#red valerian

[mellygregs]

Red valerian.

Babbacombe Bay, Torquay, Devon, U.K.

July 2024.

IPhoneSE

[natureisthegreatestartist]

Say "hi" to the katydid who came to visit. The plant, by the way, is red valerian (aka Jupiter's beard).

[wiley-treehouse-gardens]

Treehouse Gardens

[crudlynaturephotos]

[randomprettyflowers]

Red Valerian - Alcatraz Island

[vampvalerian]

the queer experience is forgetting that straight people exist because i cannot imagine orin with a guy durge or gortash with a gal durge. what do you mean that they arent both there for the sake of gay toxic bloody relationships. what do you mean there’s straight toxic bloody relationships.

[avionvadion]

Rupert senses the oncoming hug. 👀

Anyways, RUPERT MY MAAAAANS I MISSED YOU SO MUCH I’M SORRY. 😭😭😭😭

I got so burnt out working on this. Being a one woman army is ROUGH. I also have the next chapter of Blue Jay outlined, but I missed my boy Rupert so much. I wanted to draw him so bad. So I’m starting the rough draft. This is literally page one, lol.

[houserosaire]

Prompt #26: Last

Silvaineaux’s eyes lingered for a moment on the space before the chapel door. Whatever snow had lain before it was now trampled flat by the back and forth passage of men and birds. Whatever secrets it might have revealed had been trampled under his own boots the night before. He shook his head and turned back to Cartier. “Make sure they’re getting through the last of the preparations to move out. I want to leave this place far behind us.”

“Yes, Ser.”

“Is Ser Valerian back yet?” Silvaineaux asked one of the men standing out beside the birds. 

“Not yet, Ser. He and Redding and Bardin went up that way, further into the trees.”

Silvaineaux nodded, shifting his hold on the reins and bringing one hand up to rest on Joyeux’s neck as he turned his own gaze to the treeline. The unease he had felt the night before settled in on him like a heavy cloak and he was grateful that the man watching the birds didn’t try to make any further conversation. Instead the man went back to fussing with the birds and Silvaineaux sat and watched the snow at the edge of the trees. It was not far to the treeline. He could easily see the tracks where they had gone in from where he sat.

Come out. Silvaineaux demanded in his thoughts. Any moment now Valerian would ride out of the trees, Bardin and Redding in tow. He would give his report and they would leave. Silvaineaux would never see the frozen font or the window with its broken saint again and he would be glad of it. 

Something stirred at the edge of the trees.

He had no sooner had time to discern the movement than it took shape. A riderless chocobo burst from the trees, two mounted men hard on its heels. The bird ran toward the rest of the mounts, chirping out the familiar little distress call of a bird in search of something. 

Silvaineaux went still, numb and stiff as a statue inside his armor. Blood dripped down the chocobo’s hind leg. He recognized the little seam where Valerian’s barding had been patched and the fine grey feathers of his familiar bird.  

He gathered his temper like he was tugging in Joyeux’s reins, shoved it down so that when Redding and Bardin’s birds trotted into sight he could meet them with a calm face. “Where is Ser Valerian?” He demanded of them. 

“I don’t know, my Lord.” Redding said. Silvaineaux had never heard the older hyur sound so humble and respectful. “We only fell behind him a moment, my lord, I swear it. Bardin thought he saw something in the snow.”

Silvaineaux turned to look at Bardin. 

Bardin lowered his head. “I thought I saw something… some fabric, a marker. You know I had family out this way before…” He gestured to the snow around them, ever present and stretching on forever. “I only stopped for a moment to look, Captain, I swear it. I said something but Ser Valerian must not have heard me. He rode on. I should have been louder.”

Silvaineaux ‘s fingers shifted on the reins, under him Joyeux stiffened and then danced in response to his tension. “Where is Ser Valerian, then?” He asked, forcing his voice to steadiness, speaking around the tightness of his own set jaw. “There is his bird. Did you notice it coming back without him? Did you look for him?”

