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path-of-grass-and-leaves · 6 months ago

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Bioregional Magic: Sustainable Ways to Work with Native Plants

Note: Post Contains Personal Anecdotes and UPG

As someone with a nature-based practice, I completely understand the desire to work with native plants. Many of us are deeply compelled to foster a connection with our land spirits and the local flora and fauna.

But with the normalization of consumption in witchcraft spaces paired with unethical wildcrafting and foraging practices, it's important to be careful. We don't want to harm the native plant populations and the wildlife that depends on them in our quest for a more localized practice.

Learning which plants are safe to harvest

By safe, I don't mean safe to handle or consume, though this is also crucial knowledge for anyone harvesting wild plants in general. I'm specifically referring to whether or not the collection of native plant matter will make a negative impact on the local ecosystem.

Think of it this way, if your practice is spirit-focused. Will the collective spirits of certain plants really want to assist you if you're devastating their population for your own gain? IME the answer is a hard no.

Take a look at a field guide and start identifying some of the native plants in your region. Are some of them listed as endangered, threatened, or special concern? Now you know which plants you should never disturb or collect materials from.

If not threatened, are some species generally harder to find? Are they present only in a certain type of environment? Do they take a long time to mature and/or have a very specific method of seed dispersal? Proceed with caution.

Example:

Common Blue Violets are one of the first plants to bloom in my garden during springtime. I also consider them very important in my practice and like to harvest them for certain rituals. But like I said, they're one of the first native plants to bloom during spring. Which means there are going to be pollinating insects, songbirds, and small mammals which rely on these plants for food. And predators who rely on those animals.

Since this is a hardy plant that usually grows in abundance, it's okay for me to harvest some from the garden for personal use. But I still need to leave enough to serve as a resource for wildlife and allow it to reproduce for the following year.

On the contrary, I never touch my wild Bloodroot. I only have two or three plants in the garden, their seeds have double dormancy germination requirements, and they take 2-3 years to reach blooming size. I have only ever collected seeds for propagation, and even then do it rarely because I know that the ants do a much better job at this than I could.

So when we can't harvest materials to use for tools and ingredients in workings, how do we utilize these plants in our practice?

Physical Representations and Symbolism

Images, objects, and symbols representing the plant can be used to substitute organic matter that you would otherwise collect and use for workings. Consider art pieces or photos, sculptures, sigils and seals, paper cut or folded into the shape of leaves or flowers, etc.

If the plant is your main component or energy source, consider designing the working to cater to this. For example, if I'm petitioning the spirit of milkweed, I might want to incorporate aspects of air and wind, since this is how their seeds are distributed. Or I may want to add some lunar energies knowing that this is the planetary correspondence for milkweed. This is would completely depend on my intent for the specific working and which physical or spiritual aspects of the plant I choose to work with.

If you're seeking a more long-term effect, try getting crafty and using symbols of the plant to decorate your own tools. I'm talking homemade oracle cards, painted jars or boxes for container spells, decorated offering bowls, ritual jewelry, and so on.

Working with Living Plants

This one is for the spirit workers. While it's entirely possible to petition plant spirits, especially collectives, solely using imagery, working carefully with a living plant can help establish a more direct spiritual connection.

This can be done by conducting your working outdoors, inviting the spirit of the plant into your space, and asking for assistance. During this time you would leave an offering, usually fresh water, but you can also offer things like soil or compost. Obtaining a working knowledge of certain plants can help inspire ideas for more creative, species-appropriate offerings, giving your spells and rituals an extra boost.

Now if this were a plant that was on a special concern or endangered species list, I would avoid offerings and actions that could potentially disturb the plant in any way. I may work within a few feet of the plant and present my offering in a bowl, removing it at the end of the working. I would definitely avoid touching it or say, pouring out water over the soil where it grows.

While we're on the subject of offerings, consider acts of service. Once again, we're going to use milkweed as an example. If I want to leave a nice offering for the spirit of milkweed and I know that Black Swallowtails feed on the nectar and pollinate it, I may offer a potted plant of dill placed in the wildflower garden. This is because Black Swallowtail caterpillars love to eat dill and will later pupate into adults, which will be beneficial for the plant. Consider different species and their relationship with each other. You may even get multiple spirit allies out of the deal.

Cultivation and Seed Distribution

Now, we've talked about ways to avoid harm when incorporating native plant species into our practices, but what about making a positive impact?

The Act of Growing Things is actually my favorite part of plant magic. Sure, I love harvesting my vegetables, fruit, and herbs to use in various recipes, and wild plants I find in the yard are excellent allies. But there really is something special about watching a tiny seedling grow into a full-sized plant, or seeing that delicate young native perennial thrive during its first year outdoors.

Whether transplanting or growing from seed, you're inevitably going to develop a strong relationship with that specific plant. You'll learn all about its growth rate, ecological benefits, soil requirements, and more. This will lead to folklore, correspondences, and later on your own UPG related to where this plant fits within your practice.

Another option, if you don't have the energy for more hands-on cultivation, is seed scattering. Disturbed areas like roadside ditches or even your backyard are perfect for this. Whether scattering or growing in starter pots, seeds can be charmed or enchanted with a specific intent and planted as a sort of living spell.

I use Prarie Moon Nursery for my seeds, but there are plenty of other affordable online vendors. You can also check out what's available locally. There are a few native-focused nurseries in my area that have a nice variety of options depending on the season.

#bioregional magic #plant magic #nature veneration #nature magic #spirit work #witchcraft community #witchcraft #witchblr

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democracyunderground · 2 months ago

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Alt National Park Service

We apologize for the length of this post, but we felt it was important to share the full details with you.

In early March, a group of Musk-affiliated staffers from the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) arrived at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency responsible for protecting workers’ rights and handling union disputes. They claimed their mission was to improve efficiency and cut costs. But what followed raised serious alarms inside the agency and revealed a dangerous abuse of power and access.

Once DOGE engineers were granted access to the NLRB’s systems, internal IT staff quickly realized something was wrong. Normally, any user given access to sensitive government systems is monitored closely. But when IT staff suggested tracking DOGE activity—standard cybersecurity protocol—they were told to back off. Soon after, DOGE installed a virtual system inside the agency’s servers that operated in secret. This system left no logs, no trace of its activity, and was removed without a record of what had been done.

Then, large amounts of data began disappearing from the system. This wasn’t routine data—it included sensitive information on union strategies, ongoing legal cases, corporate secrets, and even personal details of workers and officials. None of it had anything to do with cutting costs or improving efficiency. It simply wasn’t supposed to leave the NLRB under any circumstance.

Almost immediately after DOGE accounts were created, login attempts began—from a Russian IP address. These weren’t random hacks. Whoever it was had the correct usernames and passwords. The timing was so fast it suggested that credentials had either been stolen, leaked, or shared. Security experts later said that if someone wanted to hide their tracks, they wouldn’t make themselves look like they were logging in from Russia. This wasn’t just sloppy—it was bold, calculated, and criminal.

One of the NLRB’s IT staffers documented everything and submitted a formal disclosure to Congress and other oversight bodies. But instead of being protected, he was targeted. A threatening note was taped to his door, revealing private information and overhead drone photos of him walking his dog. The message was clear: stay silent. He didn’t. He went public.

This isn’t just a cybersecurity issue—it’s a coordinated effort to infiltrate government agencies, bypass legal safeguards, and harvest data that can be used for political, corporate, or personal leverage. With Elon Musk directing DOGE, it’s hard not to see the motive: access to union files, employee records, and legal disputes that could benefit his companies and silence critics. This same playbook appears to be unfolding across multiple federal agencies, with DOGE operatives gaining quiet access to sensitive systems and extracting vast amounts of data without oversight.

The truth is, DOGE was never about making government more efficient. It was about taking control of it from the inside. What happened at the NLRB is not an isolated incident—it’s a warning of what happens when billionaires are handed unchecked power inside public institutions.

#DOGE #Elon Musk #CYBER CRIMES

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copperbadge · 1 year ago

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I was making breakfast and listening to an episode of Just King Things this morning, which is a podcast I do recommend -- two very smart English teachers are reading the books of Stephen King in publication order and discussing them. This could go extremely awry except they're both highly conscious of his failings as well as his skill, so they do really well handling a lot of his less salutatory content.

They've hit the point in King's ouvre (this episode was about Hearts In Atlantis) that follows his recovery from the car accident that very nearly killed him, where he was struck by a van while out walking. One of them pointed out that it seems as though he came back from nearly dying determined to write the wildest shit imaginable and only write what he wanted, which struck a chord in me this time despite having listened to this episode before. Perhaps because I was thinking about my own writing and where it's going in the short term (there are a couple of short stories I want to do that I don't quite have a way into yet). I generally don't think about the drift of my creativity in the long term because when I do I usually draw the wrong conclusions.

