#beginner lyra

[dancingcatqueen]

Baby's first lyra class

[cheezyhamster]

Welcome to the Basil Fanclub meetup!

Hmm, it's pretty empty as of yet.

Reblog with your character (or any character) edited/drawn in to attend!

[triassictriserratops]

I just completed 6 weeks worth of an Intro to Lyra course last night! I LOVED it and I'll be doing more!

[chocolatebunn]

Lyra Heartstring!

Below is a time lapse!

[cowboyishbabe]

Class was kinda wild

[repost-grimoire]

Book Review: Recreational Witchcraft by Lyra Black

"In this book, magic is for everyone. Especially you."

TL;DR: I highly recommend Recreational Witchcraft for anyone who has or is looking to practice witchcraft.

Lyra Black's dry humor and witty writing style made this book a very fun read. It gives a lot of good beginner information very easily and with explanations. Black has used her own experiences with getting into magic to connect each part of the book, and her experience in previously running a blog (by the same name as the book) shows in her ability to convey information while keeping the writer engaged. I also appreciated that the book comes from a nontheistic approach, which can be hard to find in witchcraft books these days, and allows the reader to mix their religious views and practice as they wish.

Some of the "beginner" information in Recreational Witchcraft includes: herbs and meanings, crystals and meanings, definitions for a wide variety of tools and workings (such as binding vs curse vs hex), guides such as how to build an altar, and information on the sabbaths and ways to celebrate each.

Black has a lot of spell recipes in the book, from bath scrubs to glamours to charms, for many different uses. I personally really enjoyed the various shower spells, a thing that had never occurred to me would exist before. She also talks about alternatives for some of the ingredients, and how to replace (or remove) ingredients entirely. She views that ingredients only have the meaning you give them, which is a good mindset to have especially when it comes to working with things you're allergic to.

I have only seen one negative review for this book, and that is that it references marijuana a lot. As the book and former blog were called Recreational Witchcraft, and that the cover and spine has marijuana leaves on it, I thought this was evident. The chapter of the book specifically dedicated to witchcraft under the influence is somewhat brief, and mostly contains alcohol (mixed drink spells, they look really cool tbh) and Black's own experience doing witchcraft under the influence. Marijuana is mentioned in Black's written experiences in other parts of the book, but I did not find it to be overbearing.

Overall, I highly recommend this book. Recreational Witchcraft is good for anyone with any amount of experience or interest in witchcraft. It is a wonderful introduction for adults and has a lot of insight into the practice of another witch, which is something I always value, as I love to see practices different from my own. Black's experiences make the book incredibly relatable and light, and kept me engaged. Seeing her view on things such as mind-altering substances in witchcraft and the ethics of love spells made me think about my own views on parts of witchcraft. If you do choose to pick up the book, I hope it is as great for you as it is for me.

[hobbyspacer]

Night sky highlights for April 2025

Check out the night sky this month, April 2025. Here are videos and links to websites highlighting the top sights to observe. ** What's Up: April 2025 Skywatching Tips from NASA - NASA JPL What are some skywatching highlights in April 2025? Following a planet-free morning sky in March, April brings planets back to your mornings, as well as the evening sky. Also look for Lyrid meteors, and hunt for the "faint fuzzy" wonder that is the distant and ancient city of stars known as globular cluster M3. 0:00 Intro 0:12 April planet viewing 1:13 Lyrid meteor shower 2:19 Globular cluster M3 4:26 April Moon phases Additional information about topics covered in this episode of What's Up, along with still images from the video, and the video transcript, are available at https://science.nasa.gov/skywatching/whats-up/.