“We were looking at what Bardin found. I heard the bird scream somewhere too far off.” Redding said. “And that’s when I realized how far behind him we’d fallen. There might have been shouting but between the snow and the trees and the hills. I’ve not got ears like you, Ser. The bird came tearing back past us and we thought we’d better come with it to tell you what had happened.”

“And have you told me that?” Silvaineaux snapped. “Because it seems to me you do not know what happened.” He took a deep breath. “Redding, with me. Cartier, with me! Laval!Get mounted, that bird is bloodied, we may need a medic. Bardin, you help see to that chocobo. I want everybody ready to move out the moment we come out of the trees.”

A breeze was rising. Silvaineaux could smell the chill of a storm in it as he waited the seemingly endless minutes it took Janvier Laval to tie his saddlebags into place and mount. He kept his hand steady on Joyeux’s reins to remind himself not to run off immediately as he wanted. 

They set off back along the tracks the others had left. In the fresh snow those tracks were easy enough to read, the rapid tracks of the frightened bird and following men gave way to the place where Redding and Bardin had dismounted and wandered around a small clearing. There past them were two sets of tracks. One of a chocobo moving at an easy trot off up the slope through the trees, beside it the tracks of that same bird rushing down the way it had come. Small spatters of crimson stood out stark against the snow at intervals. 

Those little flashes of color kept unpleasantly drawing Silvaineaux’s eye. They reminded him of the saint’s armor in the window. He thought of the saint’s cracked face and Valerian’s empty saddle and he touched his heels to Joyeux’s sides. Then he glanced back to make sure the men were with him. Looking back almost made him miss it, that first anomalous little mark. But as trees and snow flashed back he saw it again, drew on the reins to slow Joyeux enough for a better look.

The track of a boot, not far off the trail Valerian’s mount had made going up. Now that he sought it he could see another set, a different size, and then as they crested a small rise those tracks were all about, along with other clawed markings that were the track of neither man nor bird.  At the top of the small ridge the snow was trampled into a mass of tracks he could not truly hope to decipher but only to guess out. 

There, perhaps, Valerian had come out into the small clearing, paused to look over his shoulder as he realized Redding and Bardin had not followed. And there all around him tracks rushed from the trees and added themselves to a maelstrom of churned and bloodied snow. 

Silvaineaux swallowed and rode forward a little, adding Joyeux’s tracks to the edges of that mess long enough to see the tracks at the other side that went together in a mass down a little draw and deeper into the mountain. Too many tracks for him to reasonably follow with three men at his heels no matter how desperately he might want to. There was not enough blood there for a body. Just perhaps, Valerian still lived. He could gather the rest of the company…

A shadow flickered over the snow. Silvaineaux glanced up, and then touched Joyeux with the spurs. The warbird leapt back in under the shadow of the trees with the others. For a moment there was no sound but their breathing as they watched the shape of the dragon glide over, then wheel in toward the mountain, following in the sky the same line as those tracks. Numerous small shapes shadowed it. Silvaineaux closed his eyes for a moment, thinking of Valerian’s smile and that sturdy presence at his shoulder. 

Then he looked back into the wide eyes of the three men with him who waited for his orders. “Get back to the chapel.” He said, and every word felt like a betrayal. “We ride out. Now.”

[fontainebleau22]

The Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets AU I can’t stay away from! With thanks to @lazaefair for the original prompt and the wonderful artwork that goes with it.

Vasquez gets himself kidnapped and almost eaten, Faraday enlists Goodnight’s help to look for him, meets some new people and almost gets himself killed, and everyone learns some surprising things about their friends’ pasts.

[redwayfarers]

Howlers and minstrels in the night

Fandom: FFXIV Ship: Nika/Ianera Characters: Nika Perseis (OC), Ianera Maliriq (OC) Words: 772 Rating: Gen Summary: It's Nika's first night in Camp Dragonhead and he feels very out of sorts. Ianera is there to take care of him. Author's note: Once more, I am very baby into this game and this is all prone to change if I see fit in the future. That being said, I like how this came out, so I'm posting it!

