#was thinking about this a lot in religious studies today and it formed this post

[huellitaa]

𖹭𓂃 ࣪˖ saying no

something ive struggled with for pretty much my entire life 😭

𐙚๋࣭ people pleasing:

a person who consistently strives to please others, often sacrificing their own wants or needs in the process.

trouble with saying no to people often comes from insecurity. when you feel bullied into things or backed into a corner too often it can lead to agreeing with everything and anything just so people will like you.

1. take small steps

getting out of habits like this are not easy whatsoever and take lots of time. taking small steps to implement getting rid of people pleasing tendencies is the best way to go about this; for example, just blocking someone who bothers you and starting from there.

2. fake it till you make it !

confidence is something absolutely essential but not easy to attain; thats where this skill comes in handy. ive been doing this since i was little and i wont lie and say it melts into real confidence because it doesnt, its just a shield to hide behind until your are genuinely confident and id definitely recommend this 100% to anybody starting or struggling to try and break this habit. act like youre fine & unaffected in front of the people who put you in this position even if you arent. dont show your weaknesses when you know they can be used against you.

3. valuing yourself

value yourself over all else. you are the most important person in your life. validate, support, and value yourself. trust your judgement is right and prioritise the protection of your peace above all else because that is the most important thing.

4. body language

ok as a girl with an incredibly infuriating tendency to turn red over the tiniest thing i feel a little bit of a hypocrite writing this but this is very very very important. if you find yourself in a position where you feel unable to refuse something or anything of the sort you do not show that.

🩰 ─ even if your cheeks turn red act like they arent. ik its sosoosos embarrassing n ur screaming inside but act like its nothing. bcs it is nothing. ok so theres a tiny bit of colour in your cheeks. and? stand your ground.

🧸── back straight, shoulders high, face blank. you dont show anything on your face. show you are completely stubborn and set on your choice/opinion.

🎀 ── if they try to embarrass you or say smth what i do is i literally just blink at them like okay. i dont care. do whatever bro idgaf

5. no hesitation

for the love of god do not second guess yourself. if something makes you upset or uncomfy or anxious or anything like that you leave them you walk away from them you block them you do not second guess yourself and think "but what if" no idc. if it costs you your peace its too expensive.

6. does this help me?

ok obviously when i say to say no i dont mean to like everything. only to the things you do anyway even if you dont want to. if youre not sure what to do when faced with the option to do something you ideally wouldnt really want to the first question you should be asking yourself is "does this help me?" think of it only from your perspective and how it would help you. ask yourself if its really necessary and if its serving you in any way to do this. if its just to fit in with someone else even if you dont really want to then do it then dont do it. why isnt your own presence enough? your peace is the only priority you should have here. what would you tell someone you love in your position? think about it for a sec instead of panicking.

conclusion; people pleasing is useless. you are the centre of ur universe. your peace is the only priority. people are stupid. you can do this. dont let anyone make you feel less than you are. i love u 🫶🩷

[ladytomahawk]

it’s 5 in the morning as I post this but it’s better early than never ABAHAJJHH

I could literally write for ages but I literally wouldn’t be here rn if it wasn’t for this show it changed my life for the better. For the past year or so of me being into it a lot of bad events happened in my life and suffering through major depressive episodes, I’ve gotten through it like “the monkey team wouldn’t want me to be like this” and stuff like that. I guess it was just motivational for me but it genuinely got me through life. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a strong special interest in ANYTHING before, let alone for this amount of time. It also got me interested in real life primates in general, and also formed one of the career path possibilities of me volunteering at a primate conservation place someday. I know I haven’t been in the fandom for long but I’m glad to have met the friends that I have here and I’m so grateful for being here since it’s been really fun so far. I always get so embarrassed talking about my interests in real life but this for me is different I think, I’m passionate about telling all the lore in detail and I think it helped me open up more as a person. Plus it changed my artstyle for the better at drawing animals LOL. I know that’s a lot but I thought I would share my experiences as an autistic girl and having a special interest to this show. It’s all I can think about when I’m happy or when I’m upset and need to feel better. All I’m really trying to say is, Happy 20th anniversary guys!!! I hope you guys are just as happy and excited as I am <3

I really wanted to draw some renaissance inspired religious imagery lately and I thought “hey, why don’t I draw the monkey team as this? It’s two things I’m interested in and it would make history in general easier to get interested in for me personally.” Despite me not being the most religious person ever it was really fun to study the art during this time when working on this. And honestly, I started drawing this on Monday and just working my ass off to get it done today since I didn’t think I would in time. Enough of my yapping. THIS SHOW HAS BEEN OUT LONGER THAN I HAVE BEEN ALIVE WOOHOO! Starts running up and down the walls. Also this literally took me like 14 hours so notes of any sorts appreciated. 🫶 sorry my reach is kinda bad LOL

[leroibobo]

ok here's another explainer post explaining the aramaic language very basically:

what is aramaic?

to paraphrase wikipedia, aramaic is a northwest semitic language that the arameans (where the name comes from) spread somehow a really long time ago. it since became the prestige language in a bunch of empires like the neo-assyrian empire. although its place was eventually taken by other languges, it's still preserved to this day in many different forms.

nowadays, "aramaic" is a broad label for a very diverse dialect continuum, sort of like “arabic”, “kurdish”, “persian”, or “hindustani". in other words, it's like if we referred to all the languages in italy, including older ones like the latin spoken in roman times, collectively as “latin”. (this isn’t too far off how some governments think of minority languages actually, but that’s beside the point.)

how is aramaic related to other semitic languages?

being a northwest semitic language, aramaic is a sister of the caananite languages (making it an aunt of hebrew and phonecian), a cousin of arabic, and the second cousin of the ethio-semitic languages (making it the second cousin once removed of ge'ez). if you need a comparison, english is the second cousin of dutch.

how is aramaic used today?

specific sorts of aramaic are used today for religious and vernacular purposes. some religious aramaic:

classical syriac, which developed from eastern aramaic, is the liturgical language of the christian east and west syriac rites, each using their own dialect. classical syriac was also historically used as a literary language.

mandaic has a similar history, and is now used in the liturgy of the mandaean faith of the ethnoreligious mandaean people.

targumic aramaic refers to the archaic aramaic used in several antique translations of the tanakh from biblical hebrew into aramaic. the talmud is also in two different versions of older aramaic as well as mishnaic hebrew. these are used for study in general by all jews, and yemenite jews still use the targumim liturgically.

samaritans also have their own aramaic which is similar in form and use the jewish one.

all of these forms of aramaic are different evolutions in their own right - influencing and possibly descending directly from newer aramaic forms. we don’t know exactly what came from where, and linguists tend not to always be exactly right when figuring it out (which is why “vulgar latin” was a thing people thought was real for a while).

the vernacular aramaic spoken today are the neo-aramaic languages, which represent the latest vernacular evolutions of aramaic from late medieval times. most of the neo-aramaic varieties spoken today are central and northeastern neo-aramaic, which stem from eastern aramaic, and most of the speakers are ethnic assyrians. smaller communities speaking the only surviving variety of neo-aramaic which came from western aramaic exist in a few villages along the anti-lebanon mountains (like the village of maaloula in syria). a mostly aging community of judeo-aramaic speakers live in palestine.

a map of the homes of the living neo-aramaic varieties, which doesn't necessarily reflect where each variety is spoken (the labels are a bit confusing - pretend syriac/aramaic say "neo-aramaic", and specifically that "western syriac" says "central neo-aramaic"):

here's a map of the "larger" judeo-aramaic varieties by 1948 (judeo-aramaic was generally spoken in these areas but "smaller" dialects may not be shown or named):

i should say that not all speakers of these types of aramaic agree with some of the names linguists have ascribed what they speak. for example, "turoyo" speakers refer to their language as "surayt". linguists also gave the name "aromay" to the neo-aramaic spoken in maaloula, but the speakers themselves refer to their language as "siryon". "neo-aramaic" is itself an exonym. this part of the world is in general not written about a whole lot, and when it is, it's not always with the input of the people who are from there.

another interesting thing about the names is that, while christians tend to call it some form of s-y-r (sureth, suryat, siryon, etc, ie syriac), jews tended to call it some variation of either "our language", "jewish", or "targumic". you can find this in some other jewish languages/dialects/ethnolects.

christian/assyrian varieties seem to be a lot more widespread than jewish ones. what's that about?

there's a lot more christians in the world than there are jews.

what do you mean by “jewish” neo-aramaic, anyways?

"jewish neo-aramaic" is a term linguists gave to the many languages jews in those regions on the map spoke which are descendants of araaic. like the other types of neo-aramaic, judeo-aramaic is not one, all-encompassing language, but multiple languages that all happen to be spoken by jews. variations in regional languages can be as small as from town to town all over the world, communities with some form of separation may have their own dialects, religion has often had an effect on where you lived in the me historically, and this part of the world was known to be a place you fled to if you didn't like whatever government was in power (you could call it the "mashriq's appalacia"), hence, jewish neo-aramaic[s].

the degree of mutual intelligibility between jewish neo-aramaic types and other neo-aramaic types varies - some are unintelligible to other kinds despite the two being in the same city/town, others are exactly the same save for the stress in a word being on different syllables. differences don't mean jews and other aramaic-speakers couldn't have spoken each other's dialects, understood each other, or gotten influence from one another in addition to other contact languages. there was usually some other sort of medium they were using, be it arabic, kurdish, turkish, or a "neutral" aramaic. it's kind of like an amplified version of the differences between different arabic dialects in that way.

the association of "jewish language" usually brings about the questions of loanwords from hebrew or targumic (which many jewish neo-aramaics did have), mutual intelligibility with the "standard" form of a language, or social isolation (such as in yiddish, which itself wasn't even isolated, quite the contrary in fact), but that isn't what makes a jewish variation of a language "jewish". it's more that some variation of a language was used by jews in a specific context. (sort of like how the class differences in different english accents in the uk don't actually render different types of british english unintelligible to one another. or even how i'd probably avoid talking to my mom about my favorite video game characters because she has no idea what a "jun oda" is, but i can talk to her about other things.)

what about muslims? did/do they speak aramaic?

you can't switch the language you speak overnight, so yes, muslims who lived in places where aramaic was still widely spoken spoke aramaic instead of and even in addition to other languages in the past. also, that someone stopped speaking aramaic doesn't necessarily mean it's gone forever - not only are muslims thought to have retained an understanding of aramaic their non-muslim neighbors may've spoken even if they didn't speak it themselves, but aramaic influenced some of today's regional arabic dialects. (more on that later.) the association of neo-aramaic with non-muslims is actually rather recent in that regard.

as for aramaic-speaking muslims today, most of the the aramaic-speakers in the speaking communities on the anti-lebanon mountains i talked about earlier are muslim. the communities are close-knit, and the isolation helps.

and what about mandaeans and samaritans? do they have a vernacular aramaic?

not only do mandaeans have one - neo-mandaic - but it's the only surviving pre-medieval vernacular aramaic dialect. (it’s the only vernacular aramaic that isn’t a “neo”.)

i’m sure samaritans also had their own vernacular aramaic before switching to arabic (which they spoke before the occupation happened). western vernacular aramaic usually didn’t last.

how come? does it have anything to do with most neo-aramaic being central and northeastern, like the map showed?

it does. differences in geography (east med = more densely populated; north mesopotamia = less densely populated and more mountains), which pre-arab and post-jesus empires ruled where (byzantines ended up with most of the places west aramaic was spoken), and how much those empires cared about aramaic resulted in arabic taking over as the vernacular in pretty much all the western areas except in more rural places, while more of the generally more isolated eastern aramaic-speaking communities lasted. in general, the more urban and shami you were, the shorter time it took you to adopt arabic.

also, classical syriac having a lasting literary history and barely any western aramaic languages being able to say the same contributed to what future generations were able to pick up on. the greek-influenced christians in those west armaic speaking areas had a habit of burning aramaic-language manuscripts because of church fandom drama. there's some revival efforts in traditionally western neo-aramaic speaking communities, though in places like palestine and lebanon, these may take on a certain political dimension that they don't have elsewhere.

what else differentiates different types of aramaic?

the same things that differentiate different versions of other dialect continuums: languages speakers spoke before, the passage of time, different neighboring languages, and geographic distance (“western”, “eastern”) bring about new quirks in pronunciation/phrasing/grammar/loanwords. this is pretty heavy stuff, so if you want the specifics, i recommend looking into the timeline of a specific aramaic language.

is western neo-aramaic closer to what jesus spoke? is it more authentic?

in theory, sure - he would've spoken a western vernacular variety called galilean jewish aramaic specifically. in reality, this question is like asking if british english is more authentic to the english shakespeare spoke. aramaic in general and the world as a whole have changed so much from the time jesus would've lived. he would understand any of today's aramaic just as much as shakespeare would understand the english spoken on tiktok.

how's mutual intelligibility?

it can vary significantly or not at all, but the same aramaic "basis" is still there in all forms. i'd wager it's about the same level of differences you'd find between different romance languages.

here's some transliterations of the lord's prayer (our father who art in heaven etc) in western neo-aramaic, suryat/turoyo, the eastern dialect of classical syriac, and (for some reason) hebrew courtesy of wikipedia to show a few differences:

or this one, of the assyrian and jewish urmia dialects:

did aramaic influence other languages at all?

like i implied in the second question, all the semitic languages are super close, and a lot of them have cognates or similar words/phrases. in that sense, it may not be as easy to say what definitively came from where, but that doesn't mean it's impossible.

before levantine and mesopotamian arabic speakers spoke arabic, aramaic was the lingua franca in the areas where they lived. aramaic forms a substrate in all of these types of arabic in loanwords, some pronunciation, and a few grammatical features. aramaic influence is more significant in certain types, such as in more rural dialects of levantine arabic as well as northern and jewish dialects of mesopotamian arabic, which speaks to how arabic spread in those areas. (i also heard the dialect of arabic marsh arabs speak has a lot of aramaic influence but i couldn't find a good source.) this is a pattern you can find in regional variations of arabic in general, such as the influence of coptic on egyptian arabic.

