#phallic tree

[paverage-blog]

On the Origin of (Phallic) Tree Worship

Picture is text from EMPT which reads: “As I did so I struck against an elderly, deformed man, who had been behind me, and I knocked down several books which he was carrying. I remember that as I picked them up, I observed the title of one of them, The Origin of Tree Worship, and it struck me that the fellow must be some poor bibliophile, who, either as a trade or as a hobby, was a collector of obscure volumes.”

Just casually looked up Victorian tree worship (as you do) and came across this…

“…A Descriptive Account of Phallic Tree Worship, published anonymously in 1890. The fourth entry in a ten-volume “Phallic Series” printed privately in limited number…”

Obscure volumes, indeed…

[happyheidi]

A lovely generic walk in the woods with Our Generic Queen and her snappy, annoyed aunt (that’s Frida and Moffe, for those who haven’t caught on to all the lunacy that’s been my blog the past days 😂😂) by my moms place 🌿🌳 it’s such a fun forest! Lots of things to see and experience. I spent almost the entire time walking with some garbage I collected (I can’t stand when ppl throw things like a plastic cup (WHYYY??) and other things that don’t belong in nature, in nature, so we cleaned up a little. Look how lovely it is 🌸🌿🍃

[ionizingdotjpeg]

re: last reblog i tend to read evan’s idolization of men as like. a transmasc thing but i also really like the gay thing. (also the gay thing is just more likely but in my mind it’s both)

[siffrins-therapist]

^^^ Ivan to Arthur

Ruseng au but Ivan's an EMT and Arthur keeps """"accidentally"""" falling on items and at some point Ivan flirts with him jokingly saying "If you need someone to do that to you, you know who to call" but he doesn't give Arthur his number and it's Arthur horny out of his damn mind getting into Situations so he can find that hot, massive EMT guy and get his number

[lazy4honey]

A Mangrove Tale

This is longer than I anticipated (still kinda short) and I also unexpectedly got really into it while writing, so I hope the logic holds up… uh, anyway, hope you enjoy! :)

Contains: mangrove dryad x mangrove merfolk reader, heat, dub-con, tentacles(kinda), big 🍆, lots of 💦, belly bulge, cumflation, creampie, rough, multiple rounds and multiple orgasms, some aftercare, NSFW & MDNI

Tall seagrass swayed with the current of the tides and tickled your belly as you swam. Your long tail shimmered beautifully in the sun-flooded water of the ancient mangrove forest, drawing some heated gazes. Pleased with the attention, you smiled and rubbed your tail against the stilt roots of a tree, leaving a pheromone-charged scent note for your potential mates.

Then the roots suddenly moved. Stunned by the unexpected turn of events, you were yanked out of the water and hung upside down before a huge face formed by the grey wood of the mangrove tree. You saw it squint and raise its brows at you, and then the world spun once more as the root tossed you up and you got caught by a few branches, the flexible wood gliding over your sleek and shiny scales as it rolled you around in an examination-like manner.

“What are you doing?! Put me down!” You shouted at the tree, but it was either dumb or plainly didn’t speak merfolk as it obviously didn’t understand you. Rather, it seemed intrigued, curiously holding you closer.

You swallowed and fell silent. Compared to the ancient mangrove dryad, you, this young mer person, were actually really small, almost tiny. But such extreme size differences were normal in the world of merfolk; what was unusual was getting turned on by the wooden gaze of a tree!

‘It must be my heat,’ you thought. It was mating season and you wanted to fuck, your cloaca already itchy from your pent up lust, so even if you went for a dryad… it was normal, right?

Still busy justifying your feeling to yourself, you didn’t notice the mangrove dryad’s movements until you found yourself face to face with what looked like a roughly created copy of you. Made of the tree’s grey wood, yellow blossoms bloomed in its ‘hair’ like little stars, and although the entire appearance was somewhat dull, it still carried that spiritedness unique to living beings.

It took you into its arms, and the branches formed a nest of wood and leaves that was half lowered into the water, allowing you to keep your tail moist.

The wooden copy caressed your hair and cheek, and gave you a stiff smile. At the same time, fine tendrils sprouted from the surrounding branches and tangled with your tail and limbs. They poked and pinched here and there, making your breathing all disordered and your body burn with heat.

Once you were a twisting and whimpering mess begging to fuck, the dryad seemed satisfied. The wooden copy smiled, and some tendrils and flowering branches came together, somehow giving shape to a phallic thing glistening with nectar. It pressed the wooden dick’s tip against your engorged, slightly open cloaca, and easily plunged inside.

The abrupt fullness made you scream with pleasure. You clung to the wooden copy as the dryad’s temporary cock rammed into you, quickly pulling out only to thrust back in just as swiftly, fucking you with such speed that you felt your insides heat up from the friction. Helpless against this onslaught yet ecstatic with pleasure, melodious moans gradually heightening in pitch spilled from your mouth and echoed over the quiet mangrove forest’s water.

Your hole fluttered around the dryad’s cock as you came. Your tail and fingers twitched, and you felt like you were about to turn into sea foam and float away from bliss.

The mangrove dryad’s wooden copy of yourself observed your expression as you orgasmed. It saw your eyes roll back, saw you cry as you came, saw your chest heave as you returned from your high… and it also saw you unhappily pout and squirm upon realizing the dryad’s cock made of wood and tendrils had actually stopped moving. You scratched at the stupid thing and your tail slapped against the shallow water in the leafy nest, demanding for it to continue. The just pacified heat was now coming back, rising quickly and irritating you.

Unfortunately, the next time it moved, the dryad actually pulled out!

Just as you thought you were about to be dumped after just one round, you saw the dryad’s cock… grow bigger. It secreted a viscous nectar that dripped onto your tail, and once more rubbed against your entrance, the tip alone already making you feel full when it pressed inside.

The dryad slowly penetrated you with its makeshift plant dick, letting you feel each and every ridge as it scraped against your soft walls and teasingly poked at various spots. Rubbing here and there, thrusting lightly as if to start another round only to quickly stop again, slicking up your entire cloaca with its fragrant nectar and swelling a little more in size to make you tightly envelop its huge length. It made you feel so full and stretched like never before, perfectly soothing those unreachable itches that always came with your heat, and the only thing remaining on your mind was to get fucked.

Only now did the dryad start moving properly. It completely pulled out only to dive back in right away, reaching your deepest depths and nudging your core. The squelching sound of fluids being pounded into you filled your ears together with your loud moans as the dryad fully pulled out and thrust back in a few more times, and somehow it still felt like its cock was still getting bigger. You had the illusion of your cloaca gradually being stretched till it couldn’t close anymore, that once the dryad was done your hole would be overflowing with nectar and pollen…

With the last deep plunge, you came again. Your voice was already feeling a little raw and your mind fuzzy, and your muscles were getting tired from tensing and relaxing repeatedly.

At this moment, the wooden copy moved. It plucked a little yellow flower from its ‘hair’ and delivered it to your mouth. The flower tasted sweet, similar to how the nectar smelled, and when you swallowed it down you felt a little more energized than before.

The wooden copy fed you a few more flowers before retreating, becoming one with the nest. As a result, many little yellow flowers bloomed all around you like stars, all within your reach so you could eat whenever you wanted to.

Then the dryad started the next round. Its huge cock made you bulge like you were pregnant with hundreds of eggs and you trembled every time it thrust into your core, feeling drunk as it fucked you through the echo of your second orgasm.

Your hands dug into the waterlogged nest, squeezing a handful of leaves and flowers as you tried to hold on, and you meant to feel the dryad pause for a moment. Then the nest around you, the tendrils caressing you, and especially the dryad cock still deeply penetrating you, pulsed as if the dryad had just received some great stimulation.

Before your mind could clear and figure out what was going on, the dryad resumed fucking you, ramming into you with renewed vigor and frenzied enthusiasm. Your hands tightened and you once again felt the dryad pulse, throbbing even, and its movements growing a little sloppy. Then it came.

Pollen mixed with nectar resulted in a cool, thick liquid that erupted from the makeshift cock and shot into you in a clearly perceptible stream. It pulled out just as you came from the sublime sensation, allowing its seed to gush out of your gaping hole and dribble down your beautiful tail, blending with the surrounding water.

The plant cock, still leaking with its own unique cum, caressed your cloaca and felt you quiver beneath it. You moaned softly, your voice a little hoarse from screaming out your pleasure, and a little tendril found its way into your mouth. The soft and thin plant part rubbed against your tongue in an almost affectionate manner and then wrapped around it, gently stroking it. At the same time, the dryads cock went back in.

Your hole was so slicked up that it could easily slip back in despite its frightening size, and every quick-paced thrust pushed its frothed up cum both out of and deeper into you. The cooling feeling the cum had given you soon faded amidst the enthralling friction, replaced by a deep yearning for more.

You tugged on the flowers and the dryad shuddered, going even faster while also stretching out more tendrils. They hooked onto your tail and crawled up the shell of your ear, grazing your elbows and waist and grabbing hold of your nipples, squeezing and pulling and rubbing them into swelling, aching as they deepened in color.

The double stimulation triggered another orgasm, your hole clenching and cum splattering as the dryad fucked you through it, making its little yellow flowers gradually really look like stars.