The wind howls. The night they seem to have chosen to arrive at Camp Dragonhead is particularly sharp and particularly cold and Nika can’t help but feel grateful at Lord Haurchefant’s offer of hearth, dinner and tea. Ianera agrees, nodding along to whatever he says, and sometimes, he wishes she’d speak up in his place. However nice Haurchefant may be, one nice Ishgardian can’t rub away all of the soreness of his nerves left by his countrymen. 

Well, Ishgardians and so many other things. It all almost makes him snap, but he restrains his anger. Yet he can’t guarantee that the smiles he threw their way were anything pleasant.

One thing at the time, though. They met the guy, they were led to their lodging for the night at the very least, they fell fast asleep from exhaustion on the road. At least, until Nika’s own head decided to torment him, thus promptly cutting his rest short. 

No, he doesn’t want to talk about it. Just like he doesn’t want to talk about the bodies in Vesper Bay. Just how he doesn’t want to talk about how he saw the Perseis surname in Adama Landama graveyard and he didn’t want to look at the name, for fear it's his father’s grave and that his father now saw him break like a child’s toy and that he’d laugh, even if he knows full well his father’s not buried in ass end of nowhere. 

Nope, he has no fucking desire to talk about things at all. 

And now he’s waiting for the sun to rise, lute in hand, while the wind howls around him like a mad wolf. He sees a guard shift at the gates. He holds the lute tighter, in lieu of squeezing it to his chest. His head and feet hurt, and he wants to cry. It will make his headache worse. He wants to cry anyway. His body feels like a prison and like something wants to claw out, but he blinks the tears away anyway. 

He holds the lute tighter. His nails, long overdue for a cut, press against the wood. Wind plays a horrible tune, plucking strings at will. It’s a cacophony and he almost regrets bringing it out with him, but it’s the only thing of comfort he can think of. It’s the only thing keeping him from breaking down again. 

Nika closes his eyes and wills all this shit away. 

“Why aren’t you asleep?” A somber, gentle voice rings against the racket of noise, and Nika audibly breathes out. With a sharp turn, he sees Nera wrap herself in a woolen coat Lord Haurchefant provided them with, oversized on her small body. 

“I.. I’m tired,” he says softly. There’s no reply for a long time; part of him thinks the wind swallowed it. It’s funny, how he was just about ready to scream at Ishgard lords only hours ago, but now his voice is drowned in the night. 

“It haunts me too,” Nera says as she steps out. Her words are small and shaky, yet Nika feels them like a blow. From afar, the night swallows her, but her eyes, silver and gold, breach the picture she presents. 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he bites out. It’s harsh, it’s rough, but he can’t look her in the eye otherwise. 

“Go back to sleep, then,” she asks, makes a few steps forward. Blue, blue, all the blues of her hair and skin, like the waters of Lominsa, where his moms sleep. 

“Let me be, Nera,” he huffs, “I’m–” He takes a deep breath in. His eyes prickle and burn. “I’m just–” 

“It haunts me too,” she repeats. He feels the pressure of her forehead against his arm and the warm touch of her fingers on his hand. “Go back inside, Nika. Your fingers are cold.” 

“I’m tired, but I don’t want to fall asleep,” he admits and lowers his eyes to his feet. Shame burns like poison. 

“You don’t have to sleep if you don’t want to,” he can hear the frown in her voice, “but just come inside.” 

“It is freezing outside,” he agrees. Her fingers play with his, and he could just rest his head on hers if he leaned down far enough– “I– Alright. It’s cold and lonely outside.” 

Nera simply smiles against his arm. 

He does sleep that morning, against all earlier claims to not wanting to. He can blame it on his tired body, or the comfort of her embrace that he knows she needed too, but when he wakes up again, the wind doesn’t howl quite so loudly anymore.  

