#false solomon's seal

[vandaliatraveler]

The month of May marks a transition time in Central Appalachia's forests as the canopy's vibrant green cloak closes above the forest floor, and the spring ephemerals go dormant and fade away. The forest now belongs to the ferns, fungi, mosses, and lichens, which collectively drive nature's great recycling engine. The next great spectacle, just around the corner, is the mountain laurel bloom, with a few plants already busting out their colors.

Photos from two different weekend hikes around the Cheat River Canyon (which, along with Dolly Sods and the New River Gorge, has one of the best laurel blooms in Central Appalachia).

[wildflowers-of-southern-ontario]

False Solomon's Seal Maianthemum racemosum Asparagaceae

Photograph taken on August 13, 2023, at Pinery Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada.

[faguscarolinensis]

Maianthemum stellatum / Starry False Solomon's Seal on the Echo Lake Trail on Mount Blue Sky in Evergreen, CO

[summerwages]

different strokes...

[landwriter]

Lilium columbianum, June 2024

[suttoncreek314stuff]

Star-Flowered False Solomon's-Seal

[geopsych]

I visited the bloodroots in the woods. They’re almost done. I saw some black cohosh and false Solomon seal growing up among them. And an ocean of garlic mustard sprouts. Now I’ll have to wait until next April to see them.

[jizzwizz69]

I think one of my favorite things I like to do is think about various social taboos/ old superstitious beliefs and apply them to the Obey Me universe and make them canon somehow

For example, that stereotype that water makes witches melt. The truth is, regular water doesn't make them melt. The Devildom canonically has acid rain, and that's what makes witches melt. An old movie where a witch that got burned by acid rain and melted made its way to the human world, and since the humans don't have acid rain, we didn't realize it wasn't normal water. For hundreds of years we've falsely believed water burns witches

Another thing: Hair dye. Humans only have a few natural hair colors. Anything that isn't/ wasn't considered natural was considered demonic. We see demons with unnatural hair colors (Diavolo's deep red, Levi's blue, Mephistopheles Pink, Thirteen's blue,pink, and purple.) Dyeing your hair is like copying a demon. I'm Choosing to believe "kick a ginger day" exists because for a really long time, humans didn't want to believe orange hair was natural

I also like the idea of tattoos being incorporated in this. In the bible, it's believed tattoos are a sin. In the OM universe, I headcanon that people believed tattoos were a sin because the first humans that inked their skin were trying to copy the marks demons leave when making pacts. Some dude made a pact with a demon, got a mark, and another human was like "shit that's cool, time to stab myself with a needle repeatedly and copy that." This is why people get so upset about tattoos. You either made a pact with a demon, or you wish you made a pact with a demon / thought it'd be cool to show off. Some humans copied the markings of famous demon's that had pacts, that way they could show off their tattoo and pretend it was the real pact mark to scare people. Pacts are basically signatures on a contract, a seal signaling some agreement or deal has been made.

Eventually, humans figured out that it could be done purely for cosmetics, and people stopped getting tattoos of demon pact marks. I personally believe Solomon gets unreasonably excited about tattoo shops. He grew up at a time where he'd be beaten and killed for having those marks on his skin, yet in modern times people pay hundreds, sometimes even thousands of dollars to cover their backs and arms with tattoos. The first time Solomon sees another human with an arm sleeve, he loses his mind. "They must be so powerful!!! There are so many pacts!!!" Then he realizes that no, they're not pacts. They're tattoos. And that's even better!!! People aren't afraid anymore!!! He can walk around wearing short sleeve shirts and tank tops in public now!!! What a fun new way to express yourself!!!

Solomon begs and pleads to get matching tattoos with MC. It's like a pact!! But for humans!!! How fucking sick is that?

[girlactionfigure]

NOVEMBER 4, 2024

WHAT HAPPENED?

A Palestinian-owned café in Oakland, California kicked out a Jewish customer for wearing a blue hat with a Star of David on it, claiming that the symbol was “violent.”

This is a clear violation of Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act. Note that this applies even if the Jewish customer went to the café expecting that something like this would happen (in other words, “he tricked us into discriminating against him!” is not a legitimate defense).

 It’s also worth noting this café has menu items titled “Sweet Sinwar” and “iced in tea fada” and its menu is decorated with the Hamas inverted red triangle. The café also openly expresses support for the October 7 massacre.

