#the grave the spirit is next to is for different deity

[knightofhylia]

Hylia's Altar plus the graveyard with a wandering spirit!

[dailydemonspotlight]

Wild Hunt - Day 127

Race: Night

Alignment: Neutral-Chaos

Evolves into Abaddon [SMT IV, Level 58]

October 15th, 2024

While we've already talked about Dormarth, we haven't touched upon where this hound comes from- that being the Wild Hunt, a common mythological staple in many European mythologies. Of course, the hunt appears in Celtic myth, but it also appears all the same in many other areas, including Slavic areas, Norse myth, and much more; The concept is ultimately timeless, with constant references, and is intrinsically linked to Halloween in many European places- after all, as the time of spirits draws near, the ghosts shall come out for one last hunt, even until the end of time. I wonder if they know the next hunt is scheduled for next year.

The Wild Hunt, as said above, is a common motif throughout many different European mythologies and religions, not just the Norse ones that most people are familiar with. While it does roughly share similar origins in most retellings, as the Scandanavian term for it calls it 'Odin's hunt,' the Wild Hunt does vary greatly across regions in forms of its leaders and popular figures. Our first source for the Wild Hunt's existence is actually one of the earliest pieces of Anglo-Saxon literature we know of, called the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Dating back to the 1100's AD, the text mentions the Wild Hunt, though only scantly- however, it points to the fact that this concept has existed for thousands of years! It may even date earlier than that, as a matter of fact- as purported by Jacob Grimm (a man... rather famous for his unreliability, granted, but it is an interesting theory,) the idea of the Wild Hunt may have its roots in pre-Christian Norse mythology, and could have been connected to a darker side of Odin.

But, I hear you asking, what even is the Wild Hunt? While the specifics change from story to story, the general concept is the same- on a specific date range, typically around Autumn or Winter, a group of spirits would emerge from the underworld (changing based on the mythology, of course,) to perform a great hunt, becoming a massive wind of ghosts that would sweep up anybody unlucky enough to be outside at the time and would end up bringing them to an early grave (or just someplace else) to join the hunt again. This was primarily inspired by the howling winds of late night Autumn, with the cause now attributed to this supernatural event.

Interestingly, the common leader of this phenomenon was typically a God- most of the time, a deity in charge of the hunt would be leading the metaphorical (and literal) pack, such as Odin or, in the case of the Welsh version of this myth that we went over in the Dormarth analysis, Gwyn ap Nudd, the Lord of the Dead. It could also be led by some less deific figures, of course, but it was mostly deities and characters with high relevance and power in the mythos. A great hunting party does need a great leader, after all. Possibly the funniest version of this, though, is recounted in Grimm's paper on it, wherein a hunter known as Hans von Hackelnberg led the hunt- a man who died to, and I shit you not, accidentally stabbing himself on a boar's tusk and dying from the sickness it caused. Somehow, his passion for hunting was so great that, even in death, he refused to go to heaven, instead moving to create the Wild Hunt.

Now, in terms of design in SMT, the Wild Hunt is about as accurate as you can get- a howling wind of several ghosts accompanied by horses and dogs. Funny enough, the dog might actually be a reference to Dormarth? The fact you can have a Wild Hunt and a Dormarth in the same party might indicate that there's two, but I dunno, I'm just talking out of my ass. Still, it's a fun and effective design that captures its essence perfectly. I have no idea why it evolves into Abaddon, though.

[mushroom-for-art]

When I visit my family I sometimes get to sit and watch Avatar the last air bender with my little brother and of course as I have consumed media that's my ocs problem now, so gonna make a list under the readmore of what kind of benders my two ocs would probably be lmao, feel free to rb with your bending headcanons for your twos

Axel: probably fire bender, could've been an air bender once when he was a mew but the manipulation of air combined with his pain and anger turned to heat became fire and he lost his airbending entirely for flames though he still uses air bending movements and techniques as that's what he learnt making his fire bending unique. Honestly could've been a candidate for the next avatar before his state was altered allowing him to pass on the genetics for different bending cause lmao his offspring probably shouldn't have different bending abilities but this is for me

Proto: non bender I think incredibly skilled with bladed weapons tho to make up for lack of elemental ability and pretty good at making up for his lack of bending, get bucket of water thrown at u idiot firebender ect. Probably pretty good at sensing seeing and contacting spirits

Scribe: Earth bender I can see him specialising in crystal formations and growth much like how the Unown cause all those funky crystal structures in their respective movie, kind of stunted power wise due to trauma has to only use one type of mineral at a time can't be messy can't mix dirt types can't hybridise crystals. He'll get over this in time, he's just been traumatised by his upbringing

Dusty: Plant bender, I know that's not canon probably spirit world gift specialises in the care and structural manipulation of plant matter and fibre maybe a weird earth bending subspecies he make vines grow cause brrrr, helps probably restore life to areas that have been devastated by natural fire or war

Darkness: Fire bending specialises in lightning bending using it with great satisfaction and joy to it's power and destruction, I'm pretty sure lightning is by mixing water bending moves so likely accidentally taught how to do it by May

May: Water bender however likely very traumatised so can't/won't use her bending it's locked in a sense. Can blood bend in a other worldly state under the full moon if necessary, possibly related to her trauma not sure. Will sit in water and gently holding water in her palms it brings comfort

Matt: Air bender, adapted to using the rest of his body to control summon and move air as no arms using his legs and such to move and channel air into attacks and just generally, could probably create air flows from his limbs once in more control like that water bender in LOK, more flowy movements again taught by May

Imp: Water bending gentle and flowing especially good at water healing and probably spends so much time in the water you wouldn't believe surrounding herself in it for travelling ect a constant secure pressure security blanket, can probably pull some Lapis Lazuli shit summoning water to completely surround and enlarge her form into a giant watery mecha looming over enemy ships like a horrific water deity "you should have left when I showed mercy." before rushing them capsizing them the water wrapping around and cradling dragging them down to a watery grave

MIA: Ice bending, freezes all water she works with due to her steely way and tense manner of bending it tenses and solidifies the water molecules into a frozen state sending deadly icicles and walls of ice to harm enemies. As she deals with her traumas of being forced to rely purely on herself she's able to start making snow rather than cold bitter ice, creating snow flakes that float down melting, flowing the water back up to refreeze it and repeat in therapeutic repeation

AI: Mud/Earth bending, learns the water bending techniques first but could never command water but finding wet mud would move mastering a flowy version of Earth bending first much like how Korra manipulates metal like water, would find the proper earth bending techniques later to achieve more advanced bending but her water bending training will always have an impact on her bending

[dark66angels]

Mortals forget so easily.

Over time, storytellers change the tales just a little. A change of phrase here, translation errors there- until the new ones are so different from the old legends that their entire meaning can change. Gods change with them, of course. No one is immutable.

But We hold our history longer, can pull from it in seemingly unknown ways. Like Dionysus and his maddening rage from his previous wild iterations; like the Grimm dogs, those lost little grave guardians that just want to greet their visitors... Like the rest of the demons and devils that used to be worshipped as spirits and deities.

I suppose I'm lucky in a way- still being worshipped as a god so many generations after my first devotees have passed through the veil. My more powerful siblings have almost forgotten me, leaving me to do my work as I please: quietly.

And I was lucky to still be worshipped, though it was a more humble affair than the bonfires of hospitality and feasting of my youth. I was getting just enough prayer that when it stopped... I noticed. Smaller beings likely wouldn't have heard their devotion to begin with, larger ones wouldn't have noticed if a few went missing. I knew each of my congregation, and I knew exactly when something went wrong.

The first night I lost someone, I didn't question it. Mortals die all the time, and I recognized that spark as an older one- an old hunter, living alone with his wolf in a wooded cabin. He had prayed to me every day in a way that reminded me of my past saints, and so I had blessed him as such.

Blessed him to always have a good meal, even if the crops and meat weren't the best. To always sleep well on whatever pelt and straw was his bed that night. Small comforts, but meaningful ones.

I accepted his spark into my arms when he found me, and thought not to question why such a hardy man had died so suddenly.

The next time I felt a loss, it was heavier. A family. I had checked on them just the week before to fluff their pillows and brighten the stars and liven up the flowers.

Afterwards, when I visited their shrine, it was broken. As was their home. Torn and burned and trashed. Their flowers were trampled, pillow feathers were tossed. A trail of rampage to and from the homestead, heading west, away from the forest.

Something was wrong.

It took a couple days, for the rest of the prayers to slow. Word had gotten to the mortal king that the lands were being invaded and destroyed. The mortals were worried about dying; which given their short lives, I could not fault them for. More worried about surviving than they were about enjoying.

But the powerful gods did not care. Us weaker ones could not convince them at council to care. They had more than enough prayer, were practically dripping with the devotion of their worshippers. We only had so much, some of the younger ones already growing weak. Something had to change, something had to be done.

Even gods can forget easily.

I spoke to my most precious devotees - ones that had stayed at home: spouses, children, feeble parents. Anyone who in these moments were asking for their loved ones to have at least a warm meal, a soft pillow, a warm coat, sturdy shoes, a kindness, a comfort.

I spoke to them and, already knowing the answer, asked if I could take a comfort from them to bring a comfort to their loved ones. They all agreed. Mothers gave the apples from their porridge, fathers gave the soles from their shoes, parents gave the first sunlit sigh from their mornings, children gave the feathers from their pillows, brothers and sisters gave the initial warmth of a beloved pets' hug.

They each gave up a small comfort, returning the blessing back to me, amplified tenfold by their appreciation of the kindness and their love.

And so, I blessed those that had gone to war. I blessed them with good food, and soft beds, and sturdy shields, and sharp blades. I blessed them with a good forge and good falcons. That their commanders could see the field, and see the ambush. And blessed a quick death to those that met it.

In return for their kindness, and oh how kind my worshippers are, I pulled on my history. I remembered the blazing fires of my past: how those that refused to give refuge had burned, how those that turned away the sick and weak had drowned, how those meant to shelter the lost and spurned them instead had gotten lost themselves... And...

l cursed their enemy. I took my blessings away from those that threatened my mortals. Their food turned sour, no matter how fresh their meat. The feathers withered in their pillows and their blankets tattered. Their coats and shoes grew more worn by the day. Their steel rusted and crumbled, shields caving and swords shattering.

And oh, how that was a kindness all on its own. The enemy soldiers turned on their commanders when they had no good food, nor bedding, nor clothes, nor protection. They turned on their commanders and turned away from my worshippers, my mortals, my lands. The war ended before my families could lose anyone more.

*

When my soldiers returned home from the fields, I ensured the blessings I had sent with them returned as well. Food was better shared with loved ones, pillows always felt softer, mornings were a little brighter, and pets were always happier with a full family.

I was not expecting the gratitude I felt in the weeks after. Countless prayers thanking me for taking pity on a loved one; for giving them a warm blanket in the cold night, or a little more stew for everyone because more was made than they thought.

And there was more prayer, more people offering a simple thank you over a cup of tea or coffee, children thanking me alongside their parents when they got a sweet. I could feel that there were more mortals offering me their prayers, and though it wasn't the blazing worship I knew from my past, it brought me comfort nonetheless.

The more powerful gods had taken no notice of my actions, having been distracted by their own work both on the front lines and in the cities. The smaller ones though... They saw me, and looked on in awe as I grew brighter with worship. Warmer. Strong enough to offer a comfort to anyone who needed it. And when I offered them the kindness to help them find their own worshippers, they accepted, and promised to help me in return. And that was all I could have asked for. A kindness for a kindness.

You’re a deity of something small and seemingly unimportant. You’re the first one the people stop praying and sacrificing to when things get dire. Oh, what fools they are.

[randomitemdrop]

If you're still bored, how about d100 rumors?

Table of Rumors

So, what are the villagers whispering around the pub? (Adapt as needed to your setting, and remember that rumors aren’t always true)

An infamous item-shop owner is actually a fraud and has no idea what he’s doing

One of the party members is secretly in service to the Dark Lord

One of the party members is secretly in service to the Merchants’ Guild, ensuring that the party keeps having to buy more stuff

The Dark Lord is secretly in service to the Merchants’ Guild and their entire evil plan is a hoax to stimulate the economy

Mimics in service to the Dark Lord have infiltrated the village

The Dark Lord’s secret weakness is Essence of (consult Table of Flavors & Scents)

The Dark Lord’s secret weakness is getting stabbed with a cheap tin dagger

The Dark Lord’s secret weakness is catgirls

The local forest has been infested with Cascadian Tree-Krakens

The local counting-house has been infested with Modrons

The local fishing-hole has been infested with Dire Crawdads

The local lake is secretly home to a Fey woman that gives out swords proclaiming the wielder to be the true king of the land

The local spring is actually a portal to the Plane of Water, but only when activated correctly

A nearby swamp is home to a wish-granting hag

A nearby swamp is home to a reclusive retired bard, once famous across the land

A nearby swamp is home to Shrek

A nearby swamp is actually a bog

Deep in the forest there grows a patch of herbs that will cure any illness or wound

Deep in the forest there grows a patch of herbs that make anything taste good

Deep in the forest there grows a patch of herbs that double your strength for four hours

Deep in the forest there grows a patch of herbs that will kill anything mortal

Deep in the forest there grows a patch of herbs that will get you zonked off your gourd

At the top of a nearby mountain there is a shrine to a forgotten deity from beyond the stars

At the top of a nearby mountain there is a shrine to a long-dead celebrity musician where Bards can learn special spells

A nearby cave is haunted by the ghosts of a massacred army

A nearby cave is haunted by the ghosts of cavemen

Long ago, fleeing royals hid a magic sword up the chimney of one of the local homes

One of the local merchants/tradespeople is actually a psychic vampire that nourishes itself by providing the worst possible customer service

A local farm has a chicken that will grant wishes if you pet it without letting the owner know

The local pub owner was once a bandit and buried treasure under the floorboards

The town drunk knows where a treasure is hidden but will only explain when sober

The town Prohibition Society president knows where a treasure is hidden but will only explain when drunk

The weird old man that lives outside town dresses up as a monster to frighten people off his property

The weird old man that lives outside town dresses up as a monster and has won awards at furry conventions for his monster suits

The local blacksmith’s hammer is enchanted so that he can strengthen armor just by hitting it

The local butcher will buy exotic meats, no questions asked

The local baker’s buns are enchanted so that it is addictive

The local candlestick-maker uses dwarf-tallow

The local cooper is the Queen’s paramour, which is how he's kept his license despite his barrels being absolute rubbish

The local cobbler is assisted by Elves. Nobody seems to know if that means traditional tiny magical spirits or, like, a band of Drow warriors bound to his service

The local nightsoilman is the true Crown Prince, having switched places with a lookalike after getting the idea from an episode of “Wishbone” and/or “Garfield: a Tail of Two Kitties” and/or any of the three different Barbie CGI adventures based around the idea

The local grave-digger kills people when business is slow

The local pie-maker kills people when business is slow

The local oyster-seller is secretly rich off pearls

The local arkwright (maker of chests) is actually a breeder of Mimics

The local carpetmaker is actually a breeder of Trappers

The local schrimpshonger will pay dearly for strange and exotic teeth, the bigger the better

The local relic-keeper is a fake

The local phrenologist is legit, somehow

The local cheesemonger can tell your fortune from the bite patterns you leave in a rind

The local pardoner has a direct line to the Celestial Bureaucracy

The local doctor is a vampire

The local tobacconist has some primo shit in the back that he only brings out if he knows you’re cool

The local town guard used to be an adventurer like you, then he took an arrow in the knee

The local town’s rival tater-hurling team has magic on their side, so the locals are looking for an edge

The local mayor is secretly a witch

The local mayor is secretly an avatar of the Dark Lord

The local mayor is secretly two Halflings with one sitting on the other’s shoulders, having achieved office through a cavalcade of hilarious hijinks and desperate to maintain the ruse

The Royal Palace’s knights are actually just empty suits of armor animated by dark magic

The Royal Palace’s knights are actually just empty suits of armor filled with bees

The Royal Palace’s knights are actually illusions and the building is actually defenseless

Eating raw pork increases your strength, the tainteder the better

Man door hook hand carriage door

Putting out all the lights and speaking a wizard’s name into a mirror five times will open a portal to wherever they are

Living near windmills causes cancer

Electrical shocks cure rheumatism

Goblin saliva cures acne

The smell of Bonnacon dung cures respiratory illness

Giant blood replenishes vitality and cures hangovers

Powdered Tiefling horns are an aphrodisiac

Dwarves lay golden eggs when enraged

Pulling Elves’ ears is good luck

Stealing an adventurer’s helmet is good luck

It’s good luck to ignore Aasimar, pretending they aren’t there

People with even a little bit of Dragon blood in their veins are incapable of lying

Feeding a Halfling is bad luck

Druids are aggressive assholes that try to convince everyone else to become Druids

Orcs are disguised humans

Mind-flayers can actually survive on totally normal food and drink, and they’re just flaying minds to be jerks

People with red hair are werewolves

Kicking a Cleric of a deity besides the one you follow in the butt cures curses

Flossing with the hair from a wizard’s beard cures toothache and gum disease

Church wine can be used to remove any stain

The Chosen One has arisen and can be recognized by (insert trait held by party member)

The Chosen One has arisen and can be recognized by being invulnerable to blades

The Chosen One has arisen and a cutting from their hair is proof against the Plague

Many adventurers are actually thought-constructs without free will, controlled by the whims of giant deities living on a higher plane rolling dice

The Royal Palace is trying to hide from the populace that the world is actually round/flat/cylindrical/toroidal/&c.