[godlessbody]

rotating the ways my different dnd characters with deception proficiency/expertise lie. not actively lying but also doesn’t mean a solid 40% of the words he says. is lying but the lie comes more from the version of himself he is presenting to get what he wants than the things he is saying (though the things he’s saying can also be and often are lies, the performance of the false self is at least as important to the goal). is just a liar and at least a little manipulative and is on a constant level of performance but not one that’s really a lie, just a statement about the way the world is allowed to perceive him, maybe the most straightforward use of deception.

[princessbellecerise]

Morning Desires

Summary ✩ The beauty of Targaryen men is often said to be irresistible, and Jacaerys is no exception. After waking up early one morning, you find that you cannot, in fact, resist your gorgeous husband

Warnings ✩ Morning sex, smut, slight somnophilia, creampie, husband!Jace, blowjob, 18+

The sun was shining brightly when you woke up that morning, soft golden light pouring in through the windows and casting an almost ethereal glow over you and your husband.

When you opened your eyes, you were amazed to see how beautiful he looked sleeping so peacefully next to you. The morning sun shined down on him, making him look like one of those ancient Valerian gods that he spent so much time studying.

His brown hair was swept across his face, his pink lips parted. Soft snores could be heard falling from his lips and you giggled as he mumbled in his sleep.

Truly, you did not think you had ever seen a more gorgeous sight. It was rare that you got see Jacaerys so relaxed, so carefree. He usually spent his days and nights stressed about whatever the state the realm was in. Seeing him at peace was a sight that you drunk in greedily, brushing some of his curls from his face before sighing.

You did not wish to wake him, but an idea suddenly formed in your head and it left your core aching with desire.

It had been two weeks since you and Jacaerys had been intimate, and the feeling of his manhood pressed against your thigh, hard as a rock, reminded you just how much you missed your husband.

Before this stupid conflict in the Riverlands had broken out, Jace used to take you every night that he could. You would spend hours wrapped in each other’s embrace, soft words and gentle touches exchanged. You missed the feel of your husband. Now that he had been coming to bed so late, he was usually too exhausted for any activity other than sleep.

Today was actually one of the rare days that you had even woken up in the same bed as him, and though you felt terrible about it, the urge to feel him inside of you again was just too great to resist.

Lust had its grip on you this morning and you were not strong enough to deny it. Especially not when Jacaerys looked so delicious beside you.

You’d apologize later for disturbing his sleep, but right now, you needed your husband.

Gently, you positioned yourself so that you leaned over him, peppering soft kisses along his jaw and using a hand to trail up his thigh.

Jacaerys in his sleep shivered as you found one of his weak spots, sucking at the delicate skin and making sure to leave a mark. Redness spread over the several spots that your lips visited, licking and biting as you pleased while Jacaerys squirmed underneath you.

He still had not woken up, but his body was so used to your touch that he was involuntarily reacting to it. Several times did his hips buck into thin air, his cock growing harder the lower you kissed and the higher your hand went.

You smiled softly to yourself as he began to moan in his sleep, obviously feeling the way your lips had attached themselves to his chest.

You teased him by taking one of his nipples into your mouth, biting it like he does to you. For a few seconds, you sucked on it, leaving a love bite on his chest before moving on.

By the time you found yourself kissing his stomach, Jacaerys finally began to stir beneath you. His eyes fluttered open as you traced your tongue just above his hips, holding them down as your hand grasped his manhood.

He groaned, obviously awake now, and the sound prompted you to look up at him just as your lips found his cock.

You smiled deviously at your husband as he looked down at you with wide eyes, having the pleasure of seeing his pretty face just before you took him into your mouth.

“Fuck!”

Immediately, Jace’s hand reached down to tangle itself in your hair. Wasting no time, your husband guided you down on him, losing his breath as you managed to take his entire length.

You had done this many times before, so it was easy to open your throat, breathing through your nose so you wouldn’t choke. Using your spit, you eased your lips up and down his cock, your cheeks hallowing to give him more pleasure.

You were careful not to go too fast, but just enough to have him at your mercy. Jacaerys moaned and whispered sweet praises as you sucked his cock; ones that had your core throbbing with desire. A familiar wetness pooled between your thighs, your arousal burning hotter and hotter.