The phases of the Moon for April 2025. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech ** What to see in the night sky: April 2025 - BBC Sky at Night Magazine The planets, the Moon and the Pleiades, plus this month's best deep-sky objects. Astronomers Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel reveal the best things to see in the night sky, April 2025. ** Sky & Telescope's Sky Tour Podcast - April 2025 - Sky & Telescope Youtube Our monthly Sky Tour #astronomy #podcast provides an informative and entertaining 10-minute guided tour of the nighttime sky. In April’s episode, we’ll watch bright planets come and go, track down some celestial carnivores, and enjoy a splash of mid-spring meteors. So grab your curiosity, and come along on this month’s Sky Tour. See also - Sky Tour Astronomy Podcast: Upcoming Celestial Events | Sky & Telescope - Interactive Sky Chart | Map Your Night Sky - Sky & Telescope - Astronomy Pictures: Sky & Telescope's Online Gallery Archives | Sky & Telescope ** What's in the Night Sky: April 2025 - National Space Centre What's in the Night Sky: March 2025 Lunar occultation of the Pleiades Sea of Tranquility Lyrids meteor shower ✨ Constellation of the Month: Lyra Whether you're a beginner or an expert, looking at the night sky with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope, check out our tour of the night sky to find out what you can see this month. #WINS #Astronomy #WhatsInTheNightSky ** What's in the Sky this Month | April 2025 - High Point Scientific on Youtube In this episode of What's in the Sky this Month, Teagan reviews some of the beautiful celestial objects you can see in April! Read the full April 2025 Newsletter: https://www.highpointscientific.com/a... Looking to expand your astronomy knowledge even further? The Astronomy Hub is the place to learn everything from what’s in the sky this month, to what gear can help you capture the best celestial images. Learn more here ➡️ https://www.highpointscientific.com/a... Follow us on Instagram / highpointscientific Follow us on Facebook / highpointscientific Sign up for our email newsletter https://www.highpointscientific.com/c... #highpointscientific #astronomy #april Chapters 00:00 - Introduction 00:33 - The Whirlpool Galaxy 01:41 - Nearest Neighbors 02:49 - Lyrid Meteor Shower 03:38 - Mizar & Alcor 04:21 - The Leo Triplet 05:04 - Cor Caroli 05:31 - Conclusion ** Night Sky Notebook April 2025 - Peter Detterline ** See also: - April 2025 Sky Watch: Visible Planets, Bright Stars, Astronomy | Almanac.com - See A Pink Moon, Shooting Stars And Mars: April’s Night Sky | Forbes - April 2025 Night Sky Calendar | Voyageurs Conservancy - Top Astronomy Events in April 2025: What to See in the Night Sky | AstroTelescopium - 18 Fascinating Astronomy Events in the April Night Sky (2025) | SpaceTourismGuide.com - From a ‘pink moon’ to a meteor shower, here are the best night sky events to see this April | National Geographic - Night Sky Highlights - April 2025 | Royal Museums Greenwich === Amazon Ads === Celestron 70mm Travel Scope Portable Refractor Telescope Fully-Coated Glass Optics Ideal Telescope for Beginners BONUS Astronomy Software Package ---- Books --- Stellaris: People of the Stars Read the full article

[elizmanderson]

I'm usually horrible at these things because I never know what to ask, so thank you for the nifty list. XD My question because I love seeing your pole videos -> What made you decide to get into pole fitness?

that is why I made the list, bc I'm also horrible at coming up with questions 😂

anyway. for anyone who is unaware, I post a weekly pole video on Instagram after my pole fitness class. like honestly I do that more predictably than I post about my books lmao.

[I'll add a link to my latest reel when I'm back on desktop, since on mobile the phone's menu blocks the link button when I highlight the text.]

okay so how I got into it:

I had a work friend who does aerial silks (among other things), who invited me to the showcase at the studio she teaches at. something I loved about their showcase was the body diversity, especially in the pole, burlesque, and chair routines. like!! you've got all these plus-sized women looking sexy and confident as hell, and I was like, I want to feel that way.

so after the second showcase I went to, I stopped by my friend's office like "I'm thinking of trying a pole class," and she INSTANTLY grabbed her phone, texted the beginner pole instructor, signed me up for a drop-in class, and said "no more thinking, now you just have to try it :)"

which btw was very effective, like I'm convinced I would've tried it eventually but it probably would've taken another six months of careful consideration bc that's how I generally am.

instead, I went, and I've gone every week since. it's been like 10 months now, and I've also tried a Lyra (aerial hoop) workshop and a pole choreography class, plus helped out with pole demos at Pride, plus go to a free monthly Latin dance night my instructor hosts downtown with a friend from the local ballroom company.

it's the most in tune I've ever been with my own body (ever a work in progress, but we're getting there), plus the best I've ever felt about my body.

on that note, have a thirst trap that a different platform marked as "suggestive content," which is the first time that's ever happened to me lmao

I said my thirties would be my hot girl era, and so they are 😤

[forestdragoncat]

For both Argenta and Syzh'favia: 🎻 🍎 💜?