By this point, you felt like you were being fucked from one orgasm into the next. Your tail kept twitching and you tensed around the dryad’s cock so hard it had some trouble moving for a moment. Its cock wriggled inside you, as if the plant was rearranging itself, and you cried as you came amidst the strange sensation.

As if excited, the plants part wriggled even more. You seemed to feel them split apart to lightly rub along your walls, stirring up its cum and your own fluids. And then they throbbed, coming again. The fragrant cum easily overflowed, and it was even smeared all over you by the dryad’s tendrils.

The dryad put its flowering branches and tendrils back together, forming two cocks this time. They were thinner than the original cock yet still managed to make you feel fuller as they thrust into you just slightly out of sync. It was a weird feeling that made you writhe, and the tempo wasn’t fast enough compared to before.

The dryad however didn’t particularly care, just holding you tighter as it pleasured itself with you and once more spilled its seed. Finally, the thing fused back into one large cock that plugged your hole and locked the gushing cum inside you. It resulted in an even bigger bulge than what the cock already caused, making it nearly impossible for you to see your tail fin.

You felt so full and heavy and lightheaded and everything was blurry. The dryad kept its plug on your cloaca yet still managed to keep fucking you with its plant cock, shoving a little to penetrate deeply. It made the liquid slosh around inside you, mixed with your hoarse cries of ecstasy.

Sparks constantly ran along your nerves and reached into your fins and fingertips and scalp as you were fucked into overstimulation. Even the smallest touch of the little tendrils made you twitch and shudder, and your cloaca and insides felt sore and numb. And yet you still came when you felt the dryad’s pollen and nectar pump through its cock and spurt into you, eliciting a silent shout from your raw throat.

The dryad gave a few more light, sloppy thrusts, and finally came to a halt. It held still for some time, enough time for your soul to slowly return to your body and your body to start shutting down in preparation for sleep. Then its plug slowly deflated and the gallons of cum started spilling out, causing your still sensitive cloaca to start to flutter. Once the makeshift cock was completely out of your hole, the cum just started flowing with each breath. The feeling of stuff flowing out strangely brought you pleasure, and when the dryad suddenly, mischievously pressed a tendril against you, the cum suddenly squirting out of you actually squeezed one last orgasm out of you before you passed out.

The dryad froze for a solid second. Its tendrils dropped in a silent sigh, and it waited for a while before reshuffling the branches forming your nest and letting some fresh water wash over you. It slowly washed you, massaged your swollen belly and tail to clean its cum from you, letting the entire mangrove forest know what a good mate you were as the scent of your desires spread through the water.

But for this mating season, you belonged to the mangrove dryad.

[sunlight-and-calliopes]

Lord Dionysos

God of grapes, wine, intoxication, ecstasy, insanity, inhibition, theatre, festivity, queerness, the wilds, madness, and pleasure.

Epithets

Maenoles ~ The Mad and Raging

Hestios ~ Of the Feast

Androgynos ~ The Androgynous

Phallen ~ The Phallic

Theoinos ~ God of Wine

Oinops ~ The Wine-Dark

Agathos Daimon ~ The Good Spirit

Kittophoros ~ The Ivy-Bearing

Staphylites ~ Of the Grape

Dimetor ~ The Twice-Born

Eleuthereus ~ Of Liberation

Soterius ~ Savior from Madness

Agyieus ~ Of the Streets

Mystes ~ Of the Mysteries

Khthonios ~ The Cthonic; Of the Earth

Melpomenos ~ Of the Tragedies; Of the Tragic Plays

Bassareus ~ The Fox-Like

Associations

Animals

Bulls

Leopards, panthers, tigers, and lions

Goats

Serpents

Foxes

Donkeys

Plants

Ivy

Grapes

Bindweed

Cinnamon

Silver fir trees

Cedar / Pine trees

Colors

Purple

Red

Black

Silver

Gold

White

Offerings and Devotional Acts

Wine and other alcohols

Cigarettes and other tobacco products

Other intoxicating substances

Candles and incense

Foods and drinks

Dried flowers

Bones

Coins

Symbols of queerness (pride flags, empty HRT vials, pride related colors, etc.)

Jewelry

Crystals and stones

Ivy and other vined plants

Fresh or dried fruits

Plants

Going to theatre performances

Going to bars and clubs

Getting intoxicated

Performance art

Dancing

Practicing moderation

Visiting vineyards and orchards

(credit to @sister-lucifer for the Dionysos themed dividers!)

[serpentface]

A non-exhaustive selection of flowers of value or interest in Wardi culture

(not to scale)

Tantlami - a small bluish or purple flower in the aster family. The origin of its name is uncertain.

It blossoms in early to mid spring, being among the first blooms of the season. The flowers and leaves are edible (though rather flavorless and bitter respectively), with the former often being used as a garnish for food or wine. The flowers are appreciated for their blue hue, associated with wealth and royalty. Its flowers can yield a bluish-gray dye.

In fairly recent history, has been saddled with unfortunate baggage in being used as joke innuendo for the anus, largely in mockery of the figuratively and literally flowery tendencies of love poetry (the idea being 'some of these poets would compare an asshole to a goddamn flower'). The word has not been Fully absorbed into scatological humor, though it is now more common for people to refer to it as 'a yachouy tantlami' (the tantlami flower), and being a child named Tantlami is a more difficult experience than it used to be.

Janaët - a native flowering tobacco. Its name almost certainly stems from or is related to a color word for 'white' (jana).

It contains nicotine, though at substantially lower concentrations than tobacco cultivars first brought from Bur (which do not grow as well here and are very valuable trade goods). It is one of two native plants with notable stimulant effects, either cured with the milder-tasting broülje to chew or smoked on its own. It has significance in herbal medicine, with its effects of energizing the body and mind being attributed in part to regulating proper blood flow and strengthening the heart. It is smoked as a supplement to many medicinal procedures, and its juice and fresh leaves are thought to assist in cleaning wounds and healing snakebites. It is also used recreationally, chewed by laborers and travelers to keep energized and smoked for a calming effect.

The flowers are given some degree of phallic associations due to the shape of their projecting unfurled petals, which in turn grants them association with protection and good fortune. Imagery and actual garlands of the flowers are considered to be lucky. The janaët is a standard well-wishing offering for weddings, expressing hope for vitality and protection within the union.

Camnina etsisima - This flower's name just means 'bleeding bush', owing to the color and the way the petals are initially green and appear to slowly 'soak' red. They are also sometimes likened to the appearance of fire, with its second most common name being a similar 'burning bush'. The plant comes into full bloom during the mid to late spring and is regarded for the beauty of its vibrant red color and sweet scent.

Camnina etsitsima is well adapted to dry conditions and most populous in the semi-arid parts of the region. Its leaves are thick and store significant quantities of water, though are toxic to consume by humans and can be fatal in very large doses. Small amounts are used as an emetic and laxative. It is also a known herbal abortifacient, though is one of the less favored methods due to its side effects, causing severe stomach pain (in addition to the aforementioned) in large enough doses to be viable. Its flowers can yield a red-brown dye.

Camiche - flowers of the camiche tree. Its name is very ancient and of completely uncertain origin.

The flowers have a strong sweet smell and mildly sweet taste. They are used in teas and wine mixes (or to make wine in some cases) and can be eaten raw or cooked. Almost the entire rest of the tree is edible as well- young leaves and shoots can be eaten raw, mature leaves are boiled, dried, and powdered to supplement other foods, the seedpods can be eaten raw young and can be powdered into flour old, and the seeds are edible in all phases and can be pressed for oil. The bark is edible but rather bitter and unpleasant and considered a desperate famine food, but is used in herbalism to ease stomach pain and bring down fevers. The tree itself is among the more abundant sources of wood available, poor for woodworking but valuable as fuel, and the majority of camiche trees you'll find near human settlements show evidence of coppicing or pollarding. It is also highly resistant to drought conditions (though is Not resistant to rarer flood years, and suffers in particularly harsh winters), and can be a fairly reliable source of food in famines.

This tree has monumental historical significance to the diet, and its presence is often indicative of longstanding human settlement and passage (especially given its seeds were also an early form of currency among a wide range of peoples south of the Viper). Both ancient and modern land travel routes by nomads can be identified in part by the concentration of camiche along the way. An unusual density of camiche in the far northwestern Highlands (contemporary White Hills People land) marks the location where the last of the ancient cairn-builder proto-Wardi people died out almost two millennia ago, with many of the trees still growing on their mound graves.

In Wardi culture, the trees are regarded as sacred and notably beautiful as well as useful, and are heavily cultivated in urban settings (also at least in part because their flowers help mask the smells of these urban settings). The camiche is sometimes given the 'gaibenyo haidem' ('great/peerless provider') epithet otherwise mostly used for cattle, God, and/or land to denote something's intrinsic ability to sustain a majority of basic human needs. Like the slaughter of a sacred animal, cutting down a camiche tree is regulated by (though not Prohibited by) taboo and requires additional ceremony and for part of the yield to be given back in sacrifice. Coppicing/pollarding or mass-harvesting of living flowers or leaves requires an offering of sprinkled milk, or your own blood if you're low on milk.

Nyari - nyari is just the word for lotuses. There are two species of lotus naturalized here, but this orange-yellow one is native across lands east of the Mouth seaway and was first given this name.

