#traditional hollyhock story

[boldlyvoid]

A Court of Seeds and Sight

Elain x Azriel

Summary: After 6 months apart, Elain sees the way Lucien looks at her new, healthy, body and it reminds her of her mother. The look of disappointment. The look of never being good enough. A reminder that she's spent most of her life letting others make choices for her. she decided in that moment that she's hand enough. While standing up for herself, Lucien suggests they dissolve the bond, letting her go free.

What happens when she's staying at The House of Wind to recover and the male she's dreamed of, the male she's wanted to pick for herself for over 2 years now, is there with medicine and goods to help her feel better?

Warnings: light fatphobia, severing a bond, made-up lore (i had fun making it up) hurt/comfort, the house of wind is my favourite character in this, First kiss, first times, oral sex (fem receiving), multiple orgasms, new bonds snapping into place, lovemaking, rough sex

Word count: 10.6k

She knew he was there the moment he walked into the house. 

There was a little tug on the bond, the first she’d felt in 6 months now. Where Lucien lived in the human realm, as well as his visits to the spring court, both places brought him out of the bounds of their bond. She went most of the year without feeling him, having heard from him through her sister and her mate, but Elain hasn’t felt him. 

And what a blessing that had been. 

She has been working in gardens all over the city, bringing florals to the night court in a way that keeps their traditions in mind. She’s made hanging flower baskets for lamp posts, displays for windows as well as potted trees and bushes on the street. Bat Orchids, black Dahlia, Persian lily, and Dark Dimension. Black and blue and purple roses. Hollyhock and Hellebore. All darker flowers, but the feeling is still the same. She wanted to bring life and beauty to the city that changed everything for her. 

When she’s not in the garden covered in dirt… she’s in the kitchen covered in flour. Both activities include help from her favourite fae. 

Azriel, ever the traveller, albeit for work, was always bringing her back either a packet of exotic seeds or a new recipe from a cafe or hotel he visited. She’s planted everything, either in her greenhouse outback or in little pots scattered around the house. She wanted them to last, and the best way to do that was to keep them in their desired environments. Food-wise, he mostly brings home recipes for pastries and baked goods. Only a few times has there been a savoury dish, which she made for the whole family for dinner, upon Az’s request. 

The tug on the bond pulls her away from her baking, she’s working on lemon pastries. A fluffy, puffed pastry with lemon filling and a delicious icing drizzle on top. She makes them in a variety of flavours, this one happens to be Azriel’s favourite. 

“Can you watch these for me? Take them out if I’m not back when the timer goes,” she asks Cerridwen and Nuala. They both nod, knowing where she’s going, as they also feel everything going on in the house, stronger than she ever could. 

She makes her way towards the main entrance, wiping her hands off on her apron, she’s only going to greet him because it’s right. It’s a nice thing to do. She doesn’t like him more than an acquaintance, he’s her sister's work partner… he’s important to their court but not to her heart. And she feels awful about that. But she’s heard the stories, she knows that not all bonds are happy. Most of the people she’s met have horror stories about how much their parents hated each other, but the bond needed them together to procreate. Because the cauldron knows what offspring will change the world. Like Rhys himself, his parents were not meant to be, but the world needed him. 

She could put up with Lucien, she could tolerate him. She just couldn’t imagine sharing a bed or making children with him. He may be her “soul-mate” but he is not her type. He was not the male she would willingly choose if she had the choice. 

“Lucien,” she smiles at him. 

He looks her up and down, taking a step back to do so. But it’s not in the usual way he looks at her. He’s taking in how much she’s changed in the half a year he hasn’t seen her. 

She’s put on some weight. For the first time in her life, she has had the luxury to do so. Eating well, lounging in the sun, reading in her room and cuddling with her nephew. She’s not working out like her sisters, she doesn’t have a job that requires her to be able to kick ass in a moment's notice. She’s done what she’s always wanted to do; put a little meat on her bones. And she loved it. 

“What?” She asks, slightly offended. 

“Nothing… I’m just surprised,” he explains, unable to stop staring. “You’ve… changed.”

And it’s not the good kind of staring. His eyes are sharing with her more than she would ever hear leave his mouth. This isn’t the fae he’s been imagining in his daydreams these last few months. His look is one of disappointment, wondering why the Cauldron would match him with someone he’s also not attracted to. 

“Need I remind you that I own my body, it’s not for you to ogle or have an opinion about,” she spits, feeling the fire in her blood, having never related to her older sister until this very moment. “I never wanted this stupid bond, I don’t need your opinion of me. I’m happy, I’m healthy and I’m blessed to be able to reach this size, so if you don’t like it… you can fuck right off.” 

She honestly can’t believe those words just left her mouth. But she stands a little taller, glad that it did. 

He can’t believe it either, “the apple doesn’t fall far in your family, does it? I never even said anything and yet you were ready to pounce on me like a wild animal. Like that human side of you is still perfectly intact.” 

“I understand we have to keep things cordial for the court, however, if I never had to see you again it would be a day too late,” she continued without a second thought. “My sister and the high lord need you and your alliance, I understand that perfectly, but I am not a pawn. I am not here to keep the peace. I trust you’re a good man, that you can keep up the alliance even if things between us aren’t good.” 

“Then let’s get this retched bond removed then, shall we? The last thing I want is to be shackled to someone who could never even give me the courtesy of pretending to love me,” he spits right back. 

“We can do that?” She asks, shocked she never knew it was an option. 

“We need a priestess and a few days rest, but it can happen,” he explains. “Do you have a preferred priestess or shall we just walk into the nearest temple and see who’s available?”

“I’d prefer Merrill a the House of Wind.” 

Knowing she’s a strict witch of a fae, from Nesta’s stories, there was no one else she wanted to sever this, no one else she wanted to deal with Lucien than her. 

—

Rhysand and Feyre winnowed them in, having spoken to both of them about the risks of separating the bond as well as what this would mean for the court. Lucien agreed to stay emissary, his only request was that he stay in another house, paid for by Rhysand when visiting and that they meet there or at the house of Wind for meetings, so he didn’t have to see Elain again. They understood perfectly. 

“We’ll be back in an hour,” Feyre explained, a hand on Elain’s arm, wishing her luck. She simply gave her sister a smile in return, showing she was ready, albeit a little nervous. 

The happy couple flew off after that, leaving the others to start their quiet walk to the temple inside the mountain. 

Merrill meets them at the door, pissed off as usual. She blinks at them, arms crossed, “I have cleared the temple for the next hour while we do this, no matter how much it stings or the emotions you are feeling, the male must be gone when the hour is up. This is a safe space for the priestesses who live here, I am not ruining it for them. No matter who you are.” 

“I understand,” Lucien agrees, no real fight left in him. 

Inside the temple, they walk past rows and rows of pews towards the front, where a rock is draped with a light blue silk runner and topped with two cups of tea and a book. 

“Do you know the risks?” Merrill asks. 

They both nod, having learned from Rhys that severing a bond wasn’t a difficult act, it was the after-effects that were the most challenging. They could feel sick, possibly emptying the contents of their stomach and unable to consume more. The headache from losing the bond can be anywhere from an annoyance to mind numbly painful and there is a chance they could slip into a year-long melancholia. Sleep helped, but not by much as the cauldron often retaliated with terrible dreams that would keep them up. 

They were both willing to do whatever it took to get rid of this thing. 

“Are you absolutely, 100% sure, you want to dissolve the bond?” Merrill asks, staring them down. The stone above her hood shone in the faelight. Glaring at her. This was real, this was serious, and there was no going back. 

Elain nods, “Yes, I’m sure.” 

“I just want her to be happy,” Lucien shares, solemn and defeated. 

“Alright,” Merrill just pushes through. “Join hands. I’m going to say a couple of prayers, then you’re going to drink the tea and you’ll feel it happen. It can be painful, like holding a metal wire as it snaps, it can whip you as it ricochets.” 

That made her swallow sharply, she wasn’t sure she was ready to hurt again, but if it meant freedom— then the hurt would be worth it. 

Taking Lucien's hand in her own, it feels weird to touch him for the first time since they were bonded by the cauldron. It starts the moment they grip each other's hands, she has no idea what Merrill is saying, it’s in the old language. It sounds beautiful, but she has no idea what it means. She can feel it, there’s a hum that rushes through her and

She’d never experienced an earthquake before, and yet the way her body shook during the prayer had her concerned that it was not just her rumbling. It feels as though the whole world is reacting to the bond being severed. She tries her hardest to keep a brave face, standing on wobbly legs is difficult, however, the shaking stops as soon as the prayer is complete. 

Merrill hands them each a cup of tea, allowing them to stop holding hands for a moment. Pulling away doesn’t feel as intense as she expected it to. If him simply leaving a room used to make her heart ache, physically separating should’ve felt more intense. The prayer essentially numbed the feelings. The tea would snap the bond. The priestess continues her chants while they drink, all but chugging the warm liquid down. It tastes very earthy, almost as if she was drinking bark and dirt… she never even asked what it was before they did this. 

They both look disgusted as they bring the cups down, staring into each other's eyes, unable to hear the other's thoughts but it was evident. That tea was gross. 

They wait for Merrill to finish her prayer and then it happens. 

The snap isn’t as intense as she expected. It feels like walking through the woods and tripping over a root. It pulls from the earth and breaks against the ankle, leaving a welt, but nothing more. No sprain, no twist, just a slight ache. She’s able to walk away from it. 

She looks at Lucien once more and there’s nothing there. Her heart doesn’t flutter, her mind doesn’t race… she simply looks at him the way she would look at a stranger on the streets. He’s just there. 

“How do you feel?” Merrill asks. 

“Fine,” Elain answers while Lucien bows his head. 

“Terrible,” he whispers. He reached up to hold his temples, “what was that?” 

“Olive tree bark tea,” she explains. “Olive trees are a distant cousin to ash trees. it’s not as potent or deadly, it gets the job done.” 

“Can I leave now?” Lucien asks, turning away from them the moment Merrill starts to hum in agreement. 

She doesn’t hurt at all. Her heart is fine, her head is silent… she’s just empty. 

“Thank you, Merrill,” she gives the priestess a small smile. “I appreciate you taking time out of your day for this. Is there anything I can do to repay you?” 

“I’ve heard rumours that your family recovered the harp. In my previous research, I was developing a theory that there are multiple universes stacked on top of one another, upwards of 26 universes, actually. I heard the harp has 26 strings. I would like to study it. Can you put in a good word with the High Lord and Lady for me?” 

She nods, “I’ll see what I can do. That sounds very interesting, I’m sure they’d want to know more about these other universes as well.” 

“Be well, I’m doing the dusk service tonight if you need anything, you’re welcome to join us,” Merrill shares a rare smile and then she leaves, heading off into the back rooms of the temple. 

Elain starts the trek back to the balcony, where she’s meant to meet Feyre for her ride back to the river house. Lucien is staying at the townhouse, he’ll be leaving with Rhys first. She’s given him more than enough time to leave by now. But she doesn’t want to. Leave that is. 

She sighs, resting a hand against the wall, “Would you be alright if I stayed here for the time being?” She asks the house. 

In response, the lights flicker down the hallway, telling her to follow. She follows their lead, all the way to the bedroom she used to occupy when she first arrived in Velaris. Only it’s different, it’s brighter. There are plants and flowers on the tables, hanging from the veiling and vines wrapped around the 4 poles of her bed. Speaking of, the sheets are a beautiful pink, soft silk and topped with the fluffiest pillows. There’s a book on the bed, beside a tray of chocolates and a bottle of her favourite wine. 

“Oh, I love you,” she swoons, holding her hand over her heart. “This is the most beautiful spot to recover. You are so wonderful to us.” 

The house simply sent a warm breeze her way, wrapping around her face and shoulders as if to hug her. 

Within seconds, she can hear footsteps approaching her room and she knows it’s her younger sister by the way she floats down the hall. She stops at the open door and smiles, “You’re staying here, correct?” 

She nods, “how’d you—

“You dislike nothing more than feeling like a burden, here you can recover alone with the help of the house,” Feyre smiles, knowing her too well. “I packed you a few outfits, mostly sleepwear because I don’t expect you to leave the bed for a while. I will be here in 3 days, waiting in the entryway around mid-day, if you’re there I’ll bring you home. If not, I’ll give you another 3 days. Send word if you need me.” 

“Thank you,” she reaches out to take the suitcase but the house handles it for her. Taking it with its magic, the house puts everything away and sets out a fresh set of sleepwear on the bed as the bath starts to run in the other room. 

“You’re in very good hands,” Feyre approves. “I love you, and I’m proud of you, I hope you know that.” 

“I know,” she smiles back. “I’ll see you soon.” 

Once Feyre is gone, she closes her bedroom door and heads right to the bathroom. Her book, chocolate and wine are now on a little side table near the bath. The bath smells of roses and jasmine, the bubbles float over the room as they escape the tub, the lights are dimmed, and everything is perfect. 

She strips, gets into the bath and just sighs. “I expected to feel awful,” she shares. “I just feel free.” 

Her glass is filled with wine then as if the house is telling her to just lay back and enjoy the freedom. So she listens, she takes the wine in one hand, the book in her other, her eyes raking over the summary. 

It’s a romance, one she knows that either the house loves or Nesta does, either way, it’ll be raunchy and delicious. The main character is a florist, she has just escaped a terrible relationship with a man who didn’t appreciate her. Thinking she’ll be alone for the rest of her life, something unexpected blooms with the man who delivers her orders once a week. She hums, it sounds quite interesting, so she flips to the first page, takes a sip of her wine and settles into freedom. 

—

Before she knew it, the bubbles and wine were gone, and the bath water was still warm thanks to the house, as she reached the middle of her book. Hours pass, her body is pruned from the water and limp from how relaxed she’s become. She sighs, “Can I have a bookmark?” She asks The House. 

On the table by her empty wine glass, a clear, acrylic rectangle with dried flowers trapped inside appears. Around the flowers are gold flakes, her name is engraved into it with gold. It’s beautiful. “Thank you.” 

She gets out of the tub, and dries off with a beautifully fluffy towel only to walk naked back into her room to don her silky underclothes and slip into bed. “May I please have some soup… something creamy and hearty?” 

Then,  a beautiful creamy soup appears on a tray on her bed. She stirs her spoon around, noticing the bits of broccoli, shredded carrot and cheese and cubed chunks of potatoes. All her favourites. And then she notices the bowl, it’s a crusty sphere of bread hollowed out to hold the soup. “Thank you, this is exactly what I wanted.” 

She devours the soup, peels apart the bread bowl and savours the remnants of the creamy soup on the crunchy bread. It’s life-changing, she feels full and warm, happier than she has felt in a while. A little drunk from that whole bottle of wine, however, the bread offsets it. The tray disappears once she is done, and her book reappears on the bed. Candles are lit around the room, the curtains are still open to let in the last of the daylight while the faelight over her bed brightens just enough for her to read. 

She’s another 3 chapters in when there is a knock at the door. 

“Come in?” She says, unsure who would be home. Nesta and Cassian are in Illyria training younglings for the next week. 

The door opens slowly and quietly, the shadows bellow at his feet and she knows instantly. Her best friend has come to check on her. 

“Az,” she smiles. “I didn’t know you were back tonight?” 

He smiles right back at her, “I went to the river house, I left the new seeds I found in the greenhouse. Nuala told me where you were…” 

“I’m okay,” she assures. “It didn’t hurt. Did you know they used olive tree bark in a tea to do it? Apparently, it's in the ash family, it’s not enough to maim but it did the trick.” 

“I did not,” he looks instantly worried. “I did, however, bring you something…” 

“Come in,” she beckons him in closer. Closing her book and resting it on the bed, she pulls her sheets up over her chest to keep her modesty and watches as he sits on the edge near the end, resting against the post. 

“I went to see Madja,” he explains, pulling a few things out of the inside pockets of his jacket. “This is the same headache powder you gifted me, well, a new one, but the same kind. And these are ginger candies, they’ll help with any nausea you may feel. Have you eaten?” 

She nods, “The House made me some lovely soup.” 

“Good,” he nods, looking down at the bottles in his hands with a smile. “I’m going to be sleeping here tonight, you know where my room is?” 

“Just above mine,” she points upstairs. 

“Exactly… ask the house to make my lights flicker 3 times and I’ll know you need me, you don’t need to leave the bed if you don’t wish to,” he explains. “I’ll leave these here. You should get some rest.” 

“Thank you, Azriel, I really appreciate you.”

His smile is remarkable, “this is what friends are for.” 

His shadows leave the room first, leaving him to place the bottles on her night table and saunter off after them. As soon as the door is closed again, she waits to hear him retreat upstairs but it’s impossible. He’s so quiet, he stalks around like a cat on the prowl no matter where he is. So after enough time has passed, when she knows she’s alone again, she sighs. “He’s so… wonderful.” 

The house blows a wind that shuffles the pages of her book to what she expects is a random page, only it’s not. The love interest brings the main character flowers she doesn’t sell in her shop, something exotic and new just for her to behold. For no reason other than he wishes to see her smile. And suddenly she gets it, why the house picked this book for her out of the entire library both private and the extensive one below them. 

“There is such a remarkable light cast upon him,” she swoons. “It’s no wonder he’s followed by shadows.” 

A second book appears on her bed. 

‘Bonds, Mates and Why The Cauldron Fates Them.’

She’s quick to pick it up, flipping towards the first page, she starts to read as fast as she can absorb the knowledge. She should’ve looked for a book like this long ago, should’ve asked questions about bonds and how they come to be and how they dissolve. She always just assumed it would be there until one of them died… she never wished that upon him, never once. She just assumed that was how it would end. 

Turns out, the cauldron makes such bonds either because it knows the union will be fruitful, that the children they’d bring to this world will be of great power or importance. Children like Rhysand, he was born to be a leader while his parents could barely stand each other. Meanwhile, Cassian’s father stepped out on his bond mate, doing the foulest thing a male could do to a woman and creating one of the most important warriors to grace the world in the last 5 centuries. 

The bonds aren’t set in stone, while they can be wonderful and loving and everything two faes could ever dream of… they could also be awful. Like Lucien’s own mother and father. Beron is an awful man, controlling and mean, it’s unknown if he’s abusive but from the stories told. The atrocities that he’s committed, it’s not a far stretch to consider that he hurts her. The Lady of the Autumn court is strong, she’s stayed put and dealt with what the cauldron forced upon her— even in those 10 years she was with the Lord from the Day court. She stayed, she raised her children and she’ll be free when Beron dies. 

Maybe that’s why Lucien let her go. Why he would suggest dissolving the bond rather than dealing with it for the rest of time? Sure, he was already close to 500 years old, he could live to be 500 more and he was not going to shackle her to himself the way his father did to his mother. She needed to find a way to thank him. Maybe in a century when they got over this, she’d send him a fruit basket. Or a new fur throw. 

The more she read, the more she understood. 

It’s not unheard of for someone to have 2 bonds in their lifetime. 

After the death of the first mate, a second bond can snap into place. It’s happened to young widows and widowers alike, bringing them a second chance at happiness for the rest of their time here. Other situations in which a bonded couple gets bonded to a 3rd fae are more unlikely, but it still happens. Polyamorous bonds are rare to come by, seen only once or twice in a millennia, they can include upwards of 5 fae, at least in recorded history. She couldn’t even imagine how that would work. 

There was still hope for both herself and Lucien. He could get another bond, he could find his true soulmate out there… or he could just love someone and be loved the way he deserves to be loved without a bond. It’s not the end all be all. Maybe he’s meant to be with Vessa? Or Vessa and Jurian… they all live together most of the year, and he loves them quite a lot. Anything could happen now that he’s also free. 

Bonds snapping into place at first sight is common, that’s what happened with herself and Lucien. Others exist your entire life and you don’t know until the snap reverberates through you, like what happened with Feyre and Rhysand. He knew it longer, he could always feel her out there, it wasn’t until she started to fall in love with him that she began to understand what it was. That the bond was meant to be there. They were meant to be. 

Nesta and Cassian had a similar situation, the bond lingered from their first meeting and became stronger on the battlefield when she called after him. Grew more powerful after that first kiss when he thought he was dying… it wasn’t until she accepted it, until she announced with her whole being that she loved him, that it snapped into place for good. 

Azriel’s never had a bond. He loved Morrigan for centuries to no avail. He slept with countless fae… he’s gotten close to Elain herself, so close she thought he would kiss her. So close she could smell how much he wanted her. Only for something, or someone, to scare him off. 

