gain the same benefit that a human has does from 8 hours of sleep.

Languages: You can speak read and write Common and Elvish. Elvish is fluid with subtle intonations and intricate grammer. Elven literature is rich and varied and their songs and poems are famous among other races. Many races learn their language so they can add Elvish ballads to their repitoires.

Subrace: Pick between High elf, Wood elf, or Drow (Consult with your dungeon master before picking Drow due to how rare they are on the surface) and Eladrin (Again consult with your dungeon master before playing Eladrin).

Source: Players Handbook.

[spinallyspiraling]

The Sacred Bull and Orphic Egg

The ancient symbol of the Orphic Mysteries was the serpent-entwined egg, which signified Cosmos as encircled by the fiery Creative Spirit. The egg also represents the soul of the philosopher; the serpent, the Mysteries. At the time of initiation the shell is broke. and man emerges from the embryonic state of physical existence wherein he had remained through the fetal period of philosophic regeneration.

Among the ancients the sun was always symbolized by the figure and nature of the constellation through which it passed at the vernal equinox. For nearly the past 2,000 years the sun has crossed the equator at the vernal equinox in the constellation of Pisces (the Two Fishes). For the 2,160 years before that it crossed through the constellation of Aries (the Ram). Prior to that the vernal equinox was in the sign of Taurus (the Bull). It is probable that the form of the bull and the bull's proclivities were assigned to this constellation because the bull was used by the ancients to plow the fields, and the season set aside for plowing and furrowing corresponded to the time at which the sun reached the segment of the heavens named Taurus.

Albert Pike describes the reverence which the Persians felt for this sign and the method of astrological symbolism in vogue among them, thus: "In Zoroaster's cave of initiation, the Sun and Planets were represented, overhead, in gems and gold, as was also the Zodiac. The Sun appeared, emerging from the back of Taurus." In the constellation of the Bull are also to be found the "Seven Sisters"--the sacred Pleiades--famous to Freemasonry as the Seven Stars at the upper end of the Sacred Ladder.

In ancient Egypt it was during this period--when the vernal equinox was in the sign of Taurus--that the Bull, Apis, was sacred to the Sun God, who was worshiped through the animal equivalent of the celestial sign which he had impregnated with his presence at the time of its crossing into the Northern Hemisphere. This is the meaning of an ancient saying that the celestial Bull "broke the egg of the year with his horns."

Sampson Arnold Mackey, in his Mythological Astronomy of the Ancients Demonstrated, makes note of two very interesting points concerning the bull in Egyptian symbolism. Mr. Mackey is of the opinion that the motion of the earth that we know as the alternation of the poles has resulted in a great change of relative position of the equator and the zodiacal band. He believes that originally the band of the zodiac was at right angles to the equator, with the sign of Cancer opposite the north pole and the sign of Capricorn opposite the south pole. It is possible that the Orphic symbol of the serpent twisted around the egg attempts to show the motion of the sun in relation to the earth under sich conditions Mr Mackey advances the Labyrinth of Crate, the name theas, and the magic formula, abracadabra, among other things, to substantiate his theory. Concerning abracadabra he states

"But the slow progressive disappearance of the Ball is most happily commemorated in the vanishing series of letters so emphatically expressive of the great astronomical fact For ABRACADABRA is The Bull, the unly Bull. The ancient sentence split into its component parts stands thus: Ab'r-uchad-abra, e, Abt, the Ball, achad, the unly, &c. Achad is one of the names of the Sun, given him in consequence of his Shining ALONE - he is the ONIY Star to be seen when he is seen--the remaining ab'ra, makes the whole to he. The Ball, the only Rull, while the repetition of the name omitting a letter, till all is gone, is the most simple, yet the most satisfactory method that could have been devised to preserve the memory of the fact, and the name of Sorapis, or Senapis, given to the Bull at the above ceremony puts it beyond all doubt. This word (Abracadabra) disappears in eleven decreasing stages, as in the figure. And what is very remarkable, a body with three heads is folded up by a Serpent with eleven Coils and placed by Sorapis and the cleven Volves or the Serpent form a triangle similar to that formed by the ELEVEN diminishing lines of the abracadabra."

The Theogony of Hesiod contains the most complete account of the Greek cosmogony myth. Orphic cosmogony has left its impress upon the various forms of philosophy and religion--Greek, Egyptian, and Syrian--which it contacted. Chief of the Orphic symbols was the mundane egg from which Phanes sprang into light. Thomas Taylor considers the Orphic egg to be synonymous with the mixture from bound and infinity mentioned by Plato in the Philebus. The egg is furthermore the third Intelligible Triad and the proper symbol of the Demiurgus, whose auric body is the egg of the inferior universe.

Eusebius, on the authority of Porphyry, declared that the Egyptians acknowledged one intellectual Author or Creator of the world under the name of Cneph and that they worshiped him in a statue of human form and dark blue complexion, holding in his hand a girdle and a scepter, wearing on his head a royal plume, and thrusting forth an egg out of his mouth. (See An Analysis of the Egyptian Mythology) While the Bembine Table is rectangular-shaped, it signifies philosophically the Orphic egg of the universe with its contents. In the esoteric doctrines the supreme individual achievement is the breaking of the Orphic egg, which is equivalent to the return of the spirit to the Nirvana--the absolute condition--of the Oriental mystics.

"Yet another view held in primitive times was that the sky was a vast meadow over which a huge beetle crawled, pushing the disk of the sun before him. This beetle was the Sky-god, and, arguing from the example of the beetle (Scarabæus sacer), which was observed to roll along with its hind legs a ball that was believed to contain its eggs, the early Egyptians thought that the ball of the Sky-god contained his egg and that the sun was his offspring. Thanks, however, to the investigations of the eminent entomologist, Monsieur J. H. Fabre, we now know that the ball which the Scarabæus sacer rolls along contains not its eggs, but dung that is to serve as food for its egg, which it lays in a carefully prepared place."