The native nyari is fairly hardy and its root system can survive periods of drought (though not completely dry conditions), emerging seemingly out of nowhere from near-dry mud when the water returns. In any environmental condition, their blooming signals seasonal return to a time of plenty. Lotuses are potent symbols of creation, rebirth, seasonal abundance, and fertility. They also have associations with cleanliness and purity, as they are perceived as only growing in clean water and are intentionally cultivated in manmade water sources. They are important items as offerings and are garlands for brides, kings, and animal sacrifices. Lotuses are also standard gifts for the well-wishing of a marriage, expressing hope for abundance in the couple's life and the birth of healthy children. Symbols of lotuses are extremely common in decoration, and fabric faux lotuses are frequent features of men's hair ornaments. In most variants of the creation story, God and the first people emerged from the primordial sea either like, from, or as lotus flowers, with the first man Hounyari's name effectively being 'first of the lotuses'.

Their primary value is ornamental and spiritual, though their roots and rhizomes are also edible when cooked thoroughly. Their primary use in herbalism is to assist in female fertility, and their roots are an ingredient for the partly medicinal anaebi soup used to encourage and maintain the health of pregnancies.

Suömitsima - a type of poppy with red-orange or orange petals. Its name is straightfowardly a contraction of 'blood poppy'. In some traditions, the first suömitsima bloomed where the blood of Erub's sons and grandsons spilled in their grisly murders after Imperial Burri conquest. It also appears in a very old animal folktale shared in South Wardi and Cholemdinae oral history where a clan of hyenas and a clan of aurochs fight viciously over a drying spring, with the poppies blooming from the blood of the dead when both parties finally agree to truce in times of scarcity.

It is among the earliest and most prolific springtime blooms and beloved for it, being a mainstay for garlands made for spring ceremonial occasions (or for fun). The likening to blood is also an association with vitality, livelihood, and renewal, and imagery of the flower is highly favorable for decoration and jewelry. Its seeds are used in herbalism as a sedative and painkiller, though their concentration of morphine is fairly low.

Ibriya - this is a type of cat's ear flower. Its name has no obvious origin, though was likely derived either a solar term or the word 'hairy' (rijade) due to the texture of its leaves. It adapts well to a variety of environments and can be seen in bloom well into late summer, when most other flowers have long gone to seed. It has an epithet as the 'beloved of the sun' and is a common figure in romantic poetry as a symbol of long-lasting love.

The entire plant is edible and its roasted roots are appreciated for teas, though its leaves are generally considered famine/peasant food. A yellow dye can be derived from its flowers. In herbalism, its roots are used for digestive issues and are thought to improve the health of the liver.

Cabouri - This is a species of wild rose, and the only one native south of the Viper seaway. The name cabouri is of uncertain etymology but Might relate to the word for 'testicle' (awourim), possibly referring to the swollen rosehips. It fares well in a variety of habitats and is Relatively drought tolerant, though it is less common in semi-arid conditions in which it requires a permanent nearby water source to survive.

Its petals, roots, and leaves can be used for tea, its hips are very nutritious and eaten raw, in teas, or in preserves. Rosewater is a favored beverage, either for drinking on its own, mixing with wine, or to flavor deserts. Perfumes derived from roses are very popular and tend to be considered a more masculine scent, often added to oils used for the beard and hair. Its thorns are sometimes used for bloodletting. In herbalism, its hips tend to be used as a cure-all, especially for inflammation and colds. A mixture of fermented honey and crushed rose hips consumed in wine or tea is taken for illnesses affecting the lungs and throat.

Roses tend to be associated with masculine beauty and and vitality, with the sharp thorns and lovely flowers being compared to favorable qualities of handsomeness and strength. It's also a very common motif in Wardi folktales and poetry for secret lovers to hide themselves from their parents/spouses/etc within rosebushes (often injuring themselves in the process, or leaving torn shreds of clothing behind as evidence), as a symbol for foolhardy love/lust or just as a comedic setpiece. This actually derives from an old Burri myth about the conception of a minor god of flowers and crossroads, whose deity mother and human father had an adulterous tryst hidden in a rose bush and stained the white flowers red with their blood.

[dept-of-monster-affairs]

The Hum

Tentacles x f!reader

Word Count: 3138

Contains: tentacle sex, ovipositor/egg laying, hypnosis/mind control, outdoor sex, religious language/imagery

While you are deep in the woods, you come across a strange phallic rock formation. Deciding to camp there, you are inducted into a new religion by the tentacle god itself and given the mission to spread its holy message.

Quarantine in Effect

Effective immediately, the Department of Monster Affairs has quarantined a ten-mile radius around the town of Holtston due to a tentacle demon infestation. All travel planned through the area should be rerouted until further notice. Anyone attempting to breach the quarantine zone will be charged to the fullest extent of the law. 

Living beings in the area are being examined for eggs, seeds, and other signs of propagation with the tentacle demon. Those infected with corruption will remain under examination. Those clean of corruption will be released outside of the quarantine zone. 

If you know anyone who has traveled to the Holtston area within the past month and is acting strangely, please contact the Department of Monster Affairs immediately, as they may be infected with tentacle demon spawn or otherwise corrupted.

The quarantine will be in effect until 30 days after all signs of the tentacle demon are eradicated.

Please visit the Department of Monster Affairs website or call our hotline for more information on quarantine zones, corruption, and tentacle beasts.

Two months prior…

Your muscles ached pleasantly as you hiked along the path following your GPS.

“Alright, there are the two bears,” you said to yourself as you came across an old sign of Smokey the Bear warning about fire safety and a more modern wood carving of a black bear with a request to report any sightings of them in the area. Park rangers were trying to track their numbers as the demons had found them fun sport during the Great Incursion, severely reducing their numbers in the region. And that was why you were here.

A hiker out geocaching had claimed to see a black bear near the cache he was after. Of course, it was one of those unmarked caches that was more of a treasure hunt with clues than a “fun day in the woods with your GPS,” so you didn’t have exact coordinates. The hiker had told the preserve the approximate location but the black bear had been seen at some distance past the geocache using binoculars. So, it was up to you to go out and search the area. 

You only hoped it was a bear and not anything else.

Ever since the Great Incursion, humans learned that many of the monsters their myths had been based upon were real. Many old myths and legends were inaccurate and distorted by time, but there were some that still rang true - who knew what was living in these tall mountains now? Maybe Bigfoot really was real. And you knew the old Native myths about creatures far more dangerous than a tall, hairy fellow.

Traveling for another mile, enjoying the spring air and blossoming forest around you. Eventually, you went off the trail as per the instructions. You used biodegradable flags to mark your path and easily find your way back. A couple of miles into the woods with a few more twists and turns, and you arrived at the spot of the geocache. Looking around, you spotted the water-tight steel box sitting within a crevice of exposed rock face. Perfect.

You took out your binoculars, checked your notes, and compared them to the landscape. “Okay, he was facing west and noticed the movement on the right-hand side. The black shape was walking between the trees toward the boulders that looked like a dick and balls…oh, yeah, nope, that’s an accurate description.”

Sitting on the side of the mountain were two large, fairly round boulders and a tall pillar of stone with a surprisingly round top. Usually, this sort of landform would be found in ancient river beds where the running water carved stone, but these rocks must have gotten lucky in a landslide. The spot wasn’t that far away, maybe an hour to an hour and a half, depending on how easy a path down you found. The issue was finding signs of the bear after that. It was already after two, so even if you found evidence immediately, it was safer to spend the night than risk the sun setting before you returned to your Jeep.

Luckily, you had planned for that. Your pack contained a hammock, sleeping bag, and enough food for a couple of days—just in case the search took longer than a single day.

Knowing you were losing daylight, you set off down the mountainside to reach rock-cock…or was rock-and-balls a better name? As you hiked, you mused about what to call the rock feature that could become a hidden secret of the park.

An hour and ten minutes later, you arrived at the relatively flat area where the unusual rock feature sat. Those rocks were an excellent marker to center your search around. You approached the cock-rocks and realized that they were far less natural than you believed. The rocks had seemed rather smooth from up on the ridge, but you had thought that was the distance. Now that you were closer, you realized they seemed purposively carved.

Approaching a bit closer, you saw tool marks on the rock, or what were probably tool marks you weren’t an expert. The stone wasn’t polished, but…something was strange about it. As you stood before it, the hairs on the back of your neck rose. It felt like you were being watched.

You took out the magical device in your bag to check for a Rift to the other world nearby. The color of the enchanted compass was a milky blue, the color of this dimension. No Rifts nearby. This was probably a prank or some weird art someone made then. Neat and still useful as a hidden landmark for the park. 

“The Mysterious Cock Rock, that has a ring to it.” With a chuckle, you began your search for any sign of a black bear.

Your search circled Cock Rock using the unusual feature as a starting and ending point. You looked for natural animal paths through the foliage and broken branches at hip height; there were several but only a few deer and coyote tracks. A small stream at the base of the mountain yielded nothing besides more tracks. You did not realize that all the tracks were pointing away from the phallic stone you started from.

