#punic paganism

[dian-and-the-gods]

Rebranding

Hi everyone! I've recently been growing a big interest in Etruscan Polytheism and Kushite Polytheism (the religions of ancient Etruria and the kingdom of Kush). So once I get things going I may rebrand this blog so it's geared towards those pantheons.

They are currently very niche, but I am very excited and can't wait to share about them so they get the love they deserve ♥️

I may also go into Punic Polytheism!! So stay tuned.

Please interact if any of these pantheons interests you too! (even if you don't plan on worshipping, but would like to learn more!)

[nellywrisource]

A writer’s guide to art and civil construction: worldbuilding insights – #1 Early Christian art (Part I)

In this guide, which delves into the history of art and civil construction, my aim is to explore the cultural and anthropological factors that influenced the emergence of particular art forms within their respective historical contexts. The goal is to inspire and offer practical insights for those engaged in worldbuilding, especially in crafting art and urban environments that resonate with their chosen settings. Throughout the guide, I will analyze various historical periods from a cultural and historical perspective, providing inspiration rather than prescriptive worldbuilding advice. It's worth noting that the focus will primarily be on the Mediterranean and Europe (I'm Italian ✨ so my academic studies focus on Italy and its surroundings), spanning from the end of the ancient age to the contemporary age.

The emergence of stylistic elements in early Christian art is fascinating because it inspires envisioning the characteristics of religious buildings in a situation where two coexisting religions, one significantly older, shape the cultural landscape.

Diachronic excursus

Let's briefly summarize the historical context surrounding early Christian art to better understand the culture and motivations behind the stylistic choices in urban and rural settings, as well as the care or neglect of these environments. 

Two key points to focus on for understanding this historical reality through our chosen lens are:

Spread of Christianity

Germanic invasions (which we'll discuss in the next post)

The spread — not birth — of Christianity occurred gradually, beginning around the time of the Edict of Milan in 313 AD, issued by Constantine, which declared Christianity a religio licita, meaning that it granted freedom of worship. It was further established as the “state religion” with the Edict of Thessalonica by Theodosius I in 380, mandating worship.

While Constantine had political motives for issuing this edict (yes, the legend about Constantine’s vision is just that), our focus lies on the socio-cultural context in which an emperor favored a religion amidst a predominantly pagan Roman aristocracy.

Origins of early Christian art

In its early stages, before Christianity became the state religion, Constantine, who oversaw the construction of the first Christian places of worship, took into account the pagan sensitivities of the aristocracy. As a result, these early buildings exhibited the following characteristics:

Located outside the city center, where pagan temples were typically found (often situated beyond the city walls, as was the case in Rome);

Featuring a simple exterior, often constructed with common brick (laterizio) and lacking elaborate decorations;

Boasting monumental dimensions to accommodate the public liturgy of Christianity, inspired by the Last Supper, as well as reflecting Roman appreciation for grandeur.

The decision to depart from classical norms stylistically served both to avoid offending the aristocracy and to visually distinguish Christian structures symbolically from classical temples.

Types of buildings

Basilica

The basilica, which predates Christianity, emerged in Italy following the Second Punic War in the first half of the 3rd century BC. Originally serving administrative functions, it featured a rectangular layout with three naves (side corridors) and two apses (semicircular protrusions) on either side, with the entrance situated along the longer side.

The architectural design of basilicas was chosen for its spacious layout, although modifications were made to suit the needs of Christian worship. Unlike their original purpose, which varied, Christian basilicas typically adopted a longitudinal plan with three or five naves. They featured an entrance on one of the shorter sides, leading to a single apse opposite the entrance.

This adaptation involved repurposing buildings originally intended for other functions, driven primarily by practical considerations. An important detail regarding the structural elements is seen in the narthex and the quadriportico.

Narthex: a sort of rectangular entrance area.

Quadriportico: a large external four-sided portico attached to the entrance wall.

Both spaces were used to accommodate catechumens (the unbaptized) and penitents¹. Initially, the quadriportico fulfilled this role, but it was gradually replaced by the narthex between the 6th and 8th centuries.

This transition was prompted by changes in baptismal practices. As the custom of adult baptism declined, it became apparent that many individuals were already baptized, rendering the extensive space for catechumens unnecessary. Consequently, the need for a large quadriportico diminished.

The narthex, too, began to decline in importance from the 7th century onward, reflecting a decrease in the number of unbaptized individuals attending services.

Another fascinating aspect illustrating the synthesis of paganism, Roman art, and Christianity is evident in the architectural feature known as the triumphal arch. Typically semicircular, the arch serves as a division between the central nave and either the presbyterial area.

The architectural concept of the basilica’s arch finds its origins in the Roman triumphal arch, a grand structure with one or more openings (fornix) traditionally erected to commemorate military victories. In Christianity, this symbol was reimagined to signify Jesus' triumph over evil and death. Moreover, the arch served a dual purpose as both a symbolic gateway between the space reserved for worshipers and that designated for the clergy (the presbyterial zone).

Now, I won't dive into discussing every single architectural detail of basilicas or the liturgical furnishings (although, if anyone desires, they can ask, and I'll gladly provide a glossary). Instead, let's briefly look at the different floor plans a basilica can have:

Latin cross: this design is longitudinal, with a shorter horizontal section intersected by a transept, either about ¾ along its length (immissa) or closer to the apse (commissa or tau).

Greek cross: here the transept intersects at the center, with arms of equal length to the nave. This layout was more prevalent in the Eastern tradition.

Circiform: this is a distinctive basilica design used for cemeteries, as well as for hosting specific masses like funeral banquets and an annual mass in honor of the titular saint's martyrdom. It lacks a transept and features a ring corridor intended for burials.

Baptistery

The baptistery was a centrally planned building², often octagonal, specifically designed for conducting baptisms, with the baptismal font positioned at its center. 

Was traditionally distinct from the main body of the church, it was commonly situated adjacent to or in front of the main facade, especially until the Gothic period, notably in Italy.

The octagonal design held symbolic significance; eight represented an eschatological number, closely linked with the Resurrection of Christ, who rose eight days after his entry into Jerusalem. Thus, the octagon came to symbolize the concept of eternal life conferred upon the faithful through baptism.

This architectural feature reflects influence from Roman traditions, drawing inspiration from thermal buildings, particularly the frigidarium, which the Romans referred to as a baptisterium (derived from the Greek, meaning “place where one receives enlightenment”). Hence, the origin of the term can be traced back to this context.

Martyrium

Another centrally planned building (circular or polygonal) prevalent in the 4th century, the martyrium (from the Greek “witness”) was erected on the site of a martyrdom or over the tomb of a martyr.

Over time, they also began to serve as repositories for the remains of martyrs, often located at the center of the building. The martyrium's origins lie in the cult of martyrs, which itself evolved from the more common pagan reverence for the dead. Its architectural design was influenced by classical mausoleums, grand tombs traditionally used to house the remains of significant individuals.

Images, iconography, and iconology

The influence of architecture extends to imagery as well; Christianity originally spread through pagan iconography and symbolism. Art served as a means of proselytism. Why? Because classical art had long been used to convey the divine, and Christianity also drew inspiration from Roman culture in this aspect. 

Even the artistic techniques bore similarities to those of the pagans:

Sculpture, as evidenced by sarcophagi.

Mosaics, widely employed for adorning basilicas (which in Roman art were mainly used for floors but eventually shifted to the apse — see subsection on the hierarchy of light).