The sounds that your husband started to make only fueled your desperation further, and they indicated that he was almost near his peak. You did not want him to come; not yet since you still ached with the desire to satisfy your own needs. So, before he could reach his release and end your morning fun, you quickly pulled away and straddled him.

A desperate whine left Jace’s throat at the sudden loss of pleasure, but it was quickly replaced by a broken moan when you sank yourself onto his cock.

Together, you nearly collapsed at the feeling of being connected again. After two weeks, your cunt had desperately missed him and you could tell that Jacaerys felt the same.

Tenderly, he held onto your hips and threw his head back as you rode him. The morning light continued to shine down on him, bathing him in rich, golden light. It highlighted the sweat that had began to coat his face, his eyes looking like pools of honey as he kept your gaze.

Softly, Jacaerys pulled you down to meet his lips, capturing you in a passionate, fiery kiss.

Your moans were swallowed by his mouth as your tongues met, tasting the sweetness of one another and relishing in it.

As his cock slid in and out of your cunt, you felt a familiar pinch in your core that had you clenching around him. Jacaerys groaned as you began to bounce faster on his cock, releasing your lips so that he could watch you come undone. He held your hips steady and guided you into a pace that satisfied you both, your bodies so intertwined to the point where your release matched his.

Under a spell of desire, sleep, and desperation, your husband let out a groan as he shuddered underneath you. The last threads holding back his peak snapped, and you could feel his seed coating your walls as he let go.

Likewise, Jacaerys could feel your legs shaking as you clenched down on him and moaned. After so long, your release washed over you and clouded your senses, the pleasure almost as blinding as the light. To Jacaerys, it accentuated your features, making you look like a goddess as you came.

With your lips parted and your head thrown back in ecstasy, you looked like the absolute epitome of beauty. The kind of beauty that women envied and men worshiped.

Jacaerys swore that there was never a man as lucky as he was in that moment, staring at you with love and adoration as you collapsed next to him.

For a few moments, neither of you said anything. As the sun rose around you, lighting the room with a soft yellow glow, you took a minute to admire each other. It had been quite some time since you’d gotten a proper look at your husband, but honestly he was just as breathtaking as you remembered him.

“Sȳz tubis, issa jorrāelagon,” You told him softly, practicing the High Valyrian you had been studying.

Jace often teased you that your pronunciation sounded just as bad as his once had. Before he had become King, he had the hardest time memorizing what the letters sounded like. Apparently, your Valyrian wasn’t as good as you thought it was but there was no teasing from him this morning.

No jests. Jacaerys only wore a proud smile on his lips as he stroked your cheek, leaning in to plant a kiss on your soft skin before chuckling.

“Well, good morning to you too, my love.”

[dansnaturepictures]

09/04/2024-Great Crested Grebe and chicks, red valerian, buttercup one of my first of the year and view at Lakeside Country Park today.

Blue Tit, Great Tit, Moorhen, herb-Robert and the exciting and hopeful sight of my first Orange Tip butterfly of the year my seventh species of the year were other highlights.

[thejudeduarte]

Valerian is a no go

"valerian was attracted to jude in a way that was se-"

everyone:

[greenwitchcrafts]

September 2024 Witch Guide

New Moon: September 2nd

First Quarter: September 11th

Full moon: September 17th

Last Quarter: September 24th

Sabbats: Mabon- September 22nd

September Harvest Moon

Also known as: Autumn Moon, Child Moon, Corn Harvest Moon, Falling Leaves Moon, Haligmonath, Leaves Turning Moon, Mating Moon, Moon of Brown Leaves, Moon When Dear Paw the Earth, Rutting Moon, Singing Moon, Wine Moon, Witumanoth & Yellow Leaf Moon