JVP TO THE RESCUE

What do you do when under fire for antisemitism? You tokenize (Not So) “Jewish” Voice for “Peace,” which openly supports terrorism against Jews and has even glorified Nazis in the past. For more, see my posts “Stop Sharing JVP” and “Time To Talk About JVP…Again.”

For those of us familiar with Jewish history and the history of antisemitism, this is par for the course. In the 1920s, the Soviet Jewish “Yevsektsiya” made it its mission to destroy “traditional Jewish life, the Zionist movement, and Hebrew culture.” The fact that the Yevsektsiya was “Jewish” was central to its purpose. After all, the Soviet regime couldn’t be accused of antisemitism when those shutting down all Jewish cultural and spiritual life were Jews themselves.

WE HAVE SEEN THIS BEFORE

Historically there have been, arguably, two kinds of antisemitism: (1) Nazi antisemitism, in which Jews are physically exterminated, and (2) Hanukkah antisemitism, in which the antisemite does not necessarily intend to take our lives, but rather, seeks to strip Jews of all the elements which make us...well, Jews.

Under the Soviet regime, for example, Jews suffered from “Hanukkah antisemitism.” The Soviets heavily suppressed Jewish cultural and spiritual life, stripping many Jewish families of thousands of years’ worth of history. Speaking or studying Hebrew was punishable by law. So was participating in Jewish religious traditions. At the same time, Jews were unable to assimilate into Soviet society due to their ethnic background. Jews were often imprisoned under false pretenses, accused of vague “Zionist crimes.” People with Jewish last names were subject to highly restrictive university quotas or banned from performing certain jobs.

Maybe you’ve noticed a pattern over the past year. First, it was only “Zionism,” not Judaism, that was a problem, despite the fact that the Jewish connection to -- and desire for sovereignty in -- the Land of Israel is inextricable from 3000 years of Jewish tradition. Then, they started denying our extensively recorded history and origins in Israel. At anti-Zionist Jewish events, now praying in Hebrew is considered “too triggering,” so it’s best to pray in colonial languages, like Arabic or English. Now, the Magen David is a “racist, genocidal symbol,” to quote Palestinian activist Mohammed El-Kurd.

Do you not see what’s happening? This is no longer about the State of Israel, the Israeli government, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or this current war. This is a thinly-veiled effort to methodically legitimize the discrimination of Jews -- and anything Jewish.

THE STAR OF DAVID

The Star of David, also known as the Magen David or the Seal of Solomon, is mentioned in Jewish texts as early as the first century. In fact, it’s found in coins from the period of the Bar Kokhba Revolt against the Romans (132-135 CE). It was also used as a decorative motif in the Khirbet Shura synagogue in the Galilee in the third century. Though initially merely used as an ornament, the Magen David was ascribed deeper spiritual meanings since the 11th century. It has since been associated with Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism.  

In the 17th century, the Jewish community of Prague was ascribed the Magen David as its official symbol. Shortly thereafter, the Jewish community in Vienna also adopted it as a marker. By the 19th century, the Star of David was the distinctive Jewish emblem.

More than anything, perhaps, the Star of David is a symbol of Jewish resilience and survival. For centuries, Jews in Europe and the Islamic world had been forced to wear distinguishing clothes marking them as Jews. After the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, Jews in Poland and in other Axis-occupied territories were forced to wear a Star of David, most often seen in the form of a yellow badge with the word “Jude” (Jew) or a similar variation. Therefore, for many Jews, the act of wearing Star of David jewelry or clothing is a reclamation of our ancient symbol that was once weaponized to oppress us.

A DOUBLE STANDARD

Hundreds of millions of people have been slaughtered under the banner of Christianity and Islam each. The Crusades alone took about 1.7 million lives. The Spanish Inquisition? Up to 300,000 lives. In the “New World,” some 56 million Indigenous people were killed in the name of Christianity. These are just a few examples. It’s estimated Islam’s conquests alone left some 270 million people dead. 

During the First Jewish Revolt, the Romans crucified some 500 Jews a day. Yet I would never dream of denying someone service at a coffee shop because they’re wearing a crucifix. 

When Jihadists carry out terrorist attacks, they shout “Allahu Akbar” — the same phrase used by the 1.8 billion Muslims around the world in their daily prayers. Muslims recite the Shahada prayer daily, the same prayer that is inscribed in the ISIS, Hamas, and Al Qaeda flags. And yet, I would never dream of denying someone service at a coffee shop because they’re a Muslim who says “Allahu Akbar” or recites the Shahada prayer.