Rhysand didn’t often go into her mind, it was typically Feyre who did. Often to share gossip or wish her goodnight from the other side of the river house. But Rhys was in Azriel and Cassian’s mind often. Barking orders, sharing jokes and simply catching up. He loved his brothers, but he loved his court more. She suspects that’s why he was so… so official while speaking to her and Lucien this afternoon. He was willing to do anything to keep Lucien in their good graces, to keep him as emissary. 

What wouldn’t he do?

She puts the book down, breathing heavily as it all hits her. He only called their almost kiss a ‘mistake’ that day because Rhysand was in his mind, telling him to back off, so that he didn’t have to pick between Shadowsinger and Emissary when the fight for her hand officially broke out. Because he would always pick his brother, he just didn’t want to have to.  

“How long after breaking a bond can another emerge?” She asks, watching as the house flips the pages of the book to the near end. The light shines on a specific paragraph more than the others and she knows she has her answer. 

Within moments of a mate's death, a new bond could snap into place. It’s happened in recorded history a handful of times, usually during war. A male would pass and his female, working in the infirmary, bonds to a wounded soldier. A female passes from sickness and her mate, standing beside her lifelong friend at the funeral, bonds to the only person who loved her as much as he did. Sometimes the second bond is stronger than the first, sometimes it’s the more important bond. The first mate was to teach a lesson, the second was for a lifetime of happiness. 

She feels her heart in her throat, her breathing still heavy, her thoughts racing to all the possibilities. Was this why she was so drawn to Azriel? Why she never bonded with anyone in all his years? Why it didn’t hurt when the tether snapped on her end, unlike Lucien's instant pain? 

Before she can even register it, she’s up and moving, out of the room and down the hall. Up the stairs and around the corner. The house makes the lights flicker, drawing Azriel out of his room in an instant, and having them meet in the hallway. 

She keeps walking until they’re millimetres apart. She places her hand on his chest and looks up into his dark and stormy eyes. “Tell me the truth.” 

“About?” 

“Why was it a mistake?” 

“You know,” he breathes. “The seer always knows.” 

She just smirks, “I will not talk down about your high lord… but sometimes he’s a royal pain in my ass.” 

He just smirks, “he spent centuries perfecting that quality.” 

She lets out another sigh, being this close to him just feels so right. Like there’s a magnet pulling her towards him. “Please tell me you feel it too? I don’t want to skirt around it for months like my sisters did.” 

“I’ve felt it for almost 3 long years now,” he whispers, his voice so low it reverberates through her, going right to her core. 

“Tell me about it?” She requests, “I want to know your mind, I want to know how you think. Walk me through it.” 

He picks her up then, making her squeal slightly, “I will tell you in the comfort of your bed, where you should be.”

Around the corner, down the stairs, through her hallway and into her bedroom. The books have been removed from the sheets, and more candles have been lit while the lights have been dimmed down low. He places her on her bed, waiting for her to pick a side before getting in himself, “where should I start?”

“What you felt when we first met?” 

“I thought you were so strikingly beautiful when I entered your house the first time,” he explains. “Like Cassian, I already knew I would do anything for Feyre’s family, but the way I would kill for you… that scared me. I hadn’t felt so strongly about a female in— maybe ever? I loved Morrigan, I thought she was beautiful. She is beautiful. But you, you changed everything about how I feel. I was noticing the beauty in everything after you, I was stopping to sniff flowers and following scents on the street just to bring you a baked good just so I could see the joy on your face. There is nothing I love more than seeing joy on your face.” 

She blushes hard, “I feel the same about you. Making the recipes you bring me, showing you how the seeds have bloomed into flowers, those are the best moments of my life.” 

“Even in the worst moments of my life, all I could think of was you,” he whispers again, almost afraid to admit that. “When you were taken, everyone warned me I might not make it back. They thought it was a suicide mission… I knew I would get you back, if not for me then for your sisters.”

“I have never experienced Rage like I did during the war,” she shares. “Kicking that beast off you, feeling your blood on me, it scared me. what I could do if you died.” 

“I think I’m pretty indestructible now,” he teases. “I’m not going anywhere on you.” 

“Until you have another accident in the middle of nowhere,” she pushes back. “I’m never going to ask you to not be the spymaster, but I will ask that you always, always make it home to me.” 

“Home?” He asks as if he wants to know where that is. 

“we could get a little tent and live in the woods for the rest of our lives and it would still be a home because you’re there beside me,” she assures him. “But I was thinking… I love the river house. I love my friends and the kitchen and my garden. I’d like to be there every day, no matter where we end up living together.” 

“I can ask Rhys if I can build a home on the property, a little 2-story house, just big enough for us, so you can walk over there every day,” he offers. “I have more than enough funds to build a castle, too, if that’s what you prefer.” 

She just smiles, “We can live in the townhouse, or maybe even the house of mist until it’s ready… I have a feeling if the bond snaps into place, we’re going to be just as bad, if not worse than the others.” 

He laughs, that beautiful hearty laugh she doesn’t get to hear often. Not unless they’re alone or everyone is drunk… before he can reply she sighs, “I love you. I really do.” 

A blush creeps up his face, “I love you. More than I can explain, I love you in ways I never thought possible for me.” 

“It’s possible and it’s happening,” she whispers, moving in closer to him. She cups his cheek, staring into his eyes. “I’m just so glad it’s me.” 

“Me too,” he whispers back, a thickness in his throat that lets her know there are more emotions buried behind his stern exterior. “Can I ask… can I ask what happened that made today of all days, the day that you decided to leave him?” 

“He looked at me… and I saw that same look my mother used to have. You see, I never had the privilege of being my own person, growing up. I had to stay skinny, I had my eyebrows plucked and my hair had to be long and I wasn’t allowed in the garden because pretty girls don’t get dirty. When she died, I had 3 years of peace. I didn’t go to as many balls, I wasn’t interacting with the princes and dukes she wanted to marry me off to. It was just me. And I put on weight. Just a little, enough to not see my ribs and round out my face. But it was a weight that I chose to gain. It kept me warm, I liked filling out my dresses. And then we lost all our money and I went back to starving.” 

She watches his face as he catches on, he looks her over, “You’re so healthy now, you’ve just made yourself even more beautiful, somehow. As if that was even possible?” 

She gives him a little smile. “I know, and not in a conceited way. This is how I prefer to look. I like having strong arms from carrying around bags of soil and heavy cement planter boxes. I like having thick thighs and a tummy and I like that my cheekbones aren’t as striking anymore. I love looking in the mirror and seeing myself now. Because I got to make the choice to look like this. I get to wake up every day and make choices for myself.” 

“And the bond, it wasn’t your choice.” 

She shakes her head, “it reminded me of my mother. She always wanted me to marry well. And what’s better than a male who’s the heir to not one throne, but 2?” 

He sighs, “I wanted to tell you there were more choices out there. That you didn’t have to suffer through it.” 

“I have words for Rhys when I get back,” she assures him. “He watched not only his mother but Morrigan, get pawned off to men who didn’t love them. He’s seen the hurt first hand and yet he wanted me to stay with him, to endure a loveless life, simply so He could have a better connection with the human queen. I don’t know if he didn’t realize it, or he's so used to thinking of the greater good that my happiness wasn’t on his radar, but it hurt. It hurt to see both my sisters so happy in bonds they chose, with males who love them, while I didn’t.” 

“I snapped at him that night, after our almost kiss. I never thought it was fair that there are 3 of you and 3 of us and yet only two from each family got to be happy.” 

“I’ve felt that too,” she admits. “I never wanted to try and make it work with Lucien. I was just going to be cordial with him until the time came when I had to have his babies or… and I never wished for this, but I knew he’d pass away at some point and I’d be free to love someone for real.” 

Before Az can even validate her feelings, she continues. “And then he showed up today, I felt his presence and I went out to greet him and he looked me up and down the same way my mother would. I could read it in his face that I was no longer the female he dreamed about, I wasn’t the same fae he envisioned all these months he was away. And something snapped in me. That fire that lives in both my sisters just spewed out and I lost it on him.” 

Az smiles, “yeah? I heard the house almost shook.” 

She shakes her head with a smile, loving when he teases her. “In that moment, I only thought about myself. For the first time in my life, no one was standing in front of me to protect me or talk for me or anything. For the first time in my life, the words I needed came to me and I said them. I didn’t want him. I had never wanted him. I was put into this body against my will, I was bonded to him against my will and I was suffering for it… and I thought about all those seeds you brought me. How they were never meant to be here, most of them have never been in the night court, even clipped in a bouquet. But I managed to grow them, give them life, feed them, protect them and help them flourish. I wanted to flourish, too. So the second he said we should get the bond dissolved, I jumped on it. I had no idea it was a possibility, either it was kept a secret from me or it just hasn’t been done in so long that no one thought to mention it— either way, I wanted it. We did it. And now, I’m free.” 

“And you always will be free,” Az assures. “Even if we don’t bond, even if this pull that we feel for each other is just love… I shouldn’t say just. Love is so powerful on its own. There are millions of couples in this land who love each other without a bond. I want to love you for the rest of my life, in whatever capacity you want from me.” 

“I would enjoy being Mrs. Shadowsinger,” she teases, making him laugh as he pulls her in close. She tucks her face into his neck and breathes him in, “If we don’t have a bond, I still would like to have a huge, disgustingly expensive wedding. I want everyone in the world to know I picked you. That it was my choice to pick you, it was my choice to let my heart keep loving you the way it desired to.” 

He soothes his hands down her back, kissing the top of her head. “It feels like a dream… hearing you say all these things.” 

She pinches him, making him roar as he slightly shoves her away. Elain giggles, so abundantly happy it’s pouring out of her. “See, you’re awake.” 

“And you’re a menace,” he retorts. 

She pushes him so he’s flat on his back and straddles his hips, looking down at him, “I have dreamed about teasing you like this for years now. Making you blush, reminding you how loved you are, making you feel so happy that your shadows turn pink.” 

He laughs, “We could try.” 

“I want to kiss every part of you. I want to know every scar and freckle and tattoo. I want to know your body as well as I know my own… but we can’t tonight.” 

He understands, “Are you feeling okay? Headache or nausea? Are you tired?” 

She shakes her head, “I haven’t taken the contraceptive tea since I was a human… since I gave my maidenhood to my previous betrothed.” 

He takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly, “And you haven’t bled since becoming fae?” 

She shakes her head, “I never really had them as a human either. Madja said that was likely because I was so underweight, now that I’m healthy, it should happen in a few months.” 

He nods, “so tomorrow, or the next day, when you’re feeling up to it, we’ll go to the apothecary and get what you need.” 

“Aren't they open all night?” She teases, making him smirk. “I’m kidding, we can go tomorrow.” 

Just then, a steaming cup of tea pops up on her night table. “Oh, mother?” Elain stares at it and then back at him. “Is that—“A warm breeze brushes past her, a silent yes from the house. “Is it from Nesta’s collection?” Another breeze. “How fast does it take effect?” 

A book drops on the bed, turned to a page that starts with the world ‘instantaneously.’

“She is amazing,” Azriel compliments. 

“My sister?” 

“No– well yeah, but,” he laughs. “I mean The House.” 

“How do you know they’re a she?” 

“The way they take care of us, the motherly touch, the love… no male soul could compare.” 

The house takes the book back, leaving a chocolate that Elain knows to be his favourite in its wake. 

“Do you have a name?” Elain asks, now sitting against the headboard with the tea in her hands, “I always want to thank you, but I don’t know your name.” 

Another book appears on the bed, the title of the book is ‘Nameless.’ It’s a book about creatures who’ve lived on this earth so long that memory fails to recall their names. 

“So take some time, look through all the books in this house and pick a name that suits you. You have the choice now,” Elain explains. “Pick a name and we’ll make sure everyone refers to you as such.” 

More candles are lit around her room, and rose petals are on her bed and around it. The curtains are drawn, the fire roars in the corner fireplace… and they’re suddenly alone. 

Elain chugs her tea, drinking down every single last drop, he sighs once it’s gone and passes the cup to Az to place back on the night table. “I’m nervous.” 

“Me too,” he agrees. “But… I’m more nervous for a bond than the lack of one.” 

“Why?” 

“Because I don’t know how to ask for a week off,” he teases. 

“Well… we could just stay here, have the house lock the doors knowing Rhys can’t winnow in, we just don’t have to leave for a week.” 

His eyes get darker as he crawls over her, resting between her legs, holding himself up with those deliciously strong arms of his, he looks like a feral animal about to pounce. “I like the way you think.” 

“Go easy on me?” She whispers, visibly nervous now. “I’m practically a virgin again, it’s been so long.” 

“Don’t worry,” he assures, leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek and then her nose. Her eyes close and he takes a moment to kiss both eyelids. “I’m going to treat you so well, my love.” 

She blushes, “are you going to kiss me for real, or what?” 

He balances on one arm, cupping her face gently, he watches her close her eyes as he brushes his nose against hers. She feels as if time stops, she’s frozen in anticipation for what feels like forever until his lips are on her. 

It’s then that the magnetic pull becomes something more. Stars explode behind her eyes, she wraps her arms around him so tight, pulling him flush against her body as if she can’t get him close enough. Their souls become one, she is his and he is hers. 

He wraps his arm under her, pulling her in just as close. Her legs wrap around his hips, pressing his groin flush against her heat. His lips part, introducing her to his tongue, she hums into his mouth, not yet confident enough to moan… his hand slips down from her cheek, over her breast, noticing the hardened peaks of her nipples. He palms them, trying to entice more noise out of her. 

She’s heard from her sisters just how sensitive the Illyrian wings are, so she reaches up, running her fingers over the silky membrane as seductively as possible, making him shiver… he grinds against her, hard in his sleep pants. That’s what makes her moan against him. Knowing she’s contributing to his pleasure, that he wants her just as bad as she wants him. 

She brushes over his wing again just as he pinches her nipple between two fingers, moaning in tandem this time. He kisses the side of her mouth, along her jaw and down her neck, leaving her to pant as she stares at the ceiling. This is real. This is happening. She has Azriel in her bed, soon to be inside her, too. Her whole body heats up at the thought, wetness pools between her legs and within moments, Azriel’s kisses become nips and sucks, his tongue and teeth on her neck, leaving marks as he feels down her sides towards her hips and pulls her up against his hardened cock once more. He grinds against her, slow yet forceful, showing her exactly what is to come. 

“Az,” she whines, face pink as her sheets, she can’t believe how needy she feels and so fast. “Please? Touch me, please? I need you. I need to feel you. It’s been too long.” 

He smiles against her, fiddling with the hem of her sleep shirt, “can I take this off you?”  

“Gods, yes!” 

He sits up on his knees, pulling her forward, he slips the top off of her and tosses it to the floor. She lays back down and she watches his eyes rake over her makeup upper half, “sweet mother…” 

“Your turn,” she breathes. He looks at her confused so she sits back up, gripping his shirt in her hands. “I want to see you.” 

He simply grips the front of it and pulls it, tearing it off his back, she hears the sound of the seams ripping and the cotton tearing before the fabric is chucked on the floor beside her shirt. She presses her hand to his bare chest instead, the tips of her slightly chilled fingers running over his heated abs, down towards the tuft of hair leading down and disappearing under his pants. “All of you,” she adds. 

“You first,” he interjects, getting her to lay back once more, she lifts her hips as he starts to tug at her bottoms, freeing her from the fabric. 

He’s quick to kiss her stomach, spreading her legs before she can make him take his own pants off to make things even. He kisses her all the way down, over her mound towards her hip and then the crease where her leg meets lip. Breathing her in, his eyes roll back in his skull, “fuck,” he groans. “Can I? Please?” 

She nods as if her head is on a spring, dying to experience this. She’s read about it, dreamed about it… she all but pushes her hips against his face as he drags his tongue along her sex. She moans, back arching off the mattress, she grips her breast and allows him to continue however he sees fit. 

He kisses her most sensitive spot, sucking on it gently before lapping up her wetness, sticking his tongue deep inside of her to gather it all up. His nose bumps her clit as his shadows come up to play with her. Black swirling smoke circles around her breasts like mini tornadoes, playing with the hardened peaks of her nipples, she drops her hands to her sides, gripping the sheets for dear life as she feels him everywhere. 

In the 2 years she’s been left with just her own hand and imagination, it’s never been this easy for her to feel her climax approaching. It usually took a while, multiple imaginations, moving positions, adding more fingers… but Az, tongue deep inside of her for this short amount of time, has caught her stomach aflame. The heat spreads through her whole body, the blood in her veins feeling like molten iron on a mission. She reaches out for his hair, holding on tight as her climax rips through her. She’d never been so loud in her life, letting go, feeling it all so intensely, she didn’t even care to try and be embarrassed, not when she looked down between her legs to see that beautiful smirk on his face, the shadows clearing out once again.

“Holy fuck?” She says between gasps for air, feeling as though she just ran up all 10,000 steps to this house. 

He just laughs, deep and lustful, “I didn’t know that word was in your vocabulary.” 

“It’s reserved for moments like this,” she teases right back. “When I’ve been thoroughly fucked by the best lover in the world.” 

“Don’t let your sisters hear that, I can’t imagine the fight that would break out trying to compare us all,” he teases, returning to his knees. His cock hard as a rock in his pants, he starts to push the fabric down, freeing the monster. 

“Please, don’t mention my sisters when you’re that hard,” she groans. “Gods… I’m going to be impaled on that thing.” 

He laughs again, maneuvering out of his pants, they end up on the floor with everything else. He gets as close to her as possible, grips his cock and rests it over her, allowing her to see just how deep he would be able to get. A shiver runs down her spine, “You really do have the biggest wingspan…” 

“Hey, don’t talk about my brothers when my cock is on you,” he says through a smile, clearly just saying it to even the score. 

She just shakes her head, laying back, still worn out from that first orgasm, “Mother almighty, please make it fit.” 

“It’ll fit, especially now that you’re nice and relaxed. That’s the key part, you stretch better if you’re relaxed,” he explains, pulling back. “It might be easier if you’re on top, too.” 

“and that doesn’t hurt your wings at all, laying on your back?” She worries, sitting up as well. 

He shakes his head, “No, they’ll be fine.” 

“Okay,” she smiles, reaching up to take his face in her hands, she pulls him in for another kiss. Missing the way his lips feel against her own, tasting herself, she knows it from her own curiosity, she hums into his mouth. 

Her hands slide down his chest, over the trail of hair leading to his cock. She grips it at the base, letting him bite her lip in surprise before she starts to stroke him. She pulls away enough to look into his eyes, “what’s more sensitive?” She runs her thumb over the head, gathering the precum that’s been leaking since she had her legs wrapped around him. “This or your wings?” 

“I don’t know,” he breathes out, deep and dark, his eyes going basically all black, blown out with lust for her. “The only being who’s ever touched my wings is the healer…” 

“Well then, I have some experiments to do later,” she assures, letting go of his cock before taking him too far. “Lay back for me?” 

He nods, listening to his lady. 

Resting his head against the pillows, his cock laying back against his stomach… those big majestic wings spread and the tips hanging over the edges of her bed. She marvels over him. Taking in the sight, she sighs,  “You’re more beautiful than I ever dreamed.” 

He blushes slightly, “I’m glad you think so.” 

“By the time I’m done with you,” she says, hiking a leg over him, resting her heat over his cock. “You’re going to believe me when I say you’re beautiful. Handsome,” she leans over him, cupping his face before pushing his hair back, “everything I’ve ever wanted and needed wrapped up in one. You are going to feel so loved.” 

“I believe you,” he whispers back, unable to find his full voice in his surprise. 

She hovers slightly, gripping his cock once more, “ready?” 

He nods, “are you?” 

She just smirks as she angles him towards her entrance and begins to sit down. The stretch is glorious, she takes him inch by inch, forgetting how to breathe the deeper he goes, she rests both her hands on his abs and stares at him, mouth agape. She lets out an exasperated breath, “holy gods…” 

“Take as much time as you need to adjust,” he assures her it's okay, biting his lip. She can tell he wants to thrust, he wants to take advantage of the tight, wet heat wrapped around him currently. 

She waits half a minute, the longest half-minute of his life, and then starts to pull back. His hands find her hips, helping her as she pulls off his cock an inch, barely, and grinds back down. Finding her own rhythm, he simply guides her hips alongside her own movements, “That’s it, sweet fuck, you feel so good.” 