(arabic in general also has a number of aramaic loanwords, like دفتر (daftar), or "notebook". this word is originally greek but came via aramaic.)

hebrew, being often used together with it in the past (and aramaic eventually supplanting it as a spoken language), has been influenced by it for a while now. aramaic also formed an influence on pretty much all the non-aramaic (since those are already aramaic) jewish languages in a similar way to what happened with levantine/mesopotamian arabic, though hebrew influences jewish languages more than aramaic generally. it also influenced most of the loans in modern hebrew, including the words they made up (like "glida" for "ice cream", which comes from an identical word meaning "ice" or "frost". i don't know if the word "gelato" had anything to do with this as well, but it might as well have.)

aramaic also has influences on kurdish, farsi, armenian, ge'ez, turkish, latin, greek, and probably more that i can't think about right now via loanwords and terms, though they're not as significant. and yes, that latin/greek means we have aramaic-derived words in english, too, such as "messiah", though they're mostly in the form of given names like "matthew" and "peter".

is aramaic endangered? are the other varieties of aramaic extinct?

the religious languages are all in continuous use in one way or another, but not as vernacular with native speakers, so they'd be considered "dead". (this is what hebrew was before its revival.) an "extinct" language is a language that didn't even survive via written records, which some varieties of aramaic (mostly western ones, like i mentioned earlier) are.

as for vernacular aramaic, all of them are endangered - i don't think there's any varieties with over a million speakers, and no varieties are an official language anywhere - but some varieties are safer than others. the ones that are doing the worst right now are probably neo-mandaic (which only has a few thousand native speakers), the jewish neo-aramaic dialects (which can vary from a few thousand to a few hundred to single digit speakers, the one with the most speakers right now is the hulaulá ("jewish") dialect with 10,000 due to most of its speakers coming much later than others (from iran in 1979)), and a handful of christian/assyrian regional dialects (like the one of hertevin).

western neo-aramaic is endangered in the sense that it's the only surviving vernacular western neo-aramaic with a speaking community, but there's 30k speakers as of 2023, so it could be doing worse.

what scripts are used to write aramaic?

it's worth noting that vernacular neo-aramaic everywhere was only passed down orally for generations, and written forms, especially for teaching, are quite recent. also, all the scripts i'm about to mention are right-to-left abjads. that said:

the old aramaic script was used to write it in the past. from a combination of it and paleo-hebrew developed the hebrew script (which used to be called "ktav ashuri", or "assyrian script"), which has been used to write all jewish variations of aramaic since, and is used to write judeo-aramaic today. samaritans use their own script to write in aramaic.

the old aramaic script also birthed the nabataean script (which is the parent of the arabic script) and a few historic persian scripts like the pahlavi script (which gave us the avestan script).

syriac script, in use from the first century, is used to write classical syriac as well as the many varieties of neo-aramaic spoken by christians/assyrians today. the revival efforts in maaloula originally used a very familiar script but eventually switched to the syriac one because that one looked a little too familiar.

the syriac script also developed from the aramaic script. (if you know how to read the hebrew or arabic scripts, see if you can recognize letters below.) there's some variations between the eastern and western syriac scripts (called "maḏnḥāyā" (eastern) and "serṭā" (line) respectively), along with the classical 'esṭrangelā (rounded) script. the two main differences are:

vowel notation - western uses small greek letters (ܓܱ = ga, notice the small A on the bottom), eastern uses an older form (ܓܲ = ga, with a dot above and below). like with other abjads, you won't usually see vowel notations in use at all.

font/shape - you can't see them in unicode, but each have a particular style they're written in. as you can guess from the name, 'estrangela is more "rounded", eastern is generally heavier and conservative in its rendering, and western is more simplified. (the kind used in unicode is 'estrangela.)

some examples, again courtesy of wikipedia:

syriac script also has some descendants. its child, the sogdian script, was used to write the iranian sogdian language, and is the parent of the manichaean aramaic script, the old turkic script (which gave birth to the old hungarian script), and the old uyghur script (which gave birth to the mongolian and manchu scripts).

mandaic also has its own script, the mandaic script. it's another descendant of the aramaic script (maybe via parthian) in use since the 2nd century ce. it's used to write both classical and neo-mandaic. instead of traditional semitic letter names like "aleph", "bet", "gimel", etc, it's known to use its own names, like "a", "ba", "ga", etc. neo-mandaic uses a modified version of the classical script but it's barely written to begin with.

here's a written sample of article 1 of the universal declaration of human rights written in classical mandaic script:

i don't have any familial or religious connection to aramaic, but i'd like to learn it. can i?

after you pick which sort of "aramaic" you wanna learn, i don't see why not. it's not closed or anything. there's probably someone out there who feels differently but that's their problem.

where can i learn [aramaic type], or learn more about it?

i'm trying to find this out myself. the only actual judeo-aramaic learning resource i could find was the mysterious once-a-year class offered by oxford's school of rare jewish languages. that said, here's some resources i know about:

northeast neo-aramaic database project - a database by cambridge of info on different dialects of nena neo-aramaic, including recordings, layouts of the grammar, and comparisons between different dialects.

resources on reddit's language learning sub

two pdfs to make up for that broken first one

šlama.io - focuses on assyrian neo-aramaic (sureth)

surayt.com - resources for surayt

mandaean network - resources on mandaic.

r12a - resources on how different scripts in all languages work, good resource for languages/scripts in general.

if you know any more resources, reply with them to this post and i'll put 'em here.

[thegrapeandthefig]

Book "review": Personal Experience and Materiality in Greek Religion by K.A. Rask

Back in 2020, I wrote a post titled “Why personal devotion matters” which was, for the most part, a summary of a 2016 article by K. A. Rask ("Devotionalism, Material Culture, and the Personal in Greek Religion”). The post became one of my most popular ones, and I have noticed that others have also written about it over the years, and for good reasons.

Rask’s angle of study is one that I think is very relevant to modern worshippers since she focuses on the importance of personal experience and religiosity as it was lived by ancient worshippers. As Rask wrote herself, in the introduction of her article: “Many studies of Greek religion have glossed over personal devotion and instead emphasized ritualization and the social forces at work underlying Greek practice.” But us, who worship the Theoi in various ways today, very much focus on our personal experiences and it is true that the literature of ancient Greek religion only seldom echoed our experiences and praxis.

In April of this year, Rask published an entire book on the topic, titled Personal Experience and Materiality in Greek Religion which finally provides both academia and modern Hellenic pagans with a study to begin to understand the religious experiences of the ancients.

While I don’t want this post to be a formal review - and truly I am too biased in favour of her work to make one - I’d like to highlight some important points found in her book less through the lens of academia and more through the one of a modern worshipper who can recognize similarities. And hopefully, I can keep this post at a reasonable length (lol).

First, it is important to point out the boundaries of the study. Rask focuses on Archaic to late Classical data (8th to late 4th century BC) using an array of evidence, from literary sources to votives and other archaeological material. This is an important frame to keep in mind when approaching this study since a lot of religious changes occur through the Hellenistic and Imperial eras, which are outside of Rask’s chosen periods. Nonetheless, even for worshippers like myself who extend their frame of reconstruction/revivalism to later periods, the information provided by this book gives us a clearer idea of religious behaviours and experiences that are underlying to a more general religious logic or landscape that we are used to (from principles to more concrete things like festivals).

Home-made offerings and devotional labour

We know that there was a market for offerings. Ancient people bought ready-to-offer items from artisans and merchant stalls, especially outside of important temples. It is exactly for this reason that Rask pays special attention to self-made offerings and votives:

“These items took on a wide variety of forms, ranging from standard types familiar from votive media and genres, to more personal items directly related to an individual’s life and symbolic of the deity’s benefaction. Sometimes these personal offerings poignantly attest to a person’s pride in their own abilities and the belief that holy figures would find them pleasing.”

Rask recognizes self-made offerings as labours of devotion, where the effort of crafting the item already participates in the offering. While the initial example presented is the one of a ceramic dedicated to Poseidon, Rask extends her logic to other types of activities that include caring for shrines, decorating sacred spaces, growing/caring for a garden on the premises of a shrine etc. For the author, it all comes down to the idea that the time, effort and perseverance in one’s devotional work is a way to honour the gods.

There is little room in this post to go into the details of each category present in the study, but Rask spends special attention on wreaths, cakes, woven votives and wood carvings. Wreaths and cakes are very common offerings, which we find as part of various festivals (eg. the flower wreaths worn during the Anthesteria or, in Lampsakos, the wreaths of laurel offered to Asclepios etc.) As for cakes, the examples abound and show an important variety, from specially-shaped bread (deer, goat, genitalia…) for specific occasions or specific deities.

In any case, Rask nails it when saying “Making a gift is a particularly intimate activity, the process of which continually reinforces one’s connection to another. In a religious context, the maker demonstrates their piety through their labor, but in many cases, this work also seems to attest to reverence and even affection for the sacred recipient. As such, the process of making an offering is rendered personally and emotionally significant.”

And, as a modern worshipper, this is all extremely familiar. As I am writing this, there is a potted olive tree getting artificial light behind me because I want it to thrive for the gods, on my altar(s) are the clay votives that I’ve made over the years for various occasions, and then there’s this cross-stitch of Athena that I have really just started and plan to get done so I can offer it for the Apatouria, which will be in November and marks the New Year in my calendar.

Divine presence (or lack thereof)

Now, this is a hot topic in modern Hellenic pagan circles, especially when it comes to the anxiety around being heard/seen vs. not hearing/seeing the gods. I will say, before even beginning to summarize the two chapters of the book on this topic, that I find it… reassuring (for lack of a better word) to see that the concern around the presence/absence of the gods is so strikingly similar in modern and ancient worshippers.

The explicit presence that is so often discussed in modern discourse is referred to as epiphany. Definitions vary, but I will use Georgia Petridou’s as example: “the manifestation of a deity to an individual or a group of people, in sleep or in waking reality, in a crisis or cult context.” Rask also defines epiphany as “those moments when mortal witnesses encounter and recognize sacred powers.”

Both definitions open a wide scope of possible experiences that ancient (and modern!) worshippers recognize as the presence of the gods in their lives. As Rask points out: “the gods’ presence was felt and experienced in the successes, victories, and blessings that they provided. Holy figures watched over their devotees in the workshop, on the race-track, in successful romantic relationships, and throughout the course of long and fruitful lives.”

This is an interesting analysis of epiphany as a divine presence that is understood, felt, and sometimes simply observed. They impact mortals directly by having a hand in their affairs but also indirectly by being the things that surround us: Nature, Time, Food etc. Defining epiphany as the moment when mortals recognize sacred powers also encompasses what modern worshippers call “signs” in the form of dreams, omens or happenstance. Rask recognizes the chaotic nature of the gods in that regard, by saying that “while sanctuary authorities, infrastructure, and festival calendars might attempt to control access to the gods and heroes, divine presence could never be completely controlled. The gods and heroes gave instructions in dreams to whomever they chose”.

In contrast, the concept of divine absence is explained here as when: “gods and heroes suddenly disappear, becoming no longer perceptible to human senses. Persephone and Trophonios vanish, for example, with their disappearance crucial to their narratives, their cultic calendars, and the sanctuaries that celebrate them. […] these stories say more about the miraculous nature of divine visibility and human perception, rather than a world in which human followers were unable to feel the closeness of the gods and heroes; gods may be “visible at particular times, but this does not mean that at other times [they are] not there.”

Rask, however, doesn’t only conceptualize divine presence as something abstractly felt or experienced but rather expands the idea to the realm of materiality. She explains how, for the Ancients, the gods were present in their images. We can observe this idea through specific festivals that require the washing and tending to the statue of a deity, for example (the Athenian Plynteria comes to mind, as well as the Samian Tonaia). While there have been changes throughout the centuries concerning dedicatory practices, visual styles or cultural ideas, the images of the gods remained a part of daily life for the Ancients. Rask challenges the modern analysis of image as symbolism/representation and argues that, for the Ancients, image is a more fluid presence of divine powers.

She particularly focuses on the images of gods on worn items, such as rings, seals, and amulets which were seen as capable of manifesting a divine presence through physical contact with the wearer. Similarly, she analyses the importance of offering one’s hair as a bodily presence even when the body is somewhere else. When left at a shrine, hair is a remnant of the person’s presence near the god.

Childhood and lifelong dedication

I am moving this aspect to later, even though it is the third chapter of the book because it addresses the aspect we often are deprived of as modern worshippers, that is religious education through family and communities. Rask brilliantly highlights how Attic children were exposed to and included in religious activity from a very early age and grew into this cultural context. She makes the argument that this childhood experience of lived religion shaped the religious experience of the adults they became and created important emotional bonds with their religion (and the gods) which lasted throughout their lives.

