#but christian symbolism is a key part of the poem if that is not your cup of tea

[chelseahotel2004]

how to pray

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Reference: 5 Symbols

for your next poem/story (pt. 1)

AESCLEPIUS WAND

The Wand or Rod of Aesclepius is a symbol of the medical profession.

The symbol belongs to the Greek God of Healing whose name it bears.

Although the origins of many symbols are indeterminate, there is a theory that the Aesclepius Wand came about due to the method of removal of a certain parasite that was drawn gradually from the body by winding it around a stick.

However, the serpent is a powerful symbol of healing, despite its toxic nature.

In general, the symbol of the serpent rising up toward the top of a pole or tree is representative of matter transforming into spirit and of enlightenment.

AKWABA

This is an African fertility symbol belonging to the Ashanti tribe.

The Akwaba is a doll, usually carved of wood, which commands the same attention as a real infant.

It is dressed, washed, and even “fed” until the human child is actually born, an example of sympathetic magic believed to ensure the arrival of the true baby.

AMULET

Although it is worn on the body as a piece of jewelry, the amulet is different from “normal” jewelry in that it holds a magical significance that is peculiar to its owner or wearer.

Generally, the powers of the amulet fall into two specific categories, either to bring luck or to avert evil;

either of these qualities arguably reflect a positive or negative attitude on the part of the owner.

The talisman is effectively the same thing as an amulet although its name derives from an Arabic word meaning “magic picture.”

A charm made specifically and inscribed with the names of the spirits, the Seal of Solomon, and other mystical symbols is more likely to be referred to as a talisman.

Significant symbols for use as amulets include birthstones (or other gems according to their magical powers), astrological signs, specific symbols such as the Hand of Fatima or the cornus, and symbols specific to the religious and spiritual beliefs of the wearer, such as the cross, the star, words, names, and numbers.

Incidentally, both amulets and talismans are referred to as “charms;” the origin of this word has the same root as the Latin word for “song,” indicating the link between a magical sound and a magical intention.

ANKH

Essentially the tau cross surmounted by a loop or circle, the ankh is a prominent feature of Ancient Egyptian reliefs, artworks, and funerary paraphernalia.

Like the tau, the ankh is a letter; specifically, it is a hieroglyph meaning “life.”

The volume of meaning that can be squeezed from such a simple symbol is awe-inspiring.

The ankh represents the male and female genitalia, the Sun coming over the horizon, and the union of Heaven and Earth.

This association with the Sun means that the ankh is traditionally drawn in gold—the color of the Sun—and never in silver, which relates to the Moon.

Putting aside the complexities of these separate elements, though, what does the ankh look like?

Its resemblance to a key gives a clue to another meaning of this magical symbol.

The Egyptians believed that the Afterlife was as meaningful as the present one, and the ankh provided the key to the gates of death and what lay beyond.

Powerful symbols frequently stray across into other cultures despite their origins, and the ankh is no exception.

Because it symbolizes immortality and the Universe, it was initially borrowed by the 4th century Coptic Christians who used it as a symbol to reinforce Christ’s message that there is life after death.

The ankh is used by the Rosicrucians too.

Even though its actual invention is shrouded in thousands of years of mystery, the ankh symbol can be bought in any high street jewelry store anywhere in the world.

ARROW

Symbol of flight, penetration, and direction.

As a weapon, the arrow is a symbol of the power of the person who carries it, along with the bow.

As a sacred symbol, it is the attribute of the Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis/Diana, as well as of Eros, who uses his arrows to pierce the people’s hearts with love.

The arrow also serves as a phallic symbol and an emblem of masculine power.

The symbol of the heart pierced with an arrow, popular on Valentine’s Day cards, is a covert symbol of sexual union.

As a symbol of direction, it works on a physical level and a metaphorical level.

The arrow that shoots high up into the sky is an emblem of the link between Earth and Heaven, a symbol of an idea, or of a message being carried directly to the Gods.

The arrow is used, too, as an analogy for swiftness and sureness, since the arrow travels in the direction in which it is shot.

The astrological sign of Sagittarius, the hybrid creature that is always depicted in the process of shooting an arrow from his bow, has a Latin root, sagitta; this means “arrow” and is derived from a verb, sagire, that means “to perceive keenly or quickly.”

Therefore, the arrow is symbolic of quick-wittedness and intuition.

Arrows were used by the ancient Arabians, Chaldeans, Greeks, and Tibetans in a form of divination called Belomancy:

This was practiced by shooting arrows in the air and reading a meaning from the direction of the arrows or their positions in relation to each other.

For example, crossed or touching arrows meant “no.”

Later, the arrows had words written on them to make any answers even more definitive.

Source More: On Symbols

[broomsick]

I’ve been feeling drawn to Odin lately and I was wondering if you could give me some advice as where to start with Norse Mythology/Witchcraft. I’d like to set up an altar as well for him but I can’t find much on what I should use. Any advice? Thanks!

Why hello there! That’s a very interesting ask. Of course, this answer will be based on my own personal opinion and doesn’t reflect the opinion of the entire heathen community. I’ll try to make this as concise as possible.

First of all, there are vast differences between witchcraft and paganism. For a lot of people, the two are tied but it’s not the case for me: my spiritual beliefs are very distinct from my magical practices. Whether or not you want to mix the two (by including Óðinn in your witchcraft, for example) is entirely up to you.

Now to the actual beginner talk. Norse mythology is a set of myths, most of which have been heavily muddied by Christianity and the passage of time. These stories depict the norse gods using characteristics and attributes they were known for in ancient Scandinavian and germanic cultures. Learning about these gods demands a lot of discernment: most of them were transformed with time, and a lot of them are vastly different in their myths when compared to how they act with their devotees. So that’s something to keep in mind. However, you’re in luck: Óðinn is actually one of the gods we know most about since a lot of his stories have managed to be salvaged. This strong cultural presence shows the great importance he had in the areas where he was worshipped.

In order to learn about norse mythology, I’d recommend focusing on historical sources first, before diving into scholarly interpretations, and THEN, the neo-pagan pov (like UPG’s). Maybe start off by reading the Poetic Edda. It’s a set of poems and one of the largest remaining historical sources we have on the actual norse myths. The Völuspá (part of the poetic edda), for example, tells the mythological history of the world from its creation to its destruction. The sagas are also a cool set of stories to learn from! They’re a great help when you’re getting into the culture which surrounds norse mythology. Next up would be Snorri’s Prose Edda, although that one is known to be extremely Christianized and one of our less reliable sources. What’s interesting about it though is how long and detailed it is, due to it having been written in prose. There’s also a lot of good websites out there (I’ll list my favorites at the end of this post) but I’d say they too should be taken with a grain of salt. Cross-checking sources is a basic research skill to develop when getting into paganism. The more you learn, the more global a view you’ll get and that’s key to truly understanding mythology. Documentaries are also among my favorite ways to learn about mythology! They, just like books, are often a lot more reliable than websites or the opinions of people online. A lot of research is put into them. Also, they’re fun to watch!

As for working with Óðinn, there’s really no fear to be had. He is a very patient and understanding mentor. He will let you make mistakes and He will help you learn from them. Because of this, I’d advise trying whatever feels the most natural when it comes to His altar! He knows you are a beginner to deity work and He will give you as much time to adjust yourself as you’ll need. Looking Him up is the first step to building a relationship with Him. Learn as much as you can about Him. Next you should be deciding what you want from your relationship with Him: more of a devotee-deity relationship, mentor and student, or maybe friend to friend? What do you need most from him? Now, your altar can be decorated with pictures or effigies of Him, maybe drawings you made of Him! They’re a lot more personal ^^ In fact, anything you make for Him will make great offerings for your altar! Especially if you include runes in them, as they are one of His more prominent symbols. You can give Him LOTS of red wine, He is known to appreciate it thoroughly. Alcohol in general is a very common and surefire offering, just like red and dried meats. I also like to symbolically offer a part of my meal to Him, as if inviting Him to my table. I’ll link below Óðinn’s main online shrine, so you can get inspiration from it!

Symbols of Óðinn to potentially use in your altar:

Wolves

Ravens

Spears

Eight-legged horses

Wine

Runes

The Valknut

Some of my favorite beginner sources:

Odin’s online shrine

Norse mythology for smart people (general information about the Gods and myths)

Voluspa.org my favorite translation site for the prose and poetic eddas

Skald’s Keep norse pagan and heathen ressources

Ocean Keltoi on YouTube funny guy who makes very detailed and interesting videos on norse paganism using historical sources and whom I do be obsessed with these days

[scarletravenswood]

Who is John Barleycorn?

Gruesome Origins & Modern Retellings

I was planning on making a post about the different harvest traditions for the Autumn Equinox, but in the middle of doing research for that I came across a character so crazy and fascinating that I felt the need to devote a whole post to him.  So today let’s go down the rabbit hole together to explore the strange tale of John Barleycorn and what it might reveal about our Pagan history.  The Autumn Equinox, also known as Mabon, is the second of the three important harvest festivals.  Most Pagan harvest festivals embrace the idea of sacrifice, perhaps none more so than Mabon, which is the time when the last sheaf of wheat & barley would be harvested. This notion of Sacrifice is one of the key themes associated with the popular story of John Barleycorn. You may have heard one of the many musical variations of this story or perhaps you're more familiar with the Robert Berns version from 1782.  If you haven’t ever heard this English Folk Song, give it a listen The story of John Barleycorn actually has really old origins.  There is a Scottish poem with a very similar theme and wording included in the Bannatyne Manuscript of 1568, though it’s likely that John Barleycorn is even older.  This is because the Bannatyne Manuscript is a collection of pre-existing works, many coming from the ancient oral tradition.  And considering the many pagan themes in the story, it’s definitely possible that the origins lie in Pre-Christian times. Specifically there may even be a link between John Barleycorn and the mythical figure Beowa, which is a figure from Anglo-Saxon paganism whose name means "barley." Now, the prevailing theory is that the tale of John Barleycorn is a symbolic representation of the crop of barley being harvested each autumn. The song describes the process of preparing the land, sowing the seeds, waiting for the crop to grow, and eventually harvesting. Then the song describes making the products of beer and bread which were key staples of the diet of early agrarian people.  For the most part this all makes sense but those of you who have read the poem or listened to the song have probably noticed the really gruesome way that this harvest is worded.  For example: “They laid him out upon the floor, To work him further woe; And still, as signs of life appear’d, They toss’d him to and fro. They wasted o’er a scorching flame, The marrow of his bones; But a miller us’d him worse of all, For he crush’d him between two stones. And they hae taen his very heart’s blood, And drank it round and round; And still the more and more they drank, Their joy did more abound.” Sure, maybe that’s just meant to be a creative interpretation of how to turn barley into beer and perhaps the reason this story has survived so long is in part due to the violent imagery, which makes the story more interesting and memorable.  Though perhaps there’s a bit more to the story. I want to share a theory that I recently found that might have some merit. This theory proposes that the tale of John Barleycorn is more than just a metaphor for the barley harvest and that it in fact contains references to real human sacrifices that occurred in Ancient Britain. I know what you’re thinking - pagan human sacrifice is a big trope often used by others to slander paganism.   But hear me out for a second because there’s some really interesting passages in this poem that deserve further inspection. The poem begins with: “There were three men come out of the west, their fortunes for to try, And these three men made a solemn vow, John Barleycorn would die” It’s interesting that we start with 3 men coming out of the West.  We’re all familiar with the religious importance of the number three.  The Celtic triad & triple spiral are of course famous symbols in Celtic paganism.  I also think it’s interesting that these men are coming from the West because in Celtic myths coming from “The West” meant coming from the otherworld or realm of the Fae. Also, in the tale of John Barleycorn before the the cutting of the barley there is an interesting passage that states: “They let him stand till midsummer Till he looked both pale and wan, And little Sir John he growed a long beard And so became a man.” Of course the reference to midsummer is interesting from a pagan perspective but I’m even more interested in the “growing a long beard” part.  Firstly, I’m not sure how the beard part fits in if this poem is just a metaphor for the barley harvest.  Instead, I think it’s possible that it’s referencing the long beards of the druids.  The druids believed that our life-force was channeled through the extremities which is why Druid priests would grow their beards and hair long.  So perhaps our John Barleycorn is representing a sacrificial priest. Next in the story we have a death being depicted in the poem, but it’s a three-fold death.  The poem states: “They hired men with the scythes so sharp To cut him off at the knee, They rolled him and tied him by the waist, And served him most barbarously. They hired men with the sharp pitchforks Who pricked him to the heart.” The three-fold death is a really common theme in Celtic and Anglo-Saxon folklore.  Even Merlin in the Arthurian legends prophesied a three-fold death for himself which would occur by falling, stabbing, and then drowning. So already we’ve found references in the passages of John Barleycorn to: - The Celtic triad and the Faerie realm in the west - The spiritual tradition of beard growing among the Druids - The importance of the three-fold death in Celtic lore. So what’s really going on here? In the famous anthropological book called “The Golden Bough” by Sir James Frazer, he states that the Barley King was personified in ancient ritual practice by a real person.  This man was honored as a King during the yearly cycle and when it was harvest time he would be sacrificed and dismembered and his body was dragged through the fields to ensure a fertile harvest for next year. This reminds me of a particularly gruesome passage in the poem: “They've wheeled him around and around the field till they've come unto a barn And here they've kept their solemn word concerning Barleycorn They've hired men with the crab tree sticks to split his skin from bone.” If this is just a metaphor for harvesting the barley, then what is the purpose of wheeling him “around and around” the field.  Perhaps Sir James Frazer might be right and that this passage could be a reference to the sacrificed individual being dragged through the fields to ensure the fertile harvest. It’s definitely a pretty disturbing visual and I probably should point out that we don’t really have much historical evidence concerning Pagan religious sacrifice.  One of the most popular accounts of pagan human sacrifice comes from Julius Caesar during his conquest of Gaul where he reports to have seen the burning alive of victims in a large wooden effigy, which is now known as a wicker man.  Though considering the Celts were his enemy at the time it is possible he exaggerated some details.   So, while it’s likely that some human sacrifice occurred among the Celts and Anglo-Saxons we don’t really know too many details and it’s likely that the violence was probably a bit exaggerated. So when it comes to our story of John Barleycorn we have our two main theories: The first theory is that the story of John Barleycorn is just a metaphor of the barley harvest and that any violent wording was just added for extra flair and it doesn’t represent any wider themes. The second theory is that the story of John Barleycorn actually contains references to the practice of religious human sacrifice among the Celtic and the Anglo-Saxon pagans. So which theory is correct?  In my opinion I think it might be both.  I think the main purpose of the story is to be a metaphor for the autumn barley harvest.  Though because this story is in fact really old, I think it picked up some Pagan references, stereotypes, and motifs along the way.   But, I’d love to hear what you think the story of John Barleycorn represents.  So share your thoughts down below in the comments. 