“You’re one to talk,” she grips her breast again, head tipping back as she rides him, “this is glorious… but I need more.” 

“Tell me,” he growls. “Tell me what you need and I’ll be it for you. Forever.” 

“I need–” she stops to bite back a slight moan, still riding him to the best of her ability. “I want you to fuck me, I can’t— I want to lay back and let you have your way with me.” 

“Okay,” he agrees, sitting up slowly, he wraps his arms around her and maneuvers himself onto his knees without ever pulling out of her. Her arms were quick to wrap around his shoulders, holding on tight as he moved them. He rests her back, her head at the foot of the bed, still wrapped around her, he looks into her eyes, “How hard?” 

Her hands trail down his shoulders, admiring his tattoos. She looks down at his chest, down to where they’re connected, and then back up to his eyes, “slow at first… I want to savour this. Making love to the man of my dreams for the first time. Our first time.” 

He pulls out ever so slowly, more than she was able to on top of him. She feels him leave, the emptiness left in his wake… and then he pushes back in. Starts to explode behind her closed eyes, her head once again thrown back. She grips his arms tighter as he does it again and again, hitting a spot inside of her that she never knew existed. He’s so deep, filling her perfectly, she can’t believe any of this is real. 

“Az,” she gasps his name as he picks up the pace, leaning in, he tucks his head into the crook of her neck and covers her in kisses, sucking gently, afraid to leave any marks, even though she heals fast and has 3 days of uninterrupted peace lined up. 

She doesn’t hold anything back, moaning as loud as she wants, running her nails over his shoulders and back hard enough to draw blood. It feels too good to care, she’ll put some cream on him later… but for right now, she lives in this euphoria and doesn’t give a fuck about anything else. It’s just her and Az and two impending orgasms that might bring the mountain down. 

There’s a hammering in her chest, a pang that contracts and expands with each thrust. It doesn’t feel like her heart, it’s not her lungs, either. Sure, she’s breathing heavily the faster he goes, but this is entirely different. This is… this is 10 million times more intense than when he tumbled from the cauldron and looked at Lucien the first time. This is a bond that she knew was there, buried deep inside of her, waiting to be awoken when the time was right. 

She’s so close, she’s right there, but she needs more. She wants to reach between them and rub herself but she also wants to keep holding him this close, “Az, can— holy fuck, can you,” she starts to ask him for help, too overthrown by passion. “Shadows, down there,” she simplifies it. 

He nods against her. “Yeah,” he breathes, hot and heavy under her ear. 

She doesn’t see them, but there’s a presence between them, the same twisting, tingling feeling dances around her clit as it had her nipples. Ghosting over her, adding just enough pressure to push her to where she wants to be, she pulls his face out of her neck and slams her lips against his. Breathing him in, becoming one. 

While her bond with Lucien was described as a metal wire, cold and formed against her will… the feeling of this new bond coming into existence is so much brighter. Lighter, full of life, love and happiness. It drapes over them like ivy and wisteria taking over a house, blooming eternal purple, white and pink blossoms all around them. Growing wilder as the years go on. She was covered in him, he was covered in her. This was how it was always meant to be. 

He pulls back just enough to rest their foreheads together, breathing against one another now, he holds her tighter, “Mine.” 

“Yours,” she agrees. Letting another few thrusts pass before she adds, “And you’re mine.” 

“Yours,” he whispers. “Forever.”

“Forever,” she repeats as the feeling returns. 

Heat builds and builds, swirling in her gut, mimicking the shadows she’s engulfed in. Wrapping her arms around him tighter, she brushes over his wing, making him whine. She does it again, pushing him to the edge alongside her. He’ll catch them both when they fall. Her stomach drops, her eyes squeeze shut, her body goes limp as pleasure pulses through her with a high-pitched, repeated moan as she rides it out. 

And he’s gone then too, filling her up, she feels his cock twitch with each rope of release, only elongating her own orgasm. It’s everything she’s ever wanted, him, all of him, inside of her, making her his for life, and hopefully in whatever comes after. 

He slumps against her, she can take his weight just fine, it actually feels wonderful. Crushed by his safety, his big delicious body pressed to her own. Wrapped around each other so tight they’re like a ribbon tied in a knot. Breathing heavily as they come down, that pang in her chest still strumming away. 

He kisses her cheek, over to her ear, along her jaw and down her neck, she wonders if he’s feeling it too. “Az?” Hesitation in her voice. 

“I know,” he whispers. “It happened for me too.” 

She holds him even tighter somehow, tears slipping past her eyes as she lets out a sob. Happier than she could ever imagine being. He struggles to push out of her grip, holding himself up to look at her with genuine fear in his eyes, she just shakes her head, “I’m fine, I’m… I’m so happy.” 

Tears blur his own vision, she watches one of them slip out, roll down his cheek and land on her chin. She just cups his face, brushing off the wetness. “You’re everything to me, everything and then some. You’re my favourite friend, my lover, my confidant. My test dummy, my best reviewer, supplier of my seeds—

“In more ways than one now,” he jokes, having to make it funny before he really sobbed. 

She laughs too, “You make the world so much brighter for me.” 

“Really?” 

She nods, “you are the sunshine to my flower, you make me flourish and grow and love being alive… your light is so bright, of course, you have a shadow.” 

By the look on his face, he never ever thought of it like that. “Thank you,” he lowers his head, brushing their noses together, “I love you.” 

“I love you.” 

The kiss they share is… everything. Full of love and respect and wanting. Lust and need and friendship and yearning. Every emotion at once, so strong, it knocks the wind out of both of them, causing them to pull away enough to breathe, mouth to mouth. Sharing their souls, trading them back and forth, learning them more intimately than ever before. 

“Mine,” he whispers again. 

“Mine,” she reminds him, owning him just as much as he owns her. 

A second wave washes over them, another round of need. He’s not as gentle this time and she’s perfectly okay with it. Flipping onto her stomach, he absolutely rails her, fingers digging into her hips while she screams into the mattress. 

He’s definitely going to need that week off. 

—

When things settle a bit, when there’s nothing left to come out of him and she’s barely able to stop her legs from shaking, the house drops two of their favourite danishes on the bed. Allowing them to make it real, to accept the bond before anyone in their lives can make an opinion of it. 

He takes one, she takes the other, and like a couple on their wedding day, they bring it to each other's lips, arms crossed, and they feed one another. The beating in her chest steadies out, becoming one with her heartbeat as she swallows the pastry down. Her heart and his beat the same, sharing a rhythm, bonded to each other, forever. 

She just smiles at him, “It’s real now.” 

“It always has been,” he assures. “I knew from the moment I met you that this was going to be the outcome, and I would’ve waited 500 more years for it to happen.” 

“Well, now we get those 500 years to be happily in love,” she adds, face dropping a bit, “Forever will never be long enough.” 

“No it won’t,” he agrees, putting the pastry down and cupping her face again. “Let's make it count.” 

She nods, “you know… I still want a big wedding.” 

He laughs, “I do too. I want everyone and their mother to know you chose me.” 

“And I would choose you again, over and over, in every universe. Always.” 

He steals another kiss, having to do something to stop himself from crying. It’s a dream come true for both of them. 

“Of course, the seer’s dream would come true,” he whispers against her. “I’m just blessed to have been the dream.” 

“Hopefully we can make them all come true,” she teases, smirk on her face. “I’ve had some… rather colourful dreams about you.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Mhm, we’ll have to explore them all this week.” 

“I’ll fly down and tell him I’m not available this week, the second the sun comes up,” he assures. 

“Take me with you, I want to see the look on his face when he realizes what happened,” cheeky as ever. “Maybe we should all take a week off, see who comes back the most relaxed.” 

He laughs again, “well one couple has a kid, the other is with the Illyrians, I think we’ll win.” 

“And thank the mother for that,” she leans in for another kiss, unsure how she could even sustain another round but her lust for him overpowers logic. 

This was going to be a long week. 

A/N: the house picked the name Anvita: who bridges the gap, who connects home and heart. 

[owgrant8]

The South Downs Cottage

Anotation

Once Neil Gaiman said that after the events described in the book "Good Omens" Crowley and Aziraphale would move to a cottage in South Downs, and the Devil's Duke would be perfect for a summer walk. Therefore, with the desire and the opportunity, we decided to imagine what their shared home would look like and tried to take into account the characteristics of each character.

P.S. Yes, we understand that in real life, the rule doesn't work as it does in fictional worlds, where a small house on the outside is much larger on the inside. The cottage gradually turned into a mansion, which honestly worried us a little, but it didn't prevent us from completing the project as we designed it.

About the Cottage

The cottage, to which Crowley and Aziraphale moved after all the events, is a place full of antique charm and tranquility, where they decided to create their own corner of seclusion and privacy. The house was situated on a quiet street in South Downs, where life flowed steadily, and neighbors knew each other by name.

It was a cozy classic cottage, almost entirely covered with ivy up to the very peak of the roof. The facade was adorned with materials traditional to English architecture - natural stone on the walls and base, white wooden frames on the windows, and metal roofing. Even the interior of the house adhered to the classic English style with wooden furniture, warm lighting, and elegantly adorned curtains.

On the first floor, you would find an unusually unique set of rooms. The kitchen, equipped with the latest modern appliances, merged with a spacious living room featuring a dining area, a large soft sofa with a television. The living room also housed a fireplace, creating an atmosphere of warmth and comfort, especially on chilly winter evenings. From the living room, there was access to the outside through a spacious winter garden, where tropical flowers bloomed year-round. The plants there were just as green and splendid as they had been all over England. Of course, a mandatory condition for acquiring the cottage was the presence of a garage for Bentley. But the real gem of the house was the two-story library, which was clearly more spacious on the inside than it appeared from the outside.

The second floor was a quiet, gentle, and romantic place. The main bedroom with a separate bathroom and dressing room, a guest bedroom used only on special occasions, an exit from the rotunda into the corridor leading to a cozy balcony overlooking the settlement. Right above the garage on the first floor was a home theater with an exceptionally well-stocked bar for weekly evening gatherings.

Around the house, a shaded garden was laid out in the best traditions of old England: ancient yew trees, luxurious junipers and boxwoods, a branching magnolia combined with lush beds of white and pink roses, delphinium, hollyhocks, and delicate peonies. Neat lawns of perennial grasses, orderly rows of shrubs and trees, and lush flower beds all created a unique image of an old English garden.

In the southern part of the garden was a small pond surrounded by majestic willows, reeds, rushes, and other aquatic plants. In the center of the pond, wooden swings were installed, providing a pleasant spot to observe ducks and feed them with frozen green peas.

Crowley decided that he would spend all his free time in the garden, and if he were to set up a gazebo and a table for evening tea, then in good weather, he could convince the Angel to join him for long sessions in the fresh air.

More images you can find by the link.

With love, Iri @owgrant8 and Nasti @lunarglitter13 💕

[thebxghag]

Arts professional to garden blogger pipeline? LOL anyway...

It's very early in the year, but I live in an area with an extremely short growing season, so this year I'm trying to start as many of the plants that would need more love inside as possible. Last year, we planted tomatoes directly into the garden boxes and unfortunately the plant had only started producing fruit at the very end of our viable growing time.

We had to harvest them all still green, as a result, and we had way too many tomatoes for us alone to eat, so the majority of them got given away and we didn't really get to enjoy them over the entire summer.

This year I'm hoping we can start enjoying tomatoes way earlier by planting the seeds indoors now!

Anyway, we get roasted chickens a lot, and it's a lot of plastic waste, and I needed a greenhouse but didn't want to buy a big one because of the cost. These little containers are kind of perfect tho??? They've got venting abilities too which is great.

I'm starting these five plants now and then I still have broccoli and squash to start later in the season, as their indoor starting times don't have to be as long as these ones. I'm doing a pollinator/native plant garden in addition to my vegetable garden this year, and the marigolds are for pest control.

(Not pictured here, a secret sixth plant: the green pepper package since I finished it and tossed it before I decided to do this, oops xDDD).

I have a bunch of other flowers as well, but they can all be direct sown. I'll be planting sweet peas, sunflowers (red and yellow), cosmos, and I have hollyhock but since this area has a lot of small children and people wandering between backyards when you wouldn't want them to, I don't think it's probably safe to actually plant it outside of a balcony garden here so I won't be sowing them this year (I'd gotten them for last year when I was on my own at an apartment, and so my flowers wouldn't have been accessible to anything but birds and pollinators from my balcony).

I've planted mouse melons before in this area, but they were from a mature seedling -- we had a huge yield, and I want to try pickling them still, so I've started them indoors myself this year. Very excited.

Also exceptionally excited about the blue cherry tomatoes if only because I find it very novel when vegetables aren't 'traditional colours'. Hehehehe.

anyway long story short I started all my indoor greenhouses and I don't have like -- grow lights or anything but I'll do my best. LOL Guess this counts as planting day one.

[igrowhort]

Free Hollyhock Seeds, for all - Revive Traditional Cottage Garden Values

Free Hollyhock Seeds, for all – Revive Traditional Cottage Garden Values

I have always been fascinated with seeds, they tell a story and they take you on a journey. Some you win some you learn from, seeds as with life teaches you to adapt and try again.Free Hollyhock Seeds for all. So my desire to share Free Seeds stems from an abundant Hollyhock seed harvest in 2020 and was further embedded after reading this charming article from 2013. Free Hollyhock Seeds, just…

[demonslayedher]

Ramble on the Limitations of Looking for KnY Interpretation based on Japanese Mythology

One thing I notice a lot in the Japanese side of KnY fandom theories is a lot of deep dives into religious and mythological reasons behind Gotouge's creative choices. It is super interesting stuff, and Gotouge borrows enough and does homage to enough that there is a clearly a solid knowledge base there. While I find historical details handy for interpreting the characters, ultimately, I find that the canon of demons and Breaths can be interpreted in a vacuum without relying too heavily on the uncanny coincidences lurking in deep dives. This isn't going to be a well-supported essay, this is going to be a ramble that may include a bunch of interesting nuggets. (And then she went on to ramble for 3249 unedited words...)

First things first: I'm a nerd. I like to say I broke the weeb scale a long time ago, but I'm not exactly a university professor or anything like that. That said, I do read a lot of stuff from experts who have jumped on the KnY trends to talk about how elements in KnY are taken from, say, the sword making traditions of the Okuizumo region that results in black swords or simply making comparisons to famous swords, or local legends of supernatural encounters that resulted in split rocks, or comparing specific oni with and the heroes who slayed them or at least comparing elements of specific characters to other famous oni legends, or that Hinokami Kagura is based on a specific Shinto legend and has 12 forms based on existing Kagura traditions, etc. And I love reading this stuff, because I wouldn't had learned about some of it without my interest in KnY leading me to those articles, or as I read it I cheer because they're making references to things I already (as a nerd) really enjoy and therefore it strokes my inner echo chamber bias, or I nod along and think, "oh, yes, why of course, that makes total sense, Hinokami Kagura must be based on the dance Amenouzume performed to enticed the Sun Goddess Amaterasu out of the cave, how silly to think it could be based on anything else" but I then also take a step back to think, "...but it also doesn't have to be." For as many similarities as there to existing legends, it feels to me that Gotouge made it a point not to make specific reference to any particular mythological or religious elements. As an example, Gotouge considered titles with reference to a Shinto fire god named "Kagutsuchi" but never made actual reference to any fire god (or sun god) by name in the finalized direction canon took. Granted, a lot of fan theorists have read into that, going so far as to say because Nezuko's fire powers she represents Kagutsuchi, Yoriichi represents Amaterasu, etc., but while I find the idea of borrowed elements makes for highly interested interpretation of canon, one-to-one comparisons really don't work for this series. By not invoking a name like Kagutsuchi in the title or otherwise, Gotouge succeeded in not being boxed in by the canon of any particular deity. (Granted, "canon" for mythology can vary significantly by whatever historical writings you're looking at, with standard interpretations going through many big changes throughout the centuries. It can be as loose as it is limiting, depending on what sort of historical/mythological/religious figure you're talking about.) I feel there's more evidence of this avoidance by never invoking Amaterasu as a deity, despite the emphasis on the power of the sun in slaying demons. Even looking back and trying to figure out who Akeno placed so much faith, it was only called a "god of sunlight" as opposed to a "sun god." It's as though KnY works with a generic approach to religion. Even if the use of Buddhist element, the Nenbutsu prayer is called such, and Himejima's repeated phrases are legit Buddhist practice, but there is a huge variety of Buddhist sects and practices and theologies, and throughout history, many of them didn't get along. Going back to Akeno and wondering if she might had been Buddhist, I went so far as to suspect she was influenced by Nichirin sect philosophy based on its emphasis on the "Nichi" (sun) representing Japan and incorporating Shinto gods into its philosophy, and for its likely influence in the Kanto area in Akeno's time period, and for its encouragement for the salvation of women and therefore popularity among women. I felt pretty satisfied that it was all lining up, but also, none of this is necessary for a quality interpretation of canon. If Gotouge wanted to say specifically what informed her religious conviction, then it would had been said. But that's not what was important, was it? What was important, and therefore focused on, was Akeno's feelings toward her son and wishes for his sake.

While KnY's worldbuilding feels richer with all the clear religious influence, the details are not actually important. If anything, I feel like Gotouge dove into the heart of the elements of, say, Shinto mythology, and played those core elements up. It's different, yet still familiar, to take sun-associated elements and used them in a way that serves the story without being boxed into existing traditions. The sun is clearly important, and once you start looking for it, you find subtle recurring references to it. Like, Akeno's name? The "Ake" is one way of writing "red," and there are all sorts of uses of other ways of writing "red" throughout the series, in everything from the sand used for making Nichirin blades to the way that Haganezuka calls Tanjiro an auspicious "red" child with a very rarely used kanji. Our commoner main characters, though, just use regular old ways of saying "red" when referencing Tanjiro's appearance without thinking deeply into it, like there's something special right in front of them but they don't recognize it. Similar to how something as special as Sun Breathing was hidden right in front of them in Hinokami Kagura, with a name so generic and simple that it's entirely unsurprising that the Taisho era Kamado family would interpret it as "fire god." The very lack of limiting real-life details is what allows Gotouge to sprinkle these deep touches around, cover them up with branches and leaves, and then sit back and wait for readers to stroll through and invitingly pleasant looking field and then trip and fall down a rabbit hole. This is also what I think gives Gotouge the freedom and malleability to work with the sun in a way that serves the story, especially in ways that tie it to fire. While I don't think there's strong ties for this is general Japanese culture, the way canon is written implies a close tie between fire and the sun as being a very closely related element, hence the influence on the Kamado family, Tanjiro's appearance, his suitability for Sun Breathing based on a history of tending fire for careful charcoal burning, and Tanjiro and Nezuko capability as demons to overcome the sun. Here is where I go into a bit of a tangent about the purification element. This, again, is not strictly tied to any particular Shinto canon (and Shinto does place heavy emphasis on purification), but instead is an example of Gotouge getting to the underlying heart of a lot of common religious elements. Fire is associated with spiritual purification in everything from Buddhism to Catholicism, it's very easy to apply Nezuko's fire abilities as something which burns away something evil (demon poison) so as to purify something good (human flesh, or even other physical substances). Maybe lesser known, but very deeply entrenched in Japanese culture, is the purification element of charcoal. While it may be known around the world for soaking up undesirable elements and therefore used in everything from fish tank filters to treating food poisoning, in Japan, there's a bit of a spiritual side to it as well. For something so closely tied to the way of life for citizens throughout hundreds of years of history for everything from cooking to heating the home, it's unsurprising that quality charcoal would receive as much emphasis as good water and rice. Japanese charcoal is especially known for not producing undesirable smoke or odor, making it appropriate for use in a lot of settings. Charcoal farmers have often not just been that; they've been caretakers of the forest. Keeping the right trees, at the right sizes (both for use as charcoal and for how you pack it together when making charcoal), and in the right numbers to ensure you have stock for coming years, requires management of the forest. (Other tangent side note: many of the other names in the Kamado family are references to plants. Sumire both has the "sumi" sound of charcoal and is the word for violet, Kie is in reference to hollyhock, Nezuko is in reference to red beans (and the asanoha pattern of her kimono is in reference to hemp leaf, an

auspicious symbol of strong and quick growth), Takeo is in reference to bamboo (ironically bamboo can be a problematic plant for charcoal farmers, because it may spread too fast and take resources from other trees--stop stealing all the takuan pickles, Takeo!), Hanako is in general reference to flowers, Shigeru is in general reference to (plants) flourishing, and maybe by the time they got to Rokuta they gave up and said "he's our sixth child, let's just call him 'Six-Boy', lolz." BUT I DIGRESS.) That means the Kamado family not only had careful management of fire in the actual days of charcoal production, but of a wide variety of natural resources to ensure the trees were healthy. Natural weather phenomena, clean water, pest control, minerals from rocks getting into the soil, hmm, so many elements to pay attention to. Hmm. These sure sound a lot like other Breaths. And Breaths all stem from Sun Breathing. That means there may be certain elements of Sun Breathing that have been emphasized in each of them, but none of them encompass so many qualities of the natural world. The natural world which Yoriichi saw with such clarity than nature accepted him with open arms, practically, in how well animals took to him. Sun Breathing, while especially using that all-important purification aspect of sunlight which burns evil demons, is like an all encompassing embrace of nature. While being closely tied with fire is hugely important, there's more to it than just flames. While Shinto is very much so closely tied with nature (the extent to which this is emphasized may vary from shrine to shrine, scholar to scholar), what I see in KnY is a clever use of emphasis on spirituality in nature as opposed to emphasis on Shinto mythology. And I think that was a smart move. While stories based more directly on various theologies, mythologies, and religious ideologies often use those building blocks often wind up having very creative takes on them (even and especially with the confines of them), ultimately, the story of KnY is whatever Gotouge wants to do with it, and it does not seem guided by the specific conventions of more specific religious elements. But again, those deeper elements are still everywhere. You know what color Japanese charcoal burns? It's a gorgeous jewel tone red, spanning many of those rare shades of red Gotouge make reference to. And, in wider Japanese culture, red is the color of the sun (as opposed to how other cultures may represent it as yellow or orange or white or so on). (Not as exactly a KnY tangent, just personal: Japanese charcoal is so freaking pretty, I had no idea until I saw it used in the tea ceremony at parts when guests crowd around to enjoy the sight of it as the host prepares it for boiling the water. I can stare and stare and stare, it is so so so so so pretty, but also this element of the ceremony has gotten rarer both as many places have made a more practical switch to electricity, and tea ceremony quality has gotten more rare both due to fewer producers and due to beetle-related damages to the trees used, and I will always state HOW DISAPPOINTED I am that Kanata and Sumihiko are not out there raising charcoal, because charcoal is precious and I'm always so terrified of wasting charcoal in my practices because its so precious, but seeing the amazingly beautiful burn of the charcoal is absolutely one of my favorite elements of the ceremony and this of course gives me an extra soft spot for Kamado Tanjiro BUT I DIGRESS AGAIN, I TOLD you this was going to be a ramble, but SERIOUSLY IT IS SUCH A GORGEOUS RED).