Element: Earth

Zodiac: Virgo & Libra

Nature spirts: Trooping Faeries

Deities: Brigid, Ceres, Chang-e, Demeter, Freya, Isis, Depths & Vesta

Animals: Jackal & snake

Birds: Ibis & sparrow

Trees: Bay, hawthorn, hazel & larch

Herbs: Copal, fennel, rye, skullcap, valerian, wheat & witch hazel

Flowers: Lily & narcissus

Scents: Bergamot, gardenia, mastic & storax

Stones: Bloodstone,carnelian, cat's eye, chrysolite, citrine, iolite, lapis lazuli, olivine, peridot, sapphire, spinel(blue), tourmaline(blue) & zircon

Colors: Browns, dark blue, Earth tones, green & yellow

Issues, intentions & powers: Confidence, the home, manifestation & protection

Energy: Balance of light & dark, cleaning & straightening of all kinds, dietary matters, employment, health, intellectual pursuits, prosperity, psychism, rest, spirituality, success & work environment

The full Moon that happens nearest to the fall equinox (September 22nd or 23rd) always takes on the name “Harvest Moon.” Unlike other full Moons, this full Moon rises at nearly the same time—around sunset—for several evenings in a row, giving farmers several extra evenings of moonlight & allowing them to finish their harvests before the frosts of fall arrive. 

• While September’s full Moon is usually known as the Harvest Moon, if October’s full Moon happens to occur closer to the equinox than September’s, it takes on the name “Harvest Moon” instead. In this case, September’s full Moon would be referred to as the Corn Moon.

This time of year—late summer into early fall—corresponds with the time of harvesting corn in much of the northern United States. For this reason, a number of Native American peoples traditionally used some variation of the name “Corn Moon” to refer to the Moon of either August or September. 

Mabon

Known as: Autumn Equinox, Cornucopia, Witch's Thanksgiving & Alban Elved

Season: Autumn

Element: Air

Symbols: Acorns, apples, autumn leaves, balance, berries, corn, cornucopia( Horn of Plenty), dried seeds, equality, gourds, grains, grapes, ivy, pine cones, pomegranates, vines, wheat, white roses & wine

Colors: Blue, brown, dark red, deep gold, gold, indigo, leaf green, maroon, orange, red, russet. Violet & yellow

Oils/Incense: Apple, apple blossom, benzoin, black pepper, hay/straw, myrrh, passion flower, patchouli, pine, red poppy & sage

Animals: Dog & Wolf

Birds: Goose, hawk, swallow & swan

Stones: Agate, amethyst, carnelian, lapis lazuli, sapphire, yellow Agate & yellow topaz

Food: Apples, blackberries, blackberry wine, breads, carrots, cider, corn, cornbread, grapes, heather wine, nuts, onions, pomegranates, potatoes, squash, vegetables, wheat & wine

Herbs/Plants: Benzoin, bramble, corn, ferns, grains, hops, ivy, milkweed, myrrh, sage sassafras, Salomon's seal, thistle, tobacco & wheat

Flowers:  Aster, heather, honeysuckle, marigold, mums, passion flower, rose

Trees: Aspen, cedar, cypress, hazel, locust, maple, myrtle oak & pine

Goddesses: Danu, Epona, Inanna, Ishtar, Modron, Morgan, The Morrigan, Muses, Pomona, Persephone, Sin, Sophia & Sura

Gods:  Bacchus, Dionysus, Dumuzi, Esus, The Green Man, Hermes, Mannanan, Thor & Thoth

Issues, Intentions & Powers: Accomplishment, agriculture, balance, goals, gratitude & grounding

Spellwork: Balance, harmony, protection, prosperity, security & self-confidence

Activities:

•Scatter offerings in a harvested fields & Offer libations to trees

• Decorate your home and/or altar space for fall

• Bake bread

• Perform a ritual to restore balance and harmony to your life

• Cleanse your home of negative energies

• Pick apples

• Collect fall themed things from nature like acorns, changing leaves, pine cones, ect)

• Have a dinner or feast with your family and/or friends

• Set intentions for the upcoming year

• Purge what is no longer serving you & commit to healthy changes

•Take a walk in the woods

• Enjoy a pumpkin spice latte

• Donate to your local food bank

• Gather dried herbs, plants, seeds & pods

• Learn something new

• Make wine

• Fill a cornucopia

• Brew an apple cinnamon simmer pot

• Create an outdoor Mabon altar

•Adorn burial sites with leaves, acorns, & pinecones to honor those who have passed over & visit their graves

The name Mabon comes from the Welsh/Brythonic God Mabon Ap Modron, who's name means "Divine/great Son", However,there is evidence that the name was adopted in the 1970s for the Autumn Equinox & has nothing to do with this celebration or this time of year.