The topic (like almost everything here, really) would deserve its own dedicated post, especially since I often see this point being used as an argument in discussions about worshipper’s safety when dealing with the divine.

 

There is much more in the book that I wish I could cover in a single post but this is already long as it is. For my magically inclined followers, this is also an important read, as Rask makes the excellent call to see magic as an extension of religious practice, and goes into the details of what human/god presence entails in magic. She also goes into the details of daimones and spirit presence. This aside, there is also a whole chapter in the book dedicated to the religious life of sailors, as it is its own topic. I simply cannot fit all this in a single summary/post, but I hope to be able to come back to this book and write about more specific topics.

[hoziernaturalevents]

Week Three Update!

Well, we've cleared three weeks of sign-ups for the Hoziernatural Multi-Ship Bang!

We've already talked to you about all of the variety coming in with the favorite characters and ships, but let's talk about favorite tropes!

(below the cut, in alphabetical order)

2-Person Love Triangle

A/B/O

Accidental Pregnancy

Adventure

Age Difference

Ambiguous Relationship

Americana

Amnesia/Memory Loss

Angel/Demon Relationship

Angst/Hurt

Angst & Fluff

Angst w/ Happy Ending

Anything Cheesey

Apocalypse

Atypical Relationships

AUs

AU - Coffee Shop

AU - Crossover

AU - Fantasy

AU - Historical

AU - Human

AU - Mafia

AU - Magical

AU - Modern

AU - Soulmates

AU - Space

AU - Western

Awkward First Time

Blood/Gore

Break Up/Reconciliation

Canon Adjacent

Canon Divergence

Canonverse

Case Fic

Character Studies

Cheating

Childhood Friends

Childhood Sweethearts

Co-Dependency

Comedy

Crack

Creature/Monster Fic

Cuddling for Warmth

Darkfic

Dead Dove

Dean - Trans!Dean (ftm)

Dean - Stanford Era!Dean

Different First Meeting

Dimension/Universe Travel

Domestic Fic

Dreamwalking

Early Seasons

Empty Fic

Endverse

Enemies to Friends

Enemies to Friends to Lovers

Enemies to Lovers

Episode Fic

Epistolary Fic

Everybody Knows (But Them)

Everybody Lives/Nobody Dies

Fake Dating/Marriage

Fix-It

Fluff

Forbidden Romance

Friends to Lovers

Friends with Benefits to Lovers

Fuck or Die

Gen Fic

Gender Exploration

Glasses!Character

Guilt

Happy Ending

Hauntings

Heaven Fic

Hijinks

Holiday Fic

Horror

Hurt/Comfort

Incest

Introspective Fics

Kid-Fic

Magic

Magical Realism

Metamorphosis/Transformations

Misunderstandings/Miscommunication

Missing Scene

Mutual Pining

Mythology

Non-Con/Dub-Con

Oblivious!Character

Only One Bed

Open/Ambiguous Ending

OT3s

Outcasts/Outsiders

Pining

Platonic Relationships

Platonic Soulmates

Poly Ships

Porn Without Plot/Plot What Plot

Possession

Post-Canon

POV - Outsider

Pre-Slash

Protective!Character

Psychological Horror

Purgatory Fic

Religious Themes/Imagery

Reunion

Romance

Sam - Boyking!Sam

Sam - Demon Blood!Sam

Secret Relationship

Self-Cest

Serial Killers

Sex Magic

Sexuality Exploration

Sick-Fic

Single Parent

Slow Burn

Small Town

Soulbound

Southern Gothic

Stanford Era

Strangers to Lovers

Switching

Tattoed!Character / Tattoos

Thriller

Time Travel

Tragedy

Trans!Character

Trapped Together

Undercover

Voyeurism

Whump

Wing-fic

(Side note: If you don't see your favorites exactly as you listed them, they probably got combined with similar/similarly worded ones. Your mod Rauko has never had so much sympathy for the AO3 tag wranglers as they have today XD)

We are only just over a week from the end of sign-ups!

See your favorite tropes in the list? Follow us and watch for the content! Maybe even come join us! You can sign up as an author, artist, beta reader, author pinch-hitter, or artist pinch-hitter, and we will match you with a partner based on the preferences you put on the form.

Don't see your favorites yet? Come join us and bring your friends! Worried your favorite is too rare? We have a really eclectic group and a lot of people who've said they're down for just about anything. If you're still worried, share our event with your followers! The more you do, the more we'll be able to reach people with your similar tastes!

Also, for those of you who've already signed up, if you see something in this list that maybe you didn't think of and makes you go "oh yeah, I'd like that!" feel free to edit your form to include it (you should be able to assuming you signed in). They'll remain unlocked until the end of sign-ups (March 31st). When you do, shoot @rauko-is-a-free-elf a message and let them know to make sure they notice the change.

(Full Schedule and Info) (Sign-Up Form)

[coping-via-clint-eastwood]

pride who i don't know her - Gil Grissom self-comfort fic

(A/N: This is an sfw extract from a comfort smut fic I'm writing. I'm posting it because the most important things of what Gil says here are echoes of what my best friend @addictedtostorytelling says to me.

Warnings - internalised homophobia and religious trauma)

Ah, 1st June, the start of pride month; the month where us queer people could be proud of ourselves and celebrate our identities. Well that wasn't for me; it was easier said than done, for people like me who had beem raised on and subscribed to homophobia ideology, only to discover that we ourselves were the very people we were taught to condemn, thus beginning a long spiral of self-loathing for a harmless trait as to who we are. I was fortunate enough to be one of the ones who grew to accept myself when I befriended people who accept me and were even queer themselves. But even then, I was not yet comfortable enough for total acceptance; I still struggled with the hatred that had been ingrained in me throughout my formative years.

I was lying in bed, facing away from Gil (who was asleep also with his back to me). I was not crying a lot, but a little of my hot, angry tears had fallen onto the pillow due to the sole fact that I was completely unmoving and had let them just drop. I was not angry at myself only for being bisexual; I was angry at myself for how ridiculous I was, with not accepting myself even though I logically knew that I was not doing anything wrong.

Such was the war in my head, but I was perfectly conscious of my surroundings as well. Gil's snoring and the scent and feeling of him in the bed and behind me were keeping me stable. But he eventually woke up, and I could hear and feel him turn and wrap himself around me, which I gladly snuggled back into, his scent flooding me over, sweetening the feeling in my head slightly. "Happy June," he whispered, kissing my cheek, then nuzzling behind my ear because he knew I loved that.

And, indeed, I choked flusteredly at the feeling. "Thanks, you too," I mustered out. He found out I had been crying when he touched my face to turn it, having intended to kiss me. He studied my face, knowing me well enough to have good guesses as to what the problem was.

"Is it what I think it is?" I gave a small nod. "Well..." he said, turning my whole body, "you know it's perfectly all right." He did not say anything more, nor did I need him to or respond myself, because it was something we had been through too many times. He just kissed me, silently letting me know that he loved me, that I was safe with him, that he did not judge me. I sighed shakily into it, considerably more relaxed than I was before but still nervous. "Are you gonna come to work today or?"

I shook my head. "Sorry...don't feel like it..."

"You don't have to be sorry. You're allowed to take time for yourself when you need it." He kissed me again; I closed my eyes, once again drowning in his scent and pressure. Not just on my lips but his whole embrace around me, making me feel whole. Not as someone who was whole to begin with but rather someone who was being lovingly held together and repaired, who would collapse as soon as that loving embrace left me, but at the time being, all was right.

When he pulled away, he got into the second order of business. "I want to make sure that you'll take care of yourself while I'm gone."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll get food, don't worry."

"Okay. Remember to drink plenty of water in between. Snack when you need to, don't be stopped by imaginary inhibitions." I nodded slowly and heavily to show my understanding. With one last kiss, he got up and got ready for the day.

When he was about to leave the room, I thought he was going to leave for the day, but he said, "Wait here." I did, and he soon came back with several packets of snacks and drinks, laying them on my nightstand.

"Thank you," I smiled, and he returned it. He bent down, and he kissed me on the forehead then my lips, and that was the last I would see of him for the next several hours.

[yaegercockwhore]

All Better - Eren Yeager Smut

originally posted to ao3 here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/36471352 enjoy <3

-> Grisha Yeager's son, Eren, had recently graduated medical school and had been hired by his father to work at his medical practice. When an absurdly innocent religious patient goes to see Grisha but is met with the tall, long haired man, what could possibly go wrong? Eren can name a few things, and no doubt that he'll do a lot more than just name them.

-> TW: dubious consent, religion RP, loss of virginity, doctor RP

The lighting in the office made your head hurt. The florescent lights buzzed above you, your fingers holding your skirt tight. Your red cheeks were hot and your heart beating fast, whether they were symptoms or a product of your anxiety you didn't know. Doctors offices made you full of unease, and hearing that Dr. Grisha Yeager was off fighting the pandemic on the front lines didn't help, either.

The nurse called your name, snapping you out of your anxious thoughts. She informed you that a Dr. Yeager would be seeing you, and suddenly you felt a wave of relief wash over you knowing that your regular doctor would be there. Eager for a slight taste of familiarity, you sat on the bed, the crinkle of the exam table paper under you making you more aware of yourself. Time passed slowly as you waited for Dr. Yaeger to enter, although once he did, you had wished you had more time to think.

"Hello," Dr. Yaeger greeted. "What's up with you today?"

This was NOT Dr. Yaeger. He had long brown hair, piercing green eyes, and was far more serious than Grisha. You studied his face for an uncomfortably long time, and when the initial shock faded you realized how attractive he was.

"I'm Grisha's son, here in his leave. Is that what's got you so distracted?" The man asked, a smirk dancing on his lips.

"S-Sorry Dr. Yaeger, the last names, I just... didn't realize it was you..." You trailed off, embarrassment written all over your face.

"Please, call me Eren," He stated blankly. "What seems to be your problem lately?"

Your hands found your skirt again and your face reddened again, unable to make eye contact. You didn't wanna talk about this to him... sensing your nerves, Dr. Yaeger -- Eren -- spoke up.

"Don't be nervous. You're safe here," He suddenly reassured you. You nodded in response, still unable to find the courage to look at him.

"Uhm, lately sometimes, I... well, between my legs, it gets all wet, and sometimes I get a strange feeling there too, and it makes my face really red, and I feel hot all over..."

Eren nodded, yet another smirk trying to find it's way onto his face. He wiped it off as he finally understood your nervousness.

"It happens often and I can't get it to go away when it happens," You continued to explain. "It almost feels like.. like a knot wanting to form in my belly."

Eren nodded in approval. He stared at your body squirming on the table in edge, and when you finally looked into his eyes with a pouty bottom lip, all of his sense lost him.

"I think I might know what the problem is, but we're going to do some tests first to figure it out, alright?" Eren asked, pulling blue latex gloves over his hands. "First, I need you take your clothes off."

Your embarrassment only heightened, but you wanted to get better, so you did as asked without a word. Eren's eyes remained glued to your body as if you were his last meal, your attractiveness undeniable to him. Unbeknownst to you, Eren was starting to feel some of the same symptoms as you, his dick leaking precum at the sight of your body and knowing just how wrong what he was about to do was.

"Good girl, now I'm gonna touch you in some places, and you're gonna tell me how it makes you feel," Eren told you, making you lay down on the bed. He took his hand and rolled your nippled gently between his fingers, elicting a small moan from your lips. "Shh, you have to be good for me. Tell me how it feels."

"G-Good..." You choked out. "Between my legs, though, it feels... like how I explained earlier, b-but.. worse.."

Eren let go of your breast and spread your legs, looking at your perfect pussy on display. You had barely been touched, and yet you were so wet. He chuckled to himself, thinking you were almost like an animal in heat. Maintaining his eye contact with your little hole, he went back to playing with your nipples. He was entranced, watching the way your pussy clenched around nothing, dripping arousal. His cock was fully hard now, the diploma of his that his father had hung on the wall an afterthought.

"Okay, that first test was definitely what I expected," Eren commented to you. "Now I'm going to touch between your legs, is that okay? Will you be a good girl for me?

"Y-Yes!" You almost whined. The feeling of his hands on your breasts felt insanely good, it was a new feeling and you loved it. You wanted more. Needed more.

Eren's fingers found your clit easily, and whether that was from experience or medical expertise, Eren didn't know. He rubbed circles, studying how you reacted and whimpered. He watched your hole clench for him, and it didn't take long for him to sneak a finger inside of you. You gasped, your eyes rolling back. You were so tight, Eren felt like he was going crazy.

"You're doing so good," Eren praised. "How does this feel?"

"So, so, so, so, so, so, so good," You chanted, his finger slowly pumping in and out of you. "Relieving, y-yet... not enough...I've never f-felt this..." He had checked your file; you were the same age as him, yet you clearly had no concept of sex. Your innocence not only intrigued him, but made his cock throb in his scrubs.

"Are you religious, by any chance?" He asked, pulling his fingers out of your drenched cunt.

"M-More.. keep touching me there..." You whispered, sweat dripping off of your face. Fuck, you were a mess. It was hard for him not to bend you over and fuck you right there.

"Answer the question..." Eren replied, his latex clad fingers hovering your pussy, his piercing green eyes meeting yours. "...and you'll get more. Don't you want to get better?"

"Y-Yes, I do..." You answered, tears forming in your eyes from need. Eren was seriously going crazy. Was this this the work of some succubus tantalizing him? He needed to know more.