It can be argued that from this classical influence emerged the conceptual link between wealth, splendor, and divine grandeur; gold symbolized divine light (indeed, numerous mosaics featured golden backgrounds) — a motif that would resonate throughout the Middle Ages — reminiscent of the portrayal of the deified emperor in the declining centuries of the Roman Empire. Pagan iconographies were thus reinterpreted, with scenes of apotheosis transformed into representations of the Ascension, pastoral imagery adapted to depict the Good Shepherd, and even the apostles portrayed akin to philosophers.

A clearer Christianization and a distancing from pagan iconography will be seen as we move forward in time, in the upcoming posts. If you're interested in a post focused on the various iconographies and their resemantization, lemme know!

Acheropite images

An intriguing outcome of the fusion between ancient cultural practices and evolving concepts of imagery is the phenomenon of “acheropite images”.

It's essential to understand that early Christians adhered closely to Jewish traditions, which forbade the creation of divine images to prevent the risk of idolatry. Moreover, due to the threat of persecution, early Christians concealed references to their faith in the catacombs through subtle allusions understood only by fellow believers, akin to a form of coded language.

The incorporation of images into Christianity, particularly in the Western world, occurred gradually, as apprehension about inadvertently creating idols spawned legends surrounding acheropite images - icons purportedly “not made by human hands”, but possessing a “miraculous” origin. These images were believed to be not products of human craftsmanship, but rather “revealed” through divine intervention, thereby attaining status as revered relics (e.g., the Shroud of Turin, the Madonna of Guadalupe, etc).

The hierarchy of light

Why do mosaics transition from the floors to the apse and, more broadly, to the walls?

We first notice this transition at the onset of the 5th century, exemplified by the apse mosaic of the Basilica of Santa Pudenziana in Rome. The driving force behind this change is light, or more precisely, the hierarchy of light. This hierarchy derives from the earlier discussed concept: the translation of divine light into the symbolism of gold and actual illumination within a basilica.

Light holds great significance in this context. It is strategically channeled through windows, particularly illuminating the apse (the sanctuary area closest to God, traditionally restricted to the clergy) and the central nave, with the side naves receiving less light. Mosaics, meticulously crafted with tesserae to reflect and enhance light, are placed in the apse to intensify this effect, emphasizing the hierarchical importance of light in this central space.

¹Penitents: in the ancient and medieval Christianity, penitents were faithful individuals who, after committing serious sins post-baptism, sought forgiveness from God. They publicly assumed a specific status within the community. ²Central plan: buildings where all parts are organized around a center are termed as having a central plan. This plan can take the form of a square, a circle, an octagon, or other regular polygons, such as a Greek cross. The centrality of space is usually emphasized by a dome.

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[bunniope]

*goes back in time and makes sure carthage wins the punic wars* *returns to the present and the only thing thats changed is that everyone is pagan and we domesticated bears*

[gouachevalier]

St. Augustine describing the absolute state of Rome following its victories in the Punic Wars

“For certainly your desire for peace, and prosperity, and plenty is not prompted by any purpose of using these blessings honestly, that is to say, with moderation, sobriety, temperance, and piety; for your purpose rather is to run riot in an endless variety of sottish pleasures, and thus to generate from your prosperity a moral pestilence which will prove a thousandfold more disastrous than the fiercest enemies. It was such a calamity as this that Scipio [Nasica], your chief pontiff, your best man in the judgment of the whole senate, feared when he refused to agree to the destruction of Carthage, Rome's rival and opposed Cato, who advised its destruction. He feared security, that enemy of weak minds, and he perceived that a wholesome fear would be a fit guardian for the citizens. And he was not mistaken; the event proved how wisely he had spoken.

"For when Carthage was destroyed, and the Roman republic delivered from its great cause of anxiety, a crowd of disastrous evils immediately resulted from the prosperous condition of things. First concord was weakened, and destroyed by fierce and bloody seditions; then followed, by a concatenation of baleful causes, civil wars, which brought in their train such massacres, such bloodshed, such lawless and cruel proscription and plunder, that those Romans who, in the days of their virtue, had expected injury only at the hands of their enemies, now that their virtue was lost, suffered greater cruelties at the hands of their fellow citizens. The lust of rule, which with other vices existed among the Romans in more unmitigated intensity than among any other people, after it had taken possession of the more powerful few, subdued under its yoke the rest, worn and wearied.”

— St. Augustine of Hippo Regius, On the City of God Against the Pagans, Book I, ch. 30, AD 426

[viktorkondrakis]

Greek myths: POC in the Legends

It's typical to find some ethnocentric Hellenic pagans insistent on the general lack of colour in their religion. The stories take place across the Greek islands and Italy, so obviously there can only be white heroes and gods in the myths, right? Perhaps it's time for these folks to have a history lesson.

The vague boundaries of Ancient Greece stretched, at the very least, from Macedonia to Rhodes, and housed hundreds of states, towns, cities and villages. Many of these settlements were close to continents such as Africa, where the Egyptians and Carthaginians (a Punic nation) lived. Apart from them, the Greeks and Romans also knew of and traded with the "Ethiopians" (Αἰθίοπες), which was a general term referring to Black people (from Αἴθω + Ὤψ, "Dark Face"). This closeness of different ethnicities meant that there would be some diversity of religious figures by virtue of cultural exchange.

Memnon (Μέμνων) was the demigod son of Tithonus and the goddess Eos, and was the king of Ethiopia. There was also his brother Emathion (Ἠμαθίων) who fought Heracles. Eurybates (Εὐρυβάτης) was Odysseus' "dark-skinned" (μελανόχροος) companion, and was honoured by him above his other comrades (Odyssey 19, Lines 246-249).

And to use a more well-known example: Andromeda (Ἀνδρομέδα), wife of Perseus, was the daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia, king and queen of Ethiopia. The legendary woman more beautiful than Aphrodite was Black. She and Perseus may also be one of the earliest examples of an interracial union in the Greek stories.

And to those who would object and say these figures are represented as white in sculptures and wall paintings, the divergence from the original textual sources is a simple result of interpretatio graeca. People will often render foreign persons or deities through the appearance and mannerisms of their own nation (e.g. old paintings of Jesus in Ethiopia and China showing him to be Ethiopian or Chinese), and in this case Black characters were filtered through a Greek and Roman lens.

The ancient Greeks and Romans saw skin colour as a designation of one's national origin, but not as a racial identifier. If you approached a Roman and told him the vikings were of the same "race" as him, he would be deeply offended. "Race" was formulated by European pseudoscientists in the 15th to 16th centuries to justify the barbaric things that were done to enslaved Africans, Indigenous peoples in the Americas, and later South Asians.

I as a white person am wholly comfortable, and also appreciative, of the presence of people of colour in my religion. They serve as a reminder of the universality of attributes such as heroism, strength, kindness, courage and valour. Virtue is not bound to one skin colour, and we are all fundamentally one race: the Human Race.

So don't let these pseudadelphoi (false siblings) stir discord and disunity in our communities. All are welcome in the Faith and to the graces of the gods, regardless of colour, sexuality, or gender identity.