The Plague vaccines being provided by the Royal Palace secretly contain Potion of Enfeeble Mind to allow them to control the populace more securely

The local ruins were constructed by Extraplanars (note: if this is already true in your setting, instead the rumor is that the Extraplanars are a hoax by the Royal Palace)

Certain unusual clouds are the product of the Alchemists’ Guild trying to control the weather

The gladiator matches are fixed

A famous bard died years ago and was replaced by a look-alike

A famous bard is hypnotizing people with their music

Zalgo is coming

The world is going to end next year

A major chain of food stalls actually uses bio-alchemically-engineered Oozes instead of real meat

The Holy Books have hidden messages that can be decoded by those that know the secret method

The town charter is secretly a treasure map

https://www.snopes.com/random/

[tyetknot]

Treading The Mill Tuesdays Chapter 7 – Approaching The Powers – Part 2 and Conclusion

Chapter 7 – Approaching The Powers – Part 2 and Conclusion

Introduction | Hallowing the Compass | SpellCrafting | Censing the Sacred | Entering the Twilyte pt 1 | Entering the Twilyte pt 2 | SpiritWorking pt 1 | SpiritWorking pt 2 | Approaching the Powers pt 1

Hello dears! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? The only defense I can offer is that I am sick and fucking tired of this book and Nigel Pearson and his bullshit. I’m tired of it, but I’ve got some free time and I want to see this nonsense through to the bitter end. So let’s get started.

Pearson now turns his attention to the Goddess.  He opens this section with a five-stanza poem/hymn/devotional piece which I wouldn’t consider out of place in any of my rituals. After this he once again has to stop and tear other people down:

“The Goddess, as perceived in Traditional Witchcraft, is not the “Triple Moon Goddess” of Robert Graves’ “White Goddess”, so beloved of modern pagans and Wiccans. Neither is she solely the fertile Earth Mother of so-called “Neolithic” belief.”

Venus figurine found at Çatalhöyük in 2016

I am sure you will be absolutely shocked to see that in the next few pages Pearson describes a divinity who is curiously similar to the capricious and cruel deity Graves depicts in The White Goddess. He sort of flip-flops around a bit, and uses phrases that readers in classical mythology will recognize – there are snippets of the Cyme Aretology of Isis, the statue of Isis at Sais, the Fates, and others. He also says:

“No one depiction of the Goddess can fully express Her powers and nature but Her essence exists in all the goddesses invented by Man – for all have been.”

This sort of flies in the face of his earlier complains that only idiots believe ‘All gods are one god’, but consistency has evidently never been one of Pearson’s virtues. He also states “it is from her that we all issue and to Her that we shall all return at the end of times” which sounds perilously close to that line from the Charge of the Goddess: “From me all things proceed and unto me they must return.” Funny how that keeps happening! He complains again that “She bears little resemblance to the bright, loving, and caring Goddess of modern pagan practice.” Sorry folks! Your Goddess just isn’t edgy enough!

CRAWLING IN MY SKINNNNNN

Pearson states that there are two titles for the Witch Goddess, the Great Queen and the Black Goddess. Let’s take a look and see what he says:

The Great Queen

This is a deity of “Life, love, sexuality, death and the Land”. I’m not really sure how this is different from how many modern pagans view the Goddess, but OK, sure, whatever. She is concerned with things that pertain to being alive. Pearson’s descriptions here really remind me of The White Goddess, in that Gravesian “The goddess fucks you and then destroys you” way, up to and including a comparison to the sow who eats her own farrow. ”To feed and nurture her cub, the vixen must kill the fluffy bunny and present it with blood-stained muzzle.” The fluffy bunny. I’ve been saying this for years, but it bears repeating – a lot of traddies really, really remind me of the kind of person who spent a lot of time yelling that fluff-bunnies would be the death of Wicca back in the early aughts.

He also identifies the Great Queen with the Land in the same way a lot of books associate a queen with the land, you know, like you read in books on Celtic mythology, but also identifies her with the inexorable forces of nature.

Next Pearson presents an exercise to form a relationship with this aspect of divinity, which he calls ‘Addressing the Dame.’ The title of this makes me want to scream for reasons that will be obvious to anyone who has been reading my Tumblr. It entails making a sort of image or representation out of found natural materials in which the spirit of the Great Queen may dwell to which one may make prayers or petitions (but remember, as he mentioned earlier, witches do not worship deities). Once the framework of the representation is done you make regular trips to gather more materials to add to it, veiling it with a black cloth between trips. After a year and a day the work is completed and you will have a finished link to the Great Queen in all her faces and aspects, as it were, collected over an entire cycle of the seasons. He stresses that this should not be undertaken lightly (which is correct) but I feel like there should be some instruction on what to do if the image needs to be taken apart or destroyed for some reason.  It’s not a terrible idea, but he also doesn’t give many suggestions for what to do with this (should it be veiled at all times, for example?) but I feel like it would be an interesting exercise were it fleshed out a bit.

The Black Goddess

This aspect of the Goddess functions more as what I would say is more like modern pagan views of the Crone, the mysteries of the night, the Underworld, the spaces between the stars (mostly void, partly stars) and behind the Moon. He provides a description of a spiritual experience he had during the contemplation of the Black Goddess.

Pearson also states that the Black Goddess is the one who creates “the next shapes of force to be unleased on the world.” She is also a deity who makes magic work, if I am reading this correctly – “It is to this aspect of the Goddess that we appeal for any of the grand magics, the great life-shaping and life-changing works that we would attempt. These are not to be approached without great consideration and meditation beforehand but, when we are certain that it is the right thing to do – and Traditional Crafters do meddle and change things – then it is to the great Black Goddess that we apply for the permission and power to carry out the work.”

I’m not like other girls. I meddle and change things.

We are also presented with an exercise meant to form a connection with the Black Goddess and also find out where your life is going. This involves constructing a threefold Circle of salt, ashes, and a mixture of water, wine, vinegar, and salt, addressing four aspects of the Black Goddess at the four quarters, consecrating water, and then scrying into it. It’s not a bad working!

Next up is a section titled Approaching the Power. This is a place where Pearson contradicts himself quite a bit, saying that some witches actually do believe that the God and Goddess come from one ultimate Power, which he suggests could be a Goddess who birthed the one he calls the Goddess, a sort of primeval creatrix like Chaos. Alternately, some may view this ultimate Power as the witches’ Devil, a being of rebellion and cunning and disorderliness. And yet some may view this Power as a union of the God and Goddess, which he describes in fairly conventional heterosexist terms. Nevermind that earlier Pearson shit all over Dion Fortune’s ‘all gods are one god’ maxim. Like I said, consistency is not his forte.

He also seems to believe that Traditional Witches existed historically: “Certainly they gathered together upon occasions when fellows were known in the vicinity and certainly they swapped lore and instructed each other in their individual ways of knowledge.”

He points out that dedication and initiation are separate things (correct) and provides a ritual for self-dedication. This is not a process I can disagree with! Initiation, as he states, is something bestowed upon you by another, be it a group of people you are joining or a spiritual experience. His self-dedication ritual contains elements that will be very familiar to anyone who has read anything on the subject – blessing with the four Elements, quarter calls, making a declaration of dedication. His ritual has some actions and language clearly borrowed from trial records from the European witch hysteria.

The closing of the ritual is conventional, and at this point he ends the book – no further information, no afterword or conclusion. Our long national nightmare is over.

Conclusion

It’s over! It’s finished! I finally got around to completing my chapter-by-chapter teardown on this shitty, shitty book. I don’t like his writing style. I don’t like his bad editing. I don’t like Pearson’s bad habit of making portentous, ominous statements with no follow-up, explanation, or further detail. I don’t like his shameless pillaging from other writers, the complete and total lack of footnotes and sources, or his constant whining about how awful those Wiccans are while lifting ideas, ritual practices, and theology from the religion wholesale. I’ve said it before and it bears repeating – there is nothing in this book that would be out of place in a conventional book on Wicca, nothing.

I’m still angry that some old fart Gardnerian Third Degree who had been initiated by Buckland who I met in the old Witches’ Chat Network chatroom spent so much time verbally fellating this book, to the extent that I actually found a copy of it, because this book sucks. It is tepid, bland, very pedestrian writing, and while it has some actual rituals and workings in it, the way that they’re presented and the pointless ramblings and incessant whining about other pagans that fills the pages between those rituals and workings made this an unpleasant read. Should you purchase this book? No. Should you illegally download this book mysteriously find a .pdf of it on your computer somehow? Also no. There are infinitely better books out there that won’t be as much of a waste of your time.

Consumnatum est.

[sunshinewrit-ing]

Norse Mythology

ig: @sunshine.writing

As with every culture, there are many different interpretations and I tried my best to use the most popular ones. There are also many different versions and spellings for the names of the gods and goddesses, but I used the anglicized and most popular spellings. 

Aesir and Vanir

The Norse gods are divided into two families, the Aesir family, and the Vanir family. The Aesir family is the larger of the two and is mostly connected with war and government and includes the gods Odin, Thor, Loki, Baldr, Hodr, Heimdall, and Tyr. The Vanir family includes the fertility gods and goddesses such as Njord, Feyr, and Freyja. Both families reside in Asgard but don’t see eye-to-eye as shown through the Aesir-Vanir war. 

Besides the Aesir and Vanir, there are also female deities known as Disir, Alfar (elves), Jotnar (giants), and Dvergar (dwarves).

Aesir Gods and Goddesses

Odin - Odin was the King of the Aesir clan and known as “the father of all gods.” He’s depicted as a one-eyed, bearded old man wearing a hat and a cloak. He was said to have slain the first being known as Ymir before carving up his body to help create the Earth. He was one of the most powerful and revered of the gods and associated with wisdom, knowledge, healing, death, and war. He also ruled over Valhalla. 

Thor - Son of Odin, he was regarded as the strongest of all the Norse deities because he was tasked with safeguarding Asgard. He was the most popular of all the gods and worshipped by most Vikings. He was the god of thunder and lightning and wielded the Mjolnir. He rode a chariot drawn by two massive goats called Tanngnjostr and Tanngrisnir.

Loki - Loki was considered a “blood brother” of Odin. He was known as the trickster god and was equipped with the ability to shapeshift into different forms. He was the chief engineer behind the death of Balder.

Frigg - Frigg was the wife of Odin and the queen of the Aesir gods. She was the only one allowed to sit next to her husband and always stuck by her partner even though he had many extramarital affairs.  She was worshipped as the goddess of the sky and associated with wisdom, marriage, family, and fertility. She was blessed with the power of divination but never revealed her visions to anyone. 

Baldur - Son of Odin and half-brother to Thor, Baldur was the god of light and purity. He was described as fair, kind, and handsome, whose beauty was unparalleled. He was the epitome of all things wise and good and often praised for his mercifulness. Also thought to be immortal, he had been prophesied to die and was slain by an arrow made out of mistletoe, his death orchestrated by Loki. 

Heimdall - Heimdall is the son of Odin and no less than nine mothers, and is the watchman of the god. He dwelt at the entry to Asgard where he guarded Bifrost. 

Tyr - Tyr is the god of War and the Lawgiver of the gods. The bravest of the gods, he makes the binding of Fenrir possible by sacrificing his right hand. He’s the son of Odin and the son of the giant Hymir.

Idun - Idun is the goddess of spring or rejuvenation and is the wife of Bragi. She was the keeper of the magic apples of immortality which the gods must eat to preserve their youth. 

Bragi - Bragi is the skaldic poet of the Aesir and his name means “poet”. He’s the son of Odin and possibly the giantess Gunnlod, and the husband to Idun. 

Vili and Ve - Vili and Ve are the two brothers of Odin who helped to slay Ymir to create the remaining seven realms. They’re the sons of Bestla and Borr and were raised in the realm of Nifelheim. 

Forseti - He’s the son of Baldr and Nanna, and is the god of justice and reconciliation.

Gefjun - She’s the goddess of agriculture, fertility, abundance, and prosperity. Her name can be translated to “Giver” or “Generous One.”

Sif - Sif is the wife of Thor as well as a giantess and the goddess of grain and fertility. She was one of the Asynjur and mother of Ullr.

Fjorgynn and Fjorgyn - Fjorgyn, also known as Jord, is a giantess and the mother of Thor through an affair with Odin. Her masculine form Fjorgynn is the father of the goddess Frigg, the wife of Odin. 

Sol and Mani - Sol and Mani were the beings who drove the sun and the moon in their courses through the sun. They were sister and brother, and both were fair and beautiful. Sol had to travel at great speed, pursued by a wolf named Skoll who would eventually devour her. Mani kidnapped two humans named Bil (waning) and Hjuki (waxing), children of Vidfinn, and forced them to travel with him. Like his sister, he was also being chased by a hound named Hati Hrodvitnisson. 

Ullr - Ullr is the god of sports, particularly archery and skiing. He’s the son of Sif and Egill and step-son to Thor. 

Hoenir - Hoenir is a warrior god and is the travel companion of Odin and Loki. He was also part of the creation of Ask and Embla. He goes with Mimir to the Vanir as a hostage in order to seal a truce to the Aesir-Vanir War. He’s the god of indecision, avoidance, and mystery. 

Vidar - Son of Odin and Gridr, he was known as Vidar the silent, the possessor of the iron shoe, the enemy and slayer of Fenrir, the avenger, and he who inhabits the homestead of his father. He’s a warrior god and an excellent fighter. 

Hodr - Hodr is the blind god of winter and warriors. Oftentimes he’s depicted with a bow and arrows, or the spear that Loki used to trick him. He was the son of Frigg and Odin and twin brother of Baldr. Sometimes he’s thought to be a god of darkness.

Vali - Son of Odin and the giantess Rindr, Vali was born for the sole purpose of avenging Baldr. He kills Hodr and binds Loki with the entrails of his son Narfi. He’s the god of vengeance.

Vanir Gods and Goddesses

Freya - Freya was the goddess of fate, love, beauty, gold, war, and fertility. She ruled over the meadow of Folkvangr and owned a torc or necklace known as the Brisingamen as well as a cloak made of falcon feathers. She rode a chariot drawn by two cats and was accompanied by a board called Hildisvini most of the time. She practiced Seidr, which is a form of magic that allowed her the ability to control and manipulate the desires and prosperity of others. 

Freyr - Freyr is associated with sacral kingship, virility, peace, prosperity, sunshine and fair weather, and good harvest. He’s the son of Njord and the god of fertility, rain, and sunshine. His twin sister is Freyja.

Freyja - Freyja, twin sister and counterpart of Freyr, was the goddess of love, fertility, battle, and death. Her father was Njord. Pigs were sacred to her, and she rode a boar with golden bristles. 

Njord - Njord is the god of seas, wealth, wind, and fishing. He was the father of Freyr and Freyja. 

Nerthus - Nerthus is a goddess associated with fertility. She was also associated with peace and prosperity. She was the wife and sister of Njord and the mother of Freyr and Freyja.

Gullveig - Gullveig is a sorceress and seer with great love and lust for gold. She was speared by the Aesir, burnt three times, and yet thrice reborn.

Odr - Odr is the husband of Freyja

Norse Creatures

Dwarves - Also known as dark elves, they’re small creatures that originated as maggots from the corpse of Ymir. They live underground in Svartalfheim (literally means “home of the black elves”) and are said to have crafted the finest weapons and jewelry such as Mjollnir and Gungnir. In certain myths, they’re portrayed as turning to stone if exposed to sunlight. 

Draugar - The Draugar are the undead. Some myths describe them as creatures who drink blood, they’re more similar to zombies than vampires. They possess superhuman strength and can increase their size at will, but have a constant stench of decay and appear as a dead body. They often live in their graves to defend the treasure they were buried with but can also enter communities to torment those who wronged them in life. They’re said to be able to enter the dreams of the living to torment them, and would leave behind a gift so the victims knew the encounter was real. 