You came across a patch of blackberries. The bottom ones had all been eaten, but the ones at the top, which black bears could reach by pulling the branches, were still there. That did it for you. There was no black bear around here. A black bear coming out of hibernation wouldn’t miss the chance to munch on one of their primary food sources.

“Gods damn it,” you swore. But this was a prime area for a black bear to find food and shelter. You would set up some trail cams in the area, and even if there wasn’t a black bear around, it would be good to know what animals were in the area. You’d also put one near Cock Rock. If it was a prankster or artist, there was a chance they weren’t done with the project yet. With a trail cam, you could catch them in the act.

By the time you finished your search and set up the trail cams, it was dinner time. You decided to set up your hammock in the clearing with Cock Rock. If nothing else came of this excursion, you would be able to tell your friends you slept with the biggest cock you’d ever seen.

The camp was pretty simple to set up. You made a small fire for warmth and to heat up some water for tea. Munching on a few blackberries you had picked and your rations, you smiled; even if there was no black bear, it was a good trip. You loved the National Parks. The sun disappeared behind you, leaving you to stare into the vast starry sky. The moon was full tonight, providing plenty of light for you to see.

The wind picked up. Through the mountains, a low hum began to resonate. It wasn’t common, but sometimes, they made music when the wind hit the cliffs just right. The hum continued a sonorous tone that wavered in frequency just enough to have a rhythm. It reminded you of that special hertz music you used for meditation.

It was just so relaxing…

You felt the tension in your shoulders release. You could feel yourself sinking into that mindless, meditative state.

Yet, a thought crossed your mind. Maybe this rock formation wasn’t recent. It was art, yes—ancient art.

You rocked back and forth on your feet before the pillar of stone. You didn’t remember moving at all.

The breeze caressed your skin. Your breath was shallow. Breathing in and out with the shift of the hum. Your hands moved without your intent yet without your resistance. You unbuckled your belt and slowly unbuttoned your khaki uniform top. Undressing. Baring yourself to the phallic monument.

You knew something was wrong, but you could not stop.

The hum grew louder. Drowning all worries. You sank to your knees, sitting on your heels, your legs in a V, torso still rocking back and forth with the droning hum.

The hum grew louder again. It resonated in your body. Your nipples tingled, half hardening. Your body was flushed with heat. The fluid of arousal from your swollen nethers dripped onto the ground.

The hum was tangible in the air. You could taste it as you moaned in the same pitch. It was moving forward towards your body, displayed in offering to the stone. The hum was not caused by the wind. From in between the two round boulders, from a hidden cave that you had not seen, the darkness moved.

The darkness slithered forward in slick tendrils. The hum ceased as it reached out towards you, yet the tone still rang in your mind. It had filled your brain like static, white noise that erased everything else. There was merely you, a supplicant, a waiting vessel. And the beautiful darkness of possibility before you.

Out of the crevice, the divine creature arose. It was beautiful.

Your hand rose as you longed to touch the magnificence before you, reaching for a perfection that you could never achieve. Yet, you were not worthy to make that choice. It had to accept you. One of the thick tendrils rose and slid into your hand. Like Adam being touched by Yahweh in the Sistine Chapel, you were filled with life, created anew to serve your god's will. 

“Master,” you moaned with awe.

The tendril spiraled down your arm, pulling it off to the side. Another wrapped around your other arm and pulled it out as well. Your chest was forced out, presenting your breasts and hardened nipples to your god. Even in its hold, your body still swayed to the hum in your head.

Its many unblinking eyes stared down at you like a multitude of pearlescent moons cast within the sparkling ink of night that was its body. It was examining you. Determining if you were truly worthy to serve.

“Please, use me as you will.” To be rejected by it now would break you.

Like a stray radio signal through the static, a thought, no, an impression of intent crossed your mind. Accepted.

That alone caused your body to shudder with pleasure. More of your dripping arousal fell upon the ground, soaking into the earth.

A third tendril stretched out, thicker than the others but with a rounder head shining wet in the moonlight. It dipped between your open legs, pressing against your slickened folds. You gasped with pleasure, but the rhythm of your swaying body continued. It rubbed against you in time with your swaying before easily slipping into your aching hole.

“Master,” you sighed with pleasure. The tentacle held still, but your body rocked upon it. Slow and steady. Constant pleasure. 

Your god’s blessed slime soaked into your inner walls, molding them to its will. Inside, you were stretching. Opening up. Changing to what you need to be to serve it. 

The tentacle sunk into you deeper and deeper. Your hips rolled in rhythm. Its blunt head pressed against that perfect spot inside of you. Again and again, as you fucked yourself upon your master. Then, your walls twitched around it as pleasure overcame you.

The rhythm broke. While that hum still filled your mind, it was enough to start raising your awareness. Wait. This creature. This was wrong. This was…

Another blip in the hum, so much louder than your thoughts, drowning them out. Submission. Pleasure.

Pleasure. You wanted pleasure. This was pleasure. This divine creature, this god, would bring you untold pleasure. All you had to do was submit. Fall back into the warm cloud of static and let it rewrite you. The little bit of your instinctual mortal fight for independence that had clawed its way to the surface let go, sinking back into the all-encompassing hum.

“Forgive me, Master,” you pleaded with a sigh. A tendril dripping with slime rose; it hovered before your face. Leaning forward, you placed a reverent kiss on the end of its head. Absolution was granted as the tendril anointed your face with a spurt of holy slime.

With your full submission, your Master used your body as it willed. Other tentacles moved forward now. Some were like the tendrils holding your arms, and they wrapped around your legs, lifting you into the air. Some tentacles had broad textured pads at the ends, others suction cups, and others split open, revealing tongue-like appendages or even smaller and more dexterous tentacles. The tentacles descended upon you.

A mouth-like tentacle pressed against your lips in a profane kiss. It split open at the end, revealing a long tongue that swirled around your mouth, slowly inching down your throat. You moaned around the tongue as two of the padded tentacles engulfed your breasts, the cilia-like tentacles stimulating every inch of skin they covered, making them tingle.

Another thick tentacle pressed against your ass, filling you up but staying still. You could feel it gushing slime, coating your insides, your walls eagerly soaking up the blessing. A small suction cup placed itself over your clit, starting a rhythmic sucking in time with the hum. The tentacle in your pussy held still, letting your inner walls clench around it - gradually falling into rhythm with the hum.

The tongue in your throat was starting to cut off your air. Your vision started to fade to black as your body jerked, trying to breathe. Thick slime formed on the tongue, pouring down your throat and filling your lungs. If it were not for the hum, you would have panicked while you drowned. Yet, like a child in the womb, you were sustained, breathing in your god.

From deep within your pussy you felt a pressure. The tentacle that had been sitting inside of you finally moved. It pressed upwards, shrinking and squeezing to pass through your cervix opened up to it by the corruptive slime. 

Your eyes rolled back in your head from the pleasure of your god entering you so completely. An orgasm washed over your body. Through the ecstasy, there was another blip of contact. This time, it was more than an emotion. A vision was granted to you. 

An ancient past where the people of this region had properly worshiped your god for the fertility and unity that all experienced under its thrall. Then, the Division. Magic ripped away from this world. Your god torn from its people. It waited in hibernation under its phallic altar until the Great Incursion. It could sense the people miles away but was too weak to call out until you. You had come to it. You had laid next to its altar in offering. You resonated with its call and accepted it into your mind and body. 

The vision transformed into a prophecy.

You would take it to others, spread its teachings of unity and pleasure, and bring others into the chorus of the hum—you as a saint, you as a brood mother. It would put itself into you so you could bring it into town. Then you would give birth to it anew just as you had been reborn in it. Piece by piece, your god would be bestowed upon those worthy of the pleasure.

You could not speak around its tentacle. Yet, if there was any final resistance to your god’s will, you released it. Yes. You would accept this task. You would bring unity and pleasure to your fellows. Build a new cult to your god just as it deserves.

Its eyes pearlescent eyes shifted. Not eyes, you realized, but eggs. They traveled down the tentacles that rested inside of your body. You felt the first egg stretch your pussy lips. It pushed inside of you and pressed against your cervix. Your body waited on the edge as the pressure increased, waiting…waiting…then it slipped into your womb.

The sensation of your god placing itself inside of you sent you into another orgasm. The eggs were coming rapidly now. Eggs of all shapes and sizes. Small eggs, covered in protective gel, like frogspawn, poured down your throat, filling your stomach. The tentacle in your ass lined your insides with eggs, sticking to your innards like octopus eggs to a rock. And most precious of all, the large eggs gently laid in your womb that held the majority of its divine essence.

It was unending. Your mortal body eventually was overwhelmed. Eggs still being pumped into you, you passed out.

You awoke to the chirping birds of dawn. Your nose was cold. Slowly opening your eyes, you saw the canopy of trees above you. You had slept so well. Sleeping in your hammock was better than the ground, but it was never as comfortable as bed. Usually, you had a couple of knots you’d have to stretch out. Yet, as you sat up and gingerly put your feet on the ground, you felt no soreness. Though you did feel oddly bloated, and your uniform felt tight around your breasts and stomach.

Looking around the campsite, you furrowed your brow. You didn’t remember going to bed. Yet, everything was packed away, and the fire was properly doused. Strange. Maybe you had been so tired that you did everything on autopilot before crawling into the hammock. Well, no matter, it was time to report back to the station that there was no evidence of black bears.