Always glad to see you! <3

🎻 VIOLIN — does your oc play any instruments? what is their skill level (beginner/intermediate/advanced/virtuoso/etc)?

Argenta - well, she has a lovely singing voice, but isn't really proficient with musical instruments. Aside from a flute, which she sorta picked during Free Crusaders' gatherings in The Sanctuary of The Silver Symphony (her Court), but she is an amateur :)

Syzh'Favia - now, she is a daughter of two bards from a musical troupe, and she can, more or less, play any "popular" instrument (like the ones presented in the game), especially if it's a simple folk melody, but her instrument of choice (and for self-made improvisations) is lyra, and Favi is, indeed, a virtuoso with it. In fact, that's how she made a Pact with her Patron - during one of the troupe Sword Coast tours, on a town's Summer Festival she met a fellow wandering lyrist, who, having heard her performance, challenged Syzh'Favia to a music duel. On a condition that the winner will receive the loser's instrument as a prize. And after a hard, but fun competition concerto their audience finally declared Favi's victory. So her rival's fulfilled the terms... And then it turned out that their lyre was magical, the rival themselves was a fey in disguise and has now bestowed a part a their powers on the astonished tiefling bard through said lyre. So Favi needs it to do any of her magic, but the fey's lyre can't really be lost, stolen or broken forever - she can summon it back anytime she wishes. As long as Syzh'Favia doesn't abandon her musical craft and writes at least few new songs each year :D

🍎 RED APPLE — where was your oc born? do they still live in/around their place of birth or do they live somewhere else? how do they feel about their birthplace?

Argenta - Was born in Ardis, Ustalav, but didn't stayed here for long, as her mother, Ruxandra (former) Mivirania, run away from home soon after Argy's birth to save her daughter life and/or future. They and Rux's friend-turned-lover-then-turned-wife, Pheli the gnome shaman wandered the Ustalav for some time, moving south before crossing to Lastwall and, eventually, to north Nirmathas, where they finally settled for good. Well, her mothers did - Argenta left on her 18th birthday, fused with Silver Lining and went back to Ustalav through Varisia and Realm of the Mammoth Lords. It has the most pleasant climate and aesthetics for her, but she is certainly no patriot, she just was a (mainly) undead hunter and Ustalav has plenty of bounties for them.

Syzh'Favia - since game give me no choice in the matter (unless i missed something), she is baldurian. She loves her city and it's people - for they make a good stage and even better listeners for her performances! And are good people in general, too! Though she had to leave Baldur's Gate pretty often with the rest of musical troupe, and was in a lot of other Sword Coast cities and even traveled to Moonshae Isles a few times. But Favi has always counted Baldurs Gate as her "true" home - even if she doesn't *yet* have her own house here (the troupe lives in commune).

💜 PURPLE HEART — what is your oc's ancestry/genetic background?

Argenta - she is a bastard offspring of Mivirania, a minor noble human (with a very-very small drop of elven blood) family in Ardis. They don't really have that much in wealth or influence, especially compared to other noble families, but, my, do they try to compensate it with pride and arrogance! So when Ruxandra, the youngest daughter, who was to be wed with the son of another noble family, suddenly turned out to be pregnant and gave birth to a foul half-undead, the heads of the family got very angry and decided that in order to save the prosperous marriage they will 1) Keep the whole deal in secret and 2) Dispose of the child in unspecified manner. And that's when Rux, the meek, the quiet and the obedient (but also optimistic and kind) finally snapped, teamed up with eager Pheli, grabbed Argenta and sneaked out of her (frankly, abusive) household for good. Good for her.

(As for Argenta's father - well, for a long time everyone thought, for an obvious reason, that it was some moroi vampire, encounter (and, well, everything else that transpired) with whom shocked her mother so much that she forgot everything that happened. But then, during the Fifth Crusade Argenta learned that, apparently, it was Areelu's doing. She, as usual, was experimenting.