In nearly all the sacred books of the world can be traced an anatomical analogy. This is most evident in their creation myths. Anyone familiar with embryology and obstetrics will have no difficulty in recognizing the basis of the allegory concerning Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden, the nine degrees of the Eleusinian Mysteries, and the Brahmanic legend of Vishnu's incarnations. The story of the Universal Egg, the Scandinavian myth of Ginnungagap (the dark cleft in space in which the seed of the world is sown), and the use of the fish as the emblem of the paternal generative power--all show the true origin of theological speculation. The philosophers of antiquity realized that man himself was the key to the riddle of life, for he was the living image of the Divine Plan, and in future ages humanity also will come to realize more fully the solemn import of those ancient words: "The proper study of mankind is man."

The accepted theory that the serpent is evil cannot be substantiated. It has long been viewed as the emblem of immortality. It is the symbol of reincarnation, or metempsychosis, because it annually sheds its skin, reappearing, as it were, in a new body. There is an ancient superstition to the effect that snakes never die except by violence and that, if uninjured, they would live forever. It was also believed that snakes swallowed themselves, and this resulted in their being considered emblematic of the Supreme Creator, who periodically reabsorbed His universe back into Himself.

In Isis Unveiled, H. P. Blavatsky makes this significant statement concerning the origin of serpent worship: "Before our globe had become egg-shaped or round it was a long trail of cosmic dust or fire-mist, moving and writhing like a serpent. This, say the explanations, was the Spirit of God moving on the chaos until its breath had incubated cosmic matter and made it assume the annular shape of a serpent with its tail in its month--emblem of eternity in its spiritual and of our world in its physical sense."

The seven-headed snake represents the Supreme Deity manifesting through His Elohim, or Seven Spirits, by whose aid He established His universe. The coils of the snake have been used by the pagans to symbolize the motion and also the orbits of the celestial bodies, and it is probable that the symbol of the serpent twisted around the egg--which was common to many of the ancient Mystery schools--represented both the apparent motion of the sun around the earth, and the bands of astral light, or the great magical agent, which move about the planet incessantly.

The Pythagoreans were often undeservedly criticized for promulgating the so-called doctrine of metempsychosis, or the transmigration of souls. This concept as circulated among the uninitiated was merely a blind, however, to conceal a sacred truth. Greek mystics believed that the spiritual nature of man descended into material existence from the Milky Way--the seed ground of souls--through one of the twelve gates of the great zodiacal band. The spiritual nature was therefore said to incarnate in the form of the symbolic creature created by Magian star gazers to represent the various zodiacal constellations. If the spirit incarnated through the sign of Aries, it was said to be born in the body of a ram; if in Taurus, in the body of the celestial bull. All human beings were thus symbolized by twelve mysterious creatures through the natures of which they were able to incarnate into the material world. The theory of transmigration was not applicable to the visible material body of man, but rather to the invisible immaterial spirit wandering along the pathway of the stars and sequentially assuming in the course of evolution the forms of the sacred zodiacal animals.

The most important of all symbolic animals was the Apis, or Egyptian bull of Memphis, which was regarded as the sacred vehicle for the transmigration of the soul of the god Osiris. It was declared that the Apis was conceived by a bolt of lightning, and the ceremony attendant upon its selection and consecration was one of the most impressive in Egyptian ritualism. The Apis had to be marked in a certain manner. Herodotus states that the bull must be black with a square white spot on his forehead, the form of an eagle (probably a vulture) on his back, a beetle upon (under) his tongue, and the hair of his tail lying two ways. Other writers declare that the sacred bull was marked with twenty-nine sacred symbols, his body was spotted, and upon his right side was a white mark in the form of a crescent. After its sanctification the Apis was kept in a stable adjacent to the temple and led in processionals through the streets of the city upon certain solemn occasions. It was a popular belief among the Egyptians that any child upon whom the bull breathed would become illustrious. After reaching a certain age (twenty-five years) the Apis was taken either to the river Nile or to a sacred fountain (authorities differ on this point) and drowned, amidst the lamentations of the populace. The mourning and wailing for his death continued until the new Apis was found, when it was declared that Osiris had reincarnated, whereupon rejoicing took the place of grief.

The worship of the bull was not confined to Egypt, but was prevalent in many nations of the ancient world. In India, Nandi--the sacred white bull of Siva--is still the object of much veneration; and both the Persians and the Jews accepted the bull as an important religious symbol. The Assyrians, Phoenicians, Chaldeans, and even the Greeks reverenced this animal, and Jupiter turned himself into a white bull to abduct Europa. The bull was a powerful phallic emblem signifying the paternal creative power of the Demiurgus. At his death he was frequently mummified and buried with the pomp and dignity of a god in a specially prepared sarcophagus. Excavations in the Serapeum at Memphis have uncovered the tombs of more than sixty of these sacred animals.

As the sign rising over the horizon at the vernal equinox constitutes the starry body for the annual incarnation of the sun, the bull not only was the celestial symbol of the Solar Man but, because the vernal equinox took place in the constellation of Taurus, was called the breaker or opener of the year. For this reason in astronomical symbolism the bull is often shown breaking the annular egg with his horns. The Apis further signifies that the God-Mind is incarnated in the body of a beast and therefore that the physical beast form is the sacred vehicle of divinity. Man's lower personality is the Apis in which Osiris incarnates. The result of the combination is the creation of Sor-Apis (Serapis)-the material soul as ruler of the irrational material body and involved therein. After a certain period (which is determined by the square of five, or twenty-five years), the body of the Apis is destroyed and the soul liberated by the water which drowns the material life. This was indicative of the washing away of the material nature by the baptismal waters of divine light and truth. The drowning of the Apis is the symbol of death; the resurrection of Osiris in the new bull is the symbol of eternal renovation. The white bull was also symbolically sacred as the appointed emblem of the initiates, signifying the spiritualized material bodies of both man and Nature.