Under Islamist regimes, such as the Islamic Republic in Iran, women are beat to death for not wearing hijab or wearing hijab “improperly.” But I think you would agree that denying a woman in hijab service at a coffee shop on account of the Islamic Republic’s crimes is plain bigotry.

You may be triggered by crosses, hijabs, or the Star of David, and your triggers may be rooted in valid trauma. But your triggers are no one’s responsibility to deal with but your own, and they are no excuse to lash out in bigotry.

Even if Israel’s actions were equivalent to those of Nazi Germany, equating the Star of David with the Nazi hakenkreuz (commonly misidentified as the “swastika”) is an inherently problematic analogy.

Unlike the Star of David and the Jewish people, the swastika has zero spiritual or cultural significance in German culture beyond Nazism.Within the German context, the Nazi hakenkreuz means one thing and one thing only.

On the other hand, the Sanskrit swastika and other similar symbols, such as the whirling log, have long, rich traditions in their respective cultures. While some Native American tribes have decided to retire the whirling log, others continue to use it. The Sanskrit swastika is commonplace in countries such as India and Nepal. 

Sure, if someone with zero cultural connection to the swastika or the whirling log decides to “reclaim” the symbol, I’d probably do a double take and consider it an antisemitic dogwhistle. But when I went to India, I saw the swastika everywhere, and because I am capable of critical thinking, I was easily able to recognize that the symbol has an entirely different connotation in this particular cultural context, despite my personal and family trauma.

A NOTE ON HOLOCAUST INVERSION

Holocaust inversion is a rhetorical tool used to portray Jews as morally equivalent — or worse — than Nazis. It’s often employed in discussions about Israel-Palestine and is frequently used by anti-Zionists.

 To understand why Holocaust inversion is unquestionably antisemitic, we must first understand what Holocaust denial actually is. Holocaust denial is not just an outright denial that the events of the Holocaust happened, but more often than not, it’s a denial of well-established facts about the Holocaust. For example, someone who says the Holocaust didn’t happen at all is as much a Holocaust denier as someone who claims the Holocaust did happen, but only one million Jews were killed.  

Therefore, Holocaust inversion is always Holocaust denial, because: 

(1) it relies on the minimization of established facts about the Holocaust. However harrowing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza — and it is — it’s just in no way equivalent in scale, scope, and methods to the atrocities committed during the Holocaust. This is a historical fact, and denying it is denying the Holocaust.

(2) characterizing Jews — Zionist or not — as Nazis is a denial of the well-established fact about the Holocaust that the predominant force in Nazi ideology was genocidal Jew-hatred. Jews cannot be the inheritors of Nazism simply because the Nazis wanted all Jews exterminated. A denial of this basic fact is Holocaust denial.

For a full bibliography of my sources, please head over to my Instagram and  Patreon. 

rootsmetals

I sincerely don’t understand how there’s still Jews out there who still make excuses for these people, who don’t see what’s happening. Learn your history. Have some self-respect.

[vandaliatraveler]

Spring at Ohiopyle, Part 1: Cucumber Falls and Meadow Run.

Some of my favorite memories of growing up in the densely-packed suburbs of Pittsburgh are from family trips to the Laurel Highlands, about an hour to the east of the city. These gentle, ancient summits, the first line of ridges along the Allegheny mountains, are potent magic for a kid, riddled with moss-encrusted rock formations, water chutes and cascading falls, mysterious, deep alcoves and rock maizes begging to be explored, and so on. Today, many years later, I am fortunate to live even closer to these mountains and their precious wild places, including the Youghiogheny River Gorge and Ohiopyle State Park, and return to them often to find both solace and joy and to re-connect to the rejuvenating magic I felt as boy exploring their many treasures, some obvious, many less easily discovered.

[faguscarolinensis]

Maianthemum racemosum / False Solomon's Seal at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University in Durham, NC

[hell-drabbles]

Someone made a WHB au where if Solomon's descendant didn't need devils essence to survive but rather they could eat angels instead and now I can't stop imagining Embittered Companion choosing to eat angels instead of fucking demons

I don't know if this rule would apply to God Fragment Companion,like would they need demon essence?