"Do you know what sex is?"

"No... should I?" Eren could've cum in his pants by that answer.

"Do you know what lust is?"

"A sin." You replied, expression darkening.

"Babygirl, you're the biggest sinner of them all," Eren replied, stuffing three fingers into your tight cunt before you could react. "What's wrong with you is that you've been taken over by lust."

"N-No!" You cried out, yet you were overtaken by pleasure. Eren fucking lost any sense of rationality he had, whatever demon resided inside of you took him over.

"Do you want the medicine you need to feel all better?" He asked, taking his fingers out of you and tossing the gloves, drenched with your juices, in the trash. You nodded emphatically, wanting more to feel good than to be devoid of sin.

Eren pulled you to the edge of the bed, the crinkle of the exam table paper not even an afterthought this time. He pulled down his pants, his cock slapping his stomach. He lined it up with your drenched core, slowly pushing it in. You winced and he almost stopped before you started begging for more, chanting your name like a hymn. He slowly pushed it in until he was at full hilt.

"If this is what sin feels like, you're the Devil himself, Doctor.." You squeaked out. Eren smirked, slowly starting to slide in and out of you. "More... more... make me all better!"

Eren pounded into you relentlessly, fucking you hard and fast, watching you bounce around. Your eyes were rolled back, drool falling from your lips. Eren looked down, watching himself disappear into your cunt over and over again. He'd never felt a pussy this good before, this breathtaking. He wasn't going to last long, so he made sure to make you cum fast, a messy hand finding your clit, and another on your nipple.

"It's... U-Undone, the k-knot!" You stuttered, never having felt an orgasm before. Eren stayed the same pace, aiming on your pleasure, egging you onto cumming for him. He felt you clench tightly around him, letting out a moan. You slowly came back to reality as he continued to fuck you chasing his own high.

"Do you want the medicine to make you feel better?" Eren grunted out. You nodded, tired. With a few sloppy thrusts, Eren came inside of you, painting your walls white with him. He pulled out, watching it spill out of you. He silently got a wipe to clean you up and instructed you to get your clothes on.

He wrote you a prescription for Plan B, and told you that you should feel all better after taking it. Unfortunately, the last thing you felt was better--your symptoms got nothing but worse, but only when you thought of Eren. Maybe you'd have to get sick more often...

[samwisethewitch]

Pagan Paths: Wicca

Wicca is the big granddaddy of neopagan religions. Most people who are familiar with modern paganism are specifically familiar with Wicca, and will probably assume that you are Wiccan if you tell them you identify as pagan. Thanks to pop culture and a handful of influential authors, Wicca has become the public face of modern paganism, for better or for worse.

Wicca is also one of the most accessible pagan religions, which is why I chose to begin our exploration of individual paths here. Known for its flexibility and openness, Wicca is about as beginner-friendly as it gets. While it definitely isn’t for everyone, it can be an excellent place to begin your pagan journey if you resonate with core Wiccan beliefs.

This post is not meant to be a complete introduction to Wicca. Instead, my goal here is to give you a taste of what Wiccans believe and do, so you can decide for yourself if further research would be worth your time. In that spirit, I provide book recommendations at the end of this post.

History and Background

Wicca was founded by Gerald Gardner, a British civil servant who developed an interest in the esoteric while living and working in Asia. Gardner claimed that, after returning to England, he was initiated into a coven of witches who taught him their craft. Eventually, he would leave this coven and start his own, at which point he began the work of bringing Wicca to the general public. In 1954, Garner published his book Witchcraft Today, which would have a great impact on the formation of Wicca, as would his 1959 book The Meaning of Witchcraft.

Gardner claimed that the rituals and teachings he received from his coven were incomplete — he attempted to fill in the gaps, which resulted in the creation of Wicca. Author Thea Sabin calls Wicca “a New Old Religion,” which is a good way to think about it. When Gardner wrote the first Wiccan Book of Shadows, he combined ancient and medieval folk practices from the British Isles with ceremonial magic dating back to the Renaissance and with Victorian occultism. These influences combined to create a thoroughly modern religion.

Wicca spread to the United States in the 1960s, at which time several new and completely American traditions were born. Some of these traditions are simply variations on Wicca, while others (like Feri and Reclaiming, which we’ll discuss in future posts) became unique, full-fledged spiritual systems in their own right. In America, Wicca collided with the counter-culture movement, and several activist groups began to combine the two. Wicca has continued to evolve through the decades, and is still changing and growing today.

There are two main “types” of Wicca which take very different approaches to the same deities and core concepts.

Traditional Wicca is Wicca that looks more or less like the practices of Gerald Gardner, Doreen Valiente, Alex Sanders, and other early Wiccan pioneers. Traditional Wiccans practice in ritual groups called covens. Rituals are typically highly formal and borrow heavily from ceremonial magic. Traditional Wicca is an initiatory tradition, which means that new members must be trained and formally inducted into the coven by existing members. This means that if you are interested in Traditional Wicca, you must find a coven or a mentor to train and initiate you. However, most covens do not place any limitations on who can join and be initiated, aside from being willing to learn.

Most Traditional Wiccan covens require initiates to swear an oath of secrecy, which keeps the coven’s central practices from being revealed to outsiders. However, there are traditional Wiccans who have gone public with their practice, such as the authors Janet and Stewart Farrar.

Eclectic Wicca is a solitary, non-initiatory form of Wicca, as made popular by author Scott Cunningham in his book Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. Eclectic Wiccans are self-initiated and may practice alone or with a coven, though coven work will likely be less central in their practice. There are very few rules in Eclectic Wicca, and Wiccans who follow this path often incorporate elements from other spiritual traditions, such as historical pagan religions or modern energy healing. Because of this, there are a wide range of practices that fall under the “Eclectic Wicca” umbrella. Really, this label refers to anyone who considers themselves Wiccan, follows the Wiccan Rede (see below), and does not belong to a Traditional Wiccan coven. The majority of people who self-identify as Wiccan fall into this group.

Core Beliefs and Values

Thea Sabin says in her book Wicca For Beginners that Wicca is a religion with a lot of theology (study and discussion of the nature of the divine) and no dogma (rules imposed by religious structures). As a religion, it offers a lot of room for independence and exploration. This can be incredibly empowering to Wiccans, but it does mean that it’s kind of hard to make a list of things all Wiccans believe or do. However, we can look at some basic concepts that show up in some form in most Wiccan practices.

Virtually all Wiccans live by the Wiccan Rede. This moral statement, originally coined by Doreen Valiente, is often summarized with the phrase, “An’ it harm none, do what ye will.”

Different Wiccans interpret the Rede in slightly different ways. Most can agree on the “harm none” part. Wiccans strive not to cause unnecessary harm or discomfort to any living thing, including themselves. Some Wiccans also interpet the word “will” to be connected to our spiritual drive, the part of us that is constantly reaching for our higher purpose. When interpreted this way, the Rede not only encourages us not to cause harm, but also to live in alignment with our own divine Will.

Wiccans experience the divine as polarity. Wiccans believe that the all-encompassing divinity splits itself (or humans split it into) smaller aspects that we can relate to. The first division of deity is into complimentary opposites: positive and negative, light and dark, life and death, etc. These forces are not antagonistic, but are two halves of a harmonious whole. In Wicca, this polarity is usually embodied by the pairing of the God and Goddess (see below).

Wiccans experience the divine as immanent in daily life. In the words of author Deborah Lipp, “the sacredness of the human being is essential to Wicca.” Wiccans see the divine present in all people and all things. The idea that sacred energy infuses everything in existence is a fundamental part of the Wiccan worldview.

Wiccans believe nature is sacred. In the Wiccan worldview, the earth is a physical manifestation of the divine, particularly the Goddess. By attuning with nature and living in harmony with its cycles, Wiccans attune themselves with the divine. This means that taking care of nature is an important spiritual task for many Wiccans.

Wiccans accept that magic is real and can be used as a ritual tool. Not all Wiccans do magic, but all Wiccans accept that magic exists. For many covens and solitary practitioners, magic is an essential part of religious ritual. For others, magic is a practice that can be used not only to connect with the gods, but also to improve our lives and achieve our goals.

Many Wiccans believe in reincarnation, and some may incorporate past life recall into their spiritual practice. Some Wiccans believe that our souls are made of cosmic energy, which is recycled into a new soul after our deaths. Others believe that our soul survives intact from one lifetime to the next. Many famous Wiccan authors have written about their past lives and how reconnecting with those lives informed their practice.

Important Deities and Spirits

The central deities of Wicca are the Goddess and the God. They are two halves of a greater whole, and are only two of countless possible manifestations of the all-encompassing divine. The God and Goddess are lovers, and all things are born from their union.

Though some Wiccan traditions place a greater emphasis on the Goddess than on the God, the balance between these two expressions of the divine plays an important role in all Wiccan practices (remember, polarity is one of the core values of this religion).

The Goddess is the Divine Mother. She is the source of all life and fertility. She gives birth to all things, yet she is also the one who receives us when we die. Although she forms a duality in her relationship with the God, she also contains the duality of life and death within herself. While the God’s nature is ever-changing, the Goddess is constant and eternal.

The Goddess is strongly associated with both the moon and the earth. As the Earth Mother, she is especially associated with fertility, abundance, and nurturing. As the Moon Goddess, she is associated with wisdom, secret knowledge, and the cycle of life and death.

Some Wiccans see the goddess as having three main aspects: the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone. The Maiden is associated with youth, innocence, and new beginnings; she is the embodiment of both the springtime and the waxing moon. The Mother is associated with parenthood and birth (duh), abundance, and fertility; she is the embodiment of the summer (and sometimes fall) and of the full moon. The Crone is associated with death, endings, and wisdom; she is the embodiment of winter and of the waning moon. Some Wiccans believe this Triple Goddess model is an oversimplification, or complain that it is based on outdated views on womanhood, but for others it is the backbone of their practice.

Symbols that are traditionally used to represent the Goddess include a crescent moon or an image of the triple moon (a full moon situated between a waxing and a waning crescent), a cup or chalice, a cauldron, the color silver, and fresh flowers.

The God is the Goddess’s son, lover, and consort. He is equal parts wise and feral, gentle and fierce. He is associated with sex and by extension with potential (it could be said that while the Goddess rules birth, the God rules conception), as well as with the abundance of the harvest. He is the spark of life, which is shaped by the Goddess into all that is.

The God is strongly associated with animals, and he is often depicted with horns to show his association with all things wild. As the Horned God he is especially wild and fierce.

The God is also strongly associated with the sun. As a solar god he is associated with the agricultural year, from the planting and germination to the harvest. While the Goddess is constant, the God’s nature changes with the seasons.

In some Wiccan traditions, the God is associated with plant growth. He may be honored as the Green Man, a being which represents the growth of spring and summer. This vegetation deity walks the forests and fields, with vines and leaves sprouting from his body.

Symbols that are traditionally used to represent the God include phalluses and phallic objects, knives and swords, the color gold, horns and antlers, and ripened grain.

Many covens, both Traditional and Eclectic, have their own unique lore around the God and the Goddess. Usually, this lore is oathbound, meaning it cannot be shared with those outside the group.

Many Wiccans worship other deities besides the God and Goddess. These deities may come from historical pantheons, such as the Greek or Irish pantheon. A Wiccan may work with the God and Goddess with their coven or on special holy days (see below), but work with other deities that are more closely connected to their life and experiences on a daily basis. Wiccans view all deities from all religions and cultures as extensions of the same all-encompassing divine force.

Wiccan Practice

Most Wiccans use the circle as the basis for their rituals. This ritual structure forms a liminal space between the physical and spiritual worlds, and the Wiccan who created the circle can choose what beings or energies are allowed to enter it. The circle also serves the purpose of keeping the energy raised in ritual contained until the Wiccan is ready to release it. Casting a circle is fairly easy and can be done by anyone — simply walk in a clockwise circle around your ritual space, laying down an energetic barrier. Some Wiccans use the circle in every magical or spiritual working, while others only use it when honoring the gods or performing sacred rites.

While it is on one level a practical ritual tool, the circle is also a representation of the Wiccan worldview. Circles are typically cast by calling the four quarters (the four compass points of the cardinal directions), which are associated with the four classical elements: water, earth, fire, and air. Some (but not all) Wiccans also work with a fifth element, called spirit or aether. The combined presence of the elements makes the circle a microcosm of the universe.

Casting a circle requires the Wiccan to attune themselves to these elements and to honor them in a ritual setting. This is referred to as calling the quarters. When a Wiccan calls the quarters, they will move from one cardinal point to the next (usually starting with east or north), greet the spirits associated with that direction/element, and invite them to participate in the ritual. (If spirit/aether is being called, the direction it is associated with is directly up, towards the heavens.) This is done after casting the circle, but before beginning the ritual.

What happens within a Wiccan ritual varies a lot — it depends on the Wiccan, their preferences, and their goals for that ritual. However, nearly all Wiccan religious rites begin with the casting of the circle and calling of the quarters. (Some would argue that a ritual that doesn’t include these elements cannot be called Wiccan.)

When the ritual is completed, the quarters must be dismissed and the circle taken down. Wiccans typically dismiss the quarters by moving from one cardinal point to the next (often in the reverse of the order used to call the quarters), thanking the spirits of that quarter, and politely letting them know that the ritual is over. The circle is taken down (or “taken up,” as it is called in some traditions) in a similar way, with the person who cast the circle moving around it counterclockwise and removing the energetic barrier they created. This effectively ends the ritual.