Elves - Elves are separated into two different types; Dokkalfar, or dark elves, and Ljosalfar, light elves. Dark elves are thought to be the same as dwarves and light elves are described as more beautiful than the sun. They’re generally described as having an ambivalent relationship with humans.

Fenrir - Fenrir was the son of Loki and the giantess Angroboda. He was raised by the gods of Asgard to stop him from wreaking havoc across the nine worlds but the gods ended up deciding to chain him up. It’s believed that when Fenrir breaks his chains to get his revenge, it will lead to Ragnarok, the end of the world. 

Fossegrimen - Also known as the grim, he’s a water spirit who plays the fiddle mimicking the sounds of the forest, wind, and water. He can be bribed to teach his skill with an offering that he deems sufficient. He’s also known to lure women and children to lakes and streams where they drown.

Huldra - Wardens of the forest and part of a group of Ra that protects various locations. Female Huldra are described as beautiful and seductive, with a long tail of a cow and their back covered in bark. They can disguise themselves as young women to walk in the world of men but their power of illusion is broken if someone sees their tail. They lure young, unmarried men into the forest and keep them as slaves, lovers, or sometimes they’ll suck the life out of them. 

Jormungandr - Also known as the Midgard Serpent, Jormungandr is another child of Loki and Angrboda. He is a snake or dragon that lives in the sea surrounding Midgard. He is described as an enemy of Thor and during Ragnarok, the two are fated to slay one another. 

Jotnar - Jotnar, meaning “devourers”, are giants with powers that rival the power of the gods. They’re the enemy of the gods and the Jotnar embody chaos. Many of the Asgardian gods are descended from Jotnar such as Odin and Thor. 

Kraken - Aquatic monsters that are believed to live off the shores of Norway and Greenland. They’re depicted as gigantic octopi or squids. They mostly ate fish but when it rose to the surface, it was believed to cause large whirlpools which would help it attack ships.

Valkyries - The female helping spirits of Odin, depicted as elegant maidens who ferry the slain to Valhalla. Their name means “choosers of the Slain”, which hints at their more sinister side, the fact that they also choose who lives and dies in battle. They would sometimes use malicious magic to ensure their preferences.

Sleipnir - Odin’s mighty eight-legged horse is the child of Loki and Svadilfari. It had eight legs so that it could have one leg in each of the Norse worlds. 

Mare - The Mare monster gave people bad dreams at night by sitting on them in their sleep. Often they were witches whose souls took the forms of animals, but normal people, particularly adolescents, were also thought to become Mare when their spirits wandered. It was believed that when the Mare touched a living thing, people, cattle, or trees, it would cause their hair to become entangled. 

Trolls - There are large ugly trolls that dwell in forests and mountains, and small gnome-like trolls that live underground in deep caves and caverns. They’re depicted as not very intelligent and malevolent but can show kindness in exchange for a favor.

Norns - The three principal Norns served as the caretakers of the tree of life, but their care only slowed the death of the tree. 

Ratatoskr - A squirrel that runs up and down the tree of life delivering the messages of the gods. He enjoys stirring trouble between the wise eagle that sits atop the tree and the hungry dragon that swells in its roots. 

The Nine Realms

Yggdrasil - Yggdrasil is the mighty tree whose trunk rises at the geographical center of the Norse spiritual cosmos. It’s believed that the nine worlds are all held in the branches and roots of the tree of Yggdrasil. It’s commonly said to be an ash tree.

Niflheim - The realm of fog and mist. It’s the darkest and coldest region of all the realms. It’s one of the first two realms and is placed in the northern region of Ginnngagap. Hvergelmir is located in Niflheim, which is said to be the source of the elven rivers. As Yggdrasil started to grow, it stretched one of its large roots far into Niflheim to draw water from Hvergelmir. 

Muspelheim - The land of fire. Muspelheim was created at the same time as Niflheim but was created far to the south. It’s a burning hot place filled with lava, flames, sparks, and soot. It’s the home of the fire giants, fire demons, and is ruled by Surtr.

Asgard - Home of the Gods. The most commonly known realm, Asgard is located in the middle of the world, high up in the sky. It’s the home of the gods and goddesses and is ruled by the chief of Aesir Odin. Inside the gates of Asgard is Valhalla, the place where half who die in battle will go for the afterlife and the other half go to Folkvangr.

Midgard - Home of the humans. “Middle earth” is located in the middle of the world below Asgard. Midgard and Asgard are connected by Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge. It’s surrounded by a large, impassable ocean that is occupied by the Midgard Serpent. The first two humans were Ash and Embla and were sent to Midgard after being created from tree logs by Odin and his brothers Vili and Ve.

Jotunheim - Home of the giants. Jotunheim consists mostly of rocks, wilderness, and dense forests, and lies in the snowy regions on the outermost shores of the ocean. There is no fertile land in Jotunheim. Jotunheim is separated from Asgard by the river living which never freezes over.

Vanaheim - Home of the Vanir. Nobody knows where exactly the land is located or how it looks. 

Alfheim - Home of the light elves. Alfheim is located right next to Asgard in heaven. The god Freyr is the ruler of Alfheim. 

Svartalfheim - Home of the dwarves. Svartalfheim means dark fields, and they live under the rocks, in caves, and underground. Hreidmar was the king of Svartalfheim until he was killed. 

Helheim - Home of the dishonorable dead. Hel is where the dishonorable dead, thieves, murderers, or those the gods and goddesses feel are not brave enough to go to Valhalla or Folkvangr. Helheim is ruled over by Hel and is a very grim and cold place. Any person who arrives at Helheim will never feel joy or happiness again. 

[thewhizzyhead]

a non-filipino's guide to trese: ep 1

So some of my mutuals decided to check out Trese aka the Netflix adaptation of the Filipino horror comic book series that I keep rambling about here and then since well um most of my mutuals aren’t from the Philippines fshfs I decided to make a long-ass post that basically consists of me rambling about the cultural context present in Trese with fun little tidbits about Filipino folklore. I’m not an expert on Filipino mythology so um I just typed out the stuff that I know and the stuff that I looked up on Wikipedia so um take this with a grain of salt aaaaa I’ll save the extensive google scholar research ramble on folklore present in Trese for another day.

I’ll try to find the sites where I got some of the information from cause um yea I kinda had a bit of a hard time finding the other shit so um once again, take the stuff here with a grain of salt. Also, feel free to add more info if you guys got any!

SO ANYWAYS ENJOY ME RAMBLING ABOUT EPISODE 1 OF TRESE WOO

+ MRT and LRT (Manila Metro Rail Transit and Light Rail Transit) are train systems in NCR (the capital region) and yea them suddenly stopping and malfunctioning in the middle of the goddamn rail is a daily occurrence and we have been trying to deal with this bullshit for years but alas, corruption and negligence are sweet sweet drugs.

+ When the MRT broke down, you'd see a red bee in the flashing billboard right? Well that's Jollibee and that's probably the most well-known fast food restaurant chain here heck there are even branches of it abroad!

+ According to many youtube comments along with other social media posts that I am way too tired to link here, the opening theme is an Ifugao ethnic song called Balluha'd Bayyauhen but with modern accompaniments and I think the song is about a fruit called a balluha that the character in the song tries to it but cannot swallow. (someone please correct me if I’m wrong here fjkfs)

+ The first um monster that we see Alexandra interact with is the White Lady of Balete Drive. White Ladies or “Kaperosa” are a type of female ghosts typically dressed in ghostly white dresses or similar garments. According to legend, she died in a car accident while driving along Balete Drive (a two lane street formerly lined with Balete Trees which are said to be a home for spirits and mysterious creatures) in Quezon City while other accounts say she died waiting for the arrival of her lover; others also say that she was a teenage girl who was run over and killed by a taxi driver at night and then buried around a Balete tree while another variation of the tale claims that a student from the University of the Philippines was sexually assaulted and killed by a taxi driver nearby and so said ghost haunts the street in search of her murderer. There are many other variations but according to local rumor, the legend was fabricated by a reporter in 1953 in order to make an interesting story. What remains consistent in many variations is that apparently taxi drivers would be stopped by a beautiful lady asking for a ride and if one would look at the rear window, they would see that the white lady in question is bruised and drenched in blood.

+ There are a lot of mentions about "lakans" and stuff in reference to Alex and her father right? In precolonial times, the term is used to refer to the paramount ruler or the highest-ranking political authorities in Tagalog communities (so um NCR and some parts of Region 4). In Muslim communities, they are called sultans while communities with strong trade connecitons with Indonesia or Malaysia called them Rajah. Datu is umm the more generalized term though when it comes to discussing the leaders of the precolonial Filipinos.

+ So, Alex’s mom is a babaylan and back in the pre-colonial period, each barangay (which a native filipino term for a village or a district; said term is still used today to describe um divisions in municipalities like) had them and these are basically Philippine shamans and they specialized in communicating with the spirits of the dead. To my knowledge, the role of babaylan went to women and yea people assigned male at birth but then identified as female were also allowed to become babaylans and they would be treated with the same respect given to any woman back then (honestly I dunno much about lgbtq+ stuff back in the precolonial times but all I know is that precolonial Filipinos were much a lot more welcoming towards trans identities bUT THEN THE SPANIARDS CAME AND UM ERR RUINED THAT); also the writing Alexandra's mom did in that one scene with the dagger is in Baybayin - preHispanic Filipino script. I dunno what she wrote down though. .

+ Also I kinda find it funny that the people here esp those who were at the White Lady scene are um,,, not at all surprised? Like yea quite a number of filipinos have their own superstitions and beliefs and all that but um yea the people in Trese seem very used to the bullshit,,,which in retrospect, isn't at all inaccurate fsdfd I MEAN WE DEAL WITH UNSURMOUNTABLE AMOUNTS OF BS ON A DAILY BASIS SO I DON’T THINK DEAD GHOSTS WOULD EVEN FAZE MANY FSKJDS

+ The one that appears right before Alexandra talks with the duwende (the one in the manhole) is called Laman Lupa (which i guess translates to um "What is in the earth"? just um YEA THEY ARE DIRT CREATURES). normally this is an umbrella term for duwendes and nunos but in Trese they are servants of these aforementioned creatures.

+ Duwende (which came from the Spanish phrase "dueno de case" which means "owner of the house") or dwarves in Filipino folklore are known to be mischievous and magical environmental guardians. They are believed to reside in trees or under earth mounds (those that live in the latter are called nuno sa pundo or old man of the mount) which is why quite a lot of Filipinos say "tabi tabi po" or “excuse me” when wandering around a forest or earth mounds as a sign of respect and in the hopes the duwende won't torment them. If the person is friendly, the duwende can also be friendly in return and will bring that person good lucl; otherwise, those who destroy their homes by stepping on them will face their wrath in form of heartless curse and predictions of ominous and disastrous fates. A duwende's color also depends on their budhi or conscience: to my knowledge, white duwendes are kind, red ones give protection amulets, green ones are firnedly with children and the black ones give nothing but trouble.

+ Chocnut aka the snack Alex bribes the nuno with is a very yummy chocolate snack made of coconut milk, crushed peanuts and cocoa powder. They are umm about an inch in length and maybe half an inch in width so it's fairly small; that being said I WANT THE CHOCNUT THAT ALEXANDRA HAS CAUSE HOT DAMN THAT'S A BIG CHOCNUT

+ In Trese, the creatures in the MRT scene and in the warehouse Alexandra visits after she talks with the duwende are called "aswang". In Philippine folklore, it is an umbrella term for any kind of monster so um an aswang in Luzon would be very different from the aswang in Mindanao. According to what I saw on wikipedia, they can be classified in 5 categories: the vampire (self-explanatory um they drink blood), the viscera sucker (the manananggal, i'll get to that next time), the weredog (cats and pigs are also possible but um yea they target pregnant women), the witch (self-explanatory boom curses and stuff) and the ghoul (they gather near trees in cemeteries to feast on human corpses). Aswangs are often described to have a long, hollow tongue, sharp claws and sharp teeth, although they do also have human forms.

+ To my knowledge, Ibwa, the leader of the aswangs in the warehouse, is a creature from Tinguian or Itneg mythology (they, like the Ifugao, are an indigenous ethnic group in northwestern Luzon) though I could be wrong about this dksfsf Ibwa seems like an ethnic filipino term tho wah I can't remember where I once read that. But anyways, Ibwa often stalk sthe house of a dying person to steal its body. In order for the ibwa to NOT succeed in that, some people burn holes in the garments of the dead and put a sharp iron object on top of the grave since those are most powerful weapons against aswangs which is what Alexandra uses to subdue the Ibwa and kill all the other aswangs (the knife alex uses is named Sinag which means "ray of light".)

+ ALSO I AM SO SO GLAD THEY KEPT THE FILIPINO SWEARS IN THE ENGLISH DUB YES YES THIS IS A VERY GOOD JOB so lemme discuss the versatility of tangina-

+ Also umm Bossing is a nickname of Vic Sotto - one of the three pioneer hosts of Eat Bulaga! which is the longest running Philippine noontime variety show. Over time, most probably due to the show's popularity, the term "bossing" then became um slang for "boss" or "chief"

+ Translation of what Alex says when she's stirring the eye inside the cup: “In the eyes of others, secrets will reveal themselves.”

+ Sidenote: The English dub's pronunciation of many of the tagalog lines are um yea they r pretty good but they could use a bit of work but then again I'm really not that good in speaking in Tagalog so who am I to judge gkdkf sorry po guys conyo po ako-

+ Maria Makiling is arguably the most famous of all the diwatas (ancestral spirits, nature spirits, or deities) in Philippine Mythology; she is associated with Mount Makiling in Laguna as the guardian spirit of the mountain. Mount Makiling is said to resemble a profile of a woman and people associate the profile with Maria herself. She is also known as a goddess by the name of Dayang Masalanta and people would pray to her for safety and to stop storms and earthquakes. That's the goddess Alexandra's mother mentions right when she tells Alex to hide. (Translation to what she said there: Maria Makiling, goddess of the mountain, bless us.)

+ ALSO YEA THAT MAYOR IN THE MRT STATION IS UMMM RATHER REMINISCENT OF MAAAANY POLITICIANS AND PUBLIC SERVANTS HERE LIKE BELIEVE ME I CAN THINK OF SO MANY NAMES RN. THEY WOULD FLAUNT THEIR MACHISMO AND PROMISE THAT THEY THEMSELVES SHALL PUNISH THE PERPETRATORS HARSHLY BUT IN THE END THEY DONT MEAN SHIT AND ARE IN OFFICE TO SERVE ONLY THEMSELVES AND TO SHIT ON THE REST ESP THOSE OF THE POORER SECTORS AND *NOTHING IS DONE ABOUT IT*. WE LIVE IN HELL OKAY. also hmm how the police are represented here is umm,,,interesting,,, like i know there are sOME good police officers like the ones alexandra assists but like,,,our current sociopolitical climate + the many cases showcasing the corruption in the police force + tHE SHEER AMOUNT OF POLICE BRUTALITY HERE would ummm beg to differ. but um anyways-

+ Also Mang Inasal posters can be seen in the MRT station backdrops and um it’s a very famous restaurant chain here and they serve lots of barbecue and other filipino stuffs and i miss them a lot God their halo halo is very yummy

+ Santelmo - oki so this is the fire face thingy that Alexandra summons inside the ruined train. This is the shortened version of the term "Apoy ni Santa Elmo" or "St. Elmo's Fire" - this is a weather phenomenon wherein plasma is created from an electrical discharge from a rod like object in an atmospheric electric field. This phenomenon was used to warn of imminent lightning strikes or storms (there is a chapter in Noli Me Tangere where Pilosopo Tasyo talks about that bUT I'LL SAVE THE NOLI ME TANGERE RAMBLES FOR ANOTHER DAY). But according to Philippine folklore, santelmos - which are said to be souls of people lost as sea - are balls of fire that appear where accidents or big arguments happen. In Trese, santelmos (alex's santelmo being "The Great Spirit of the Binondo Fire") can be called to assist in supernatural investigations

+ Translation of what Alex says when she draws the circles to meet with the purple ghosts: "Souls, where are you off to? I'll be entering too, so please open the door."

+ Remember the scene at the train with all the purple ghosts and the woman in a veil? Yea the woman is an emissary of a goddess named Ibu and she is the Manobo (again, another indigenous ethnic group but this time they're from Mindanao; fun fact we have around 134 ethnic groups) goddess of deceased mortals and the queen of the underworld; she also serves as a psychopomp and guides the newly deceased souls to the other side (having an MRT be the ride to the underworld isn’t in the legends tho so fkkjsf)

+ The aswang in the top hat is called Xa Mul and according to the Isneg/Apayao people (yay another ethnic group but this time in northern Luzon - the Cordillera regions to be specific), they are an evil spirit known to swallow people whole.