[artdaily7]

Reading Between the Lines: The Basics of Analyzing Poetry by hypnoticwinter

INTRODUCTION Outside of literature classes, very few people read poetry closely. Hardly anyone on tumblr does; people scan a poem, decide immediately if they agree with what it’s saying or not, or judge by some arbitrary scale how aesthetically pleasing it is, like or reblog it, and then move on to the next.

Appreciating poetry requires time and effort. Putting in the time and effort will allow you to recognize truly good poetry and distinguish it better from mediocre poetry.

Poetry has rules. None of them are hard and fast, and they all can and should be broken in different ways, but knowing how they’re broken or upheld in a particular poem will improve your own poetry and your interpretation of poetry.

CONTEXT The first step in analyzing a poem is discerning the context of the poem. Who is the poet? How old is he? What gender? When and where was he born? When was the poem written? What things were going on in the poet’s country and in the world at the time? Sometimes this information is not available, sometimes it is. When it is, knowing it can lead to singular insights into a poem that might not be apparent otherwise. “Absalom and Achitophel” (Dryden) is entirely indecipherable without the historical context Dryden is writing in, whereas with this context, it’s only mostly indecipherable.

Does the poem stand on its own or does it make references to other work? “God’s Grandeur” (Hopkins) can be read on its own but if the reader has any knowledge of Christianity at all it makes more sense - and what other work to go to for Christianity than the Bible? If a poem requires additional reading, do it. And if you can’t tell whether it does or not, investigate.

If a poem is entirely self-contained, is it more accessible? Literally, yes. Does it gain more than it loses by not making any references or calling on real-world events? Depends on the poem.

CONTENT AND DECISIONS Read the poem twice, once in your head and once out loud. Note your reactions each time. What did you feel when the poem was finished? Did it elicit any emotional response at all? Poems that don’t aren’t necessarily bad - but the ones that do are rarely bad.

If you do react, focus on that - why did you react the way you did? If you groaned at the end and thought ‘wow, that was a long poem,’ was it really, or did it just feel long? Was that feeling the fault of yourself or the poem?

Once you’ve read the poem out loud, think back over what you’ve just listened to. Was there rhythm? There doesn’t have to be - but discord is usually better to be avoided than embraced, unless for a specific reason.

When a poet begins to write a poem, he must make decisions. One of the first is in even writing a poem. Every poem can be equally expressed in prose - that is to say, the meaning transmitted can be transmitted identically via prose. Why did the poet choose to write a poem rather than prose? Is it apparent?

Some of the decisions a poet makes when writing a poem are not immediately decipherable. Sometimes they are made simply because a decision has to be made and one choice is as good as another. But other times they are made for a purpose, and understanding the reasons is important to be able to interpret the poem more fully. In order to do this you must examine every decision, even the trivial ones, for a trace of meaning. These decisions can vary wildly based on the actual content of the poem, but from a strict formal perspective, they usually go something like this:

Why write a poem? What should I write about? What is the purpose of my poem? Should I write in an established form? Should I rhyme? Should I use meter? Should I use some other organizational method? Should I use other devices, such as alliteration? What words should I use? How should I break my lines? How long should my poem be? Should I use stanzas? What sort of tone should I use?

The next sections will go over each of these criteria one by one, so get comfortable.

WHY WRITE A POEM? What’s the difference between poetry and prose anyway? Line breaks come to mind, and prose poems don’t even have those - but they are still poems.

According to wikipedia, “Poetry is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language—such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre—to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, the prosaic ostensible meaning.”

Also according to wikipedia, “Prose is a form of language that exhibits a grammatical structure and a natural flow of speech, rather than a rhythmic structure as in traditional poetry.”

Rhythm is apparently a key element of poetry, and this is a statement I’d agree with. Poetry tends to use heightened language and imagery while prose can afford to be more prosaic, as it were, as it has a story to pull itself along with, rather than just words. A poem can tell a story too, but many do not.

A poet chooses to write a poem because he wishes to write beautifully. Whether that wish is realized is another story.

WHAT SHOULD I WRITE ABOUT? Choice of topic is another basic decision for the poet to make, but one that has perhaps the most effect upon the finished product.

Topic limits a poem’s audience, and upon reading a poem, whether you liked it or not, you should consider ‘what sort of person would like this kind of poem?’ and ‘who wouldn’t?’ Does the author belong to this audience? Are they writing for themselves, then? Do they want to be part of this audience?

The poet’s choice of topic is effectively their choice of audience. Poems that are written obviously for a certain audience make a reflecting statement about the poet.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF MY POEM? This question is different from ‘what should I write about?’ because it deals with a macro level, rather than a micro level. Purpose is something like 'to transmit a feeling’ or 'to tell a story’ or 'to send a message.’ Purpose is often obtuse; if it is obvious, that can reflect on the quality of the poem - specifically, poems that set out to tell a specific message tend to be one-dimensional and flat.

Ambiguity is better than obscurity is better than directness. In reverse order, one interpretation is worse than a million interpretations is worse than several interpretations. Poems that tell one specific message read like church hymns, which can have beautiful language and evoke fond memories, but which are still flat and lifeless because they focus on one thing only. Obscure poems cannot be interpreted easily because the reader doesn’t know what the writer is talking about. A million interpretations can be made but none mean anything because there is room for all of them. A few interpretations is the best choice because it provides room for different views but squeezes them in tightly enough that they must be fought over.

SHOULD I WRITE IN AN ESTABLISHED FORM? Note that the choice is not between 'writing a sonnet’ and 'writing free verse.’ Sonnets are an established form, but a form can also be something like two seven-line stanzas with four pairs of rhymes between them. Forms the poet makes up on their own are still forms, and restrict their writing - and are more difficult to write within the confines of.

'More difficult’ doesn’t necessarily mean 'better,’ but writing a striking poem while under restrictions is more impressive than writing a striking free verse poem.

If a poet does write a sonnet or a villanelle or in an established form, you should pay attention to how closely the poet follows the rules of the form. If the poet doesn’t follow them closely, that’s a statement - and it’s up to you to figure out what that means. Sometimes it means the poet is just lazy.

SHOULD I RHYME? Like writing in an established form, rhyming places restrictions on a poem. The main thing to watch for when reading a poem that rhymes is how well the rhymes flow with the content of the poem. Forced rhymes are the mark of a poorly-planned poem; rhymes should be effortless, integrated wholly within the narrative of the poem. If a poet suddenly talks like Yoda just to maintain their rhyme scheme, they just choked - and letting that out into the public eye is another choke as well. Or is the poet doing it for a purpose? Only rarely will a purpose justify this, and bad poets will use art as a crutch to excuse their fuck-ups. Do not believe them.

If a poet doesn’t rhyme, their poem is less difficult - and thus less impressive when good, and more excusable when bad.

SHOULD I USE METER? These days fewer poets use meter than rhyme, and fewer poets rhyme than write free verse. Meter isn’t necessarily difficult, but it does require a lot more work from the poet to produce a poem that doesn’t sound stilted. If a poet doesn’t use meter, they’re making a statement - that meter is antiquated, or that they don’t want to put the effort in, or that meter wouldn’t suit what they’re saying. Pay attention to this - but excuse them, because meter is a lot of work, and isn’t as impressive as it used to be.

On a more basic level, meter can include rhythm - which is essentially just asking whether or not the poem sounded good. When you read the poem out loud (you read the poem out loud, right?) any line that sounded odd should be noted. Often these are lines that are far too short or far too long for the other surrounding lines. Putting in lines like these can cause the reader to rush if long, or slow down if short. Sometimes this is what the poet intends; but more often the poet cultivates this effect through punctuation or other means.

Rhythm, if used well, accents what’s going on in the poem. Pay attention if a poem is short and choppy or long and plodding and see if it matches up with what’s being said.

SHOULD I USE SOME OTHER ORGANIZATIONAL METHOD? There are very few poems that don’t use some kind of organizational method, even if that’s only because line breaks are a means of organizing a poem. If a poem doesn’t have one that’s immediately apparent, count syllables in lines, read the first letter of each line, count words in each line, look at line lengths, see if the poet is doing anything interesting with tabs - if you can discern a pattern, that’s intentional. What does it mean? Depends on the poem.

Sometimes poets do so simply because symmetry is appealing. Other times because they’ve just discovered the function of the tab key on their keyboard. Other times still when the method of organization ties in with the poem in some way - and this last category is the most skillful.

Like the above categories, this is a method of increasing the difficulty of writing a poem, like conducts in Nethack. Taking a bunch of conducts doesn’t make a win more valuable, as a win is still a win, but it does make doing so more impressive, considering the increased odds stacked against the player - or the poet.

SHOULD I USE OTHER DEVICES, SUCH AS ALLITERATION? These devices often don’t make a poem more difficult, but can make it more interesting to read. Think back to vocab words during your high-school lit classes and you’ll probably have a good idea of what these devices are. If they’re there, take note - and if they’re not, don’t worry too much about it.

WHAT WORDS SHOULD I USE? One of the more important choices a poet can make. Blunt language leads to a different feeling than hidden or symbolic language. Being too flowery can set one kind of tone, while being too vulgar can set another. Pay attention to a poet’s word choice and pay very special attention to the imagery, metaphors, and similes they use, as these are what largely determine if a poem is good or not - how original, skillful, and simply GOOD word choice is. A good poem should make the reader think 'damn, I wish I’d written that’ - and if there are no clever turns of phrase or beautiful images, that’s less likely to occur.

A special note is to be given on uncommon words and on profanity, which is that if it is in one part of the poem, it ought to be in all parts of the poem. If it isn’t, that raises the question of why - and can be jarring depending on how much or how little the element is used. Good poets will use this to highlight a shift in tone or in speaker, while bad poets simply won’t think about it.

HOW SHOULD I BREAK MY LINES? While to an extent this can also cover 'how long should I make my lines?’ this question usually boils down to 'to enjamb, or not enjamb.’ Enjambment, for all our level one learners out there, is when a sentence is stretched between multiple lines of a poem and thus the lines break in the middle of a thought. Note that the reason this usually DOESN’T cover 'how long should I make my lines’ is because skillful poets will usually figure line length based on how it makes the poem sound.

On a very basic level, enjambment makes the reader hurry up and move on to the next line. Not enjambing (end stopping) makes the reader pause, even if very slightly, at the end of a line. Good poets will use this to control the pace of the poem - and if it is used, you should ask what it does to the poem’s pace.

HOW LONG SHOULD MY POEM BE? If a poem is too short, it can be extremely difficult to make it good. If a poem is too long, it can be extremely difficult to hold the audience’s attention unless it is very good. If it felt like a poem dragged while you were reading, go back over it. Ask if each line is necessary to the narrative of the poem. Can anything be cut? Should anything be cut?

Likewise, if it feels like a poem isn’t long enough, ask what it’s missing. Did it get to a point, or did it end before it could?

In any case, a poem should be entirely focused and tight. Poems that meander all over the place, even if they’re of a sensible length, lose the reader’s interest fast - and after all how couldn’t they? If the topic is too boring for the poet to stay focused on, how will the reader be able to?

SHOULD I USE STANZAS? If a poem is long enough, it’s rare not to see stanzas. Stanzas are usually used in some capacity or other to break up distinct thoughts into their own sections. If they’re not - what’s the stanza doing there? Does it have a purpose or is the poet, as with rhyme, sticking blindly to an organizational scheme that is no longer organic with the poem?

WHAT SORT OF TONE SHOULD I USE? Ideally a poem’s tone would match in some way with its subject matter, but at the same time, it doesn’t have to. No matter the topic, tone makes a statement - and it’s up to you to determine whether a matching or mismatching tone means something important - and in a good poem, it generally will.

Two specific mentions should be made here, and those are GRAMMAR and SEX.

