#sacred tools

[raining-tulips]

All I’m saying is certain pots/pans are sacred. I know bc if I try and make something I’ve made a hundred times in a different vessel it doesn’t turn out right.

[kurbiismind]

Oh hey, Slime tools.

[astra-ravana]

The Magick Staff

My own personal staff.

In magickal traditions, the staff is one of the most iconic tools, representing authority, connection to the earth, spiritual power, and the channeling of energy. Often associated with wizards, shamans, and wise figures in folklore, the staff is a powerful tool that amplifies and focuses the practitioner’s intentions. It is more than just a physical object; it is imbued with deep symbolism and magickal meaning.

Symbolism of the Staff in Magick

Connection to the Earth:

• The staff often symbolizes grounding and is a tool that connects the witch, mage, or practitioner to the energy of the Earth. Its long length allows it to metaphorically "anchor" the user, bringing them into alignment with the natural flow of energy and the stability of the Earth.

• It’s said to bridge the physical and spiritual worlds, acting as a conduit between them.

Power and Authority:

• Historically, the staff was a symbol of authority, often held by kings, shamans, and religious figures. In magick, this represents a practitioner’s power to wield and control magick. It symbolizes mastery over energy and forces, allowing the practitioner to act with command.

• It’s not just about control, but also responsibility in wielding power.

Channeling Energy:

• The staff is used to direct and amplify the energy raised in a spell or ritual. Whether it is used to draw down power from the cosmos or to channel energy from the earth, the staff serves as a tool of focus, helping the practitioner direct their will in the desired manner.

Balance and Duality:

• The staff can represent the balance between the masculine and feminine energies. Its upright form is associated with masculine power (yang), but when the practitioner uses it in rituals, the energy may be balanced with the feminine energy (yin), especially when used in conjunction with other tools like a chalice or athame.

Spiritual Growth:

• In many traditions, the staff is also seen as a tool of spiritual progression, representing a journey of ascension and enlightenment. The staff may be used in rituals meant to guide the practitioner through phases of spiritual growth or in invoking higher spiritual entities.

Practical Uses of the Staff in Magick

Focus and Direction:

• The staff serves as a focal point for directing your energy during rituals. By pointing the staff in a certain direction or drawing sigils in the air with it, the practitioner focuses and amplifies the energy they are channeling.

• For example, in circle casting, the staff can be used to mark the boundaries of the magickal space or to direct the energy of the circle’s creation.

Ritual and Ceremony:

• In ceremonial magick, the staff is often used to summon, direct, or banish spirits, deities, and energies. For example, a practitioner may use the staff in a ritual of invocation to connect with a deity, using the staff as a magickal link.

• The staff can also be used to open or close portals, creating a safe, protective boundary for work with the other realms.

Divination and Meditation:

• The staff can act as a tool for divination. When used in meditation, it may help focus the practitioner’s intent to receive visions or messages from the spirit world.

• Many practitioners use a staff to help enter altered states of consciousness in order to communicate with spirits, ancestors, or higher selves.

Healing and Protection:

• In healing rituals, the staff can act as a channel to direct healing energy from the earth or higher planes into the recipient. It can also be used to clear negative energy or block harmful entities by pointing it at the afflicted area or person.

• The staff is also used in protective rituals, either as a tool to create protective boundaries or to invoke protective spirits.

Astral Travel and Pathworking:

• Some witches and magicians use the staff as an anchor during astral projection or pathworking. By holding the staff during these practices, the practitioner may feel more grounded and able to direct their journey through the astral planes.

Creating Sacred Space:

• During rituals, the staff can be used to draw sacred symbols on the ground or to create sacred space by marking the perimeter of the working area. This is often used to consecrate the space or to set boundaries for the work being done.

How to Craft Your Own Magickal Staff

Material Selection:

• Traditionally, the staff is made from wood (often oak, ash, or hazel) because wood is seen as a natural conductor of energy. However, you can choose the material that resonates with your energy or intention. For instance, you might choose crystal-studded staffs for heightened spiritual connection or iron or copper for specific types of energy channeling.

Personalization:

• A staff is a deeply personal object. Add carvings, runes, or symbols that resonate with your magickal practice. You may want to carve your personal sigil, protective symbols, or representations of your spiritual guides or totems. You could also affix crystals and stones to the staff, or adorn it with talismans or charms.

Charging the Staff:

• After crafting or acquiring your staff, charge it with your intent. Hold it in your hands, close your eyes, and focus on imbuing it with your power, energy, and intentions. You can also use rituals such as blood offerings, blessings, or sacred fire to activate its full potential.

Caring for Your Staff:

• A staff is an object of deep importance in magickal practice. Treat it with respect, keep it in a safe, clean place, and use it regularly in rituals to strengthen your connection to it.

The staff is a deeply symbolic and powerful tool in magick, acting as both a focal point for energy and a magickal conduit. It empowers the practitioner to harness their will, ground their energy, and connect with the spiritual realms. Whether for protection, healing, or invoking power, the staff can help you channel your intentions with great precision.