+ Alex has two henchmen right? Yea they are named Crispin and Basillio and No I still don’t know who’s who and I'm really sorry about that fsfjs so anyways the names Crispin and Basillio are actually those of two brothers featured in the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo novels (Crispin is younger and Basilio is older) which are basically the national novels here cause um yea written by national hero Jose Rizal as sociopolitical commentary about the Spanish regime here. I don't know if I want to spoil this cause I kinda want other people to read the novel too fskfs BUT ALL IN ALL, ONE OF THEM DIES IN LIKE THE 10TH OR 11TH CHAPTER OF NOLI ME TANGERE (and the novel has 64 chapters btw) AND UM YEA-

+ OKI SO TO ADD MORE CONTEXT TO THE SQUATTER STUFFS MENTIONED IN TRESE (we r gonna use the tiny font here because holy shit this rant is long): So,in the Philippines, especially in the capital region, there are lots of slum areas called squatters. These are dense urban settlements made of compact makeshift housing units that aren't really officially recognized by the government. This is um very reflective of the poverty situation here and there are maaany factors that come into play here and if i were to go into depth about this topic, that rant would probably turn into an academic paper so for the sake of brevity, let's just say that Things Are Fucked Up Here. Oftentimes the poorer sectors are being ignored and left to their own devices despite tons of campaign promises to make things better and easier for them. The communities that live here are incredibly vulnerable to floods, fires, and the like and afaik no concrete solutions have been in effect to protect these people and their settlements. There have also been many times where squatter areas are dismantled or demolished despite protests of people living in those areas and yea I understand the need to make space and the need for renovation but the people should still be offered some sort of temporary settlement or financial compensation thingy that doESN'T fuck them over but alas, we have an anti-poor government. That being said, I really like Trese Ep 1's portrayal of governmental negligence, but I also have some thoughts, especially in regards to the mayor being arrested THAT FAST which um believe me, NEVER FUCKING HAPPENS BECAUSE MANY MAYORS AND A LOT OF POLITICIANS HAVE THE POLICE IN THEIR POCKETS SO UM ERR YEA JUSTICE IS RARELY A THING HERE BUT UM ANYWAYS YEA THE GOVERNMENT LIKES TO SHIT ON THE POOR WOO LET'S SAVE THE USE OF SOCIOLOGICAL LENS ON THIS MATTER FOR ANOTHER DAY

+ The news channel reporting the arrest of the mayor is ABC-ZNN WHICH IS AN OBVIOUS REFERENCE TO ABSCBN aka the top media conglomerate here (that has been fucked over by the government so many times to the point that they had to shut down operations last year which is all sorts of unfair so seeing them being referenced here kinda made me happy gksfks)

[the-bone-witchh]

Welcome to “Bone Divination 101”. In this post, we will be looking at some history of bone divination and its origins. Looking at the origins of something and the culture behind it always gives us insight on why the tradition has carried on today. As practitioners and students, it’s always important to remember the root of why something is the way it is and where it originally came from.

Bone Divination is also called Osteomancy! There are a bunch of different names for this form of divination, from Osteomancy to Scapulimancy. During the Shang Dynasty (c. 1200 to 1050 BC) in China, a shoulder of an Ox was often used and would be burned to reveal the future by seeing the types of cracks that appeared. The Celts had a similar pyro-osteomancy practice, but it consisted of either fox or sheep¹. The ‘Oracle Bones’ of the Shang Dynasty were found at Yinxu Site near Anyang City and are currently located in the National Museum in Scotland. The ceremonies were used to find guidance in everything from mundane to war strategies. After the fall of the Dynasty, the bones were forgotten for a long time until they were ground up and sold in herbal pharmacies as ‘Dragon Bones’ for their assumed healing properties. During the height of the Dynasty’s pyro-osteomancy, the ceremonies were used to communicate with ancestors and deities. These ceremonies were typically carried out by a King or members of his family, but there were some trusted ‘diviners’ who helped perform these ceremonies². Similar to the Mongolians I will talk about next, the Shang Dynasty believed in animism and shamanism. Animism is the concept that everything has a soul, and Shamanism (during this time) was the practice of communication with the spirit world. The term we know as Shamanism has ground and changed throughout time to what we know today, but looking at it through the lens of the Shang provides us insight into what they believed to be important. To the Shang people, Ancestors were everything; the Ancestors would provide them wisdom and offer advice. How does this relate to bone divination? The bones acted as a medium between this world and the other world or afterlife, they were like intermediaries for communication; like tarot cards are to modern practitioners.

In Mongolia, there was another type of bone divination that was both for fortune-telling and a game; it was called Shagai. It consists of four sheep ankle bones. The four faces on the bone were called goat, sheep, camel, and horse. They were used for yes/no questions due to only having thirty-five possible combinations³. In reference to Sarangerel Odigan’s book Riding Windhorses: A Journey into the Heart of Mongolian Shamanism, he goes to explain the heart of the Mongolian shaman as

the maintenance of balance in the world;

reverence for the earth and living things;

personal responsibility

And that the best way to live is through tegsh, meaning ‘being in balance (pg. 15)⁴. This insight into the Mongolian shaman shows the beauty behind it, and reveals that they are caring and deep passionate people. Due to their reverence for the earth and the things in it, we can speculate that they took great pride in their animals and their bones. The bones were indeed taken care of and kept in secure bags for their protection. We as practitioners need to remember animism, the belief that there are spirits in everything from the rocks we skip into the water to the trees in our yards. The bones we divine with are no different, they were once alive too. They have souls and voices that we use to communicate with our guides, deities and ancestors.

The Ancient Greeks also had their own form of bone casting and it is still around today as the folk game ‘knucklebones’. Originally it was called Astragali, from the rear hooves of animals like sheep, goats, deer, and ox. These bones were similar to the dice of today. These bone dice of the ancient world went on to become games and often a bag of dice were placed on a grave of a child who has died, so they would have their favorite game with them. The origins of this divination are mixed. Plato believes it comes from the Egyptian God Thoth (similarly to Greek Hermes) and Herodotus believes it originated from the Lydians. Eventually, Astragali was accredited to Apollo and was in his domain. Apollo was the patron of Oracles, which is why this form of divination was his and was also used by the Pythian Oracles. That being said, it was also credited to Hermes⁵. Apollo gifted his brother the power of divination, barely a tiny slice. Hermes' gift of divination is through the lottery or Cleromancy⁶. Cleromancy is the divination of casting lots, like coins, charms or in this case bones.

I hope you have enjoyed this first mini article of Bone Divination 101. I hope to write better ones in the future. After references I have added a further reading list, there are a couple videos listed too for further research.

REFERENCES

¹ Wigington, P. (2019, September 25). Using animal bones for divination and magic. Learn Religions. https://www.learnreligions.com/bone-divination-2562499.

² World Cultures 3 min read. (n.d.). Oracle bones. National Museums Scotland. https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/world-cultures/oracle-bones/.

³ Bone divination, bone reading, bone casting, conjure bones. Bones, Shells, and Curios. (2014, September 17). https://bonesshellsandcurios.com/shagai-mongolian-bone-reading/.

⁴ Odigan, S. (2000). Riding windhorses: A journey into the heart of Mongolian shamanism. Destiny Books.

⁵ Dervenis, K. (2014). Oracle bones Divination: The Greek I Ching. Destiny Books.

⁶ Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, June 24). Greek divination. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_divination#Augury.

FURTHER READING

¹ Keightley, David “These Bones Shall Rise Again: Selected Writings on Early China” (SUNY series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture) 2015. ISBN-13 978-1438447469

² Manchester Game Studies. (2021, February 11). Astragalomaniacs: Knucklebones in the ancient world. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHj2A-PdsaA.

³ Brennan, D. K. L., Brennan, D. K. L., Harris, D. B., & Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art. (n.d.). Oracle bone, Shang dynasty. Smarthistory. https://smarthistory.org/oracle-bone/.

⁴ Mark, E. (2021, August 20). Oracle bones. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/Oracle_Bones/.

[nerdythebard]

#7: Anubis, God of the Dead

Well, now we've done it, Gods and Goddesses!

In our journey through the deserts of Egypt, we took a detour and found ourselves in the Land of the Dead. Now, we are under the watchful eye of Anubis. This psychopomp shall lead us to the Hall of Two Truths, were our soul will judge itself. Let's take a walk, shall we?

Next Time: I AM THE ETERNAL DRAGON! SPEAK YOUR WISH AND I SHALL GRANT IT! Sudden change of plans, dearies... Next time, we take a look at a strapping young lad who knows a thing or two about yard decorations. He got it from his daddy dearest.

So, what can we do to make Anubis chill our enemies to the bone:

Friends on the Other Side: Anubis has a connection to the spirits of the dead. He can grant them a facsimile of life to act on his behalf, damage and slow enemies in a wide AoE.

Crowd Control: Anubis can call upon a plague of locusts to damage enemies in a cone in front of him, as well as keep foes restrained with mummy bandages.

Death Glare: Anubis's Ultimate is a literal death glare, his sight becomes a piercing beam of necrotic energy heavily damaging enemies in front of him.

---

Anubis's D&D race is a much more difficult case than I first imagined. Now, there is a race called Khenra

which would be a dead-ringer for Anubis, but their stats from the Plane Shift: Amonkhet document is... honestly, it's pretty bad and wouldn't make for a nice build.

Instead, let's take a look at the closest we have to a lycanthrope in player options, the Shifter race. More specifically, the Wildhunt Shifter, who are described to often be "the spiritual leaders of the shifter communities", which I'd say fits Anubis pretty well. As a Shifter, we get +2 Wisdom and +1 Dexterity, 30 feet of walking speed, 60 feet of Darkvision, and our only known language is Common. As a Natural Tracker, we get proficiency in Survival skill, and our key trait is our Shifting ability. As a bonus action, we can assume a more beast-like form (in this case, jackal-like). The transformation lasts for 1 minute/until we die/until we dismiss it as a bonus action. When we shift, we get Temporary Hit Points equal to [our level + Constitution modifier], as well as a feature unique to the type of shifter we choose. Wildhunt Shifters gain an advantage on Wisdom checks while shifted, and no creature within 30 feet of them can impose a disadvantage unless the shifter is incapacitated.

For our background, I think picking Acolyte is the most suitable choice. We get proficiencies with Insight and Religion (to better judge the intentions of a soul) and the Shelter of the Faithful feature, which grants us safety at any temple dedicated to the deity we're the acolyte of (either Kelemvor or Jergal are a good option here).

ABILITY SCORES

Anubis is a light armour caster-type, so we're going to focus on those stats. We will start with Dexterity to pull off that leather armour, and follow it with Wisdom; we must be wise in our judgment, and it's also our spellcasting ability. Constitution is next, as it's pretty important for casters to have decent Hit Points.

The stats on the down-low side of things shall be Intelligence, followed by Charisma, and we shall dump Strength.

CLASS

Yet another pure build. To keep the flow of souls at a steady pace and guide them to Osiris's Halls, Anubis is a Cleric.

As a Cleric, we get the d8 as our Hit Dice, [8 + Constitution modifier] initial Hit Points, proficiencies with light armour, medium armour, shields, and simple weapons. For this I suggest a studded leather armour and a dagger (perhaps like the one Egyptians used in the mummification processes, eh? :D), since this is a primarily spell-heavy build. Our saving throws is Wisdom and Charisma and we get to pick two class skills: let's go for Persuasion and History.

---

Level 1 - Clerics are full-casters, so from the very beginning we get our Spellcasting feature. We know cantrips and ritual casting, and we get access to the entire Cleric spell list, from which we can prepare a number of spells equal to [our Wisdom modifier + our Cleric level]. Starting with cantrips, we get to select three:

Guidance lets us give a creature we touch an extra d4 to their next skill check performed within 1 minute of casting (concentration). Very useful for "skill monkeys" like rogues or bards.

Sacred Flame is a good source of radiant damage. It requires a Dexterity saving throw from a target within 60 feet of us, or results in 1d8 radiant damage (damage increases with our level).

Toll the Dead fits Anubis's theme. Calls the soul for their final judgement. Forces onto them a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the target take 1d8 necrotic damage. If they already have some Hit Points missing, they take 1d12 damage instead.

We start with two 1st-level spell slots and we can prepare four 1st-level spells:

Bless gives up to three creatures of our choice an extra d4 to all attack rolls and saving throws for 1 minute (concentration).

Cure Wounds is THE staple healing spell at lower levels, and it reflects Anubis's theme of preparing and embalming the body for their journey to the afterlife. A creature we touch regains [1d8 + our spellcasting modifier] Hit Points. It doesn't work on undead or constructs.

Guiding Bolt deals 4d6 radiant damage and applies advantage to the next attack roll made against the target (it can be ours or somebody else's).

Sanctuary protects a creature from harm for 1 minute. When attacking somebody who's under the effect of Sanctuary, the attacker must make a Wisdom saving throw or choose a different target.

We're not done with Level 1 features yet, because that is also where Clerics get their subclass, their Divine Domain. There are two official subclasses that mention Anubis by name, but for this build I feel like Grave Domain works best. As a Grave Cleric we get access to some more spells - those are always prepared for us and we don't count them against the number of spells we can prepare:

Bane works similarly to Bless, except the target has to make a Charisma saving throw or subtract 1d4 from each attack roll and saving throw they make for 1 minute (concentration).

False Life transforms necromantic energy into a facsimile of life, giving us 1d4+4 Temporary Hit Points for 1 hour (or until they're lost).

Grave Cleric's first subclass feature is Circle of Mortality, which boosts our healing spells. Where normally we would have to roll dice on healing spells (like 1d8 on Curse Wounds), we can instead automatically use the highest number on the die. We also learn Spare the Dying cantrip, which saves a fallen creature from making Death Saves. For us, the cantrip has 30 feet reach instead of touch.

We also get Eyes of the Grave. It works similarly to the Paladin's Divine Sense except this one only shows us the undead present within 60 feet of us.

And that's it for Level 1. Clerics, man... they're early game powerhouses.

Level 2 - This level gives us access to the Channel Divinity feature, which lets us tap into the Divine Energy of our deity to perform amazing features. For now, we can use it once per short or long rest. All Clerics get the Turn Undead effect - each undead within 30 feet of us must make a Wisdom saving throw or become turned (they cannot move towards us within 30 feet, and must spend their turn trying to move away from us as far as they can) for 1 minute. The Grave Domain gives us another CD effect - Path to the Grave. This effect curses a target of our choice within 30 feet of us, until the end of our next turn. During that time, the next attack that damages a target makes it vulnerable to that damage type (damage dealt increases by half) and the curse ends.

We also get a new spell - Inflict Wounds deals 3d10 necrotic damage on a successful touch.

Level 3 - We unlock 2nd-level spell slots. This means, we can now get a 2nd-level spell: Hold Person forces a Wisdom saving throw on one (or more, if using higher-level spell slots) humanoid target within 60 feet. On a failed save the target is paralysed for 1 minute (concentration). Flavour it as mummy bandages and we've got one Anubis ability down.

Our subclass also grants us two spells at this point:

Gentle Repose prevents a corpse from decay and turning into an undead (suck it, Ah Puch!). Useful if you cannot afford the resurrection of one of your party members, but besides that, it's pretty situational.

Ray of Enfeeblement is like a demo version of Anubis's Ultimate. On a successful hit, the target's damage that uses Strength deals only half the normal amount for 1 minute (concentration).

Level 4 - Time for our first Ability Score Improvement! Let's get some better HP with 1 point in Constitution, and we'll put the other point in Wisdom.

We get another cantrip: Thaumaturgy gives a list of multiple effects we can perform for, lasting for 1 minute (making our voice louder, dimming and brightening lights, locking and unlocking doors and windows, etc.)

We also get another spell: Blindness/Deafness forces a Constitution saving throw on one creature within 30 feet. If they fail, they are blinded or deafened (our choice) for 1 minute. They can repeat the saving throw on each of their turns to try and shake off the effect.

Level 5 - At this level, our Turn Undead becomes Destroy Undead. It works only on the undead with the CR of 1/2 and below (shadows, zombies, skeletons, etc.), but if they fail their saving throw, they are instantly destroyed.

We also unlock 3rd-level spell slots and spells: Speak with Dead lets us reanimate a corpse for a short while (10 minutes), enough to ask it five questions. The dead can answer only what they knew in life, and the answers are usually brief/cryptic. They may also lie if we're the one that killed them, or they're hostile in general.