As you packed up camp, you hummed. Not happy little do-dos but a long, sonorous frequency that moved up and down in a relaxing rhythm. Something about the tone wasn’t quite right. Humming it alone felt wrong. Your friend should be at the ranger station today. Maybe you could share the hum with her.

Comments and reblogs are appreciated. Trying to think of a name for the tentacle religion and the god itself - thinking Ch'thon/Chthon kinda basic but it works...

There will be more to this, but I thought this was a good ending point for part 1 of an ongoing series.

Find more stories in my Masterlist

[doyoubuyallyourmurderweaponsathd]

The Significance of the Cult of Cybele (and Greek Mythology) to Yellowjackets

(tw for discussion of castration)

I'm not sure if anybody's made a similar post already but this was something I was thinking a lot about in the context of the mythological themes we've seen so far in the show and I'm really curious to see if anyone else has thought the same!!

So for those of you who don't know, Cybele (or Agdistis) was a Phrygian goddess that was later adopted by the Greeks and Romans and associated with the worship of the harvest, the earth, disorder in the vein of Dionysian worship, and particularly the mountains, especially in the context of a more "wild" land compared to civilization. She's often pictured with lions as well.

(Statue of Cybele, from Wikipedia)

What makes Cybele particularly interesting as a goddess figure is that she originally had both male and female genitals, which was a no-no for the other gods, so they cut off Cybele's male genitalia which grew a tree and through that tree Cybele fathered a male child named Attis. Attis was then raised by... a goat. Already a little interesting with the amount of goat imagery we've had, right?

(Akilah with her baby goat)

Attis is also commonly depicted with a shepherd's crook and youthful beauty, emphasizing innocence. As Attis grew, Cybele took him as a secret lover (standard mythology ick), but then the king (commonly depicted as King Midas, although the Midas inclusion was a later thing, but I think he's a relevant figure to this analysis) learned of their relationship and decided to give Attis his daughter's hand in marriage as a way out. However, this ends up making Cybele crazy jealous, so she crashes the wedding and makes everyone go mad. This madness leads both Attis and King Midas to castrate themselves and die as a result. Since Cybele became distraught over the death of Attis, she reached a deal with Zeus to keep Attis in a kind of zombified immortal state as her eunuch.

Now to get into more of the parallels! The castration of Attis occurred under a pine tree, and depictions of Attis are often with pine trees or pinecones.

(relief of Attis collecting pinecones)

We've seen this imagery in Yellowjackets before during Doomcoming, when Lottie places the pinecone in Travis's mouth. I've also thought that this action is really interesting in the larger context of Travis's character, because we see early in the season him being derogatory to Nat and saying she's only good for sucking dick, and later we find out that that was mostly projection from the true meaning of the Flex nickname. Now we have Lottie as the one inserting the phallic object, a subversion of gender roles.

(Lottie places the pinecone in Travis's mouth)

I believe that we mainly see the parallels here as Cybele/Lottie and Attis/Travis. The introduction of Akilah as a shepherd figure and another prophet this season kind of split the Attis role up between Travis and Akilah, but I believe that Travis fits the role better than her with what we've seen so far. The Yellowjackets interpretation of their relationship seems to be less explicitly romantic but following the themes of motherhood and familial bond more closely, as we see largely in season 2 when Lottie comforts Travis and Travis hallucinates Lottie in a nurturing role.

(Lottie calming Travis down)

There are still some vestiges of their relationship being more romantic or sexual in nature though, since Travis has the... reaction to Lottie comforting him and hallucinates Lottie while having sex with Nat. Within the theme of castration, we don't see one literally happening, but this appears to be what is metaphorically happening to Travis, or at least a sort of transition in his perception of his gender. After Doomcoming occurs, Travis doesn't bother with trying to be masculine anymore, instead blending in with the girls. I view Travis's character in the second season and onward as the beginning of a shift further into the cult of Lottie, which gets me into my next point: Ben and Nat's roles in this analysis.

(Ben and Nat during Doomcoming)

A lot of people view Ben and Nat's relationship as a kind of father and daughter one, which I think makes a lot of sense in this context. Nat was originally a firm non-believer in the wilderness worship and serves as Travis's connection to pragmatism and the real world, very different from the spiritual connection he builds with Lottie. Ben blesses their relationship in a way when he gives Travis The Talk in season one, and this is really the only time we see their characters actually talk. Travis saving Ben in the latest episode seems to have extra importance, as in the Attis myths, King Midas is the one to die while Attis becomes saved and venerated. There is a LOT of contradictory stuff in myths about King Midas, but I think the thing most relevant to Ben is the humiliation of Midas with donkey ears, similar to the humiliation he faces after his leg is cut off. The severing of his Achilles tendon in the latest episode can also be viewed as a metaphorical castration. Nat clearly has a much stronger role in this story than the daughter of Midas, but that pragmatism she displays is a good analogy for the safe and respectable marriage that Attis would have had, as we see in the more normal relationship Nat has with Travis compared to Travis and Lottie in season three.

(Lottie offering the bear's heart to the wilderness)

But how does the group's wilderness worship factor into this? The cult of Cybele's forms of worship also have significant parallels to what we've seen the girls do so far in the show. Particularly significant is the Hilaria, a Roman festival taking place the two weeks after the Ides of March. During Hilaria, worshippers of Cybele are actually primarily reenacting the story of Attis. The Hilaria begins with a fast of sorts, which can easily be compared to the starvation we see the girls go through. A pine tree is cut down as a symbol of the castration of Attis under the pine tree and lamented, and we see both the pinecone and Lottie sacrificing the bear's heart to the tree. Blood sacrifices of the devotees were also given in worship of Attis, which included self-castration in his image, although due to Roman laws on castration, animal sacrifices were made in its place. We see the girls shedding blood for the wilderness time and time again, whether of animals, Shauna's nosebleed onto the symbol, or Travis giving blood for Shauna's baby.

Unrelated to Cybele but relevant to the Doomcoming plot is the tragedy of Iphigenia. In this story, Agamemnon, in preparation for war against Troy, kills a stag that was sacred to Artemis. As punishment, he is made to sacrifice his eldest daughter, Iphigenia, in order to appease her. Iphigenia doesn't know she's to be sacrificed, and travels to Aulis with her mother Clytemnestra believing that she is there to marry Achilles. Different versions of the tragedy show Iphigenia's knowledge and acceptance of her fate in different ways, but in one version (the play Iphigenia in Tauris), Iphigenia is rescued by Artemis and becomes her priestess. Later on Orestes, the younger brother of Iphigenia, is caught by Iphigenia, but she doesn't recognize him and it is her duty to sacrifice any trespassers. To compare this to Yellowjackets, the human sacrifice in place of the stag is the role, also unwillingly, forced upon Travis (terminal case of eldest daughter syndrome). Jackie "took something that didn't belong to her" and unwittingly started the first hunt. Nat's salvation of Travis means that he no longer has a sacrificial (or even gendered) purpose to the girls, which in turn leaves the opening for Lottie to comfort him and eventually use him for her own plans, turning him into her own priestess. The sacrifice of Orestes/Javi also has interesting parallels, but ultimately Yellowjackets has the more tragic ending. (poor Javi :()

(Sacrifice of Iphigenia from a fresco at Pompeii, also check out the similarity between Clytemnestra's pose here...)

(...and Nat's pose here)

One last comparison that a lot of people have already pointed out: the Pentheus story. Pentheus, the new king of Thebes, banned the worship of Dionysus due to his distaste for it. Similarly to the jealousy of Cybele, the wrath of Dionysus caused the women of Thebes to become frenzied, viewing Pentheus as an animal and ripping him apart. The animal comparison is moreso what happens to Travis during Doomcoming, but the role of Pentheus is more similar to Ben's relationship with the Yellowjackets. Travis completely participates in all of the activities that cement the Yellowjackets as a hive (the seance, the Jackie feast, the offerings, the blessing of the sacrifice) while Ben is perpetually an outsider. We even see Ben spying on the girls as Nat is crowned queen, and he appears disgusted with her for finally giving into their formed society. That spying is what leads to his eventual capture, and while he's still alive, his fate remains to be seen.

(fresco of Pentheus being torn apart)

Now that I've gone over these comparisons, I think the biggest question is where the plot will go from here. In order to temporarily escape from Lottie, Travis shifts attention to Akilah, but swiftly realizes he's fucked up when Akilah starts actually having visions similar to the ones that Travis is having. He seems to genuinely like Akilah as well, so he begins to take responsibility for her and protect her to the extent that he can while still doing what Lottie says. Since we still don't know what Akilah's fate is, it's possible that either Lottie or Travis through the direction of Lottie are going to end up harming or killing Akilah through these rituals.

If that is the case, we've seen before that the wilderness loves a sacrifice, so I think this would shift them to a higher position within the community. Them saving Ben (but then mutilating him further through a group decision) keeps him alive longer, but as we proved in the trial, no matter how much love Ben has for the girls, he will always be an outsider. We may still see Ben killed soon as a sacrifice to appease whatever may be angered. Nat is also at a pivotal point in her amount of power. She has so far been a good leader, but the trial also proved that she doesn't have any real power over the girls, and she was uncomfortable with the antler crown. A still of a later episode shows all of the Yellowjackets pissed at Nat for something, so this may be where she's deposed.