There are eight main holy days in Wicca, called the sabbats. These celebrations, based on Germanic and Celtic pagan festivals, mark the turning points on the Wheel of the Year, i.e., the cycle of the seasons. By honoring the sabbats, Wiccans attune themselves with the natural rhythms of the earth and actively participate in the turning of the wheel.

The sabbats include:

Samhain (October 31): Considered by many to be the “witch’s new year,” this Celtic fire festival has historic ties to Halloween. Samhain is primarily dedicated to the dead. During this time of year, the otherworld is close at hand, and Wiccans can easily connect with their loved ones who have passed on. Wiccans might celebrate Samhain by building an ancestor altar or holding a feast with an extra plate for the dead. Samhain is the third of the three Wiccan harvest festivals, and it is a joyous occasion despite its association with death. (By the way, this sabbat’s name is pronounced “SOW-en,” not “Sam-HANE” as it appears in many movies and TV shows.)

Yule/Winter Solstice (December 21): Yule is a celebration of the return of light and life on the longest night of the year. Many Wiccans recognize Yule as the symbolic rebirth of the God, heralding the new plant and animal life soon to follow. Yule celebrations are based on Germanic traditions and have a lot in common with modern Christmas celebrations. Wiccans might celebrate Yule by decorating a Yule tree, lighting lots of candles or a Yule log, or exchanging gifts.

Imbolc (February 1): This sabbat, based on an Irish festival, is a celebration of the first stirrings of life beneath the blanket of winter. The spark of light that returned to the world at Yule is beginning to grow. Imcolc is a fire festival, and is often celebrated with the lighting of candles and lanterns. Wiccans may also perform ritual cleansings at this time of year, as purification is another theme of this festival.

Ostara/Spring Equinox (March 21): Ostara is a joyful celebration of the new life of spring, with ties to the Christian celebration of Easter. Plants are beginning to bloom, baby animals are being born, and the God is growing in power. Wiccans might celebrate Ostara by dying eggs or decorating their homes and altars with fresh flowers. In some covens, Ostara celebrations have a special focus on children, and so may be less solemn than other sabbats.

Beltane (May 1): Beltane is a fertility festival, pure and simple. Many Wiccans celebrate the sexual union of the God and Goddess, and the resulting abundance, at this sabbat. This is also one of the Celtic fire festivals, and is often celebrated with bonfires if the weather permits. The fae are said to be especially active at Beltane. Wiccans might celebrate Beltane by making and dancing around a Maypole, honoring the fae, or celebrating a night of R-rated fun with friends and lovers.

Litha/Midsummer/Summer Solstice (June 21): At the Summer Solstice, the God is at the height of his power and the Goddess is said to be pregnant with the harvest. Like Beltane, Midsummer is sometimes celebrated with bonfires and is said to be a time when the fae are especially active. Many Wiccans celebrate Litha as a solar festival, with a special focus on the God as the Sun.

Lughnasadh/Lammas (August 1): Lughnasadh (pronounced “loo-NAW-suh”) is an Irish harvest festival, named after the god Lugh. In Wicca, Lughnasadh/Lammas is a time to give thanks for the bounty of the earth. Lammas comes from “loaf mass,” and hints at this festival’s association with grain and bread. Wiccans might celebrate Lughnasadh by baking bread or by playing games or competitive sports (activities associated with Lugh).

Mabon/Fall Equinox (September 21): Mabon is the second Wiccan harvest festival, sometimes called “Wiccan Thanksgiving,” which should give you a good idea of what Mabon celebrations look like. This is a celebration of the abundance of the harvest, but tinged with the knowledge that winter is coming. Some Wiccans honor the symbolic death of the God at Mabon (others believe this takes place at Samhain or Lughnasadh). Wiccan Mabon celebrations often include a lot of food, and have a focus on giving thanks for the previous year.

Aside from the sabbats, some Wiccans also celebrate esbats, rituals honoring the full moons. Wiccan authors Janet and Stewart Farrar wrote that, while sabbats are public festivals to be celebrated with the coven, esbats are more private and personal. Because of this, esbat celebrations are typically solitary and vary a lot from one Wiccan to the next.

Further Reading

If you want to investigate Wicca further, there are a few books I recommend depending on which approach to Wicca you feel most drawn to. No matter which approach you are most attracted to, I recommend starting with Wicca For Beginners by Thea Sabin. This is an excellent introduction to Wiccan theology and practice, whether you want to practice alone or with a coven.

If you are interested in Traditional Wicca, I recommend checking out A Witches’ Bible by Janet and Stewart Farrar after you finish Sabin’s book. Full disclosure: I have a lot of issues with this book. Parts of it were written as far back as the 1970s, and it really hasn’t aged well in terms of politics or social issues. However, it is the most detailed guide to Traditional Wicca I have found, so I recommend it for that reason. Afterwards, I recommend reading Casting a Queer Circle by Thista Minai, which presents a system similar to Traditional Wicca with less emphasis on binary gender. After you learn the basics from the Farrars, Minai’s book can help you figure out how to adjust the Traditional Wiccan system to work for you.

If you are interested in Eclectic Wicca, I recommend Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner and Living Wicca by Scott Cunningham. Cunningham is the author who popularized Eclectic Wicca, and his work remains some of the best on the subject. Wicca is an introduction to solitary Eclectic Wicca, while Living Wicca is a guide for creating your own personalized Wiccan practice.

Resources:

Wicca For Beginners by Thea Sabin

Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham

Living Wicca by Scott Cunningham

A Witches’ Bible by Janet and Stewart Farrar

The Study of Witchcraft by Deborah Lipp

[friendlyneighbourhoodpapergay]

Why I don't like traumacore: A sourced masterpost.

This is something I've been asked a few times, and often the argument used to support traumacore involves art therapy. I figured I'd make a full post explaining in detail why I believe traumacore is often harmful to both the creator/poster and to the viewer. This post will be long; I apologize, but I wanted to make everything as clear as I could. Sources are cited or linked throughout.

Trigger Warnings: Discussion of traumacore, the messages and imagery used within the traumacore genre. Self-harm is mentioned, and suicide is very briefly mentioned as well.

Traumacore is not art therapy, nor is it therapeutic as a whole.

The type of traditional art therapy that traumacore is most similar to would be collage art, which involves creating something through the collection of other images and quotes. However, a notable difference between traumacore and art therapy is that art therapy is undergone with a licensed psychologist; the art is created in order for the psychologist to talk with the patient, figure out the underlying emotions that the art represents, and then work with the patient on how to replace the harmful or negative emotions like shame, fear and disgust with more positive ones. Art therapy is designed to help the psychologist guide the patient towards acceptance of their trauma, which can then allow them to work on healing.

To quote this psychology today article, “No artistic talent is necessary for art therapy to succeed, because the therapeutic process is not about the artistic value of the work, but rather about finding associations between the creative choices made and a client's inner life.”

To go further back, Margaret Naumberg (regarded by many as the mother of modern-day art therapy), used the technique of art therapy to promote introspection in the client. A quote from one of her books, “Dynamically Oriented Art Therapy: Its Principles and Practices”: “Whether trained or untrained individuals have the capacity to project their inner conflicts into visual form. In this approach, the therapist withholds interpretation, encouraging clients to discover what their picture means to them”.

This is where my issues with traumacore as an aesthetic begin. The vast majority of the traumacore content is not based in the idea of creating the images so as to examine the underlying feelings or undergo self-examination; it’s vent art made purely to be posted and then left.This is not the same thing as art therapy, which is based on the principle that the art should be looked at and thought about by its creator and a therapist to uncover what lead to its creation.

Venting in this way may provide temporary relief, but does not contribute to healing in the long run – as this study on art therapy as a venting method in adolescents says, the art “allows both therapist and client to better address the problem”. In addition, studies have found that venting alone does not cause the emotional distress surrounding a big event (such as a traumatic experience) to go away or even diminish - the benefits can be useful, but are often only temporary. (Links One, Two).

It's also been found that venting can elicit strong emotional responses in the listener; depending on circumstances, hearing someone else vent about a negative event may produce negative feelings in yourself.

(TW for this paragraph: Discussion of traumacore, abuse mentioned, blood and gore mentioned) This is particularly true with traumacore: The messages displayed are often entirely based on the worst things that can happen to a person, and will also speak directly to the viewer. Messages like “It was all your fault”, “I ruined everything”, “I can’t take this any more”, or sometimes depictions of innocent-looking things (like toys) surrounded by blood, gore or distressing wording are naturally going to cause people with trauma based in those things to be triggered. The language used can often mirror that used by abuser(s); of course that would be triggering to someone who has suffered abuse and trauma.

I myself write poetry about the worst things that have happened to me, and I then discuss these with my therapist. If I were to post it, it would be upsetting and triggering and distressing by nature, because of the very content of the art form. The same applies to traumacore.

There’s also the issue of how traumacore is often paranoia- or delusion-inducing in those with psychosis. Even traumacore that is not created by people with psychosis will display psychosis-triggering imagery or wording. Examples of this is linked here: (Trigger Warning: this links to a post with traumacore that contains religious imagery, delusional thinking and potential paranoia-inducing content as an example.)

This isn’t something that can be excused by trauma, venting, ""art therapy"" or anything else. It’s just ableist. It’s actively damaging to trauma survivors as a whole, and especially to psychotics (such as myself) – whether they are trauma survivors or not. There is no excuse for it.

To summarize:

Traumacore, on the face of it, may come across as a weird-but-useful coping mechanism taking inspiration from the psychological technique of art therapy. The reality, however, is that traumacore is not art therapy at all; it is inherently vent-related in nature with no focus on introspection, and as a result can be incredibly damaging. Traumacore often focuses on the messages of the abuser, or on the shame related to having trauma, which – rather than removing power from these – actually reinforces those negative messages through the nature of repitition, and therefore the negative experiences and emotions surrounding those messages. Even going off personal experience alone, I myself along with a number of other trauma survivors I have spoken to have had all sorts of awful reactions to seeing traumacore, including flashbacks, panic attacks, sudden suicidality, and psychotic episodes.

Now, does this mean all trauma- or vent-based art is harmful? No. Lots of art can be created out of negative experiences – as mentioned above, I myself write poetry.

Does it mean that the traumacore, whilst a potential temporary coping mechanism for some trauma survivors, can be incredibly triggering, destructive and distressing to those with trauma and/or psychosis? Yes.

If you want to vent your trauma, there are healthier and better ways of doing so than traumacore. I would say that it’s a coping mechanism in the same way that physical self-harm is a coping mechanism; just because it provides temporary relief does not make it healthy, good or worth promoting under any circumstances.

If you want to take a closer/more in-depth look at actual art therapy, my personal favourite book on the subject is "The Art and Science of Evaluation in the Arts Therapies: How do you know what's working?" by Elaine and Bernard Feder. It goes into what the basic principles of art therapy are, and how art therapy can be used most effectively. In my opinion it's also written in a way that's easier to understand than some of the heavier psychology books.

[the-path-of-zen]

Mahayana, Theravada and Zen

There is a lot of confusion in the West about Buddhism. Many think it is is a ‘one big tent religion’ in where what is said in the Pali Suttas goes for Zen as well. Many westerners ignorantly bounce around the Pali Suttas and the Mahayana sutras without realizing that these are two distinct schools of Buddhism that have radically different philosophical views and religious direction.

Here is a list of the differences.

Mahayanism is a school of Buddhism that is said to develop around the 1st century and was considered at that time as the completion of the bhikkhu training for Full Enlightenment. I posted a while back a research article that during the Chinese pilgrimages to South Asia, the Theravada and Mahayana monks lived in the same temples, ate the same foods, slept in the same halls. Though when the pilgrimages stopped around the 6th century, Mahayanism became the dominate sectarian teaching in China, even creating its own version of the Vinaya over time to suit the region and geography.

Zen (Ch’an) is a subset branch of Mahayanism and in the past did have its own specially schools and temples. Today in China, Ch’an and Pureland Buddhism are fully integrated to form Chinese Mahayanism.

Tibetan religion is Mahayanism with the four distinct schools, namely Nyingma (c. 8th century), Kagyu (11th century), Sakya (1073), and Gelug (1409). Dzogchen, the Tibetan Zen school is part of the  Nyingma school, and this is the Padmasambhava Guru rinpoche teachings.

Zen absolutely considers itself a part of the Mahayana family. Does this mean you have to join a religion to study Zen? Absolutely not. Just as people can study the Christian Bible without having to be a Christian (believer), people study Zen without being religious – this however is not to imply that Zen or Christianity is non-religious.  

Buddhism does not deny the existence of any gods, though does deny that they play any special role. Buddhism and Zen does engage in Filial Piety (honoring of the ancestors of the Dharma) yet rejects Religious piety in that one has to go to a church or attain certain rites or perform any particular ceremony. This is different than Western Religious views that create tribalism around a genealogy of a people, later around a dogmatic beliefs, and finally around favoritism of theologians (Calvinism for example).

To say that Zen is not Religious is a mistaken view, though to say that Zen is different than Western religious views is true. Zen certainly has its theologians, and those theologians do have a following that  forms reverent tribes around chosen favorite theologians (Lately Dogenism for example, or earlier Rinzai).

[echo-of-unknown]

Fun history lesson on: Modern Art

Gotta use this knowledge somewhere :p

Short: Art's biggest changes made people question the definition of "art" so if you're wondering why there's a snooty air around art, it's the ones who think they got it.