So anyway. My point is, as interesting as incorporating outside elements may be, I don't find them necessary in interpreting KnY's canon. Even if it takes tons of Taisho Secrets to do so, Gotouge presents the details necessary, and that's more than enough to work with. After all, despite all the care taken in historical details in building the setting, KnY takes place in a fictional universe, it can make its own rules when it comes to things that don't actually exist in our universe. Demons, for example, follow a chronology and power system with sources and limits that is unique to a this universe, as tempting as it is due to general cultural familiarity, it does not call for a one-to-one comparison with existing demon legends. Breath as well, as a power system, is very interesting. Again, this is because it has a lot of basis in core concepts of real life physical and spiritual training. It's presented as a method available to anyone who can pick it up, not drawing on a mystical outside power or summoning the actual superhuman elements of nature. Other stories that present their power systems like that are well and fine, but when it comes down to it, this is a story about mere humans doing everything in their limited power to wave swords around and defeat creatures that seem so likely to outpower them. This is a common, relatable basis of stories throughout history, and a lot of analysis I've heard of KnY's success says that it shows how classic this story structure is. Many Japanese demon stories have their origin in epidemics, and some people suggest that the world looks for hope in stories like KnY in times of seemingly insurmountable crises like coronavirus. I think that's an oversimplification of KnY's success, but again, because of Gotouge's use of core cultural elements, it can be applied easily. OKAY BUT ON THAT NOTE we can do some really interesting digging if we want. : D Gotouge does make some highly specific references, included religious ones (granted, not in ways that impact the plot). The example coming to mind is the Seventh Form of Thunder Breathing, the "Flaming Thunder God." In Japanese, this is "Honoikazuchi-no-Kami," the name of a lightning deity who had a very, very brief mention in the Kojiki and who appeared among a handful of other lightning deities named in reference to other aspects/phenomena of lightning, like the sound or the rumble through the ground. Honoikazuchi is not so much the lightning itself, but the fires started by lightning. Stick with me a bit longer, I'm building up to something here. You've probably heard of the twelve animals of the Chinese (poorly translated as) Zodiac, right? Well, the system is way more complex than that, and really, if you want complexity, skip Japan and go dive straight into ancient China. I laugh and cry at myself for having a graduate degree in Chinese studies, the extent of my knowledge is is pitifully small, I know nothing, nothing. Suffice to say, China has its own five element system of water/wood/metal/fire/earth, it's more a philosophical application than a more physicality-based four element system popular in the west (fire/water/air/earth, why hello there, Avatar), with attributes of these elements assigned to every about anything through Chinese culture, from medicine to, you guessed it, the Zodiac animals. Japan saw all this and said "cool, we'll do that too" albeit their sort of mixed and matched a bit and made their own take on it in Onmyodo. An Onmyoji, who keeps track of, like, really any other-worldly matter you might have on your hands as a Heian noble, is someone who is paid to know all this stuff (it was very likely an Onmyoji who told the Ubuyashiki clan, "yeah, you got an evil family member to blame for your curse, squash him"). Yours Truly is not an Onmyoji and therefore will not attempt to go into more detail, save the one that a handful of Japanese theorists in the KnY fandom love to bring up: The Boar is a water sign. This means that, especially in Shinto practice, boars are considered an animal that protects against

fire, hence, a lot of practices to protect against fires were done on days of the Boar, in the month of the Boar, etc. So? So-o-o-o-o-o? You see it? You see it??? Boar = Water, Honoikazuchi = Fire, Inosuke and Zenitsu are basically foils to Tanjiro? Yes, yes, see it, yessss??? Deep dive Kamaboko theory, yes?????? Hahahaha. Naw. It's just a fun coincidence. ^_^ Again, I find these details completely unnecessary, for we are already given so many details in canon to work with on its own, and I think Inosuke and Zenitsu as foils to Tanjiro works entirely well simply based on their personalities, not because of any supernatural elements that require a high level of nerdery to have any hope of appreciating. Besides, once you start reaching too hard for cultural details Gotouge might have used and clinging too tightly to those ideas, there's likely something in canon to make it doubtful. For instance, Inosuke more widely presented as a king of the forest who wears deer and bear hide as well, and the fanbook state that Beast Breath is considered a likely offshoot of Wind Breathing. Even if we rely more strictly on historical detail, there's still the question of, say, what one of the basic Breaths, Thunder Breathing, even was when it was but a thunder inspired sword form not necessarily powered by Breath, you know, back when swords were longer and it would have been harder to make the fast draws katana would later be better suited for. Maybe they called it Thunder because it was practiced by swordsmen who stomped around really hard, and then when they added Breath technique, they figured out "oh dude, we can use our strong legs to go fast"??

Those are the kinds of things I find more fun to play around with in interpreting canon by bringing in little outside details, because as a work of fiction, there are already so many fun details to work with already even when treating it in a vacuum. But, giving Gotouge extensive and subtle use of cultural elements, especially core elements, it sure makes a lot of outside details applicable. Which is all to say, it's all super interesting, and I think the more people realize these things, the deeper they read into it, to an extent more than canon calls for. As much as I like it, and as much as I've enjoyed pulling outside elements in to fanfiction (like Kagutsuchi and lightning god tidbits), ultimately, if Gotouge thought these things were necessary, they'd have been included. Since they are not, I try to stick to canon details and Word of God-touge in answering Asks (lolz, I didn't plan on becoming a meta blog, it just kinda happened). BUT ALSO, JEEZ, I AM SO EXCITED IF PEOPLE TAKE A DEEPER INTEREST IN JAPANESE CULTURE BECAUSE THEY LIKE KIMETSU NO YAIBA, YOU CAN HAVE SO-O-O-O-O-O MUCH FUN PLANNING A TRIP TO JAPAN AROUND KNY THEMES, DO IT DO IT DO IT, GO TO YAGYU AND POSE IN A TANJIRO HAORI AND STICK YOUR SWORD IN A SPLIT ROCK, THE LOCALS THERE LOVE IT, DO IT but also like maybe learn about the tea ceremony and appreciate how beautiful the charcoal is with me k thx bye

[twelfthremedy]

Hestia Offerings

"Hestia is the virgin Goddess of the hearth, home, architecture, domesticity, family, and the state."

Large Altars:

Homemade meals

Homemade baked goods

Breads

Sweet wine

Fruits

Pure water

Olive oil

Hot tea

Tea kettles

Gold, light purple, black, silver, and dark red candles

Scented candles that are comforting to you or remind you of home

Scented incense such as Angelica, iris, lavender, and peony

Pottery

Art or statues of donkeys and pigs

Pictures of family, friends that are like your family, or your pets

Pictures of homes you want to live in one day or homes you have lived in

Pictures of architecture that you like

Small/Hidden Altars:

Teacups

Small kitchen antiques like teaspoons, tea towels, etc.

Childhood memories like stuffed toys, baby clothes, old photos, etc.

Keys

Homegrown herbs

Toys or art of donkeys and pigs

Plants such as angel's trumpet, poppy, goldenrod, hollyhock, and yarrow

Leaves or blooms from a chaste tree

Gems and metals such as amethyst, garnet, gold, silver, and brass

Tea light candles (real or fake)

Your favorite poetry or poetry you have written for Her

Your favorite books

Stories you have written

Art of flames, fire, candles, etc.

Crafts that you've made

Garmets that you have made such as clothing, blankets, beanies, etc.

Homemade lotions, bath bombs, shower gel, bubble bath, etc. (You can ask Her to bless them then use them, She would be happy about doing so)

Devotional Acts:

Donate to those who have lost their homes, or help them rebuild

Donate to food drives

Give to the homeless

Do little (or big) acts of kindness

Per tradition, Hestia should get the first of all food offerings and burnt offerings. Furthermore, you should set aside the first bite of your meal for Her

If you have a fireplace, light it for Her or build Her altar around it

Meditate next to a fire

If you can't make a fire, listen to the sound of fire on YouTube or elsewhere

Read poetry or a book

Make a playlist for Her and play it while you clean or cook

Clean your house/room and keep it nice and tidy

Take a cooking or baking class

Try making your own bread

Learn how to sew, knit, crochet, etc.

Collect recipes and keep a recipe book

Host celebrations at your home

Remember your ancestors and learn more about them

Spend time with your family, friends, and/or pets

Try incorporating a veil with your outfits or just wear one when you give Her offerings

Take care of yourself, your mental and physical health. Your body is a home for you after all

Treat 'yo self! Seriously, She enjoys Her followes loving and treating themselves well. Take a hot bath, eat some ice cream, chill at home for a day, etc

Pray to Her for protection, inspiration, happiness, guidance, and help getting rid of negative entities in the home, peace in the home, good food, an abundance of food, independence, help to start/tending to the hearth, and strong family bonds

Sources:

Artwork is not mine. I couldn't find the source so if anyone has it I'll add it.

https://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/Hestia.html

https://vocal.media/futurism/ways-of-worship-hestia

https://aminoapps.com/c/pagans-witches/amp/blog/honoring-hestia-the-hearth-goddess/qkpL_lE4tRuwrDv5BlKx5Ra6bdwGzYG5Veq

If you enjoyed this post, consider buying me a Ko-fi!

[scriptflorist]

Character Description

Name: ᠴᠠᠭᠠᠨ /Culuu (means Stone, and not known until mid-story)

Nickname: ᠣᠳᠤ/ Od, Star,

Alternate identity:

Birthday: August 2, 1249.

Zodiac:

Birthplace: Khangai Mountains

Dwelling place: Karakorum (as teen), Khanbaliq/Dadu (as adult). Ulaanbaatar then Texas (modern day)

How do they live: With father, preparing and going to war.

Modern - Alone or with friends, attempting to return home at first, then settled down for life in modern day.

Appearance: Normal historical Mongolian clothing, usually brown in colour. Mid-back long braided hair, full beard/moustache Modern - t-shirts, shorts, earring, bracelets. Shoulder length hair or in manbun, short trimmed beard, glasses.

What’s in their bag/pockets: Bow/Arrow, Sword.

Species: Human

Features of the species:

Name of parents: Mod/ᠮᠣᠳᠤ (meaning tree). Mother unwritten.

Name of siblings: none

Others next of kin:

Not-in-blood-but-in-bond-family:

Family history: His father, Mod, is the fictional adopted son of the historical general Jebe.

Favourite colour: white, black, red

Favourite animal: horse

Favourite book: anything that portrays his family/Mongol Empire

Favourite film/show/series: anything that portrays his family/Mongol Empire, Arrow.

Favourite genre:

Favourite food:

Favourite place to be: Back home at war, on the grasslands practising martial arts/archery. Modern - Practicing martial arts/archery at a horse ranch, in his bed/couch reading historical texts, watching historical movies/tv.

Personality: Strong-willed, stubborn, doesn’t take no for an answer, keeps promises, dedicated, occasionally distressed or moody due to being unable to return home, stupid at romantic gestures,

Misc: Speaks Mongolian then learned Chinese. Learned English in modern day. He’s an archer but highly prefers traditional Mongolian archery, does not actually use modern bows, etc, no matter what he watches. Story plot - disappeared in middle of battle in Xiangyang 1272 to modern day Mongolia.

______

Hi C!

Another Friday, another character – here we go! I hope you'll find this useful!

Name: Culuu (means Stone)

There is a plant called Lithops, also known as living stone because it well, looks like a stone. It doesn't have any meaning though.

stonecrop – tranquillity

alyssum (sweet) – worth beyond beauty // known as Steinkraut in German, translates to stone weed more or less

Nickname: Star

star of bethlehem – reconciliation, purity, idleness, let us follow Jesus, atonement

starwort – afterthought

starwort (american) – welcome, welcome fair stranger, cheerfulness in old age

Khangai Mountains

ash mountain – prudence, with me you are safe

laurel (mountain) – ambition

pink (mountain) – aspiring, you are aspiring

rowan tree – talisman // also known as mountain ash

preparing and going to war

achillea millefolia – war

goosefoot (grass-leaved) – I declare war against you

indian cress – warlike trophy, resignation

milfoil – war

myrtle (wax) – discipline, instruction

nasturtium – a warlike trophy, patriotism, resignation, conquest, victory in battle

rhubarb – advice

ruellia – fortitude

tansy – I declare war against you, resistance

thorn's (branch of) – severity, rigour

yarrow – war, to cure, a cure for the heartache, cure for a broken heart, cure for heartache

Dwelling place: Texas (modern day)

The state flower of Texas is the bluebonnet.

Name of parents: Mod (meaning tree)

almond tree – indiscretion, thoughtlessness, stupidity

ash tree – grandeur

bay tree – glory

birch tree – gracefulness, meekness

bladder nut tree – frivolous amusement, frivolity, amusement

chaste tree – coldness

cherry tree (white) – deception

hand flower tree – warning

judas tree – unbelief, betrayal

linden tree – conjugal love

locust tree – vicissitude, elegance

locust tree (green) – affection beyond the grave

lote tree – concord

nettle tree – conceit

orange tree – generosity

pear tree – comfort

plane tree – genius

plum tree – keep your promises, fidelity

prune-tree – promise

rowan tree – talisman

service tree – prudence

spindle tree – your charms are engraven on/traced upon my heart

strawberry tree – esteem and love, esteem not love, perseverance

tree of life – immortality, old age

tree primrose – inconstancy

tulip tree – rural happiness

yew tree – sorrow, sadness

Favourite colour: white, red

acacia (white) – elegance

balsam (red) – impatient resolve, touch me not

bay (red) – love's memory

bellflower (small, white) – gratitude

bindweed (white) – humility

camellia (red) – unpretending excellence, you're a flame in my heart

camellia (white) – perfected loveliness, adoration

carnation (red) – my heart breaks, my heart aches for you, admiration

carnation (white) – sweet and lovely, innocence, pure love, woman's good luck gift

catchfly (red) – I fall victim, youthful love

catchfly (white) – betrayal, I fall into the trap laid for me

chrysanthemum (red) – I love

chrysanthemum (white) – truth

clover (red) – industry

clover (white) – think of me

columbine (red) – anxious and trembling

daisies (wreath of white) – I will think of it

daisy (red) – beauty unknown to possessor

daisy (white) – innocence

dittany (white) – fire, passion

heather (white) – good luck, protection, wishes will come true

hollyhock (white) – female ambition

hyacinth (red) – playful joy

hyacinth (white) – unobtrusive loveliness, beauty, I'll pray for you

ivy (sprig of white tendrils) – assiduous to please, anxious to please, affection

jasmine (white) – amiability

julienne (white) – despair not, God is everywhere

lilac (white) – youth, youthful innocence,

lily (white) – purity, sweetness, virginity, majesty, it's heavenly to be with you

mulberry (red) – wisdom

mulberry (white) – wisdom, prudence

oak (white) – independence

periwinkle (white) – pleasing remembrances, pleasure of memory

pink (red, double) – pure and ardent love, woman's love

pink (white) – ingeniousness, talent, lovely and pure affection

pimpernel (red) – appointment

poplar (white) – time

poppy (red) – consolation

poppy (white) – my bane! my antidote!, dormant affection, sleep my bane, sleep my heart, consolation

primrose (red) – unpatronised merit

red valerian – readiness

rose (deep red) – bashful shame

rose (red) – beauty, love, I love you, respect

rose (red-leaved) – diffidence

rose (white) – I am worthy of you, silence, too young to love, I would be single, a heart unacquainted with love, innocence, purity, secrecy

rose (white and red together) – unity

rose (white, withered) – transient impressions, death is preferable to loss of virtue

rosebud (red) – you are young and beautiful, pure and lovely

rosebud (white) – a heart that is ignorant of love, heart unacquainted with love, the heart that knows not love, girlhood

salvia (red) – energy

sultan (white) – sweetness

tulip (red) – declaration of love, believe me

valerian (red) – facility

verbena (white) – pray for me

violet (white) – candour, let's take a chance on happiness

water lily (white) – eloquence, purity, purity of heart

zinnia (white) – goodness

Favourite place: grasslands

canary grass – perseverance

citronella (lemon grass) – homosexual love

foxtail grass – sporting

grass – submission, utility

grass (quaking) – frivolity

grass (vernal) – poor but happy

quaking grass – agitation

rye grass – changeable disposition

scorpion grass (mouse-eared) – forget me not

Based on personality

alstroemeria – devotion

bay leaf – I change but in death/dying

columbine (purple) – resolved to win

cudweed (american) – unceasing remembrance

euphorbia – persistence

geranium (horseshoe-leaf) – stupidity

geranium (night-smelling) – melancholy spirit

geranium (sorrowful) – melancholy mind

gilliflower (mahon) – promptness

heliotrope – devotion, devoted attachment, I love you, intoxicated with pleasure, the intoxication of love, infatuation, faithfulness

hepatica – confidence, truth

honeysuckle – devotion, I would not answer hastily, generous and devoted affection, bonds of love, fidelity, affection, the bond of love

larch – boldness, audacity

lavender – devotion, love, mistrust, distrust, acknowledgement

lychnis – devotion, religious enthusiasm

nuts – stupidity

plum tree – keep your promises, fidelity

polyanthus – confidence, pride of riches

poplar (black) – courage

withy – frankness

zinnia (mixed) – thinking about an absent friend

Misc

fir – time, elevation

heath – solitude

imbricata – uprightness, sentiments of honour

laurel – glory, treachery, virtue is beauty, glory and success

lint – I feel my obligations

magnolia – love of nature

mandevilla crassinoda – you are too bold

pine – time and faith, boldness, pity, daring, hope

poor robin – compensation or an equivalent

syphocampilus – resolved to be noticed

spiderwort (virginian) – momentary happiness

Everything we've got in the Chinese flower language tag for a start.

