#glad’s thoughts

[gladstones-corner]

They said it couldn't be done...

I'm trying to build this financial report for my team with some of our newer software. To do it, I met with the guy who builds the current version of the report.

He told me that trying to build the thing is "quantifiably impossible". he said "others have tried this path; they've all failed." The poor guy was stuck doing this report for years despite moving on to another role.

I met with some of our data analytics people and found out what the problem was. A week later, I've now built a new version of the report. Thanks to a tiny switch in our IT infrastructure, this dude can lay his report to rest.

It struck me how much the corporate world must be stuck doing things because "it's just the way things get done".

And as weird as it might sound, it struck me as a parallel to my practice. How often was I doing something because "it's just the way it's done"? Did I really understand what I was doing in a spiritual context? A cultural or historical one?

And the more important question: am I missing a tiny little switch that could fundamentally alter the way I operate for the better?

It's why I like to absorb information from a wide variety of paths, talk to the experts from one field and another. They might not seem terribly related, but they might just have the connection I need.

All of that is to say, don't be afraid to dive into something a little beyond your scope of knowledge or skill. The potential to learn, to grow, is huge. And it has the potential to help others, too.

[tawnysoup]

Finally now that the comic is fully public on comicfury, I get to share it with all of you here, too <3

If you enjoyed, please consider supporting by buying a PDF of the comic on itch.io: https://tawnysoup.itch.io/home-in-the-woods

[bearloonz]

Love wins

[brotherdusk]

I don't care how gay the wicked movie is or whatever this site can't gaslight me into taking ariana grande seriously all of a sudden

[what-am-i-doing-in-this-fandom]

I am such a big Werewolf Stan advocate I had to jump on this particular train 🙏 (but I didn't really wanna commit to full line art, you guys understand)

Oh, and you guys aren't gonna believe this, but here's part two 🙌

[alexparozi]

small

[hurtspideyparker]

the hairstylists had a Pinterest account and a dream

[soaked-doors]

pov the reaper that’s dragging away your boyfriends soul says something so freedomphobic you hit his corpse with the nika stare

[gladstones-corner]

On the Power Bag

I've mentioned this before, but I want to dive in deeper today. Before we do, however, I need to get a couple things out of the way regarding my qualifications to speak on this topic.

About Glad

First, as many of you know I am a member of the Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA). At my current degree, the Order introduces a tool called the Crane Bag. I am not authorized to disclose certain details, but for more information please consult the public AODA article on the subject. What I can say is that the Crane Bag is one expression of a cross-cultural phenomenon.

I know that some will bristle at the idea of a "non-indigenous" culture using such a tool, but there is technically a mythological precedent for it (check page 4 here) among Celtic practitioners--of which the AODA is strongly influenced by.

Secondly, I am biracial. One of my parents is Mexican, the other Germanic. While the latter cultures generally do not carry such a bag, several cultures within the United Mexican States do. They are called many things (Medicine Bag, Sacred Bundle, etc.), but again are cultural expressions of a cross-cultural phenomenon.

I will admit that just because I am Mexican-American does not entitle me to speak as an expert on the Sacred Bundle. I am not a curandero, and thus do not have the training nor the authority to speak about the particulars of such a tool. However, my heritage has made me familiar with the tool, at least to the extent that I can speak about its prevalence in Latin America.

One last note: to be as non-appropriative and account for as many cultures as possible, I will be referring to the general tool as the Power Bag. I will disclose no details about any real Power Bags I know of.

Okay, let's get started.

What is the Power Bag?

The Power Bag is a bag or bundle that contains objects sacred to its owner, who typically keeps its contents private. There are varying beliefs as to why they're private, but I don't need to preach to other magicians about the Levi's Fourth Tenet: to keep silence.

The Bag itself can be of any size, and indeed has been most reasonable sizes throughout history. It is traditionally made of hide or leather, though in the modern day any natural material may be used. In the case of large Power Bags, the wrap itself often serves as the pad upon which the contents sit when in use.

As for the contents, they can be any sacred objects within the magician's working life. This can of course mean physical tools, like a blade or rune set. However, it also includes objects of power, such as incenses, offerings, or amulets. Note that these objects have spirits of their own, and thus are not simply disposable. The magician must build a relationship with their sacred objects and mindfully decide the next stop on their journey when they are finished working with the magician.