When the vernal equinox no longer occurred in the sign of Taurus, the Sun God incarnated in the constellation of Aries and the ram then became the vehicle of the solar power. Thus the sun rising in the sign of the Celestial Lamb triumphs over the symbolic serpent of darkness. The lamb is a familiar emblem of purity because of its gentleness and the whiteness of its wool. In many of the pagan Mysteries it signified the Universal Savior, and in Christianity it is the favorite symbol of Christ. Early church paintings show a lamb standing upon a little hill, and from its feet pour four streams of living water signifying the four Gospels. The blood of the lamb is the solar life pouring into the world through the sign of Aries.

The goat is both a phallic symbol and also an emblem of courage or aspiration because of its surefootedness and ability to scale the loftiest peaks. To the alchemists the goat's head was the symbol of sulphur. The practice among the ancient Jews of choosing a scapegoat upon which to heap the sins of mankind is merely an allegorical.

The importance of the bull as the symbol of the sun at the vernal equinox is discussed in the chapter on The Zodiac and Its Signs. The bull and the ox are ancient emblems of the element of earth--consequently of the planet itself. They also signify the animal nature of man, and for this reason were sacrificed upon the altars of such ancient Mysteries as the Jewish and Druidic. Plutarch wrote: "The Apis ought to be regarded by us, as a fair and beautiful image of the soul of Osiris." Osiris represents the spiritual nature of the lower world which is murdered and distributed throughout the substance of the physical spheres; Apis is the emblem of the material world within which is the spiritual nature-- Osiris. The Apis is also the symbol of the exoteric (or profane) doctrine, in contradistinction to the esoteric (or divine) teachings represented by the uræus worn upon the foreheads of the priests. Front this is derived the mythological allegory of Serapis, who in a certain sense is not only the composite figure of Osiris and the lower world in which he is incarnated but also of the Mysteries, which are the terrestrial bodies containing the secret teachings, or the spiritual soul.

There are three distinct forms of the cross. The first is called the TAU (more correctly the TAV). It closely resembles the modern letter T, consisting of a horizontal bar resting on a vertical column, the two arms being of equal length. An oak tree cut off some feet above the ground and its upper part laid across the lower in this form was the symbol of the Druid god Hu. It is suspected that this symbol originated among the Egyptians from the spread of the horns of a bull or ram (Taurus or Aries) and the vertical line of its face. This is sometimes designated as the hammer cross, because if held by its vertical base it is not unlike a mallet or gavel.

There are four basic elements (according to both ancient philosophy and modern science), and the ancients represented them by the four arms of the cross, placing at the end of each arm a mysterious Qabbalistic creature to symbolize the power of one of these elements. Thus, they symbolized the element of earth by a bull; water by a scorpion, a serpent, or an eagle; fire by a lion; and air by a human head surrounded by wings. It is significant that the four letters inscribed upon parchment (some say wood) and fastened to the top of the cross at the time of the crucifixion should be the first letters of four Hebrew words which stand for the four elements: "Iammin, the sea or water; Nour, fire; Rouach, the air; and Iebeschah, the dry earth." (See Morals and Dogma, by Albeit Pike.)

That a cross can be formed by opening or unfolding the surfaces of a cube has caused that symbol to be associated with the earth. Though a cross within a circle has long been regarded as a sign of the planet Earth, it should really be considered as the symbol of the composite element earth, since it is composed of the four triangles of the elements. For thousands of years the cross has been identified with the plan of salvation for humanity. The elements--salt, sulphur, mercury, and Azoth--used in making the Philosopher's Scone in Alchemy, were often symbolized by a cross. The cross of the four cardinal angles also had its secret significance, and Masonic parties of three still go forth to the four cardinal points of the compass in search of the Lost Word.

~ Manly P. Hall; The Secret Teachings of All Ages

[expfcultragreen]

Some people like, grow up and forget everything. Not bangarang!

Just 👏 because 👏 kevin 👏 vaguely 👏 demonstrates 👏 some 👏 psychopathy 👏 doesn't 👏 mean 👏 he 👏 did 👏 anything 👏 wrong 👏

He's fighting adults you could more reasonably consider psychopaths by the same indicators, theyre just less dexterous so they end up looking like "underdogs" despite being two violent middleaged men on a regular/ritualized crimespree for strictly personal profit and pleasure, vs one violent 8 year old whose entire ability to survive revolves around the house he's squatting not being destroyed (eg flooded) and/or overrun with cops (this is why he calls the cops from the neighbors and says he's mr. Murphy; he doesnt want to go into foster care or whatever, he's self-emancipated and thats a precarious position. He has no legal right to his dwelling or his newfound autonomy.