But let's just say they do,I do imagine they could just eat the angels formed by their wings while their in a hungry semi lucid state and I also imagine the false angels wouldn't mind

In fact Companion's behaviour influences the false angels and sometimes when Companion is hungry the False angels act like a pack of hyena or piranha and tear eachother apart

Like a group of them just dog pile eachother like piranha or a pack of hyenas swarming their prey

And it's just a gruesome scene of this wiggling mass of white bodies and feathers fluttering around and spurts of blood and the sound of breaking bones and ripping flesh as the False Angels tear eachother or their weakest member apart to satiate Companion's hunger

My brain juice is coming back

I go M.I.A for a bit and end up coming back with a lot of new random ideas

I do this all the time sorry

Dante Anon

No need to worry, I too have low mental stamina. I want to talk but ough I'm so tired all the time. I see the inbox messages but my fingers won't let me type. I get very tired, so easily. I am burning with ideas all the time, if only my mental stamina could keep up with it! Anyways. Let me add onto this fun idea.

This is just my kinks showing up so don't mind me.

Hmm honestly, I would assume that this version of the Companion doesn't need to consume demon essence, but oh well.

I want one of those angels to have been taken away and locked up deep in whatever Heaven prison facility they got. This fake angel was crafted when the Companion was in the worst pit of self loathing, so this fake angel was created with the task to kill the Companion. That is it's goal, its purpose for its creation. But, obviously, the other angels come in, capture this being and locked it far away. They can't kill these fake angels, because they received the order to stop killing each other in the Companion's name. It's unsightly, disgusting, I don't want it.

This, of course, stretches to the Companion's angels. So they can't kill this particular one.

And whenever these strange angels go into a feeding frenzy in an attempt to sate the Companion's appetite, God's angels come in and collect the heads of those eaten angels and help them regrow all their body mass. So you just have a sci-fi facility filled with fake angel heads floating in those classic liquid chambers.

Hey, wouldn't that make for a neat side-story? Where the fake angel that's trying to kill the Companion ends up being the first one to develop a consciousness, and it goes through the facility with those fake angel heads and is confronted by God's angels that question why this fake angel wants to kill what created it. Do you not love the Companion? Worship their very being? You're lucky that we can't kill you, but we will take you apart and seal you away.

And jokes on them, this fake angel is trying to kill them out of love. Of course love is there, its the very core of this purpose. This angel has learned to pray, learned to praise their very precious human qualities outside of the godly ones.

And eventually the purpose goes from "I must kill the Companion," to "I must kill God." As in, "I must kill the shard that forced them to make me, and made them suffer."

[ahedderick]

Last weekend was the a Fall Festival not too far away in Pennsylvania. We went. It was nice. The crowds were so big, though, that it was almost difficult to see the vendors and craftspeople. If you stood at a comfortable distance to see their booth, you were blocking the moving mob of humanity, and if you stood close enough to be out of the way then you were crushed right up against the displays.

Part of it was in a big, sunny field with a spacious craft barn. Lots of really, really old farm equipment humming and chugging away, demonstrating the old engines of the early 1900s. There were folks making applebutter and various other old-timey foods in big cauldrons and kettles. There was a booth. I'm pausing to compose myself. A booth dedicated to. Selling sauerkraut. Large, large quantities of it. I like sauerkraut, but I never would have imagined it being sold at a booth in a fall festival. The air was redolent.

The rest of it was small huts and booths set up along a winding forest pathway. Cooperage, glassblowing, carving, tanning, hat-making, popcorn, metalwork of various types. All the skills of a prosperous 1800s society. The pathway also had a few small markers to identify the understory plants. Red elderberry, various ferns, blackberry brambles, solomon's seal. There they messed up; their solomon's seal (Polygonatun biflorum) was actually false solomon's seal (Maianthemum racemosum). Identical leaves, but the real s.s. has flowers and berries all along the stem while false s.s. has flowers/berries clustered at the end of the leaf. So I had to face the fact that I am that kind of person.

While we wandered through the forest Son and Roommate kept admiring the rocks. Lots of large boulders that were shaped and angled very well (in their opinion) for riding mountain bikes over. Everyone has their own things to focus on.

The maple products vendor won the 'best smell' competition, hands down. We bought a little tub of maple cream. Toast and maple cream, my beloved. I should maybe try to make some cinnamon rolls, and glaze them with maple cream once they're out of the oven. Hmm. Delicious thoughts.