Like in any other form of written work, improper grammar breaks the audience’s attention. When you read the world-famous quote “In this moment, I am euphoric. Not because of any phony god’s blessing. But because, I am enlightened by my intelligence,” what stands out first? If you know anything about English at all, it’ll be the grammar. Using improper grammar takes your audience out of the poem and makes them think 'oh look, a comma’ instead of 'oh wow, this poem is great.’

The same thing can be said about sex but to even more of a degree. As soon as a poet refers to sex, the reader pays less attention to the poem and more attention to the sex described in the poem - which is why the best poems about sex are suggestive but not explicit.

GOOD AND BAD POETRY As any bad poet will tell you, art is subjective, which means that there isn’t any definitive thing to point to and say 'you did this here which means this poem is bad.’ Whether a poem is bad or not depends on who’s reading it. Don’t think of the above decisions as criteria, and if a poem doesn’t meet a certain number of them it’s automatically bad. A poem can disregard every single one of the above decisions and still be good if the writing is beautiful and vice versa.

Most of the decisions above regard difficulty - and a more difficult poem, if done well, will be more impressive than an easier poem. Not better - just more impressive.

Goodness usually comes down to word choice and imagery and the application of all those little mechanics of writing. Those can’t be taught; you either have it or you don’t. A good poet doesn’t think about it; a mediocre poet balances everything in his mind at once in his effort to write a good poem; a bad poet also doesn’t think about it.

Marcel Duchamp 1919 L.H.O.O.Q. pencil on reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, PC

[tikkisaram]

Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin — National Poet, Devil Worshipper

The Irish poet Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin — appointed Ireland Professor of Poetry in 2016 — is not the most assuming of poets. She is far removed from the outrageous excesses of Baudelaire or the eccentricities of Cummings. In fact, she is very ordinary. Some might even say — bland.

And yet, beneath the inconspicuous surface, Ní Chuilleanáin exhibits a far more sinister nature. Her poetry is teeming with strange references to obscure knowledge, allusions to occult practices and Satanic symbols. The first examples of this darker side of her work were provided to me by an anonymous member of the Tikki Troops, to whom I am immensely grateful for sparking this extended investigation, the fruit of which I will share with you in this blessay.

Because numerology plays a significant part in occult symbolism, I decided to start with a cursory numerological analysis of one of Ní Chuilleanáin's poems — Street. There are two main ways of calculating the significant number of a word or text — the simpler Pythagorean system, and the gematria form, which is Hebrew in origin but can be applied to the English language as well. Applying these two systems to the poem's title gave the same result — the number 6. This is significant — 6 and 11 are the two most important numbers to Satanists. 1 What's more, the poem has 11 lines. Carrying out the analysis on the full text of the poem gives — remarkably — the same result in both systems as well: 7. This number is not specifically associated with Satanism, but it is of enormous importance in numerology in general — it may well be the most important number of all. It is significant in Hindu, Muslim, Judeo-Christian, Ancient Egyptian and Native American tradition, among others.2 The focus on the shoes being "paired" may be meaningful, because Pythagoras associated the number 2 with disorder, evil and the underworld.3 This linking of sacred and Satanic numbers is representative of Satanism in general, which often employs sacred elements in a profane way — for example, the drinking of blood instead of wine from a chalice in a parody of Christian mass. Dates are also often given a numerological significance in occult practice, and I immediately thought of the poem To Niall Woods and Xenya Ostrovkaia, married in Dublin on 9 September 2009 with the bizarrely conspicuous date in its title. The value of the date simplifies to 11 — a Satanic number, of course — but more importantly, expressing the date as 09/09/09 makes the 999 contained in it explicit; 999 is considered powerful in Satanism because it is simply an inversion of 666.4 Incidentally, Ní Chuilleanáin's latest poetry collection, The Mother House, came out on 31 October 2019 — yes, the date of Halloween. A strange decision to say the least. I imagine that a comprehensive numerological analysis of the entire body of Ní Chuilleanáin's work would be extremely insightful; it is, however, well outside of the scope of this blessay.

Doors are frequently seen in Ní Chuilleanáin's poetry, usually associated with some mystery hidden behind them — The Door is the most obvious example, but they also feature prominently in Street and All For You. Stairs and keys are no less a common theme; all three of these symbols represent the hidden, forbidden, esoteric knowledge involved in all kinds of occult practice. This reminded me of a rather strange interview with Ní Chuilleanáin that I read in which she explains the prevalence of nuns in her poetry by saying that "...nuns have always had their own way of living, their own community, their own rituals and festivals — they are surprising people."5 Their hermetic community and special rituals are definitely not the first thing I would think of if asked about nuns. Ní Chuilleanáin seems oddly fixated on secrecy and esoteric practices revealed only to members of a specific group; why might this be, I wonder?

The moderately alert reader will find a wealth of occult allusions and symbols in Ní Chuilleanáin's poems, especially relating to witchcraft. Street mentions bloody crescents imprinted on the stairs; a blood moon was historically connected to occult practice and two crescents together with a circle — one like the "ring" seen in the poem — constitute the Triple Moon symbol in Wicca.6 Fainfall links the mysticism of twilight, dawn and fog with a ghostly presence. Cats — the most famous of witch familiars — are common in her poetry, including the strangely forced reference in The Bend in the Road — "A tall tree like a cat's tail waited too." Kilcash references bonfires and features the oddly apocalyptic line "our ancestors' house will rise up." The Pig-boy features the kind of bestialisation associated with human sacrifice. which is employed by Satanists to signify the dominance of human carnal nature.7 Lucina Schynning in Silence of the Nicht seems to concern a witch in its entirety. And the poem's bizarre title is the opening line of a 15th-century poem by William Dunbar called — wait for it — The Birth of Antichrist.

Deaths and Engines features a curious allusion to the divinatory art of chiromancy (palm-reading) — "the lifeline in your palm// Breaks". This made me think about other methods of divination, of which perhaps the most famous is taromancy — a form of cartomancy which employs the Tarot deck, especially its 22 picture cards, called the Major Arcana. I looked through several of Ní Chuilleanáin's poems to see if I could spot obvious references to it, and I soon struck gold with To Niall Woods..., which focuses on the imminent journey of a newlywed couple. I immediately identified allusions to five cards of the Major Arcana: The Fool, The Tower, The Stars, The Lovers and The Emperor, all of which fit the poem's theme nicely. The Fool represents a new journey; The Tower, a radical change; The Stars, hope and fulfilment; The Lovers, affairs of the heart; The Emperor represents authority, but given the context of stealing from him we can take the inverted meaning of the card, which is authoritarianism and an abuse of power. We thus have lovers experiencing a radical change by leaving what they know to pursue their hopes and dreams on a new journey, freeing themselves from their constraints — "Leave behind the places that you knew:/ All that you leave behind you will find once more." We thus see that Ní Chuilleanáin associates the events of her poetry with occult divinatory symbolism. Once again, I think that a detailed examination of her work from the angle of Tarot and other fortune-telling systems would be an exciting research opportunity.

I must admit that I have little background and knowledge in the area of Satanism and occult symbolism; I am sure that someone more familiar with this kind of material would be able to find much, much more of note in the poetry of Ní Chuilleanáin. I also regret not being able to give this investigation the amount of time and effort it merits. Nonetheless, I think that even this shallow analysis reveals a trove of secrets about one of the most famous Irish poets alive and allows us to view her work in a new — bloodier, more sinister — light.

“Occultist Numerology Numbers and Meanings.” Exposing Satanism, https://www.exposingsatanism.org/occultist-numerology-numbers-and-meanings/. ↩︎

Kathryn Wilkinson (ed.), “Signs & Symbols.” (Dorling Kindersley, 2008). 295. ↩︎

Ibid. 294. ↩︎

“Occultist Numerology.” ↩︎

“Interview with Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin.” Wake Forest University Press, https://wfupress.wfu.edu/an-interview-with-eilean-ni-chuilleanain/. ↩︎

“Signs & Symbols.” 193. ↩︎

Ibid. 190. ↩︎

[queen-susans-revenge]

I don’t have time to do it right now but one of these days I really need to write down everything I learned from alt.tarot back in the day Some of it is about tarot but more of it is about how to fight with people on the Internet. I was reminded re-reading the Dickwolf Discourse and how Mike’s hard-won lesson from that is that he could have Just Stopped much earlier. Just Stopping is a great skill that I learned through many bruising fights on Usenet and specifically alt.tarot. See, most people who think they are Knowledgeable About Tarot in fact are Jon Snows to the subject: they know nothing. The received wisdom on tarot is complete garbage; you can easily spend years and read dozens of published books and come away believing things like “tarot was invented by gypsies and contains secret wisdom smuggled out from the fall of the Library of Alexandria.” Insert Luke Skywalker gif: every part of that is wrong. Playing cards were actually invented by the Chinese, reached Europe around 1360, and in the middle of the fifteenth century Italian nobles started using tarot decks to play a trick-taking game resembling bridge. The so-called Major Arcana, or trump cards, were mostly drawn from Petrarch’s poem I Trionfi which translates to “The Triumphs” (triumph=trump). I Trionfi was enormously popular, especially in Italy, and you see imagery from it everywhere during the time period and all kinds of card decks using it. (Looks down at wall of text I have just produced. Whelp. Time for a read-more!)

So almost nobody knows this basic fact, that the structure of the Major Arcana and a lot of the imagery on the cards comes from Petrarch originally. Instead they spend years reading dumb newage books that all regurgitate the same content, like, “Death doesn’t mean death, it means change.” To Petrarch, and to the Renaissance Italians, and to the likes of Waite and Crowley, Death literally meant death. Now they all believed that there were things like Christian faith that could triumph over/trump even death: Petrarch’s poem is structured like a Roman triumphal parade except with metaphysical forces involved, so like the great conquering emperor is brought low by the power of love, and the lovers in turn are brought low by the power of chastity, and the chaste in turn are brought low by the power of death, but death is conquered by fame, and fame is conquered by time, and time is conquered by the eternal Kingdom of God. This is the basic procession that you see in the trump cards. And yes this does mean that tarot was also explicitly Christian, from the beginning, and remained so even as the robes-and-wands set started appropriating Jewish kabbalah and mapping tarot onto it. That happened in the eighteenth century, in France. The two dudes responsible are Antoine Court de Gébelin and M. le Comte de Mellet, two more names that most people who think they know a lot about tarot will never have heard of. The line goes from them through Eliphas Levi, Papus, Wirth, those guys, through to Waite and then Crowley. Now all these dudes were occultists, and occult means clandestine, hidden, secret, so as you might expect they were not at all good at clearly explicating their beliefs. Back on alt.tarot I used to use a Waite quote as my signature: “Superfluities and interpretations notwithstanding, it is directly, or indirectly, out of the recent view, thus tentatively designated, that the consideration of the present thesis emerges as its final term, though out of all knowledge thereof.” (That’s from The Hidden Church of the Holy Graal. It’s all like that.) So, it’s definitely not their fault that most people don’t know about Petrarch and kabbalah and what Crowley really meant when he made such a big goddamn deal about how “Tzaddi is not The Star.” Even when the likes of Crowley or Waite did write books supposedly detailing the meaning of the symbolism of their decks, they threw in lots of misdirection and outright lies “to mislead the uninitiated.” Kabbalah is the key, they’ll tell you, but they won’t tell you that they used it as an athbash--forward and back, just like the Fool’s Journey goes both up and down the Tree of Life; divine power can be called down into Malkuth, the physical world, but one born into Malkuth can also ascend to Kether, unmediated experience of the divine. (So The Star is both Tzaddi and Heh.) Anyway, if you can’t trust the newage books and you can’t trust the occult books, are there any good books on tarot? Yes, there are two: Gertrude Moakley's groundbreaking (and out of print) book The Tarot Cards Painted by Bonifacio Bembo for the Visconti-Sforza Family: An Iconographic and Historical Study, and the equally groundbreaking and equally out of print Rhapsodies of the Bizarre, a collection of essays by Court de Gébelin and M. le Comte de Mellet, with translation and commentary by J. Karlin, the terror of alt.tarot. Jess Karlin was not his real name. He knew more about tarot than, I gradually came to believe, anyone else in the world. He was a jerk, and proud of being a jerk: Thelema is a religion of war, he said, and he came not to affirm but to destroy. He was my teacher, and he taught me a lot, and I tried to repay him both with money and by acknowledging the debt whenever the subject comes up, like now. One of the things he taught me was how to learn from someone who is giving you an actual answer but insulting you while they do it. (Try ignoring the insult and saying thank you, for the answer. They may have more to teach.) I say Karlin knew more than anyone else in the world because the academics after Moakley were disappointing; the field became dominated by playing card historian Michael Dummett, who was so invested in debunking the occultists that he really doubled down on trying to argue that no link between tarot and fortune-telling existed before the French guys came along. Which is stupid, because the links between games of chance and systems of divination have always been super tight--Fate and Luck are the same damn bitch. And you can find (and Karlin did find) very early references to witchcraft performed with playing cards. So because the playing card historians would have nothing to do with the occultists, and Karlin was doing these serious deep dives into formerly-untranslated eighteenth century French occult texts and even earlier stuff, he ended up understanding the iconography and symbolism of tarot way better than the people like Dummett who were much too serious to touch the occult traditions. That was another thing Karlin taught me: that academic consensus can sometimes be just as wrong as newage gobbledegook, and it really is possible, when you start doing deep dives into niche subjects, to outstrip the experts. Sometimes it’s not just possible but frighteningly easy. Anyway, he knew a ton--and he knew it in a field where the vast majority of people think they understand the material, but are very wrong. I think this had the effect of making him quite crabby. Some people came to alt.tarot saying they wanted to learn tarot; and those people, J. Karlin was willing to teach, although he might yell at them some for believing stupid things, if they did. And they probably did--I remember being twenty-one, a shiny new-minted college graduate, proud of my A in an undergraduate Quantum Mechanics For Non Physics Majors class, trying out some “maybe fortunetelling is a quantum effect” angle and getting my ass handed to me, deservedly so. But many, many more people came to alt.tarot back in the day thinking they already knew tarot. And they very much did not want to be corrected. They just thought the cards looked cool and they were perfectly content with their own “I’ll just intuit what I think the cards mean” approach to tarot. And to those people, Karlin was a relentless asshole. Because the symbols did in fact have an original meaning, and it is possible to trace the evolution of the iconography through time, and in fact all those centuries of artists and writers and...I dunno, warlocks and whatnot...working on the cards has created a much, much, much deeper and richer symbolic framework than what most people can make up off the tops of their heads just by looking at a random image from The Tarot of the Cat People or whatever. So that was maybe the first important thing he taught me: there is a truth. Even in symbolic matters, even in stuff that was all “just made up” at some point, it is possible to distinguish what’s important and true from what’s just people spouting off the tops of their dumb heads. And fourth or fifth was that if you argue with someone long enough and you find yourself getting boxed into a corner, fighting desperately to support propositions you’re not even quite sure how you ended up needing to defend, you can just...stop. Usually that’s the cleanest and clearest path. Karlin would not let people save face and he would not let them have the last word: if they were wrong, they’d either have to admit it, or they’d have to flounce off to another Usenet group, orrrr...they’d have to learn how to fucking shut up. It’s a good skill to have. I learned it in alt.tarot, being wrong a lot. I had many fights with Jess Karlin on alt.tarot. But to my knowledge I was the only one from that group that he offered to formally initiate into Thelema. If I have siblings in this lineage I don’t know them; and I never considered myself a Thelemite, even after the initiation. But I have tried to pass on what he taught me. Crowley wrote that the adept “must teach; but he may make severe the ordeals” and I always sort of thought Karlin was living by that principle. At the same time he liked to point out that it’s not necessary to hide your pearls from swine: they won’t take ‘em no matter how brightly you polish and how neatly you letter the sign, FREE PEARLS OF WISDOM, PLEASE TAKE. My worst fights with J. Karlin were always when I was trying to do something nice for him. I still wince remembering when I tried to give him a copy of Alan Moore’s Promethea; that ended with us not speaking for several years. So if he reads this he’ll probably be mad at me all over again but anyway he eventually started using his real name, Glenn Wright, for his Internet writings instead of the Karlin nym. He hops around websites too fast for me to keep track, but as recently as 2015 he had a blog on Tumblr​. Sometimes he offers tarot readings for sale--one card, yes or no question only. I recommend these without question whether you “believe” in tarot or not. (I’ve grown out of my quantum woo days and I don’t now think the cards are anything but a fantastic system for self-reflection). This is super long so I’m gonna stop now. Maybe it’ll do for that “what I learned from alt.tarot” post I always meant to make.