Long boi beneath this bad boi

Art in the early stages is drastically different from our current day not just in the style but in thought. History was recorded in paintings or sculptures to remember certain people like historical figures or religious figures or even events. Hence why there's a lot of Biblical imagery, philosophers, and leaders in all forms of art.

These artists didn't have creative freedom that we have today in terms of what they wanted to make vs what they were told to make. It was a job to be hired by someone noble or royal to be able to depict them or someone else usually. Granted this doesn't apply to all artists back then but it was common.

Overtime, artists began to spread their abilities to making art that means things to them. This especially picked up in the 1800s (19th century) when Impressionism became a hit with artists who didn't want to follow the norm of classical art.

These were more personal to the artist and their lives because it was either the world around them or the world within them. It expresses a lot of emotion that's not always seen in previous art. Not to say that there's not a lot of heart and soul put in previous works, it's more so not about important days or events, it's the opposite: the everyday life.

World Wars changed this mentality however, and this leads into what we know as Modern Art today.

These three images are famous art pieces post 1950s, so past the World Wars.

The war really screwed up with people's mentality, especially in the art world where many thought art was defined by a certain measurement but these guys ask "what is that boundary?". What defines "art", "human", "brush"? It can be a golden toilet, "The Zip" (the line between God and humans, it's literally a line on a canvas), or wearing a sign saying "Wet Paint" in the 60s in public to make people uncomfortable [it was a statement against the racism, Adrien Piper is a lovely individual].

Some of these people have a specific way of thinking of what art is and it leads into the snooty people we assume artists today. But ironically, some of these artists, like the last picture, it's to mock the fact that they are so serious about art.

Art is an expression of a person. You can make as many rules as you want in your work but it's all your work and your ideas.

I feel like the reason why people are snooty about art sometimes is because we have an idea of what art can be. Even though I find anything as art, there's some where I'm like "excuse me that's art?? Nah that can't be". It's a very non-literal subject in the end. And I'm not saying that only the people in the 50s had a specific idea of art no it's throughout generations dating back to the beginning of life. What the 50s and up did was break all conformities of what art was: canvas, pottery, or some sort of material. It can be anything you want.

If anything, we've broken the "definition" of art so much, that all forms of creating something from an idea is considered art. And it's completely okay to dislike art or like art for that reason.

Credits:

This has been more of a rant rather than actual research. I studied in art at college but I'm no means an expert... so I'll credit the original artists in order of appearance. Even though I found them online through a search.

David Statue (Michelangelo) - Michelangelo

God healing the Leprosy Man Illumination - unknown

Justinian Byzantine Mosaic - unknown

Farmers Working in the Field - Vincent Van Gogh

Canotage à Bougival - Pierre-Auguste Renoir

The Sick Child - Edvard Munch

HERE IT IS - Lawrence Weiner

unknown - Alighiero Boetti

The Golden Toilet - Maurizio Cattelan

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Anonymous asked: As a beginner in Classics I love your Classicist themed posts. I find your caption perfect posts a lot to think upon. I suppose it’s been more than a few years since you read Classics at Cambridge but my question is do you still bother to read any Classic texts and if so what are you currently reading?

I don’t know whether to be flattered or get depressed by your (sincere) remarks. Thank you so much for reminding me how old I must come across as my youngish Millennial bones are already starting to creak from all my sins of past sport injuries and physical exertions. I’m reminded of what J.R.R Tolkien wrote, “I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.” I know the feeling (sigh).

But pay heed, dear follower, to what Menander said of old age, Τίμα το γήρας, ου γαρ έρχεται μόνον (respect old age, for it does not come alone). Presumably he means we all carry baggage. One hopes that will be wisdom which is often in the form of experience, suffering, and regret. So I’m not ready to trade in my high heels and hiking boots for a walking stick and granny glasses just yet.

To answer your question, yes, I still to read Classical literature and poetry in their original text alongside trustworthy translations. Every day in fact. 

I learned Latin when I was around 8 or 9 years old and Greek came later - my father and grandfather are Classicists - and so it would be hard to shake it off even if I tried.

So why ‘bother’ to read Classics? There are several reasons. First, the Classics are the Swiss Army knife to unpick my understanding other European languages that I grew up with learning. Second, it increases my cultural literacy out of which you can form informed aesthetic judgements about any art form from art, music, and literature. Third, Classical history is our shared history which is so important to fathom one’s roots and traditions. Fourth, spending time with the Classics - poetry, myth, literature, history - inspires moral insight and virtue. Fifth, grappling with classical literature informs the mind by developing intellectual discipline, reason, and logic.

And finally, and perhaps one I find especially important, is that engaging with Classical literature, poetry, or history, is incredibly humbling; for the classical world first codified the great virtues of prudence, temperance, justice, loyalty, sacrifice, and courage. These are qualities that we all painfully fall short of in our every day lives and yet we still aspire to such heights.

I’m quite eclectic in my reading. I don’t really have a method other than what my mood happens to be. I have my trusty battered note book and pen and I sit my arse down to translate passages wherever I can carve out a place to think. It’s my answer to staving off premature dementia when I really get old because quite frankly I’m useless at Soduku. We spend so much time staring at screens and passively texting that we don’t allow ourselves to slow down and think that physically writing gives you that luxury of slow motion time and space. In writing things out you are taking the time to reflect on thoughts behind the written word.

I do make a point of reading Homer’s The Odyssey every year because it’s just one of my favourite stories of all time. Herodotus and Thucydides were authors I used to read almost every day when I was in the military and especially when I went out to war in Afghanistan. Not so much these days. Of the Greek poets, I still read Euripides for weighty stuff and Aristophanes for toilet humour. Aeschylus, Archilochus and Alcman, Sappho, Hesiod, and Mimnermus, Anacreon, Simonides, and others I read sporadically.

I read more Latin than Greek if I am honest. From Seneca, Caesar, Cicero, Sallust, Tacitus, Livy, Apuleius, Virgil, Ovid, the younger Pliny to Augustine (yes, that Saint Augustine of Hippo). Again, there is no method. I pull out a copy from my book shelves and put it in my tote bag when I know I’m going on a plane trip for work reasons.

At the moment I am spending time with Horace. More precisely, his famous odes.

Of all the Greek and Latin poets, I feel spiritually comfortable with Horace. He praises a simple life of moderation in a much gentler tone than other Roman writers. Although Horace’s odes were written in imitation of Greek writers like Sappho, I like his take on friendship, love, alcohol, Roman politics and poetry itself. With the arguable exception of Virgil, there is no more celebrated Roman poet than Horace. His Odes set a fashion among English speakers that come to bear on poets to this day. His Ars Poetica, a rumination on the art of poetry in the form of a letter, is one of the seminal works of literary criticism. Ben Jonson, Pope, Auden, and Frost are but a few of the major poets of the English language who owe a debt to the Roman.

We owe to Horace the phrases, “carpe diem” or “seize the day” and the “golden mean” for his beloved moderation. Victorian poet Alfred Lord Tennyson, of Ancient Mariner fame, praised the odes in verse and Wilfred Owen’s great World War I poem, Dulce et Decorum est, is a response to Horace’s oft-quoted belief that it is “sweet and fitting” to die for one’s country.

Unlike many poets, Horace lived a full life. And not always a happy one. Horace was born in Venusia, a small town in southern Italy, to a formerly enslaved mother. He was fortunate to have been the recipient of intense parental direction. His father spent a comparable fortune on his education, sending him to Rome to study. He later studied in Athens amidst the Stoics and Epicurean philosophers, immersing himself in Greek poetry. While led a life of scholarly idyll in Athens, a revolution came to Rome. Julius Caesar was murdered, and Horace fatefully lined up behind Brutus in the conflicts that would ensue. His learning enabled him to become a commander during the Battle of Philippi, but Horace saw his forces routed by those of Octavian and Mark Antony, another stop on the former’s road to becoming Emperor Augustus.

When he returned to Italy, Horace found that his family’s estate had been expropriated by Rome, and Horace was, according to his writings, left destitute. In 39 B.C., after Augustus granted amnesty, Horace became a secretary in the Roman treasury by buying the position of questor's scribe. In 38, Horace met and became the client of the artists' patron Maecenas, a close lieutenant to Augustus, who provided Horace with a villa in the Sabine Hills. From there he began to write his satires. Horace became the major lyric Latin poet of the era of the Augustus age. He is famed for his Odes as well as his caustic satires, and his book on writing, the Ars Poetica. His life and career were owed to Augustus, who was close to his patron, Maecenas. From this lofty, if tenuous, position, Horace became the voice of the new Roman Empire. When Horace died at age 59, he left his estate to Augustus and was buried near the tomb of his patron Maecenas.

Horace’s simple diction and exquisite arrangement give the odes an inevitable quality; the expression makes familiar thoughts new. While the language of the odes may be simple, their structure is complex. The odes can be seen as rhetorical arguments with a kind of logic that leads the reader to sometimes unexpected places. His odes speak of a love of the countryside that dedicates a farmer to his ancestral lands; exposes the ambition that drives one man to Olympic glory, another to political acclaim, and a third to wealth; the greed that compels the merchant to brave dangerous seas again and again rather than live modestly but safely; and even the tensions between the sexes that are at the root of the odes about relationships with women.

What I like then about Horace is his sense of moderation and he shows the gap between what we think we want and what we actually need. Horace has a preference for the small and simple over the grandiose. He’s all for independence and self-reliance.

If there is one thing I would nit pick Horace upon is his flippancy to the value of the religious and spiritual. The gods are often on his lips, but, in defiance of much contemporary feeling, he absolutely denied an afterlife - which as a Christian I would disagree with. So inevitably “gather ye rosebuds while ye may” is an ever recurrent theme, though Horace insists on a Golden Mean of moderation - deploring excess and always refusing, deprecating, dissuading.

All in all he champions the quiet life, a prayer I think many men and women pray to the gods to grant them when they are caught in the open Aegean, and a dark cloud has blotted out the moon, and the sailors no longer have the bright stars to guide them. A quiet life is the prayer of Thrace when madness leads to war. A quiet life is the prayer of the Medes when fighting with painted quivers: a commodity, Grosphus, that cannot be bought by jewels or purple or gold? For no riches, no consul’s lictor, can move on the disorders of an unhappy mind and the anxieties that flutter around coffered ceilings.

Caelum non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt (they change their sky, not their soul, who rush across the sea.)

Part of Horace’s persona - lack of political ambition, satisfaction with his life, gratitude for his land, and pride in his craft and the recognition it wins him - is an expression of an intricate web of awareness of place. Reading Horace will centre you and get you to focus on what is most important in life. In Horace’s discussion of what people in his society value, and where they place their energy and time, we can find something familiar. Horace brings his reader to the question - what do we value?  

Much like many of our own societies, Rome was bustling with trade and commerce, ambition, and an area of vast, diverse civilisation. People there faced similar decisions as we do today, in what we pursue and why. As many of us debate our place and purpose in our world, our poet reassures us all. We have been coursing through Mondays for thousands of years. Horace beckons us: take a brief moment from the day’s busy hours. Stretch a little, close your eyes while facing the warm sun, and hear the birds and the quiet stream. The mind that is happy for the present should refuse to worry about what is further ahead; it should dilute bitter things with a mild smile.

I would encourage anyone to read these treasures in translations. For you though, as a budding Classicist, read the texts in Latin and Greek if you can. Wrestle with the word. The struggle is its own reward. Whether one reads from the original or from a worthy translation, the moral virtue (one hopes) is wisdom and enlightenment.

Pulvis et umbra sumus

(We are but dust and shadow.)

Thanks for your question.

[meichenxi]

Grimm’s Law and Verner’s Law: part 1 - Indo-European background

OR: how ‘cannabis’ and ‘hemp’ are actually cognates

tldr: sound change is cool and this great series of videos can explain it better than I can: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aal9VSPkf5s. this is going to be the first of a few posts on sound change in German and English. I originally wanted to explain the second sound shift, but quickly realised that it doesn’t make sense without any of the historical context, so please bear with me

What makes a language Germanic? Imagine for a moment that you’re an alien a la Matt Haig, newly arrived to Earth and presented with a sample of the world’s languages - or specifically, part of Eurasia’s. Some languages look very similar to each other; some very different. How would you go about building a hypothesis about which languages were related to each other, and which weren’t? How would you then test this hypothesis? And how, presented finally with data that shows your languages are related, would you explain how these changes came to happen in the first place? 

Before we go on to Germanic, though, let’s talk about Indo-European today. You guys probably all know that IE is a large language family that stretches from Icelandic to Hindi; Germanic is one of the sub-groupings of this wider IE family. Within the sub-family itself, there are divisions: German is more closely related to Dutch, Norwegian to Swedish, Icelandic to Faroese and so on. This seems all fairly obvious to us now. 