I don't really classify my life, the way some people who've had high-impact injuries do, as before-TBI and after-TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury -- the fairly severe concussion I had in January of 2020). For one thing, given I had to cancel a trip to NYC because of it, it may have saved my life; I almost certainly would have caught COVID as someone with known lung issues in New York at the time. For another, the TBI was way scarier to almost everyone else; for me it was just one more dumb injury I gave myself and I didn't even remember most of it so it hardly registered. I used to open the story of it with a joke about waking up not remembering going to bed the night before, but nobody ever found it funny.

It's true that there are changes it wrought in my life, though. Even practical stuff like making sure my living space doesn't have tripping hazards and continuing to wear a fitbit even though I don't really need to (the fitbit told us, the morning after, exactly when the concussion happened, because it registered a heart-rate spike when I fell). For weeks after, I had to move slowly and put off making important decisions because I couldn't trust my physical or intellectual judgement; I didn't even jaywalk in my own neighborhood because I couldn't be sure I was judging the cars' speeds properly. For about a year after I had periodic post-concussion syndrome which basically just slammed me back into concussion space, which wasn't painful or upsetting but was definitely inconvenient.

And it's also undeniable that my writing shifted after the injury. It's not necessarily because of the injury, since my initial recovery from the TBI and the declaration of quarantine happened at roughly the same time, and anyone who tells you that a years-long global pandemic didn't impact their artistic expression is selling you a line. But the last thing I wrote before the TBI was the first draft of Six Harvests, and aside from the Six Harvests publication draft, which had fairly minimal changes, almost all that I've written has been blue-sky, light-hearted, PG-rated romance. It's been on my mind that I've been writing different subject matter from what I used to, but the timing of it didn't strike me until just recently.

I don't mind, really. I love fandom and I support fanfic in whatever expression it comes, but I'm also happy writing my own stories. While I'm aware it's been years since I've meaningfully written fanfic, it doesn't bother me per se, as long as I'm writing. It bothered me much more when I could write fanfic but not original fic, especially in those last few awful months at my last job. I'm proud of the literary and non-genre fiction I've written in the past, but it's also much more trying and frustrating to write at times, so I'm enjoying having a different sort of challenge that feels more fulfilling in the process. I'm sure at some point I'll go back to literary fiction -- there are ways in which it's hard to avoid turning the later Shivadh novels into literary fiction, being honest -- but for now I like what I'm writing, and I'm writing primarily to please myself and without regard to what's necessarily rational or linear.

Just struck me, is all, that it's by far the most noticeable major shift in my work. I do sort of wonder what will be next.

#writing #sam writes

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insipid-drivel · 1 year ago

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Toxins, Venom, and Poisons in Historical Western Medicine: How Are We Not Extinct From Doing Some Of This To Ourselves?

This piece is an involuntary piece inspired by @writing-with-sophia's awesome post "Poison list", which is an accurate and succinct list of commonly known (and ancient!) poisons, venoms, and toxins that have been and were used for causing poisoning in ancient and recent history. I wanted to write this because what struck me by their post crossing my dash was, the sheer number of poisons listed that were - and even still are - used as mainstays for healthcare around the world throughout the ages!

OBLIGATORY DON'T BE A DUMBASS PSA: If you're planning on incorporating these poisons into your HISTORICAL-era writing, it's also important to remember that many of them were used for medicinal purposes at one time, too, and it's great you're interested in learning about the subject! And also, you shouldn't try ANY of these! I will not tell you how to do it at home if you DM me, so don't! You are not appropriately trained to do it! You will harm or kill yourself and possibly your loved ones if you fuck around with any of these and it will be 100% your fault and you absolutely should feel bad bout it! I've seen some of you idiots believe 4chan posts about making home-grown crystals using recipes for actual mustard gas and seen you being wheeled into the ER on the news! I will not feel bad if you get yourself hurt if you screw around with any of these plants, elements, or animals!

Resource blog plugs and PSA over, now for the Hilariously Poisonous Medicines:

If you're writing something that's meant to take place prior to the advent of our more modern understanding of poisons, venoms, and toxins, factoring in "this is toxic to me NOW, but what about 500 years ago?" can add a lot of opportunities for interesting plot elements to your story.

These can include someone accidentally poisoning themselves with a toxic drug or substance that wouldn't have killed them if they'd handled it properly - like tansy? Grows all over the place in Europe and England? That'll kill you if you harvest it too late in the season, but it's good for intestinal parasites when it's harvested early in the year and processed right.

Did the lady's maid really kill her mistress with belladonna? Or was she trying to secretly help her mistress get rid of an unwanted pregnancy?

The protagonist's children can't survive to make it to weaning age! Is the wetnurse a poisoner, or does the milkman hide that he sells sour milk by pouring Borax into it so no one could taste it and has no idea he's killing his clients' babies?

Nuance and cultural mores regarding historical views about poisons and toxins can make writing even more fun, dynamic, and interesting! Explore 'em!

Just... please don't try any of this crap yourself. You will poison yourself, it will hurt, you will die, and you will hurt the entire time you're dying. Using OP's master list alone, here's the flip side of these lethal beasts through the eyes of our distant ancestors who believed illness was caused by "vapors", "bad air", and "imbalanced humors":

Hemlock:

Used across multiple different cultures in history. When properly administered to treat a disease, poison hemlock was used to treat asthma, whooping cough, bronchitis, joint/bone pain, muscle cramps, and insomnia. Hemlock was most often used as a sedative and antispasmodic.

Arsenic:

Arsenic is a heavy metal, and so has been used in everything from making specialty dyes for wallpapers (Scheele's green is the most infamous arsenic-based paint; Queen Victoria once had a guestroom in her palace redone with Scheele's green wallpaper. The first dignitary to stay there had to be carried out and taken to emergency care after breathing astronomical amounts of arsenic dust from the wallpaper's paint), to medicine. Arsenic was especially commonly used in history to treat skin ailments ranging from acne, to psoriasis, to syphilis sores. It was also sometimes prescribed for menstrual cramps, upset stomachs, colic, and arthritis, among many, many other things.

Cyanide:

Uh... I have literally never found any evidence of cyanide in medicine, outside of its use in modern medicine as part of certain chemical lab tests for measuring urine ketone bodies that involve no contact with a patient whatsoever. Cyanide literally works in less than a few seconds to render your entire body incapable of absorbing OR using oxygen in your lungs or already existing in your blood. Cyanide is really only good at making things that breathe not breathe anymore.

Nightshade:

There are a lot of different "nightshades", so being specific is essential here. Potatoes are nightshades. Tomatoes are nightshades. Calling anything a "nightshade" does not inherently mean it's lethally toxic. Belladonna is probably the most notorious of the "deadly" nightshades, but to this day, is still used medicinally, and would actually be seen as a health and cosmetic mainstay in historical fiction, especially if your setting is in Italy!

Belladonna is an Italian portmanteau for "beautiful woman", because tinctures (water-based drops) of belladonna were commonly used by Italian women as eyedrops to dilate their eyes and appear more attractive, aroused, and desirable. Today, belladonna's eye-dilating effects are still used by optometrists to dilate the pupils! Belladonna has been, and still sometimes is used as an NSAID, general painkiller, motion sickness treatment, asthma medication, and even as a treatment for IBS.

Ricin:

As OP said, Ricin is derived from the toxin found in Castor Beans, and is surprisingly new as an official "the only reason this is made is to make someone dead" poison. Not only is ricin a popular "nobody would think to test for this!" choice in mystery/thriller writing, but it has been used for political assassinations in real life before. Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian anti-Communist dissenter and writer, was killed in 1978 with a 1.7mm diameter ricin-coated pellet shot into his thigh muscle by an unidentified assailant using a modified umbrella as a gun. He died 4 days later.

Historically, castor OIL has been used for medicinal purposes, especially for treating constipation, inducing labor in pregnancy, and as a topical skin moisturizer. If you've ever watched the opening scene in Disney's "Peter Pan", when the childrens' mother is trying to give them a spoonful of medicine each, she's actually giving them castor oil! Castor oil tastes really bad (so much so that flavorings like cinnamon were often added to try to muffle the taste), so the childrens' reluctance and disgust at their mom making them take their medicine is very realistic for the era the movie came out in!

Strychnine:

Another lethal poison that started life as a medicine/food additive. Strychnine is no longer used medicinally at all today, but historically, it was used to stimulate the heart, treat bladder and bowel incontinence, and limb palsy. Strychnine is a deadly-powerful muscle stimulant that, as a poison, causes horrifyingly painful full-body strictures (spasms) and destroys the cardiovascular system. (Fun fact: Strychnine and hydrochloric acid were historically mixed into cheap vodka to make knock-off gin, especially during the Georgian Era in England if the brewer didn't have or couldn't afford juniper berries!)