Additionally, we get two more spells from our subclass:

Revivify might go against Anubis's ways, but it is a staple Cleric spell. Sacrificing a diamond worth at least 300 gold pieces, we bring a creature who died within the last minute to life with 1 Hit Point. The spell doesn't restore missing body parts.

Vampiric Touch lets us deal 3d6 necrotic damage to a creature we can touch, and give us the same amount of Hit Points. Until the spell ends (1 minute, concentration), we can use the spell again as action without a need to make a spell attack.

Level 6 - Our Channel Divinity has now two uses between rests, and we gain a new subclass upgrade. Sentinel at Death's Door is one of the more annoying features in all of D&D (speaking from the DM's point of view here). Whenever a creature within 30 feet of us is attacked with a Critical Hit (Natural 20 roll, doubles damage dealt), we can use our reaction to cancel that critical and turn it into regular damage.

Spirit Guardians is a spell that summons a horde of spirits in a 15 feet radius from us. We can select who is unaffected by the spirits when we cast it. Those who are affected have their speed halved, and whenever they end their turn within the spirits' radius (and first time walk into it) must make a Wisdom saving throw or take 3d8 radiant damage (if we're good/neutral; if we're evil, it's necrotic. Half damage on a successful save).

Level 7 - Here, we only unlock 4th-level spell slots.

We get two more subclass spells: Banishment forces a Charisma saving throw on one target within 60 feet. On a failed save, the target disappears from the Plane it resides on. (right into the Shadow Realm! Egyptian Underworld) If the target isn't native to the Plane it disappeared from, it returns to its home Plane. If the target is native to the Plane it disappeared from, it gets transported into a pocket demiplane. If nothing interrupts our concentration for the entire duration of the spell (1 minute), the banished target doesn't come back (non-native), or it returns to the same space (native).

We also have subclass spells here:

Blight drains vitality from one creature within 30 feet of us. They must succeed on a Constitution saving throw, or take 8d8 necrotic damage (half damage on a successful save). It doesn't work on the undead or constructs, but if the target is a plant creature or a magical plant, it makes the save with disadvantage and receives the maximum possible amount of damage (64). If the target is a non-magical plant, it doesn't make a save - just withers instantly.

Death Ward prevents a person's death before their scheduled time. A creature we touch gains protection against being killed for 8 hours. If they drop to 0 Hit Points, they immediately recover one point. Any effect that causes instant death (such as a trap, a curse, or even Power Word: Kill) is also blocked.

Level 8 - We get another ASI. Let's get a +1 Wisdom and +1 Constitution again.

Because of our Wisdom modifier changing from 3 to 4, we now can get two new spells at this level. For this, I'd actually suggest taking just one spell and ask your DM whether we can save the remaining one for later. Otherwise, pick any throwaway spell to replace later.

Guardian of Faith summons a Large-sized spectre at a point within 30 feet of us for 8 hours (no concentration). Any creature moving within 10 feet of the guardian must make a Dexterity saving throw or take 20 points of (unspecified) damage (half damage on a success). The guardian disappears after dealing a total of 60 points of damage.

Level 9 - We unlock 5th-level spells here. If we have an empty spell from the previous level, we can now take two spells here. Plus, we also get two spells from our subclass!

Greater Restoration is a great healing spell. It is able to remove one curse/petrification/charm/reduction of Hit Points Maximum on top of removing one level of exhaustion. Really useful.

Insect Plague basically lets us re-enact the Prince of Egypt. We fill a 20-foot-radius sphere with a swarm of buzzing, biting locust. All creatures within the sphere have to make a Constitution saving throw or take 4d10 piercing damage (half damage on a successful one). This saving throw must also be done when entering the sphere or ending the turn in it.

Now, for the spells from our subclass:

Antilife Shell creates a 10-foot-radius dome around us. It lasts for 1 hour (concentration) and during that time, nothing organic/alive can enter the barrier. Only undead and constructs can get through. It also lets in projectiles and spells.

Raise Dead is what happens when Anubis says 'I quit'. The spell targets one corpse that died within the last 10 days and brings it back to life with 1 Hit Point. The raised creature gets post-resurrectional penalty of -4 to all of their saving throws, attack rolls, and ability checks. The penalty is reduced by 1 for each long rest taken.

Level 10 - Halfway through the build and we receive one of the Cleric's best feature. With Divine Intervention we can petition our patron deity to directly help us with a problem. We roll a percentile dice and if the result is equal to or lower than our Cleric level, the prayer is successful. The interpretation of 'divine help' is up to our DM; it can be a vision, a single-use spell that's gonna be helpful, etc. If the prayer is successful, we cannot use this feature for a week. If the prayer fails, we can try again after finishing a long rest.

We get our final cantrip: Word of Radiance is a good anti-close range spell. It forces a Constitution saving throw on all creatures within 5 feet of us, and deals 1d6 radiant damage on a failed one (damage scales as we level up).

For our next spell, Holy Weapon infuses our weapon with divine energy for 1 hour (concentration). The weapon sheds bright light in 30 feet radius (and dim light for another 30), it becomes magical for the purpose of overcoming resistances, and all successful attacks deal extra 2d8 radiant damage for the whole duration of the spell.

Level 11 - Our Destroy Undead effect of Channel Divinity gets enhanced. It now affects undead with a CR of 2 or lower (ghouls, spectres, poltergeists, will-o'-wisps, etc.).

We also gain access to 6th-level spells. Find the Path represents Anubis's role as a guide of souls. It can last up to 1 day (concentration) and allows us to find the shortest and most direct path to a location we name that we're familiar with.

Level 12 - Time for another ASI! First, let's round up our Constitution to a nice, even number, and then let's start boosting our weaker abilities by raising our Charisma.

For this level's spell, Planar Ally allows us to summon an otherworldly minion (celestial, elemental, or fiend), which we could ask to carry out a small task in exchange for payment. The creature is under no obligation to listen to us but can be bargained with.

Level 13 - We don't get a class feature this time, only unlock 7th-level spell slots. With Etherealness, we can step into the spirit world for a brief amount of time (up to 8 hours, no concentration). While inside the Ethereal Plane, we can only interact with creatures from that plane. We see and hear into the Plane we departed from and can move in any direction (moving up and down costs +1 foot for every foot of movement). We can also pass through objects and walls of the Material Plane.

Level 14 - We have upgrade to our Destroy Undead effect. It can now affect the undead with a CR of 3 or lower (mummies, wights, phantom warriors, etc.).

With Regenerate, we restore one target's health by 4d8+15 Hit Points. Following that, for 1 hour the target recovers 1 Hit Point per turn (10 HP per minute) until reaching their Hit Point Maximum. The spell also regrows missing organs and limbs 2 minutes after casting.

Level 15 - Once again, no new class features. We do unlock 8th-level spell slots. Antimagic Field creates a 10-foot-radius invisible sphere, where no magic can exist; spells fizzle out, summoned creatures disappear, magic items become regular. When you stand before the final judgment, no magic will help you.

Level 16 - We get another ASI. Let's raise our Charisma and Strength.

Although we do have access to 8th-level spells now, we can back up for a moment and take Planar Shift. This spell lets us travel into another Plane of Existence, as long as we a metal rod worth at least 250 gold pieces and is attuned to our desired destination. The spell transports us, along with up to eight willing creatures. Alternatively, we can banish a creature within our melee range into the particular Plane, granted they fail a Charisma saving throw.

Level 17 - This is a big one. First of all, our Destroy Undead reaches another upgrade, allowing us to disintegrate undead with a CR of 4 or lower (the banshee, ghosts, flameskulls, deathlocks, etc.).

We also get our final subclass upgrade - Keeper of Souls. If a creature we can see dies within 60 feet of us, we can choose another creature we can see within 60 feet and restore their Hit Point by the now-deceased enemy's remaining Hit Dice. We can use this feature once per turn.

At this level, we also unlock the pinnacle of Divine Magic - 9th-level spells. True Resurrection can restore a creature who has been dead for no longer than 200 years back to life with a full amount of Hit Points. The spell closes wounds, restores missing limbs, lifts curses, and neutralizes poison and disease. It turns undead into their non-undead form. If there is no body to resurrect, the spell can provide a new body for the soul to inhabit. The only thing the spell cannot restore is if death came from old age.

Level 18 - Our Channel Divinity feature can now be used three times in-between rest.

Mass Heal is a powerful restorative spell, which targets all creatures within 60 feet of us. We can restore a total of 700 Hit Points, divided evenly between all creatures affected, who are also healed from all diseases as well as blindness or deafness. The spell doesn't work on constructs and undead.

Level 19 - We get our final ASI of this build. Before the final boss battle, let's boost our Constitution by 2.

Gate creates a portal linked into another Plane of Existence. We can determine a specific destination by naming a location in the target Plane. The portal lasts for 1 minute (concentration). Alternatively, we can name a creature we know resides in the target Plane and pull them through the portal into our location.

(yes, Doctor Strange is a Cleric in D&D terms, fight me!)

Level 20 - Our build capstone is Divine Intervention Improvement. At this level, whenever we decide to use our Divine Intervention hotline, the prayer is always successful, without a need to roll.

For our final spell, we get Astral Projection

The spell makes us and eight willing creatures go on a trip into the Astral Sea. Our soul leaves the body (which is in suspended animation, requiring no food, air, and doesn't age) and enters the dimension of pure thought and psychic energy. There is a series of rules in the spell description, but it can be used to survey other planes of existence by entering the right colourful portal.

---

And that's the end of it. Anubis, the Egyptian psychopomp. Let's see how we did:

We have good abilities, two 18s and a 16 where it counts, average Hit Points of 151 and 15 AC with studded leather armour. We're not the designated HealBot, but we have a few good higher-level healing spells for when things go sour.

Can't wait to show you folks the next one. I have a feeling some of you might enjoy it!

- Nerdy out!

[ladyloptr]

•The Noisy Neighbor•

Request: twt@LOKIBARBZ (So, we literally had a whole discussion over this, therefore, I’ll just make a summmary of this.) Loki moves into an apartment in NYC, recently being officiated as an Avenger after some pleading from Thor. He is comfortable in his apartment, as it’s nice and quiet, until a loud new neighbor moves in next door. He slowly goes mad, until one day he seeks to end the nonsense once and for all.

Fandom: MCU AU

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Warnings: Smut, Hate-Sex, Rough-Sex, Angry-Sex, Hair Pulling, Scratching, Choking, Degradation/Name Calling.

{————}

Loki isn’t sure what he expected to be greeted with when he returned to Midgard with his older brother. After the attack on New York City, he wasn’t foolish enough to think they’d welcome him with open arms.

Then again, it’s not like he had much of a choice in coming here.

After waiting in his cell for nearly a year, he was finally placed on trial. They sentenced him to serve his punishment on Midgard, to help The Avengers in their efforts to protect their realm. Among the many different options that the Æsir courts could’ve picked, he’s merely grateful to still be alive.

The Avengers, of course, wouldn’t allow him to take up residency in the tower as a result of his last visit ending in Tony being tossed out of a window. Thankfully, Tony, at the very least, agreed to find him his own apartment somewhere nearby and pay his rent, so long as he behaves himself.

The apartment complex is very nice, and most importantly, quiet. Tony rightfully assumed that it would be wiser to house the God of Chaos in a quiet environment where he’d be least likely to interact with neighbors. The last thing they need right now is for Loki to take it upon himself to permanently silence his Midgardian neighbors for making too much noise.

For a long time, this arrangement worked. Loki typically walks to the tower with headphones in, playing an array of Norwegian music, most of it sung by the artist Aurora. Her music reminds him of home, so he is quite appreciative of her work.

Thor sometimes questions his reasoning for walking instead of teleporting, but Loki finds the walk to be very calming, considering he leaves the apartment early enough to avoid pedestrian traffic. Then late at night, he walks back to his apartment, headphones in, still somewhat aware of his surroundings. Despite what The Avengers constantly say about the city at nighttime, robbery or any kind of assault is of little concern to Loki, considering-well-he’s a literal deity.

Slowly, The Avengers began to warm up to him, with the obvious exception of Natasha and Clint, who are always suspicious of everything. Loki eventually found that he favors the company of Bucky and Wanda, as opposed to the constantly annoying presence of Tony or the self-righteousness of Steve. He also prefers to keep a fair distance from Bruce, much to Bruce’s understanding.

Nothing was amiss, everything was going pretty well.

Until, a new neighbor moves in next door.

Generally, Loki doesn’t care for the ordinary Midgardians that roam the city, he finds them to be incredibly shallow and rather dull. None of them intrigue him in the slightest, and he finds that many of them have an ornate ability to talk much, but at the same time say absolutely nothing.

However, he swears to The Norns that you, the girl who just moved in next door, have been designed specifically to get a rise out of him.

Loki has always been known for his patience and tolerance of others. Even at this chaotic stage in his life, it still truly takes much to get him to snap, but you seem to be naturally gifted at winding him up.

For one, you purposely went out of your way to introduce yourself to him. You went out of your way to bother him, when none of the other neighbors dared to acknowledged him.

Maybe if he were younger he would’ve enjoyed the attention, but now? This Loki likes not being acknowledged, he likes being left alone, and doesn’t care about whoever else is living in this apartment complex.

He doesn’t even really remember what you were saying to him, he just remembers blankly staring down at you for a few minutes and then impolitely shutting the door in your face.

(Unbeknownst to either of you, back on the Bifrost, Heimdall let out a chuckle of amusement.)

Secondly, you’re just too bloody loud. You talk loud, your footsteps are loud, and you play loud music well into the night until one of the other neighbors have to come knocking on your door to tell you to keep it down.

He overheard you rattling off to one of your neighbors in the lobby, and unsurprising to him, you’re pretty young, twenty four, just graduated from NYU, and you have a degree in fashion design-whatever that means. Loki isn’t well informed on Midgardian credentials, and he’d rather not ask Thor (who has a better grasp on degrees thanks to Jane), lest his brother misunderstand his curiosity for infatuation.

Mentally childish, cheery, loud, and obnoxious.

All the things Loki doesn’t like, compressed into one tiny person.

You make him want to turn you into a mouse whenever you’re nearby, and when you speak, sometimes he wishes he could just take a knife and cut out your vocal cords.

It’s such a shame that he finds you so attractive, if only he could tear your face off and place it on another, quieter woman.

On the flip side, you aren’t particularly fond of him either. He always comes off as rude and dismissive. You are convinced he’s the spirit of an old grumpy senior citizen wearing the skin of a beautiful young man.

So, tensions continue to escalate over the course of four months. The loud music, the loud talking, the loud everything.

He could just ask Tony to move him to another apartment complex the moment you began to stoke the fire, but he would rather not concede defeat. Eventually, you’ll be asked to move, with how loud you are and how often you inconvenience the others around you.

But, another month passes and it still hasn’t happened yet.

He’s not sure how long he can put up with this nonsense.

Six months became his limit, after you tested his patience on the wrong day.

That afternoon, Doctor Doom had infiltrated The Avengers tower looking to steal technology from Tony. Doom easily brushed aside the team’s efforts to prevent him from getting anywhere near the lab. With Thor temporarily lending his assistance to Asgard, The Avengers were without one of their strongest members. Loki eventually managed to subdue him, but his seidr was almost completely spent. He was left feeling fatigued and rather irrate.

When he finally returned to his apartment, he was greeted with some much needed peace and quiet. He fell asleep on the couch, too tired to get undressed from his armor or walk to his bedroom.

It wasn’t until you returned home late from a runway show, that his peace was interrupted. He could quite clearly hear your vain and vulgar Midgardian music playing loudly in your apartment nearby.

“I said certified freak.”

“Seven days a week.”

“Wet ass pussy.”

“Make that pull out game weak!”

Finally fed up, Loki exits his apartment, slamming the door shut behind him, and stomping to your front door. He knocks loudly and frantically, eager to get you to shut off that stupid music.

Hearing the knocking on the door, you quickly pause your music, knowing that it’s probably one of your irritated neighbors again. When you open your door, you are greeted with the sight of a scowling deity. You tilt your head and smile at him brightly. “Well, Loki, how may I help you?”

“You may help me by shutting off that incessant, vain, rhythmless dribble you call music.”

“It’s the national anthem. I am paying homage to our country’s independence.”

Loki grimaces, leaning in slightly. “Do you take me for a fool?”

“No, but I take you for someone with an old man mentality.” You raise an eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re not Bill Clinton in a skin suit?”

“It is one in the morning and some of us are tired.” Loki hisses. “Mortals. Always only concerned with themselves, so selfish and blind to the needs of others.”