- Mod Jana

Disclaimer

This blog is intended as writing advice only. This blog and its mods are not responsible for accidents, injuries or other consequences of using this advice for real world situations or in any way that said advice was not intended.

[japanpowered]

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“If I were asked to explain the Japanese spirit, I would say it is wild cherry blossoms glowing in the morning sun!” — Motoori Norinaga (1730-1801)

Japan’s flower language isn’t as well develop as the West’s. Japan’s stories and theatre focused on humanizing plants as opposed to using them to convey emotions and messages. Victorian Europe took the language of flowers to an extreme, but Japan had its own set of symbols. Because anime has developed into an international medium, I’ll examine both Japan’s flower symbology and the West’s flower language. You will see both styles mixed in anime. 

Japan’s Language of Flowers

A chrysanthemum seller in Japan, ca. 1890, photographer unknown, via Photographic Heritage

During the Heian period, the symbolism of flowers took off, appearing in noh, poetry, and the world’s first novel. However, Japanese language allows for an identification between human emotions and nature that English doesn’t really allow (Poulton, 1997). In Japanese culture, natural phenomena has a spiritual life and power of its own. Noh showcases this in its more than a dozen plays that feature a flower or tree revealing itself as an incarnation of a god or Buddha. Various folk stories feature trees and flower spirits that can marry humans and bear children. The Willow Wife is one of my favorites. This aspect of Japanese culture remains unique. We don’t find many European stories that allow plants to be Christian saints or to marry humans.

Hanami, or flower viewing, was popular during the Heian period. The cherry blossom became a favorite, representing the fleeting moments of life. But each season had its own flower. And not everyone loved the sakura. The poet Saigyo found his hermitage invaded by visitors wanting to see a nearby tree’s blossoms (Poulton, 1997). He doesn’t refuse them when they visit, but he grumbles about it in a poem:

The cherries’ only fault: the crowds that gather when they bloom

Despite its popularity, the cherry blossom wasn’t the most important flower. Chrysanthemums became the symbol of the imperial house soon after they arrived from China. The flower became the imperial crest and the throne of the emperor was even named after it: the Chrysanthemum Throne (Lombardi, 2014). The flower meant the opposite of the cherry blossom: it represented longevity and power as opposed to transient beauty and gentleness.

While most flowers associated with Japanese women, the chrysanthemum directly associated with men. In the story of The Chrysanthemum Spirit, a young woman falls in love with a handsome courtier. She eventually finds out he is an autumn flower–the chrysanthemum–that took the shape of a human. The story “uses visual and poetic imagery traditionally associated with women to reframe reproductive potency in male terms (McCormick, 2013).”

Murasaki and Floral Characters

While shapeshifting flowers remained popular in noh and traditional stories, Murasaki took the idea and converted it into indirect story telling in her Tale of Genji. The novel tells its story indirectly through what is left unsaid and it’s imagery. It’s a difficult read because of it’s layers. Murasaki used various flowers to represent character personalities, future events, themes, and more. She relied on the reader to put everything together.

Murasaki weaved the names of flowers into chapter titles to suggest the events that will happen and the characters associated with each chapter. Flower included: evening glory, saffron flower, hollyhock, orange blossoms, lavender, morning glory, plum, cherry blossoms, carnations, and many others. She gives many of the women in Genji’s life the names of flowers. They act as shorthand for the character of each woman and stand in for her.

In one scene, Genji and a woman named Yugao were having an affair. Yugao was a common flower at the time. It blooms only at night and dies soon after. During their trist, Murasaki makes repeated references to a blooming yugao, foreshadowing Yugao’s early death just a few scenes later (Kido, 1988). Murasaki makes other flower references to foreshadow Genji’s other affairs and the fates of each woman. Even Genji’s fall from grace can be seen in these flower symbols. Centuries later, Charlotte Bronte would adopt the same technique for her work.

The Victorian Language of Flowers

A flower is not a flower alone; a thousand thoughts invest it.

During the Victorian period, women often became amateur botanists. They began developing a complete language using flowers, but early dictionaries often contradicted each other (Engelhardt, 2013). Many of the definitions extend deep into history, such as the idea olive branches symbolize peace, roses symbolize love, and so on. Although the Victorian period saw codified symbols and expansion of the language, most of the floral code date to medieval and Renaissance literature (Rothenberg, 2006; Engelhardt, 2013).  But Charlotte Bronte and George Eliot used the symbols to construct a language fairly similar to Murasaki. Jane Eyre used flowers as sexual codes and to describe characters in shorthand as Murasaki did. For example, during a scene when Jane and Rochester take a walk, flowers appear throughout the description.  Engelhardt (2013) drops the emotional associations and meanings of the plants during the walk:

…edged with box [stoicism]; with apple trees [temptation], pear trees [comfort], and cherry trees [deception] on the one side, and a border on the other, full of all sorts of old-fashioned flowers, stocks [lasting beauty], sweet Williams [sensitivity], primroses [first youth; if evening, inconstancy], pansies [thoughts], mingled with southernwood [jest/bantering], sweet-briar [I wound to heal], and various fragrant herbs. (249)

According to Engelhard (2013), Bronte seems to use the flowers to reveal the feelings of the lovers and of Rochester’s mysterious behavior in the scene. He is tempted (apple trees) to open his heart after years of being a stoic, but he realizes this would require deception (cherry trees) and ruining Jane’s beauty (stocks) because of her inexperience with love (primrose) and her sensitivity (sweet Williams). So Rochester jokes with her (southernwood) and hopes he will heal the pain of his marriage to Bertha (sweet-briar).

Most of the time, people used flowers to express embarrassing feelings, on par with what Bronte outlines with Rochester. In these floral dialogues, a lady or gentleman would ask a question or express an emotion by showing a flower. The other would then respond with their own flower. Flowers can be combined to form entire sentences, and the color of the flower can shift the meaning. So to carry Bronte’s illustration:

pink rose + cherry blossom + pink rose = desire to be educated in passion.

Pink roses have three meanings: desire, passion, and joy of life. Cherry blossoms equate with education. So the combination can also mean passion to be educated in desire, which still has the same general meaning.

Flowers and Their Meanings

Because the meanings of flowers were in dispute throughout the Victorian period, you may encounter some dictionaries that contradict what I list there.  As with any language, time and use can change the meanings of words.

Apple blossom “Temptation”

Cherry blossoms “education, fleeting beauty”

Cornflower “delicacy”

Deep red rose “bashful shame”

Daisy “innocence, purity”

Hollyhock “fertility, ambition”

Yugao “fleeting”

Hyacinth “game”

Periwinkle “happy memories”

Sweet William “sensitivity”

Chrysanthemum “longevity, imperial power”

Paulownia “birth, girl, dowry”

  References

Endresak, David, “Girl Power: Feminine Motifs in Japanese Popular Culture” (2006). Senior Honors Teses. 322. htp://commons.emich.edu/honors/322

Hoffman, Michael (2012) Sakura: Soul of Japan. Japan Times. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2012/03/25/general/sakura-soul-of-japan/.

Kido, Elissa (1988) Names, Naming, and Nature in the Tale of Genji. Literary Onomastics Studies. 15. Article 4.

Lombardi, Linda (2014) Chrysanthemums are more than just a symbol of autumn. Japan Times. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/10/27/national/chrysanthemums-just-symbol-autumn/

McCormick, Melissa. (2013) “Flower Personification and Imperial Regeneration in The Chrysanthemum Spirit.” In Amerika ni wattata monogatari-e. Tokyo: Perikansha.

Poulton, Mark. (1997) The Language of Flowers in the No Theatre. Japan Reveiw. 8. 39-55

Rothenberg, David (2006) The Marian Symbolism of Spring ca. 1200-ca.1500: Two Case Studies. Journal of Musicology Society. 59 (2) 319-398.

Japan and the Language of Flowers “If I were asked to explain the Japanese spirit, I would say it is wild cherry blossoms glowing in the morning sun!”

[deepdickdaniel]

Kang Daniel | FlowerShop!AU

prompt: while shopping for flowers to give to your favorite professor as a going away present, you see the most unlikely character preparing the bouquet.

note: this is the flowershop!au that no one asked for, but take it anyway! also, i love researching flower meanings but i’m not too sure about the seasons in which they grow, etc. so please excuse any inaccuracies!

your favorite professor was transferring to another university on the other side of the world so you decided to get her flowers

a few blocks away from your school, you found a cute little flower shop so you stopped by to ask for a custom-made, good luck bouquet for her

when you walked in, you saw that there was no one at the counter but the flowers were all watered and displayed prettily so you just assumed the staff was in the back

and you were right

after a minute or two of browsing, you finally heard the curtain from the back slide open and close

you looked up and saw the most unexpected person: kang daniel

you had a few classes with him before and one currently + you always found him attractive, but he never actually went to class enough for you to know him well

and whenever he went to class, he was asleep lmao

“hi, do you need help?”

his smile was as pretty as the flowers surrounding him 

“yeah! i’d just like a bouquet of flowers, please”

he nodded and stared at you for a bit, his smile getting brighter in realization,

“wait, you’ve been in a few of my classes, right???”

and he proceeded to say your name and you’re honestly surprised because while you have a few mutual acquaintances, you weren’t expecting much

he asked you what it was for and you said it’s a good luck/encouragement type of bouquet

“ooh is your boyfriend taking some type of exam or something?”

“b-b-boyfriend?! i’m single af”

you didn’t know if it was your lack of sleep but his smile seemed to grow even bigger at that

so you told him who the bouquet was for and he came up with the prettiest bunch of flowers

“white carnations are a good symbol of luck for females!!! your prof’s a lady, right? and goldenrods are a sign of encouragement and good fortune! hollyhocks are for ambition and while the colors may at first seem a bit odd together, when you look back: white, gold, and variations of a berry color are really nice together, no?”

he honestly lost you at goldenrods

so you just nodded in shock and he seemed to be relieved at your approval

after you paid, you guys talked for a bit and found out you actually got along really well + had a lot of similarities

you exchanged numbers even, ayyyyyy

when it was time for you to go, daniel randomly handed you a single white flower

??? = you

“o-oh, we just had some extra gardenias, so just take one, okay? have a great day!”

you were confused but also touched so you left the flower shop lowkey giddy and excited to see him again

and that would come soon!!! because he actually started to come to the class you guys had together and even sat next to you

and stayed awake…lmao

he brought you another one of those flowers

“more extras!!!”

with the brightest smile and despite the curious looks of your classmates who had never seen you talk to each other before, you smiled just as brightly back at him

tbh you wanted to look up the meaning of this flower but you forgot the name of it, sigh

you started hanging out at the flower shop, too, sitting around and using a spare desk near the counter

“my boss is this really nice lady, i’m sure she’ll be fine with you being here”

so you and daniel got even closer and while he’d prepare bouquets for orders, he’d also tell you the meanings behind the flowers he’s putting in them

and you started to realize what certain bouquets meant by the way daniel would react while making them

he’d get the saddest while making it for a husband who’s obviously cheating on his wife

“as if a bunch of flowers is going to make the pain go away for her and the guilt go away for him!!!”

or how daniel would get bittersweet while making a bouquet for a woman who visits her deceased father once a week

overtime, you just really got to observe daniel and you started crushing on him big time

he’s just such a genuine person who has a heart of gold

it’s just an added bonus that he’s probably the most attractive person your eyes have ever landed on

but he was also such a dork who loved his two cats more than he could ever love a human most likely tbh

“i always get the safe catnip plants for rooney and peter!!! my boss is really nice and always lets me take a bit home for my cats whenever we have them in stock!”

he also would occasionally bring you that same white flower or even a delicate, small bunch of yellow ones in class

“extras as always!” 

one day you went into the flower shop, calling out daniel’s name in greeting

but instead, an elderly lady came to the counter

“oh, you’re the one daniel’s always talking about! i’m so happy to finally meet you after all this time!”

wow, after about two months of never seeing her, you finally met his boss!

“he’s not here today, but please, feel free to stay!”

she was the sweetest, old little thing and she tried to teach you about most of the flower meanings, too

you were unmistakably looking a bit down that daniel wasn’t there but you were happy to have such kind company

this brilliant lady noticed and decided to tell you a story about daniel to make you feel better

“do you know how daniel came to work for me? one day, i was struggling to carry some of the heavier potted plants since my son just moved out of the country and i was left to do most things by myself and daniel was passing by - he saw me and dropped his things just to help me!”

you smiled - typical angelic daniel!!!

“he started helping me every day out of his own free will and became interested in learning about the different kinds of flowers, so i just ended up hiring him”

she then laughed a bit mischievously

“and it helps that we get a lot of business from young girls who find him attractive!”

this made you frown while made her smirk hehehe

“don’t worry, he hasn’t looked at anyone but you since you first bought that bouquet”

“e-excuse me!”

she just laughed and continued to make the bouquet that was in her hands

you then noticed that the bouquet contained the flowers daniel always happened to give you but refused to tell you the names of again

so you asked the sweet lady and she smiled dreamily,

“they’re gardenias and yellow acacias. yellow acacias are a sign of a valuable friendship but…they can also mean secret love. gardenias also mean secret love…this is probably going to the object of affection of a secret admirer!”

you were so shook that you ended up leaving the shop, thanking her for her time and hospitality and wanting to think for yourself

you were super happy but didn’t want to get your hopes up

what if he was just being friendly???

so you were super confused but returned to the flower shop the next day as always after researching a bit about flower meanings

your turbulent heart, however, calmed at the sight of daniel’s special smile just for you

but he was a bit more quiet today, focusing on the bouquet he was making and answering you only when you spoke to him

finally, when he was done, he actually went around the counter to where you were seated

and placed the bouquet right into your lap

“what’s this?!”

“it’s for you and it’s my newest creation: white dittanies to represent a man’s romantic desire towards an individual, roses as a sign of traditional love…”

he paused, looking at you while biting his lip

“…and yellow daffodils are a sign of new beginnings…and hopefully today will be day 1 for you and me as a couple…”

he trailed off there, watching your every movement intently

you smiled the most beautiful smile he had ever seen and said one word,

“ambrosia”

he laughed happily and picked you up after you gently placed the bouquet on the table

while you were being spun around by your newly acquired boyfriend, you couldn’t help but be even more thankful to your professor for all that she had done for you

she even (indirectly) got you a love life!

daniel’s boss came out of the back to witness this adorable scene, clapping for the two of you

“he always mentioned a pretty little thing in one of his classes and to his luck, his object of affection ended up stopping by here to get flowers!”

“oooohhhhh, that’s why you kept giving me gardenias! you’ve liked me secretly from the start!”

daniel was silent as you and his boss ganged up on him

and just like that, you found a new beginning in your favorite little flower shop

ambrosia = your love is requited

[tipsycad147]

Planetary Magic 4: Venus, Love and Money

by Christopher Penczak | Jul 29, 2013

(Originally appearing in Crow’s Calling)

Venus is the most alluring of the planets. Seen as both a morning and evening star, no heavenly body, save the Sun and Moon, has captured the attention of humanity as this bright star has. Many gods and goddesses have been associated with it, from the goddesses Inanna and Ishtar, to the fallen angel Lucifer. Friday is the day in harmony with Venusian energies, named after the Norse goddess Freya, creating Freya’s day. But the planet itself is named after the goddess of love, known to the Greeks as Aphrodite.

Aphrodite is most popularly known as the patron of love and romance, but she is also the goddess of sensuality, pleasure, beauty and relaxation. In some of the myths, she was known for her anger, jealousy and infidelity as well. Although considered one of the twelve Olympians, the main gods of the Greeks, she is most likely a much older goddess, since her birth in the creation tales had to be fit into the myths of the classical Greeks. Her first stories don’t seem to fit. Although some say she is a daughter of Zeus, most myths give a different tale. When Chronos castrated his father, the sky god Uranus, his genitals fell into the ocean. The ocean foamed and frothed, until Venus burst forth from the waves, making her a primal ocean goddess, without real parents. When she reached the shore, flowers bloomed at her feet, following her wherever she went. So she carries the associations of an Earth goddess too. Later she became the champion of love and romance.

Venus captures our attention because it is the brightest of the stars. The planet reflects so much light because of the planets thick atmosphere. Venus has a continuous “green house” effect. Most solar energy gets reflected off this atmosphere, creating the dazzling light, and giving Venus its association with gems and jewels. The energy that does penetrate gets trapped inside, creating a blistering atmosphere that cannot support life as we know it. The energy of Venus, of personal love, is reflected in these characteristics. Our love and emotions can often be dazzling at first glance, but cloudy and obscured when looked at closely. Our memories concerning love are hazy, unlike the memories of Mercury, which lacks an atmosphere that can haze perception. Passion and romance are hot and steamy, and we can feel our blood boil when in a passionate love affair. Once we “get” love, we often don’t want to give it up. We seek to trap and bind it.

Venus is the only planet with a day, or rotation on its axis, longer than its year. Venus’ day is equivalent to 243 earth days while its year, or one complete orbit around the Sun, is only 225 earth days. This is why the goddess is associated with leisure and luxury, and in some people’s minds, laziness and inactivity. Venus takes time to enjoy every second. Venus is sensual. Venus goes its own way, rotating in the opposite direction of all the other planets. The goddess is, after all, free and independent. The Sun rises on her western horizon, always starting with a sense of completion, at least from the Earth person’s view point. Since the Sun sets on the earthly western horizon, we associate it with endings and completion. Many magical traditions also place the element of water at the west, for the endings, and the mysteries of the other worlds, beyond the ocean. Water is the element of love and healing. The powers of Venus are the pleasures at the end of the day. Venus moves toward completion rather than fresh starts and initiation. Initiation is handled by Venus’ lover, Mars. The goddess of love’s emphasis on the west is the land of endings, sunsets and mysteries.

This planet currently rules two zodiac signs, though many debate her rulership. Taurus and Libra both share Venus. In Taurus, she is the goddess of the earth, physical pleasure, the body, and sensuality. Taurus is associated with resources and money, and Venus can be used in such magic. She attracts, and then holds onto her resources, like the heat of the planet. In Libra, she is the goddess of art, relationship, justice and balance. She is in an air sign, keen on communication between partners and intellectual appreciation of the finer things in life. Both signs have been associated with the colour green, as well as pink, making those strong ritual colours to work with when invoking Venus the goddess, or Venus the planet. Copper, which turns green when tarnished, along with many green and blue stones that have copper compounds in them, such as turquoise, azurite and malachite, resonate with Venus. Emerald, however, is the stone most often associated with Venus.

Magic in the sphere of Venus is love and emotion magic. Do spells to find a lover, long term or short term. Do spells to find self love and healing. Venus rules the heart chakra and throat chakra, letting us speak our feelings with clarity and strength. Call on it to heal a broken heart as well. Use it to heal and strengthen relationships of all kinds, because to this goddess, all relationships, friends and family, are based on love.

The power of attraction is the power of Venus. Lodestone, the natural magnetic stone, is a mineral of Venus. Venus attracts things of value to you. If you value money, it will attract that in your magick. If you value the things that money can buy, sensual or intellectual pleasures, Venus will attract that. If you value romance, beauty, or anything at all, Venus can attract it.

Venus energy is great for quick money magic. Green is the colour of Venus, the colour of money and the colour of most vegetation. It is the symbol on this planet for stored solar energy, stored potential. All barter and trade was based on the value of stored energy, be it in grain, animals, or the solar energy reflected in gold. That is why we associate money with green. Also, we cannot have prosperity in our life if we do not love ourselves and feel worthy of prosperity.

Venus energy helps us complete any project. It gives us the final push to complete long standing goals and things that have been shelved. Venus brings us to the reward at the end of the journey, where we can enjoy the fruits of our labour.

When you want to call upon the energies of Venus, do so when this energy is strong. Most people use the power of Venus to attract, so doing work on a waxing Moon, to attract things to you is helpful. But at times, we wish to banish with this energy, such as banishing the pain of a broken heart, so the waning Moon would be more appropriate. All Venusian magick is powerful on Fridays, the day of Venus, and the first hour after sunrise is the first hour of Venus. Also when the Moon or Sun is in the sign of Taurus or Libra is powerful Venus time.