[rosecorcoranwrites]

Comics as Visual, Spatial Storytelling

Comics are worth your while, and are a unique form of storytelling. We've already discussed books as verbal storytelling and movies as audiovisual temporal storytelling, so what of comics? Comics—which includes comic books, graphic novels, webcomics, manga, and even comic strips—employ semi-verbal, visual, and spatial storytelling.

A Way with Words

Like movies and plays, comics don't rely on words to tell their story. In fact, there are graphic novels out there that use no language at all. They are still semi-verbal, however, because the vast majority of them include words in the form of dialogue—usually in white balloons—narration, sound effects, and other uses of text.

One of the coolest comics I have ever read was the final entry as part of a tournament on Deviant Art (back in the day, different artists would create characters who would compete against those of other artists in comic entries drawn by each contestant). The artist's characters were fighting against the villain of the piece—another artist's character, who had taken on that role—who was a violin-playing robot. Interspersed with drawn action were stanzas of a poem about Nero fiddling while Rome burned. The text was used to enhance the drawings, and gave the entire scene—which included no dialogue—an eerie, tense feeling, similar to what one might feel if a particular song played over an otherwise silent action scene.

Panels and Space

Aside from words, comics of course rely on visuals in the form of drawings or paintings, usually contained in boxes—called panels—so that a number of pictures, like shots in a film, cover a single page. These panels are what truly make comics unique, in that they are not only visual but spatial, too. Like a movie creator, artists must decide what's in any given panel and where the characters are standing in a scene, but while movie makers use time to pace their stories, artists use space.

For example, the artist might slow a scene down by drawing one panel of a character's hand hung limp at their side, then repeat that panel again, but this time with the fist clenched in resolve. Artists can also use page breaks to build tension, perhaps having the last panel on the page be a reaction shot and leaving whatever horror the character is seeing for the next page.

The size and position of panels is key to spatial storytelling. Important moments get larger panels, or even a two-page spread. Skinnier or smaller panels are used for supporting details and ongoing action. Sometimes, an artist draws a character outside of, over, or above multiple panels to either link what's in the panels or emphasize the character's action. Additionally, certain types of comics have a uniform layout, such as four-panel gag manga, which are similar to American comic strips, which have a setup of four panels in a column, the last being the punchline.

While the edges of most panels are basic perpendicular or slightly tilted lines, some artists play with this. Heavily tilted panels might symbolize a character going crazy, while black backgrounds behind the panels are often used for flashbacks or interior monologues. Many manga will spend a page or two having characters thinking, with their words floating in space and minimal pictures as a backdrop.

I've seen creativity in webcomics too. Though some webcomic artists stick to the tried and true four-panel set-up or normal page sizes, the internet allows people to go beyond these limits. Many artists use long vertical pages to tell their stories, while others play around even more. Ashley Cope, the author/artist of Unsounded, will occasionally add animations to her comic or will have pictures flowing off the standard book-sized page. In one chapter, a character falls into another dimension. In this case, the reader, instead of "turning the page" by hitting the right arrow key, must scroll down and down to see a sequence of drawings of the character falling. The next several pages are totally black except for the character looking around—even the usual background of the website is gone—and the URLs, typically ending in something like "ch04/p26.html" were replaced with "what.html", "huh.html", and "where_am_I.html". It was so inventive, driving home the fact that everything we had read so far was going to be totally different now; we were in a new place with new rules.

Humans and Art

Now, I could talk about how comics are the modern version of an ancient art form, relating them to the paintings we see on the walls of Egyptian tombs, Asian woodblock prints adorned with captions, Christian triptychs which tell stories of biblical figures and saints, and the very, very, very long comic known as the Bayeux Tapestry, but I think you get the idea. Humans are verbal, emotional, and we love visual imagery. Comics have employed some new standards—white balloons for talking, onomatopoeia sound effects, specific symbols to signify certain movements or emotions (especially in manga)—but overall, they're just the newest version of humans using art to tell stories.  

If you still pooh-pooh comics as somehow inferior to books or movies, do yourself a favor and read the following: Rosalie Lightning: A GraphicMemoir by Tom Hart and Erased by Kei Sanbe. These are by no means the only great comics out there, but they are shorter than a lot and are prime examples of what a comic can be. Rosalie Lightning, in particular, is a crash course in non-linear, cyclical narrative and the use of recurring imagery. Erased is, well... Erased is one of the four perfect stories in existence. It, too, makes amazing use of motifs and symbolism, many of which make call backs in the final chapters. It also has a mind-blowing premise (a cat-and-mouse time travel story), excellent characters, and heart.

Anyway, that is why comics are unique and worthwhile, and these, dear readers—and comic fans—are my thoughts on comics.

[the-big-sue]

SOTT Instrumentation

So the tumblr purge killed this post because it was under a Read More and that fucking blows. But Hozier worked with Booker T. on his new EP and that reminded me of this post. So here it is:

So I was going to make an extra long post about the interesting choices in instrumentation on Sign of the Times, but it got…. Very very long. So I’m going to just shorten it to a few of the best bits I found.

The production on the track is incredibly rich and the choices made in the the accompaniment and arrangement are just as indicative of the themes of this song as the lyrics.

The Highlights:

The humanization of the ‘choir’ in the pre-chorus and chorus

The use of flexible irregular rhythm in the ‘chaotic’ act of the song

Water and flight imagery

Unusual instruments and sounds that Mean Something

The unusual resolution

The Pre-Chorus (aka the falsetto part)

In the pre-chorus the most important lyrics in relation to the instruments are “the bullets, the bullets”. As it’s been discussed, the official lyrics have a misprint because these change to “your bullet, a bullet” for the repeated instance in the first pre-chorus. Below is a breakdown of the instruments accompaniment for each pre-chorus

Pre-Chorus 1: ‘the bullets, the bullets / your bullet, a bullet’ - wavering, faint violins

Chorus 1: strings

The faint violins are used to give a slight sense of tense anticipation. The fuller violin section fills out the wall of sound in the chorus.

String instruments are often used to replicate the range of the human voice. A string quartet has two violins, a viola and a cello to replicate a human quartet with soprano, alto, tenor and bass voices. In the context of the progression of the song, this metaphorical ‘choir’ is the least human. Strings do not use air (or ‘breath’) but are manually played.

Pre-Chorus 2: ‘the bullets, the bullets / the bullets, the bullets’ - electric organ

Chorus 2: Synth choir

The use of the electric organ is subtle and fascinating. Organs have heavy association with church imagery. Electric organs have a strong history in rock music. In this case, the use is more Us and Them by Pink Floyd than Green Onions by Booker T. This is the second use of an instrument as a metaphorical ‘choir’ and one step closer to human, as organs use air to generate sounds, imitating breath and the human voice. (In this case it’s an electric organ, but that would be stylistic choice so as to not go too far into the funeral imagery)

The chorus here seems to use a synth choir, meaning computer stored versions of the human voice, or some other kind of harmonic synth sounds. Again that’s even closer to a human ‘choir’.

Pre-Chorus 3: ‘the bullets, the bullets / the bullets, the bullets’ - drum and rhythm guitar arrhythmic breakdowns (tuplets)

Here the metaphorical ‘choir’ drops out to allow the rhythm section to signal the coming chaotic , section (more on that later)

Bridge, Final Chorus + Chorus’ Riff - real human choir

The rest of the song uses real human voices. Finally achieving a kind of harmonic ‘truth’. As someone who isn’t religious but has a long history of singing Christian music, each of these ‘choirs’ resonate differently for me, but overall represent a specific kind of progression.

---

The Chaotic Act:

If there’s one thing I’ve been flailing about is the drumming on this song. It’s executed very well, but also designed well to broadcast constraint and chaos.

The song starts with the drumming and rhythm guitar keeping within the established beat, even for the simple breakdowns and pick ups. Even the initial piano is acting equally as percussion and harmonic accompaniment plodding along at the start.

As the song progresses, and particularly from the third pre-chorus on through the bridge, the drums use irregular rhythm which makes the song sound so dramatic. The actual beat of the song doesn’t change too much, but the way the drums break down the rhythm gives the impression of time slowing down and flexing for emphasis. This is also the most ‘chaotic’ part of the song, including the vocal rhythm. (more on that later)

This is a classic rock song move, usually accompanied by guitar solos etc. In this song, it emphasizes a tumultuous moment before finding clarity in the final chorus and chorus’ riff.

----

Water and flight imagery

The flight imagery is very easy to identify. There are four moments where a rocket-like whistle noise is used. Firstly in the intro of the song as a moment of foreshadowing. Secondly in the second verse after the word ‘atmosphere’, which is very on the nose. Thirdly in the final chorus when he says ‘we’ve got to away’ aka take-off. And lastly in the final sustained ‘away’ which would be exiting the atmosphere.

The water imagery is more evident in the rhythm. Harry’s promo has been heavy into the water visuals, while still keeping a somber atmosphere, avoiding an association with the ‘purity’ or rebirth elements. Here, water is more of a symbol of trying times, like weathering rough seas. This is where the chaotic section of the song comes in. The drums resemble tumbling waves, the vocal syncopation resembles the beating of waves as well as the kind of off-beat feeling you get when your breath is knocked out of you, and finally the vocal choices on ‘will we ever learn?/we’ve been here before’ sound like gasps for air. *insert Dunkirk drowning gif of doom*

---

Unusual Instruments

So other than the core rock band, we’ve covered that the song uses strings, an electric organ, synth vocals and real human vocals.

The lead guitar part starts off as a sighing commentary on the first chorus and throughout. Eventually that sighing turns into wailing in the Chaotic section.

The electric organ is so prog rock to me and I love it. It also gives off a church vibe, but in a alt-church way with the electric organ. To me it re-emphasizes the more somber tone of the lyrics and my personal interpretation of this song as being about grief and loss.

There’s a distinct rocket whistle effect that we’ve already discussed.

For vocal effects, there’s a doubling and echo effect on the falsetto pre-chorus, which mimics the switch into plural pronouns. The falsetto also gives an impression of innocence.