• Though many cultures see the second harvest (after the first harvest Lughnasadh) & Equinox as a time for giving thanks before the name Mabon was given because this time of year is traditionally when farmers know how well their summer crops did & how well fed their animals have become. This determines whether you & your family would have enough food for the winter.That is why people used to give thanks around this time, thanks for their crops, animals & food

Some believe it celebrates the autumn equinox when Nature is preparing for the winter months. Night & day are of equal legth  & the God's energy & strength are nearly gone. The Goddess begins to mourn the loss she knows is coming, but knows he will return when he is reborn at Yule.

Related festivals:

• Sukkot- Is a Torah-commanded holiday celebrated for seven days, beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. It is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals on which Israelites were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. Originally a harvest festival celebrating the autumn harvest, Sukkot’s modern observance is characterized by festive meals in a sukkah, a temporary wood-covered hut, celebrating the Exodus from Egypt.

• Mid-Autumn festival- September 17th

Is also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival. It is a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture, similar holidays are celebrated by other cultures in East & Southeast Asia. It is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture; its popularity is on par with that of Chinese New Year. The history of the Mid-Autumn Festival dates back over 3,000 years.  On this day, it is believed that the Moon is at its brightest and fullest size, coinciding with harvest time in the middle of Autumn.

During the festival, lanterns of all size and shapes – which symbolize beacons that light people's path to prosperity & good fortune – are carried & displayed. Mooncakes, a rich pastry typically filled with sweet-bean, egg yolk, meat or lotus-seed paste, are traditionally eaten during this festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is based on the legend of Chang'e, the Moon goddess in Chinese mythology.

• Thanksgiving- This is a secular holiday which is similar to the cell of Mabon; A day to give thanks for the food & blessings of the previous year. The American Thanksgiving is the last Thursday of November while the Canadian Thanksgiving is celebrated in October

• The Oschophoria- Were a set of ancient Greek festival rites held in Athens during the month Pyanepsion (autumn) in honor of Dionysus. The festival may have had both agricultural and initiatory functions.

-Amidst much singing of special songs, two young men dressed in women's clothes would bear branches with grape-clusters attached from Dionysus to the sanctuary of Athena Skiras & a footrace followed in which select ephebes competed.

Ancient sources connect the festival and its rituals to the Athenian hero-king Theseus & specifically to his return from his Cretan adventure. According to that myth, the Cretan princess Ariadne, whom Theseus had abandoned on the island of Naxos while voyaging home, was rescued by an admiring Dionysus; thus the Oschophoria may have honored Ariadne as well. A section of the ancient calendar frieze incorporated into the Byzantine Panagia Gorgoepikoos church in Athens, corresponding to the month Pyanopsion (alternate spelling), has been identified as an illustration of this festival's procession.

Sources:

Farmersalmanac .com

Llewellyn's Complete Book of Correspondences by Sandra Kines

Wikipedia

A Witch's Book of Correspondences by Viktorija Briggs

Encyclopedia britannica

Llewellyn 2024 magical almanac Practical magic for everyday living

[ladyempty]

"It's a beautiful night, and you even more so, My Lady"

° | !English is not my first language! ° |pairing: Yan!Daemon Targaryen x Lady!Reader ° | This is a yandere work and may contain triggering behavior. I'm not in favor of that in real life.

Power was Daemon's greatest motivation for living. The growing desire for more, eager to have more power, more influence, the pulsing, anesthetic adrenaline that clouded his mind making him act recklessly. Always living by emotion, almost never by reason.