Way back when many centuries ago (not that many centuries, and certainly long after the Bible began), the idea of a language family spanning English to Russian to Farsi was a little less obvious. For much of the 17th century, people (esp a bishop dude called John Wilkins) sought to prove that English was related to Hebrew - this was an important endeavour at the time, because it would lend the language religious authority, especially in its translation of the Bible. Fast forwarding to the 18th century, a man named Sir Williams Jones who lived in Bengal realised - on account of his classical education and extensive contact with Indian languages - that there were much greater similarities between Latin, Greek and Sanskrit than anybody had previously realised. He wasn’t the first to think it, but he was one of the first to make such a definitive statement. The following quote is probably one of the most famous in historical linguistics, so I apologise for quoting it in full: ‘The Sanscrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both of them a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs and the forms of grammar, than could possibly have been produced by accident; so strong indeed, that no philologer could examine them all three, without believing them to have spring from some common source, which, perhaps, no longer exists: there is a similar reason, though not quite so forcible, for supposing that both the Gothick and the Celtick, though blended with a very different idiom, had the same origin with the Sanscrit, and the old Persian might be added to this family.’

He was wrong in a lot of ways - he excluded some languages that do belong in this family and erroneously included others. He also wasn’t the first to come up with this idea. This quote, more than anything, marks the beginning of people’s interest in the ‘common source’: how could such a thing ever be proven, if we didn’t have access to the language itself?  Part of the building ground for Indo-European historical linguistics was the desire to prove that linguistics was an empirical science much like any other, with laws that held universally and hypotheses that could be tested and demonstrably falsified. This rested on two principles both promoted by the Junggramatiker, or Neogrammarians, a Leipzig based group of scholars. Firstly, that sound change - the process by which sounds change, arise and disappear - was a highly regular process that held universally and obeyed certain rules. Secondly, that languages that exist today are structurally and in principle no different from languages that existed thousands of years ago - that is, we have no reason to assume that processes existed in the past that don’t exist today. This is called the uniformitarian principle. 

If both of these things are true, that means that it would be possible to not only determine how exactly these languages were related, but also reconstruct an earlier version of the language once spoken by all Indo-Europeans!! (I hope you agree that this is immensely cool.) 

Reconstructing these rules is important, because it allows us to better understand structural similarities between languages. There are some similarities which are surface deep: it’s easy to compare English cold and German kalt or warm and - well - warm, and say that they look alike. Pfad and path is a little harder, but when you compared Pfeffer and pepper it’s clear, ok, there’s a <pf> / <p> alteration going on there. Leaving the Germanic family behind, though, things get a little more tricky. 

How exactly is venue cognate with come? What about English quick and Latin vīvus? And how can sister and Hindi bahan possibly be cognates??

Some of the most meaningful observations are structural; they are not surface deep, and they’re not immediately available for study. This is because, quite simply, the time depth since Indo-European was spoken is vast; there have been extensive sound changes in all of the languages concerned. 

And that’s exactly what Grimm’s Law is. It’s a sound change that happened specifically in the Germanic branch of Indo-European, so it’s common to all Germanic languages, and nothing else. It’s one of those diagnostic criteria that an alien would use to determine that Norwegian and Dutch were related: it’s present, apart from where further sound change has obscured it, in every Germanic language - and it’s not present, apart from in borrowed words, in any non-Germanic language. That’s what we mean by diagnostic. 

Let’s have a look at some examples! We’ll explain it in more detail next time, but this might whet your appetite. Don’t worry if you can’t read the phonetic description; it’s the consonants that are important at the moment (don’t, please, ask me about vowels. just please don’t).

(nb: where I use an asterisk *, this means that this form is reconstructed, not actually attested: we don't have any records of IE. > just means ‘goes to’ or ‘becomes’ in the various daughter languages. Also <these> brackets are talking about spelling, and /these/ brackets are talking about phonemes, or actual sounds. Also, the little ‘ means aspiration - we’ll talk more about what that means next time)

*p > f (no later shift in German, though /f/ is sometimes spelled v):

Engl. brother, Germ. Bruder (cf. Lat. frāter, Skt. bhrā́tā)

Engl. full, Germ. voll (cf. Lat. plēnus, Skt. pūrṇás)

*t > *þ (Engl. th) > Germ. d

Engl. three, Germ. drei (cf. Lat. trēs, Gk. /trê:s/, Skt. tráyas) Engl. thin, Germ. dünn (cf. Lat. tenuis, Skt. tanús)

*ḱ, *k > h (no later shift in German):

Engl. hundred, Germ. hundert (cf. Lat. centum, Gk. /he-katón/, Skt.

śatám)

Engl. horn, Germ. Horn (cf. Lat. cornū)

*kw > *hw (Engl. wh) > Germ. w:

Engl. what, Germ. was (cf. Lat. adjective & relative quod, Skt. kád)

*d > *t (Engl. t) > Germ. z:

Engl. two, Germ. zwei (cf. Lat. duo, Gk. /dúo/, Skt. dvā́)

BRUH. ISN’T THIS COOL!! AND THERE ARE MORE!

You can see here already by looking at the German and English that both have sometimes subsequently undergone sound changes, like English */hw/ to /wh/ and then finally to /w/, which becomes German <w> or /v/ - these sometimes obscure things. And if you really want to find out why German is different to English, well, we’ve got quite a few sound changes to get through before we get there! 

Melissa, you might be saying, I know for a fact there’s something yucky and not-worky about Grimm’s Law. What about cases where it doesn’t seem to apply? What’s that? Also, I swear some Danish dude had the idea first but just didn’t publish...

Well. You’re not wrong. But this post is long enough already. Next time, we’ll go over what exactly it is, where exactly it manifests itself, and how it didn’t seem to work 100% of the time...and I suppose I still haven’t answered how ‘hemp’ and ‘cannabis’ are cognates...you’ll just have to stay tuned! 

Bis zum nächsten Mal! 

[reina-morada]

I really resonated with your recent post about how you came to Islam and I realized I had almost the exact same scenario. But I never fully committed due to Islam’s stance on the LGBT+ community, where being gay is fine but you must live celibately or force yourself into a straight marriage. How do you justify, that might be the wrong word but it’s the gist, supporting the community or if you are part of the community yourself? I ask as a curious gay man who loves the faith and ideas of Islam but is scared of the shame and humiliation I left the Catholic Church for to follow me into this new faith where I would face the same issues.

Salaam,

So, this is obviously something that has many many layers to it. People are different. Based upon culture, geographical location, tradition, language, religion and more mixed together- an individuals opinion of the LGBTQ community is different regardless of their religious context. There is no singular governing body of Islam, which has over a billion practitioners. The diversity cannot be understated. Muslims come in all shapes and forms, exactly as Christians do. While some Christians find "evidence" in the Bible to justify their homophobia, plenty of Christians find "evidence" in the Bible to love unconditionally and support their LGBTQ neighbors, children, and communities.

The same will be found in Islam, people who support based upon their upbringing/culture/location, and others who won't. Many Muslim countries have anti-LGBTQ laws or regulations, and the LGBTQ population is greatly persecuted in those places. There is significant fear from LGBTQ Muslims, even in the West, to engage in dialogue openly about their identities. While it may seem like being Muslim and queer are impossible to reconcile, they aren't at all mutually exclusive.

Unfortunately, there will always be people who have issue with the LGBTQ community. They can be Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, atheists, agnostics, and so on. Ultimately, it's ones individual experiences (both of culture and religion) that determine their stances.

All that to say, I personally have no trouble reconciling them religiously. It is clear to me that Allah loves us, and asks us to love one another. I pay no attention to online discourse and I feel no need to justify my identity to anyone. My relationship is with Allah, and while I have obligations to my siblings in humanity, I won't engage in meaningless debate about my right to worship the one who created me. No one will stop me from praying salah, I'll never listen to anyone who tells me to take off hijab. It's my life, my relationship with Allah.

I have no doubt in my mind that his mercy encompasses all things without limit, and that this is also not one of those things we need his mercy for in the first place. Out of all of the Muslim friends I had in college, all save one knew I was bisexual, and no one took issue with it. At the time I was even in a relationship with a woman, whom they met and welcomed. I will also say that my environment matters a lot, as my city is significantly more liberal than most. I also think generation matters. Younger Muslims seem to care less than older ones, and that isn't surprising considering that seems to be the case in most religious traditions.

If your spirit is filled when you study and embrace Islam, listen to the call. Allah sees your efforts, even those others don't see. Also, the Prophet (saw) reportedly had non-binary members of his household called mukhannathun. While today many Muslim cultures would condemn them, there was no evidence the Prophet did anything but accept them openly. There is LGBTQ history within Islam and plenty of resources for modern LGTBQ Muslims. Here's some.

Booklet

Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ Issues: Islam - Sunni and Shi'a

MASGD

MPVUSA

PDF Resource with additional resources

May this help you, anon

[floxalopex]

I don't know if somebody already did this specifically. But yh the heck let's go.

WARNING 1: THIS IS NOT A POST FOR SENSITIVE PEOPLE AND/OR MINORS. (it contains gore and sexual themes and more).

And yes, SALT. Lots of salt.

WARNING 2: this has nothing to do with Christianity specifically. Atheism isn't hate towards your god(s) and/or its believers. Although there are many forms of atheism (some of which are so strong and violent they make me furious) think about mine as a general form of indifference. I hate the Church state, yes, but sorry I have that "at home" so please don't blame me. I don't like Abrahamic religions in general, but I've grown up with one.

I'm thankfully not a cult survivor, but I can understand some things.

WARNING 3: living in a very religious contest I have many beloved friends and relatives (starting with my mother) who believe in their god a lot. So if my words are too disrespectful tell me, I really don't want to hurt anybody.

Okay.

So.

I've seen many similarities between the cult Horde Prime put his clones in and your very average, very white, very western idea of Christianity.

1) Theophagy:

First of all, I really don't know much how this thing is lived in other Christian countries, but in mine they put a lot of emphasis on the Eucharist.

As far as I've seen I think it's pretty obvious how much in ancient cultures there's a very carnal and very grounded idea of the spirit. That can result in believing the soul to be the "psyche", so literally "the breath of life", the coordination of your sinapsis togheter (to me a very poetic definition of how our whole being ourselves is just us being our central nervous system) or it can lead to you eating the ashes of your granpa so you get his good qualities (something some cultures still do today). They said that the head of Orpheus was buried in the island of Lesbo and that's why its land was filled with amazing poets like Sappho. There's this very, sorry, brutal idea of the embodyment of the soul, the talents of a person, that even a piece of corpse is considered a magic thingy.

This is no different in the very old, very ancient, very rural Christian religion (at least in the most common version of it, we have many flavours of one truth apperentely).

When I was in High School we studied a lot Bacchus and the Baccanalia, because there are several commedies about it. My teacher, being very religious, was almost ashamed to admit that a lot of acts of those festivities (let's say that the most normal thing was for women to give their milk to animal cubs) were actually not very dissimilar in their rawness to certain habits of the religion.

So, what about Horde Prime? (me *yh, what about it, stupid ADHD?*). I have seen a post in the past explaining that yes, even though spacebats have the dentition of a frugivore bat and not haematophagus bat, the scene of Prime recharging in his throne with all those disgusting cables filled with green liquid referred as "the life force" of his clones...well, it's surely something.

Looks like a sort of sci-fi vampire thing. Which is very cool and I love this headcanon. So again I kept thinking...what is THAT amniotic fluid? I am a student, so correct me if I say something wrong.

Amniotic fluid is a combination of water 99%, proteins, glucids, fats and some salts (...it's even effective for electric conduction...the heck is that pool).

The most similar body fluid is plasma, so blood less cells. Even the serum, so plasma less proteins, is very similar.

Now, stated that Prime is a manipulative jerk, stated that I don't know much about aliens' physiology, stated that that fluid can come from blood potentially, in Church they say this:

*and Jesus said: "This is my body/blood which I offer in sacrifice for you"*

Apart from it being very creepy, there's this idea in the whole religion-thingy: if you are human you are a selfish monster, so monstrous you made our Lord and Savior die for your sins for how messed up you were.

So basically you don't become a sinner, you are concived as one. Humanity is sin itself, it can never lead to something good.

So are the clones. That's why Prime, in his benevolence, feeds them with himself. To make them pure, to protect them from the outside world. To make them remember who their strenght comes from.

If you don't want to read all of this just go for the Futurama soda episode, it's basically the same thing. Bleah.

2) Corpse feticism and more.

Again, don't know you guys, but here we are filled with mummies. I went in a place in Palermo and ...my gosh why did I do that.

We have everything here, hands, heads, feet, teeth so many of them, dead babies, dead virgins, dead popes, dead elders, all of them for half the prize, but only if you call today.

We are. Filled. With these atrocities. At least we don't touch them anymore.

Sometimes I wonder if, apart from the "hygene", people in Middle Ages used to die at the honorable age of 13 also because they kissed those... thingies there.

So, can we please talk about Horde Prime collection of "previous selves"?

This man has a whole room filled with corpses of himself. In the Vatican you can find corpses of dead popes as well, preserved and even dressed in a very good way. In Italy in general we have these, I remember a whole room in a town near my city filled with skeletons of "saints". Personally I find it very disturbing because you are basically not allowing that body to rest and serve its last biological purpose, especially if you consider that most of these "saints" were mentally impared young kids who were killed brutally and died as "martyrs". In ancient Greece the WORST thing you could do to a corpse was to leave it unburied, without dignity.

It's getting darker now.

I like both headcanons for Prime, that of a spoiled (maybe even sexist) royal of a lost culture who wanted to conquer the universe and that of him being a sort of ancient evil spirit, but I personally like to stick with the latter.

Imagine the old bodies of the clones Prime used for himself. Pushed to their limits. Clones dying young is horrific as well, but like these people were forced to go on. Not to die. Not to age as much as possible. And now that they are dead they can't even rest. They are a show off for anyone to see. Their brains preserved and their literal dead flesh still tormented for reading.