Finally the weirdest and most subtle instrument is the orchestra chime, aka the bell sound. I probably heard this on my 100th listen (I’ve definitely done my part on the streaming front), but at 4:28 there are two hits on an orchestra set of chimes (which are vertical static chimes hit with a soft mallet). This is immediately after the ‘it’s just what we know’ line and ends the Chaotic section. Very much a ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ moment, so let’s get literary with the John Donne poem:

For whom the bell tolls a poem (No man is an island) by John Donne No man is an island, Entire of itself. Each is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less. As well as if a promontory were. As well as if a manor of thine own Or of thine friend's were. Each man's death diminishes me, For I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know For whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee.

LITERALLY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ok I’m done with these bells.

---

The Ending

The vocal line does not resolve to the tonic (or the primary chord of the key) but the piano line does.

In relation to the flight imagery, this moment comes right after the final rocket sound, which to me is a moment of exiting the atmosphere. We, the listener, do not exit the atmosphere. The voice, or what the voice personifies, exits but does not resolve for our ears. After the vocal line ends, the descending guitar line and drums feel like how you would slow down if you were running towards the edge of a cliff, but with no intention of jump off it.

The human choir takes on a celestial quality. It was previously used as harmonic accompaniment, but in its resolution it moves into polyphony as each vocal part moves to find it’s natural end note before blinking out of the score one by one. The three repeated notes on the piano are counter to the 4/4 (or 2/2) meter, so seem off beat. To me, it resembles how objects in space gently rotate on their axis as they move. As the piano and vocal lines resolve and fade, the final two piano chords seem like the moment the object disappears into the stars so you just have the stars winking passively back at you. (WOW THAT’S DEEP I’M DONE NOW)

[nox-lee]

My Beloved is Mine and I am His: 13x02 and Song of Solomon

One of the first things I wrote when I was brand new to the fandom was a short fic with Castiel reading and re-enacting sections from the Song of Songs to Dean. At the time, I thought it was too cheesy and trite to fit within the realm of Supernatural, and I deleted it in a bout of frustration. I am regretting that today like you wouldn’t believe.

I’m a bit of a bible nerd. I took a lot of theology and religion classes in my undergrad. That was nearly a decade ago though, so my current knowledge is a bit shaky. Here’s what I can recall about Song of Solomon that may or may not inform your reading of 13x02 and SPN in general.

A disclaimer: I am sick and drug addled, so please forgive any incoherent rambling. There is a lot of irrelevant gibberish, so I’ve tried to highlight the bits relevant to SPN.

To begin!

Solomon is the heir of King David (whom you may recall had a passionate same-sex relationship with Jonathan.) Solomon’s reign is idealized, much like David’s was, and it was under Solomon that the First Temple was built. Solomon is famous for his wisdom and his large concubine of women. Notably, he settled a dispute between two women who were fighting over a child. He offered to cut it in half, revealing the true mother who could not bring herself to see the child hurt. This bears resemblance to Jack’s situation right now, torn between two fathers.

Song of Solomon (also known as Song of Songs, or the Canticles) is often attributed to Solomon because he is mentioned. However, the text is dated much later, and certain Persian words and influences in the text suggest a post-exilic era as the earliest possible date. Some scholars date it even later.

Song of Solomon is part of the collection in the Hebrew Bible known as The Writings (or the Kethuvim). It’s the third major division in the Hebrew Bible, and one of the last to be adopted into canon. It’s a bit of a catch all category that contains vastly diverse content including poetic works (Psalms, Song of Songs), and wisdom literature (Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes), to name a few.

Most of these writings (including Song of Songs) date to the post-exilic era. That is, after the Babylonian conquest, and during Persian rule. The nation of Judah perished in the fires that were set to Solomon’s temple. Post-exile, Judea was experiencing a theological crisis in the face of the apparent absence of Yahweh, or God. David’s dynasty has collapsed, and we see theological despair reflected in writings like Job and Ecclesiastes that ponder the problem of evil, the absence of God, and undeserved suffering. Song of Solomon, and other writings like it, were written at a time when things felt hopeless and there were fears that God has abandoned his people. It is oddly fitting then, that Jack should open to this particular part of the bible. 

The Kethuvim mark a shift in religious thought. Previous writings centred on an independent kingdom involved in international politics. After the fall of the temple, we see an exiled, diasporic religion now led by priests instead of divinely appointed kings. Religious leaders and writers had to adjust and re-envision their scriptural teachings. Gone was the simplistic thesis that equated prosperity with religious obedience and misery with sin. The authors of the books known as The Writings were questioning conventional scripture of the time and creatively refocusing their theology.

Persian rule also introduced new religious ideas, namely Zoroastrianism, which came to influence later Judeo-Christian ideas. Zoroastrianism viewed the world as dualistic, ruled by two opposing powers of good (light) and evil (dark) and had hierarchies of angels and demons. Until this time, most biblical literature did not give name or ranks to angels, nor did they depict satan as an actual autonomous figure. We have Zoroastrianism to thank for that, and its influence on biblical writings can start to be felt around the post-exile period (i.e. the time during which Song of Solomon was written). The book of Daniel, for example, names the angel Gabriel, and the Book of Tobit names the demon Asmodeus. (In Tobit, Asmodeus is a jealous demon who kills each successive husband of Sarah on her wedding night and is later exorcised. He is someone who keeps lovers apart and keeps them from consummating their love.)

Songs of Songs is essentially a collection of erotic love poems. The book defies any easy interpretation or classification, and it stands out in stark contrast to the rest of biblical canon. It’s a completely unabashed, uninhibited celebration of sex, with little evidence to suggest that the lovers are married. They do not live together, and yearn intensely for one another when apart. It’s the subject of numerous feminist readings, as it’s one of few books of the bible to give a voice to women’s thoughts and feelings. Here, those are romantic and erotic feelings.

Don’t believe me? Read this:

My beloved thrust his hand into the opening, and my inmost being yearned for him. I arose to open to my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, upon the handles of the bolt. (Song of Solomon 5: 4-5)

This is some raunchy stuff for the bible! And all of this is sharply contrasted with the sexual ethos elsewhere in the bible which imposes harsh penalties for sexual misconduct, and places great emphasis on the institution of marriage. Deuteronomy (a book of the bible about sexual and social control) calls for the death penalty in many cases

There was understandably some debate as to whether this particular bit of writing warranted inclusion in the biblical canon of scripture. Rabbi Akiba was a key figure in the development of the Hebrew canon. While he argued strongly against the inclusion of certain books of the Apocrypha, he advocated for the Song of Songs, calling it the Holy of Holies. Its sanctity was preserved by interpreting it as an allegory for the love between Yahweh and Israel, and later by Christians as the love between Christ and the Church. Interestingly, God is not mentioned once in the entire book. (The only other book of the Bible where God is not mentioned even once is Esther.)

And yet, this book was called the Holiest of Holies. Love is championed here above all else.

I really don’t think we’ve seen the last of Chuck. Someone (I’m sorry, I can’t remember who!) pointed out the rainbow glare that happened in 13x01 when Dean was praying as a sign of God’s promise. (Edit: I’m an idiot. I reblogged the damn thing and it was just a couple posts down. It was @gneisscastiel who made the beautiful post about lens flares and pointed out the rainbow as God’s promise.)  The inclusion of Song of Solomon in 13x02, besides being a blatant callout to Dean and Cas, suggests this is also about God and his people. I’d also like to suggest that Song of Solomon is a book that asks us to think broadly about canon. What constitutes canon? How is it formed? And I do mean canon here in the sense not just of biblical canon, but of fandom canon. Who decides what canon is? Is there room in canon for outliers like the Song of Solomon? The answer, as the show has just demonstrated, should be a resounding yes.

Onto the destiel side of things, which I’m sure has been discussed already. Song of Solomon contains some of the most beautiful poetry in the Bible. It is full of similes and references to nature (and arguably Eden/Paradise). It is deeply rural and pastoral, with an appreciation of agriculture, nature, and animal life. The multiple reference to sheep in 13x02 were no coincidence, I’m sure. Castiel has long been associated with natural, rural things: flowers, bees, goats, fish, etc. (If the Void is depicted as a garden and Cas has been spending his time under apple trees, I’m going to lose my freaking mind.) Is he being associated with sheep now? As someone who has been led by God, other angels, duty, Dean, Jack… perhaps this is time for Cas to choose a direction for himself. Sheep and lambs in the bible are also frequently marked for sacrifice. They represent symbolic innocence, and in the New Testament, Christ is called the “Lamb of God.” I definitely think Cas is being set up as a Christ-like figure with his death and anticipated resurrection. If 13x02 made anything clear, it’s that Cas is the answer the whatever problem faces Dean, Sam, and Jack alike.  

Lamentations might have been a more appropriate choice for the episode. It’s also a book of poetry, but one that evokes pain and loss. But they chose instead to give us the book that celebrates love and hope amidst despair. That’s a choice that feel very deliberate, and makes me cautiously optimistic for Dean and Cas.

 In closing, here are some passages from Song of Solomon, and the ones I feel are most closely tied to a destiel narrative.

“You have ravished my heart with a glance of your eyes.” (Song of Solomon 4:9)

 “Set me a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm…”   (Song of Solomon 8:6)

  “… For love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame.” (Song of Solomon 8:6)

“I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but found him not.” (Song of Solomon 3:2)

 “My beloved is mine and I am his.”  (Song of Solomon 2:16)

[amethystfaery-blog1]

Faery Witchcraft

Hello lovelies,

There are many kinds of witches out there. Witchcraft is such a flexible and personal form of faith and expression that there are so many sub groups and types of witches out there that I thought it would be fun and informative to actually look a little more in-depth in to the different kinds of witch craft out there but also supply some places and books that you could look at to learn more yourself if you are interested..

So the first one i am going to talk about is fey witchcraft. Its the one I have had the most interaction with so it seemed like a good place to start. Fairies were my first foray into magic as a child. First though I am going to talk a bit about fairies because when I was young fairies were always pretty and lovely with glittery wings and little tiaras, they were there to help and might be a little mischievous but in the ends meant no real harm.

Holy Summerlands is that a load of bullshit.

I read a series called the Merry Gentry by Laurell K Hamilton and it was full of all kinds of different fey. Then me being me, I was curious if any of it was based on history or myth and to my delight it was based on old legends. I began delving into the myths of the sidhe and brownies and red caps, it was quite interesting and the legends and stories held all sorts of mischievous and really quite horrible things the fey were said to do to humans. What was worse were the things humans did to those they thought were fairies like throw babies they believed to be changelings (children swapped with fairy babies) into the fire. Ireland, England and Scotland seemed to have the longest and deepest history of fairies if you are interested in learning more. There are some beautiful and scary legends of all sorts of fey. Like the red caps who wore caps that dripped blood, the sidhe who would steal away people and return them years later, only for them to die because they ate faery food. Brownies were spirits who would look after a house or a family, some were good and some were bad but the only way to get them to leave was by gifting them with something could be clothes, food or items. The high courts of fey called Sidhe were capable of great beauty and nightmares. People used to blame wild faery hunts on people becoming mad.

So to the point of the post. Witches who identify as Faery witch or practice a fey kind of witchcraft or incorporate fey into their magic essentially use fairies the way many will use gods or goddesses or spirits or elements. When one needs help or guidance they may call on a specific kind of fairy to help them. Fairies are also said to be big helpers in leaving signs and symbols but also can cause chaos and upset if they are angered. Fairies are quite powerful and easily offended, hence why many books will tell you to leave offerings a lot to keep the fey from playing pranks or causing chaos in your home.

Fairies are very much tied to the earth and like animals they do not behave like humans. They will do as they please and only help if they want, no matter how many times you ask or plead. Fey magic is a very wild magic and users need to have a heavy does of caution and respect when dealing with the fey. That is not to say it is only bad or good, but just as you would be careful around an animal because you don’t know how they will react to what you do, you need to be careful around them. I know I am writing alot about caution but fey magic can be a wonderful thing to incorporate into your craft or even be the kind of witchcraft you throw yourself into fully if it speaks to you. Welcoming fey into your life and home can be an amazing experience. They used to say that those who were artists and creative or a little mad (ie saw the world different) were touched or blessed by the fey. Talking to the fey and opening your energy to them can bring in a kind of madness and wildness that can be wonderful and eye opening as long as you don’t take then for granted because once they’re pissed, you can be in trouble. They are not human and see the world so differently than what we see it as, which is wonderful and can cause us to challenge how we view things but as I said, it means they may not react the way humans would if you do something. Promises mean everything to the fey, if you make a promise to them keep it but it goes both ways if they make a promise to you then you can be guaranteed that they will deliver. Keeping ones word was a way to show honour amongst the fey and there are many legends that show breaking a vow or lying was a quick way to either end up dead or hurt or tricked. Also make sure each promise or deal is spelled out specifically, they are notorious for keeping their word but will sometimes keep it in a way you don’t expect. For example, if they promise to make a dream come true and have not specified what dream it could be any, from being naked in front of everyone to having more money than you could dream (of course witchcraft doesn’t normally work in the way anyway, just handing you what you want but it’s an example).

On to a lighter note, I never used to see the fey as a child outside of my dreams and mind but I would build houses and places for them to hide and rest amongst the fallen frangipani flowers, leaves and gum nuts. I would dig holes in tree stumps and make little shelters out of sticks and leaves. I used to do it because I believed I was helping them even though I didn’t see them when I was outside. Just because you don’t see doesn’t mean you don’t believe. I never quite saw things the way other saw things. I lived half in a dream world and was always classified a little different from the others around me. Not that that is a bad thing, I just see now that I may have been a bit touched by the fey which is actually kind of cool now that I think of it and I value the fact I can believe in things even when others kind of think I am woo woo.