[thesorceresstemple]

[merakisphere]

If you've ever felt an unexplainable connection to a pattern or been mesmerized by a particular design, you've most likely experienced Sacred Geometry without even realizing it.

Sacred Geometry is everywhere around us, from the things we touch, the details of nature, to even our own DNA. My 3D Geometric Flower of Life are designed with the essence of sacred geometry and interwoven patterns of circles and loops. This highlights the universal design language of the cosmos and the existence of life itself. Explore dozens of energy shapes that symbolize the universe such as spirals and galaxies, and intricate designs of a snowflake.

The shapes you can make from this intricate piece are everywhere, serving as the bridge between the analytical and the intuitive. This invites us into a coherent understanding of the abstract and the tangible, fueling both our intellect and our awe.

Link to my handmade sacred geometry pieces below. Great gift idea this holiday season for a unique and different kind of gift. Or an ornament. It makes a nice ornament also...

https://merakisphere.etsy.com/listing/876245515

[deardoomedworld]

Talking about how affable yet ruthless Inayat "tyrant of love" Khan is has made me start thinking about Jesper and how prickly he is. He's so mean, even purposefully vicious - think of how he talks to Anita when he leaves, and how after that harrowing conversation, he's literally fantasising about how he could've been even meaner - he seems to find some sort of satisfaction/relief in being mean, in the little bit of power and control it temporarily gives him (over someone else's emotions, which is better than nothing when you feel powerless).

When we first meet them as adults, Jesper seems more detached from the other two (or alternatively, Khan and Tereesz seem closer), not just because of an earlier falling out with Khan but because he seems more put together. Tereesz' and Khan's careers/lives are more obviously shaped by their childhood trauma, while Jesper is succesful, rich, and famous. He seems better adjusted and perhaps like he moved on more than the others. Jesper's jabs towards Tereesz and Khan (think of how he tells them that them visiting the Lund girls' mother is sad/pathetic while he did the same thing; or the "those of us whose profession does not include ditches and missing children" comment) seem specifically meant to make himself look more normal. He's wearing white. He's not sullied.

This is of course just a facade. Later on in the book, it becomes clear (at least that's my interpretation) that Jesper is just as, if perhaps not more fucked up than the others, and keeps them at arms length because he's trying to hide this. His privilege - his wealth and his looks (as a blonde, blue-eyed Vaasan) - plays a big role in him succeeding in this. The other two are constantly reminded that they're immigrants, and already have to put in more effort than Jesper just to be treated normally (Tereesz is very good at this when he's not inebriated, as he seems to have dumped a bunch of skill points in composure & authority. Khan not so much), let aside when they're unraveling.

But back to his prickly exterior, his meanness. I find it interesting that as unlikeable as he is, he also seems to completely break down once Tereesz gets shot. He builts a little tomb for Tereesz' gun and then sets off to, apparently, do coke for two months and then disappear himself (we get a nice close-up of his passport, his identity, burning up before he enters the Lungs of Graad). As much as he mocked Tereesz and Khan, he seemed completely on board to leave his life behind and go with Khan's plan, but then he just abandons that after the events or chapter 18. Because... "It's become too morbid for Jesper."

Behind his likeability, Khan is revealed to be somewhat ruthless- there's nothing he won't do for this cause, nothing that can stand in his way. Jesper, vicious as he was, breaks down quickly, because his meanness was for hiding vulnerability. He was trying so hard to be normal. ("This is sad? It's all totally great!") The Ibex English translation uses the word morbid a few times, and it's often in relation to Jesper. ("I don't collect anything, you morbos.") So, behind his prickliness, is Jesper the one made of mushier stuff, who can't handle the bad stuff well? The soft one who just breaks, in the end? The sentimental one, holding onto scrunchies and service weapons.

It's counterintuitive because he's so mean, but maybe Jesper is in white because he's more innocent, more childlike? ("To this day, he hates adult sexuality. (...) Realistically, and in a paradoxical way, this makes him a p*dophile.") After all, if you search the word white through the Ibex translation, almost all instances of its use are used to refer to a Lund girl, or Jesper.

Is. Is this anything.

[baylardo]

i think i finally landed on Moss’s species being called the Light Weavers because their civilization (and entire planet-ship) follows trails of light to survive, but also can relate it to their silks and ability to produce light themselves haha

and then the batlike species that invades their planet and slowly wipes them out are the Desmodians :)

the planet has some sacred name to the Light Weavers but idk what id like to call it yet, something heavenly and light sounding

[ofmaddogs]

When I say "Jack considers the Yew trees sacred" I mean that in a Sister Carpenter way, not a Brother Faulkner way. Just fyi.