Also, he clearly demonstrates empathy. The problem is that his older brother is a bad influence, his family expects slightly too much maturity and gives too little genuine concern and they mercilessly punish failures of this functionally-mandated, developmentally-pressured maturity and emotional low maintenance, and he's an american born in the 80s*. So his overall spread on the psychopathic trait bingocard is upsetting. But buzz is entirely worse and the rest of the family are just too up their own asses to see this. Its all in the scripts and the scenework. Buzz is a total freak and kevin is stuck in a competitive dynamic with him. Its a nightmare. The parents are clearly hyper-permissive with buzz, likely because, as demonstrated at the effectively-unmediated family trial in HA2, he has the modicum of self-confident finesse that (just maybe 🙃) comes with his age/experience advantage and the low emotional deprivation he experiences as The Oldest (this seems to be That kind of nuclear family--defacto/unconsciusly patriarchal; kevin isnt The Baby, he's the RUNT. The omega runt, Fuller, isnt part of their specific nuclear unit but kevin barely outranks him across the whole family as we've seen it--the fact that there is a steep, linear pecking order (siiiiigh, ~hierarchy~) is established by the hide-a-bed fiasco. Ergo kevin is outranked by everyone in his own daily unit; we see them shit on him, it flows like their breathing. We see them primed to be so dottingly receptive to buzz's proxy gaslighting of kevin; they revile kevin as a matter of course, whereas buzz can virtually do no wrong. "I hate this family" fuck, me too kid, me too. Fuck em all, fuck the robbers, fuck everyone except bird lady and mr duncan and the shovel slayer. Fuck this meme and all its versions, fuck the meme makers, and finally fuck renegade cut for privilege-jacketing an 8 year old in order to uplift his abusers to the status of antiheroes for obsessively refusing to just not break into that one house, ~because ~harry ~had ~his ~eye ~on ~it. My incredulity seems boundless, because its been YEARS since these memes or that video were made and i havent found the bounds yet. I was hoping to care less by now but it pretty much just makes me madder and madder.

Tell you what, new lore drop: kevin transitions in college and lesbian-marries the shovel slayer's grandkid after a mutual proposal at the new york symphony and they run a bespoke gourmet salt sample mailer box (and seasonal plowing) business together in schaumberg and every december they go to the old church they first met at, and help organize a toy drive

*if kevin is 8 during the first movie and it's set during release year not filming, he was born in 82. Tough vintage! In some ways the 85's are the worst and in some ways we're where the wave broke (and fuck gen x)

[laresearchette]

Thursday, November 17, 2022 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: GANGS OF LONDON (AMC +) A CHRISTMAS STORY CHRISTMAS (Crave TV) FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE (Disney + Star) 23rd ANNUAL LATIN GRAMMY AWARDS (TLN) 8:00pm PICKLED (Global) 9:00pm THE SEX LIVES OF COLLEGE GIRLS (Crave) 9:00pm/9:30pm

WHAT IS NOT PREMIERING IN CANADA TONIGHT DRAGONS: THE NINE REALMS (TBD - YTV)

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

CRAVE TV A CHRISTMAS STORY CHRISTMAS THE SEX LIVES OF COLLEGE GIRLS (Season 2, Episode 1-2)

DISNEY + STAR FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE

NETFLIX CANADA 1899 BANTÚ MAMA CHRISTMAS WITH YOU DEAD TO ME (Season 3) I AM VANESSA GUILLEN PEPSI, WHERE'S MY JET?

NHL HOCKEY (SNWest) 7:00pm: Flames vs. Lightning (SN1/SNEast/SNPacific) 7:00pm: Flyers vs. Bruins (SNOntario) 7:00pm: Devils vs. Leafs (TSN2) 7:00pm: Habs vs. Blue Jackets (TSN3) 8:00pm: Ducks vs. Jets (SN360) 10:00pm: Coyotes vs. Knights

NBA BASKETBALL (TSN4) 7:30pm: 76ers vs. Hawks (SN1) 10:30pm: Pistons vs. Clippers

DRAGONS' DEN (CBC) 8:00pm (SEASON FINALE): In the season finale, a mother-daughter team plow their way into the Den; a married couple makes a splash and looks to clean up; and a designer hopes her custom demonstration will sew up a Dragon deal. Plus, a decorated entrepreneur hopes her journey to success lights a fire under the Dragons.

AMERICAN REALITY TV AWARDS (Out TV) 8:00pm

NFL FOOTBALL (TSN) 8:15pm: Titans vs. Packers

VEGHEADZ (CTV Life) 8:30pm: Chef Pino Di Cerbo creates a vegetable-filled holiday feast.

THE FIFTH ESTATE (CBC) 9:00pm: The Fifth Estate investigates the murky world of human smuggling after a family of four from India, including a toddler, froze to death in January trying to cross from Manitoba into Minnesota. Host: Steven D'Souza

NATIONS AT WAR (APTN) 9:00pm: By the 1800s, the Ojibwe were scarred by years of disease and bitter wars against European and Indigenous rivals. For over a century, they faced an impossible choice as turmoil threatened to destroy their nations: land or peace?

THE LAZARUS PROJECT (Showcase) 9:00pm: As George tries desperately to cover his tracks, his actions force Archie to question her faith in the Lazarus Project.

BIG TIMBER (History Canada) 9:00pm (SEASON FINALE): Tempers flare as Kevin and his team finalize building the Pipe Dream and finally get the boat out on the water; with the snow finally gone, the crew heads back up the mountain to yard wood; Kevin has a special surprise for Jack and Rachel's wedding.

MAKEOVER BY MONDAY (Magnolia Canada) 9:00pm (SERIES PREMIERE): Jenni Yolo remodels her friends' bedroom into an oasis that will provide a nice escape for the parents of four children. Jenni uses DIY-friendly techniques to transform the space including a custom wallpaper and a faux-denza.  In Episode Two, Jenni Yolo sets out to transform her younger sister's dark, duplex kitchen into a design masterpiece in only three days. Stepping outside her comfort zone in some areas, Jenni makes some bold design choices in hopes her sister will be blown away.

GOING NATIVE (APTN) 9:30pm: Drew steps into the Badlands to visit the Hoodoos formations in Alberta. Later, he travels to Thunder Bay to meet a sleeping giant. Lastly, Drew heads to Lake Huron and the Manitou Islands to uncover incredible Indigenous legends.