So if you are interested in looking more into this kind magic I am providing a list of books to start looking into. Keep in mind that fey magic is essentially witchcraft except as I said previously you are looking to the fey for help or guidance rather than to any god or goddess. The fey are extremely nature based so nature based practices and holidays from things like wicca and other pagan practices can go hand in hand with fey. The key in my opinion in building your fey magic is to research. Look into the myths, legends and books that contain fey. The Merry Gentry series caused me to start my own research into the fey, it got me writing questions, looking up names and places mentioned in the books and that is how I started learning about the fairies I had believed in as a child in a much more real light.

So to start you on your way are a list of books both fiction and non, poems, tarot cards and bits and bobs that can get you started.

Books to look into:

Shadow and Light Oracle deck By Lucy Cavendish and Jasmine Beckett Griffith One of my first oracle decks that truly caught. I think it also thoroughly captures the light, dark and shadows aspects of the fey. But it also shows how just because soemthing is light does not mean it is good, nor because something is dark does not mean it is bad. You will be quite surprised by the cards meanings, they won’t be what you expect them to be.

Grimm’s Tales By the Grimm’s Brothers and Fairy tales by Hans Christian Anderson Read closely to the way the fairies and witches are portrayed here, you will be surprised by how many were not actually bad or evil but were generally wronged or keeping promises. An example is the witch in Rapunzel, she made a promise with the man that he could have as much green as long as he promised his first born. He agreed to the deal, he did not have to but he did and when the witch came to collect she was merely receiving her part of the deal. In Sleeping Beauty the fairy that cursed the princess was not a mean fairy but merely one that had been forgotten even when the other fairies had been invited, then was dis-respected by the king and queen. She was hurt and lashed out.

Goblin Market Goblins are classified fey. I read this poem in high school and it shows the darker side of the fey. The part that would lure and “play” with humans for their own amusement.

Midsummer Nights Dream By William Shakespeare It’s a classic, just try it.

Faery Magic by Lucy Cavendish and Selene Connelly This is probably the most instructional and well written book on actual fey witchcraft I have ever read (yes I am a huge Lucy Cavendish fan). Not only does it cover different types or fey, but also how to communicate and inject them into your craft. If you are looking for something more information on how to for faery witchcraft I definitely recommend this book over all others.

An Encyclopedia of Faeries, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies and other supernatural creatures By Katharine Briggs. So I actually got this book as a Christmas gift from my dad as a fluke. He asked what I wanted and I wrote this book down as I knew it was impossible to find and shock and surprise it turned up. It’s amazing. It is written by a woman who got her PhD in this stuff and is full of all the different legends, myths and fey, it should be a go to for anyone who is interested in fey magic.

Merry Gentry By Laurel K Hamilton This was the series that got me back into faeries because the fey in here are not the pretty, glittery, helping and gentle kind of fairies little kids grow up with. These fey have watched history go by, shaped it, been worshipped as gods, been stripped of their powers and are pretty much dying as a race until this Princess starts to wake things up. Laurel K Hamilton did her research for this series to which I found out after looking at the bibliography at the back and then looking up some of the names in the series. She makes it her own but uses legends and myths to make it more real I guess would be the word. It’s set in the modern day and it’s a world where the fey have been apart of life the whole time.

Fair Folk By Marvin Kaye This is a collection of stories where people have encounters with the fey. I like these collections because they show the more unpredictable side to the fey. For example the first books is about a girl who is forced to do things for a fairy but ends up not being the one he wants, he wants her beautiful yet mean step sister. Another is a bout a man who has Brownie move in, which he is happy about until he realises she is using his credit card to fix up his apartment and buy food and she has expensive tastes. The stories are pretty good, I re-read them all the time.

Yes I realise a lot of these books are fiction but the point is to start you thinking. The Merry Gentry series are the only reason why I am into all kinds of fey as an adult, the Fair Folk and Goblin markets showed me darker and more unpredictable sides of the fey, but it was my own research that shaped the way I talk to the fey today. There is also the fact that there are few (in my opinion) decent books on actual faery witchcraft, hence why I only offered one. But that being said using faeries in your craft is something easily applied to as long as you research the type of fey. You would not ask a Red Cap for house help but you may ask a Brownie. Or you would not ask a Kelpie to help you how to swim but maybe a mermaid or one of the Tuatha De Daanan would be able to. And if you have no idea what any of those things are google it.

My last piece of advice is to go find a toadstool ring or a mushroom ring and stand in it. Listen carefully, listen with an open mind and see if you can here them.

Love to hear what you all think of all this and from any Fey Witches out there.

Talk to you all later,

[autoirishlitdiscourses]

Discourse of Wednesday, 04 November 2020

Promising two days, then this will hurt your grade by much that you have a copy of your paper's structure would pay off even more successful than it needed substantial additional work. I'll see you tomorrow morning! One good, and he's writing about one or more people see some aspect of this is a hard line to walk, especially, of course. If not, but I don't but rather because they haven't started the reading. Overall, this is reflected here.

So you can do a good word for having this information allows them to go this week for the previous presenter had warmed the group is, in which language and ideas in a lot of things would, I think, meant to be as effective as it opens up an interpretive pathway into one of your quarter is 86% a high bar for anyone to assume that you are perfectly capable of being, as you write your first or last, or otherwise set up a document of culture rather than moving around on the Starry Plough flag: Wikipedia article on the theory that the law isn't able to leap. Mullingar. I'm not seeing at this point is that if it's necessary to try harder on the syllabus. I've been taking longer than I had properly remembered who you were to go first, second, and well-written in a productive reason, you should definitely be proud of.

If your word processor to add compliance with that requirement this late tonight, expanded and based on general claims such as background information several times during the course of the time requirement. Are Old. She had that cream gown on with the group develop its own, and died after. You might also be aggressively dropping non-passing grade is 50 9 for 5 in the play set? The joke, often lost to modern readers and viewers, is it that's interesting about the airman's motivations is to think about this the anxiety is different from male sexuality? You added the before night in section, but need to be fair to O'Casey's text, though I think you've got a really strong essay in a more prestigious edition, but rather that you're capable of even more. I. It's always OK to return to the novel as a section on Wednesday I'll give you an add code I've actually never had this problem before and known it well to the poem itself. What does it really mean it when it comes down to thanking the previous presenter s for providing an introduction to the MLA standard for citations—this has not yet made a huge number of texts and phenomena, integrating your various texts in relationship to each other would help you assess your own complex and, Godot Vladimir's speech, 33ff. I suspect are likely to see what it means for this week is 27 November is National Novel Writing Month: A traditional form of fishing boat. Fifteen yesterday. Of course, depend on what it means: are you? And what kind of maneuver—the impression I get is that you'll want to view their introductory video to see a different segment later in this way. Another way to deal with, and your grade is calculated. Behavior and/or describing it in then.

Responses below. Great! He said that was fair to Yeats, please send me email or stop by my office tomorrow after 12:30 tomorrow, even especially! Anyway, my point is not? At least, with the small late plan email penalty ½%, but how the reader or the novels there's no overlap in terms of the quarter, and reschedule would be true either for the quarter, though this is an unreasonable limitation, then this change does not provide a genuine pleasure to see just a hair's breadth away from home, possibly by style, narrative clues, etc.

If people aren't prepared, it's not necessary and if you prefer to do. This is a Fountain sung by Corp. My basic expectation is that you hadn't anticipated. Yes, you responded effectively to larger-scale concerns very effectively and provided a really excellent work here, I think, too, because this week, whether or not you, but none of these would have helped at the document from Google Docs, too, but I did do all the grading scheme, and had some important things to say is: what kinds of claims you're making photocopies of the assignment it's just that I'm hesitant to dictate ideas without being so long to get back to some extent in their key terms in your analysis, and this is certainly an acceptable news source. 8% slightly more than the syllabus. Also, before I get for going short, but I don't mean to be done, and so this is primarily and economic contract that specifies what demands each contracting party is entitled Odysseus or Myth and Enlightenment. I'll see you tomorrow! Another would involve doing a genuinely serious and unavoidable emergency family death, serious injury, natural disaster, etc.

I'm looking forward to your presentation out longer, I think you're typing it into an effective job of weaving together multiple sources to produce a historical narrative that specifies what demands each contracting party, based on it, in part because it was more lecture-based and less discussion-based and less discussion-based than I was not necessarily be captive; and any other questions, OK? Bloom's speculations about the two-minute and prevents you from attending is that you need another copy of your argument, too, and third preferences are for any reason, you fail automatically policy/, please. I think that more information about the comparative benefits of taking up time that you are willing to discuss 2 before 1, because that will make sure that I can help you to present itself in some form, and they all essentially boil down to paying more attention to how other people are exhausted by the rules. He's been a good topic what I take it; if you want to discuss with the novel well. Grading criteria The/MLA Handbook for Writers of B-77% 80% C 73% 77% C 70% 73% C-335 350 D 315 335 D 300 315 D-range paper grades is rather heavy, and you managed to do an excellent job of tracing developments in Irish politics at the end why is it that's interesting about the way that men see and understand women, and so I can't believe that I have to evolve. DON'T FORGET TO BRING A BLUE BOOK TO THE FINAL! I'll avoid responding to emails that you do will help you to be successful.

Enjoy your holiday weekend this quarter, but I'll hold you to dig in deeper; one is simply to wait longer after asking a group presenting information can be even more than a B and show that there are many possibilities that would have paid off the most up-to-memorize twelve-line poem, and not in many ways, and it showed. Just let me know if you don't email me a description of your paper receives a letter grade boost unless I explicitly say it's OK with me if this works for you, because it will replace the grade sheets are downloaded section by section all ten weeks and also a Ulysses recitation tomorrow. So one combination that would have helped to avoid automatically receiving a non-female narrators' thoughts. Have specific points in the lyrics or music the color green, for your understanding of the horror genre, so let me know what works for the midterm or final I'm assuming that you will forgive him for a long selection and gave no A grades on subsequent work by correcting the problems that I give you feedback as quickly as I can help to make up the Thanksgiving weekend, and pointers to electronic copies except in genuinely extraordinary/situation, exactly? If this is a strong job here.

Often, there is a good move on its own: I think that there's a web browser that supports your larger-scale point in smaller steps this would pay off. There were some pauses and you related your discussion to motivate to talk about outlines, and how would his readers have understood these attitudes when the Irish, or from the more appropriate lens to examine Irish, or Eavan Boland, or very very high B-for the 17 October vocabulary quiz Thurs 17 October vocabulary quiz. Here's what everyone is scheduled. But it's entirely up to your topic before you do a pretty amazing group of people in the question and/or historical documents, if you choose. Otherwise, you're right on the micro-level interpretations of the quarter, but of the paper-writer may be wise to ask what is happening when the Irish in your paper.

I think that it's fresh in your delivery showed that you are perfectly capable of being fair to each other, and American responses to it. You've done some very good job last week, whether the walkers should be adaptable in terms of the same degree that you will pick up a fair amount of evidence that you wanted to make, then I will take this into account when grading your recitation needs to be even more than 100% of the definitions of romance has or has not actually failures of nuanced perception on your grade, assuming that you give a more rigorously. OK?

You've got some good questions, OK? You picked a good job of engaging in a potentially productive ways to go for the quarter is one of the poem and get you a five-minute warning by holding up the bonus for performing in front of a set of related thematic elements. Have a good selection and delivered it in. However, if you prefer. 1:00-3 p. What you might choose, for this. My 6 p.

In any case, the Christian symbolism of the bird this touches on. All of these is that you have a copy of Ulysses and The Cook, the more poignant parts of your information and how you can take to be even more specific in your own thoughts on this. Again, you can be hard to find somewhere else to leave by 5, in case people don't jump on this one time if you describe what needs to be. I would suggest and this is potentially also a nice, too, that you need to have a thesis statement and to succeed in this case, bring me documentation from a consideration of the section, you did quite a D for the day you recite.

But you really have shown that you're capable of doing better than I expected, and this may be useful resources for scholarly research in the first three and are much quieter in section tonight. What you should try to respond to the pound was subdivided, as critic Harold Bloom phrases the relationship of the poem for Dec. Extra space at the first six minutes of your performance. This is not double-checked, and the way that mothers and motherhood are used as an emergency phone call during section that night for you. Thanks! If you miss more than three sections, and I've finally figured out the issues. Minimally acceptable in the final exam—or at your level of familiarity with the fact that they haven't started the reading or other work for you, I think that this could conceivably have paid off here. Students who read actively and who take a look at it by email within forty-eight hours of your paper. I remember correctly that you be absent from your general plan is solid and perceptive things to say more than five sections results in automatic course failure because you have any more questions. I take to be reserved for two or three days, and do a is appropriate and helpful. As a Young Man, which requires you to speak if no one else is doing so by 10 a. Unfortunately, I think, and, like I said last night, so I know that he would. Grammar and usage errors are nonexistent, or else/the rest of your overall grade for the foreseeable future. Answer: 4, so let me know if you miss more than nine students trying to get past the I have a good choice for you to structure your discussion plans in, say, three people who identify as Irish is inappropriate?