Snake Venom:

Seriously, do your research before you write an actual, real snake species using venom they don't produce! The Big 3 Forms Of Snake Venom are: Hemotoxic, Neurotoxic, and Cytotoxic. Specific snake species exclusively generate the same kind of venom (so a hemotoxic snake will ALWAYS produce baby snakes that also make hemotoxic venom). Aristotle himself wrote in 380 BC that certain snake venoms could be applied for treating fevers, smallpox, and leprosy, and there is even some evidence in the historical record prior to the 1800s that different cultures have experimented throughout the eons with using venom for converting into antivenom, but I've never found a source citing anyone making a successful form of antivenom until around the 1850s.

Digitalis:

OP really nailed the important thing about Digitalis, and that is it's cardiac benefits for certain people - particularly for treating congestive heart failure. Vincent van Gogh was actually prescribed epilepsy medication that likely contained Digitalis, aka Foxglove, and there are some prevailing theories about van Gogh's love of bright yellow paint as being either caused or exacerbated by the symptoms associated with digitalis use, which can cause an attraction to and increased visual sensitivity to the color yellow. In several portraits, including one of his own psychiatrist, van Gogh shows subjects presented alongside foxglove flowers. Digitalis is absolutely lethal if consumed or taken without expert guidance, however, because it's the mother ingredient of Digoxin. Digoxin isn't used as frequently as it used to be a few decades ago, but it's still used and prescribed today for certain forms of heart failure and heart disease. Digoxin was also, at one time, was also sometimes used to induce chemical abortions.

Lead:

Dear god, lead. Not only is it so slow to kill you that you'll think that the only way to manage your symptoms is with more lead, but lead poisoning can be a life-long crisis for a person who is regularly exposed to it. Humans have used lead for everything from plumbing, to paint, to our cutlery, to cosmetics, to medicine. While yes, it is very possible to ingest enough lead in a single sitting to die within hours or days, most sufferers of lead poisoning experience it for years or decades before the symptoms become obvious. Some archaeologists believe that the Romans used lead cutlery because lead has a unique reaction when we lick it: when you have lead coating your tongue, it makes EVERYTHING you eat suddenly taste 10x better. I learned this myself from going target-shooting with my mom at a gun rage as a teenager, inhaled gunsmoke (which contains lead), and went for lunch immediately after. Even though I was just eating a $5 meal from In-N-Out, my burger tasted so good I thought I was gonna have to change my pants. When I asked the rangemaster at the target place about it later, he literally said, "Oh yeah, lead makes the worst cooking taste like heaven."

The ancient Romans ate a lot of rotten, spoiled, and sour food, and so lead would've made it easier to eat it back then. But the neurological effects of lead poisoning are nightmarish. It's suspected that, in America, the #1 reason we had so many active serial killers in the country from the 1940s-2000s was because of leaded gasoline. Ever since leaded gasoline was banned? Serial and random violent crime rates have dramatically gone down, especially in metropolitan cities. Ancient Rome, too, gradually became an increasingly violent city as its population went up and its reliance on lead did. We're only just now starting to figure out how toxic lead actually is, so go nuts with using it as a plot element regarding subjects like "Why Are You Like This?"

Mercury:

Mercury is also known as quicksilver, because in spite of being a heavy metal, the temperature at which it melts into a liquid is very, very low compared to most other metals. The first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, was rumored to be so obsessed with the notion of immortality that he would send his doctors on doomed voyages around the world searching for a legendary substance that would, indeed, make him immortal. Legend has it that some doctors who were tasked with the job found out about the last guys, and produced mercury before Emperor Qin Shi Huang and cried, "Here it is! I got it!" so they wouldn't end up doomed to drown at sea. Qin Shi Huang became so obsessed with ingesting and medicating himself with mercury that, when his legendary tomb was being constructed, he had a small-yet-accurate-to-scale map of China+the known world about the size of a football field with every body of water full of fountains of running mercury in his burial chamber. His tomb was rediscovered in the last couple of decades after archaeologists found suspiciously high levels of mercury in the soil on top of a "hill" that had been sitting in the countryside untouched for thousands of years. It turned out to be Qin Shi Huang's long-lost tomb.

Since those days, mercury has closely been associated in early medicine as a sort of cure-all, since it literally kills anything it touches (including people). Captain Blackbeard himself, the most notorious pirate in Western history (Western specifically; google who Zheng Yi Sao was), was known or widely believed to be a syphilis sufferer, and desperately sought infusions of mercury from ships he'd capture (and the doctors onboard) to treat it, believing like everyone did that mercury could cure syphilis. It can't. They just didn't understand back then that syphilis starts off surface-level, and then eats your brain years after the initial infection.

Aconite:

Again, ridiculously toxic outside of specific medicinal applications that still aren't safe today! Aconite, or wolfsbane, has historically been used as a heart sedative (for slowing the heart), diuretic, painkiller, and even used to induce sweating. Evidence of wolfsbane being used for medicinal purposes has been spotted here and there over thousands of years throughout the Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Empires, but its original use came about in Ancient Greece for hunting and culling wolves by poisoning bait-food with it. That form of hunting died out long before the European Middle Ages, but the name "wolfsbane" stuck. Mostly because in the Middle Ages, a lot of people believed werewolves were a huge problem, and kept wolfsbane handy to deter said werewolves.

Thallium:

Today, thallium is mostly used in the production of camera and eyeglass lenses. Before its toxicity was known about, it wasn't strange to hear of thallium being used topically to treat fungal infections like ringworm. Thallium was also sporadically used in treating typhus and tuberculosis, along with a wide array of sexually transmitted diseases.

This list doesn't even touch the tip of the toxic iceberg when it comes to the sheer quantity of hilariously dangerous toxins people have, or still continue, to use for medicinal purposes! In a Victorian-era English London middle-class townhouse setting alone, there were dozens and dozens of ways to poison or otherwise harm yourself just by going about your daily life. So, if you've got a period piece you're working on, or are just bored, you can pick an exact date and time in our history and learn just how terrifyingly comfortable our ancestors were with upsettingly dangerous substances and home remedies. You can also watch a massive docuseries, called "Hidden Killers" and hosted by historian Suzannah Lipscomb, among other historians and archaeologists, which deep-dives into the hidden and unknown dangers of living in eras from Tudor-Era England, to the Post-WWII Reconstruction Age.

As a final note: I am NOT bashing Chinese or Eastern medicinal practices here, and in fact deliberately have gone out of my way to not include any references toward culturally-sanctioned medicinal practices in Eastern and Southeastern Asia. This post is specifically related to the history of WESTERN medicines and their associated history. I am not, nor have I ever been, a doctor of any traditional Eastern medicinal practices, and do not pretend to know better. Sinophobes are unwelcome in my blog space.

#creative writing #historical medicine #writing reference #poison #toxins #long post #very long post #really long post #writing-with-sofia #sinophobes dni #if i've offended the OP of the first post with this i sincerely apologize #i got excited and it gave me a case of diarrhea-level infodumps

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frootynovak · 10 months ago

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casey + alex vs. smartphones

when bored or taking a break from reviewing her case notes, casey plops down on the couch (most of the time accompanied by a beloved bag of potato chips) scrolling through instagram reels of cat videos that she sometimes sends to alex.

alex calls casey out from the dining table where she’s preparing her cases and yells at her to stop sending her stupid videos because her phone keeps pinging. under grumpy breath, alex opens casey’s messages to watch the videos she sent. she smiles and wonders whether it is time for them to try and adopt a pet.

other things casey does with her smartphone:

1. casey learns new recipes by watching youtube videos so she could impress alex with her cooking skills. she also browses tagged restaurants on instagram reels so she could take alex there if she thinks they’re worth it.

2. she leaves movie reviews on letterboxd, especially if the ending of a movie really upset her

3. when she’s antsy, she plays harvest moon/stardew valley

4. casey has pinterest boards that she updates regularly: “date with alex ❤️”, “small tattoo ideas”, “poems that remind me of alex ❤️”, “stupid memes”

5. she has a reddit account but never posts. she uses it just to read the ridiculously funny and the questionably morbid.

casey’s google search history:

how to handle anxiety symptoms / sous vide vs. pressure cooking / are all orange cats crazy / gone girl actress / is orange from the color or the fruit / do fish pee / is bloodbending illegal / duck penis / date night ideas / is mayonnaise better for grilled cheese / padded sliding mats / jurassic park survival guide / new ways to pleasure your girlfriend / silly cat names / sneaky ways to ask your girlfriend to marry you / will our cat attempt to eat our pet fish if we decide to also keep fish pets / gelato vs. ice cream / what to give wife for first anniversary

things alex does with her smartphone:

(the first thing alex does in the morning after brushing her teeth is checking whether she has important emails that need to be urgently responded to)

1. she has a binaural beats/nature sounds app so she can listen to them to help her with anxiety when casey is not around

2. her mobile games of choice are (a) duolingo - to channel her competitiveness and always get to number 1 on leaderboards; (b) merge cooking; (c) nyt games - to pass time when she can’t sleep

3. casey encouraged alex to start journaling to help relieve some symptoms of anxiety. for convenience, alex uses the notion app as a semi-journal, semi-to-do list. at the end of a tiring day and esp if casey is on a work trip, she scribbles a brief narrative of how her day went and how it made her feel. sometimes, she shares her notes to casey.