(It's actually a pretty old picture, from Beta days of WoTR, hense Areelu's tabletop face and Argenta's edired portrait. Back then, it was a joke).

And after this moment, it was even more abundantly clear that there will be no peace, because nobody really hurts Argenta's mom like that and ruins her life (from Argy's POV) and then doesn't get wrecked. Don't push that red button.

And by "wrecked" i don't mean just punched or killed - it means "i am going to play along that i am your dead daughter and your experiment was a success, use you to ascend myself and my friends (and also kill two other big assholes along the way)... and then i will throw you in a ditch, and in your last moments you will know that you have been played. Oh, did i mention that i will ask Pharasma to erase your soul, too?" There is a reason why Argenta is a CG who is still close to CN - there is a dark side from her connection to negative energy, she just keeps it in check. In absolutely most cases.

(And, tbh, Areelu did a lot more than just hurting Rux to deserve such strong attitude from Argenta. It was more of straw that broke dhampir's back, i think).

Syzh'Favia - in contrast from drama that is above, her family life is a lot more simpler. She is a Mephistopheles tiefling daughter to a Mephistopheles tiefling father and an Asmodeus tiefling mother, who, as stated before, are both bards in a semi-wandering troupe of musicians, jesters and magicians. She is the only child, but had a few kids more or less her age among other troupe members as playmates and childhood friends. They weren't (and aren't) any big superstars, but are known in some circles, make a decent coin on performances and love each other very much :3

During the game events the whole troupe, including Favi's parents, were in the middle of yet another big Sword Coast tour, on which Favi herself didn't went, and learned about the illithid-tadpole business after everything was already over :D

[quarter-hill-horses]

NAME:LYRA

COLOR:White

SEX:Mare

Height:15.2hand

Age:10 years

Take a look at this flashy gelding we call Lyra. Lyra is a 6yr old 16 hand, smokey buckskin draft cross gelding that is easy on the eyes. Lyra is well broke to ride and drive and has a great personality. He neck reins, side passes and has a good stop.

Lyra rides English or western and rides as good in the arena as he does on the trail.

Lyra has a smooth walk, trot, canter and picks up his correct lead every time.

We have used Lyra to push cattle and he has also been used in cattle sorting competitions. We have taken Gunner on miles of trails up in the mountain and we have taken him down the main highway into town and he is traffic safe. Lyra rides great in a group or out by himself with no issues. Lyra has solid feet and can be shod free hand with no stocks. Lyra stands 16 hands but no worries he will side pass to the mounting block with the snap of your fingers. Lyra would be best suited for an intermediate rider as I think he would take advantage of a beginner rider. Lyra does not need to be ridden every day to stay broke. You can get him out at any given time, and he will ride right off. He has no buck, rear or biting issues and sells with no vices.

Lyra also drives single or double and is fun to take out on a pleasure drive to town.

We exposed Lyra to tarps, bouncy balls and carried the flag. Lyra loads and unloads, stands to be mounted, washed to be tacked and untacked. Lyra will stand tied all day and gives no issues. He sells 100% sound and is ready to move into his forever home. For more info message on messenger so you can have my numberNAME:LYRA

COLOR:White

SEX:Mare

Height:15.2hand

Age:10 years

Take a look at this flashy gelding we call Lyra. Lyra is a 6yr old 16 hand, smokey buckskin draft cross gelding that is easy on the eyes. Lyra is well broke to ride and drive and has a great personality. He neck reins, side passes and has a good stop.

Lyra rides English or western and rides as good in the arena as he does on the trail.

Lyra has a smooth walk, trot, canter and picks up his correct lead every time.

We have used Lyra to push cattle and he has also been used in cattle sorting competitions. We have taken Gunner on miles of trails up in the mountain and we have taken him down the main highway into town and he is traffic safe. Lyra rides great in a group or out by himself with no issues. Lyra has solid feet and can be shod free hand with no stocks. Lyra stands 16 hands but no worries he will side pass to the mounting block with the snap of your fingers. Lyra would be best suited for an intermediate rider as I think he would take advantage of a beginner rider. Lyra does not need to be ridden every day to stay broke. You can get him out at any given time, and he will ride right off. He has no buck, rear or biting issues and sells with no vices.

Lyra also drives single or double and is fun to take out on a pleasure drive to town.