RIVALRY SERIES (TSN5) 10:00pm: USA vs. Canada

PAMELA'S GARDEN OF EDEN (HGTV Canada) 10:00pm: Pamela's takes matters into her own hands when she worries her team isn't putting enough of a modern, sexy spin on the old roadhouse front room; things come to a head when the designs for the boathouse are far off from her grand vision.

CANADIAN REFLECTIONS (CBC) 11:30pm: Tibbits Hill/Clothing

[yavieriel]

Maglor: Would accidentally end up the center of a cult during his Beach Cryptid era. He would have no idea the cult exists nor would he have any interaction with them beyond maybe finding random offerings of food/harp strings/etc.

Finrod: Has already demonstrated that he has strong feelings about people NOT starting cults about him. He can and will shut that shit down. He also would not himself be amenable to joining a cult - despite many fanon interpretations, he's clearly a strong-willled leader.

Turin: Kind of does start a cult with the outlaws. That's on purpose though. Not an accident. If he accidentally encountered a cult, I would expect the cult to explosively self-destruct from the consequences of proximity to Turin.

Aredhel: Might be amenable to joining a cult, if played right. Marrying Eol isn't a cult thing though, that's the classic "manipulative abusive guy love bombs woman until he has her locked down by marriage, then shows his true colors."

Celebrimbor: Absolutely not and I have no idea why people are voting for him. Would absent-mindedly dissect a cult by accident because he has a few "philosophical discussions" with the leader that thoroughly dissect and skewer whatever the cult's claimed beliefs are.

Feanor: Would start a cult on purpose. Kind of had one, although it was mostly political in nature. Absolutely would not be anyone else's cultist.

Maedhros: Like all of his brothers except the Ambarussa, arguably a member of his father's cult, but in his case only because of familial ties. Would not accidentally join a cult, had to be coerced into it by the Oath. If the cult leader in question weren't his father he never would have gotten involved.

Galadriel: Would not be impressed, if she encountered a cult the results would be similar to Celebrimbor above. Finds cultists boring and annoying.

Fingon: Lol. Lmao, even. Any encounter with a cult would be Fingon obliviously plowing straight through in pursuit of something unrelated, leaving chaos in his wake.

Thingol: Only if it's his wife's cult.

Fingolfin: Sets up the scenario for Fingon to encounter the cult and create chaos, with deliberate political intent, and careful cleanup of whatever is left of the cult after.

Maeglin: Yes. Absolutely. Desperately wants to join a cult. Has exactly the kind of psychological vulnerability that an effective cult preys on.

Please put your reasoning in the tags! This is not particularly deep and the options are somewhat random, but i'm curious 👀

Also be nice, this is for fun not high school debating club!

Edit: I forgot an "other" option sorry. Once again, the tags are your friends and all that <3

[virtualsketchbookkellykorec]

Virtual Sketchbook #3

Proof of Attendance:

My wristbands for the museums.

A selfie of me at the museum.

Plowing in Nivernais (Labourages nivernais), 1850, Rosa Bonheur, Oil on canvas (Bonheur).

Visual Analysis:

For my artwork, I picked Rosa Bonheur’s Plowing in Nivernais. The painting is made of oil on canvas. The painting is roughly 52.5in x 102 in, thus is about twice as long as it is its height. There are 12 oxen total, 6 per each group with one group in the foreground. The shapes of the oxen are rather oval-like and consist of colors such as white, beige, and reddish brown. The setting of the painting is in a large open field with hills in the far-left corner. The ground consists of grass and dirt. The weather is sunny with few clouds. Four men can be spotted in the painting. Two with a long stick guiding the oxen, and another two pushing a yoke. The focal point seems to be the three oxen in the foreground as they are the largest in size with the most definition. I would say the work is balanced with the oxen and the vast amounts of land behind them with the clear skies. The proportion is slightly off with the oxen looking rather large compared to its surroundings but that is to emphasize them. The contrast of the blue skies to the ground and oxen is astonishing. To see this contrast fully, one needs to view the art in person. The wide range of colors of oxen in the foreground gives variety to the painting as well.

When I first viewed the work, I was extremely drawn by how realistic and detailed the painting was. The artwork looks like a photograph. The artwork makes me feel peace and tranquility. Blue skies indicate that nothing troubling is happening. The vastness of the fields behind the oxen demonstrates a world of opportunities. The simplicity of the landscape creates a sense of isolation in a way that is not threatening. The overall feeling I get from the artwork is a simple yet rewarding life. The people pulling the oxen have a task to do. It may not be an easy task, but they are safe doing it and have no other threats around to disturb them.

Bonheur’s artwork is consistent with the Realism movement. She was commissioned by the French government to create Plowing in Nivernais (McPherson). By using the artwork, it can be concluded that Bonheur likes animals. If she had her own animals, she would treat them with care and become very close with them. I believe that Bonheur was trying to suggest that simple life and working hands-on with animals was not a terrible idea. The artwork came about in 1850 when the French government and society were becoming more industrialized. Bonheur seemed to want to bring back the notion of men and animals as that is how civilization started. Bonheur also suggests that living this lifestyle is not as tough as many thought it was with the setting being favorable (Jean Marie Carey). I would say the theme of this type of lifestyle is clear throughout the painting with the aforementioned characteristics.

By looking at the artwork, I believe that Bonheur did an excellent job at spreading the message about how society does not have to be fully revolutionized and can live in simplicity with nature. I primarily picked this piece of art as the contrast and realistic strokes in the art were too eye-catching to not look at and research on the piece. Looking further, Bonheur not only wanted to be with the animals but also wanted to provide them with a safe environment in which they could thrive.

Works Cited

Jean Marie Carey. “‘Labourages Nivernais’ by Rosa Bonheur |

German Modernism.” Germanmodernism.org, 2024,

germanmodernism.org/2007/12/22/labourages-

nivernais%C2%9D-

by-rosa-bonheur/. Accessed 31 Mar. 2024.