4. convenience apps: uber, uber eats, doordash, pocket yoga, skyscanner, wise, paypal, opentable, airbnb, booking.com

5. alex has subscription to both apple music and spotify. she insists that sound quality is better in apple music but spotify’s user interface is friendlier. she has different playlists for each mood, and made playlists for casey. she hasn’t shared all those playlists to her though.

alex’s google search history:

are there any advantages to castling queenside? / how do you politely ask someone for their instagram account but as a friend? / what does it mean when young people say that “this is sending me”? / how to tell your girlfriend you love her without having to say it explicitly? / are intrinsic motivations learned? / what restaurant serves the best grilled cheese in manhattan? / list of fragrances with subtle sillage appropriate to wear at work / what signs to look out for which indicates that your girlfriend wants to marry you? / list of the most romantic places for honeymoon / best galleries to visit while in Barcelona / how hard is it to raise a child?

#casey novak #alex cabot #calex headcanon #calex versus: a series

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sjerzgirl · 2 months ago

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Is Musk a Russian agent?

More information very similar to that shared before. Infiltration of private citizens' information by DOGE with accounts and passwords set up that were then immediately used from somewhere in Russia. I believe Musk is an actual Russian spy. Trump's a patsy, a useful idiot. Musk, however, got them direct access.

Alt National Park Service

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We apologize for the length of this post, but we felt it was important to share the full details with you.

#nlrb #doge #data theft #russian access #musk

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tomorrowsgardennc · 9 months ago

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🍠 harvesting sweet potatoes 🍠

this was my second year growing potatoes, but my first year growing sweet potatoes specifically. when i grew normie potatoes, i ended up with less than what i put in the ground... that's how bad it turned out. while researching why i did so badly, i learned sweet potatoes grow totes differently so i decided i would try those this year.

i am very happy i did.

i started off by bringing my teeny tiny harvest basket assuming i did horribly, but after half of the first plant i had to go grab my big boi harvest crate my dad made me. i also found 4 baby carrots that i grew last year during my harvest. ignore those.

prior to harvesting, i turned to the internet out of habit to see what needed to be done. sadly, the internet had varying degrees of how to handle both harvesting and curing potatoes. then i remembered farmer mama used to grow these so i hit her up for the true knowledge. i shall put it here for y'all.

there's no need to wait until first frost, and actually it's prolly not ideal if you wait. it's going to be first frost pretty soonTM so right now is just fine. it's easier to diggie dig if you trim back all the vines first. i did prune back the vines and leaves the deer left for me, and i tossed them in as my first layer of compost for the garlic bed (garlic post soon, i'm running behind on planting them...)

now i can grab on to the neck of the plant and rip it up. totally not morbid to phrase it that way. to say i squeed with joy when i saw large and bountiful potatoes this time is an understatement. hubs was prepping the perennial flower area to plant those plants and he thought i was getting attacked by yellowjackets again. my yipee and my panic screams are the same so i don't blame him.

for digging, since this was in my tall raised bed i just used my arms and hands and dug around. i had my shovel handy, but my acoustic self prefers to use hands for everything, and also because the shovel could pierce the skin of the potatoes. which isn't horrible, but an annoyance and an extra worry when curing so just not worth imo. the potatoes didn't go further than 8 inches below the soil, so no reason to keep digging. you can also tell when the roots get smaller and smaller. i also learned that for sweet potatoes like 90% of the taters are right under that neck, so also no real reason to dig around too much except if you want to find those baby outliers.

so incredibly happy with this harvest 😍❤️🍠

the purpose of me growing these was because, well, why not, but also because i want to offer sweet potato slips at the farmers market next april. i offered only a few this year because i just didn't know what would happen and if i wanted someone else to grow it and see how theirs turned out to compare. why purple? well, why normie???? purple is so much prettier and i'm actually going to focus on a lot of purple produce in 2025 lmao. but i digress.

ok so i hit the tumblr photo limit just from talking about harvesting these gorgeous purple divas therefore i shall do a 2nd post about the curing stage. spoiler alert: i am curing the baby tubers because market slips next year and i washed the big chonkas in my outdoor sink and boiled them immediately.

boiling was a mistake. good news is i learned the kitchen would look pretty with purple floors 🫠 and that if you clean up purple potato water on kitchen floor with clorox bleach that it turns the purple color blue 🫠 i love science.

since i got too overexcited i boiled too much. i saved enough in the fridge to make a sweet potato pie later this week, ate some for dinner, and then froze the rest in ziploc bags. i have a feeling i'll be making multiple purple sweet potato pies this season because why the hell not.

don't worry i'll have photos of the pie when i make it. hehe.

ok chores real quick then on to the next post about curing the potatoes, very important.

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godhasatenderheart · 9 months ago

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Hello there. As a fellow Christian, I really enjoy a lot of posts on your blog. I think sharing the love of God is very important. But one post on your blog gave me a bit of pause. You see, something that often causes me distress is the idea of people going to hell. I understand that free will and consent is important to God. I know that hell has to exist because there needs to be just punishment for sin in the world and that it's one of the biggest things Jesus has saved us from.

But still, I worry about people going there. I don't want people going there. It's part of the reason why the Great Commission is so important. So, the post that gave me a bit of a pause, as it often does when I see it crop up, was the part about a line being drawn in the sand and the wailing about "Why won't you accept us?" Presumably, this is referring to the LGBTQ+ community and how the Bible forbids homosexuality. I won't get into the parts about whether the translations are correct or not - it is an area in which I have doubts - there are plenty of other areas of which I do not have doubts. Do we not all have our struggles in our faith? I believe Jesus died for my sins, was raised from the grave, that He forgives me of my sins - He is my Lord and Savior. I've confessed this with my mouth and in my heart and to people I don't know and to you (who I also don't know). I think that is first and foremost the most important thing. And also the two greatest commandments as outlined by Jesus: to love God with all your heart and all your mind and all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.

With this in mind, can we hold sinners, those who have not yet accepted Christ to our same standards? They don't yet know the love of Christ! Jesus ate with prostitutes and tax collectors - those deemed the most sinful in His day. Didn't Jesus wait until AFTER he saved the woman about to be stoned for adultery before saying "Go and sin no more?" Should we not be throwing our doors open and inviting people in with no expectations - only love - presenting the Gospel "with all gentleness and respect" - teaching the love of Christ first, praying that God will turn their hearts towards them, and then letting the Holy Spirit do His work?

Instead, we say, "No. We do not accept you as you are. Do NOT come as you are. We have nothing to teach you." We say, "Do not come here. You will be judged by us. Our primary goal isn't your salvation; it's to get you to stop being gay / transgender / etc." "You don't get God's forgiveness and love."

The church is in decline for many, many reasons that don't just have to do with a "change in culture." God hasn't stopped working. There are people still seeking Jesus but getting turned away by the workers of the harvest. And I just... I have a lot of feelings about that. I don't think we should discard the Bible.

But does desiring the salvation of as many souls as possible mean I'm living a life of compromise? Am I saying "Did God really say-" or am I saying, "What about when God said this? What about when Jesus did that? Aren't those things important, too?"

Hello, beloved! Forgive me for not knowing which post of mine you're referring to, but I'll try to answer as best I can.

My main goal is to get people curious about God, because once they open their hearts to Him, even for a moment, He reveals Himself, and they become convicted by the Holy Spirit. I think it's okay to bring newcomers to God, help them find their footing, and then allow God to handle the rest. He is sovereign, and will guide them along the way.

The truth is, I am bisexual. I was also an alcoholic and abused marijuana during the time I found God. If, before I gave my heart to Him, someone had listed all my sins, I would have presumed I was condemned to Hell for eternity and not pursued a relationship with Him. Or, if I had pursued it, I would have felt nagging shame, believing I wasn't good enough and constantly fearing for my salvation. For this reason, I believe it's best to establish God's love and mercy first and foremost. Our God is forgiving, and He will forgive us if we come to Him.

If we lead with harsh criticisms when evangelizing, we give people the impression that God is cruel, tyrannical, and abusive. Since finding God, I've been able—by His power—to avoid sexual sin and stop using substances. It wasn't me who did this, but God. We can't overcome our sinful desires without Him, and when we approach people first with criticism, it makes them feel like they have to “fix” themselves before ever coming to God. This is backwards. When you break your arm, you don't try to cast it yourself—you go straight to the hospital. The same is true of our sin and God. We must go to our healer to be healed.

We cannot overcome sin on our own, so why do we, as Christians, expect people to cure themselves or make themselves presentable before coming to God? I believe in going out into the fields, gathering the lost sheep, and bringing them back to the Shepherd. He is the expert when it comes to His sheep. He knows exactly how to handle us, and indeed, He is the only one who truly can.