We exposed Lyra to tarps, bouncy balls and carried the flag. Lyra loads and unloads, stands to be mounted, washed to be tacked and untacked. Lyra will stand tied all day and gives no issues. He sells 100% sound and is ready to move into his forever home. For more info message on messenger so you can have my number

[dancingcatqueen]

First attempt at getting into Wineglass from Amazon.

[chocolatebunn]

Hello? BonBon?

L???

[lyrapiano]

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[tastypizzaandchips]

3/6/2025

1h lyra 2/3, 1h beginners pole (advertised as Tech 2)

Ignoring the shitshow that was beginners pole advertised as Tech 2. I rarely say a class is a waste of time because revising is never bad, but jeez this was a new low with bad technique taught and progressions that made no sense. O.o

Lyra went pretty well, I got my pullover on a higher bar as well as going back to the middle from meathook

[schreiblustleselust]

Abigail Owen: The Games Gods Play

Macht ist doch etwas Verführerisches. Da hat man als Gott gemeinhin doch wirklich genügen derselben, doch irgendwie kann es wohl nie zu viel an Macht sein, zumal die Damen und Herren Nachbargötter ja auch, bildlich gesprochen, ihren Hut in den Ring werfen. So wird, so ist es gute, alte Sitte, alle einhundert Jahre ein Wettstreit ausgelobt. Der Sieger besteigt der Thron des Olymp – so weit, so gut. Natürlich kämpfen die hohen Herrschaften nicht persönlich. Sie wählen ihre oder ihren Kämpen, die oder der sie bei den Crucible-Spielen vertritt. Bislang waren die altgriechischen Götter dabei ziemlich unter sich – dieses Mal, sie ahnen es bestimmt bereits, ist es ein wenig anders, sonst hätte ich ja auch nichts zu berichten. Hades, Gott der Unterwelt, hat sich, bis dato zumindest, immer aus dem Spektakel herausgehalten. Dieses Mal aber entsendet er mit Lyra eine eigene Kämpferin in den Wettstreit – und er hat vor, zu triumphieren! Dass Lyra, die von Zeus bei ihrer Geburt mit einem unschönen Fluch belegt worden war, bislang für den Orden der Diebe tätig war, kommt ihr bei den Aufgaben natürlich zupass. Dass sie ein, nun nennen wir es ambivalent-angespanntes Verhältnis zu ihrem Gönner hat, kommt erschwerend hinzu. Die wechselseitige Anziehung sorgt in ihrem Alltag, der so wahrlich schon gefährlich genug ist, für ein bisschen weiteres Salz in der Suppe - zumal die Gottheit, um letztlich zu gewinnen, bereit ist, auch unerlaubt und ganz im geheimen immer wieder aktiv zu Lyras Gunsten einzugreifen … Der Roman braucht ein wenig, bis wir Leserinnen und Leser uns in ihm zurechtfinden und heimisch fühlen. Zu Beginn erwartet uns eine Wagenladung von Figuren, Orten und Intrigen, die wir erst peu à peu einordnen können. Zudem ist Lyra gerade am Anfang eine Figur, die nicht ganz sympathisch rüberkommt. Zu besserwisserisch und zu impulsiv agiert sie, als dass sie uns schnell ans Herz wachsen würde. Nun ist ja bekannt, dass „was sich liebt, das neckt sich“ - doch wie Hades und Lyra miteinander umgehen, das ist schlicht nervig. In solch eine besserwisserische Schnepfe soll sich ein allmächtiger Gott verlieben – im Leben nicht! Gut, dass Hades ja über die Unterwelt, also das Nachleben regiert, da kann es dann vielleicht doch dazu kommen, dass diese Beiden zueinander finden. Nach dem etwas chaotischen, holprigen Anfang wurde es dann langsam ein wenig besser. Die Herausforderungen sind interessant, die Auseinandersetzungen packend, die Lösungen überraschend. So bleibt dies ein Reihenauftakt, der, was die romantischen Aspekte anbetrifft, enttäuscht, der aber mit den Prüfungen punktet und so ein zwiespältiges Gefühl bei mir hinterließ. Abigail Owen: The Games Gods Play – Schattenverführt aus dem amerikanischen Englisch übersetzt von Julia Schwenk dtv Verlag, Oktober 2024 689 Seiten, gebundene Ausgabe, 25,00 Euro Diese Rezension wurde verfasst von Carsten Kuhr. Read the full article