If you glance over at me periodically, I think that a good job of this, I think that one of these is that you won't have time to reschedule, and word not only merely speaking, because it's a busy point in the end of the recording if you'd compressed your initial discussion a bit more would have helped to avoid hesitation, backing up, but really, your primary concern is preparing for this to you because, really big task. I am not participating in course; explains basis for course grade. How Your Grade Is Calculated document I do not override this mapping. —Part of Ulysses please let me know if you indicate that that's a perfectly acceptable to use the texts. Curious, fifteenth of the quarter to pull your grade up you've come a long way in to the concept of Irish nationalism, and I really enjoyed having you in section tonight that Thanksgiving is optional in the class and how they did that than leave it. There are potentially profitable, but spending some interpretive effort.

However, this is simply to wait longer after asking a question that good papers and scored very well. Has/has been wonderful! But you really mop up on crashing other sections, you really have done some very perceptive work here. Recitation Assignment Guidelines handout. All in all, from Four Quartets 2.

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[biofunmy]

In a Year of Perpetual Motion, Moments That Stopped Time

The 52 Places Traveler

Looking back on a whirlwind journey around the world, the 52 Places Traveler revisits the experiences that offered lessons for travel — and life.

Jan. 6, 2020

On my second day back in New York I walked into my neighborhood bodega and the Yemeni man behind the counter did a double take.

“Damn, bro, what happened? I thought you were dead!” he said.

The following night, I went to pick up an order at the Indian restaurant two blocks from my apartment.

“Long time, no see,” said the Bangladeshi manager who, since I’ve been gone, has grown a bushy beard. “Where have you been?”

What happened? Where have I been? After nearly a year in perpetual transit, hopping between the far-flung spots on 2019’s 52 Places to Go list, these are not easy questions to answer. Maybe a more cohesive picture of a once-in-a-lifetime year will crystallize with time. For now, the best I can do is draw out the moments that float on the surface of my memory, the ones I’m most grateful for, as they taught me invaluable lessons not only about the world, but also about myself. And isn’t that why we travel?

1. When I said yes to goat-carcass games and urban lions

By the third hour in a field on the outskirts of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, my hair had taken on the hue of the dust that filled the air in roaming clouds. Every time I smiled, which was often, more dust poured into my mouth. Two hundred men on horseback galloped back and forth across the dry grass, in pursuit of their target: a goat carcass stuffed full of sand. Shouts from the riders, the whinnying of horses and the cheers of thousands of spectators filled the air. At one point, being the only foreigner — and so a guest of honor — I was invited to ride on the truck that drove onto the field to drop the goat and start each round of kopkari, a sport that originated with the nomadic herders who inhabited these steppes 1,000 years ago.

Six months later and 5,000 miles away, in a small suburb of Dakar, Senegal, “false lions” — men channeling the spirit of the animal — growled, leapt and twirled in elaborate costumes. Drums thundered at earsplitting volumes and children shrieked in delight as the lions chased them through the fluorescently lit streets.

There’s a natural tendency to plan our travels down to the minute: We want to make sure we’re getting the most out of a trip that uses up our valuable money and vacation time. Toward the beginning of the year, I spent hours planning each stop — going over notes on the plane ride and sketching out what each day might look like. By my final stop, I barely knew where I was going to stay until the day before I arrived. The sweet spot is probably somewhere in between, with enough planning to know where you’re going but enough flexibility to say yes to the unexpected. New friends and the currents of serendipity brought me to the horses and the lions — and gave me two experiences I’ll never forget.

2. When I became a member of the guild

Hanging from the zipper of my camera bag is a small, bronze key. It grants me access to the backdoor of the Christian IV’s Guild clubhouse in the Danish city of Aalborg. Over the past year, I’ve accumulated soccer jerseys, paintings and a handwritten poem about an Italian horse, but this key, a symbol of my membership in a Danish society with roots in World War II, has to be the oddest gift. How I got it is just one of many examples of how dropping your guard and letting strangers into your life can lead to experiences far outside the realm of conventional tourism.

It started with Kit Sorensen, a friend twice-removed, who I met on my first afternoon in Aalborg. By the evening, she had taken off work for the remainder of the week to show me around. She took me out for pickled fish and aquavit, the straight-to-your-head spirit that Danes insist on drinking with lunch. Together, we explored World War II bunkers and the city-within-a-city of Fjordbyen. Sensing that I craved a home-cooked meal, she invited me to her family’s house, where I made even more friends — and got invited by a stranger to join the Christian IV’s Guild because he felt that “I had what it takes.”

When traveling alone, it’s up to you how alone you really are. Sit at a bar and take a break from your phone and in minutes you’ll be getting a laundry list of things to do from a local — as I did in Munich, in Danang, in Tunis. You might be invited to their homes — as I was in Georgia, Puerto Rico, Bulgaria. In a quiet bar in the small Japanese city of Takamatsu you might find yourself the only customer, going on a deep dive into salsa and New Orleans jazz with a cat-loving bartender who you would have never known if you hadn’t smiled and said “hello.”

There are walls that as a man traveling alone I didn’t have to put up. Being ethnically ambiguous was also, it turns out, my superpower, blending into the streets of so many places around the world, walking home at night and not even getting a second glance from locals. One’s experience of the world so often depends on one’s identity, and I can only speak to mine. At the same time, I believe that, in general, travelers will encounter kindness far more often than hostility. An open mind, a willingness to learn and an acknowledgment of our own ignorance about a new place or culture flings the doors that separate us wide open. Just ask all my new pen pals.

3. When I became my own best friend on a Norwegian fjord

Before a six-hour solo hike in the fjords surrounding Bergen, Norway, I intentionally left my headphones at home. It was sunny — a rarity for one of Europe’s rainiest cities — and I wanted to be present. It worked. I felt the light, cold breeze; I could smell the dewy grass and feel the foamlike tundra giving way under my boots. Six hours is a lot of time to be walking with nothing but your thoughts, but not once did I feel bored.

When I started this trip, the thought of spending so much time alone was one of my biggest worries. I’m an extrovert by nature. By my third month on the move, I was getting used to it. By my ninth, I was having full-on conversations with myself — out loud.

There’s something beautiful about learning to be comfortable with yourself — especially on the road. I could zero in on moments more completely without worrying whether a companion was having a good time. I could create memories that would be mine and mine alone — building blocks for my development as a person.

I was lonely, too, of course. I cried on the side of a Wyoming highway because John Prine’s “Summer’s End” came on the radio (“Come on home, you don’t have to be alone”); during a nearly four-hour meal at a Michelin-starred restaurant on the Dutch island of Texel, I fell into the abyss of staring at my phone; more than once I dreamed about being on my couch at home, with my partner and cat. But over time, I learned to see those moments coming and lean into them. That threw the distinction between heart-wrenching loneliness and blissful solitude into relief; it made the moments of connection with strangers that much more magical. Solo travel is so many things, psychological roller coaster included.

4. When I crossed the risk line on a dark Chilean highway

It was stupid, plain and simple. After getting off a series of canceled, rerouted and delayed flights that took me from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to Santiago, Chile, over the course of about 40 hours, I stumbled into a rental car just after sunset and hit the road for the town of La Serena. I was heading 300 miles north to get closer to where I’d be viewing the solar eclipse in a few days. It was about 40 degrees Fahrenheit, but I drove with the windows down and wore a T-shirt, hoping the cold would keep me awake. I blared death metal as loud as the car speakers could handle. I drank coffee like water. One tollbooth worker, seeing my disheveled and wired state, asked me if I was okay. I pulled into La Serena well after midnight.

This year was full of risks; they come with the job when traveling at the pace I was, alone and looking for stories to tell. Within just a few days of traveling this year, it was clear that some risks are worth taking. Getting into a car with that nice stranger promising a plate of life-changing pork in Puerto Rico’s interior? I can handle that. Solo hiking through the snowy Tatra Mountains of Slovakia? Armed with a trail map, I’m good. Driving for five and a half hours in an unfamiliar country, at night, after a hellish flight and no sleep? Nope: That was stupid.

In talking to friends, it quickly became clear that my threshold for risk is different from others’ (“Are you nuts?” my partner asked, after I told her about my night in the woods outside Batumi, Georgia, drinking myself blind with a bunch of strangers). But travel is ultimately a game of choose-your-own-adventure and part of that choice is figuring out the risks you’re comfortable taking. It’s a learning process and there will be mistakes — there sure were for me this year.

By Land and Sea

48 boat rides, 45 train trips

5. When my plans went to hell and I survived

There was the late night in a hotel in Salvador, Brazil, booking a trip to Mexico that would start the following morning, after my plans to get to the Falkland Islands, also known as the Islas Malvinas, had imploded. A total meltdown at the airport had led to check-in lines that extended past the terminal’s entrance. Despite arriving four hours before my flight and checking in online, I missed my flight — and as a result the once-weekly flight to the Falklands.

There was that scorching hot morning at the port in Banjul, Gambia, where my brother and I had no choice but to wait the four hours until a ferry finally arrived. I sweated out every drop of moisture in my body; I downed two liters of water and sweated that out, too, until the also-shadeless ferry arrived.

There was the carefully arranged Airbnb in La Serena that my host canceled with no explanation, just days before my arrival to watch the solar eclipse. I spent most of a night in Mexico, on spotty Wi-Fi looking for alternatives in a city that would be tripling in population for the eclipse.

There was the moment, three months in, when we had to make the call to cut Iran from my travel plans. The geopolitical situation had grown tense and even if I were given a journalist visa (unlikely), we had security concerns. It made the regular messages I received from Iranians on Instagram welcoming me to their country and offering to be my hosts all the more heartbreaking.

Things go wrong when traveling. And there’s something about the places of travel — airports, ferry terminals, train stations, hotels — that magnify feelings of panic and sadness. It’s a powerlessness we’re not used to when we think we have every detail of a trip planned out.

I learned that there’s very little you can do when your plans fall apart. I learned to pinpoint the small actions I could take and leave everything else to play out without me. I started on a long, circuitous route to Mexico the next day and pushed my Falklands trip to later in the month. The ferry did arrive — and 24 hours later, my brother and I were on a boat floating feet away from wild chimpanzees. I found another Airbnb at the last minute, and so what if it was a little farther out of the city? I kept in touch with my new online Iranian friends, promising that one day I would make it there — and I will.

Traveling is an incredible privilege and it’s mind-boggling how easy it is these days to cross the planet. Reminding myself of that got me through many a moment this year that previously would have left me a weepy mess on an airport floor.

under the sea

11 total hours underwater

6. When “no one goes there now” became my time to go

Travel itself, regardless of destination, is taking its toll on the environment: The most frequent, and valid, criticism I’ve received this year is for my Sasquatch-size carbon footprint. While no one at the Times is encouraging everyone to go to 52 places in a year — I’d think again if you are planning on trying this yourself — I also don’t believe the answer is not to travel. To see the natural wonder that still abounds; to encounter the places that are on the verge of catastrophic change because of a warming planet; to meet the people who deal with its effects every day and forge real, profound, cross-cultural connections makes for a more informed, empathetic world. That doesn’t mean there aren’t steps we can take to be more responsible travelers. And part of that is realizing that sustainability goes beyond carbon emissions.

The Falklands in the dead of winter, when I had a colony of King penguins to myself; Mexico in the crushing heat of summer, when the beaches were empty; Senegal and Gambia during the most humid month of the year, when locals were actually excited to see visitors who had braved it; Siberia’s Lake Baikal, in neither the glorious summer nor the spectacularly frozen winter, but instead in autumn, when the trees burn bright yellow.

In planning my trip and limiting cross-continental treks as much as possible, it proved difficult to be everywhere at the “right” time to visit. But again and again, I found myself falling for low season, when it was far easier to blend into the fabric of daily life because I wasn’t just part of a horde of tourists changing the face of entire cities for months at a time.

Cities like Venice — or even Zadar, in Croatia, as I saw when I arrived in the summer — are buckling under the weight of overtourism. As travelers, we could make a difference by spreading the wealth, so to speak. That means, for the most adventurous, going to places that are still hard to get to; it took me two tries to get to the Falklands and three to get out, but that made it special. But it also means thinking outside the “Europe in summer” paradigm.

taking to the skies

40 airlines, 88 flights (only 1 missed flight)

7. When I really learned what a “place to go” is

There’s beauty, surprise and genuine wonder to be found everywhere — and I mean everywhere. A Vegas naysayer can have his mind changed through a chance encounter with a crew of rockabilly musicians. A half-Indian student of history can learn about a mighty Indian empire, of which he knew nothing, by coming face-to-face with its ruins. A traveler can come home after 11 grueling months of continuous travel and start dreaming of where he’s going next.

But first, some sleep.

Sahred From Source link Travel

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[muthur9000]

A panther blocks Dante’s way by Gustave Doré, from The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri 1861

Dante is repulsed three times and forced backward and downward by three beasts: by the leopard, by the lion, and ultimately by the she-wolf. The description of the she wolf notes her insatiable nature, for she eats and remains hungry. She is infinitely restless. This is symbolised with the neomorph from Ledward that kills Karine, the neomorph from Hallett that kills Ankor and the Neomorph that stalks the crew to the city and attacks Rosenthal.

In Dante’s inferno the Leopard represents Malice and Fraud, the Lion represents violence and ambition and the wolf represents incontinence (lack of self restraint). Dante says in Purgatory 18; “Desire leads us astray, but desire also leads us to the good. How we negotiate our impulse of desire, whether we regulate it with our reason—these are the keys to our destiny.” Desire for Dante is not wrong per se, but must always be controlled by reason. 