What Goes Into a Power Bag?

Let’s take a brief look at some examples of the Power Bag by reintroducing our hypothetical magicians Sam, Kelley, and Nick (from my article on working together). They each carry a Power Bag, but because they have different foci, their contents are different.

Sam is an avid hiker. They often find themselves on the trail. As a result, their Power Bag contains a knife, lighter, paracord, and other survival gear. It also contains a journal of leaf and spore prints, along with photographs of things discovered on the trail. Finally, it holds their wand and vessel, allowing them to perform their version of the Great Rite outdoors.

Kelley is less of a hiker and more of an artist. Therefore, their bag contains some notebooks, pens, pencils, and other art supplies. They also carry incense, a burner, and small deity statues they sculpted for offerings. Kelley’s bag also holds their wand, which they use as an all-purpose magical focus.

Finally, Nick is a divination specialist. As a result, their bag contains witch-stones, a tarot deck, runes, and a casting cloth. It also holds a journal and pen for keeping a divination log. And as usual for this group, Nick’s bag carries their wand—but they also keep travel sizes of the blade, vessel, and disc to complete the elemental ritual set.

Making Your Own Power Bag

Hopefully this has given you a solid idea about what the Power Bag truly is, at least from a practical standpoint. But don’t give into the temptation of getting a large backpack, stuffing it with every magical item you own, and lugging it everywhere. Recall that the objects in the bag should be significant to your daily life. Start with what you already carry.

Do you have a purse? Perhaps you carry a satchel to work? Already you have the beginnings of your Power Bag. Some people like to keep their bag separate; others don’t mind mixing them all together with mundane items. I do a little of both, depending on the situation—but I digress.

Ask yourself what you can carry that would benefit you without being burdensome. Does your shrine have a spare crystal that calls to you? Maybe you have some loose tobacco or coffee that you want to scatter as offerings to the local nature spirits? Think small.

That said, I have some suggestions for items that are common to Power Bags. Items from the natural world are nearly always present—a few crystals, some seeds, nuts, or leaves, even some fur or feathers (legally and ethically obtained, of course). I am a traditional magician; I believe that you at least need a wand and vessel. Though I find the Great Rite a bit too heteronormative for my tastes, the wand is a ubiquitous magical focus and the vessel holds everything from offerings to consumables.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, the important thing is that your Power Bag reflects your practice. Its contents should be portable, or at least wieldable enough to take with you daily. You should use them for meditation and magic, giving power to them when you can and drawing power from them as needed. Giving power to the items doesn’t always have to be an active thing—sleeping with the Power Bag nearby, keeping it with you, and using the items inside all charge them and imprint your magical signature upon them. In time, the Power Bag becomes a microcosm of your practice.

As always, thank you for reading. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Blessings~

[goatsghost]

okay wait absolutely insane that brennan asks murph what riz is most afraid of, and he says “being wrong” and “not being able to save kristen,” but instead of yes and-ing, brennan hits him back with

no actually, riz is still working through his asexuality and is deathly afraid of everyone coupling up and forgetting about him in favor of their more important significant others

i think murph is so good at playing riz that he agrees that riz’s biggest fear is failure, but he truly knows it’s just the surface-level concern that’s covering the real fear of being left behind by all the people he cares about, because he’s not like them and he’ll likely never be like them no matter how much he wants to or pretends to be

[colinfeatherington]

the parallel between eloise forgiving and understanding penelope by going back and reading the copies of lady whistledown she saved and colin going on the same journey by reading pen’s letters he saved oh they really are her soulmates

[keferon]

The tac net crash chapter is one of my favorites so far~

Ah and. Guess what. I just discovered that including this post, I made 50 pieces of fanart for Mistakes on mistakes until.. I’m so sane and normal about this story can you tell👍

[featheredcrowbones]

the cast of OM after my MC makes them gayer except for the kids whose only worries are crayons and cookie dough

[lemonebar]

hermit-a-day! tinfoilchef!!!!!

[teaboot]

Ollie is 8 weeks old tomorrow and we have made an important discovery:

HIM LIKE BOWLING

[hellsitegenetics]

You always find the nicest pictures of creatures and plants and I love you 4 that

String identified: aa t ct ct cat a at a tat

Closest match: Hippocampus hippocampus genome assembly, chromosome: 21 Common name: Short-Snouted Seahorse

(image source)