McPherson, Heather, and Jennifer Wu. "Bonheur, (Marie-)Rosa."

Grove Art Online.  August 09, 2023. Oxford University Press.

Date of access 31 Mar. 2024

<https://www.oxfordartonline.com/groveart/

view/10.1093/gao/9781

884446054.001.0001/oao-9781884446054-e-7000009871>

Rosa Bonheur. Plowing in Nivernais (Labourages Nivernais). Oil on

canvas, 1850. The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, the

State Art Museum of Florida, a division of Florida State

University, JSTOR,

https://jstor.org/stable/community.14702599. Accessed 31 Mar.

2024.

[ramrodd]

COMMENTARY:

=Revelation has the purely literary function of ending the Hebrew epic that began with the Book of Job in 3760 BCE and incubated Christianity, It is a literary portrait of the spiritual realm centered geographically around the location of the cross and the processes that were set into motion by the release of Barabbas leading to 8 September 70 CE, the day the music died in Jerusalem and the Romans drew a plow through the remains of the Temple.

Revelation is the End Times of Jewish Eschatology.

666 ws the Death Warrant of Jesus and was expressed DCLXvi,, although it was, in fact, probably 616/DCXVI, which is consistent with the numerological gestalt of Genesis 41 and the dreams of the Pharaoh which Joseph could interpret because he was using the 9 base numerology of Melchizedek while the Pharaoh's priests were using an 8 base numerology. However, the shift from 616 to 666 was dictated by the Holy Spirit to anchor the date of the composition of Revelation to the reign of Nero, which is to say that Revelation, alonwith the Gospel of John and Hebrews, were all completed before the destruction of the Temple.

The Jesus Seminar and the Pro-Life Solo Scriptura Apologists are opposite sides of the same theological coin and both largely ignore the numerology of the Bible, In the Beginning was the word, but before the Word was, Number IS, The fact is that the Hebrew alphabet probably emerged from the Hebrew Gematria, which was sort of a Periodic Table of symbols employed in accounting the Hebrews brought out of Egypt. There was no written Hebrew before the Exodus: your respondent Gmirlek can probably nail down when it first appeard relative to Enoch's 7000 Epoch and it will be about the same time written Greek and Latin, but the Etruscans, like the Druids, apparently had not written literary tradition, which is why they were eventually subsumed into the Latin culture.

In any even, there were at least three different numerological systems embed in the fabric of the Bible: Numerics, textual numerology and what I call Mundane Numerology, which is the versification that was added in 1525 to ensure the accurate transmission of the text of the printed scripture.

Numerics is based on the numerological value of each letter in the Hebrew scripture, On YouTube, there are several videos that demonstrate the Numerics of the first sentence in Genesis, In the 19th century, a scholar translated Numerics of the entire Hebrew Bible, I can't remember his name, but I think he was American, I can't remember if he included the New Testament, but that's going on throughout the Hebrew Bible, This is not a feature of the Koran,

The textual numerology shows up throughout the narrative such as "On the seventh day, God Rested", This numerology is totally consistent, The fact is that the numerology and astrology of civilization west of India is radically distinct from the numerology and astrology east of Persia and the Maji is the guild that monitored its transmission, beginning with the 60 base numerology of the 12 Hour Clock and the Rose Compass, but essential to navigation, The chronology of the Gospel of Mark and Synoptic Gospels are based on the 60 base numerology, while the Gospel of John is based on the four cardinal points of the Solar Year of the 19 year transit of the sun through the western Zodiac, 19 is the Alpha and Omega of number in the mind of Elohim the verb and is presented in Sura 74:30 The Hidden Mystery in the Kroan and establishes the divine origins of the Meccan verses or the Recitation, The numbers six hundred sixty and six fall into this numerological scheme.

The Mundae Numerology was added in 1525 to aid proofreading for the typesetters The symbolic values of the versification is consistent with the Maji system.

Mundane Numerology is the play ground of the Holy Spirit, Actually, the Holy Spirit is the muse of the Bible as epic literature, but, in particular, the Holy Spirit really shows himself with the numbers of the chapters and verse.

For example, one of my favorites is Acts 10: 34 - 43, which is Peters confession of the career of Jesus that becomes the narrative arc of the Gospel of Mark, In numerology, you reduce any number down to a single digit to extract meaning, In this case, 34 and 43 both reduce to 7 and the 7s act as cosmic quotation marks around Peter's confession, If you go to the King James version of 41:32, you will find that the doubling of the number isdicates the operation of the Holy Spirit, in this case, the divine validation of the accuracy of Peter's testimony, Alon with the Gowple of Peter, those lines become a part of the euangelion Peter employs to vet Paul's version of the Jesus narrative that will anchor Pauline Theology. The Marxist conceits of the Jesus Seminar and Pro-Life apologetics simply cant touch this divine valiation, whcih is why both avoid numerology,

I'll giver you another example, Revelation 13 is a sort of literary Cubist portrait of the centurion in Mark 15:39, the guy in charge of executing Death Warrant DCLSVI. The Roman Empire is represented by Leviathan as a sea power and by the legions by the river creature Behemoth: Julius Caesar conquered Gaul by utilizing the rivers, The centurion was a creature of the legions and the secular rule of law and he carried a grape vine as a symbol of his warrant, like the warrant cards of British police procedurals.