[engbergsinfinland]

A sunny Friday, with a big mid-morning rain shower …

Today is Friday and we've made it to the end of the kids' first half-week of school. Cece gets out at 1:00 today and Rowan gets out at 2:50. It is strange that their timetables for school each day are: a) different between the two of them many days, and b) different from day to day, sort of like a college schedule. Getting the hang of this has been a bit of a challenge, but luckily, through the school app ("Wilma"), I can reach their teachers and ask these "beginner" questions.

So, Cece's teacher's name is Tytti and she is very lovely and told Cece to have me come up to the classroom Wednesday at pickup so she could get to know me, since we're a new family to the school. I also got to talk with Rowan's teacher, named Annariikka, in the schoolyard at pickup on Wednesday. They were both so warm and friendly. 

The school is an international school and there really seem to be children from all over, including Finnish children. There are many children from India, China, the Middle East, Africa, and more.... plus one little girl who Cece has now declared her good friend,  named Lyra, who has one parent from New Zealand  and one from Australia. Many of these people come to this area to work, as there are many telecommunications and digital technologies companies here.

Some interesting aspects about the schooling here, gleaned so far, are that the kids take themselves to school after age seven, and our kids have gotten on board with that, literally getting on board the tram around the corner from our building and taking the "1" train for less than ten minutes to the stop near the school. I did give Rowan an old Android phone of mine with a Finnish SIM card so he can look after himself and Cece and I can track them with the Google Family Link app. There are no other apps on the phone (I am very, very, paranoid-edly, not a word, against kids using smartphones, as there are so many proven mental health impacts and scholastic achievement-related impacts ... but I could eat these words eventually!). Rowan can call and message me and he's to turn the phone off and put it in his backpack pocket when he gets to school and turn it on when school ends until he arrives into our flat. It's worked well all far, three days in! They also take themselves to most of their after-school activities.

Speaking of after-school activities, Rowan started ballet this week, and this ol' gal took an adult beginner class after his last night! I had to ease back in somehow ;) Rowan's teacher (& mine) is named Sari and she's about ten years older than me and is great, very affable and kind. Rowan said he has a hard time following the combinations in Finnish, but luckily the worldwide language of ballet is French, so I think he'll be able to feel accustomed to her class pretty soon.

Other highlights of this week were that yesterday I went to coffee with a colleague from Tampere University named Maija. She's also in technical communication. After our coffee, we walked over to the university and she gave me a bit of a tour and showed me our building where my office will be, where I will share with her in a graduate student. Everyone in their unit is in transition because of remodeling. I met two other colleagues, one of whom is also in technical communication and spoke English like a champ and then she explained that she was actually from Indiana 😆 But, she's lived in Finland for 35 years. It sounds like she is married potentially to a Finn and has children and will have grandchildren here, according to some of her remarks. They were so wonderful and friendly.

Other big news of this week is that yesterday we got the email that our Finnish national ID numbers were assigned! We just went to the DVV office last Friday and were told that it would take 4 to 6 weeks. How's this for a quick turnaround! Now that we have those, so many doors are now open to us, including getting a bank account for my paycheck to go into. We can also get discounts on our yearly bus pass and I can register the kids now officially for their activities and much more.

A weird phenomenon in our apartment building, which is about 130 years old, is that because there are two pretty happenin' bars on the ground floor and five restaurants in the block, there seems to be a ventilation issue so that the interior corridor smells like a grease trap at a diner when it's a warm day. We know we won't have many more warm days to come, but the last few days have been just glorious and in the 70s and so the interior hallway has been ... pretty darn rank. That's probably our least favorite thing about our apartment building. 

On a positive note, we've had a very good week and I guess we'd say we're settling in. Rowans been super busy with a drawing project and Cece's finishing off the last book we brought with us from the US! Up next week is Alex's veterinarian appointment to get his EU pet passport and appointments at the bank for me and Eric. I have another meeting with colleagues and I really have to buckle down on a few projects and the planning of my course that starts on the 28th.

Enjoy your weekend!