We have a planetary Venus cycle and a personal Venus cycle. During this time, it is great to rest and relax, enjoy the finer things in life, play music, tell stories and make art. It’s a time for inner expression. For the planetary cycle, it is typically Dec 6 to Jan 26. I always thought that strange because I associate Venus with the goddess of flowers its zodiac signs with spring and fall, but the winter is a perfect time to rest and relax. Our personal Venus period starts 260 days after our birthday, and lasts approximately 52 days.

When designing Venus rituals, make them sensual and fun. Don’t try to be too serious. Laughter can be a great form of magic. Invoke all the senses. Use foods, drinks, scents, sounds and textures that are pleasing to you. That will invoke the Venus energy. You can also use the following correspondences in your rituals.

MINERALS:Amber, Aventurine, Azurite, Calcite, Blue Calcite, Green Calcite, Pink Calcite, Cat’s Eye, Chrysocolla, Chysoprase, Emerald, Hexagonite, Jade, Green Jasper, Kunzite, Kyanite, Lapis Lazuli, Loadstone, Malachite, Peridot, Rose Quartz, Rhodochrosite, Rhodonite, Serpentine, Blue Sodalite, Tourmaline, Turquoise, Variscite

PLANTS: Adam and Eve Root, African Violet, Alder, Alfalfa, Almond, Angelica, Apple, Apricot, Ash, Avocado, Balm of Gilead, Banana, Bay, Bedstraw, Bean, Beets, Bergamot, Bleeding Heart, Blood Root, Boneset, Catnip, Celery, Cherry, Chickpea, Red Clover, Cocoa, Coltsfoot, Columbine, Cosmos, Crocus, Cuckoo-Flower, Cumin, Cypress, Daffodil, Daisies, Damiana, Dittany, Elder, Fern, Foxglove, Gardenia, Geranium, Goldenrod, Goldenseal, Gooseberry, Heart’s Ease, Heather, Hibiscus, Hollyhocks, Horehound, Hyacinth, Hydrangeas, Jade Tree, Jasmine, Jewelweed, Juniper, Kava-Kava, Ladies’ Mantle, Lemon, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena, Lentil, Lily of the Valley, Lime, Lovage, Lungwort, Marshmallow, Meadowsweet, Moneywort, Motherwort, Orchid, Oregano, Orris Root, Pansy, Parsley, Passion Flower, Passion Fruit, Pear, Pennyroyal, Peony, Peppermint, Periwinkle, Plum, Poppy, Primrose, Radish, Ragweed, Raspberry, Rice, Rose, Sarsaparilla, Self-Heal, Silverweed, Slippery Elm, Spearmint, Star Anise, Strawberry, Sweet pea, Sycamore, Tansy, Thyme, Tulips, Vanilla, Vervain, Vetivert, Violet, Walnut, Watermelon, Wheat, Woodruff, Yarrow

(Be sure to consult a reputable medical herbal before using any herbs topically or internally.)

Besides this list, the aforementioned copper, even copper pennies are great for ritual, as well as sugar and honey. Sweetness is the power of Venus. Experiment. Be daring. Create. Walk with

Venus.

Next: Mars and Victory!

Resources: * A Salem Witch’s Herbal by Laurie Cabot. Celtic Crow Publishing. * Archetypes of the Zodiac by Kathleen Burt. Llewellyn. * Astrological Magick by Estelle Daniels. (Samuel Weiser) * Astrology From A to Z by Eleanor Bach. Evens and Company. * Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs and Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic, by Scott Cunningham. Llewellyn. * Lifting the Veil: Practical Kabbalah with Kundalini Yoga by Gurunam. Rootlight Publishing

https://christopherpenczak.com/2013/07/29/planetary-magic-4-venus-love-and-money/

[samuelmmarcus]

Home Renovation

  Hello everyone! How are you doing today? I hope you enjoy this beautiful home renovation done by Molly Griggs Interiors and with photography by Marina Storm of Picture Perfect House (also featured here). This is a two-story colonial home that belongs to a young family of four. They purchased their home and it was gutted to the studs to make it more open and functional for their family.

In my opinion, this home feels trendy without being over-the-top. I am sorry, but please correct if I am the only person thinking that people are overdoing when it comes to trends lately. There’s too much of the same and very little authenticity out there. Every house looks the same and everyone seems to be using the same “formula”. I have been working hard to find spaces that have a “soul” and I hope you enjoy seeing how beautifully renovated and decorated this home was. Nothing feels overdone and you can picture people actually living in these rooms. After all, that’s why we spend time and money with our home; to comfortably live in it.

Have fun seeing this lovely family home and feel free to pin your favorite interior pictures and share this house tour!

  Interior Design Ideas: Home Renovation

White kitchens will always be a classic choice, add neutral walls and dark-stained hardwood flooring to the mix and you certainly will end-up with a space that will stand the test of time. I feel that you can and should have fun with accessories, such as decor, lighting and even with certain pieces of furniture, but try to keep the main elements classic, especially if this is not your forever home. Classic and neutral sells.

Kitchen Layout

This kitchen features a fantastic layout and plenty of natural light, which is so important.

Countertop

Counters are Taj Mahal Quartzite. Taj Mahal Quartzite is a natural stone and it features a soft white background and subtle gold veins.

Beautiful Runners: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here & here.

Kitchen Faucet & Sink

Kitchen: Kohler in polished nickel.

Sink: here & here – similar.

Cabinet Paint Color & Hardware

Kitchen Cabinetry and Trim paint Color: Benjamin Moore “Super White”.

Cabinet Hardware: Lews Pulls & Knobs in brushed brass.

Backsplash

The kitchen backsplash in 3×6 white subway tile.

Pot Filler: Kohler.

Woven Pedestal fruit Tray: Here.

Hardwood Flooring

Flooring is solid Oak hardwood in dark custom stain – similar here & here.

Get this Casual-chic Look:

(Scroll to see more & click to shop)

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Lighting & Cabinetry

Lighting is Visual Comfort Katie Pendants – Others: here, here, here, here, here, here & here.

Cabinetry was custom-designed by the interior designer.

Counterstools

Counterstools are Serena & Lily in Fog. These counterstools are comfortable and super easy to clean, which is a must when you have kids (of all ages) at home.

Bar

This kitchen also features a practical bar with built-in beverage fridge and upper cabinets. Great design!

Wall Paint Color

The kitchen walls are Benjamin Moore “Classic Gray”.

Window Treatment: Woven Wood Shade  similar here.

Dining Room

The kitchen cabinets continue to the dining area, allowing for more storage and counter space, which can also be used a butler’s pantry when entertaining.

Visual Comfort “Darlana Linear Lantern” – similar here (more affordable option – best quality when compared to others).

Dining Chairs: Ballard Designs, painted to match cabinets – Similar Host Chairs: Here.

Similar Side Chairs: Here & Here.

Dining Table: Custom from Here – Similar: Here & Here.

Living Room

This is why I love this home… because it feels like a real home!

The decor is approachable and comfortable, and that’s how I also like to live.

Paint Color

Paint color is Benjamin Moore OC-23 Classic Gray.

Similar Pillows: 3x 24×24 Tassel Pillows (similar here), 2x Block Print Pillows, 1x Blush Pink Pillow, 1x Lumbar Pillow.

Similar Sofa: Here.

Coffee Table: Here, Here & Here.

Rug: Mistana – Others Similar: Here & Here.

Tray

A woven tray brings some texture to this glass coffee table.

Coffee Table Decor

I like how the designer decorated the coffee table without over cluttering it. Simple is always best.

Sconces

Sconces are Savoy House.

Laundry Room

Upstairs you will find a newly-renovated laundry room with sliding barn door and dark grey cabinets. Trim, walls and barn door are painted in Benjamin Moore “Super White”.

Grey Cabinet Paint Color

Laundry room cabinetry is Benjamin Moore “Kendall Charcoal”.

Counters are white quartz.

Backsplash is white herringbone backsplash.

Hardware: RH – similar Here.

Lighting: RH – similar Here, Here & Here.

Floor Tile: Patterned ceramic tile – similar here.

Kid’s Bathroom

This kids bathroom is really a show apart. Can it get any more perfect than this? I don’t think so! Notice the stunning sink and the classic yet fun color scheme. Wallpaper is Hygge and West “Mermaids” in Red Coral.

Great Wallpaper Sources: Here & Here.

Sink: Kohler.

Vanity Paint Color

Bathroom cabinetry paint color is Benjamin Moore “Hale Navy”.

Countertop is white quartz.

Lighting: Rejuvenation “Carson” Sconce.

Step Up

This bathroom comes even with pull-out step stools under cabinet for kids to reach sink.

Cute Step Stools: here & here.

Hardware: RH – similar Cup Pulls & Pulls.

Pivot Mirrors: Rejuvenation.

Tiling

Walls feature 3×6 white subway tile wainscotting.

Flooring: Matte white penny tile.

Mudroom

This home keeps getting better! The mudroom is filled with creative ideas, from its herringbone tile to its cabinetry.

Flooring: Ceramic tile in herringbone pattern – similar here.

Lighting: Visual Comfort Hicks Pendant – similar here & here.

Letter Pillow: Jonathan Adler.

Cabinetry

Mudroom cabinetry, trim and walls are painted in Benjamin Moore PM-1 Super White.

Working Station

You can’t go wrong with a working station and this is a great spot for it. By elevating the desk you create enough height for a file cabinet on each side. Countertop is stained wood.

Counterstool: Gabby.

Powder Room

This has to be one of my favorite powder baths I have shared lately. This space features classic wainscoting, blue and white floral wallpaper, acrylic bathroom basin and a dramatic dark hardwood flooring.

Wainscotting in Benjamin Moore “Super White”.

Roman Shade: Here – similar.

Vanity

Basin console vanity with acrylic base is from RH with custom Taj Mahal Quartzite countertop – similar here.

Faucet: RH – similar here.

Mirror: here – similar.

Toilet: Kohler.

Blue & White Wallpaper

Wallpaper is Schumacher “Pyne Hollyhock” in Indigo.

Sconces: Visual Comfort “Bryant” Sconces.

  Many thanks to the photographer & interior designer for sharing all of the details above!

Interior Design: Molly Griggs Interiors.

Photography: Picture Perfect House (Instagram)

Builder: Lakewest Custom Homes.

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  Best Sales of the Month:

Thank you for shopping through Home Bunch. I would be happy to assist you if you have any questions or are looking for something in particular. Feel free to contact me and always make sure to check dimensions before ordering. Happy shopping!

  Serena & Lily: Free Shipping on Everything with code: NEWGOALS

  Wayfair: Massive Rug Sale! Up to 75% OFF!

  Joss & Main: Up to 80% Off on Clearance

  Pottery Barn:Mega Sale: Up to 60% OFF Plus Free Shipping

  West Elm: New Items on sale – Free Shipping with code: FREERIDE

  Horchow: Free Shipping with code: FREESHIP

  Anthropologie: Extra 50% OFF Sale Items!

  Posts of the Week:

2019 New Year Home Tour.

Belgian-style Modern Farmhouse.

Stone Cottage-style Home Design.

Newport Island Beach House.

New Year, New Beautiful Homes of Instagram.

Before & After Home Renovation.

California Duplex Home Design.

Stone Lake House.

Family-friendly Home Design.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: Canada.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram.

Georgian-Style Manor with Traditional Interiors.

Transitional Home Design.

Interior Design Ideas.

Grey Kitchen Paint Colors.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: California Beach House.

Follow me on Instagram: @HomeBunch

You can follow my pins here: Pinterest/HomeBunch

See more Inspiring Interior Design Ideas in my Archives.

“Dear God,

If I am wrong, right me. If I am lost, guide me. If I start to give-up, keep me going.

Lead me in Light and Love”.

Have a wonderful day, my friends and we’ll talk again tomorrow.”

with Love,

Luciane from HomeBunch.com

Come Follow me on

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from Home http://www.homebunch.com/home-renovation-2/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[dawnjeman]

Interior Design Ideas: Home Renovation

  Hello everyone! Do you have plans for the weekend? The weather is still very cold here and I am planning on slowing down and making some healthy and hearty meals and read “Design your next chapter” by Debbie Travis. I just got it and I am excited to start reading it. Let me know your thoughts if you have already read it. It seems to be a short and fun book – perfect to be read on a weekend.

But before I take a few hours to read my book, I hope you enjoy this beautiful home renovation done by Molly Griggs Interiors and with photography by Marina Storm of Picture Perfect House (also featured here). This is a two-story colonial home that belongs to a young family of four. They purchased their home and it was gutted to the studs to make it more open and functional for their family.

In my opinion, this home feels trendy without being ridiculous. I am sorry, but please correct if I am the only person thinking that people are overdoing when it comes to trends lately. There’s too much of the same and very little authenticity out there. Every house looks the same and everyone seems to be using the same “formula”. I have been working hard to find spaces that have a “soul” and I hope you enjoy seeing how beautifully renovated and decorated this home was. Nothing feels overdone and you can picture people actually living in these rooms. After all, that’s why we spend time and money with our home; to comfortably live in it.

Have fun seeing this lovely family home and feel free to pin your favorite interior pictures and share this house tour!

  Interior Design Ideas: Home Renovation

White kitchens will always be a classic choice, add neutral walls and dark-stained hardwood flooring to the mix and you certainly will end-up with a space that will stand the test of time. I feel that you can and should have fun with accessories, such as decor, lighting and even with certain pieces of furniture, but try to keep the main elements classic, especially if this is not your forever home. Classic and neutral sells.

Kitchen Layout

This kitchen features a fantastic layout and plenty of natural light, which is so important.

Countertop

Counters are Taj Mahal Quartzite. Taj Mahal Quartzite is a natural stone and it features a soft white background and subtle gold veins.

Beautiful Runners: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here & here.

Kitchen Faucet & Sink

Kitchen: Kohler in polished nickel.

Sink: here & here – similar.

Cabinet Paint Color & Hardware

Kitchen Cabinetry and Trim paint Color: Benjamin Moore “Super White”.

Cabinet Hardware: Lewis – Similar Pulls & Knobs in brushed brass.

Backsplash

The kitchen backsplash in 3×6 white subway tile.

Pot Filler: Kohler.

Woven Pedestal fruit Tray: Here.

Hardwood Flooring

Flooring is solid Oak hardwood in dark custom stain – similar here, here & here (low gloss).

Get this Casual-chic Look:

(Scroll to see more & click to shop)

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Lighting & Cabinetry

Lighting is Visual Comfort Katie Pendants.

Cabinetry was custom-designed by the interior designer.

Counterstools

Counterstools are Serena & Lily in Fog. These counterstools are comfortable and super easy to clean, which is a must when you have kids (of all ages) at home.

Bar

This kitchen also features a practical bar with built-in beverage fridge and upper cabinets. Great design!

Wall Paint Color

The kitchen walls are Benjamin Moore “Classic Gray”.

Window Treatment: Woven Wood Shade  similar here.

Dining Room

The kitchen cabinets continue to the dining area, allowing for more storage and counter space, which can also be used a butler’s pantry when entertaining.

Visual Comfort “Darlana Linear Lantern” – similar here (more affordable option).

Dining Chairs: Ballard Designs, painted to match cabinets – Similar Host Chairs: Here.

Similar Side Chairs: Here & Here.

Dining Table: Custom from Here – Similar: Here.

Living Room

This is why I love this home… because it feels like a real home!

The decor is approachable and comfortable, and that’s how I also like to live.

Paint Color

Paint color is Benjamin Moore OC-23 Classic Gray.

Similar Pillows: 3x 24×24 Tassel Pillows (similar here), 2x Block Print Pillows, 1x Blush Pink Pillow, 1x Lumbar Pillow.

Similar Sofa: Here.

Coffee Table: Here, Here & Here.

Rug: Mistana – Others Similar: Here & Here.

Tray

A woven tray brings some texture to this glass coffee table.

Coffee Table Decor

I like how the designer decorated the coffee table without over cluttering it. Simple is always best.

Sconces

Sconces are Savoy House.

Laundry Room

Upstairs you will find a newly-renovated laundry room with sliding barn door and dark grey cabinets. Trim, walls and barn door are painted in Benjamin Moore “Super White”.

Grey Cabinet Paint Color

Laundry room cabinetry is Benjamin Moore “Kendall Charcoal”.

Counters are white quartz.

Backsplash is white herringbone backsplash.

Hardware: RH – similar Here.

Lighting: RH – similar Here, Here & Here.

Floor Tile: Patterned ceramic tile – similar here.

Kid’s Bathroom

This kids bathroom is really a show apart. Can it get any more perfect than this? I don’t think so! Notice the stunning sink and the classic yet fun color scheme. Wallpaper is Hygge and West “Mermaids” in Red Coral.

Great Wallpaper Sources: Here & Here.

Sink: Kohler.

Vanity Paint Color

Bathroom cabinetry paint color is Benjamin Moore “Hale Navy”.

Countertop is white quartz.

Lighting: Rejuvenation “Carson” Sconce.

Step Up

This bathroom comes even with pull-out step stools under cabinet for kids to reach sink.

Cute Step Stools: here & here.

Hardware: RH – similar Cup Pulls & Pulls.

Pivot Mirrors: Rejuvenation.

Tiling

Walls feature 3×6 white subway tile wainscotting.

Flooring: Matte white penny tile.

Mudroom

This home keeps getting better! The mudroom is filled with creative ideas, from its herringbone tile to its cabinetry.

Flooring: Ceramic tile in herringbone pattern – similar here.

Lighting: Visual Comfort Hicks Pendant.

Letter Pillow: Jonathan Adler.

Cabinetry

Mudroom cabinetry, trim and walls are painted in Benjamin Moore PM-1 Super White.

Working Station

You can’t go wrong with a working station and this is a great spot for it. By elevating the desk you create enough height for a file cabinet on each side. Countertop is stained wood.

Counterstool: Gabby.

Powder Room

This has to be one of my favorite powder baths I have shared lately. This space features classic wainscoting, blue and white floral wallpaper, acrylic bathroom basin and a dramatic dark hardwood flooring.

Wainscotting in Benjamin Moore “Super White”.

Roman Shade: Here – similar.

Vanity

Basin console vanity with acrylic base is from RH with custom Taj Mahal Quartzite countertop – similar here.

Faucet: RH – similar here.

Mirror: here – similar.

Toilet: Kohler.

Blue & White Wallpaper

Wallpaper is Schumacher “Pyne Hollyhock” in Indigo.

Sconces: Visual Comfort “Bryant” Sconces.

  Many thanks to the photographer & interior designer for sharing all of the details above!

Interior Design: Molly Griggs Interiors.

Photography: Picture Perfect House (Instagram)

Builder: Lakewest Custom Homes.

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JavaScript is currently disabled in this browser. Reactivate it to view this content.

  Best Sales of the Month:

Thank you for shopping through Home Bunch. I would be happy to assist you if you have any questions or are looking for something in particular. Feel free to contact me and always make sure to check dimensions before ordering. Happy shopping!

  Serena & Lily: Free Shipping on Everything with code: NEWGOALS

  Wayfair: Massive Rug Sale! Up to 75% OFF!

  Joss & Main: Up to 80% Off on Clearance

  Pottery Barn:Mega Sale: Up to 60% OFF Plus Free Shipping

  West Elm: New Items on sale – Free Shipping with code: FREERIDE

  Horchow: Free Shipping with code: FREESHIP

  Anthropologie: Extra 50% OFF Sale Items!

  Posts of the Week:

2019 New Year Home Tour.

Belgian-style Modern Farmhouse.

Stone Cottage-style Home Design.

Custom Craftsman-style Family Home.

Newport Island Beach House.

New Year, New Beautiful Homes of Instagram.

Before & After Home Renovation.

California Duplex Home Design.

Stone Lake House.

Australian Beach House.

Family-friendly Home Design.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: Canada.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram.

Georgian-Style Manor with Traditional Interiors.

Transitional Home Design.

Interior Design Ideas.

Grey Kitchen Paint Colors.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: California Beach House.

Follow me on Instagram: @HomeBunch

You can follow my pins here: Pinterest/HomeBunch

See more Inspiring Interior Design Ideas in my Archives.

“Dear God,

If I am wrong, right me. If I am lost, guide me. If I start to give-up, keep me going.

Lead me in Light and Love”.