Consequently, the Iron Throne and her parental rights were at the top of her list. Above anyone. It just felt right, he had helped Viserys rise to power, partly because he loved his brother, and partly because he liked being so close to the throne as Viserys' unofficial heir.

Daemon thought for years that having the throne for himself would be the greatest happiness he could achieve.

His teenage niece was key to his personal achievement. Of course, he thought Rhaenyra was beautiful, witty, passionate and fun. In addition to the burning desire that they both had along with the passion.

But nothing prepared him for the overwhelming, knockout feeling that would hit him with the speed of an arrow when he met you.

The moment the bright purple eyes of malice and mockery landed on his majestic figure, At the banquet organized to celebrate his niece's wedding, a burning fire rose through his body, infiltrating his bowels until it settled in his heart.

Daemon was not religious, he just believed, without much faith, in the Valerian gods. But upon seeing you, he was sure that a higher being sculpted you for his attention and temptation. Made for your eyes to analyze and admire.

From one minute to the next, the throne was a distant thought and Rhaenyra was just a momentary feeling, even superficial compared to what he felt so quickly and overwhelmingly for you.

He wanted you. Now. This instant. And Daemon had never been so happy and relieved to have gotten rid of his first wife as at that moment.

Yes, the first, because you would be the second.

The rogue Prince didn't like the color green, he abhorred the color with a fervent hatred, largely because of Otto, But he found the soft green dress you were wearing at the moment very pleasant. But a blood red dress would be even better.

His cunning eyes were fixed on you without any shame or shame. So intense and fun that he seems to see through your dress, undressing you in his thoughts far beyond simple clothes, he wanted to see beyond your soul.

And when Daemon Targaryen wanted something. He conquered. And not even his father's half-closed gaze could stop him, it just made him open a feline, predatory smile on his thin lips, a glimpse of his white teeth.

That same night, at that same banquet, Daemon decided to start pulling strings. As soon as the bride and groom's dance ended and the lords and ladies were able to gather in the center of the room to dance, Daemon was fast, moving carefully through the crowd of people, his eyes fixed on you as his calloused hand quickly snaked around your waist, pulling you close, almost against his chest, and smiled mockingly at the other lord. Saving the image of his face for a little visit later.

"Sorry, but I spotted it first." Daemon quickly pulled you away from the man, and didn't pay attention to any protests you might have while helping your body to dance.

After that, it didn't take long for the man's invasive procession.

The prince's intimidating presence was constant, almost a cunning shadow moving carefully until he found you, attracted like a magnet, starting conversations that were always more intimate than they should be, always deeper and with jokes and manners that were far from gentlemanly. Of course he had already investigated everything he could about you, but he liked it when you told him. His sweet voice softly entering your ears.

After the initial step, they saw the gifts, countless gifts with the intention of gaining favor and marking a territory that was no longer public. The countless red and black dresses,Valyrian steel pendants with heavy ruby stones, earrings and bracelets. All to mark you as a dragon and no longer a sheep. Just tell him what you want and he will gladly give it to you. And you can't ignore or reject their gifts.

The third step was to try to instill a certain fascination in you with ancient valyria. He will ascend to the heavens together with you holding tightly to his breastplate the moment he presented Caraxes to you. He would spend long hours talking about his victories and the superintendent of the Targaryens, after all they were closer to men than to the Gods. And would definitely smile broadly if you showed any interest. If you didn't seem intrigued or even upset, well, that's funny... Do you think you have choices?

Daemon is beyond possessive and jealous. This man is completely insane and has no hesitation in seriously harming or killing anyone he deems a threat. You are his. Why doesn't this get into other people's heads?

He doesn't want to lose you. Not that Daemon Targaryen thinks he can be replaced, but you know, they tried to attract or divert you from your path. And he won't allow it.

He wants you to trust him. Depending on him. He wants you to give yourself body and soul just to him.

And the wedding didn't take long to arrive. Don't you want to marry him? This is a shame because you will be his wife, have his heirs and be touched and admired only by his hands.

You should have already learned. You have no choice.