“Selfish and blind? You’re one to talk.” You cross your arms. “Didn’t you kill like, hundreds of people when you invaded New York City because you wanted a throne?”

Loki’s eyes narrow dangerously at you, as you slowly cross into no-man’s land.

You pout and pretend to cry. “Boohoo, I am Loki, I was born into a rich family, and I was given everything I ever wanted except a throne.” You pretend to wipe your eyes. “So I killed hundreds of innocent humans because I wanted to be king.”

“You have no idea what you speak of, mortal.” Loki growls, his voice low and grave now. He steps forward, passing through your doorway. “You know nothing of me, or what I am capable of.”

“And what are you capable of, Loki?” You ask. “Besides killing hundreds of innocent people because your daddy didn’t like you, of course.”

You are caught off guard when Loki pulls the door shut behind him and locks it. He immediately pins you against the wall by your arms, and glowers down at you.

“Scared, mortal?”

“No.” You answer truthfully. “You don’t scare me anymore. If you really wanted me dead, you would’ve done it already. You’ve gone soft.”

He growls at you, and leans forward, pressing his lips against yours. You hardly have any time to react as he forces his tongue into your mouth. He’s actually surprised when you begin to fight him for dominance, your tongue aggressive pushing against his, and your teeth nibbling on his lips. Eventually, you have to give up your fight, your need for oxygen cutting your fight short.

“Such a shame, a pretty face like yours bound to someone with such an ugly personality.” Loki’s hands release your wrists and slowly travel down to grip your hips.

“Hypocrite.” You say. “Between the two of us, you’re the one with the ugliest personality.”

“You dare to speak to a god in such a way.” Loki groans lowly, grinding himself up against you. You gasp, feeling his erection pressing up against you. “I’ll have you know, where I come from, you’d be punished.”

You let your fingers get tangled in his hair and then you tug on it. You grin as he lets out a soft moan. “Are you telling me you’d like to punish me?”

“I am unsure.” His hands travel up your shirt, and cup your breast. You’re internally grateful that you decided to ditch your bra today. “I have a feeling you’d enjoy it too much.”

Loki stills as your hand travels between the two of you and gently massages the bulge in his pants. “Well, why don’t we find out?”

You yelp in surprise when Loki drags you by your arm to the kitchen. He pushes you to bend over the kitchen counter, pulls your pajama pants down, along with your panties.

A sharp gasp escapes you when he shoves two long fingers inside of you and pumps them steadily inside of you. He continues this until your wetness is practically running down your thighs.

You hear him unbuckle his belt behind you, and soon, he flips you around, so you’re now lying on your back on the counter. You close your eyes as you feel his cock pressing up against your entrance.

“I’m going to break you, fragile mortal.” Loki growls. “I’m going to break you, and relish the moment you come undone underneath me.”

You let out a chuckle, which only serves to irritate him. He enters you in one swift thrust, and you whimper as you feel him stretch you out more than you ever have before.

Loki wraps his fingers around your throat, and begins thrusting hard and fast. He hisses as you drag your nails hard against his neck.

“You should be worshipping me, mortal.” He growls. “You should feel honored that I’m here splitting your quim instead of resting, like I wanted to do.”

“Oh, fuck you spoilt rich brat!” You snap at him.

“Oh, but I am fucking you.” Loki chuckles darkly, tightening his grip around your throat. “And when I’m done, you’ll be positively ruined for any mortal man who tries to lay with you.”

“Bold of you to assume you can make me cum with that weak dick of yours.”

You let out a lewd moan when he changes his angle, his cock head brushing up against your g-spot.

“You were saying, whore?”

“Shut the fuck up. You’re the whore, coming here to fuck someone you don’t even like.”

Loki groans, watching as his cock is literally splitting your cunt. “You asked for this, you stupid girl.”

When you begin to feel a familiar tightening in your stomach, you start to claw and scratch at him, not willing to let him push you over the edge.

“Fight me all you wish to, mortal.” Loki groans in your ear. “You’re going to cum for me, whether you like it or not.”

“I hate you!” You practically scream at him.

“I hate you as well, but here we are.”

You gasp and moan as you feel the coil in your stomach snap. You are somewhat thankful that Loki choking you is preventing you from screaming at the top of your lungs. Loki grunts loudly as he falls over the edge after you, his hips stuttering to a stop as he releases inside of you.

You both stay like that for a few minute, your back on the counter and cum oozing onto your thighs, and Loki resting some of his weight on top of you.

“I might just retire in here for tonight.” Loki grumbles. “I am completely spent.”

“So tired from one round that you can’t walk back to your own apartment?” You chuckle. “You have shitty stamina for a god.”

“I was tired before I arrived here. I said this already.”

You roll your eyes. “Then you should’ve gone to sleep instead of coming here.”

“I wouldn’t have come here if you hadn’t been playing your music loud enough for Asgard to hear!” Loki snaps, biting at your neck in annoyance. You wince. “You’re an obnoxious wrench. It’s a wonder how you haven’t been asked to move elsewhere.”

“The landlord is my mother.”

Loki is silent for a few moments, now absolutely livid. The landlord is your mother?!

“I’ll be having words with your mother, then.”

You laugh. “You can try. Who do you think I got all of my obnoxious traits from?”

You hear Loki scowl next to you, and nip you on the neck again. “You Midgardian women are bothersome.”

[luna-tormenta]

🌻✨Things I Do As A Death Witch💀🌿

Say blessings to the plants and animals that provide food for my family and I, to honor their sacrifice and to wish them an easy passing.

Collect walnuts on walks, to represent life and death in spells, as well as be beautiful decor throughout my home. (My daughter will find them playing, too, and bring them to me excitedly!)

Tap into objects memories, to see their lives before coming to me. I do this with crystals, herbs, and many different items I come across!🔮

Collect carcasses of insects to use in spell work 🦟

Say prayers of passing to roadkill I pass by, with my Enochian Fallen Angel, J.

Passing by cemeteries, I give a big "hello" addressed to the gatekeeper!

I tied a planchette onto my purse to act as a portable ward wherever we go.

I use Patchouli Oil to help keep me grounded throughout the day.

Dried flowers are all over our home, keeping a safe watch, but also are used for their correspondences. (The flowers are hanging, pressed into books, placed in frames, tied into wreaths, and stuck in vases throughout our common rooms of use.)💐

Pruning dying parts of my plants is an every day thing I do! I thank them for the gift, ask how they are and if I may use the gift in spells. Most of the time, they are dried and used for spellwork!🌿

I carry Bones of the Earth (crystals) with me wherever I go! I have some placed in the car, in my purse, and my daughters diaper bag. An obsidian point dangles from the mirror of our car for safety and protection!

My Hellhound, A, runs next to the car everywhere we go. I enjoy watching him play! 🐺

5 rings I wear constantly are dedicated and honor the chthonic deities I work with. (Hades, Persephone, Demeter, Clíodhna, and The Fates💜)

Spirit vessels are placed throughout the house as well!👻

A fallen tree branch tied with twine on the ends, hangs in my hallway, and dangles my necklaces from itself. The branch charges my necklaces!

L, my Lunar Moth Faerie, drinks tea with me every day. 🦋

I use bones and feathers as little wards through our home.

Bells are on the doorknobs, so I can hear them ring when someone (physical or non) enters our home.

I am a mother of a toddler Faerie who was saved from experiments to make hybrids. We read Spooky Fairytales together. 📚

I create various, unique items to give as presents to my spirit family!

We have movie nights every Saturday, too!🎥

I do chores with my Brownie Fae, B. 🧺

Dedicate my Shadow Work to my deities.

Sleep with my Floating Demon Eyeball next to my side!🧿

In every room of my home, my selkie, D, and I placed seashells as another layer of ward. (The bones of the sea!🐚)

In my purse, I have another bag that holds a pendulum, small notebook, crystals, a pen, and tarot cards for on-the-go encounters and magic.

In my wallet, is a locket with a coin, a bud of lavender, moonstone, and obsidian. 👝

Give doggy treats to my hellhound and Cerberus for being Good Bois!!🥰

Walk with Death as a friend through Life.

When I visit cemeteries, I;

Gather wildflowers to place on dusted over graves.

Bring milk with honey for infants gone too soon. 🍼🍯

Make biscuits for the gatekeepers.🥐

Visit my friends, Eunice and Cynthia, and bring them items of their choice. 🕯

Carry coins as little offerings for spirits I encounter.

I will add stuff as I remember them and create new ones!

Many blessings and love upon you all!🌻✨🌙

-Lúthiena 💀🌿

[scarletarosa]

hii! I was wondering if you had any advice on being more spiritually aware/sensitive? I have a hard time feeling energies and things related:((

This takes a great amount of time (usually many years) of diligent practice. You need to start with meditating every single day for at least 20 minutes, for this will gradually increase your astral senses. Over time, you will be able to close your eyes and see faint or brief images of spirits around you, and even images of physical objects; all with your eyes closed. Try practicing with this by holding coloured pencils (crayons, etc) in your hand, picking a random one with your eyes closed, and trying to see what colour it is. 

Try to do this every day as well. I have performed this test with children and they seem to be much more closely attuned with their astral sight, but we tend to have it wear off as we get older, unless we perform it again. Anyone is capable of this since it is a skill that can be developed with practice. 

Additionally, you will need to speak to your higher self/core. Focus on the centre of your abdomen right beneath your ribcage and speak to the energy centre there. That is your immortal self and they will be able to commune with you in any way they can, try and see if you can even hear their faint voice, and over time, their voice will become more clear. What needs to be done in order for a person to hear spirits is that they need to break down their Ego, for this blocks off spirit voices. Allow the voices to pass through and be patient about it; remove yourself from your daily way of living and how you expect things to be. 

To sense energies, you can just ask your deities to stand next to you and place some energy into your open palm. Relax, close your eyes, and allow yourself to sense it. You can also practice with random places (sensing the energy of grave yards, different people, objects, trees, etc.). Every single place and object has a different energy signature, which will effect you emotionally. Overtime, you will even be able to feel spirits touching your astral body. 

Next, figure out how to astral travel. It can simply be done through a mental projection. You need to relax and open your astral eyes, then stand up out of your body. For the majority of you, you won’t be able to see anything or maybe just brief flashes of imagery. This is normal and means you still need to develop your astral sight (with the above methods). By wandering the astral often, even half-blind, you will be making progress. 

[hermeticimp]

My Thoughts on The Gods - Part 4

Here’s my next part in the series - this time featuring Hel! 

Hel is the feeling of peace prior to natural death. She grants those with a good heart and mind the peace of passing away in one’s sleep, a smile on their face as their pain eases and they are taken to her realm. 

Hel protects the souls of those young spirits that die before having the chance to live. She guards them with the fierceness of a mother, keeping them from suffering the loneliness she herself suffers from. 

Hel is the cloaked figure that lays flowers upon the graves of the forgotten. She appears in the comforting form any living being perceives her as before vanishing the moment they look away. 

Hel works in hospices, comforting those who are marked for her realm with the kindness and fairness she does with those who already reside there. When not appearing herself, she looks after hospice workers who do, giving them the strength to endure the constant exposure to one of life’s harshest realities. 

Hel has a great respect for those who reach out to the outcasts of society: the homeless, the mentally ill, orphans, those suffering from other diseases, abused and neglected animals. As someone who felt the sting of others’ disgust at her appearance, she looks favorably upon those who step up and make the effort to help those who everyone else refuses to. 

Hel relishes celebrations like el Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, in which families come together to honor those loved ones who have passed on. It’s a day of celebration in her own realm as the residents of her realm feast and celebrate their memories of their loved ones. 

She is the comforting touch on the shoulder when you grieve over lost loved ones

She loves animals, especially dogs. Being a goddess of death does not preclude her enjoying life

In a similar vein, she is all about enjoying the moment. Life is short and instead of ruminating on the bad, it’s important to be grateful for what you do have. 

Guides lost spirits to her realm when they are ready to pass on

Seeing the various depictions and stories of death in various cultures fascinates her

I associate butterflies with her, namely the black ones like in Bleach. Moths as well

Loves skull and other bone imagery

She is the slow tendrils of incense swirling about a room

She is the cool kiss of a winter’s wind

Much like with hospice workers, she stands by the sides of funeral workers, grave diggers, doctors, and nurses. Each of them faces death on a regular basis, even if it’s in radically different ways

I think she’d find stories like Another interesting - at least for their takes on death and accepting it

Patron goddess of morticians

Gets along with other death deities like Hades or Osiris. They gather together sometimes to discuss their work and followers

Psychological horror comes to mind when I think of her

She is the realization and embracing of one’s own mortality

Finds games like God of War and Jotunn entertaining, for various reasons

Gets on with Skadi, in part due to their associations with winter. You can find the pair sharing a warm drink on a cold winter’s night in companionable silence

She is the comforting voice of a suicide hotline operatorShe is the urge that fights back against dying just yet, of winning another day’s battle against one’s inner demons

She is the soft whisper of encouragement in the ears of teens crying their eyes out whilst in the throes of depression

She is the ache in your chest and the smile on your face when you think of a lost loved one

She watches over those grieving, doing her best to calm their spirits and bring brighter memories to mind

Snowflake obsidian, obsidian, smoky quartz, and black tourmaline are crystals that come to mind for her

Considers knowing when to move on just as important as grieving properly. Your life can’t stay on pause because you’ve been touched by death

Appreciates those who take the time to remember loved ones and do things in honor of them, from giving offerings to doing some of their favorite things

Discovering one’s ancestry can be a devotional act for her

A silent protector of those on the frontlines - facing death on a daily basis

Archaeology and anthropology are interests of hers - learning about the past through mementos left behind

Paranormal investigations and spirit work as well. She appreciates those willing to bridge the gap between this world and the next

[ellewritesathing]

So Close - S.S. XX

Summary: The universe has a funny way of putting the things you want right in front of you, but just out of reach. Stiles and Y/N have been best friends ever since Scott brought him home, but when Stiles realizes that he might want to be something other than best friends, she leaves to go to some fancy private school up North. Now that she’s back though … maybe he’s got a shot? A Teen Wolf AU in which the reader has always been so close to Stiles and yet so far.

Prologue - S2E1 Part 1 - S2E2 + S2E3 Part 2 - S2E4 + S2E5 + S2E6 Part 3 -  S2E7 +S2E8 Part 4 - S2E9 + S2E10 Part 5 - S2E11 + S2E12 Part 6 Part 7 - S3AE1 Part 8 - S3AE2 + S3AE3 Part 9 - S3AE4 Part 10 - S3AE5 + S3AE6 Part 11 - S3AE7 + S3AE8 Part 12 - S3AE9 + S3AE10 + S3AE11 Part 13 - S3AE11 + S3AE12 Part 14 Part 15 - S3BE1 + S3BE2 Part 16 - S3BE3 + S3BE4 Part 17 - S3BE5 + S3BE6 Part 18 - S3BE7 + S3BE8 + S3BE9 Part 19 -  S3BE10 +  S3BE11 Part 20 -  S3BE11 +  S3BE12

Word-count: 4.1k+

A/N: that wraps up season 3!! kinda crazy that we’ve come so far. i just wanted to say thank you to all of you guys for reading and commenting on the different parts; you have no idea what it means to share this with you. hope you like it!!

And wishful thinking it had been. When Allison shot one of the oni and it burst into golden light, you actually had hope that you could survive this. Hope that you could get through this alive. That hope died the same moment that Allison did. 

You understood that Scott had to stay behind to tell the police some lie that would explain her death, but you didn’t understand why you had to be there. Lydia got to leave with Chris, and you knew that comforting him had to be worse than covering up your friend’s death, but it made you sick to sit in Noah’s office tell him that she got mugged. That everything just happened so fast. 

Truth be told, it did happen too fast for you to process. One moment you were about to be run through with a katana, and the next moment the oni was gone and your friend had been run through instead. You struggled to process it. You just followed Scott to the animal clinic and tried not to get in his way.

“Stiles and Kira said that it was the nemeton that kept it trapped,” Scott said. 

“The problem is that this isn’t even a person you’re fighting,” Deaton explained. “It just looks like one. It’s a spirit that’s taken the shape of a human.” 

“The shape of my best friend,” Scott said. “And Noshiko caught it once. That means we can catch it again.” 

“Not necessarily,” Deaton said. “This thing was trapped a long time ago, before the nemeton was cut down. It doesn’t have the same power anymore.” 

“Is there anything that does?” 

“Possibly,” he said. “When the tree was whole, the wood was sometimes used to contain powerful objects. But those objects are very rare.”

“How powerful do they have to be?” you asked, looking up. It was the first time you spoke since you left the station. 