[brookston]

Holidays 2.5

Holidays

Adlai Stevenson Day (Illinois)

Aerial Victory Day

Angel Conwell Day (South Carolina)

Antigone Asteroid Day

Belle Starr Day

California Western Monarch Day

Chama Cha Mapinduzi Day (Tanzania)

Cheongwoldaeboreum (Folk Festival; North Korea)

Constitution Day (Mexico)

Crown Princess Mary Day (Denmark)

Disaster Day

Georgia Arts Day (Georgia)

Hank Aaron Day

International Clash Day

Kashmir Solidarity Day (Pakistan)

Lailatul Quadr (Night of Power)

Lichen Day (French Republic)

Longest War Day (3rd Punic War ended in 1985 after 2,131 years)

Move Hollywood and Broadway to Lebanon, Pennsylvania Day

National Fart Day (a.k.a. Did You Fart? Day)

National Leo Day

National Shower with a Friend Day

National Tinnitus Awareness Day

National Weatherperson's Day (f.k.a. Weatherman's Day)

Othroktide (Elder Scrolls)

Pikachu Day

Primrose Day

Robert “Bobbie” Peel Day (UK)

Runeberg Day (Finland)

Trayvon Martin Day

Unity Day (Burundi)

Waitangi Dildo Incident Day (New Zealand)

Western Monarch Day

World Animal Reiki Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Bartender’s Cup

Chocolate Fondue Day

National Rosé Day (Australia; New Zealand)

World Nutella Day

1st Monday in February

Constitution Day (Mexico) [1st Monday]

Great American Pizza Bake [1st Monday]

Independence Day observed (Grenada; from UK, 1974) [Monday closest to 2.7]

Just Say No To PowerPoint Week begins [1st Monday]

Love a Mensch Week begins [1st Monday]

National Sickie Day (UK) [1st Monday]

National Toothbrushing Day (Philippines) [1st Monday]

Independence & Related Days

Arkazja (Declared; 2022) [unrecognized]

Liberation Day (From the Alberoni Occupation; San Marino)

Festivals Beginning February 5, 2024

Carnival of Oruro (Oruro, Bolivia) [thru 2.14]

New Mexico Chile Conference (Las Cruces, New Mexico) [thru 2.5]

Order of Venus Mob-Chella Mardia Gras Ball (Mobile, Alabama)

Ridgefield Restaurant Week (Ridgefield, Connecticut) [thru 2.11]

Whale Fiesta (San Pedro, California)

Feast Days

Abraamius, Bishop of Arbela (Christian; Martyr)

Adelaide of Vilich (a.k.a. Alice; Christian; Saint)

Agatha of Sicily (Christian; Saint)

Anne Hutchinson (Episcopal Church USA)

Avitus of Vienne (Christian; Saint)

Benedict Arnold Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint) 

Bertulf (a.k.a. Bertoul of Renty; Christian; Saint)

Carl Spitzweg (Artology)

Day of the Serpent (Pagan)

Doodle Day (Pastafarian)

The Fornacalia (Goddess of Furnaces) [until 17th]

The Goat (Muppetism)

Herman Charles Bosman (Writerism)

H.R. Giger (Artology)

Indractus and Dominica (Christian; Martyrs)

Ingenuinus (Jenewein; Christian; Saint)

Jeanne de Valois (Christian; Martyr)

Lantern Festival (China) [15th Day of Chinese New Year]

Martyrs of Japan (Christian; 25 Martyrs, 1597)

Martyrs of Pontus (Christian; Martyrs)

Nones of February (Ancient Rome)

Philip of Jesus (Christian; Saint)

Pirate Garb Day (Pastafarian)

Ragged Young Man, Shaggy Filly & Freckle-Legged Girl Day (Celtic Book of Days)

Roger Williams (Baptist & Episcopal Church USA)

Sacred Maiden Ia Day (Everyday Wicca)

Scopas (Positivist; Saint)

Triodion begins (Eastern Orthodox Christian) [70 Days before Easter]

Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Anglican Church in Japan)

Vasant Panchami (Hinduism)

Vodalus (a.k.a. Voel; Christian; Saint)

Weatherperson’s Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

William S. Burroughs (Writerism)

Wyrd’s Day (Celtic Goddess of Fortune Telling)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lucky Day (Philippines) [9 of 71]

Sensho (先勝 Japan) [Good luck in the morning, bad luck in the afternoon.]

Premieres

The ABC of Hand Tools (Disney Cartoon; 1946)

Alice in Wonderland in Paris (Animated Film; 1966)

Bear Country (Disney Documentary Short; 1953)

Big Cheese Boris or I’d Rather Be Rat (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S2, Ep. 96; 1961)

The Book Shop (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1937)

Boris Makes His Move or The Miceman Cometh (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S2, Ep. 95; 1961)

Chew-Chew Baby (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1945)

The County Fair (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1934)

Crazy Heart (Film; 2010)

Daisy-Head Mayzie (Hanna-Barbera Animated TV Special; 1995)

An Education (Film; 2010)

Epitaph for a Spy: A Spy Thriller, by Eric Ambler (Novel; 1938)

Featuring the Saint, by Leslie Charteris (Short Stories; 1931) [Saint #5]

Flower in the Hat or The Rose Bowler (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S4, Ep. 201; 1963)

The General (Film; 1927)

Glad Rags to Riches (Film; 1933)

Hail, Caesar! (Film; 2016)

Hansel and Gretel (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1933)

Instant Replay, by The Monks (Album; 1969)

Lego Masters (UK TV Series; 2022)

Loaded Weapon (Film; 1993)

Love My Life Away, by Gene Pitney (Song; 1961)

Modern Times (Silent Film; 1936)

Mother and Child Reunion, by Paul Simon (Album; 1972)

Mucho Loco (WB MM Cartoon; 1966)

No Deposit, No Return (Film; 1976)

Otello, by Giuseppe Verdi (Opera; 1887)

Patton (Film; 1970)

Peter Pan (Animated Disney Film; 1953)

Pipe Dreams (Happy Harmonies Cartoon; 1938)

Porky at the Crocadero (WB LT Cartoon; 1938)

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Film; 2016)

Robin Hood, Jr., featuring Willie Whopper (MGM Cartoon; 1934)

Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost (WB Animated Film; 2019)

She’s Having a Baby (Film; 1988)

A Single Man (Film; 2010)

A Snitch in Time or The Finking Man’s Thilter (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S4, Ep. 202; 1963)

String Quartet No. 1 in D Minor, by Arnold Schoenberg (String Quartet; 1907)

Sunday in New York (Film; 1964)

Tau Zero, by Poul Anderson (Novel; 1970)

Topsy Turkey (Phantasies Cartoon; 1948)

Two Happy Amigos (Disney Animated TV Special; 1960)

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Film; 1988)

Up, by Cardi B (Song; 2021)

The Wandering Earth (Film; 2019)

What Is Life? with Mind and Matter and Autobiographical Sketches, by Erwin Schrödinger (Philosophy Book; 1944)

Today’s Name Days

Agatha, Albuin (Austria)

Agata, Dobrila, Goran, Jagoda (Croatia)

Dobromila (Czech Republic)

Agathe (Denmark)

Aet, Agaate, Aita, Ita, Iti (Estonia)

Asser (Finland)

Agathe (France)

Agathe, Albuin (Germany)

Agathe, Agathi (Greece)

Ágota, Ingrid (Hungary)

Agata (Italy)

Agate, Agra, Ardis, Selga, Silga (Latvia)

Agota, Birutė, Gaudvinas, Ilona (Lithuania)

Agate, Ågot (Norway)

Adelajda, Aga, Agata, Albin, Izydor, Jakub, Jan, Justynian, Paweł, Piotr, Strzeżysława (Poland)

Agata (Romania)

Agáta (Slovakia)