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

—Romans 5:8 (ESV)

What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?

—1 Corinthians 4:21 (ESV)

I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.

—Luke 5:32 (ESV)

#g #a

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probablyasocialecologist · 2 years ago

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A new study launched this week highlights the work of Andhra Pradesh Community-Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) and the remarkable untapped potential of agroecological natural farming in Andhra Pradesh, India. Spanning over 6 million hectares, and involving 6 million farmers and 50 million consumers, the APCNF represents the largest agroecological transition in the world. Amidst the diverse landscapes of Andhra Pradesh, this state-wide movement is addressing a multitude of development challenges—rural livelihoods, access to nutritious food, biodiversity loss, climate change, water scarcity, and pollution—and their work is redefining the way we approach food systems. Farmers practicing agroecology have witnessed remarkable yield increases. Conventional wisdom suggests that chemical-intensive farming is necessary to maintain high yields. But this study shows agroecological methods were just as productive, if not more so: natural inputs have achieved equal or higher yields compared to the other farming systems—on average, these farms saw an 11% increase in yields—while maintaining higher crop diversity. This significant finding challenges the notion that harmful chemicals are indispensable for meeting the demands of a growing population. The advantages of transitioning to natural farming in Andhra Pradesh have gone beyond just yields. Farmers who used agroecological approaches received higher incomes as well, while villages that used natural farming had higher employment rates. Thanks to greater crop diversity in their farming practice, farmers using agroecology had greater dietary diversity in their households than conventional farmers. The number of ‘sick days’ needed by farmers using natural farming was also significantly lower than those working on chemically-intensive farms. Another important finding was the significant increase in social ‘capital’: community cohesion was higher in natural farming villages, and knowledge sharing had greatly increased—significantly aided by women. The implications for these findings are significant: community-managed natural farming can support not just food security goals, but also sustainable economic development and human development. The study overall sheds light on a promising and optimistic path toward addressing geopolitical and climate impacts, underlining the critical significance of food sovereignty and access to nourishing, wholesome food for communities. Contrary to the misconception that relentlessly increasing food production is the sole solution to cater to a growing population, the truth reveals a different story. While striving for higher yields remains important, the root cause of hunger worldwide does not lie in scarcity, as farmers already produce more than enough to address it. Instead, food insecurity is primarily driven by factors such as poverty, lack of democracy, poor distribution, a lack of post-harvest handling, waste, and unequal access to resources.

#india #agroecology #farming #True Cost Accounting #agriculture #Andhra Pradesh

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a-d-nox · 2 years ago

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pac/pap: what should you be grateful for this harvest season?

take what resonates leave what doesn't - nothing is 100% for you because these aren't personalized so please no angry comments or dms about what i am saying not being a good fit for you or that you "don't claim" just keep scrolling if that is the case. be kind, self reflect, and have fun.

last pac/pap: vampire: what is draining the life out of you? what feeds your strength?

return to the masterlist of pap/pac posts

paid reading options: astrology menu & cartomancy menu

enjoy my work? help me continue creating by tipping on ko-fi or paypal. your support keeps the magic alive!

pile one

this month it is important that you are grateful for your present situation and that you know what it is to feel safe. you work hard and now is the time to be generous and share what you have - abundance breeds abundance. worry less about scarcity and more about what you have in this moment. i sense you might have your eye on something in particular, something that you may have been saving up for it - go ahead now is the time to get it, you've earned it.

you are a very mysterious person - it is always a pleasure to find someone who doesn't constantly tell people what they are up to and what they are thinking. you leave a bit to the imagination and that is admirable. you know how to have open and honest conversations despite this. you have a mind for strategy and that too is something to be grateful for - as someone who listens more than they talk, you know when the writing is on the wall and you are constantly one step ahead.

be grateful for the time you have to spend with others. i sense that you and these people you will be around this holiday season have busy schedules and it isn't always easy to connect - be grateful for being able to do so. the ones that actively want to connect with you and are trying to figure out when they can find time to see/talk to you... well they are just another thing to be grateful for. also be glad that you made the decisions that you did; you are right where you belong at this moment in time.

pile two

your intuition and emotional intelligence is something everyone, including yourself should be grateful for. you have a gift in the world of the occult - be thankful that you receive signs from the universe that help you to understand who you are and where you are going. be grateful that this month you are likely to find yourself surrounded by people that inspire you most.

you are very grateful for what you have but be aware of sounding too overly materialist this holiday season. there are other things to be grateful for like your mental health, how emotionally abundant you are, etc. - not everything is tangible.

it is time that you are grateful for the opportunities to try again. i feel like you may get quite a few second chances, so don't be afraid to show your gratitude for these chances. be grateful that you are being given the opportunities to continue to grow and change.

pile three

you know how to not settle for less than you deserve and that is something worth feeling thankful for - so many people don't know their worth but you know yours. you know how to listen to your heart and to your gut - a talent not everyone has. remember this holiday season to reflect on where you came from, who helped you along, who you used to be, etc. it is a wonderful time to reflect / remind yourself just how appreciative you should be for your present.

be grateful for the holiday season in general - you deserve a break and to have a bit of fun. so do so. celebrate the year you had - you surely accomplished more than you had in mind last year at this time. you didn't foresee all the wins that you would have, so live it up by celebrating. by doing so you are likely allowing positive opportunities to continue to flow towards you.

be grateful for your resilience and your strength. life may be full of challenges but you handle them with grace. you are wonderfully capable of overcoming things both internal and external.

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xnoctifers-eveningx · 2 years ago

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𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊Wild Plant Lore P.2 𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼

Some more notes from my herbology journal of wild plants and weeds that you can utilize in your practice. Includes mundane uses like culinary, medicinal properties, folklore/cultural importance, and magical associations. This post does contain poisonous/toxic plants that can be fatal if ingested, I'm not suggesting anyone inexperienced or experienced do anything with them, do your own research on how to handle them if you plan on using them in any way. They're interesting to learn about nevertheless.

Disclaimer at the end !!

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼

Yarrow- Also known as common yarrow, bloodwort, herba militaris, or Achillea Millefolium. Yarrow is a woody plant with small, round, white flowers and frilly, feather-like leaves surrounding the stems. This plant looks very similar to hemlock which is very poisonous but you can tell the difference by yarrow’s distinctive leaves. Yarrow is edible and can be eaten raw, it tastes pretty bitty and earthy so it’s best to pick while young. It’s most commonly used in salads and soups. Yarrow has a rich medicinal and magical history. It used to be called herba militaris, the military herb, because of its astringent properties. Its Latin name, Achillea Millefolium, comes from the Iliad where Achilles and his soldiers use yarrow during battle. Poultices and ointments made from its leaves are used to aid in lessening swelling and bleeding. Do not consume yarrow if you are on blood thinners or pregnant/lactating, this plant has a chance of causing miscarriages. People are commonly allergic to this plant so please be wary of this and test it before consuming, skin allergic reactions are the most common. Yarrow is also commonly used to treat stomach ailments like constipation, nausea, diarrhea, and IBS symptoms. The plant contains flavonoids that increase saliva and stomach acid to help improve digestion. It's also been used for menstrual pains and stomach aches as it can help relax the uterus and intestinal muscles. Some Native American nations have used yarrow for toothaches, earaches, and eyewashes through poultices and liquid infusions. There's no end to the magic of yarrow, there are so many different charms, divinatory practices, and spells that use yarrow in cultures worldwide. Many cultures have used it to keep away curses and evil magic, they would place it on their doorsteps to ward off evil spirits and keep witches away, or in cribs to protect babies and mothers. “When going on a journey, pull ten stalks of yarrow, keep nine, and throw the tenth away (as a spirit’s tithe), put the nine under the right heel, and evil spirits will have no power over you”.

It’s often been used in divination and psychic senses. In Ireland, it’s thought to be able to give someone ‘the second sense’ and it’s used in a lot of divinatory prayers and charms, usually to do with finding love. It’s also sometimes said that standing on the plant would give one temporary fluency of speech. There is a ceremony of some Gaelic speakers where they had to recite an incantation (the one below this block of text) before harvesting the plant as it was held to high importance. In Chinese belief, it’s thought to bring good luck and the dried stalks are sometimes used in I Ching divination.

“I will pluck the yarrow fair That more benign will be my face, That more warm shall be my lips, That more chaste shall be my speech, Be my speech the beams of the sun, Be my lips the sap of the strawberry. May I be an isle in the sea, May I be a hill on the shore, May I be a star in the waning of the moon, May I be a staff to the weak. Wound can I every man, Wound can no man me.”

It’s widely used in love divination, sometimes people would put it under their pillows at night and say the rhyme below before bed. Sometimes they would pick yarrow from a young man's grave and whoever the girl saw in her dream would be hers. In some beliefs, if the man was turned to her then they’d never marry.

“Yarrow, yarrow, yarrow, I bid thee good morrow, And tell me before tomorrow, Who my true love shall be.”