“That depends. What did you have in mind?” Deaton asked. 

“Cora told me that Derek still has Talia’s claws,” you said and pushed yourself off the counter, getting closer. “I- I know it’s a long shot but she showed me the box. It’s this long cylinder with a triskele on the top. It would make sense that the wood came from the nemeton, right? Because the Hales are-” 

“It was,” Deaton said. His face was grave. “I made it.”

“Call Derek,” you told Scott. “He’ll bring it.”

Scott nodded and pulled out his phone. You listened as he talked to Derek; the twins had been attacked in the woods but they were on their way to meet up at the school. Almost as soon as he hung up, Kira came in, supporting Stiles. He was so weak now that he could barely stand by himself. 

“What’s wrong?” you asked. Your hands were already out, instinctively checking that he was okay and holding on wherever you could so he wouldn’t disappear.

“I’ve got this feeling that we’re running out of time,” he said breathlessly.

Stiles tried to explain how it felt in the car - like he was still somehow linked to the nogitsune - but all you could focus on was how close to dying he looked. It scared you. When he stumbled out of the Jeep at the school and into the guard rail, you wrapped an arm around him to keep him steady. 

“Scott, hold on,” he said once you reached the school doors. “I know what you’re all thinking. That if this works, it might kill me, too. But even if it does, you have to go through with it. Stick with the plan, okay?”

“The plan is to save you,” Scott said. “That’s the plan I’m going with.”

Stiles looked like he was going to argue so you used your hand that wasn’t looped around his waist to reach for his hand that fell over your shoulder, and you smiled at him. It wasn’t much but it was enough to keep him quiet as Scott pushed open the doors and stepped into … a Japanese garden. It was snowing. 

The doors shut behind you and you felt Stiles hold your hand a little tighter. 

“Well, this is definitely not part of the plan,” he mumbled, looking around. 

Kira held up her hand and let the snow fall into her palm. You were so distracted by it that you almost didn’t see the nogitsune walk out from a passage near the doors. Almost.

He was terrifying enough when he had the familiar face of someone you loved, but this was what Stiles always saw: A bandaged, vaguely human-shaped demon, with a mouth full of fangs and no other discernible features. But that didn’t prepare you for his voice; scratchy and hoarse like something that was long dead.

“Like I promised, Stiles,” he snarled. “We are going to kill all of them. One by one.” 

The oni appeared as he finished speaking, making his threats even more ominous. You pushed yourself a little bit closer to Stiles, covering him slightly.

“What the hell is this?” Scott asked. “Where are we?” 

“Between life and death.”

You looked at Stiles for a second before saying, “Bardo.”

“But there are no peaceful deities here.” The nogitsune waved a finger as he spoke. “You’re dying, Stiles. And now everyone you care about is dying, too.”

“What?” Stiles asked. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve captured almost all the territories on the board, Stiles. The hospital. The Sheriff’s station. And now, the animal clinic.” The nogitsune started limping closer, and you moved Stiles even further behind you. “Do you know the ritual of seppuku, Stiles?” 

“No, and I don’t want to,” he said, moving out from behind you. He didn’t notice you engage your blade as he spoke.

“When a samurai disembowels himself with his own sword to maintain his honor, but that’s not the cut that kills him. The killing stroke is made by his kaishakunin who beheads the samurai with his own katana.” He raised a bandaged hand to your brother. “Scott … Scott is your kaishakunin. I’m going to make your best friend kill you, Stiles. And you’re going to let him. Because just like you, they’re all going to die. Everyone touched by an oni’s blade … unless Scott kills you first.”

“Like hell!” You took advantage of the fact that he was so close to Stiles and slashed him across the chest. It tore through his shirt and ripped through some bandages, but nothing else. Unless you count calling the oni forth, because it did that as well. 

The nogitsune stepped back and Scott and Kira got to work trying to keep the oni back. You pulled Stiles behind a bridge and stood up to try to cover the others. Your knives were nothing but an annoyance to them, but they were something at least. They also distracted you from noticing what Stiles was doing until it was too late. Kira’s katana had been knocked out of her hand and he grabbed it. 

“Stiles, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” you asked, concentration lines that had been etching into your forehead melting away. 

“Ending this,” he said. “What if it saves you? What if it saves all of you?” 

“Stiles, no!” Scott yelled. 

“And what if it’s just another trick? You die and he gets more powerful?” you asked. You moved closer and he took a step back. You stopped, hands up in surrender. He’d do it just to spite you. “Please, Stiles-”

“No more tricks,” the nogitsune growled. “End it, Scott. Let your friend fall on his own sword. Do for him what he cannot do for himself. Be his kaishakunin. Give up the game.”

“Will you seriously shut up?” you asked. You spun around to yell at him, but you turned slowly to focus on your friend. “Stiles? Stiles, look at me. Just put it down. There’s another way.” 

His hands were trembling as he gripped the katana and took shaky breaths. But then he stopped. He looked around, gears turning in his head. 

“Stiles?” 

“You have no moves left,” the nogitsune said. 

Stiles lowered the katana. “I do.” He threw it to Kira and faced the nogitsune. “A divine move.” 

The nogitsune snarled and you moved closer to Stiles. He wrapped an arm around you. 

“Stop fighting them,” he said. “It’s an illusion. You have to stop fighting them. It looks real, and it feels real. But, Scott, you gotta trust me. It’s an illusion.”

“I trust you,” you whispered. You held a hand out to him and took slow steps closer.

The oni closed ranks around the nogitsune and Scott turned to face them. He started moving forward and the rest of you followed. The oni swiped their katanas at them but Scott pushed through and barrelled into the nogitsune and through the doors behind him. The four of you came out inside the school hallway, unharmed. 

“We’re okay,” Scott said. He sounded so unsure. “We’re-” 

Something threw him against the lockers and you pulled Stiles behind you, knife pointed out at whatever was there. Kira turned to face what it was and the nogitsune slapped her so hard that it knocked her out. He looked like Stiles again and there was something in his eyes that you didn’t recognise. 

“This was my game,” he said. He looked up at you and Stiles. His dark circles were looking worse. “You think you can beat me at my game?” 

Your eyes were still on the nogitsune, but you patted Stiles’ leg, signaling that it was time to go. He grabbed your hand and pulled you back as the nogitsune stomped closer to you. 

“Divine move,” he scoffed, imitating Stiles. “Divine move? You think you have any moves at all? You can kill the oni, but me? Me? I’m a thousand years old! You can’t kill me!” 

You saw Scott get up in the distance and a tiny bit of hope rekindled. “I don’t think we have to,” you said quietly. 

Stiles stopped next to you, tightening his hold on your hand. “Because we can change you.”

The nogitsune stopped in his tracks. He looked at you, still furious. “What?” He wasn’t yelling anymore. 

“You forgot about the scroll,” Stiles said. 

Something inside the nogitsune clicked. “You can change the host.” 

“Luckily for me, you’re not a wolf,” you said, tilting your head as you did. “Right?” 

Just like when you stabbed him, everything changed. He reached out and grabbed your arm, ready to grab your throat and tear it out, but Stiles hit his arm at the same time that Scott sank his claws into the nogitsune���s shoulder and bit his arm. Between the two attacks, you got a nasty squeeze that was bound to bruise, but he let go. 

Kira impaled him with her katana and he fell to the floor. He started retching and a fly flew out of his mouth. You watched it float all the way down the hallway, not sure what to do other than hold onto Stiles, until you saw Cora and Lydia. 

Lydia held out the triskele box and trapped the fly inside. 

The nogitsune’s body started convulsing again and you turned to watch it fall to the ground and crumble to dust. Your heart surged as you tightened your grip on Stiles, his grip practically nonexistent as you started talking. 

“Stiles, are you-” 

His whole body went limp and he slipped out of your hands as he fell to the ground. It took you a second to look for a pulse and see if he was breathing. And it took him a minute to wake up. 

“Oh, god,” he groaned, hand reaching to his head. “I fainted, didn’t I?”

“Sure did, buddy,” you laughed, pushing down any other fears. He was awake. “But other than that, you’re all good.” 

“We’re alive,” he said. “We’re all alive?”

“Yeah,” Scott said quietly. “We’re okay.” 

Lydia got that haunted look on her face again and she stood up. She didn’t hear when you asked if she was okay, and she started walking down the hallway before breaking into a run. You picked Stiles up and helped him follow after her. The others were already ahead of you. 

When you got outside, Lydia was crying in Cora’s arms. You could make out four people in the tunnel below. Derek, Chris, the twins … where was Isaac? He came up from behind and you almost cried when you saw him. He wasn’t dead at least, but Aiden was. You found yourself surprised by the amount of heartache it caused you.

---

You weren’t sure what cover story they ended up settling on, just that it didn’t involve you or Stiles. After some coaxing, you managed to get him to the Jeep. 

“You should drive,” he said, voice hollow. 

You were still protesting when he dug the keys out of his pockets and gave them to you. That was all he said until you got back to his house, despite playing his favorite songs as you drove. You’d stolen glances at him when you could; he still looked close to death but he seemed to be getting better with every mile further from the school. Stolen glances didn’t prepare you for looking at him after you parked and killed the engine. 

His face was wet and his eyes were red-rimmed. His skin was still too pale and the circles under his eyes were still too dark. Was he shaking? 

“Hey,” you said gently. “It’s over now.” 

He nodded, the only noise was when he sniffed and wiped his face with his sleeve. 

You turned in your seat to face him and reached a hand over the armrest. He didn’t move to take it, so you held his forearm with both hands. “It’s over now. You’re okay.” 

“Y/N, I-” 

His voice cracked. 

“Say it with me?” you whispered. You moved closer to take one of his hands, despite the uncomfortable position. “It’s over now.” 

“It’s ... over now,” he repeated, his hand holding yours too tightly, despite the shaking. 

You spoke slowly, still looking at him and hoping he’d look you in the eye. “You’re okay.”

“I’m okay.” His voice was barely audible before he started crying again. “No, I’m not. I- I’m not okay. I’m not. I’m not.” 

“Hey, shh. It’s okay.” Your voice flooded with concern as you moved onto the armrest. It was tiny and uncomfortable, and you almost lost your balance as you started pulling him closer to you. “I’m here. No matter what.” 

“I can’t- he-” Stiles pressed his eyes closed so tightly that his entire face scrunched down. 

You smoothed your hand down the side of his face, cupping his chin lightly. When he opened his eyes, he’d be looking at you. “No matter what.” 

“No matter what,” he whispered shakily as he opened his eyes. 

It took you at least half an hour to calm him down enough to get him inside. When you did, you found Noah in the living room pretending to read the newspaper. He jumped up when you and Stiles walked in, hand in hand. 

“Is it over?” he asked again. He looked hopeful and afraid. 

Stiles nodded and let go of your hand to go over and give his dad a hug. Your heart ached as they held each other, both releasing quiet sighs of relief. 

“What are you doing over there?” Noah asked you over Stiles’ shoulder after a few moments. “Get in here!” 

You laughed and wiped away a tear as you moved closer, stretching your arms over the two of them and on your tiptoes to try to be the tallest. 

“Weirdo, quit pretending to be six feet tall and let us hug you like a normal person,” Stiles laughed. He had to be at least a little bit better if he was making jokes.

“Are you trying to convince me that your six-foot?” you asked, lowering yourself down and running a hand through his hair. “Noah, maybe. But you?”

--- 

“It’s really sweet of your dad to let me stay over like this,” you said as you carried the spare blankets into the Stilinski’s guest room. “I mean, he used to panic when we did this when we were little and we even had Scott with us then.” 

“Yeah, well, just cause he always wanted a daughter doesn’t mean he knew what to do with one.” Stiles scratched the back of his head, holding the sweatpants and sleep shirt he got for you close to his chest. 

You smiled and took them from his as gently as you could. “Thanks for all this.” 

“Thanks for staying,” he said. His voice had lowered. “I didn’t want to be alone.” 

“Neither did I.” 

The two of you stayed close together, holding onto opposite corners of the clothes and looking at one another, for an unusually long period of time. You were trying to guess what he was thinking and fighting off the urge to reach up and kiss him. And he was … 

“Well, good night,” he said, handing you the clothes again. “I’m gonna, uh, go to my room. You know where that is if you need me or- well, you practically live here so I guess you won’t need me for anything. But, um-” 

“Got it,” you smiled, curling your hands around clothes. “Sleep well.” 

“Yeah, you too.” 

Another beat of hopeful silence passed, and then he turned and rushed out. You sighed and collapsed back onto the bed. Stupid Stiles and this stupid crush you had on him. After moping for a while, you got up and changed into the clothes he’d given you. They were soft and smelled like the fabric softener his mom used to use. Despite everything that you’d been through the past few days, you felt yourself smile. 

You got into bed and shut off all the lights, but you couldn’t bring yourself to fall asleep. Between your own messed up psyche and the beginning processes of grief, there was no way you could switch your brain off. So you just lay there. Staring up at the ceiling, replaying old memories in your head. Until you heard the door creak open. 

A part of you hoped it was Stiles, but the more practical part of you reached for the knife you kept under your pillow. You tightened your grip as the footsteps got closer. You heard whoever it was pause and sigh, mumbling something about sleeping at a time like this. You let go of the knife. It was Stiles. 

He moved the covers away slowly, trying not to wake you, and slid in next to you. It felt like he was going to move closer but his hand dropped in the middle of the bed. 

You faked waking up as you stretched out and rolled over to face him. “You’re cold,” you said softly as you brought his hand up and held it with both of your own. “I can feel it from all the way over here.”

“Yeah, sorry,” he whispered. He was lying so still. “I couldn’t sleep so I was taking the stuff off my walls. Kinda surprised you can sleep, if I'm being honest...” 

“What can I say?” you asked as you moved even closer, resting your head on his chest. “I’m full of surprises.”

“Yeah, well, that’s definitely true,” Stiles exhaled and wrapped his arms around you. You tucked your head under his chin and he smoothed some of your hair down and you could have sworn that he kissed the top of your head. “You really are warm,” he mumbled. 

“And you’re really cold,” you laughed and turned your head up to smile at him. 

His face was so full of concern as you peered up at him, his hand cupping your jaw. “Would it be alright if I kissed you?”

“More than alright.” 

He smiled as he leaned over and closed the distance between you. When he’d kissed you as the nogitsune, there was always something harsh behind it. Always some kind of chaos. But this was different. This was Stiles. 

“Hey,” you said quietly, holding onto the collar of his t-shirt and touching his jaw lightly with your index finger. “We are going to go on that date, right? This isn’t just-” 

“Yeah, we’re going on that date,” he said. “Maybe dinner, a movie … Oh, the Christmas Carnival should be in town soon. I could win you one of those stuffed bears, huh? What do you say?”

You laughed again and laid your head back down. “I say it’s a date,” you smiled. “You could say something all mushy and romantic and I’ll cup your jaw and …”

Despite your best efforts not to, you fell asleep with your head on Stiles’ chest and his arm around you before you even finished your sentence. For the first time in a long time, you felt safe. 

And then the door creaked open again. This person wasn’t nearly as quiet and gentle as Stiles had been when they moved the cover and got in the bed. And they were much, much warmer. 

You sat up and pointed your knife at the intruder, waking up a very confused Stiles in the process. 

“What’s going- Woah, where’d you get the knife?” he asked. He looked around and blinked when he saw your new bedmate. “Malia? What are you doing here?” 

“I ran into Scott and he said it was over,” she said. “So I came to see you and you weren’t in your room.” 

“So you just got into a random bed and hoped for the best?” You were trying to keep your voice down so Noah wouldn’t wake up. 

“No. I can smell him,” Malia said simply. “And you.” 

“Oh, okay. That makes it so much better!” You looked at Stiles, waiting for him to say something. 

He was just staring between you and Malia before you nudged him and snapped him out of it. “Uh, Malia, okay,” he started. “Do you remember what Morrell said about boundaries in group?” 

“Uh-huh.” 

“Well, you’re crossing, like, a whole lot right now.” 

“How?” she asked. You couldn’t tell if she was genuinely confused or not.

“You can’t just get into my bed whenever you feel like it.” 

“But we had sex. Why is it a problem now?”

“Wait, I’m sorry, you did what?” you asked. You straightened up and crossed your arms over your chest. 

“Sex. At Eichen House.” 

“Alright, Malia, uh- why don’t you go wait in my room while Y/N and I hash this out?” Stiles asked. 

“But I can still hear everything you say.” 

“Would you just go?” he asked. He sighed and added, “Please?” 

She seemed annoyed that she had to leave but she got up and left anyway. Probably because Stiles asked and not you. 