Ágata, Águeda, Felipe (Spain)

Agata, Agda (Sweden)

Agatha (Ukraine)

Agatha, Chanel, Chanelle, Chantel, Phoenix, Shantel (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 36 of 2024; 330 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 1 of week 6 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Luis (Rowan) [Day 16 of 28]

Chinese: Month 12 (Yi-Chou), Day 26 (Ji-Hai)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 26 Shevat 5784

Islamic: 25 Rajab 1445

J Cal: 6 Grey; Sixday [6 of 30]

Julian: 23 January 2024

Moon: 23%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 8 Homer (2nd Month) [Scopas)

Runic Half Month: Elhaz (Elk) [Day 12 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 47 of 89)

Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 15 of 28)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 2.5

Holidays

Adlai Stevenson Day (Illinois)

Aerial Victory Day

Angel Conwell Day (South Carolina)

Antigone Asteroid Day

Belle Starr Day

California Western Monarch Day

Chama Cha Mapinduzi Day (Tanzania)

Cheongwoldaeboreum (Folk Festival; North Korea)

Constitution Day (Mexico)

Crown Princess Mary Day (Denmark)

Disaster Day

Georgia Arts Day (Georgia)

Hank Aaron Day

International Clash Day

Kashmir Solidarity Day (Pakistan)

Lailatul Quadr (Night of Power)

Lichen Day (French Republic)

Longest War Day (3rd Punic War ended in 1985 after 2,131 years)

Move Hollywood and Broadway to Lebanon, Pennsylvania Day

National Fart Day (a.k.a. Did You Fart? Day)

National Leo Day

National Shower with a Friend Day

National Tinnitus Awareness Day

National Weatherperson's Day (f.k.a. Weatherman's Day)

Othroktide (Elder Scrolls)

Pikachu Day

Primrose Day

Robert “Bobbie” Peel Day (UK)

Runeberg Day (Finland)

Trayvon Martin Day

Unity Day (Burundi)

Waitangi Dildo Incident Day (New Zealand)

Western Monarch Day

World Animal Reiki Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Bartender’s Cup

Chocolate Fondue Day

National Rosé Day (Australia; New Zealand)

World Nutella Day

1st Monday in February

Constitution Day (Mexico) [1st Monday]

Great American Pizza Bake [1st Monday]

Independence Day observed (Grenada; from UK, 1974) [Monday closest to 2.7]

Just Say No To PowerPoint Week begins [1st Monday]

Love a Mensch Week begins [1st Monday]

National Sickie Day (UK) [1st Monday]

National Toothbrushing Day (Philippines) [1st Monday]

Independence & Related Days

Arkazja (Declared; 2022) [unrecognized]

Liberation Day (From the Alberoni Occupation; San Marino)

Festivals Beginning February 5, 2024

Carnival of Oruro (Oruro, Bolivia) [thru 2.14]

New Mexico Chile Conference (Las Cruces, New Mexico) [thru 2.5]

Order of Venus Mob-Chella Mardia Gras Ball (Mobile, Alabama)

Ridgefield Restaurant Week (Ridgefield, Connecticut) [thru 2.11]

Whale Fiesta (San Pedro, California)

Feast Days

Abraamius, Bishop of Arbela (Christian; Martyr)

Adelaide of Vilich (a.k.a. Alice; Christian; Saint)

Agatha of Sicily (Christian; Saint)

Anne Hutchinson (Episcopal Church USA)

Avitus of Vienne (Christian; Saint)

Benedict Arnold Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint) 

Bertulf (a.k.a. Bertoul of Renty; Christian; Saint)

Carl Spitzweg (Artology)

Day of the Serpent (Pagan)

Doodle Day (Pastafarian)

The Fornacalia (Goddess of Furnaces) [until 17th]

The Goat (Muppetism)

Herman Charles Bosman (Writerism)

H.R. Giger (Artology)

Indractus and Dominica (Christian; Martyrs)

Ingenuinus (Jenewein; Christian; Saint)

Jeanne de Valois (Christian; Martyr)

Lantern Festival (China) [15th Day of Chinese New Year]

Martyrs of Japan (Christian; 25 Martyrs, 1597)

Martyrs of Pontus (Christian; Martyrs)

Nones of February (Ancient Rome)

Philip of Jesus (Christian; Saint)

Pirate Garb Day (Pastafarian)

Ragged Young Man, Shaggy Filly & Freckle-Legged Girl Day (Celtic Book of Days)

Roger Williams (Baptist & Episcopal Church USA)

Sacred Maiden Ia Day (Everyday Wicca)

Scopas (Positivist; Saint)

Triodion begins (Eastern Orthodox Christian) [70 Days before Easter]

Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Anglican Church in Japan)

Vasant Panchami (Hinduism)

Vodalus (a.k.a. Voel; Christian; Saint)

Weatherperson’s Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

William S. Burroughs (Writerism)

Wyrd’s Day (Celtic Goddess of Fortune Telling)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lucky Day (Philippines) [9 of 71]

Sensho (先勝 Japan) [Good luck in the morning, bad luck in the afternoon.]

Premieres

The ABC of Hand Tools (Disney Cartoon; 1946)

Alice in Wonderland in Paris (Animated Film; 1966)

Bear Country (Disney Documentary Short; 1953)

Big Cheese Boris or I’d Rather Be Rat (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S2, Ep. 96; 1961)

The Book Shop (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1937)

Boris Makes His Move or The Miceman Cometh (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S2, Ep. 95; 1961)

Chew-Chew Baby (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1945)

The County Fair (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1934)

Crazy Heart (Film; 2010)

Daisy-Head Mayzie (Hanna-Barbera Animated TV Special; 1995)

An Education (Film; 2010)

Epitaph for a Spy: A Spy Thriller, by Eric Ambler (Novel; 1938)

Featuring the Saint, by Leslie Charteris (Short Stories; 1931) [Saint #5]

Flower in the Hat or The Rose Bowler (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S4, Ep. 201; 1963)

The General (Film; 1927)

Glad Rags to Riches (Film; 1933)

Hail, Caesar! (Film; 2016)

Hansel and Gretel (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1933)

Instant Replay, by The Monks (Album; 1969)

Lego Masters (UK TV Series; 2022)

Loaded Weapon (Film; 1993)

Love My Life Away, by Gene Pitney (Song; 1961)

Modern Times (Silent Film; 1936)

Mother and Child Reunion, by Paul Simon (Album; 1972)

Mucho Loco (WB MM Cartoon; 1966)

No Deposit, No Return (Film; 1976)

Otello, by Giuseppe Verdi (Opera; 1887)

Patton (Film; 1970)

Peter Pan (Animated Disney Film; 1953)

Pipe Dreams (Happy Harmonies Cartoon; 1938)

Porky at the Crocadero (WB LT Cartoon; 1938)

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Film; 2016)

Robin Hood, Jr., featuring Willie Whopper (MGM Cartoon; 1934)

Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost (WB Animated Film; 2019)

She’s Having a Baby (Film; 1988)

A Single Man (Film; 2010)

A Snitch in Time or The Finking Man’s Thilter (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S4, Ep. 202; 1963)

String Quartet No. 1 in D Minor, by Arnold Schoenberg (String Quartet; 1907)

Sunday in New York (Film; 1964)

Tau Zero, by Poul Anderson (Novel; 1970)

Topsy Turkey (Phantasies Cartoon; 1948)

Two Happy Amigos (Disney Animated TV Special; 1960)

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Film; 1988)