Girls in Aberdeen would go out in fields on a May morning to pick yarrow while reciting the chant below with their eyes closed, then open their eyes and the first man she spied would be hers that year. There are a lot of little incantations and charms like this for yarrow you can find online if you’re curious !!

“Good morrow, good morrow, To thee, braw yarrow, And thrice good morrow to thee; I pray thee tell me today or tomorrow Who is my true love to be.”

Alternatively, in some European beliefs, it was thought to be associated with the devil, being called devil’s nettle or “bad man’s plaything” due to the belief that witches used it in divination and devil worship. Elspeth Reoch was accused of being a witch in 1616 because she was caught picking supposed yarrow. In Wales, it was considered extremely unlucky to bring into the home and even supposedly called the “death flower” in some places.

⛧ Divination, love, protection from curses, witchcraft, and spirits. But also bad luck, curses, and death in some cultures

Datura- Also called devil’s trumpets, jimsonweed, and devil’s snare. Datura is a genus of 9 species, all of which are poisonous. Datura is a large, branchy herb that forms bushes. It has light green or reddish stems with long, toothed leaves and white or light violet, trumpet-shaped flowers. While the plant may look pretty but it’s very toxic and can be deadly. All parts of the plant are inedible and if ingested it causes a hefty amount of psychoactive and deliriant symptoms like erratic behaviour, hallucinations, tachycardia, heat flashes/hyperthermia, and a variety of other not-so-pleasant symptoms including death. While this plant is psychoactive it’s not a good idea to try to use it recreationally as the symptoms can last up to two days with reports of it lasting for as long as 2 weeks. There have been multiple reports of deaths from people attempting to get a high out of datura and even when “successful” the majority of people report having extremely unpleasant experiences. Datura is also often called Jimsonweed which comes from another name, Jamestown weed, which refers to when English soldiers were attempting to suppress Bacon’s rebellion in Jamestown and consumed boiled datura which left them in altered mental states and ill for 11 days. Because of how dangerous this plant is, there aren’t any real suggested medicinal uses for it. Datura has been used in many cultures for ritual and ceremonial practices due to its psychoactive effects. Many Native American nations used it in very specific ways to aid in their ceremonial practices alongside other sacred herbs. The name datura is taken from the Hindi word धतूरा, dhatūra, meaning thorn apple (in reference to Datura metel, a datura species native to Asia). Datura plays a role in Hinduism as datura is considered a favourite plant of Shiva. Datura also has a long history in witchcraft and the occult, it’s long been associated with witches and magic due to its psychoactive effects. Throughout many cultures, its been used to help connect with deities and spirits, aid in necromancy, healing rituals, and used in flying ointments and curses. In modern-day practice, datura is still fairly commonly used to promote psychic powers and aid in visions, astral projection, divination, and spirit communication. Additionally, likely due to its history of being used as a poison, it’s often used in curses.

⛧ Psychic senses, spirit communication, astral projection, curses

Lily of The Valley- Also known as glovewort, May bells, Our Lady’s Tears, and Convallaria majalis. Lily of the Valley is a flowering plant made up of one thin stalk that has two thick, long, swirling leaves. The downturned white, bell-shaped flowers droop to one side and are often accompanied by small red berries. These plants are often found in woodland areas and bloom in the Spring. Lily of the Valley is not edible and if ingested can be fatal. The entire plant is poisonous and can cause irregular heartbeats, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain if consumed. If touched, it can cause dermatitis and skin reactions so always wash your hands after handling it or use gloves. Despite that, the plant has been used in a lot of folk medicines. It’s often called glovewort in Europe as it was used in salves for sore hands and oils from the rhizome were used to promote heart health. There have been no studies done to verify its effectiveness and it’s often unsafe to consume and touch so it’s not recommended to try to use it medicinally. Although it’s poisonous, it has a very strong and sweet-smelling fragrance that many perfumes have recreated. Lilies of the Valley are often seen at weddings, celebrations, and sometimes funerals. In the Language of Flowers, Lily of the Valley signifies the return of happiness, likely originating from its place as the flower of Spring and May. On May 1st, May Day or Lily of the Valley Day is celebrated by giving the flowers to loved ones to bring happiness and luck. It’s sometimes called Apollinaris from the Greek myth that Apollo made paths of it on Mount Parnassus so his 9 nymph muses could walk through the forests unharmed. In Christianity, it’s sometimes referred to as Our Lady’s Tears or Mary’s Tears from the story saying that as Mary wept at the foot of the cross after Jesus’s crucifixion, these flowers popped up wherever her tears fell. Because of this, it’s often associated with Easter and motherhood. In Romanian culture, it also represents tears with a similar story of a girl crying at the grave of her parents and her tears causing the flowers to sprout wherever the tears fell. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find much about this story beyond a brief mention though. Because of the bell shape of the flowers, there are stories of faeries ringing the bells, drinking out of them like cups, and being attracted to gardens where they grow. Lily of the Valley can be used to promote happiness, help calm the mind, and attract fae. Additionally, the poisonous berries and flowers are sometimes used in baneful and protective spellwork to stop harassment (calm chaos/harm) and protect against spells and malicious entities.

⛧ Happiness, love, motherhood, purity/humility, Spring, prosperity, faeries. Grief, death, and baneful protection in some beliefs

Mugwort- Also known as common mugwort, mother of all herbs, the witch’s herb, and Artemisia vulgaris. This is a very common flowering plant that’s a part of the daisy family. Mugwort can oftentimes be found in the wild, it has leaves that are hairless and green on top, silvery-white on the bottom, with pointed tips and purple stems. Mugwort can often be mistaken for Ragweed or Wormwood but the best way to tell them apart is that Mugwort has leaves that are hairless on top with silvery fibers on the bottom. It’s very aromatic and smells a bit like sage and rosemary. Mugwort’s leaves, young shoots, and roots are edible, though avoid consuming it in large amounts as it can be poisonous and it’s not safe to consume if you are pregnant (can restart the menstrual cycle and cause miscarriage) or on blood thinners so please talk to a doctor before using. It has a slightly bitter and floral taste, the young shoots and leaves can be cooked, and the leaves and roots can be dried and made into tea. Commonly used with meats, soups, or teas. Historically, this plant has been used for centuries for its medicinal properties with many uses to soothe stomach and digestion issues like constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and cramping. It was held so important that it was given the name mother of herbs. Huge warning for this plant though, there is a high chance that you could be allergic to it or for it to cause negative side effects like allergic reactions, nausea, shaking, hallucinations, dizziness, and seizures. This is a plant that you need to take caution around and do your own research for, as beneficial as it can be, it can be just as harmful. Avoid heavily concentrated oils of mugwort too as they may include high levels of thujone which can cause seizures, the raw plant contains little enough for this to be considered a safe plant to generally consume, this can also be absorbed through the skin. In many cultures, the plant is smoked or drank in teas. Essential oils of mugwort have also been used in insect repellents and traditionally root tinctures have been used for anxiety, irregular menstrual cycles, menopause symptoms, aid in childbirth, seizures, and epilepsy.

Mugwort is a pretty prominent plant in many cultures around the world and is very commonly used in magic. Its botanical Latin name is Artemisia Vulgaris, Artemisia comes from the goddess Artemis who is a god associated with the moon, motherhood, and childbirth which ties into the lore of mugwort. Mugwort teas are often used to promote lucid dreaming, astral projection, and heightened intuition. It’s commonly used in flying ointments, psychic teas, and incense. Mugwort also offers some protection against evil and illness, St. John the Baptist was said to carry springs with him to ward off evil and before that. In many European cultures there are Midsummer rituals where it was thrown into fires to offer protection to ward off witches, evil spirits, and illness. In a lot of cultures, mugwort is used to open the doors between the spirit realm and ours, many people use it for prophetic dreams or to connect with ancestors. Sprigs of mugwort were placed over doorways to keep away evil spirits and illness and satchels of the herb are commonly placed near beds or under pillows to induce lucid dreaming, prophetic dreams, and astral projection. In modern practice, it’s very commonly used to promote lucid dreams and astral projection by drinking it in teas or lighting incense. As well as used to aid in divination and spirit communication. Truly the witch’s herb :)

⛧ Lucid dreaming, astral work, clairsenses/psychic work, lunar associated, motherhood/womanhood, divination, ancestor/spirit work, protection from bad health, evil spirits, and nightmares

Purslane- also called pigweed, hogweed, and Portulaca oleracea. Purslane resembles a jade plant with a thick, succulent red stem and smooth succulent leaves. It’s a very low-growing plant that tends to spread outward from its center. Purslane’s leaves, stems, and flowers are edible. It tastes tart and slightly salty, similar to spinach or watercress. You shouldn’t consume it if you are prone to kidney or urinary tract stones as it contains oxalic acid. Purslane is often used in salads, soups, smoothies, and commonly even omelets. It’s considered to be a superfood but that’s generally an arbitrary term, it is a very nutritious plant nevertheless as it contains a lot of antioxidants and Omega 3 acids. Purslane is used medicinally on small wounds and burns to aid in wound health. It’s used in skincare for its anti-inflammatory properties and to reduce the visibility of wrinkles and scars. Purslane may have a cooling effect so people have used it for fevers. There are a lot of different medical uses attributed to purslane but not much scientific proof validating the claims so I won’t really go into those very much but it was often used to cure toothaches and soothe the kidneys and liver, some would call it a cure-all plant. Some will use it to help with their diabetes as it may help reduce blood pressure. Purslane was used widely as a medicinal herb and was thought to drive away illness if worn. It was considered a protective herb in many cultures, many would place it around their homes, beds, and under pillows to ward against illness, evil spirits, and magic. When researching purslane I found a lot of mentions of an old German herbal book from 1715 by Axtelmeier that said

“Even though purslane is cold and moist, it is a real summer plant and does not like the cold. There is a saying that in marriage it is always good when two different temperaments join together. The good Lord alone knows what is best and for that reason sometimes two very different personalities join together in marriage”.