I can only see sacrifice becoming even more important to the girls as the show progresses, so depending on their actions, the one who gives the most to the group is likely to become the next Antler Queen. Personally, I think a very dramatic choice would be for Travis to wear the crown, instead of the (mostly) level-headed Tai or the power-hungry Shauna. Shauna and Travis have so far been narrative foils, both of them having lost the most to the wilderness and having the biggest shifts in personality, both of them eschewing gender roles in how they're supposed to process grief and traumatic events. Shauna is volatile and not liked by the rest of the girls, setting up some sort of doomed Macbeth situation with her and Melissa, so I don't see that approach going well for her. However, what better way to endear yourself to the group than to continually sacrifice, to always do what's asked of you, to show grace in every situation and mourn appropriately and quietly? Being reborn free of manhood and worshiped as did Cybele's Attis, Travis could easily find a new role in their society as the puppet queen of Lottie, letting the wilderness speak through him as a sort of demigod, the sacrificial stag that appeases and protects them from harm.

(Akilah and Travis, about to enter the caves) (I love it when found family siblings recreate Plato's allegory of the cave like yes girl the world of the cave is superior to the world outside!!)

[apiswitchcraft]

altars for minor greek deities pt. 1

i'll probably end up making a part 2 to this since there's quite a lot of greek deities who are mentioned in only one story, or only a few icons, but are still important to some reconstructionists/revivalists. leave suggestions in the comments if you have any! the next post will likely include the four winds and several minor death deities

CIRCE: goddess of magic, a sorceress, daughter of Helios and an oceanid

Colors: purple for magic, blue for oceanid heritage, gold/yellow for being daughter of helios Offerings: allium moly, mandrake, peony, yarrow, poppy, rue, mugwort, wormwood, nightshade, snowdrop, any sort of medicinal herbs (like licorice, willow bark, aloe vera, etc.), pork, honey Crystals: amethyst, lapis lazuli, larimar, aquamarine, fluorite, bloodstone, citrine

GANYMEDE: cupbearer of the gods, consort of Zeus, god of homosexuality

Colors: pink, red for love. gold, silver for being cupbearer. blue for association with aquarius sign Offerings: perfume, jewelry, makeup, dice, musical instruments, writing letters, pride flags, drinks, flowers, rosemary Crystals: rose quartz, gemstones, ruby zoisite, rhodonite, rhodochrosite, pyrite, flower agate, kyanite, angelite

HEBE: cupbearer of the gods, daughter of Zeus and Hera, goddess of eternal youth and patroness of brides

Colors: red for association with brides. gold, silver for being cupbearer Offerings: lettuce, drinks, turmeric, chamomile, ginseng, calendula, basil, ivy, feathers Crystals: honey calcite, pyrite, red/yellow jasper, gems, ruby zoisite, lapis lazuli, aquamarine, angelite

EILEITHYIA: goddess of childbirth and midwifery

Colors: pastels for babies Offerings: raspberry leaf, chamomile, catnip, cohosh, crampbark, peppermint, baby toys/blankets Crystals: calcites, agates, moonstone, labradorite, rose quartz, amethyst, quartz, citrine, lepidolite, celestite

EROS (the younger): god of love, intercourse, and fertility

Colors: red, pink for love. white for his wings Offerings: roses, apples, pomegranates, rabbit skins/feet, basil, myrtle, rosemary, thyme, feathers Crystals: bloodstone, rose quartz, rhodonite, rhodochrosite, morganite, celestite

ANTEROS: erote of mutual love

Colors: red, pink for love Offerings: basil, flowers, rosemary, thyme, myrtle, feathers Crystals: rose quartz, rhodonite, rhodochrosite, morganite, celestite, milky quartz

HIMEROS: erote of sexual desire

Colors: red, pink for love Offerings: basil, rosemary, thyme, myrtle, feathers Crystals: rose quartz, rhodonite, rhodochrosite, morganite, celestite, red jasper, carnelian, garnet, citrine

POTHOS: erote of passion

Colors: red, pink for love. purple for passion Offerings: basil, rosemary, thyme, myrtle, feathers Crystals: rose quartz, rhodonite, rhodochrosite, morganite, celestite, milky quartz, red jasper, carnelian

HERMAPHRODITOS: child of Aphrodite and Hermes, erote and god of androgyny

Colors: red, pink for love. blue for androgyny Offerings: flowers, star anise, makeup, icons of genitalia, myrtle, lavender, cinnamon, ivy Crystals: rose quartz, moonstone, watermelon tourmaline, ruby kyanite, labradorite, jade, morganite

NEMESIS: goddess of revenge and retribution

Colors: red, black for revenge Offerings: basil, oak, pine, nettles, thistle, symbols of a wheel or sword, angry letters Crystals: smokey quartz, obsidian, bloodstone, red jasper, carnelian, tiger's eye, onyx, black tourmaline

AMPHITRITE: the wife of Poseidon, nereid and goddess of sea life

Colors: blue, green for the sea Offerings: coral, pearls, beach sand, kelp, celery, pine, ocean water Crystals: aquamarine, chrysocolla, malachite, amazonite, lepidolite, lapis lazuli, sodalite, jade

PAN: god of nature, animals, shepherds, and fertility

Colors: brown, green for nature Offerings: acorns/pinecones, leaves, pan pipes, phallic symbols, grapes, basically any herb or flower Crystals: jaspers (various), agates (especially moss, tree, flower), tiger's eye, obsidian, carnelian, sunstone, malachite, jade

IRIS: goddess of rainbows and messenger between gods and humans

Colors: rainbow Offerings: irises (and other flowers in that family), orris root, hyssop, suncatchers, feathers, snake skin Crystals: moonstone, labradorite, aura quartz, morganite, fluorite, agates (especially multicolored), malachite with azurite

THANATOS: god of death

Colors: black, grey, white for death Offerings: cinnamon, chocolate, coffee, willow, mugwort, wormwood, lotus, spider lilies, asphodel, bones, poppies Crystals: quartz (especially milky, smokey), obsidian, onyx, bloodstone, jaspers (various), black moonstone

PSYCHE: goddess of the soul, lover of eros

Colors: white for the soul. purple for magic Offerings: feathers, myrtle, vervain, sage, chamomile, lavender, flowers, figs, nuts Crystals: amethyst, rose quartz, rhodonite, quartz (especially milky and aura quartz especially), moonstone

[apoemaday]

Dionysia

by Madison Julius Cawein

The day is dead; and in the west The slender crescent of the moon -- Diana's crystal-kindled crest -- Sinks hillward in a silvery swoon. What is the murmur in the dell? The stealthy whisper and the drip? -- A Dryad with her leaf-light trip? A Naiad o'er her fountain well? -- Who, with white fingers for her comb, Sleeks her blue hair, and from its curls Showers slim minnows and pale pearls, And hollow music of the foam. What is it in the vistaed ways That leans and springs, and stoops and sways? -- The naked limbs of one who flees? An Oread who hesitates Before the Satyr form that waits, Crouching to leap, that there she sees? Or under boughs, reclining cool, A Hamadryad, like a pool Of moonlight, palely beautiful? Or Limnad, with her lilied face, More lovely than the misty lace That haunts a star and gives it grace? Or is it some Leimoniad In wildwood flowers dimly clad? Oblong blossoms white as froth; Or mottled like the tiger-moth; Or brindled as the brows of death, Wild of hue and wild of breath. Here ethereal flame and milk Blent with velvet and with silk; Here an iridescent glow Mixed with satin and with snow: Pansy, poppy and the pale Serpolet and galingale; Mandrake and anemone, Honey-reservoirs o' the bee; Cistus and the cyclamen, -- Cheeked like blushing Hebe this, And the other white as is Bubbled milk of Venus when Cupid's baby mouth is pressed, Rosy, to her rosy breast. And, besides, all flowers that mate With aroma, and in hue Stars and rainbows duplicate Here on earth for me and you. Yea! at last mine eyes can see! 'Tis no shadow of the tree Swaying softly there, but she! -- Mænad, Bassarid, Bacchant, What you will, who doth enchant Night with sensuous nudity. Lo! again I hear her pant Breasting through the dewy glooms -- Through the glow-worm gleams and glowers Of the starlight; -- wood-perfumes Swoon around her and frail showers Of the leaflet-tilted rain. Lo! like love, she comes again Through the pale, voluptuous dusk, Sweet of limb with breasts of musk. With her lips, like blossoms, breathing Honeyed pungence of her kiss, And her auburn tresses wreathing Like umbrageous helichrys, There she stands, like fire and snow, In the moon's ambrosial glow, Both her shapely loins low-looped With the balmy blossoms, drooped, Of the deep amaracus. Spiritual, yet sensual, Lo, she ever greets me thus In my vision; white and tall, Her delicious body there, -- Raimented with amorous air, -- To my mind expresses all The allurements of the world. And once more I seem to feel On my soul, like frenzy, hurled All the passionate past. -- I reel, Greek again in ancient Greece, In the Pyrrhic revelries; In the mad and Mænad dance; Onward dragged with violence; Pan and old Silenus and Faunus and a Bacchant band Round me. Wild my wine-stained hand O'er tumultuous hair is lifted; While the flushed and Phallic orgies Whirl around me; and the marges Of the wood are torn and rifted With lascivious laugh and shout. And barbarian there again, -- Shameless with the shameless rout, Bacchus lusting in each vein, -- With her pagan lips on mine, Like a god made drunk with wine, On I reel; and in the revels Her loose hair, the dance dishevels, Blows, and 'thwart my vision swims All the splendour of her limbs... So it seems. Yet woods are lonely. And when I again awake, I shall find their faces only Moonbeams in the boughs that shake; And their revels, but the rush Of night-winds through bough and brush. Yet my dreaming -- is it more Than mere dreaming? Is some door Opened in my soul? a curtain Raised? to let me see for certain I have lived that life before?