One may ask me, then what about corpses in formalin for medical use? Well, one thing is a donor or a dead fetus or a corpse nobody claims. That's the story of the skeleton in my university, a young male who didn't eat much. A very lonely man. Well at least now he is well loved and appreciated, ah if only he knew that.

The point is, we respect them. We are grateful for the informations they give us. Gosh, I know I'm creepy, but I even cuddled one bone once. We know they probably suffered. Like, search for HeLa cells. That lady has my highest respect.

But Prime? Those are. Vessels. Just that.

Anyways, apart for the "respect the deads thing" I found Hordak's behaviour in that room that of high distress. Like, ehm, any normal person? Search for "Convento Dei Cappuccini", that place I was talking about in Palermo. The fact that I heard kids cry and "MEMENTO MORI" everywhere.

Everyone and everything is afraid of death, I just accepted that fear because it's normal. That doesn't mean I want to be reminded of it every week, especially if I'm a 7 yo kid.

Honorable mentions: that horrible art collection.

3) Double standards

When I went to catechism my teacher used a very feather hand on males and an iron fist on us ladies. We weren't allowed to wear trousers, to play football, to raise our voice. We were forced to be very clean, to sit with our legs as closed as possible. I heard it was worse before, at least we could play volleyball and weren't forced to knit.

We were however "encouraged" to sing and bake stupid cakes for Sundays. Mind you, I'm very feminine, but one thing is liking ribbons one thing is being a slave.

The boys...well, they could literally do anything. They broke things, used petards, beat each other. They were NEVER reproached, the teachers would say "oh, they are just boys". Like once I was so engrossed. I remember I had to sit behind a guy with his butt almost uncovered (because the lower you put the helm of your trousers the cooler you were) while I had to stay still with my head high, chest out, belly in and legs closed for 2h. The problem was: I almost pitied him. I was like "poor thing he doesn't know how to behave properly". That's so crazy, I was piting a free soul while I had my hands handcuffed because I truly believed the bullshit they put into my mind.

Now, imagine how did Horde Prime's clones feel about Catra and Glimmer.

They can dress as they please. Eat non amniotic fluid. Catra can even go wherever she wants.

To me, they didn't feel envious. As they should! That's how far an indoctrination can go.

Take Yudi interaction with Catra, he believes everything he is saying.

But I think deep down he knows, they all know, the truth, juding by his bitter reaction after being possesed. He knows he is the slave here, not the free man. But he wants to believe the other way round.

I think that yes, of course Prime kept Glimmer and Catra (and Hordak) because he needed them to conquer Etheria. But that is also a good way to show to the poor clones of how lost people far away from Prime's light can be. Slaves of their bodly needs and slaves of their individuality.

4) Sexual abuse

Do I need to explain this? Plus all those sick touches Prime gives not only to Hordak, but to Glimmer, Catra and Adora as well?

I don't know much about other countries, again, but here the Church is a real cancer. If a priest gets accoused of raping children he just gets put into another Church far away, and generally he keeps being a pedo even there and the game goes on.

I wouldn't exately say that Prime is a pedophile but clones are pretty innocent and neotenic to me so...idk.

Of course, Prime is his own state and his own rules, so yh. Raping all day. That's why I don't like to ship him with anything rather than a 100 m fall. Not even with his clones, sorry I know its kinky maybe but he is a monster.

Also, the way the clones feel like...honored to be raped. That's so sad. Maybe he convinced them this is the only right way they could experience sex and intimacy. I really don't know.

One thing I'm sure of is that Christian religion likes to often put shame on some "impure" acts. That's the name. The most impure of all is masturbation. If you are a male ...mmm well it's okay dear, it's not your fault you are male and so a sex starved animal. But if you are a girl? Ihhh oh dare you bitch.

Mind you, I fall in the ace spectrum but I did too have puberty and needs, and these thoughts in my head made me only conflicted.

Last thing. More of an asking. And more irriverent, so please stay away if you don't want to read.

So basically I understood I was atheist at 5 yo, just because I read two different versions of the birth of the Universe, one in my science book and one in my Bible (MY Bible, I still have it, was a gift of my aunt) and preferred the science version. I still felt conflicted, like once during a religion lesson at School (well...I don't blame Mussolini much in this case, I mean the Vatican wasn't still recognizing country indipendence and we needed a compromise) the teacher told me to stop drawing dinosaurs with Adam and Eve because they never existed. I mean...yes that's anachronistic but still I felt very sad, dinosaurs were cooler than that story. I remember I even made an experiment "if I say I don't believe in god will I get thunderstruck?". It didn't happen so I was like "oh cool, science wins". But then CATECHISM ecc ecc. The fun fact is that they think atheists are those who don't study religion, while I was the most zelous of the class.

So.

I just wonder...my baby boy Hordak is a man of science, what were his thoughts after his separation from Prime. I mean of course he still believed, but also not as much after some time. Entrapta is a support system for him of course, but he accepts her affection quite easily on canon. Which is amazing, still... maybe he was already doubting his devotion?

[hopetofantasy]

‘HUMO’s big youth survey - Politics, society and religion’ - With Nora Dari (part 1)

- TW: corona pandemic, mental health, sickness, religion, islamophobia, racism, cancel culture -

Who better to test out the results of HUMO’s brand new ‘youth survey’ than a trio of three young gods? Bouba Kalala (23) made the switch between ‘Studio Brussel’ and the social media-team of the ‘SP.A’ - sorry, ‘Vooruit’. Céleste Cockmartin (21), daughter of sexologist and politician Goedele Liekens, just started her third year of neuropsychology in Maastricht. Nora Dari (19) portrays the beautiful Yasmina in the wildly popular ‘wtFOCK’. ‘If we don’t rise up to the streets, a lot of things will remain the same.’

- Note from hopetofantasy: ‘SP.A’, soon to be rebranded as ‘Vooruit’, is a social democratic political party -

For the past quarter of the century, HUMO surveyed every new batch of youngsters, but never before did we had to include a pandemic in our questionnaire. It’s a first! And even though the youth isn’t the most popular target of the virus, they’ll emerge from the corona crisis with scars on them too.

Half of young people thinks life will never return to what it was before. The girls are even more pessimistic than the boys. Nora Dari: “I wouldn’t call us pessimistic: we weren’t on the right track at all. This is one big wake-up call. I’ve never felt as alone yet together as during lockdown. On social media, we were already used to our own bubble. Then suddenly, all these bubbles began to look the same and everyone kept talking about the same thing.”

Bouba Kalala: “For one moment, the crisis showed us how good the world could be. I even started to cry at the drone images of VTM. I think we’ll bring that unity with us to the post-corona era.” Nora Dari: “When my mom stepped on the bus with her hijab before this, she would have gotten the side-eye. Now people scowl at those without mouth-masks. Weird how fast everything can change.” Bouba Kalala: “My grandpa experienced the war, we lived through a pandemic. Shit happens. When the Germans threw bombs on England, everyone re-emerged after the bombardments, re-opened their shops and even made jokes about it - ‘Everything at explosive prices!’. That’s what we should do now: we have to take corona seriously and follow the measures, but being scared won’t help us more forward.”

Do young people have to give up too much, because of the corona crisis? Almost one out of three think they do. Céleste Cockmartin: “I don’t have the feeling I’m giving up on a lot. But young people really do try and avoid infecting the elderly. When I’m in Maastricht and only see my peers for weeks at a time, then I’ll be less restrained. But when visiting my parents, I’m very careful. It’s just a matter of not being selfish. What’s so difficult about wearing a mask and disinfecting your hands?” Nora Dari: “Quite a lot of people don’t believe in masks.” Bouba Kalala: “Really? I don’t know anyone who dismisses the rules and says: ‘I’m going to go anywhere and do what I want.’ But those that do, get a story in the news. As if every young person doesn’t give a fuck.” You do? Bouba Kalala: “I have to: my grandpa who’s 84, is staying with us. I did sin once, though. Going to a friend’s house for some drinks, other friends come over and suddenly you’re with ten people.” Nora Dari: “I’ve had corona and I was scared to death that I’d infect my parents. So I locked myself up in my bedroom for two weeks.” Céleste Cockmartin: “Seriously? I wouldn't be able to handle it mentally if I couldn't go out.” Nora Dari: “But I was incredibly sick, so the solitary confinement didn’t bother me. I’ve binged all there was to binge on Netflix.” Bouba Kalala: “And your sense of smell and taste?” Nora Dari: “Still gone! I can’t taste anything. Us, Moroccans, drink mint tea every day. Now, a month later, it still tastes like water.” Did the virus change you? Nora Dari: “I’m pretty religious. Corona has given me even more the understanding that everything is in God’s hands.” Faith is on the rise again: the number of young people claiming they’re atheist or non-religious declined from 50 to 41 percent. Céleste Cockmartin: “Everyone is looking for meaning and answers. I search these answers in science.” Bouba Kalala: “For me, science and God have the same worth. Believers can’t prove there is something, but science can’t disprove it either.” You believe there’s something? Bouba Kalala: “Yes, but what? I believe in the universe, the force of attraction, the power of positive thinking... I don’t want to sound too much like a hippie, but I also believe in the paranormal and UFOs. (*Céleste and Nora laugh out loud*) What? UFOs are my hobby. Even the American army admits there is something, so there must be something (*laughs*).” Nora Dari: “I often hear it: young people believe in something, but they don’t know (yet) in what they believe.” It’s all clear to you. Nora Dari: “Yes. I’m lucky to be born in a muslim family, but even then, there’s a moment where you think: is this the religion that really defines me? I’ve done research and began reading books, but my heart truly connected with the Islam. It feels like true love.” Céleste Cockmartin: “I can be jealous about that. I think it’s a shame sometimes, that I don’t have that faith. It seems to be a good solace during the hard times. For a lot of people, faith isn’t much more than a form of meditation.” Bouba Kalala: “The grandma from a friend of mine passed away recently. I found it hard to comfort her. I don’t have that issue with my Moroccan or Turkish friends, because we know she’s with God. The idea that she isn’t gone, brings peace.” In 2015, when we were still discussing the imminent terror attacks, 9 percent called themselves muslim. Now it’s 17 percent. Nora Dari: “I think it’s related to the terrorists. Because of them, muslims and non-muslims started asking questions about Islam. People studied the religion and concluded that it’s actually really beautiful.” When you were 13, you wore a hijab for a while. Nora Dari: “As a young girl, I often visited the community center in Winterslag. It closed down by the time I went to high school. From a tiny school with only two Belgians without an immigration background, to a school with a handful of muslims. Suddenly the world seemed bigger. I needed something familiar, something I could join and where I felt included. That was the Islam. After two years, I realized that my choice to wear the hijab, was too hasty. I wore it so I wouldn’t feel alone, but when I got older, I understood: I’m not alone. With or without hijab, God’s always with me.” Will you wear it again some day? Nora Dari: “I hope so. If someone asks me why I don’t wear it, I don’t have an excuse. It’s something so beautiful. Yet, right now, it doesn’t feel as if it’s something I need to do.”  Do you feel, as a muslim, that you’re less of a target than a few years ago? Nora Dari: “Yes. That’s connected with the trend of being woke, being aware of everything and refusing to think anything is bad. Due to this, a lot of youngsters are becoming less critical. Which is a shame.” And here I thought, young people were only positive about being woke? Nora Dari: “But what is the meaning of ‘being woke’?” I was hoping you could tell me. Nora Dari: “No one knows. Everyone pretends to know (*laughs*).” Bouba Kalala: “That’s being woke, I think: not knowing everything, stop pretending like you have all the answers.” Nora Dari: “You know what bothers me? That we live in such a cancel culture. One bad tweet and you’re cancelled for life. There’s nothing woke about that?” Bouba Kalala: “Without social media, we wouldn’t have cancel culture: every brain fart continues to exist on the internet. Years later, someone will dig up a wrong statement and use it to take you down.” Nora Dari: “Young people would do well, if they followed the people they don’t agree with on social media.” Bouba Kalala: “Yes!” Nora Dari: “If I'd follow Dries Van Langenhove (= extreme right politician / activist) tomorrow, my followers would throw a fit: ‘Do you agree with him?’ No, the exact opposite! But how can I understand how he thinks, if I don’t follow him? If I only followed people whom I agree with, I’ll get tangled up into my own truths. The world doesn’t stop with my own Insta page.” Céleste Cockmartin: “That’s being woke: talking with your opponents. I once started a conversation with Dries Van Langenhove. I ran into him in Ghent, at the time of the ‘Schild & Vrienden’ TV report. I had to know: what’s the deal with that group? Unfortunately the conversation wasn’t very clear - it was the nightlife neighborhood. But I’ll stick with my statement: start a conversation with dissendents.” And the youth of today doesn’t do that? Nora Dari: “Not at all. We rather cancel each other.” Bouba Kalala: “I already know that I’ll get racist bullshit hurled at me after this interview. I've learned not to care. Hate posts are good for my algorithm.” You don’t reply to them? Bouba Kalala: “I do, every time. One time, I argued for hours with someone who sent a racist tweet. I kept going: ‘Why do you say that, Arno? Do you realize this hurts?’. In the end, he even thanked me. I went to my mom, showed her the conversation and we’ve high-fived each other. I know that Arno will vote for Vlaams Belang (= extreme right political party) again, but he did say ‘thank you’, while he started with that sick tweet.”