Up, by Cardi B (Song; 2021)

The Wandering Earth (Film; 2019)

What Is Life? with Mind and Matter and Autobiographical Sketches, by Erwin Schrödinger (Philosophy Book; 1944)

Today’s Name Days

Agatha, Albuin (Austria)

Agata, Dobrila, Goran, Jagoda (Croatia)

Dobromila (Czech Republic)

Agathe (Denmark)

Aet, Agaate, Aita, Ita, Iti (Estonia)

Asser (Finland)

Agathe (France)

Agathe, Albuin (Germany)

Agathe, Agathi (Greece)

Ágota, Ingrid (Hungary)

Agata (Italy)

Agate, Agra, Ardis, Selga, Silga (Latvia)

Agota, Birutė, Gaudvinas, Ilona (Lithuania)

Agate, Ågot (Norway)

Adelajda, Aga, Agata, Albin, Izydor, Jakub, Jan, Justynian, Paweł, Piotr, Strzeżysława (Poland)

Agata (Romania)

Agáta (Slovakia)

Ágata, Águeda, Felipe (Spain)

Agata, Agda (Sweden)

Agatha (Ukraine)

Agatha, Chanel, Chanelle, Chantel, Phoenix, Shantel (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 36 of 2024; 330 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 1 of week 6 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Luis (Rowan) [Day 16 of 28]

Chinese: Month 12 (Yi-Chou), Day 26 (Ji-Hai)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 26 Shevat 5784

Islamic: 25 Rajab 1445

J Cal: 6 Grey; Sixday [6 of 30]

Julian: 23 January 2024

Moon: 23%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 8 Homer (2nd Month) [Scopas)

Runic Half Month: Elhaz (Elk) [Day 12 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 47 of 89)

Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 15 of 28)

[jfvnknvdngdcbj]

Open biblical tradition, called perennialism, that wasn't integrated into a Crux system like Catholic Lineage Families. Catholic families punicized Pagan Senators and put them in Slave Houses that never stopped. The Pagan system has what it takes to out pay the Catholic Lineage system and impose international diplomacy, and establish a moderate European Union as an Emporor of the Bone Kingdom (->Kingdom of Bones).

[elegantshapeshifter]

Natib Qadish is so fascinating *_*

My country has been invaded by Punics/Carthaginians, and so I feel this connection, even if it's only intellectual.

However, I remember when I talked to some Jehovah's Witnesses, and when they knew that I was Pagan, they tried to explain to me the Baal episode, in which Yahweh have done the miracle while Baal apparently not.

My answer was that this meant that Baal was a high Entity, so only lesser Entities, closer to the earthly plan, were able to respond to the earthly needs, while higher beings were more detached by earthly affairs and so from miracles.

I also quoted the Bible that says the same:

"1 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. 5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death for inciting rebellion against the Lord your God"

(Deuteronomy 13)

They didn't know how to reply ahahahaha

But after that episode I'm so much in (intellectual) admiration towards Baal and Asherah

[thorraborinn]

Hello there, hope you're having a great day.

I was wondering if you have any tips or links for research into historical worship of Baldr. The well is coming up dry at the moment.

Sure, there isn't very much and you might already be aware of what I know, but I'll share what I can.

Baldr is seemingly mentioned in the second Merseburg Charm with the byname Phol. What this second name, spelled exactly that way, is meant to represent underlyingly, is a matter of some debate but at least going by Wikipedia there are some names of plants that seem to possibly be derived from it, as those names alternate with names derived from Baldr.

Stefan Brink discusses the flimsy, but not nonexistent, evidence for places named for Baldr in "How Uniform was Old Norse Religion?"

There is a literary description of a place where Baldr was worshiped in Friðþjófs saga, a 13th/14th century legendary saga. It should not be considered a viable source of historical information. In this saga, Baldrshagi 'Baldr's meadow' is a cult place and griðstaðr, meaning that violence is strictly prohibited. It's treated somewhat like a cloister; they send a woman there so that she can't be married, basically. It's a literary device from then-contemporary times back-projected onto an imaginary pagan past, but then, that's its own kind of interesting.

I recommend the paper "Some Controversial Aspects of the Myth of Baldr" by Anatoly Liberman. It's too dense to summarize effectively, and doesn't come to any really hard conclusions but also explains why it would be a mistake to do so. Liberman's papers are always good even if you don't agree with his conclusions because of his detailed descriptions of the history of research on the subject, and you can use this paper to find other things to read.

There's a fringe theory accepted by nobody by Theo Vennemann that Baldr is the result of a loan of the deity Ba'al into Germanic from Punic-speaking peoples in the distant past. It's definitely wrong, but fun.

[fcb4]

War of Gods and Demons

GK Chesterton discussion on The Punic Wars between the Romans and Carthaginians.

“The truth is that only men to whom the family is sacred will ever have a standard or a status by which to criticise the state. They alone can appeal to something more holy than the gods of the city; the gods of the hearth.”

“For Carthage fell because she was faithful to her own philosophy and had followed out to its logical conclusion her own vision of the universe. Moloch had eaten his children.”

“What did soldiers feel when they saw splendid in the sky that strange totem that we call the Golden Eagle of the Legions? What did vassals feel about those other totems, the lions or the leopards upon the shield of their lord? So long as we neglect this subjective side of history, which may more simply be called the inside of history, there will always be a certain limitation on that science which can be better transcended by art. So long as the historian cannot do that, fiction will be truer than fact. There will be more reality in a novel; yes, even in a historical novel.”

“…it is certain that the struggle which established Christendom would have been very different if there had been an empire of Carthage instead of an empire of Rome. We have to thank the patience of the Punic wars if, in after ages, divine things descended at least upon human things and not inhuman.”

“And we owe them something if we never needed to cut down the groves of Venus exactly as men cut down the groves of Baal. We owe it partly to their harshness that our thoughts of our human past are not wholly harsh. If the passage from heathenry to Christianity was a bridge as well as a breach, we owe it to those who kept that heathenry human. If, after all these ages, we are in some sense at peace with paganism, and can think more kindly of our fathers, it is well to remember the things that were and the things that might have been. For this reason alone we can take lightly the load of antiquity and need not shudder at a nymph on a fountain or a cupid on a valentine. Laughter and sadness link us with things long past away and remembered without dishonour; and we can see not altogether without tenderness the twilight sinking around the Sabine farm and hear the household gods rejoice when Catullus comes home to Sirmio. Deleta est Carthago.”

Read the chapter here:

https://www.worldinvisible.com/library/chesterton/everlasting/part1c7.htm

[parkerpeterholland]

12 days of Christmas history pagan holidays vs Christian

Merry Christmas Wishes To you from our team. Enjoy Reading!

The number twelve has an abnormal essentialness in the retribution of time:

There are twelve sun powered months, relating generally to twelve zodiacal houses along the sun's ecliptic way. In the Christian legend, Christ is trailed by 12 missionaries.

There are customarily twelve 'hours' of sunshine, as figured by sun-dials, and subsequently we determine our twenty four hours of light and night which contain our unit of one sun powered 'day'. This is known as 'clear sun oriented time', when contrasted with the clock-time we will in general keep in current occasions, known as 'mean sun powered time'.

There is a distinction of around twelve days between the old 'Julian' and more up to date 'Gregorian' calendric frameworks being used in Europe and Asia Minor. These progressions were organized to counteract the festival of Easter (determined dependent on the Jewish Lunar schedule) from crawling further away from the Spring Equinox into summer.