[drstonefangurl]

Today's Dr Stone character card I will be analyzing is Taiju and Yuzuriha as The Lovers. Aren't they just the cutest? Anyway, here is The Lovers card from the Major Arcana.

The Lovers Meaning:

Upright: Love, Harmony, Relationships, Values Alignment, Choices

Reversed: Self-Love, Disharmony, Imbalance, Misalignment of Values

In The Lovers card we see a nude man and woman standing under an angel. Some say the angel is Raphael, whose name mean "God's Heals", because The Lovers card is about healing the physical and emotional aspects of one's relationships with others and themselves. The Christian symbolism is strong in this card with the snake (originally red on the original Raider Waite card) wrapped around the tree by the woman, meant to represent the woman's struggle with Earthly things and passions that take her focus off the Divine. The woman is looking up at the angel in an attempt to keep her focus on Divine matter rather then the snake. The man is by a flaming tree representing his temptation to struggle with passion and the pleasures of the flesh. On the card the man is looking towards thw woman because she is suppose to be his source of pleasure and it is representing his loyalty to her despite the temptations of the world. The erupting volcano in the background is a phallic symbol representing the explosion of passion and desire that happens when the man and the woman meet each other in a relationship and get in harmony with one another.

In the Taiju and Yuzuriha card we don't have such overtly Christian symbolism present, but some of the overlapping elements. The first that catches my attention is that there is a young man and woman on this card who obviously like each other from what we know in the show and manga very present on the card. Taiju is looking at Yuzuriha with joy and she is looking up at him with a serene look on her face. The red scarf, representing Yuzuriha's talents with the fiber arts, wraps around in the air behind both of the them. Finally, the tree that kept Yuzuriha safely in place for 3700 years is in the background and calls us back to when Taiju was gonna declare his love for Yuzuriha under that very tree just before the petrification beam hit. It was a very passionate and memorable place for the two of them.

So despite the heavy handed Christian symbolism that is present in The Lovers card, I think it is easy to see why I assigned The Lovers card to Tajui and Yuzuriha. They are really the only couple in Dr. Stone that had any real emphasis applied to their dynamic. We have a bit of relationship references for Ruri and Chrome plus the various astronaut couples, but Tajui and Yuzuriha are the main romatically involved couple in Dr. Stone. Taiju's love for Yuzuriha was so strong that if kept a big oaf like Taiju conscious for 3700 years. That's just stupidly sweet in my opinion and is really the only really reason why someone like Tajui would stay conscious for that long. His love for Yuzuriha is truly timeless.

Alright, enough yammering about this card because I feel that is all the justification this one warrants. Now I am at the point in these card overviews that my opinions may, or may not, begin to become controversial. The 5 remaining cards in this series are inconsistent with what people on the internet think they represent. The 5 remaining cards are Hyoga, Moz and Kirasame, Nikki and Minami, Kinro and Ginro, and my boy Gen Asigiri. I'm saving Gen for last, because I can, and the next card I will analyze will be Moz and Kirasame. My hope is that after I write up that cards analysis your faith in my opinions about the others will be a bit more solidified. Until then, get excited!

My Sources: biddytarot.com & @ChifuyuEmma on Pintrest

[haggishlyhagging]

In creating sadospiritual religion, men have fled into pseudo-purified and disguised lust In the Name of the Sublime. Phallic lust—christened religion, mysticism, duty, charity, patriotism, romantic love—is not only all right, but the height of virile virtue. Indeed, male rape fantasies become high theology and elicit religious rapture when these are vaporized and condensed, elevated and converted, into dogma and art concerning the "Virgin Birth." In the "Annunciation" the male-angel Gabriel brings poor Mary the news that she is to be impregnated by and with god. Like all rape victims in male myth she submits joyously to this unspeakable degradation.

Other sublime christian symbols function as reifications of sublimed lust. As a consequence of subliming, the believer can enjoy symbolic eating and drinking of human flesh and blood without consciously feeling like a cannibal. The crucifix can be adored without conscious indulgence in sadomasochistic fantasies. Worshippers can stare at the image of a dead body nailed to dead wood without consciousness of the fact that the living tree was/is a symbol of the Goddess. Priests can hear "true confessions" without feeling responsible for voyeurism. In the Name of the Sublime, the objects of phallic lust may be enjoyed without the burden of conscious guilt which weighed down ascetics such as saint Jerome, with his bevy of imaginary girls in the desert. However, the fixations are the same and the consequences for women are the same. Female victimization is glorified in sublime religion and art, but the victim does not experience this as glory, for the sado-sublime implies refined, perfected, heightened victimization. It is heightened lechery.

-Mary Daly, Pure Lust

[brunokeff]

Venus and Mars (Sandro Botticelli, 1485)

It is commonly accepted that this is an image depicting the moment after the pair have made love and is supported by a number of metaphors and gestures. Along with the sexual implication of the image, the contrasting depictions of Venus, the Goddess of Love, being alert and awake while Mars, the God of War, appears to have been subdued, can be seen to have a message of ‘love overcoming war’, or the ‘Harmony of opposing forces’ if looked at through a Neoplatonic view.

Mars is in an almost comedic, slumberous state, unable to be woken even by the blowing of a conch into his ear by the satyr. The lance of Mars which they hold could be viewed as a phallic symbol, hence the charging of Mars’s lance towards a hole within the tree which is surrounded by myrtle, a symbol of Venus, located in the upper right of the image completes the visual metaphor.

Tempera and oil on poplar panel, 69 cm x 173 cm. 

Exhibit in the National Gallery, London

Source: https://arthistorysociety.org/essays/a-study-of-sandro-botticellis-venus-and-mars

[cadybear420]

Aidevie Aphrodisiacs

Happy (Belated) Valentine's Day Pride! This was supposed to be for Valentine's Day originally but guess who slept on it haha. But I figured it could work for Pride so here we are :D

So, months ago I found this list of common aphrodisiacs and I decided to go through them and pick out the ones that would definitely be relevant to Aiden and Evie :DDD

Submitting for @choicespride prompt: Sex

And late submitting for @februarychoiceschallenge2025 Lust because why not

Tags for those who may be interested:

@lover-also-fighter-also | @choicesmc | @where-the-wind-travels |

@peonyblossom | @rjschoicesstuff | @loreofyore |

@aria-ashryver | @dutifullynuttywitch | @storyofmychoices |

@aces-and-angels | @pansexy-choices-the-sequal | @zhoumeyourlove |

CW: Suggestive/sexual discussions below

Apple - Infamous as the fruit that Eve gave to Adam, a symbol of sexual awakening.

Apples would definitely be a good aphrodisiac for Aiden and Evie. Apples are yummi. Evie also likes apple imagery. They're very round.

Evie also really loves apple pie, IDK if that has any aphrodisiac effect but at the very least it definitely puts her in a very good mood when she eats it. So it would be one of their favorite foods to make/eat. (Cinnamon is also generally used in apple pie and is mentioned in the original list...

Also, har dee har the names Aiden and Evie sound similar to Adam and Eve. I guess they can be like the Genderqueer Adam and Eve lolololol. In a way it is fitting, as Evie has had a major influence in sexual and genderqueer awakenings for Aiden.

Banana - The banana flower resembles the phallus. Islamic tales say that Adam and Eve covered their sexual parts with banana leaves rather than the more common fig leaves.

Bananas are yummi. I think they would be good for Aidevie.

There have definitely been moments where Aiden would be eating a banana (or any other phallic shaped food) and Evie is just staring with this big ass-eating grin on her face. Every now and then, Aiden will tease her and eat it seductively for a bit while looking into her eyes just to mess with her.

Also, har de har har insert Adam and Eve Aiden and Evie joke again.

Cherry - Sensuously red and juicy, and containing a potent symbol of new life inside the stone. “Popping the cherry” is a slang term for losing one’s virginity.

Evie has a HUGE affinity to cherry related things. She loves images of cherries, cherry scented things, cherry flavored things. Her favorite kinds of cherries are maraschino/candied cherries. She is a huge sucker especially for cherry blossom imagery and scents. Aiden has a small fondness for them, that does eventually grow.

Cherry and cherry blossom related things are definitely regular in Aiden and Evie's relationship. Scented products of those kinds are used quite commonly when they're getting intimate.