I couldn’t find for the life of me the actual work it was from but there are many mentions of this passage online. There are also some references to people having worn purslane to protect themselves from gunshots, lightning, and illness. Purslane is also said to help aid in clairvoyance, scrying, and astral projection, perhaps because of its association with the moon.

⛧ Harmony, marriage, clairvoyance, astral projection, protection from spirits, illness, and harm

St. John’s Wort- Also known as perforate St. John’s wort (SJW) and Hypericum perforatum, not to be confused with mugwort. A woody flowering shrub with bright yellow, five-petalled leaves, each with a small black dot on the edge that can be seen when held up to light. It has dark green leaves which also often have those same small black, although sometimes transparent, dots. While SJW is not really regarded as being poisonous, it’s not ingestible so it’s not recommended to eat it. It’s not technically edible or not edible, the flowers and fruit are used medicinally but that’s usually the extent of consumption. If you do eat it, you may experience an upset stomach, headaches, confusion, trouble sleeping, fatigue, dizziness, sensitivity to sunlight, and increased anxiety. There aren’t many culinary uses for it, most of this will be about its medicinal uses. SJW has been used medicinally for a very, very long time, both in historical and modern-day use. This plant is usually consumed through teas, liquid extracts, and (more recently) pills made from the flowers. It’s said to taste slightly bitter but similar to black tea though is often times paired with other herbs. Historically, the Greeks used to use it to aid in wound healing, treat anxiety and aid in sleep. Some Native American nations also used it for wound healing, it has some antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties which make it good to treat minor burns, abrasions, and bruises, this is usually done through the use of an infused oil. In Europe, it was also used to treat minor wounds and burns along with lung and kidney ailments and to treat anxiety and depression. SJW has been used to help with anxiety and depression in many different cultures and more recently there have been studies done to prove that it can help, in fact, it’s been shown to be as effective as some common antidepressants for mild and severe depression. It’s also still commonly used as a sleep aid. Do not take SJW if you’re on medications treating HIV/AIDS, or pregnant as it can very likely cause a miscarriage.

In Europe, where it originates, it was used often for its protective properties — people would hang it over their doorways to ward off demons, faeries, evil spirits, and even storms. Some would wear SJW to keep away witches and witchcraft and it was said to offer the most protection if it was accidentally found. The Greeks also used SJW to exorcise evil spirits and energies. It was heavily believed to offer good health and protection from death, making it quite the protective herb. Though, there is a story saying that if you step on the plant after dark a phantom horse/faery would kidnap you and drop you off somewhere far from where you started. During Christian Europe, it was associated with St. John the Baptist because it bloomed around when his canonical birthday was, it was also used to celebrate the Summer Solstice around the same time. Some Christians believed that the spots on the plant only appeared after the beheading of the Saint and that it represents his blood. Many would also put SJW under their pillow as they slept as they believed that the Saint would come to them in their dreams and offer them blessings and protection. In a German poem, there is a story of a young girl using this plant to divine who she will marry, its association with divination/fortune telling is a very common one being found in a lot of European folklore where people ask how long they’ll live or who they’ll marry. This was usually done by asking a question, leaving it hanging from the rafters overnight, and if it was wilted it would be a negative outcome. Modernly, SJW is still widely in use for very similar things like protection, healing, and divination.

⛧ Happiness, tranquility, Solar associated, protection from witchcraft, spirits, and storms, warding off evil spirits, fae, and negative energies

Wood Sorrel- Wood sorrels are members of the Oxalis genus, many being known by the common name wood sorrel. They’re characterized by 3 leaflets very similar to shamrocks and flowers with 5 petals that are typically either yellow, white, pink, or red. Some varieties have 4 leaves or purple leaves. The fruit is a small capsule that holds seeds that ‘explode’ to disperse them. They look very similar to creeping buttercups and sometimes can be mistaken as clover. Wood sorrel has been eaten by many people throughout history, they taste slightly like lemons and are sour, causing it to sometimes be referred to as sourgrass. If you like the taste you can dry and boil the leaves to make a lemony tea or add them fresh to salads. The juices of the plant have sometimes been used as a vinegar substitute or aid in curdling milk.

The name Oxalis comes from the Greek word oxús meaning sharp or pungent, referring to the sour taste. All members of the Oxalis genus contain oxalic acid, named after the genus, which gives the leaves that bitter taste. While safe to consume, in large doses it can be dangerous and cause skin and stomach irritation. With prolonged skin exposure, it can cause skin irritation and eye damage if in contact. With very large doses, it can be slightly toxic and interfere with proper digestion and kidney functions, and inhibit calcium absorption. So, Oxalis is safe for the most part but should be avoided if you have kidney diseases or are pregnant.

Oxalis has been used medicinally for a long time. It contains a lot of Vitamin C so it was sometimes used to treat scurvy. It’s been chewed to alleviate thirst and mouth sores. It has cooling properties and has been used in teas to drive away fevers and heat flashes, and help with sore throats and mouth sores. The juice can be gargled to rid mouth ulcers and applied in a compress or poultice to stop bleeding (coagulant) and reduce inflammation and swelling.

“In Dr. James Duke's Handbook of Edible Weeds, he notes that the Native American Kiowa people chewed wood sorrel to alleviate thirst on long trips, the Potawatomi cooked it with sugar to make a dessert, the Algonquin considered it an aphrodisiac, the Cherokee ate wood sorrel to alleviate mouth sores and a sore throat, and the Iroquois ate wood sorrel to help with cramps, fever and nausea.”

It’s obvious that wood sorrel looks very similar to a shamrock, so much so that it’s been argued that the shamrock might have originally been a species of Oxalis. Likely because of the resemblance, they’re often associated with luck and used in similar ways as clover. It also has 3 leaflets, 3 is a very symbolic number to many that represents past, present and future; upper, middle, and lower realms/worlds; and (re)birth, life, and death — similar to the symbolism of clover/shamrock. It’s also sometimes used as a protective plant similar to how lemon and vinegar are, making it useful in cleansing and banishing. In the Language of Flowers, it represents joy and happiness.

⛧ Joy, happiness, luck, cleansing/banishing, protection from negative spirits

Wormwood- Also called absinthe, common wormwood, and Artemisia absinthium. Wormwood is technically edible but it’s not something you can just pick and eat, natural wormwood contains thujone which can be toxic in large doses and could cause seizures. It’s also incredibly bitter so you probably wouldn’t want to eat it to begin with. Thujone is considered dangerous by the FDA but there are a lot of thujone-free wormwood products that you can purchase online. The main use of wormwood is its part in making absinthe which is an alcohol made from several different plants, another mundane use is repelling bugs.

In 1905, a French man by the name of Jean Lanfray killed his pregnant wife and two children while drunk on absinthe, this only added to the fear surrounding absinthe at the time and people began to believe that absinthe caused extreme violence, hallucinations, and death. Researchers started to experiment with wormwood and thujone in extremely large doses on animals and found it can cause seizures, hallucinations, paralysis, and death. A petition by the Croix Bleue in 1907 was signed by over 400,000 people:

“Absinthe makes you crazy and criminal, provokes epilepsy and tuberculosis, and has killed thousands of French people. It makes a ferocious beast of man, a martyr of woman, and a degenerate of the infant, it disorganizes and ruins the family and menaces the future of the country”

This caused absinthe to be banned in several European countries and the US around 1912. We now know that these reactions were caused by the alcohol in the absinthe and that the thujone in wormwood has very little effect unless taken in drastic doses. Absinthe was legalized in 2007 as long as it was thujone free. Wormwood is used in a lot of medicinal ways too, it’s important to note here that the amount of thujone in wormwood teas and medicinal infusions/pills is insignificant to the amount that is in distilled wormwood like alcohols (absinthe) and essential oils. Teas and medicinal methods that contain wormwood are safe as long as they are used properly. Wormwood is commonly used as a dewormer, hence the name, and has been proven to treat parasitic worm infections in animals just as well as commercial medicines. Wormwood is good to help with digestion issues like heartburn, stomach pain, constipation, and diarrhea – many people use it to help deal with symptoms of Crohn’s disease. Some studies have also shown that wormwood can help reduce pain and inflammation, some have used it to help treat their arthritis and joint pain. You can buy wormwood extracts and capsules online, though keep in mind that it’s not intended for extended use. Do not take wormwood if you are pregnant, it can cause a miscarriage, and do not consume if you have kidney issues because there is a chance it can cause abnormal liver function if taken too much or often.