Have a wonderful day, my friends and we’ll talk again tomorrow.”

with Love,

Luciane from HomeBunch.com

Come Follow me on

Come Follow me on

Get Home Bunch Posts Via Email

Contact Luciane

“For your shopping convenience, this post might contain links to retailers where you can purchase the products (or similar) featured. I make a small commission if you use these links to make your purchase so thank you for your support!”

from Home http://www.homebunch.com/interior-design-ideas-home-renovation/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[theticklishpear]

I am planning on writing a fantasy book and two of my races are elves and fairies. However, I am having trouble thinking of a way that seperates them into different races. One idea I have is that elves were once fairies, who are beings of pure magic, that traded a majority of their magic to become a static being on the physical plane. I'm not sure whether to keep this idea though. I was wondering if you may offer any ideas? I love your blog by the way, definitely one of my favorites. Thank you!

Hi writer! Thanks for sticking with me all this time, it means a lot!

For your dilemma, I think it depends a lot on what mileage you’re trying to get out of your races. The origins and exact natures of both elves and faeries have been muddled across time and cultural beliefs occurring in virtually every Western European country, so giving you the historical lowdown on what the exact differences between the two are (and there are several) wouldn’t be particularly helpful, in my opinion. If you were trying to be accurate to specific elfish and fae traditions, you’d want to nail it down to one country and research away on the differences between the two. The collective understanding of them can be anywhere from “faerie is a broad term that includes elves” to “elf is a broad term including faeries” to “faeries have wings and elves don’t” to “neither have wings” to “they serve similar purposes” to “one is mischievous and the other is more benevolent” to “elves and dwarves are similar.” Sifting through to find the truth is nigh on impossible anymore, particularly now that we have Tolkien mucking it all up.

What this means for you is that you can do anything you want, within respect and reason. (That said, below the cut are some entries from a book I have.)

Let’s think about this a bit… Are these two branches of an ancient ancestor or are they entirely separate entities that came about distinctly on their own? Are there physical differences between them? Wings? Feathers? Scales? Ear shape? Hair texture? Gills? Hollow bones? Translucent skin? Eye shape? You don’t have to know exactly how they came to exist in the cosmos, so don’t stress about nailing that down too much, but do think about how closely related the two are. That will help you begin to determine what parts of their physical nature you may want to modify to differentiate them.

Also remember that making them physically distinctive isn’t a requirement. Maybe it’s a regional difference of the same race. Culture, lifestyle, and ability are going to create just as many immediately identifiable differences as over-the-top and overt physicality differences. If you focus more on making each of them believable groups of people, readers will be more willing to forgive that their physical descriptions are pretty similar.

Think about: What do they tend to care about? What kinds of environments do they gravitate toward living in? Trees? Plains? Meadows? Sea? Mountains? High elevation? Low elevation? What sorts of fashions do they wear? What is unacceptable to their culture? What will upset them, and in turn what are they thrilled to see? What are relations between various cultures and races like? Do they tend to be more petty, malicious, rule-bound, upright, truth-speakers or liars, insightful, helpful, peaceful, war-faring?

Sounds like you have magic going on in your world, so consider the differences in their magic and how it sets them apart from each other. What do they use or not use it for? How integral is magic to their existence? Are they made of magic or just have control of it? What kinds of abilities do they have with their magic, how do those abilities differ between the two groups, and how would it impact either race to not have magic at all? How do they view each others’ magic type and use?

Your idea definitely sounds pretty neat; just remember not to over-develop what won’t be necessary on the page. Knowing the background of where they originated is great, but if you’re not going to need to explicitly state it on the page for the readers, focus instead on the aspects they will see: how they look, how they act, how they live. Use those details to communicate that these two races are different without overloading the narrative with extraneous worldbuilding that could be kept behind-the-scenes influences to the characters.

Good luck! -Pear

From Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes:

Elf:

Origin: Teutonic

Elves are mysterious Northern spirits, sometimes equated with Fairies. Like Fairies, Elves have not been cleaned up and made over to suit sanitized children’s fiction, often portrayed as miniature, whimsical busy bees: Santa’s little helpers. Originally Elves were human-sized, sometimes taller, and they were renowned archers, artisans, and healers; author J.R.R. Tolkien’s portrayal of the sacred but dangerous Elven folk in The Lord of the Rings trilogy of novels hews closer to mythic tradition.

Elves live in a realm that parallels humans. Norse myth divides the Elves into Light Elves and Dark Elves, otherwise known as Dwarves. Scholars disagree as to whether the Elves and the Vanir spirits are the same, but they are closely affiliated. The Vanir spirit Freyr is the Elven King.

Elves are beautiful, volatile spirits of wild nature. They were not trivial spirits; once upon a time, bulls were sacrificed to them. Their significance is recalled in human names like Alvin, Elvis, Elva, and Elvira. Elves feature prominently in Anglo-Saxon spells and charms, many intended to protect from the Elves themselves. A hostile relationship between Elves and people is often now presumed, but before Christianity, spiritual alliances existed between Elves and people. Once this alliance ended, embittered Elves, previously helpful, may have turned dangerous, or, conversely, people were taught to fear Elves specifically so that they would not continue Pagan devotions. In Scandinavia, however, relationships between people and Elves were generally positive.

Like Fairies, Djinn, and Bori spirits, Elves can be benevolent or hostile; some can even cause illness. Elves strike at people with the poison darts known as Elf-shot, which cause illness and malaise. They may cause paralysis or stroke, too. Elves sometimes target cattle and livestock, as well as people. Various spells, charms, and amulets serve to protect against them. Elves are sources of wisdom, fertility, and wealth (when they want to be). They love music and dancing.

Manifestation: Seductively, alluringly beautiful

Realm: Alfheim (”Elf Home”)

Plants: Elder trees, rosemary

Sacred time: Offerings are traditionally left out for Elves on Christmas Eve. Although this now appears to derive from the myth of Santa’s workshop, it may actually be related to Old Norse traditions. Yuletide was a traditional time for visitations from other realms.

Fairy:

Also known as: Faerie, Fae, Fay, Fee, Fada, Fata, Hada, Draga, Encantada, Damizelos.

The word Fairy has become a catch-all for all kinds of tenuously related spirits. In general, what they share in common are associations with wild nature and an interest in human life cycles, especially birth.

Fairy is also the standard word used to translate amorphous, volatile, sexy nature spirits from around the world, especially if they’re female. Thus Vila, Rusalka, Keshalyi, and Tunder are all referred to as Fairies although they are all distinct types of spirits.

The word Fairy is related to fate. Birth Fairies–those who arrive shortly after a birth to announce a baby’s future and fortune–may be the “true” Fairies. This is more obvious in Italian than in English: the word for Fairy in Italian is fata or fada. Fata Morgana is literally Fairy Morgana.

For many people, Fairy means the Sidhe of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands. The word is commonly used in Ireland as the English translation for Sidhe. When people describe green as a Fairy color, for instance, they are referring to the preferences of the Sidhe. (Balkan and Slavic “Fairies” tend to prefer white.)

Shamanic healers and herbalists who work with Sidhe are known as Fairy doctors. The old shamanic tradition of venerating and working with Sidhe is the Fairy Faith.

Animals: Frogs, toads, dragonflies, butterflies, cattle, deer, and foxes are among the creatures most identified with Fairies.

Plants: Wildflowers in general, but also the following plants traditionally associated with Fairies–blackthorn (sloc), bluebells, brambles, briar roses and dog roses, crocuses (especially saffron), ferns, foxglove, hawthorn, heartsease, hollyhocks, lavender, morning glories, mushrooms (especially amanita muscaria), pansies, poppies, primrose (allegedly serving as keys to Fairy Land), ragweed (aka Fairy’s Horse), rosemary.

Time: Fairies favor nocturnal hours and threshold times, for instance, twilight and dawn.

Sacred dates: Fairies are particularly active from May Eve (Beltane, Walpurgis) until a last annual fling at Halloween.

Birth Fairy:

Also known as: Fates

In the famous story Sleeping Beauty, a king and queen, celebrating the birth of a long-awaited royal heir, throw a festive banquet for Fairies. Each Fairy brings a blessing as a baby gift. One Fairy fails to receive an invitation. Why the invitation was never received depends upon the version of the story, but the inevitable end result is that she bestows a curse, not a blessing.

This scenario is no mere fairy tale, but a description of rituals once common throughout Europe in French, Slavic, Celtic, and other regions, as well as among the Roma. Birth Fairies foretell (and may bestow) a baby’s fate. They are direct descendants of the Moirae, Parcae, and other Fate goddesses.

Following a baby’s birth, it was traditional to create an offering table for these Fairies. Ritual details depend on specific spirits to whom the ritual is devoted. There will be a set number of spirits and they will arrive on schedule. Most frequently, three are anticipated, but sometimes there is only one and occasionally as many as thirteen, as in the original version of Sleeping Beauty. Usually the spirits are female, but the Roma, for instance, have male and female birth spirits.

The offering table is the crucial element. A table is laid as if for a festive meal. Fairies, the honored, desired guests, are expected to come and dine: food and drink are offered. The table is set with individual place settings, napkins, glasses, the whole works. (Each tradition will specify how many Fairies are expected, although as in Sleeping Beauty, it’s usually best to be prepared for extra guests.)

Flower Fairy:

Also known as: Devas

Tiny little winged spirits, flitting from flower to flower, these are flower Fairies. Regular Fairies compare in size to humans, although many are skilled shape-shifters who can take any form. Flower Fairies are a separate, distinct species of spirit.

Theoretically, every flower may have its own Fairy. A field of wildflowers or a lush, flower-packed backyard contains a universe of spirits. Flower Fairies’ natures reflect the type of flowers with which they’re associated. Flower Fairies associated with the beautiful blossoms of poisonous plants, like belladonna or wolfsbane, have different personalities and interests than those associated with daisies and buttercups.

Flower Fairies suffer from habitat loss. Give them a home and they will come. Plant your favorite flowers and see what types of Fairies arrive with them. In general, Fairy gardens should not be overly manicured: allow a little wilderness to creep in so that the Fairies feel at home. Give them a little room for privacy, places to hide and observe where they won’t feel exposed. Add Fairy flowers, especially bramble bushes, wild roses, and hawthorn trees. Fairies enjoy the company of other species, too. Add butterfly gardens; bird and squirrel feeders; and/or bat houses. Incorporate a source of water: if a pond or stream is unavailable, a birdbath may suit them. They may be happy to share a hot tub with you, too. Ornaments such as crystals, statues, or witch balls are equivalent of interior decorating for Fairies. Flower Fairies tend to make themselves visible to children. (Alternatively, many children are very good at seeing them.)

Iconography: Modern perceptions of Flower Fairies are heavily influenced by the popular works of Cicely Mary Barker (1895-1973), the author and illustrator of the “Flower Fairy” series of books.

Offerings: Creation and preservation of habitat is the ideal offering. Once at least a little habitat exists for them, invite Flower Fairies with offerings of honey, nuts, and thimblefuls of milk.

Sidhe; The Good People; The People Who Go Widdershins:

Pronounced and sometimes spelled: Shee

Origin: Ireland; Scottish Highlands

The Gaelic word Sidhe has three meanings: “barrow” or “tumulus”: ancient burial mounds often filled with treasure; “Fairy” or “Fairies” (the word is both singular and plural); “Fairy mound”: the sidhe are Fairies often living within the sidhe that are barrows.

When the Gaels successfully invaded Ireland, their predecessors, the divine Tuatha De Danaan were literally driven underground. They established their own parallel realms beneath the Earth. Fairy mounds are their portals. The Dagda, among the leaders of the Tuatha De Danaan assigned each member of the Tuatha De residence in a sidhe or mound. The Tuatha De Danaan became known as the Sidhe.

The key word regarding the Sidhe is beauty. They are magnificent, passionate, proud spirits who perceive themselves as worthy of veneration and intense respect: they accept (and perhaps expect!) small but consistent offerings such as dishes of milk placed out overnight on the windowsill or doorstep. There are male and female sidhe. They have an elaborately structured society that parallels that of humans.

The sidhe have an intense relationship with people, characterized by love and hostility. Once upon a time, they were the subject of passionate human veneration: hidden within fairy tales and legends are suggestions of Pagan devotion and voluntary channeling of spirits, similar to modern spiritual traditions such as African Diaspora faiths and Zar.

The Sidhe are master healers and may bestow this medical knowledge on those people they favor. So-called Fairy doctors combined herbal and shamanic healing and were trained directly by the Sidhe. On the other hand, the Sidhe also inflict illnesses like sudden tumors, stroke, and paralysis.

Sidhe stand accused of stealing humans, especially babies, children, midwives, and wet-nurses. The milk they expect as offerings may not always have been bovine; legends tell of Fairies accosting women and begging for a sip of human milk. They are generally not industrious spirits: their passions are dancing, music, poetry, and pleasure. They do raise cattle, which they sell or trade at fairs.

A ritual from the Scottish Highlands encourages bribing the Sidhe to save lives: 1. Sit on a three-legged stool at a three-way crossroads at midnight on Halloween; 2. Listen: voices will intone the names of those destined to die during the next twelve months; 3. This destiny may be avoided by returning to the spot with gifts for the Sidhe: one gift for each person whose destiny needs amending.

Color: Green

Time: Most Sidhe are active from dawn until noon and then from dusk until after midnight.

Days: The Sidhe are particularly active at Beltane (May Eve), Midsummer’s Eve, and Samhain (Halloween).

Sacred sites: Barrow mounds associated with individual sidhe are well-known. Fairy forts, also known as ring forts or stone forts, are circular earthen banks or stone walls. There were once as many as 60,000 of these circular earthworks in Ireland. Local names for them include cashel, forth, rath, or rusheen. Ring forts became known as Fairy forts because they are allegedly among the favorite haunts of Fairies. Ring forts can be physically or spiritually perilous, as many contain underground passages.

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For Valentine’s Day, Nine Stories About Flowers

In addition to being obvious testaments to beauty, flowers are often bound up in human ritual. We give blooms to note a birth, a death and many occasions in between, including the, well, blossoming, of romantic love. At a certain point, though, we long for something more surprising and complex than the single stems of roses and carnations that we might have given to middle school crushes. Here are nine stories that show how else one might think about or use flowers (or even weeds), from turning them into sculptural headdresses to incorporating them into a home-cooked meal — on Valentine’s Day or otherwise.

How to Cook a Meal (Almost) Entirely Out of Flowers

How do you create a flower-centric restaurant that doesn’t feel like a bridal shower? If you’re Alessandra and Mario De Benedetti, you ask your good friend, the artist and writer Leanne Shapton, to paint your walls with a geometric watercolor mural, and you ask Elizabeth Roberts, the architect known for her light-filled, thoughtfully reworked Brooklyn brownstones, to design the rest. The result is a high-ceilinged oasis on 26th Street in Manhattan, a stone’s throw from the flower district, bedecked in pale wood and Patricia Urquiola chairs imported from Italy. The space, Il Fiorista, doesn’t so much look like a bouquet of flowers — rather, it offers the calming, rapturous effect of smelling one. The restaurant’s team shared advice (and recipes) on how to bring floral notes into your next dinner party — without overwhelming your guests. Read more.

Japan in Bloom

What has remained consistent throughout the last 150 years of Japan’s history is its love for cherry blossoms, or sakura, as they are commonly called. Anyone who has even a passing interest in Japan knows this, has seen the photographs of black-suited salarymen having picnic lunches in an incongruously pink landscape, like something out of a child’s fantasy bedroom. When cherry blossom season nears — typically the first and second week of April, though that is changing — news programs and papers start airing and printing cherry blossom reports, sakura zensen, alongside the weather forecasts, noting where and when in the country the trees are or will be in peak bloom. Equivalent environmental reports are made about snow in Colorado or waves in Hawaii or maple leaves in Vermont, but when the West covers the Japanese interest in cherry blossoms, it is often with a faint, patronizing smirk, as if there’s something essentially silly and feminine about being so fascinated by the color pink. Read more.

A Designer Who Makes Impossibly Lifelike Flowers From Everyday Materials

In the designer Sourabh Gupta’s studio, in a nondescript apartment building in East Harlem, flowers bloom on nearly every surface. Towers of hollyhock animate one corner with their showy hot-pink-and-white blossoms. On a nearby bookshelf, pale lady’s slippers, Carolina roses and strawberry buds spring from earthenware pots. Gupta moves about gently tending to his nursery — not with pruning shears and trowels, but with tweezers and a magnifying glass. Only up close is it clear that these perennials are all made of paper, stunningly lifelike down to each delicate pistil and stamen. Read more.

How to Arrange Flowers for an Unexpected, Wild-Looking Table

“I’ve always loved gardening and plants,” says the Brooklyn-based artist Joshua Werber, who is best known for his fantastical floral headpieces. “I’ve been gardening since I was in high school.” Despite his early green thumb, Werber only transitioned from working in ceramic sculpture to floral design in the last decade, initially producing arrangements for settings and events. As part of our series on Summer Entertaining, T asked Werber to create three decorative arrangements for the table using fruits and vegetables, herbs and weeds as each of the separate main components. Read more.

The Power of Wearing Flowers

Long before makeup or millinery or jewelry, our first adornments were plants and flowers, and our love for them was — and is — universal. Perhaps we have never known better. But how and why we wear them has shifted over the years, from the laurel wreaths of the ancient world, bestowed on victors (and deemed so necessary to the functioning of a martial culture that Darius III of Persia, in the fourth century B.C., kept 46 men employed just to weave them), to the floral crowns donned by animists in medieval Europe to dance around maypoles and welcome spring. Read more.

The Studio Delivering Exotic, Color-Coded Flowers

To simply call Buunch a flower delivery service would be something of an understatement. The offshoot of the floral events studio L’Atelier Rouge does, in fact, offer a streamlined selection of color-coordinated arrangements for delivery throughout New York City. But Buunch’s imaginative, effervescent bouquets — which pair unconventional flower selections with shapely, colorful vases — offer an artistic, of-the-moment rejoinder to the usual floral-shop deliveries and the recent wave of digital-first florists. Clients order from a menu on the Buunch website that categorizes current selections by hue: choose “yellow/orange” for a composition made up entirely of fiery gloriosa, perhaps; click “purple/black” for an inky, arachnid-like spray of black millet, lady’s slipper orchids and heuchera leaves; or select “rainbow” for a scattering of dyed baby’s breath and dianthus. Read more.

How the Common Weed Has Grown on Florists (and Chefs)

A weed is unwanted: That is its definition. It is a plant that we have deemed to have no value because it contributes nothing to our life, neither nourishment nor beauty. But now, weeds are not only welcome but guests of honor, proliferating with our blessing across front yards and formal gardens, shacking up with more “respectable” flowers in grand floral arrangements and shaggy bouquets and bringing a whiff of forest and meadow to 10-course tasting menus. This isn’t entirely new: The mid-20th-century English florist Constance Spry, a railway clerk’s daughter, was famed for heaping sprays of cow parsley at high-society weddings and debutante balls, and the revered English gardener Beth Chatto was nearly disqualified from one of her first horticultural shows for entering native flora that one judge ridiculed as weeds. But the current obsession with these unruly plants speaks to a larger cultural moment. Read more.

Guerrilla Flower Installations That Don’t Last Long at All

Even the most ephemeral street art is not usually this fleeting: Minutes after the work is finished in the metallic glint of dawn, passers-by stop, stare — then carry bits of it away, until the whole thing collapses. The act of creation has been briefer than a spring shower; destruction comes even more swiftly. Soon, all that is left is a scattering of petals and twisted stems, curled on the ground like punctuation marks. Photos of the piece survive on social media, of course, as most things now do — a cascade of orchids and echinacea, nature sculpted into a gloriously unnatural state — but even the images are haunted by the specter of wilt; it’s built in. Guerrilla flower “flashes” are taking the most evanescent of the decorative arts into places it has rarely gone. Read more.

The Barren Charms of a Winter Garden

Steven Edney, the English plantsman and horticulturalist, has been challenging the established thinking that values spring and summer blooms above all (sometimes to the detriment of a garden’s biodiversity) and to investigate the possibilities of fall and winter. He has questioned the incessant demand for tidiness and “perfection” in a garden, which leads many to pinch off shriveled flowers before seed heads can form. The traditional argument for this grooming procedure, a routine part of gardening called deadheading, is that it can encourage another bloom. To Edney’s mind, that’s a limited view; a plant’s worth shouldn’t be confined to the brief moment of its most overt and brazen appeal. For a seed head is no drab aftermath. Read more.