Chocolate - The melting point of chocolate is the same as that of blood temperature, and so its mouthfeel alone is a sensual experience. Added to this, chocolate contains mood-lifting substances, including phenylethylamine which, when released into the bloodstream, induce feelings of euphoria. Still arguably the most popular food given as a gesture of love. When the 16th century Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés heard about its reputation as an aphrodisiac, he planted two thousand trees.

Both Evie and Aiden looooove chocolate. Evie tends to prefer milk chocolate, white chocolate, and cookies and cream. Aiden tends to prefer milk chocolate and dark chocolate. This would definitely be a go-to aphrodisiac for them.

Cinnamon - The glorious scent of cinnamon was reputedly used as oil by the Queen of Sheba to help her capture the attention of King Solomon.

Evie loves the scent and flavor of cinnamon, both regular cinnamon and cinnamon sugar. It's not quite a big thing for her as other things, but she definitely enjoys it a lot.

Cloves - Because they resemble little phalluses, cloves were considered to enhance male potency. The clove tree was planted to signify the birth of a baby boy in certain parts of Indonesia, the health of the tree reflecting the health of the child as it grew up.

IDK much about cloves, but I feel like Aiden would greatly enjoy the scent and taste, as I think? Aiden's parents might use cloves in a lot of traditional dishes?

Evie enjoys the scent well enough, though it's not a big favorite for her.

Ginger and ginseng - Considered to have aphrodisiac powers because of their sharp sensual taste, and because their roots resemble the human form.

Aiden's parents have probably used it in a lot of traditional dishes as well, and he probably enjoys it. Evie is probably indifferent to it.

Mint - A Greek legend says that Menthe, a beautiful nymph, was transformed into the herb because Persephone was jealous of the beautiful scent that captivated her husband, Pluto.

Evie has a MAJOR affinity to mint. The scent, the taste, every shade of mint green ever, etc. She's especially fond of spearmint, but any mint will grab her.

Similarly to cherry and cherry blossom related things, mint related things are definitely regular in Aiden and Evie's relationship, and scented products of those kinds are used quite commonly when they're getting intimate.

Oyster - The oyster’s resemblance in form, scent, and texture to the female genitalia is renowned. Oysters have had a long history as an aphrodisiac and their reputation is well known. The pearl that is sometimes found inside the oyster was said to increase the powers of arousal, because it resembles the clitoris. Other shellfish, such as mussels, fall into this same category.

Aiden is definitely the type who enjoys eating oysters as well other shellfish/mollusk dishes; he definitely likes fancy dishes, and in canon he enjoys escargot and considers it no different from consuming oysters or other mollusks. Evie is averse to them, but does learn to make them for Aiden. They're definitely a very strong aphrodisiac for him.

Fun bonus fact: one of the earliest movies Evie and Aiden ever watched together was Disney's original Alice in Wonderland movie. The bit about the Carpenter and the Walrus permanently mentally scarred Evie (who already had disinterest in the dish prior to) and almost made Aiden lose his taste for oysters. Almost. She still sometimes cooks them for him, but the memory of the scene comes to haunt her every time.

Raspberries and strawberries - Libido enhancing because of their color, their many tiny seeds, and their resemblance to nipples.

Evie enjoys strawberries. At least, artificial strawberry flavor/scent. Real strawberries are pretty good too, just not quite as tasty to her. Not sure if it would be a strong aphrodisiac, but at they very least it would put her in a good mood.

Strawberries dipped in chocolate would definitely be a favorite of theirs during romantic and/or sexy times, though.

Star anise - Because of its shape, the star anise was sacred to the Goddess and therefore a potent fertility symbol.

I'm not sure if they'd care much for this, but Evie would be endeared to the star shape hehe. She lieks star shapes.

Tomato - Also called the “Love Apple” and is regarded as an aphrodisiac, because of the prolific number of seeds contained within it. However, the name itself is the result of an accidental misinterpretation. Because they were originally a yellow color they were called “Pomo D’or” in Italy, the Apple of Gold. It was also called the “Pomo d’Moro”—the apple of the Moors, referring to its Spanish origins. From here, it was just a slip of the tongue to the French, “Pomme d’Amour,” or Love Apple.

Well, Evie and Aiden do like pizza, which generally uses a tomato sauce. Evie partiularly adores cheese pizza, Aiden's favorite I think would be pepperoni. Do with that what you will.

Other than that, Evie is generally averse to tomatoes (while Aiden enjoys them well enough).

[thewitcheslibrary]

Beltane

The date of the holiday: 1st may

History: Beltane is derived from the Celtic term Baal or Bel, which meaning "Bright One." As farmers prepared to shift their livestock from winter pastures to summer grazing in the hills, they sought protection and abundance from the gods by starting fires and herding cattle through the flames to the summer grazing fields. This was thought to protect the herd from attack while also increasing fertility.

In more practical terms, these bonfires were most likely used to burn brush heaps and clear space for planting and pastureland. In the home, hearth fires were extinguished and replaced with flames from Beltane bonfires. People often walked the perimeters of their properties or towns to evoke additional protection for the next year. Yellow flowers were used to decorate doorways, windows, and even cattle during Beltane.

Like all of the Wheel of Year sabbat celebrations, Beltane was a time for merry making and feasting.  People would write a wish upon a ribbon and tie it a to a tree, in the hopes that the gods would grant them.  Hawthorn, ash, thorn and sycamore trees were believed to be the best trees for making wishes.   

Dew gathered on Beltane was thought to have special properties for increased beauty and youthfulness. 

Beltane and sexuality- SLIGHT NSFW WARNING!

Part of Celtic Beltane beliefs revolved around the holy union of the God and Goddess, which people celebrated by having sex on Beltane. Usually outside, to further connect with nature. Children conceived at Beltane (and hence born at Imbolc) were regarded to belong to the Goddess, and were commonly referred to as'merry-be-gots', with a particular tie to the faerie world. Beltane, like Samhain, was a period when the curtain between the worlds became thinner, allowing ghosts to pass through. Unlike Samhain, the visiting ghosts were not looking for a feast or a quick chat with relatives. The spirits of Beltane were considered to be seeking reincarnation or sexual intercourse.

The topic of sexuality runs throughout Beltane. The Maypole, which maidens usually adorn and celebrate, is a phallic emblem signifying masculine strength, whereas the cauldron represents female power. Women who desired to produce a child would start a small fire, place the cauldron on it, and then leap over it.

To go Maying, or picking flowers and other flora in adjacent woodlands, was associated with casual sex in the woods. There was no stigma connected with out-of-wedlock marriage, and hand-fasting was prevalent, in which two individuals bonded together for a year and a day. Beltane activities such as the Maypole were forbidden by the Puritans in parts of Great Britain in the 17th century, owing in part to their overt sexuality.

END OF THE NSFW -

Symbols of beltane-

Colors:  White, dark green, red 

Foods:  Dairy foods, honey, oats, mead, lamb  

Stones:  Sapphire, blood stone, emerald, orange carnelian, rose quartz  

Symbols:  Goat, honeybee, cown, fairies, pegasus, rabbits, flower crown, maypole, basket  

Flowers & Plants: Primrose, lilac, hawthorn, birch, Rosemary, Ivy, woodruff, rowan, violet, alfalfa, cedar, peppermint lavendar 

Deities: Aphrodite, Artemis, Freya, Rhiannon, Apollo, Bel/Belnos, The Great Horned God, BÓand/Boann 

Setting intentions during this time-

Beltane has traditionally been a fertility celebration. However, if you don't have infants in mind, that's OK! Beltane is an excellent opportunity to reflect on creativity and success. Beltane is the moment to follow through on your objectives from Imbolc and Ostara. Perhaps you've been thinking about launching a company; Beltane is the time to set an appointment with the bank and inquire about finance. Perhaps you've been writing a book and now it's time to contact publishers or locate an agent. Beltane, with its promise of harvest and fruitfulness, is a time to take inspired action and be confident.

Ways to celebrate-

Chose one of the deities listed above and honour them in some way, yes even if you dont work with them. You can still celebrate them and wear or do things associated with them, just do so respectfully! Eat some of the foods associated with beltane! Even if you just eat a bowl of oats with honey for breakfast, its a good and simple way to celebrate. And its perfect if you can't openly celebrate, it just looks like your enjoying some food. You could also drink peppermint tea!

Wear some of the colours and carry the stones and gems around with you during this day. You can incorporate both colour magic and crystal magic by doing this and is also just easy to hide and do subtly! - everyone wears clothes (hopefully) and you can just say you are collecting rocks and crystals because you find them cool! - Flower crowns can be incorporated into outfits too.

Buy flowers or make a bouquet with the flowers associated with the holiday! They will make your space or altar look colourful, and flowers are pretty. This isnt as easy to hide, but if people do ask you can tell them you just liked them and treated yourself!

Set aside time for some self care - treat yourself to a special meal, music, aromas - whatever make you feel special!- with this you could use the plants, herbs, crystals, candles in the colours associated with them and some drawn symbols and put together a ritual bath! - bit of a clean up after but again its somewhat easy to hide

some less subtle way to celebrate.

Hold a bonfire for family and friends 

Take action on a project you’ve been working on 

Decorate a tree with colorful ribbons that represent your wishes for the coming year 

Make flower crowns 

Walk your property and give thanks and ask for protection in the coming year 

Decorate your home yellow flower wreaths, bouquets or garlands