There are twelve days denoting the conventional European and Eastern 'Christmas' or 'Yule' bubbly midwinter period… These were at times each viewed as speaking to a different month of the sun based year in numerous pre-present day European societies. Yuletide started at the winter solstice (approx. 22nd December) and completed on the third January, though Christmastide was from 25th December to sixth January (Revelation).

Starting points of Christmas Day

The foundation of the date of the Nativity celebration on the 25th December in Christianity was not in reality officially settled upon for a long time after the time of Jesus' alleged life and demise. In the late agnostic Roman Realm, the 25th day of December was praised as Natalis Invicti – the resurrection of the worshipped 'Unconquerable Sun' – Sol Invictus. In spite of the fact that presented as a late Supreme Clique under Aurelian in 274CE (250 years or so after the passing of Jesus) the religion of Sol Invictus was likely in light of the abundance of puzzle cliques all through the Roman Realm which utilized the iconography of a young sunlight based male god, apparently got from the more established delineations of more seasoned divine beings, for example, Apollo, Adonis and Attis. Adonis, etymologically in any event, seems to have a Semitic cause (think about Adonai – 'Master'). These had their causes in the standards of Sunlight based godhood connected to the extraordinary 'static' or 'authority' puzzle cliques of the first thousand years BCE: Those of Delian Apollo, Apollo at Delphi, Eleusis, Samothrace and the secrets of Cybele and Attis in Phrygia, among others. Such cliques by and large endless supply of land loci – fixed religion destinations – and the cooperation in initiatory custom for the reasons for either getting prophets, recuperating or higher information. They themselves may have created from prominent augmentations of the initially more firmly monitored internal puzzle ceremonial conventions encompassing the exclusive classes of rulers and religious hierophants of the prior 'palatial' societies (Minoan and Mycenaean), themselves duplicating the antiquated Mesopotamian and Egyptian societies, which are the most established for which we have proof, and were in coherence until in any event the beginning of the first thousand years CE.

Wars with Carthage and the extraordinary developments of the 'savage' Celts during Rome's Late Republican Period (c.3rdC BCE) prompted the importation of 'outside' riddle religions, for example, that of Cybele and her delighted ministers into Rome during the late Punic wars. Another well known elated religious puzzle faction was that of the Bacchanalia (Dionysia) from Greece. The Celtic obsession towards the sunlight based god Apollo (whom they knew as Belenos) made them really attack Greece and sack Delphi in 179BCE! These occasions, alongside Rome's expanding extension and social cooperation prompted the flood in prominence of riddle religions all in all during the late Republican period, to such an extent that by the 1stC CE Roman Sovereigns were themselves visiting Eleusis and Samothrace to move toward becoming starts. These cliques indicated to clarify the insider facts of the sun, the moon, the planets and stars and the most profound puzzles of nature, passing and recovery. Maybe obviously, the nurturing Sun was a key piece of this, and turned out to be a piece of another 'elementalism' and drive towards rearrangements and 'versatility' of folklore.

As the Roman and Greek social nations extended and thrived, initiatory puzzle religions turned out to be less a guilty pleasure of the elites, and furthermore less joined to fixed topographical areas, forming into a plenty of portable ideological 'establishments' delighted in by increasingly standard people. These very likely copied the insider facts and legendary systems of the more established 'official' puzzles whose (frequently well off) starts and suppliants should stay discreet on torment of death or profound torment, and such secrets were bit by bit purchased out beyond all detectable inhibitions and talked about and conjectured over. This procedure was helped by the dissemination of education and the spread of and improvement of the thoughts of the 'Thinkers 'of traditional and Greek time 'Magna Graecia' who tried to examine the constancies and certainties behind old orally-transmitted folklore.

A genuine case of such reductionist procedures at their apotheosis are the 'Hermetic' and 'Gnostic' religions in Hellenized Asia Minor, Center East and North Africa, of which Christianity was to develop as an early branch inside the irritable and millenarianist Hasmonean-time Jewish world with its critical diaspora. These utilized Pythagorean, Non-romantic and Luxurious reductionist speculations and a talk including the standards of the spirit as a type of undying light in their prophetic religious stories, scarcely concealing such thoughts behind the character accounts of more established folklores.

Such express intellectualism was not to everybody's taste, obviously, and other increasingly semiotic types of riddle factions dependent on custom, fantasy and imagery served the requirements of those with progressively conventional (less orientalised) tastes. Orphism was maybe the most seasoned and best-settled of these customs – conceivably the 'granddaddy' of all, with its inceptions in the primary portion of the first thousand years BCE in any event. Its starts looked to 'filter' themselves so as to accomplish a superior the great beyond. Mithraism was surely the most well known of the more up to date factions, spreading from Asia Minor into the most northern and western degrees of the Roman Realm between the first and third hundreds of years of the BC. Comparative famous secret religions based on the Thracian god Sabazios (a local relative of Dionysus) and European syncretic cliques including the Celtic divine beings, for example, that of the 'Danubian Horsemen' including Epona in Eastern and northern Europe, and an abundance of others all the more ineffectively comprehended because of scarcity of material proof. These all had the regular attribute of underscoring the situation of the characters of 'Sol' and 'Luna' in their iconography – nearly as an 'identification' of their 'puzzle' status.

A Roman alleviation delineating the feast of Sol, Luna and Mithras..

A wonderful case of a plaque delineating the 'Danubian Horsemen' and their focal goddess... apparently a rendition of Epona.

A plaque portraying the 'Danubian Horsemen' and their focal goddess (Epona): Sol Invictus rides his quadriga at the highest point of the picture, which manages the symbolism of the religion's riddles.

Sol and Luna remain above Sabazios in this cultic Roman plaque

A coin of Ruler Constantine I who changed over to Christianity and took the Realm with him. The delineation on the front-side is of Sol Invictus.

The revered sun was conflated in this time with the more established Greek god Apollo, whose character was supported by the Romanised Celtic people groups from the Danube bowl to the Atlantic northwest of Europe, in their very own syncretic religions. Such religions all through the Domain had uprooted those of the more established Capitoline and Olympian Roman and Greek gods among the all inclusive communities, in spite of the fact that these still had a metro task to carry out.

Maybe the most significant, mainstream and long-running faction of the senior Greek divine beings was that of Dionysus, whose most established celebration – the Country Dionysia – concurred with the time of the winter solstice whose Greek month was named out of appreciation for the antiquated ocean god: Poseidonia. This was a celebration of sprucing up in the pretense of the entourage of the god: men as satyrs or silenoi and ladies as maenads. It was additionally, essentially, a celebration of the revelation of Dionysus to humanity, which praised the god's transubstantiation of water into wine and the riddles of growing nature: topics clearly acquired into later christianity. At Delphi, there was a custom that Apollo left to live among the Hyperboreans during the month when Dionysus showed among the individuals at this celebration, at which there was much singing of famous tunes by all classes in Greek society – a convention getting by in the cutting edge European Christmas singing merriments.

After the third century CE the ascent of heathen, proficient, literalised and intellectualized religious propensities in the Hellenized Eastern Domain and North Africa was progressively to obscure the western conventions of baffling non-literal folklore, which had been at the foundation of European religion for centuries. Apollo, Sol, Belenos, Attis, Dionysus and Adonis progressed toward becoming 'Logos' – supplanted by a scholarly man-god who professed to be 'the light of the world', promising – as an end-result of a vow of loyalty – 'recovery' after death into a perfect eternity, safe from the disarray of life. The ideal model of altruistic Majestic power truth be told.