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Flower Delivery Cypress

Today I’ve invited blogger extraordinaire, married woman Levinson, from Grasshopper to share her favorite floral blogs. Grasshopper may be a company “built by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs.” They’re huge fans of however florists particularly utilize blogging and social media to assist their businesses grow. scan additional concerning Rebecca’s favorite floral blogs below:

Flowers are quite a giant deal. They’re a continuing, reliable presence at a number of life’s greatest moments and most difficult trials. They’re quickly a straightforward construct and a posh international trade. Flowers have impressed painters, scientists, and unnumerable others for hundreds of years.

It’s no surprise, then, that flowers have sculpted out their own corner of the blogosphere furthermore. whether or not you’re an expert, an amateur, or simply a devotee, here ar four floral blogs you must positively look into.

Floret Flowers Blog: beautiful Community in Flower Delivery Cypress

The flower Flower Farm has been publicized joined of the nation’s prime “farmer florists,” and their story is as romantic as their arrangements. they provide flowers to specialty outlets within the Pacific Northwest, and make bouquets and arrangements themselves. They additionally operate workshops that attract farmer florists from everywhere the state.

Erin Benzakein is that the founding father of, and blogger for, Floret. additionally to farming and floral composition, she is associate degree amateur creative person, therefore the journal is filled with dreamy photos of their arrangements and farm. a number of the continual themes on the flower journal are:

The seasonal Flower Alliance – A weekly project to assemble a bouquet of seasonal flowers. most are invited to play. Designers will post a link to their photos within the comments hebdomadally, and/or use the hashtag #FlowerDeliveryCypress on Instagram.

Interviews – With a confessed passion for, and bias toward, alternative farmer florists. variant Q&A, and much of inspiration.

This Moment – These are denote weekly (for the foremost part). One image from the previous week, while not comment or clarification. A fun, generally mysterious, very little insight into life on the farm.

The flower journal sometimes updates once or double hebdomadally, and whether or not its an enormous interview or one, non-captioned image, the reader is rarely defeated.

Tulipina: distinctive, Natural Beauty. Flower Delivery Cypress Provide These kind Of flower in cypress

Tulipina may be a store floral style studio close to urban center, closely-held and operated by Kiana brushwood. brushwood adds beauty primarily to “eclectic events” and weddings, and her work has been featured in a very host of magazines and websites.

Underwood posts on her Tulipina journal concerning once per week, and every providing is usually photos. She offers a bit background on the event, and is generous in naming the flowers and sources of inspiration. There ar some regular themes that pop up:

Unique Vessels – Caddies, ladles, storage containers — you name it.

DIY – These embrace piecemeal photos for Underwood’s arrangements.

Humans with Bouquets – generally the humans ar hand-picked for a price they embody or for alittle business brushwood desires to share. generally they're simply folks she bumps into on the road.

The simple focus of Tulipina may be a refreshing quite epiphany. brushwood features a pure appreciation for beauty and sharing it with folks, and therefore the Tulipina journal is each a method associate degreed an finish to try to to thus.

Green Wedding Shoes: Inspiration Overload in Cypress Flower Delivery

Green Wedding Shoes is concerning love — principally weddings, however marriages too — over flowers, however you'll hardly have love or weddings while not flowers! several florists do the majority of their business in weddings, however even for people who don’t, inexperienced Wedding Shoes may be a treasury of concepts and inspiration for designers.

Jen mythologist is that the Editor and artistic Director for inexperienced Wedding Shoes, and she or he posts daily (sometimes over once). a number of the continual themes include:

Real Weddings – Readers will submit their weddings, and mythologist curates and shares the simplest ones. These posts ar saturated with photos of what folks do, and filled with lovely concepts.

DIY concepts – From favors to flowers to backdrops, mythologist hosts a gallery of sensible, do-able styles inspirations.

Thank you Rebecca! I’m a bit passionate about these bloggers, too! Tulipina is an element of BloomNation and Saipua may be a constant breath of contemporary air and supply of inspiration on behalf of me. I’m thus glad you shared these lovely blogs with our fifth & Hollyhock readers. If you’re a florist, designer, assistant, or alternative tiny business owner, BloomNation chief operating officer and Co-Founder (and my super-cool boss), Farbod Shoraka, are a featured panellist at a live, on-line event for Grasshopper on Wednesday, Oct twenty ninth . Everyday Businesses will Leverage Social Media to Grow and whole Their Businesses may be a free, round-table discussion designed to assist traditional business homeowners get the foremost out of their social media networks. Hope you'll tune in!

Visit Flower Delivery Cypress Official Website

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Beautiful Homes of Instagram Beautiful Homes of Instagram is one of Home Bunch‘s most popular series because it not only shows how homeowners design their own home but also because it shares a variety of styles. Today, I am very happy to have Heather Strommen from @SweetShadyLane. I’ve loved her historic lakehouse for some time now and her timeless way to design her home always leaves me inspired to say the least. Today you will get to know about Heather and all of the details of this special home. She is sharing all details, from paint colors to the story of her home under each picture. Let this house tour transport you… Beautiful Homes of Instagram “Mona Bina – Home For All” was built in 1937. We purchased her in 2014 only hours after walking through for the very first time. We hired Landschute to lovingly restore her to her previous glory. Funny thing was, we were looking for a new house, but her charm could not be ignored. We fell in love immediately. Architecture Our builder, Jon Monson is notorious for restoring old homes. Where most people may have seen a “tear down” we, along with Jon saw potential. Lake side details of Mona Bina: Diamond windows, lattice railing, beautiful stone steps. In her full lakeside glory… She is truly something to behold. Lake Lake Minnetonka. Welcome! Living on a lake is like living with living art. The time of day, the light, the clouds, the sailboats that drift by… Every minute of everyday day is different and beautiful in its own way. Here, Dorothy and Buster our English Bulldogs are enjoying the “golden hour” on the lake as the sun is just setting. Front Door That first visit with the realtor, I opened the front door and I felt like I had opened it a thousand times. It was an explainable feeling. The new, expansive front door is painted Benjamin Moore. The anchor door knocker is from Nantucket. Rug is from International Market Square “Sale Room” (open to public.) Just steps away, visitors are greeted with Landschute’s magnificent work-coffered ceilings, wood panels, intricate moldings and details upon details as Lake Minnetonka and all its beauty beckons you in. Entry I love to move things around. Pictured here is an antique table of my Grandmother’s. I love the simplicity of just the table against the bare floor. I call this one “the ladies and the ducks.” I’m slightly obsessed with myrtle topiaries (as you can see) and any and all brass figurines. Wood floors are Du Chateau-walnut with an oil stain. Antique wood sconces by Landschute Builders private collection. Paint color is Dove White by Benjamin Moore Foyer Bench Spindle bench is from Francis King showroom. Cushion in Schumacher plaid. Grandfather clock is an antique. Timeless Another view with a change in furniture. I love to pull the rugs up so I can see the beautiful detail in the wood flooring. Pine dresser is an antique, but I have found similar at English Traditions in Naples, FL. Brass hurricane lamp from Homegoods (similar here & here), Brass lamp from an estate sale (similar). Custom mirror by The Great Frame Up. I love mixing in old and new lighting ! Antique wood sconce is from Landschute’s private collection. Living Room The living room is one of my favorite rooms. The coffered ceiling and soft colors in the fabrics along with the southern facing windows leads to a soothing experience. Chairs are A. Rudin and I adore them. They are the most expensive pieces of furniture I have ever purchased and I have zero regrets! The quality is outstanding and the comfort is out of this world. Antique side table from One King’s Lane (similar), Blue and White pottery from John Derrian in NYC, brass-looking glass is an estate sale find. Art from The Atelier Collection, rug is Couristan carpet made into a rug. I needed a custom size to fill the space and this rug had everything I wanted; warmth, nautical and classic. Blanket over chair is Faribault Mills. Bergere chair in a Schumacher mohair. Fireplace Glass sconces flanking fireplace from Landschute’s private collection. Green bamboo chair from IMS sale room (similar), Tray table from The Sitting Room Studio. Lantern is HomeGoods, vintage art by, The Atelier Collection. Large blue and white ginger jar is from Chesterdales in Naples, FL. Little one was a gift from my girls from William Sonoma. Art Vintage art by “The Atelier Collection”. Hayley, the curator had this in her personal collection and I loved it so much she let me graciously take it right off her wall. The tones are so rich and the frame is to die for. You’ll see very soon that I have a “slight” obsession for clipper ships. Antique Coffee Table First of all…This coffee table!! It’s a 1970’s Baker bamboo table that I found on (get ready for it) ETSY!!! I nearly died. Seriously! It’s a gem and I will own it forever! (Find a similar coffee table here). Couch, The Sitting Room Studio, blue pillows, Schumacher. Tiny print pillows, Amy Karyn. Sail boat needlepoint is from Chazin Interiors. I adore design books and often look through them for inspiration. I’m amazed at how often I notice something I never saw before. Countless design inspiration just a reach away. Coffee Table Decor Bird’s eye view of my favorite table. Ginger jar from Chesterdale’s antique store, brass box from an estate sale. Flowers by, Designer Blooms. Rug, Courtesan carpet. Topiaries The ladies (myrtles) travel from room to room and I love how easy going they are! They love the southern sunlight in the living room. Lantern from HomeGoods. Vintage art (the best collection I’ve ever seen) The Atelier Collection. Ottomans Living room ottomans are from The Sitting Room Studio. I love ottomans because they can move easily from room to room and come in handy for gatherings when you need extra seating. Bunny sketch is from Nash Frame. Pine table is a garage sale find. Side Table Decor Close up of my antique table. I love it’s size and charm and it’s perfect between the two A. Rudin chairs. Console Table This pine console table I have had for over 25 years. It used to be my writing desk and now it sits behind my living room sofa, separating the living room and dining room. Cubes are from Etsy, slipcovered in Schumacher Tribal print. The print reminds me of nautical flags. The ginger jars also get moved from table to table. Flowers by Designer Blooms. Silver tray is an estate sale find. Small ginger jar is a find from a Nantucket antique store. Star glass hurricanes are from Bean & Roe. I love collecting shell boxes. They add a natural textural touch to any room and remind me of the beach. Win Win! Dining Room Dining room table is Shabby Chic Couture from NYC. End chairs are from Hollyhock in LA. I’m planning on slipcovering the end chairs for winter in a plaid skirt. Chandelier is Lowcountry Originals Spring Island Oval Basket Chandelier. I love the magnitude of it over the table. These bamboo chairs have a story. I was at a furniture consignment shop in Florida, and they were on hold for someone else. I begged and pleaded to buy them, but the manager made me wait until the end of the day to see if the customers was going to follow through. At 5:59 I was told I could buy the chairs! I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited about a “find” in my life. I shipped them home knowing they would be the perfect match for our new home. Built-in Cabinet Built in cabinet is filled with antique silver that I collect at antique stores and estate sales. All the nautical ware is from Nantucket. Clipper art from The Atelier Collection. Bamboo chairs are covered in Hollyhock for Lee Jofa blue. Classic & Timeless Kitchen I’ve always wanted a white kitchen and Landschute is known for building classic white kitchens. White Carrera marble on countertops and backsplash, Silver hardware on cabinets. Tempered antique glass in upper cabinets. Island measures 106 by 54′ and is painted “Benjamin Moore Black” with antique brass pulls. Kitchen faucet is gold and with a farmhouse sink. I love mixing metals in a kitchen. Star pendant lights are antiques from Nantucket. Glass dome is HomeGoods. Topiaries from Harvest Home. Clipper ship art from Nantucket. Range Black and brass stove is ILVE and I love its form and function. Flower molding above stove is from the previous molding of front door. I wanted to work it in somewhere and luckily, it landed right here. From Above Kitchen rug from Traditions. Close up of brass features on ILVE stove and island hardware by Bosetti Marella. Sink & Faucet Farmhouse sink and brass faucet. Fruit bowl is Match. Sconces from Currey and Co. Sink is Shaw’s Original. Faucet is Perrin and Rowe. Polished nickel hardware is RKI. Cutting board from HomeGoods. Kitchen towel from Nantucket Looms. Kitchen Countertools Kitchen stools are from Layla Grace covered in Elizabeth Eakins small print. Whale cutting board from Anthropologie. Butler’s Pantry Back pantry has a butler’s vibe. Antique rug was a gift from a friend (similar here). Pine bench is an antique. Whale pillow from Homegoods (similar here). Mirror is antique from Mountain Dandy in Jackson Hole. Star wallpaper is Osborne & Little – Vintage II Coronata Star. Kitchen’s Pantry A peak inside the pantry. Doors are salvaged from another old home. Wallpaper is Elizabeth Eakins, Antique cow portrait from John Derrian in NYC. Vintage lights from Landschute’s private collection. Spindles Wooden antique sconces from Landschute’s private collection. Wallpaper is Schumacher. Dog oil is of our two beloved large dogs, a Newfoundland and a St. Bernard. The artist, Barbara Grieving. Because of the gold stars on the runner, I chose a classic damask gold tone wallpaper. It fits seamlessly into the house. Stair Runner I’ll never forget the day this runner was put it. I was giddy! The whole house is pretty quiet and serene and then all of a sudden…Whoa – lots of stars! I love the nautical vibe paired with the quiet undertones of the rest of Mona Bina. Lighting is Visual Comfort. Stars Walking on stars! Children oil portraits by, Linda Nelson are treasured keepsakes. Flooring & Millwork I call this, “The Oval Office.” It’s actually just a very wide hallway, that we decided to make extra special. The floors switch to a herringbone pattern and lead to the master bedroom left (door is at an angle to get the best view of the lake upon entering) or the master bath, straight ahead. Chairs, rug and side table are from The Sitting Room Studio. Pillows on chairs are Schumacher. Bench pillows, The Sitting Room, Schumacher and needlepoint is Chazin interiors. Custom mirror, The Great Frame Up. Reading Nook Another view of The Oval Office with an appearance by Dorothy. Sitting Room When you enter the master bedroom, the first thing you see is a gorgeous view of Lake Minnetonka. The master sitting area is filled with light and we love all the windows and waking up with the sun. Couch is Quatrine, spindle chairs are The Sitting Room Studio (similar here ). Rattan cubes were a garage sale find for $30 that I covered with custom monogrammed cushions. (similar here or here for rope cubes) Side table – The Sitting Room. Brass lamp is an antique that I found on Etsy. Rug is ProSource (similar here). Redecorating Another view with a pine trunk I’ve had since my kids were babies and no rug with a winter back drop. Alcove Landschute is known for built-in beds and our master bed is my favorite. It is flanked by bookcases with an arched top and coffered ceiling. Linen bedding is Quatrine, clipper ship pillows are Schumacher, striped pillow is Quatrine. Blanket is from Nantucket. Master Bedroom Full shot of master bedroom built-in. The coffered ceiling and beautiful architecture are Landschute details that make the home feel so comfortable. Master Bathroom The master bath has diamond windows on both sides. The white on white marble floors and beautiful “Artistic Tile” tile rug makes it impossible for me to cover up for a rug. Lighting is Circa Lighting. Bath is Bain Ultra (AMAZING). Vintage sale boat from Indigo Seas in LA. Monogrammed towels are Pine Cone Hill. Towel Bar Monogramming is a great way to personalize a space. Towels from Pine Cone Hill. Wallpaper is Schumacher. Art, The Atelier Collection. Bath bar is Restoration Hardware. Decor I’m a serious sucker for vintage boats… My favorites are from Indigo Sea shop in LA and a Country Look In Antiques in excelsior. And sea shells. Always! Wall Art The stars continue up the attic stairs, surrounded by shiplap leading to the boys room. Custom flag art by, Abbey Holden Studio. Stairwell Art Stairwell art is an eclectic mix of clipper ships and Nantucket memorabilia. Antique runneris from Victory in Mpls. Overhead lighting is from Landschute collection. Coastal Boy’s Bedroom Built in Bed #1, antique pine nightstand, striped and plaid pillows from John Derrian in NYC. Vintage boy scout pennants. Rug is Dash and Albert. Overhead light is an antique from London – found on Ebay. TV Nook The boy’s nook. A cozy peaked ceiling, antique rug, The Sitting Room navy chairs. Ottoman is a garage sale find covered in a ticking stripe from Calico Corner. Cozy & Charming Pine dresser is from English Traditions in Naples FL. Rug is Dash and Albert. Pillows are John Derrian. Overhead light from London found on Ebay. Staircase Details Sister staircase that leads from master bedroom to kitchen. Dash and Albert runner. Oil painting of our old home by, Linda Nelson. Child portraits by Wendy B. Photography. Chandelier from Landschutes’s private collection. Topiaries from Harvest Home. Heather’s Office My mother’s writing chair recovered in Schumacher fabric. It sits a little low, so I had a tuft made so I could sit comfortably. I love the look! And the monogram chair back is so personal. Vintage art, The Atelier Collection. Marble lamps, Etsy. Comfy Zone Mirror is from Quatrine. Chair and hardware from The Sitting Room Studio. Wooden bird and shell anchor, John Derrian. Bamboo Chair I fell in love with this oil in Jackson Hole and had to have it. Bamboo chair from living room making the rounds around the house. Here they both are in my office. Powder Room Powder Room with antique mirror and sconce with the my favorite, Nina Campbell “promenade” wall covering. Sink and faucet by Kohler (similar sink). Towel bar is antique. The Nook We call this, “The Nook.” This is where you will find me every morning!! The nook is adjacent to the dining room and open to the kitchen and front entry. It’s where we hang out and catch up. Walker Zanger tile that looks like it’s always been here, navy chairs from, Wesley Hall (similar chairs). Anchor blankets from Grace Hill, pine table from English Traditions, Dash and Albert rug, antique sconces, Landschute’s private collection, antique boat, Indigo Sea Shop, Star gold wreathes on stands, Nantucket Looms. Clipper ship art above fireplace, a Nantucket find. Carriage House Mona Bina came with a carriage house. Back in 1937, this home was actually the gardeners. We remodeled “Mini Mona”, as we call her, first and lived in there while we waited for the “big house” to be done. We have 4 older kids, 2 at the time were in high school while we lived here and it was so charming and warm, sometimes I wondered if I’d even be able to leave it. It’s a real charmer. Currently, my mother and step-dad lives here and they are happy as clams. Back Porch Mona Bina porch. All furniture is Kingsley Bates. Brass bell is from Nantucket. Lakehouse This porch is perfect for lounging and staring off at the beauty of the lake. Custom “Mona Bina” pillow by Nantucket Monogram. Lake View This Kingsley Bates wicker swivel chair is my favorite spot to relax. Boat J’s Crew. Interiors & Photos: Heather from “@SweetShadyLane“. Make sure to follow Heather from @SweetShadyLane on Instagram and visit her blog to see more photos of her beautiful home! Be part of the Home Bunch community. Leave your comment. See more “Beautiful Homes of Instagram“: @sanctuaryhomedecor: Beautiful Homes of Instagram. @MyGeorgiaHouse: Beautiful Homes of Instagram. @my100yearoldhome: Beautiful Homes of Instagram. Click here to see all “Beautiful Homes of Instagram”. Posts of the Week Latest Interior Design Ideas. Trending on Pinterest: Hamptons-Inspired Home with Coastal Colors. Trending on Home Bunch: Open-Concept Family Home Design Ideas. Follow Home Bunch on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram. You can follow my pins here: Pinterest/HomeBunch See more Inspiring Interior Design Ideas in my Archives. Popular Paint Color Posts: The Best Benjamin Moore Paint Colors 2016 Paint Color Ideas for your Home Interior Paint Color and Color Palette Pictures Interior Paint Color and Color Palette Ideas Inspiring Interior Paint Color Ideas Interior Paint Color and Color Palette New 2015 Paint Color Ideas Interior Paint Color Ideas Interior Design Ideas: Paint Color Interior Ideas: Paint Color More Paint Color Ideas Hello, my wonderful friends. I hope you enjoyed seeing Heather’s home as much I did. I think this is my dream home! I love every single detail and how about that view?! Imagine waking up every day to that! Thank you for your presence here today, everyone and I want you to know that you’re truly appreciated here. May you have a Blessed, happy, healthy and fulfilled week! We’ll talk more tomorrow! with Love, Luciane from HomeBunch.com Follow @HomeBunch: Contact: “For your shopping convenience, this post might contain links to retailers where you can purchase the products (or similar) featured. I make a small commission if you use these links to make your purchase so thank you for your support!” Save