[ninevehsage]

Gary Milek

Hosta and False Solomon Seal

Egg Tempera, 28 x 29 inches

[blackswallowtailbutterfly]

My Garden Flowers Part 3

All photos mine. The small buttercup and evening primrose are edited for colour since the camera didn't catch it and washed it out.

In order of appearance:

In order of appearance:

061. Wild Basil (Clinopodium vulgare) Didn't do so well the last place I had her in, but she seems happy in this spot, so fingers crossed.

062. Crested Iris (Iris cristata) Not pictured as she hasn't flowered yet.

063. Smallflower Buttercup (Rancunculus abortivus) Not much to look at compared with other buttercups but one of the only native buttercups with (limited) edible uses.

064. Smooth Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum biflorum) Not pictured as she hasn't flowered yet. Soon, hopefully!

065. False Solomon's Seal (Maianthemum racemosa) Not pictured as she hasn't flowered yet, but she's growing well so hopefully next year.

066. Blisterwort (Ranunculus recurvatus) I didn't plant that. She just turned up last year. Not pictured as I haven't got any pictures yet.

067. Fairy Spuds (Claytonia virginica) Not pictured as she hasn't flowered yet. She's a wee little spud in the ground.

068. Flowering Dogwood (Cornus floridus) Not pictured as she hasn't flowered yet but she is slowly spreading out.

069. Plantain-Leaf Sedge (Carex plantaginea) Not pictured as I haven't got pictures yet. I should. It's a neat plant. Evergreen, too!

070. Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) One of the prettiest plants I've ever seen, from the shape and texture of the leaves to the purplish pink buds to the bright blue bell-shaped flowers. They're spring ephemerals, though, so they're long gone by now. But will emerge next spring!

071. Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis) Only lives for two years and reseeds itself. It's a common weed along sidewalks, but its flowers glow yellow in the evening and often remain in bloom at night.

072. Squirrel Corn (Dicentra canadensis) Not pictured as she hasn't flowered yet. The leaves are really cute, though.

073. Large Toothwort (Cardamine maxima) Not pictured as she hasn't flowered yet.

074. Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) Not pictured as I haven't got any pictures yet.

075. Great Burnet (Sanguisorba officinalis) A cultivar, not sure which one. I'll get the wild type if/when I can.

076. American Plum (Prunus americana) I was not expecting her to flower this year! Hopefully she will next year too, and without aphids this time so I can have some plums. :)

077. Smooth Aster (Symphyotrichum laeve) So like I said, I do think New England asters are the prettiest of this genus, but smooth asters are very nice in their own way. Tender bluish leaves, and delicate light purple flowers.

078. Sweet Grass (Hierochloe odorata) Not pictured as I haven't got any pictures yet. She only flowered one year. Hasn't since. I won't miss a photo next time.

079. Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum) What's better than pretty flowers? Tasty pretty flowers!

080-081. Swamp Rose Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos) Two different cultivars and the red one has died, but I did get my hands on the wild type! That will hopefully bloom this year.

082. Stiff Sunflower (Helianthus pauciflorus subrhomboideus) Holds her own against the much more aggressive Nuttall's sunflower. Sometimes called beautiful sunflower. I don't know how one decides which species of a very showy genus gets that name, but I guess she won out.

083. Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea) Another one that was hard to choose a photo of. You just hardly believe they're real!

084. Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) I planted her where there's a drip from the eavestrough so she can get very wet when it rains. :) She is not a marigold but instead part of the buttercup family.

085. Nuttall's Sunflower (Helianthus nuttallii) Whenever I am expressing frustration about sunflowers, it is almost always this species. lol Very beautiful but very aggressive.

086. Larkspur Violet (Viola pedatifida) Not pictured as she hasn't flowered yet.

087. White Turtlehead (Chelone glabra) Not pictured as she hasn't flowered yet.

088. Small Sundrops (Oenothera perennis) Not quite as intensely yellow as some of her relatives but still very bright.

089. Bigleaf Aster (Eurybia macrophylla) You generally grow her for foliage rather than her flowers, but flowering she is! Very drought-tolerant, but spreads more readily in less harsh conditions.

090. Bride's Feathers (Aruncus dioicus) Southern Ontario and surrounding area's evolution really went off on the lacy white flowers, and this species' flowers might be the laciest of them all.

[misadventured-piteous-overthrows]

Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)

Partridge Berry (Mitchella repens)

Downy Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera pubescens)

False Solomon's Seal (Maianthemum racemosum)