Revelation 13 has the same verse structure as Matthew 13, and echoes Matthew 13:9 word for word, and , of course Matthew 13 reduces to Mark 4, which exactly the same Parable of the Sower, There is an additional coded message in this progression having to do with the Talking Cross which I will save for another day

My point is, whatever you think you understand about Revelation, you and the captives of the critical historic method of the Post Modern Historic Deconstruction, is mostly wrong, Among other things, the Whore of Babylon is the society of Harod's Temple and not Rome, And Revelation, itself, is the cork in the bottle of the Hebrew epic narrative that begins with the Book of Job, Rome is mostly innocent,

As I say, Revelation is the End Times of Jewish Eschatology, which is a residual from the Egyptian afterlife theologies, an intellectual dead end. Revelation is what began swirling around in the collective unconscious of everybody who was in town when Elohim the verb spilt the veil of the temple in anguish over the death of Jesus with a broken heart,

Personally, as an Army brat, I follow the way of the Liberation Gospel of George Washington and worship the God of the Broken Heart, I'll bet you remember the print of the four chaplains going down with the ship in your Post Chapel Center, A Rabbi, a priest and tow Protestants who had given their life vests to soldiers who didn't have one, That was the faith I took to Vietnam, 'the servant-leader ethic of Mission, Men Self.

All other religions are bullshit.

[kudosmyhero]

Web of Spider-Man (vol. 1) #9: The Twilight Heroes

Read Date: March 18, 2023 Cover Date: December 1985 ● Writer: David Michelinie ● Penciler: Geof Isherwood ● Inker: Vince Colletta ● Colorist: George Roussos ● Letterer: Janice Chiang ● Editor: Jim Owsley ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● heheh, Ludlow swats at a fly and knocks the door clean off its hinges. that’s one way to discover you’ve got super strength ● wow, wife turned on him quick. if my husband demonstrated he’s got strength like that, I’d have such a list of chores for him! ● this guy is massive!

● Fred Hopkins has white hair in this issue; last issue, he was balding but still had his hair color. he looks a bit more like the “old timer” that Spidey called him last issue. ● I like that Spider-Man’s antagonists (3 of them!) in these two issues aren’t actually bad people ● “Little Miss Watergate” snerk ● oh FUCK that ending got dark… wow… grr, I really don’t like the photographer woman—Roxy DeWinter, I think her name is. ● still trying to process that ending… ● 👏👏👏👏👏

Synopsis: A planet explodes, sending debris across the universe. One piece came to the planet Earth, breaking in two as it entered the atmosphere. One half ended up in a junkyard in Smithville, Pennsylvania. The other half ends up crashing in a nearby farmers field.

One Year Ago:

Ludlow Grimes is toiling away, plowing his field by horse. Suddenly, his plow blade strikes a rock. Ludlow digs it out and suddenly feels strange, but dismisses it as getting too much sun. When his wife calls him back to the farmhouse for dinner, he simply tosses the rock away and heads in. Down at the homestead, Ludlow is greeted by his wife and children as they set the kitchen table. When Ludlow's wife tries to swat a fly, Grimes offers to do it for her. With a single swat, Ludlow not only kills the fly but smashes through the front door with his bare hands. Ludlow is confused by what happened, but his family is frightened. His wife now thinks her husband is a monster and tells him to get out.

Now:

Ludlow Grimes has smashed his way into the home of Fred Hopkins, who has just been outted as the Smithville Thunderbolt by Spider-Man and reporter Roxanne DeWinter. Ludlow pronounces himself the true Smithville Thunderbolt and intends to kill Hopkins. Spider-Man gets between the two men and tells Frank to flee. However, Hopkins can't bring himself to go, wishing there was something he could do, but doesn't feel confident as his powers are fading. Meanwhile, Roxanne DeWinter snaps photos of the battle, intent on getting the scoop on this story in order to advance her career and get out of Smithville. Eventually, the Smithville Thunderbolt loses his nerve and flees. Spider-Man continues to struggle with Ludlow, and tells Roxanne to get out as well. However, she refuses to leave until she is finished her roll of film. Spider-Man, manages to briefly stun Grimes and tells Roxanne to get a move on. She agrees and tells Spider-Man that she will call the cops after to drops her film off to be developed. The pair begins to fight again, but Ludlow gets frightened off by the sound of a police siren and flees the scene. With an officer banging on the door, Spider-Man takes his leave as well, wondering what he should do next.

Changing back to Peter Parker, the hero goes to the Smithville Gazette to try and stop Roxanne from developing the film. However, he arrives too late, as she has finished processing the photos. He tells her that he knows what happened and who Frank Hopkins is and pleads with her to destroy the pictures. He tries to convince her that this revelation will ruin Frank's life and he doesn't deserve it after all he has done for the community. Roxanne refuses to listen because she is still chasing fame and heads off to the printers with her photos. Meanwhile, Frank Hopkins has changed back into his civilian clothes and returns to his home. Talking to the police, he pretends to have no idea what happened at his home. After assuring the police that he isn't in any danger, he goes back into his home. There he pulls out his binder full of newspaper clippings of his exploits as the Thunderbolt. He laments on how he is a nobody without his powers, which are now fading. Knowing that Roxanne DeWinter will ruin his life with her exposé, he takes a gun out of his deskdrawer and briefly considers murdering her. However, he can't bring himself to take a human life and decides to find some other way.

Elsewhere, Ludlow travels through a nearby swamp, confident that nobody will find him here. Looking at his reflection in the water, Grimes begins to think back to the events of the past year. He remembers how his wife thought he was a monster since he got his powers and kicking him out of his own home. He went to the local church for guidance, but the priest insisted that his powers were the product of the devil and shunned him. Soon, a lynch mob was out searching for him forcing him to flee into the wilderness. For a whole year, Ludlow lived off the land. One day he happened upon a newspaper article about the Smithville Thunderbolt and became jealous how he was respected and treated as a hero with his powers. Grimes then came up with his plan to kill the Thunderbolt and take his place so that he could be considered a hero. This all brought him to Hopkin's home and his clash with Spider-Man. Later, as rain begins to fall over the town, Roxanne DeWinter drives the Smithville Gazette news van to the printers. Still intending to try and convince Roxanne to drop the story, Peter has changed back into Spider-Man and is hitching a ride on the roof of the van.