[velhovinho]

hc + zodiac, snapchat, filter, dogs, myth

a headcanon meme

tw for animal deaths under dogs and myth i guess

zodiac

Gabriel is a Libra! October 5th \o/. He doesn’t really care about astrological signs and horoscopes and all that however. Some Libra traits he has are carrying grudges forever, social, loves the outdoors, diplomatic. Gabriel was more interested in the Chinese Zodiac when he learned about it than the Western Zodiac, although he’s not quite sure how he would fit into it as he can’t even remember his birth year and it’d be a lot of calculating to figure out which animal that was even if he did. He’d likely use 1905 as his ‘birth year’, which would make him a Snake (fitting, with the Ophiussa myth and the serpent imagery on the coat of arms). Also I’m laughing that it says for unlucky colors: white, gold, brown. Half his clothes are white or brown and he wears gold earrings half the time. Some fitting Snake traits for him being passionate, smart, sympathetic, humorous, nonchalant (VERY), and jealous. However his interest in the Chinese Zodiac faded due to his complicated relationships with China and the fact he’s just not interested in astrology in general. 

snapchat + filter

Thank you to @stadslichten for the adorable idea of Gabriel struggling to learn Snapchat because I LOVE IT. Bear with the old man as he tries to overcome his tech incompetence. His favorite filter is the cat filter! He has a picture of it saved away because he thinks he looks pretty good in it. He prefers his photographer’s black-and-white camera over his phone’s camera, he did however learn how to use the phone camera even before Snapchat for the purpose of sending nudes. 

dogs

Gabriel is more of a cat person than a dog person, but! He once had a dog as pet during his lifetime. This was as Lusitania, little Marinus adopted a stray dog he found trying to steal bread in the marketplace. As a stray who also had a habit of stealing bread, he felt an instant connection to the poor dog and named him...Canis. Latin for dog. He named the dog Dog. Little Marinus wasn’t too good at coming up with names yet, forgive the poor boy. But he loved little Canis with all his heart, and fed him scraps even when he was hungry. He did his best to keep Canis far away from any fighting he got into as well, and spending time with the dog was a welcome reprieve from the rigors of rebellion. However little Canis was a smart dog (probably nation magic affecting him) and soon figured out his owner leaving often meant his owner coming back hurt all over, so one day he followed Marinus, who got into a scuffle with a Roman legionnaire who’d caught him stealing bread, and the legionnaire accidentally killed Canis when the dog got in between him and Marinus growling. This broke poor little Marinus’ heart, and he wouldn’t have another dog again.

myth

THERE IS...a lot to say here. To start with, Gabriel, or Lugus at the time, cared absolutely zero about the gods of his people. Not the one he was named for, not the head god, not even the god of war. Sometimes he’d participate in the goat sacrifices, or say a prayer with the warriors to Cariocecus (a Lusitanian god of war) before battle. He knew the legends of the horse goddess Epona very well because of his sister Luisa’s (at the time Ebora) insistence on the story of having been born by the goddess. He does admire the myth of Ophiussa (where Greek mariners discovered Port’s coast and gave it the name meaning ‘Land of the Serpents’ because of the peoples’ worship of a snake goddess) and the serpent imagery it inspired in his coat of arms. He learned basically nothing about the Punic religion from his father, and cared even less about it than his own gods. 

As Lusitania he played along with the pagan festivals but refused to worship the Roman gods because of how he hated the Roman rule. And then came Christianity, and woo boy. It wasn’t until the Visigoths came in and set up their little kingdoms that Gabriel (Alaric at the time) first started to be faithful, as he had finally gotten away from the Romans, with Rome getting sacked as the cherry on top. So he became a casual Christian up until the Caliphate came in. 

Under the Islamic rule, Christians were allowed to still practice their religion but were basically treated as second-class citizens and encouraged to convert. And, well, Gabriel (now Malak) at the time had a tendency to do the exact opposite of what any authority figure wanted him to do. So here he went from a casual to a fervent Christian, and by the time of the Reconquista was a full on Christian knight and threw himself headfirst into his faith. 

Here is when he took up the name Gabriel, in part because of his love for the story of the Virgin Mary (also because he’s vain and secretly liked being called angel so Gabriel was a sort of continuation of that). It’s a very powerful story to him and throughout his life he’s venerated Mary as a sort of mother from above. He didn’t really have many mother figures in his life, his mother is a cliff, so that’s how he connected to Mary. Also as a sailor, he was quite superstitious and believed many of the tales of sea monsters and witches and such. Gabriel will also always claim that The Lusiads happened just as written, especially the part where Vasco da Gama’s crew (which he joined with) had an orgy with all the Nereids.

As for today, Gabriel is still a faithful Catholic but has had a few crises of faith over the years and doesn’t go to mass regularly anymore. He got a bachelor’s in classical studies as a way to connect with his roots since as a child he didn’t really pay attention to what was going on outside of fighting Rome. He’s learned all he can about the Celtiberian gods, particularly Lugus where he got his first name, and the Roman god Lusus (who was sometimes conflated with Lugus) where he got ‘Lusitania’ which became an important legacy for him and his people. 

[eyestartuperasmus]

In the afternoon we visited the archeological site at Agrigento, which was inserted on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997. We saw the remains from the Hellenic city, and additionally from the successive Punic-Roman era, the imposing Doric temples, the agora, the pagan and Christian necropolis. This site represents an exceptional historic testimony to Magna Grecia’s presence in this area. As you can appreciate from the photos, the place is magnificent!

[tipsycad147]

Aries March The Bacchanalia

By shirleytwofeathers

Nowadays, whenever we hear the term Bacchanalia getting thrown about it is typically used to describe wild partying that has gotten way out of control. In the popular imagination, the Bacchanalia are often characterised by frantic participants moshing together in a pit of sexual orgies.

The Bacchanalia were free-spirited and sexually charged festivals that involved pagan mysticism, wild sex and divine communion which allowed its celebrants’ to achieve states of euphoria that hovered between divine ecstasy and the oblivion of nothingness. Those who have spent a week at one of the Hedonism resorts in Jamaica would probably find the sexually charged atmosphere of the Bacchanalia remarkably familiar.

The cult of Bacchus was a mystery religion that originated in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) and spread throughout Greece and into southern Italy where it became extremely popular among the Romans. Despite their notoriety, not much is known about the Bacchanalia. This is largely due to the fact that mystery religions were closed to the uninitiated and their inner-workings kept secret from the outside world. However, scholars have managed to piece together fragments from ancient legal documents, historical texts and plays that can help give us a glimpse into the bacchanalian festivities.

The Bacchanalia first appeared in Greece around 700 BC and eventually found their way into Italy around the fourth century BC. The first bacchanals were held twice yearly in the middle of winter and were reserved for girls and women who performed their rites naked. By the time Rome had become the preeminent power in the Mediterranean after their victory over Carthage in the Second Punic War (202 BC), the rituals had opened up considerably making them quite popular with the natives.

Admission was extended to men and people of all social classes; even slaves could even join in on the fun. With the increased popularity, celebrations were taking place as often as five times a month.

The time and location of the bacchanals were usually closely guarded secrets. Priests and priestesses preferred to hold their gatherings in secluded forests where their privacy could be ensured. On the day of the festival, devotees would prepare some goats by painting their horns gold. Special torches dipped in sulphur and charcoal was also made. Devotees often wore fawn skins that emulated forest animals. Skimpy outfits or even complete nudity was also par for the course. Participants would often carry along their favourite sex toy; women would bring sexy wands while men might bring along a wooden phallus.