“Y/N, I can explain,” he said. You looked at him without saying anything. “Okay, I think that means I should keep talking. I, uh, I was really alone when I was at Eichen House. And Malia- she was, you know, there as well-” 

“How could you do that to me?” you asked. It felt like you were going to cry so you stood up to leave. “It’s not like you didn’t know how I felt about you. And you knew how much it hurt when you kissed Heather, and Lydia, and Emily. I just-” 

“No, hey, it wasn’t like that,” he said as he got up with his hands out to hold onto you. 

You stepped out of his reach. “Then what was it like?” 

“You were afraid of me,” he said quietly. “I could see it in the way you looked at me. You- you were terrified. And Malia … Malia wasn’t. She wanted to help me figure this out and I was so alone so I-” 

“You slept with her because you thought I was afraid of you?” Now you really were crying, and you hated yourself for it. “Stiles, I just watched something that looked like you try to kill my brother. The same thing that almost killed me. I wasn’t afraid of you.” 

“Just my face,” he said. “Every time I came near you, you ran away.” 

“Because I couldn’t trust myself!” You gathered up your clothes from the floor. “And I don’t think I should’ve trusted you.” 

“Y/N, I …” his voice cracked. “Please don’t go. We can work this out.” 

“With Malia in the next room?” 

“I’ll tell her to go. Y/N, I-” He reached for your hand. “I love you.” 

You’d been waiting for those words for years now, and you could tell he meant them. But it just didn’t feel like you’d always wanted it to. “You’ve got a funny way of showing it.” 

You shook your head and pulled your hand away, wiping your face as you turned to leave. 

“I’m taking the Jeep. Scott will bring it by tomorrow.” 

“Y/N, wait-” 

But you were already gone.

Part 21

[theparanormalperiodical]

13 Weird Things That Happened During The Full Moon And WHY They Happened

You’d think as someone that spends most of their free time writing about the paranormal that I’d have witnessed certain things in my life.

Perhaps I’d grown up in a haunted house?

Maybe I’ve seen a ghostly figure traipse around a house during a tour of the property I would soon call home?

And what about that imaginary friend that liked to tell me about that time daddy got angry and buried mummy in the cellar?

Whilst at least 2 of those 3 things are true, the reality is I haven’t had that many encounters with those from beyond the grave.

But there’s always one thing that made me know there was more to the world than the things we can see. There was always one thing that reassured me that there was magic and mystery we have yet to explore. 

And that was the moon.

It was only last week that I was reminded of my affinity for the full moon, when everything just felt…

Odd.

Everything felt close and isolating and honestly I can’t find the words to describe it. And a blogger, that’s a problem. 

My Wiccan best friend - just like a gay best friend, only I’m not Carrie Bradshaw and my life isn’t dedicated to finding a husband - said the same thing, noting that this cycle’s full moon was extremely intense for her, too.

She said she often experiences insomnia when the moon is fully illuminated, whereas I’m probably on the ‘lunacy’ side of the spectrum. 

I’d simply never felt a lunar cycle so strongly. 

So, I thought I’d do a little digging - and it turns out I’m not the only one that has such an adverse reaction to the full moon. Turns out that the whole world has never really known how to cope with the middle of the lunar cycle, and still struggles to act normal on the one day of the month.

I guess you could say things are about to get…

Paranormal.

Today we are gonna get talkin’ ‘bout what the moon really means - historically, scientifically, and spiritually. And then we’re gonna get to the stuff you clicked on this post for.

All the creepy shizz that has gone down when the moon is full.

The Science Behind The Full Moon

*Pushes glasses up nose*

*Realises I’m wearing contact and feels like prat*

The full moon is a lunar phase when the moon is fully illuminated from the perspective of the Earth. This occurs when the Earth is between the sun and the moon. 

There has been no evidence to suggest it has any effect on human behaviour. Only there has been. And there’s a lot of it. The thing is, none of the studies brought together show any distinct pattern. 

Sometimes the full moon affects things negatively, like more violent criminal acts taking place; sometimes the full moon affects things positively, like baby booms. Either way, something rather fishy is going on…

And fishy is the right word.

Our obsession with the moon can be traced back to how we have used it to chart our lives.

Studies on sea organisms have proven how this is still utilised by animals who don’t have the benefit of asking Siri to set a reminder to put the bins out; creatures have used it to anticipate changes in the environment, such as certain organisms being more active during the new moon when its darker to avoid being seen by predators. 

Historically, humans have also followed the lunar cycles as a calendar, and certain societies still do:

Native Americans still denote the full moons different names depending on the month and season, a concept that still lingers even outside of the Americas.

Take the ‘harvest moon’, or the ‘hunter’s moon’ - these are the full moons that coincide with different seasons. 

Most pre-modern calendars were also based on the lunar cycle, explaining why our months (not the similarity to the word ‘moon’) mirror length of the lunar cycle (29.5 days). 

The thing is, our current reliance on physical calendars doesn’t mean we’ve ditched our dependence on the moon. But it seems our relationship with the moon has shifted from a reliance to somewhat of a curse.

And this curse comes back, month after month, like clockwork.

This curse is called Lunar Theory.

What Is Lunar Theory?

This theory claims there’s a link between the lunar cycle and human behaviour. Mood changes, an increase in fertility, a spike in social tension - the moon has been and will continue to be blamed for a variety of problems.

And this started, well, at the beginning of time.

Since ancient times the moon has been associated with odd behaviour, from insomnia to insanity. For some reason, epilepsy is also frequently associated with it, alongside more general ‘madness’.

Ever considered where the term ‘lunacy’ came from? It is derived from the Goddess Luna, the deity of the moon, who would supposedly spend her evenings riding a silver chariot across the sky. 

Even in the the 18th century, English psychiatric hospitals made a point of restraining and shackling their patients during the full moon. But if you weren’t in the hospital, you’d probably be citing the full moon as a defence for their criminal actions.

But expressing ‘odd’ behaviour wasn’t the most common link between humans and the moon: it was mainly used to judge women’s fertility.

Aside from the lunar cycle sharing the same length as a women’s menstrual cycle, many ancient texts claimed it could be used to determine pregnancy. 

A Czeh doctor in the 1950s discovered one such text from the Assyrian era, a text which claims a woman’s fertility can be pinpointed by the phase of the moon. If you were born under the full moon, for example, your peak-baby-making-potential would be at the full moon. 

A study of a baby boom at Kyoto which coincided with a Supermoon supported this claim, as did the fact that half of the scientific reports regarding the moon are about female fertility and pregnancy. 

Outside of the womb, society is also afflicted by the lunar cycle.

A study of Floridian society across 5 years saw an increase in both aggravated assault and homicide during the full moon. Such claims have had a permanent impact on a variety of judicial systems, particularly the police.

Even the stock markets are affected, with averages peaking higher nearer the new moon than the full moon!

Another peculiar impact is that of motorbike accidents, with a sharp spike of 5.3% during the full moon. Then again, the full moon could be a worthy distraction, especially if you’re coming round a corner and see a glowing orb not dissimilar to a headlight.

And so, the demise of innocent bikers is our segue into a similarly deathy-topic.

The Spiritual Meaning Of The Moon

The full moon has clearly amassed many spooky attributes in its time, but it's the lunar cycle as a whole which has earned a deep, spiritual meaning.

Given the link between the moon and menstruation, the moon is symbolically considered female, guiding our emotions and representing the subconscious. 

Think of the natural cycles of life, or the tides of our oceans; what is on the surface doesn’t reveal the vast depths below. Beyond our inner selves, the moon also represents learning, among a variety of other concepts this article doesn’t have room for.

However, this post does leave room for the dichotomy between the moon and the sun. The sun represents our outer selves and our strength, and the rom-com-esque mythological story between the moon and sun continues to confirm this relationship. 

For the spiritual among us, there are actually many ways to connect with the entire lunar cycle and use it to your full advantage.

The lunar cycle supposedly represents a cycle of life, or, in more simple terms, the cycle of an idea or a project.

It starts with the new moon:

It's a fresh start, a time to be alone and recharge, a time to turn inwards to yourself as the moon does itself (it presents its dark side to us, turning away from the Earth). It is advised that you write your intentions for the next 29.5 days to make the most of your lunar cycle.

Through the waxing period of the moon (leading up to the full moon), projects develop, encountering obstacles and editing your ideas. Allow your dreams and curiosity to fuel you during this time, guiding you to fulfilling your desires.

At the full moon, clarity is reached. But with opposing zodiac signs present, tensions and emotions spike. Revel in the light the full moon is famous for, whether your bathing in the light of the full moon or recharging your crystals. 

The waning period (leading to the new moon) is all about letting go and reaching emptiness, completing the cycle. Sure, it might sound like a rather sad way to end the cycle, but it should actually be used to honour your achievements, as well as recognising the bad habits that might be holding you back. 

On another level - or on another spiritual plain, that is - the paranormal also come out to play when the moon is brightest.

According to Mark Keyes, the head of the Pennsylvania Paranormal Association (a former police detective who noticed the spikes in criminal activity during the full moon) claims that both the moon and the changing of the seasons points to an increase in paranormal activity.

From the end of September through to the mid-winter, we are the most sensitive to the supernatural as the veil between the worlds thin.

Whether its mediums being able to chat to ghosts more easily, or non-mediums being more susceptible to spirits, we are able to see activity on a much greater level. 

And I mean that in a literal sense.

The full moon provides a greater level of light to us, allowing us to see spooky goings-on. Yet beyond what we can see, there are two other explanations for this growing connection between us and that which is 6 feet deep:

If there’s an increase in human activity during the full moon, surely this could take its toll on the spirit world, too?

Many religions cite the spirit world as under the sea, such as the Celtic Otherworld. As the moon affects tides, surely the gravitational pull would impact those beyond the grave as well?

13 Weird Things That Have Happened During Full Moons

Urban legends, horror movies, ghost stories that your grandmother used to tell you before making some off-hand racist comment about the newsreader on the telly…

They all have one thing in common: they all start with a full moon.

And as it turns out, real stories of strange and historic occurrences share this, too. 

#1 - The Birth Of Jesus Christ

Remember this minor detail in history, you know, the one that kickstarted a new religion and changed the face of human history forever?

Yeah, that’s the one, the birth of the son of God.

In an attempt to date the birth of Christ, historians have used one detail mentioned surrounding the death of King Herod which occurred after the birth of the King of the Jews:

Records claim Herod died shortly after a lunar eclipse. 

We know it happened before Passover, which means around March, so this could either be March 13th 4BC, or January 10th 1BC. The latter lunar eclipse was much more significant and thus more likely to be recorded, suggesting Jesus was likely born around 2 BC.

#2 - Columbus Being A Colonial Dick

Colonialism fucking sucks. 

And given there’s been so much of it throughout history, it’s no surprise that one of these terrible occurrences went down on a full moon. The thing is, Christopher Columbus himself - the champion of sailing to other places and planting a flag there - used a lunar eclipse as a part of his plans to plant a flag on Jamaica’s shores.

During an expedition, he and his crew found themselves marooned on unknown territory with dwindling reserves of both food and morale.

To convince the Jamaicans to cooperate with his expedition, he threatened to take away their moon, fully aware that a lunar eclipse was set to strike.

Low and behold, a ruddy, angry looking blood moon graced their skies.

In fear, they asked him to bring it back. He prayed, and the normal moon returned, convincing them that he had otherworldly powers and should thus follow his orders.

Told you he was a dick.

#3 - Benjamin Franklin Gave Us A Geography Lesson

Considering the current president, I never expected to have anything in common with a leader of the free world.

(Apart from the rampant sexism, you stupid b*tch.)

But it turns out that Ben Franklin was just as intrigued by the moon as I am! During a stint in his home city of Philadelphia, he was keen to see a total eclipse. Unfortunately, bad weather dashed his hopes of witnessing the phenomena.

The thing is, a letter from his brother later received claimed the weather would clear by the time the eclipse occurred.

This prompted him to investigate weather patterns along the coast and even lead him to write a treatise on the matter.

Writing about geography? Clearly this is evidence of lunacy.

#4 - Lawrence Of Arabia Earned His Nickname (1917)

The lunar cycle is namedropped in many prophecies, often being used as an omen or a sign of certain events to follow.

Indeed, this was what lent a helping hand to the English military icon affectionately known as Lawrence of Arabia. 

With a lunar eclipse on the cards, they could easily overrun a Turkish fort full of soldiers who were banging pots and shooting at the moon as they believed an Islamic prophecy heralding the day of judgement was coming true.

#5 - The Athenians F*Ck Up In The Battle Of Syracuse

Okay, so it might not be a technical term Lawrence of Arabia would’ve used to discuss such tactics, but when a lunar eclipse occurred (on the 28th August 413 BC), Nicias, the bloke running the Athenian army asked the priests what to do. 

(Imagine an Ancient Greek accent.)

“Surely this is an omen, right?”

The priests told them to wait for 27 days in the harbour. Unfortunately, this gave the enemy a 27 day window to attack. And they did. 

The Athenians were quickly defeated. 

#6 - The Fall Of Constantinople

Whilst this historic moment didn’t happen within the shift of a full moon, a lunar eclipse certainly helped move the whole shebang along.

With 7 days to go until the final moment from which the city fell to the Ottomans, a lunar eclipse fulfilled a prophecy confirming the city’s seizure.

Omen? Trivago.

#7 - A Trans-Antarctic Expedition Is Saved By The Full Moon

It’s 1916. 

We are in the Antarctic with the Ross Sea Party, and we are stranded.

There’s a blizzard blowing around us, and there’s thin ice below. Either we fall through the ice in a mad attempt to escape to Cape Evans, or we starve to death. Or we freeze. Can’t forget that one.

Our only hope is to wait for the full moon, when our sole source of light in the evenings can guide us to safety.

Luckily enough, on July 16th, a full moon strikes, bringing with it clear skies, calm weather, and thicker ice. Huzzah! 

Wait, is it just me or is it getting darker?

Yep, a partial lunar eclipse was forecasted for this expedition, but a slither of light was enough to see them through the safety.

#9 - British Surgeons Refuse To Operate 

The eternal link between blood and the lunar cycle flows into the medical field this time, but you can’t plug this one up with a tampon.

Medical myths claim that throughout history surgeons have been opposed to performing surgery on patients during full moons, citing issues with blood clotting and thus an increased risk of patients bleeding to death. 

Heck, this was brought up by a British politician in 2009!

He was, of course, mocked for his claims. 

#10 - Schizophrenic Patients Exhibited An Increase In Violent Behaviour

Many claims regarding the full moon clearly focus on, ahem, ‘lunacy’. Whilst the term is far from politically correct, links have been forged between mental disorders and the moon.

Understandably, mental health professionals refute these claims, but with studies pointing to an increase in violent activity by 1.8%, surely this is grounds for concern?

No, no it's not. 

Mathematically speaking, anything below 2% is unverifiable as a significant change worthy of study. 

#11 - A Police Emergency Occurs In Brighton

In 2007, Brighton’s police force released more officers over the summer months as a result of the increase in criminal and paranormal activity during full moons. 

The thing is, they aren’t the only boys in blue to make this decision. 

Sussex police force supported their actions, claiming that during the full moon criminals are more aggressive.

Even across the pond in Ohio and Kentucky similar actions have been taken to protect and serve during the lunar cycle. In another corner of the world - New Zealand - the justice minister supported such beliefs, confirming hocus-pocus isn’t just for the person sitting behind the keyboard and typing this.

#12 - A Supermoon Causes 2 Earthquakes And Tsunamis

Both Japan and countries around the Indian Ocean might be acquainted with the threat of earthquakes and tsunamis, but their mysterious occurrence of 2 surrounding a supermoon are enough to raise suspicion.

The Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of 2011 peaked at a magnitude or 9.1 on the Richter scale, confirming itself as the 3rd biggest earthquake ever recorded.

The earthquake in the Indian Ocean in 2004 - also known as the Boxing Day Tsunami - is one of the worst natural disasters in history, claiming 200,000 lives.

Both were framed by a 2 week period around the full moon, wreaking havoc - and raising eyebrows.

#13 - A 7.8 Magnitude Earthquake Occurs During A Supermoon

In November 2016, New Zealand was hit by a huge earthquake which occurred on the night of a supermoon.

And if that wasn’t enough, it struck just after midnight. 

To this day it is considered to be “one of the most complex earthquakes ever studied” as ruptures occurred on multiple faults.

Yeah, that shizz is spooky. 

Does The Moon Affect You?

Is this all just goblin n’ troll talk, or is it real?

And who else is loony for the moon?

If you loved this post, I’m sure you’ll fall head over heels for my other posts, too! And while you’re at it, be sure to follow me for a new real ghost story everyday.