[autumnoficarus]

i can't stop listening to the 'purpose is glorious' track from this season's ost and thinking about how lovely the title and its meaning are. it's just such an amazing underlying theme in this show, and - while i do have criticisms about some of the choices made for the series finale - i really do feel the writers wholeheartedly delivered in sending that message home. for me personally, loki's ending is so gratifying and a large part of that is solely from viewing their arc's conclusion with the perspective of this theme in mind. to have spent years watching this character i hold very dear to my heart struggle to find belonging, to feel as though they matter and there is reason in their existence, finally get a chance to show - and recognize - their worth was so, so rewarding. and honestly, i think the message behind the phrasing of 'purpose is glorious' is all the more meaningful because of how loki's arc finished. yes, the outcome was bittersweet; yes, we're left knowing loki didn't get the happiness they undeniably earned after everything they'd gone through. it smarts something fierce to know their journey up until they deviated from their timeline and became a variant, as well as seen their eventual intended fate. the ache is only worsened after witnessing everything that happens within the TVA and the entirety of loki's character growth leading up to a redefining moment where they willingly choose to undergo a nightmarish amount of time in the endeavor to do the right thing. of course we want them to emerge victorious when they've struggled for so long, but that's not the point. loki's final moments are them forfeiting their right to a happy ending to preserve the stories of others because all stories matter and should inherently reserve the free will to be written; as sylvie says, loki makes their choice so their loved ones and life across the multiverse still have a chance to belong somewhere and embrace their place in the world. the take away is that even burden can be glorious. even with all the hardships of life - all the inevitable heartache, disappointment, and grief we encounter just by being alive - we have meaning in our existence. there is meaning in the trials we face, and the suffering we endure in order to overcome them. our pain gives us purpose; it gives us the ability to love, to grow from and for each other, and choose to sacrifice our happiness for the benefit of another. loki's purpose was forged in the bonds of those they met in their time at the TVA and the sense of value they gained from their companionship. their sacrifice perfectly conveys how the human capacity to love is one of cosmic greatness, which can ultimately surpass our instinctual desire to preserve one's self. we can move immovable mountains and challenge insurmountable adversity in behalf of the ones we love and their welfare. if that isn't an act deserving of glory, I don't know what is.

tldr; loki's purpose is the friends they made along the way = as the saying goes, 'tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all'. or: our own lives have purpose because of the connections we share with others, even when we are met with great loss.

[echidnana]

we haven't read enough + aren't intellectual enough to actually articulate this but the way christianity as a culture and ideology is largely used as a tool to encourage a social norm that actively hurts the oppressed is. something for sure

[emblemxeno]

Tbh idk how to feel about the Attuned Heroes thing cause while the mechanic itself isn't too complicated to understand, I really don't think there needed to be another unit type to manage. There's been a new type of unit added every year since the game launched. Legendary (2017), Mythic (2018), Duo (2019), Harmonized (2020), Ascended (2021), Rearmed (2022), and now Attuned in 2023.

Will the new skill slot really do anything more for older units than rearmed already does? Maybe I just need to give it a couple more banners to form a better opinion, but as it is now it's pretty underwhelming.

[violetmoondaughter]

The cup can be made of various materials including glass, metal, horn, crystal, wood, porcelain and can be plain, colored or decorated with symbols or applications. The shape of the chalice itself can vary from simple glass, cup, globet to more elaborate shapes. The traditional form is that of the chalice used to hold wine. In popular tradition the chalice is primarily associated with the symbol of the Holy Grail, a cup with miraculous healing powers, sometimes providing eternal youth or sustenance in infinite abundance.

[lesb0]

today i was arguing with a student what constitutes writing, as that can range from glyphs to script to characters, and asked if a shape or color could be writing? she says, well no of course not. in most visual cultures, those are decorations, not communication. then i asked, if i showed you, a young american woman, a red octagon, is that communication? and she finally GOT it. that is semiotics!!

[ophierian-vp]

[deardoomedworld]

I'm obsessed with how Tereesz bases his worth on his usefulness. He can't tell his friends he's not an ICP agent anymore, because he'll lose his value. (Something Khan literally says to him btw, that he can't get fired because they need him at the ICP for access - Tereesz has already lost his job at this point because he lost it before the book starts.)

While coming down from the ZA/UM high his subconscious reveals he's scared of Khan "for some reason" - he later (during hangover #2) also begs Khan not to turn him in. That's what he's afraid of - being ditched because he has no value anymore. What's most painful about that to me is that when Khan ultimately does exactly that, he forgives him immediately.

Behind the ICP blinds drawn over his eyes, behind the unflinching composure and brilliant lies, what we see of Tereesz is loyalty. The first thing he says when he meets up with them again is "Did (Jesper) apologise?" (He also tried to call Jesper before coming, was it about this?) and one moment when they were kids that stands out to me is that after Tereesz' impressive jump of the cliff, successfully landing in front of the girls (including the goddess from the 9th grade!) he immediately turns around to catch Khan's glasses.

Anyway, all this to say that when Khan trades Tereesz for info in the end, Tereesz is basically like "yea that makes sense, I had nothing to contribute anymore" bc that's genuinely how he sees himself and it kills me.

[speargifted]

//i just,, needed to sketch this out,,,