Wormwood has a lot of magical uses both traditional and modernly. Like yarrow, it’s been used for love divination/magic —

“On St. Luke’s Day, take marigold flowers, a sprig of marjoram, thyme, and a little Wormwood; dry them before a fire, rub them to powder; then sift it through a fine piece of lawn, and simmer it over a slow fire, adding a small quantity of virgin honey, and vinegar. Anoint yourself with this when you go to bed, saying the following lines three times, and you will dream of your partner ‘that is to be’ St. Luke, “St. Luke, be kind to me, In dreams let me my true-love see.””

There is also a Bible passage that references wormwood as a star that taints the water and kills thousands of men, this is symbolic and in reference to how bitter the plant is. There are some Slavic folktales about carrying a sprig of wormwood with you to ward away evil spirits. It was said that if you burned it in a graveyard, the dead would rise and speak. It was burned with sandalwood to aid in summoning spirits. In modern-day practice, wormwood is drunk in teas and put under pillows to promote lucid dreaming and astral projection or to help aid in strengthening their psychic abilities and divination. Many use it to help ward off spirits as well as to communicate with them.

⛧ Astral projection, lucid dreaming, divination, psychic abilities, protection from spirits, protection while traveling, spirit communication

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼

Disclaimer !!: Before you consume or use a plant medicinally, make sure you are 100% sure on the ID. Speak with a doctor before using a plant medicinally, especially if you’re pregnant, and make sure you aren’t allergic and that it won’t interact with any of your medications. Do not substitute legitimate medications with herbal remedies, this is not medical advice. Always do your own research before consuming or using a plant medicinally. Some of the plants, while generally safe for humans, are not safe for animals and children. Make sure to avoid areas treated with pesticides and always wash your takings before use. And make sure you're never over-harvesting, always make sure there's another patch nearby (unless invasive) !!

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thebunniesgrim · 2 years ago

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These Helluva characters that feel the same to me

I've been work shopping this since the Mammon episode came out. I just want other opinions on this so I can confirm if I'm crazy or if others see it too. Keep in mind this is how I see the characters and my opinion. I'm glad to see what you all think as well :)

Blizto and Mammon are the same character. Moxxie and Fizz share a good amount of qualities that are very similar and so do Millie and Asmodeus. Idk it seems like they feel the same sometimes. You would think Stolas, Biltz, Fizz and Asmodeus would have the most in common because they’re supposed to be parallels

But let me explain

Were we go

Mammon and Blizto

(I already when over this in another post so here's what I said)

They are practically the same character given what the show tells us. What Blitzo does to Moxxie is the same thing Mammon does to fizz only cranked up to nine. Mammon says things that make Fizz worry I.e. “ready to reclaim your win another year... I saw your competition and it's pretty stiff, right? You are going to have try extra hard” remember in “The Harvest Moon Festival” ep where Blizto says “now just remember your rep with the in laws is on the line here so, no pressure at all you totally will not make an ass of yourself in front of everyone important in your life” he totally did that on purpose. How about when Mammon calls Fizz a “a bit chungo”? blitzo in seeing stars “you know it wouldn’t kill ya to put a salad in your body every now and then” and he says it meaner. He even encourages Loona to also call moxxie fat so while it’s still Loona doing it Blizto not telling her to chill out or something and there by condoning it, but he has the nerve to clutch his stupid little pearls (also blitzo isn't Wareing his mom little necklace thing in the Mammon ep) when Mammon does the same thing. Mammon says sexually charged stuff to Fizz that is very obviously making him uncomfortable but disregards it like its nothing? “they’ll want a piece of you they can home and fuck! Don’t you want that Fizzy? to be fucked?” Then Fizz said no, and he disregarded it. Blizto in Murder Family, Harvest Moon, Truth seekers, Ex's and Ohs when he makes a big deal about someone having sex with both Moxxie and Millie and then making a big deal at the fact that he, Moxxie and Millie have had sex with the same person also maybe Ozzie's when he says he watches the M&M get it on but it's hard to gaze if Moxxie’s reaction was surprise, disgust or both. Mammon calls Fizz a “a stupid little [HONK]” Blizto calls Moxxie “a fucking disgrace” in Unhappy Campers but to be fair I make it an active effort to forget that ep is canon so. Mammon puts Fizz in a situation he can't handle, which leads to a panic attack. Blizo in the first ep Murder Family where Moxxie doesn’t want to kill Martha because he doesn’t want to kill a mother and ruin a family and is openly hesitant and uncomfortable about it causing him to have a small panic and mess up the mission at first. Mammon tells fizz to get his shit together with the underlying threat of firing, terminating, or worse. Murder family Blitzo says “But if you ever pull a stunt like this again, I will fuck you and your wife”. Both Blizto and Mammon are openly sexist treat Fizz and Moxxie all buddy buddy when they do stuff, they want but when they don’t comply or might do something they don’t like they get mean or aggressive. They only main differences is that Moxxie can talk back to Blizto in a way and fizz can't and Fizz gets to quit and escape his horrible boss.

ok new stuff

Moxxie and Fizzarolli

Moxxie and Fizzarolii have a lot in common such as being into music and overall performance. Fizz, I think he is supposed to be a comedian (he’s a jester) but from all the performances he puts on is mostly singing so. They both like supporting new talent Fizz and the deft kid. Moxxie and the mixtape guy from seeing stars “you made this?... Millie! We need money to pay this talented artist... These artists put their hearts and souls into their work.” They both can be very awkward at times Fizz in Mammons Magnificent Musical Mid-Season Special ft. Fizzarolli (MMMMSfF) “Haha ignores him, Sir. He’s uh like this all the time” and moxxie in Harvest moon festal when Millies's dad talks about the flaming twister and moxxie awkwardly chuckles and says, “oh crumbs...” and they both seem to have a need to be good at what they do. Fizz and his performances saying he needs the pageant gig and Moxxie with being a good assassin his constant want to be stronger like in harvest moon. They both get called fat, and they both have a powerhouse SO. Both get wrapped up in their heads and won’t listen to reason if it means they get to prove themselves to a sucky boss or their own ego. I.e. the entirety of Unhappy Campers and the beginning of western energy when Moxxie must kill the pig thing and MMMMSfF when Fizz won't listen to Ozzie when he tells him “yo maybe not this year?” about the pageant. they both have exceedingly more screen time and character development than their SO. Both are kind of weak physically speaking Fizz can't fight and Moxxie can't really hold his own very often and needs back up when it comes to hand to hand combat. disregards they’re significant other’s worries for them I.e. when Asmodeus was worried about Fizz going to the Greed ring knowing something bad could happen to Fizz given his fame and flashy personality and when Asmodeus doesn’t want Fizz to go to the pageant because it takes a physical and emotional toll on Fizz. Millie when she’s worried about Moxxie entering the Pain Games, when Millie is worried moxxie is getting carried away with mission in Unhappy Campers. They need to be reassured Fizz when he says he sorry to Ozzie for getting kidnapped and Ozzie say she should need to apologize for it and when Ozzie says he loves fizz flaws and all alsothat he doesn’t need to be Mammon's cash bitch. Moxxie when Millie tells him doesn’t need to prove he’s strong to her parents, doesn’t need to hide his past from her. Damzel in destress

Millie and Asmodeus

Not a lot to say about them because they don’t get a lot of screen time and are often pushed to the side for the more popular SO. Seemingly perfect significant others who are only there to boot the other party of the relationship. ambiguous flaws such as Millie being hellhound racist and doesn't do/say anything about blizto/Loona/anybody abusing moxxie. Ozzie, a deadly sin who couldn't save is boyfriend from a villain who is 30000x weaker than him and blizto saved him and seemingly a little processive and kind of smothery. Comparatively to Moxxie and Fizz we know very little about them. The moral support and all around good/normal one. Being comply indifferent to Blizto despite how he treats/treaded Moxxie and Fizz. I understand blizto and Fizz made up, but wouldn't you still be a little skeptical of the guy who disabled your boyfriend even a little? even if it was on accident? Also, wouldn’t you want to speak to your so called friend and boss about how he treats your husband?

Is it just me? Fizz and Ozzie feel like the gay version of Moxxie and Millie. I feel like I have a sold case with Blizto and Mammon and Millie and Asmodeus, but I don’t know

what do you think?

#hellvua boss #helluva boss critical #helluva boss criticism

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