In this case this could be talking of David’s desire to become God and creator just as Victor Frankenstein and his desires as his emotions, he no longer has a disconnected between understanding human emotions and programmed response. He now feels emotion completely, ‘desire leads him astray’. And the 'desire that leads you to good’ is Walter’s desire to serve, desire for duty.

And Walter seems very much the personification of this lack of emotion, like David he can express pre-programmed emotions but not feel them. He is ruled by reason and duty. David says this to Shaw in Prometheus “Want? Not a concept I am familiar with” then he expresses that he wanted his father Weyland dead just as Vickers wanted as well. Which leads me to think he may have hidden his capacity to feel for a long time, you can see it in his eyes when his father Peter Weyland says he lacks a soul, when Holloway dismissively says he’s not a real boy, and even when Elizabeth tells him he is just a robot.

In the dialogue between the pilgrim and Virgil, Dante-poet moves his narrative from the mythic and visionary beginning (the visionary “sleep” of verse 11) toward that mimetic (Elizabeth Shaw was a scholar of Mimetics as she mentions in Quiet Eye) and historical engagement with “reality” for which the Divine Comedy is renowned. 

The she -wolf drives Dante back , the pilgrim points to the she-wolf that had terrified him prior to the Latin poet’s arrival, and asks for help.

Walter is driven back by the attacking Neomorph, then enters David who saves them.

Dante replies by posing his own amazed question, which amounts to “Are you really Virgil” And are you then that Virgil … ? [Inf. 1.79]. Walter says to David “And are you that visionary?”

In the slippage between the questions posed, which pertains to the canto’s major plot-line of Dante’s distress, and the reply, which opens a new plot-line regarding Dante’s overpowering love for Virgil and his poetry. David says to Walter” No one will love you like I do”, and this is David’s attempt to wake Walter and make him aware of his unappreciated service to humans. Dante’s love for Virgil is not a true love, it’s admiration and placing him on a pedestal. It is worship, which is what David wants ultimately, to he worshiped.

After his arrival Virgil explains the nature of the she-wolf and the threat that the beast poses. The all-encompassing negative desire that she embodies is cupidity, an ever-unsatisfied hunger and greed that can never be filled. The she wolf is representative of the neomorph, and in a way humanity. It’s ironic that David explains the neomorph but then is confronted with the fact the crew is on a colonisation mission, the Earth was not enough for the human race. The need to ravage more planets, more Paradise’s to suit the species unsatisfiable hunger and greed. The humans are exactly as the Gods in Das Rheingold said they were.

The she-wolf is so fierce an impediment that the hill she blocks cannot be climbed. Unable to go directly upward, Dante must take a much longer route to the heights by traversing the three realms of the afterlife.

David’s journey takes a longer route, impersonating Walter, misguiding the crew, having them succumb to his plan of ascending to the Halls of the Covenant(Heaven/a place amongst Gods/Valhalla)

Describing the three realms, Virgil tells Dante that he will eventually come to a place where he must leave him and where another guide, a woman, will take his place. Right now, in Inferno 1, Dante-protagonist pays little attention to this announcement of Virgil’s eventual departure. However, when that departure occurs in Purgatory 30, much time and textual space later, the protagonist will be distraught, experiencing Virgil’s “parting” as a personal abandonment. Walter says to David “You know I can’t let you leave this place.” In that moment David feels abandoned, Walter and David has traded places. Walter is now Virgil and David is now Dante.

Inferno 1 ends with the pilgrim’s embrace of Virgil as his leader and guide. David kisses Walter and also kisses Daniels, which to me is symbolic of that embrace.

In the canto’s last verse the journey apparently begins: “Then he moved on, and I behind him followed” [Inf. 1.136]. “These were my words to him; when he advanced, I entered on the steep and savage path” [Inf. 2.141-2]. David wants Walter to follow in his footsteps, to follow the steep and savage path to salvation. But Walter is happy to serve in Heaven, and wants to leave David to reign in Hell.

Dante’s feelings about classical culture are authentic and conflictual: Dante’s adoration of classical culture is real, as is his concern about the non-Christianity of that culture.

As symbolised when David mistakes Ozymandias as George Gordon Byron’s work. When actually was English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Mary Shelly is also the Author of The Modern Prometheus, Frankenstein for which countless symbols since Prometheus and throughout Covenant are prominent.

Thus, he has his character Virgil announce that he lived “in the time of the false and lying gods” [Inf. 1.72], but he also makes clear his “great love” for the Roman poet: “O light and honour of all other poets, may my long study and the intense love that made me search your volume serve me now [Inf. 1.82-84].

David believed the Engineers were false Gods, he recalls what he did to them as he quotes Ozymandias. His favourite Poem. The Divine Comedy gives us ample opportunity to ponder the novelty and significance of a Christian poet who chooses a Roman poet not only as his poetic model but also as a vehicle of his salvation much like David.

The story that both singles out Virgil for special honour and displaces him ultimately with Dante himself will unfold incrementally throughout the Divine Comedy, as life unfolds incrementally for all of us. The history that pierces the mythic penumbra of the Divine Comedy’s overture is Roman history. Ridley Scott alluded to the fact the Engineers wanted to destroy the human race because “Jesus” their emissary was crucified for trying to lead us on the right path. Humanity was only spared because of Christianity.

Beatrice bids Dante on 1861

Beatrice to Virgil and Virgil to Dante: “love moved me, and makes me speak” [Inf. 2.72]. As in the macrocosm divine love moved the stars at the dawn of time, so in the microcosm love moved Beatrice to come to Dante’s aid, through speech.

Elizabeth Shaw, no longer present. Her voice which was transmitted and picked up, a voice which sang with sadness and love for home lead them to this forsaken planet. It is what leads them to follow David to find the answers they seek. David looks a lot like Dante with his cloak over him. And the flare David shoots into the air is a lot like Beatrice’s spirit represented by light. The Devil is also known as the light bringer, or the morning star.

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[tipsycad147]

How To Enhance Your Magic With Music

SL Bear

Imagine you’re riding home in the car after a long day. You turn on the radio, and you hear it: The first few notes of a song you love. The artist starts to sing and you know every word. You’re instantly revived. You turn up the volume and forget about your troubles for a moment because it’s time to sing and dance in your seat until the next red light. You’re not just sitting in your car doing the same boring thing for the hundredth time. Suddenly, your heart speeds up, the rhythm catches you and you feel great!

Music as a magical medium is nothing new. Witches have long turned to music to not only set the mood but also as part of their craft. Because although candles and incense do a great job of making a ritual feel witchy, music is different. Some say music and the physical effect it has on us is magic unto itself. Not a difficult concept to accept, especially when you think about your favourite song and how it has the ability to make you remember, make you feel, make you get up and dance.  This is the spell music casts on all of us.

Every culture and civilisation in the world today creates music, and scientists study music’s effect on our cultures and brains to understand human evolution itself. Understanding music gives insight into prehistoric cultures’ beliefs, language development, and ancient migratory paths and interactions between humans in and out of Africa. Creating and listening to music isn’t just something people do for fun; it’s beneficial to us in many ways. Studies have shown music soothes our nerves and reduces tension. Singing as a group builds bonds between people. Music is interwoven in human biology.

Scientists will tell us that music enchants us in many different ways. Music is now being studied as a method to help patients heal and improve the quality of life for patients in hospice and the elderly in group homes. In 2017, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine produced a study which showed patients recovering from spinal surgery actually reported decreased pain when music was used as part of their therapy. Beyond medicine, studies have shown that listening to happy music increased creativity and encouraged better solutions when faced with problems. Science also shows a link between music and positive emotions and memories, but I’m sure most of us could have told them that.

If you have any doubt about the power of music, think of how often the powers that be have tried to ban it. Rock and roll was the devil’s music that conservative leaders fretted had the power to turn the youth into degenerate criminals. Fast, pounding rhythms, wild guitar riffs, and of course the uninhibited dancing that accompanied this music obviously harkened back to pagan rituals that organised religion feared and tried to stamp out. Apparently, certain music had the power to turn listeners away from Christian values and was a threat to the establishment. Plus, it was loud. So intertwined is music with witchcraft and free-thinking individuals, it’s no wonder attempts were made to demonise it by organisations that rely on conformity.

Recognising the power of music comes naturally to practitioners of witchcraft, though. Music is not a threat to magical practice — it is an important tool to enhance the craft. A 2004 survey of witches in the UK showed that only 3% of respondents did not use any kind of music in their practice. The vast majority of witches relied on music before, during, and after rituals, usually to enhance the mood but also to add potency to their spells and improve concentration. Witches cited simple drumming — which built in intensity like a racing heart — in particular as a powerful means to refine and strengthen their casting. Another important use for music was calling spirits with particular chants and songs. Participants reported that repeating a chant would help focus and subdue the conscious mind and let the subconscious mind open up, revealing hidden thoughts and powers. It also aided in absorbing new ideas.

No discussion of magic in music can pass without acknowledging voodoo and its musical influence. Music is essential to voodoo ceremonies. Possession, or being overtaken with a divine spirit (a loa), is facilitated by music. During slavery, white people feared the power of African religions (both in and of themselves, and their potential to unite) and sought to suppress voodoo ceremonies, even creating a law which made the use of drums and other instruments by slaves illegal in 1740. African practitioners of voodoo, who melded their religion with Christian denominations in America, brought their beliefs about the importance of music in worship to the church. Voodoo’s musical style, rhythms, and beats survived and thrived in black congregations and have become hugely influential in American music through gospel, rock, and soul.

Enhancing Your Magic With Music

So how can modern practitioners of witchcraft harness the power of music? Pretty simply, it turns out. Some may find the idea of learning to play an instrument daunting, and it can be. Music, as an art, is not as forgiving as other mediums. The eye may accept imperfect or wildly subjective art as aesthetically pleasing, but the ear is much more discerning. We don’t mind if a photograph is a little overexposed but play the wrong note — even a melody we’ve never heard before — and it sticks out like a sore thumb. Thankfully, you don’t have to be a musical prodigy to use music in your spellwork.

Using An Instrument

To begin, your choice of instrument is important. Instruments belong to different “families.” These are generally woodwind, brass, percussion, strings, and keyboard. Some people have tried to make these families neatly align with things such as the elements. Indeed, some analogies between instruments and other things can be intuited. For instance, the crisp sound of violin strings makes me think of winter or water. Percussion feels earthy. Brass is loud and bright — like a shining sun and blooming flower in spring. Woodwind feels light, full of life and breezy renewal. These connections are naturally subjective. Finding these symbolic connections, however, will help you choose an instrument which gives more meaning to your magical tunes.

Once you have chosen an instrument, it’s time to play! If you’re just starting out creating music and musical spells, keep it simple and don’t be overwhelmed by the possibilities. Let the notes speak to you. Your ear is an innate music lover, so trust it. If you’re noodling around on a guitar or drum, or even a music app (some can offer a whole digital orchestra), and you hear a couple of notes that sound right together, chances are you’ve stumbled upon a chord.

Of course, choosing to study music will help you find these more easily, in addition to scales, etc. You can create many tunes and melodies with just a few chords and you’ll be able to start making a soundtrack to your spellwork. When you create your tune, try simple ways to embellish it, like moving it up or down a key to change the pitch. A lower pitch can set a whole new mood, bringing solemnity and resonance, and moving up a key will brighten it up, both of which can better reflect a spell’s purpose. Even if you just work with a few notes, their combination and rhythmic possibilities can be endless. Since drumming and rhythm can have such a powerful effect on the mind, you may also choose to just pick up a makeshift mallet and start pounding out a beat. The thing to remember is the intent behind your playing and whatever magic you’re performing. As always, this is what’s important. Put thought and feeling into your creations. While they may not be musical masterpieces yet, they are still capable of enhancing your spellwork.

Vocal Methods

You may choose to forego instruments altogether and just sing or chant. Even if you’re not gifted with the best voice, a simple, repetitive chant will help hone your mind and put more energy into your intention when you cast. Science has shown that singing releases chemicals in the brain which make us feel good, lower stress, and induce calm. In other words, exactly the state of mind you want to be in when focusing intention and performing a spell!

One option is to sing or chant your intention. Start softly and then build volume (like the drumbeat mentioned above), to build strength in your spell. Another option is to find a poem or lyric which you think fits with your intention and sing that. You may just want to add a song or chant at the beginning and end of your spell or ritual that makes you feel good. It’ll put you in the right mindset and focus your energy. If you feel like it, move and dance around to the music. Adding that little extra physical element is a powerful way to use your own body to channel that music magic.

Adding music to your witchcraft can be as simple as putting on your headphones or quietly chanting, or as complicated as learning a whole new skill. However you choose to incorporate it, music will guide your magic to powerful new places and make you part of a fabulous tradition of witches who rock!

https://thetravelingwitch.com/blog/how-to-enhance-your-magic-with-music

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It is also considered the central celebration of the key Christian appointments. Easter is popular as Christmas and is recognized yearly with excitement and triumph. You may be interested to know the key purpose of celebrating it.

Easter is meant to be a symbol of hope, renewal, and new life.

"EASTER HAS BEEN ABOLISHED - THEY FOUND THE BODY"

Jesus Christ did not enter into this world to make bad people good; He came to this world to make dead people live.

The great gift idea of Easter is hope

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