ofiscariot - Tumblr blog

[ofiscariot]

myth: astrology doesn't work

fact: astrology used to work perfectly and apparent planetary motion corresponded exactly (+/- 0°0'1") to the progressions of life on earth, until the advent and subsequent ubiquitous adoption of the radio wave introduced so much noise into the ionosphere that communications between the heaven and the earth were irrevocably scrambled; now, astrology still technically works, but it plays out in such a high-entropy set of events (see: pseudorandomness) that it has become functionally indistinguishable from free will.

[ofiscariot]

the night breeze

carries

something sweet

a peach tree

A gift for my dear friend, @pinkishflowersilverycoin . This person really changed my life in a better way. Love you so so much 🫶

[ofiscariot]

"oh so you're spiritual but not religious" no actually I am deeply religious in alarmingly carnal and esoteric ways. If you even care.

[ofiscariot]

Art by Eldar Akmanaev

[ofiscariot]

Thoughts on Judas?

i think god’s first words to judas were: ‘you’ll end up hanged in a field.’ i think judas’ response was: ‘i’ll see you there.’

[ofiscariot]

XII. THE HANGED MAN.

the hanged man, pamela colman smith // judas hanged, nardo di cione // preparatory sketches for pitturi infamanti, andrea del sarto // “speculum imperfectionis: the image of judas in late medieval italy,” janet robson // “l’appeso/le pendu/the hanged man,” sherryl e. smith // the death of judas iscariot, julius schnorr von carolsfeld // the sacrifice of odin, lorenz frølich // “yggdrasil: the sacred ash tree of norse mythology,” the public domain review // anonymous verse, recorded by óláfr þórðarson // judas, gabriel von max // seventy-eight degrees of wisdom, rachel pollack // the gospel of judas

[ofiscariot]

The night was all frost and a fairy tale.

Boris Pasternak,  20th Century Russian Poetry: Silver and Steel, from ‘The Christmas Star’, tr. Yakov Hornstein

[ofiscariot]

Meanwhile, in an alleyway in Naples

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[ofiscariot]

Could you explain more about God not being able to get over the first king’s death?

god watched saul, his first king, line a sword up to the soft tissue of his chest and fall unto it, ending his own life. later, when god auto-incarnates, he takes on the body of a non-roman citizen. this means that when he dies—which he knows he will—he will be crucified. non-romans were crucified. romans died by the sword. god needed to kill himself, in part to know how saul felt. to apologize for that. but he could not bring himself to be penetrated like his first king was. he winces at the thought of it

[ofiscariot]

To those of you who worship obscure divinities: there are no rule that bind you except your own. Go worship that obscure deity. Go invent that festival from scratch. Go make that offering even if it’s unusual. Go write that prayer even if you’re the only one who gets it. Go play around with your freedom as a practitioner and explore! Even in a spiritual context, creativity is a gift.

[ofiscariot]

I turn to Ares.

Thanks to Tyler Miles Lockett who allowed me to draw inspiration from his ARES piece for page 2! Look at his etsy page it's SICK

⚔️ If you want to read some queer retelling of arturian legends have a look at my webtoon

[ofiscariot]

Recently been feeling inspired to explore spiritual beliefs and path more and I was curious about how you came about your own

hello! first off, i’m so sorry this has been sitting in my drafts for, like, two months. it can be difficult for me to describe the process, because...eclectic, but i did my best!

so, i was brought up in the catholic church, and although i am no longer christian, it still influences me in ways both superficial (i am a slut for candles) and profound. for instance, judas iscariot is one of the most important figures in my practice, and my relationship with him has evolved alongside my relationship to the church. once, we were rebels; once, we were tragedies. currently, i regard judas first and foremost as an avatar of the hanged man, outshining and transcending his limited role in christianity. catholicism has also influenced the way i work with figures like arthur and cain - in a space between the very catholic concept of saints and the very pagan concept of ancestors of spirit.

when i left the catholic church, i felt a gaping spiritual void in my life, and threw myself into finding something to fill it back up with. it was difficult and messy (and frequently poorly thought out on my part!), and laden with the baggage of the need to do religion *right*. but i also made connections to figures and things in that period of my life that are still important to me. while i was throwing myself into hellenismos, i came to know dionysos, savior from madness, and apollo, averter of evil, both of whom i still work with. while i was debating whether i should convert to judaism, i came to a deeper understanding of the folklore surrounding cain in that tradition, which still influences the way i view him. while i was going to ISKCON temples every weekend, i realized that i didn’t have to shrug off the trappings of beautiful ceremony and ritual just because the catholic ones specifically still kind of made me want to puke.

let’s see; what else?

oh! another thing that has really influenced my beliefs and practice is. um. being a huge fucking nerd. i kid, mostly, but i have always been interested in faery tales and folklore, and i had massive books of mythology as child that covered all kinds of cultures and traditions (which i am certain set me up for a successful eclecticism). so, of course, as someone whose tear-stained copy of Baby’s First Morte is still sitting around at my parents’ house, arthur pendragon is very significant in my practice. the deity i work with the most is perchta, who literally survived the christianization of germany re-imagined as a faery godmother in the tales collected by the grimms. i love aphrodite and i love her love, but i love frau venus, the eldritch germanic faery queen, and *her* love, in a very different way.

i also like to incorporate historicity, or given values of it, into my practice, when i can. it’s why i have UPG (gods, has that term gone woefully out of style? am i showing my age?) for judas as a sicarii. that’s also why, for example, the greek persephone does not resonate at all with me, given the status of girls and women in greek culture. but the roman proserpine, on the other hand? from a culture that did not disregard women flat-out, per se, but certainly had some *very* weird stuff going on with the roles of virtuous daughters and virtuous wives who ought to die before giving that virtue up to an alleged enemy? she does.

i think that’s kind of my personal theological overview, haha, but i am more than happy to elaborate on any aspects of this that strike your interest!

[ofiscariot]

Heike Langhans

[ofiscariot]

Small Artemis sketch because I love her

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[ofiscariot]

“ORION, with a step back : You don’t understand. You are my sister and my friend and my mother and my thoughts and my soul— ARTEMIS, cold as ice : —and your Goddess. ORION, stunned suddenly : …and my Goddess. ARTEMIS : Don’t you ever forget it.”

— Pauline Albanese, The Lost Arrows