After nightfall celebrants would proceed to a forest clearing by dancing to the sounds of crashing cymbals and loud music. Once the celebrants arrived at the appointed place, they could be seen quaffing down wine, dancing, leaping, whirling, screaming and generally working themselves up into a frenzied state. They would inspire each other into ever greater acts of ecstasy, whereby the whole scene would descend into a writhing mosh pit of sexual orgies.

The aim was to achieve a heightened state of ecstasy in which the devotee’s souls would be temporarily freed from their physical existence. It was in these moments that the worshippers hoped to commune with Bacchus and obtain a glimpse of what they would someday meet in the afterlife after their resurrection.

The festival would reach its climax with frantic feats of strength and ecstasy, such as ripping trees out of the ground and eating the raw flesh of their sacrificial animals. The latter act was a sacrament similar to communion where the devotees assumed the identity of Bacchus. By symbolically drinking his blood and eating his body, the devotees believed they became one with Bacchus.

The euphoric devotees would then rush over to the banks of a nearby river with their flaming torches and dip them into the water. Since their torches were made with sulphur and charcoal, they would emerge from the water still burning, a symbol of Bacchus’s power.

Source: The Bacchanalian

https://shirleytwofeathers.com/The_Blog/pagancalendar/category/march/

[brookston]

Holidays 2.5

Holidays

Adlai Stevenson Day (Illinois)

Aerial Victory Day

Belle Starr Day

California Western Monarch Day

Chama Cha Mapinduzi Day (Tanzania)

Cheongwoldaeboreum (Folk Festival; North Korea)

Constitution Day (Mexico)

Crown Princess Mary Day (Denmark)

Disaster Day

Full Moon [2nd of the Year] (a.k.a. ... 

Bony Moon (Cherokee)

Budding Moon (China)

Daeboreum (Great Full Moon; Korea) [1st Full Moon of Lunar Calendar]

Eagle Moon (Traditional)

Grain Moon (South Africa)

The Great Fifteenth [Lunar Calendar]

Hunger or Hungry Moon (Alternate)

Ice Moon (Celtic)

Little Famine Moon (Choctaw)

Naval Full Moon Poya Day (Sri Lanka)

Raccoon Moon (Traditional)

Snow Moon (American Indian, North America, Traditional)

Southern Hemisphere: Barley, Corn, Dog, Grain, Red, Sturgeon, Wyrt Moons

Storm Moon (England, Neo-Pagan, Wicca)

Trapper’s Moon (Colonial)

Hank Aaron Day

Kashmir Solidarity Day (Pakistan)

Lailatul Quadr (Night of Power)

Liberation From the Alberoni Occupation (San Marino)

Longest War Day (3rd Punic War ended in 1985 after 2,131 years)

Move Hollywood and Broadway to Lebanon, Pennsylvania Day

National Fart Day

National Shower with a Friend Day

Nones of February (Ancient Rome)

Othroktide (Elder Scrolls)

Pikachu Day

Primrose Day

Runeberg Day (Finland)

Unity Day (Burundi)

Weatherman's Day (a.k.a. Weatherperson's Day)

Western Monarch Day

World Animal Reiki Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Bartender’s Cup

Chocolate Fondue Day

World Nutella Day

1st Sunday in February

British Yorkshire Pudding Day [1st Sunday]

Dump Your Significant Jerk Day [1st Sunday]

Freelance Writers Appreciation Week begins [1st Sunday]

Homstrom (Burning of the Straw Man; Switzerland) [1st Sunday]

National Day of Prayer for the African American & African Family [1st Sunday]

New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Orthodox Church (Sunday nearest 2.7]

Scout Sunday [or Sunday before 2.8]

St. Ives’ Feast (Cornwall, UK) [Sunday nearest February 3]

World Cepelinai Day [1st Sunday]

Independence Days

Arkazja (Declared; 2022) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Abraamius, Bishop of Arbela (Christian; Martyr)

Adelaide of Vilich (a.k.a. Alice; Christian; Saint)

Agatha of Sicily (Christian; Saint)

Avitus of Vienne (Christian; Saint)

Benedict Arnold Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint) 

Bertulf (Bertoul) of Renty (Christian; Saint)

Doodle Day (Pastafarian)

The Fornacalia (Goddess of Furnaces) [until 17th]

The Goat (Muppetism)

Ingenuinus (Jenewein; Christian; Saint)

Martyrs of Pontus (Christian; Saint)

Pirate Garb Day (Pastafarian)

Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson (Episcopal Church USA)

Scopas (Positivist; Saint)

Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Anglican Church in Japan)

Vasant Panchami (Hinduism)

Wyrd’s Day (Celtic Goddess of Fortune Telling)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lucky Day (Philippines) [9 of 71]

Sakimake (先負 Japan) [Bad luck in the morning, good luck in the afternoon.]

Premieres

The ABC of Hand Tools (Disney Cartoon; 1946)

Bear Country (Disney Cartoon; 1953)

Crazy Heart (Film; 2010)

An Education (Film; 2010)

The General (Film; 1927)

Instant Replay, by The Monks (Album; 1969)

Lego Masters (UK TV Series; 2022)

Loaded Weapon (Film; 1993)

Love My Life Away, by Gene Pitney (Song; 1961)

Modern Times (Film; 1936)

Mother and Child Reunion, by Paul Simon (Album; 1972)

No Deposit, No Return (Film; 1976)

Otello, by Giuseppe Verdi (Opera; 1887)

Patton (Film; 1970)

Peter Pan (Animated Disney Film; 1953)

Prode and Prejudice and Zombies (Film; 2016)

She’s Having a Baby (Film; 1988)

Sunday in New York (Film; 1964)

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Film; 1988)

Today’s Name Days

Agatha, Albuin (Austria)

Agata, Dobrila, Goran, Jagoda (Croatia)

Dobromila (Czech Republic)

Agathe (Denmark)

Aet, Agaate, Aita, Ita, Iti (Estonia)

Asser (Finland)

Agathe (France)

Agathe, Albuin (Germany)

Agathe, Agathi (Greece)

Ágota, Ingrid (Hungary)

Agata (Italy)

Agate, Agra, Ardis, Selga, Silga (Latvia)

Agota, Birutė, Gaudvinas, Ilona (Lithuania)

Agate, Ågot (Norway)

Adelajda, Aga, Agata, Albin, Izydor, Jakub, Jan, Justynian, Paweł, Piotr, Strzeżysława (Poland)

Agata (Romania)

Agáta (Slovakia)

Ágata, Águeda, Felipe (Spain)

Agata, Agda (Sweden)

Agatha (Ukraine)

Agatha, Chanel, Chanelle, Chantel, Phoenix, Shantel (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 36 of 2023; 329 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of week 5 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Luis (Rowan) [Day 15 of 28]

Chinese: Month 1 (Jia-Yin), Day 15 (Jia-Wu)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721(until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 14 Shevat 5783

Islamic: 14 Rajab II 1444

J Cal: 6 Xin; Sixday [6 of 30]

Julian: 23 January 2023

Moon: 100%: Full Moon

Positivist: 8 Homer (2nd Month) [Scopas)

Runic Half Month: Elhaz (Elk) [Day 12 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 47 of 90)

Zodiac: Aquarius (Day 16 of 30)