As they drive down a country road, they are spotted by a downed tree to block the road. When Roxanne is forced to stop, her car won't move and rocks begin to tumble down toward the road. As Spider-Man leaps into action, Roxanne tries to flee, only to be carried to safety by the Smithville Thunderbolt. Unfortunately, Spider-Man discovers that the rockslide was fake, another one of the Thunderbolt's fake rescues. Before the heroes can remove the tree, they are ambushed by Ludlow Grimes. As Roxanne slips into her van and tries to get away. However, when Spider-Man tosses Ludlow, it strikes the van knocking it over the side of the road and down a cliff. Seeing that the van is caught in some tree branches, the Thunderbolt overcomes his fears to climb down and try and save Roxanne. While Grimes and Spider-Man battle it out, Frank manages to save Roxanne, who is grateful that he had done so, even without his powers. By this point, Ludlow has knocked Spider-Man out and is annoyed to hear that Hopkins has no powers. Ludlow is about to lambaste Frank but sees how frightened he looks and realizes that they are the same. By the time Spider-Man recovers from Grimes' beating, the situation has defused itself.

The next day, the life of Ludlow Grimes takes a fortuitous turn, as he is enlisted by S.H.I.E.L.D. Finally finding a place to belong, Ludlow is finally happy. After witnessing this, Peter Parker is about to head out, when he sees that Roxanne still published the story about the Thunderbolt's true identity. Furious, Peter goes down to the Gazette office and confronts DeWinter over this revelation. She still doesn't care as she is confident that this will boost her career. Suddenly, they hear a mob heading toward Hopkin's home, thinking it is a lynch mob, Peter rushes to see what he can do to stop them. However, much to his surprise, the townspeople have come to celebrate their local hero. Roxanne is about to gloat about how her story caused no harm she is suddenly silenced by the sound of a gunshot. Peter forces the front door open and discovers that Frank Hopkins committed suicide. Saddened by this turn of events, Peter Parker walks away without saying another word. Roxanne DeWinter, however, pulls a camera out of her handbag and takes a picture of Smithville's fallen hero.

(https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Web_of_Spider-Man_Vol_1_9)

Fan Art: Spiderman by NathanLueth

Accompanying Podcast: ● Untold Talks of Spider-Man - episode 10

[aslaymavens]

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[walkingthroughthisworld]

A complex pattern of hedgerows crisscrosses the Normandy countryside.

Soldiers faced some of the toughest obstacles of the war during Operation Cobra: dug-in German troops, terrible weather that frequently prevented air support, and the stubborn French bocage, or hedgerows. World War II-era Normandy was mostly farmland—a patchwork of irregular fields divided by ancient country lanes sunk into the earth after centuries of use. Towering hedgerows guarded each lane, long earthen berms so overgrown with brush and trees they were impossible to see through. The Nazis defended the French interior by using these natural structures as bunkers and barricades. The bocage posed an especially serious problem for advancing Army tanks. The tanks made numerous attempts to drive over them, but as the crested the hilly barriers, their guns would be pointed skyward and their undersides exposed to German anti-tank rockets. But without tank support, Allied forces would be doomed to languish on the Normandy beachheads, unable to penetrate the Axis defense.

Sgt. Curtis Cullin’s hedgerow cutter, or Rhino device, affixed to a Stuart Light Tank, Normandy, 1944. The invention earned its nickname due to the prongs’ resemblance to rhinoceros horns. The most effective solution was also the most famous. Most often attributed to Sgt. Curtis Cullin of the 102nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, the “Rhino”-tank was a clever repurposing of German defensive hardware. Using scrap steel recovered from a bombed out Nazi roadblock, Cullin fashioned a set of large prongs, shaped like the end of a fork, which he attached to the front of a tank. The tank accelerated up the berm and cut through the thick brush as if it were cardboard.

American troops advance through a gap in a hedgerow, carved out by a Rhino tank.

When Gen. Omar Bradley, commander-in-chief of American ground forces during the Normandy invasion, saw Cullin’s invention at work, he ordered them into full-scale production. Soldiers collected the iron anti-tank jacks the Nazis had scattered across Normandy’s beaches and transformed them into hedgerow cutters, which were bolted to virtually every tank in the First Army. Bradley made certain the Rhino tanks were not used until the launch of Operation Cobra. Their effectiveness—further enhanced by the element of surprise—gave the American forces an important morale boost and helped them push deep into German territory. The Rhino tank was so helpful to the invasion that the 29 year-old Sgt. Cullin was awarded the Legion of Merit for its creation.

A native of Cranford, New Jersey, Culin was serving as a tanker with the 102nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (New Jersey National Guard, the "Essex Troop," 2nd Armored Division) when he came up with the four-pronged plow device created from scrap steel from a German roadblock. When attached to the front of his tank it was successful in rapidly plowing gaps in the hedgerows. Military historian Max Hastings notes that Culin was inspired by "a Tennessee hillbilly named Roberts", who during a discussion about how the bocage could be overcome said "Why don't we get some saw teeth and put them on the front of the tank and cut through these hedges?" Rather than joining in the laughter that greeted this remark, Culin realised the idea's potential and put together a prototype tusk-like assembly welded to the front of a tank. In due course this was demonstrated to General Bradley, who "watched in awe as a hedgerow exploded … to make way for the Sherman bursting through". According to Hastings, Culin, "an honest man", attempted to give credit to Roberts but this was forgotten in the publicity surrounding the invention. Hastings concludes: "[Culin] became a very American kind of national hero".

Sources:

HT: @mixrpixr

Hedgerow Cutters on Sherman tanks