#however. there is still so much there. so many interesting traditions. so much oral history. so many regional variations

[popsicle-stick]

wanna make a folk costumes of britain zine sooo fuckign bad.........

[outofangband]

Possible medicinal plants in Beleriand part one /?

This is a resource I created upon commission for @creativity-of-death regarding medicinal plants that do have more evidence behind them with the treatment of wounds. Thank you again for the commission! Commission information in the bottom of my pinned post

I am also very interested in both botany and herblore so I really enjoyed doing this. This post is heavy on plant information and light on world building but I absolutely plan on writing more detailed world building!

This is going to focus primarily on the plant thyme which are primarily used to treat superficial wounds.

Some notes first!

Elves do not suffer full body infection under most circumstances however, wounds can still worsen, become inflamed, and there are factors that can prevent healing which herbs like these can aid in in. I’m going to make a longer post about my thoughts on immunology and elves and the differences between them and humans going through different aspects of human immune systems and the similarities and differences with elven ones but essentially, while I do believe there are microbial infections in the middle earth, elves are largely immune to communicable diseases that affect humans! however, they are not immune to all poisons, venoms and toxins, as we know from certain examples in canon, for example Aredhel’s death

Ethnobotany is notoriously difficult to research as there are so many conflicted sources and it is often difficult to tell what species have been studied, tested, and proved to have medicinal value, which have been proven to not have significant use in this regard and which have simply not been the subject of much research. Especially when it comes to traditional medicinal practices from marginalized cultures and peoples, information is often dismissed, buried or lost. Oral histories or works in translation are often not included in English literature research.

Second note: understanding of the body and of medicine varies tremendously in my opinion throughout the timeline of middle earth. The information included here is largely the information that we know from modern studies, and the language will not necessarily be the same terms of understanding the characters have, for example boards, like “anti-microbial properties” Would largely be understood by first age, elves, and humans to mean plants that assist in the healing of wounds, prevent them from worsening and prevent illness from falling as a result. Throughout history, we see terms like contamination, blood poisoning, and corruption in place of infection before germ theory was widely understood.

OK now for the plants!

Thyme has been proven in some forms to have significant microbial properties. They are some of the best well antimicrobial properties. Thymol a name for oil of thyme* is and has been used in pesticides and medical disinfectants.

Historically, bandages would be coated in oil of thyme to prevent infection, even before the processes of infection were understood. Thyme contains several different subspecies and tends to grow in Mediterranean climates however has been widely naturalized elsewhere.

In Beleriand it likely grew primarily in Ossiriand and Dorthonion but could easy be naturalized in other temperate regions.

* this compound is also found in other plants to varying degrees, but was named after the substance that was first extracted from common thyme

Wormwood, or Artemisia absinthium has also been studied fairly extensively and has been proven to have antimicrobial properties. I know you mentioned spiders and though it has never been tested on spider venoms, it is proven to have anti parasitic properties and has been used to kill other arachnids such as mites and ticks. Interestingly, it has been examined to have neuroprotective properties which might make it useful in antivenoms. These have not been studied as extensively as its antimicrobial properties however.

In Beleriand this is plant that can be easily naturalized throughout temperate regions, especially in fields and foothills. Dimbar, the region of Nargothrond, and the southern hills are some examples.

Calendula (common marigold)

Evidence has shown that topical application can aid in the healing of wounds and in preventing or treating infection. Tinctures and ointments are the most common forms. These flowers grow throughout the temperate world. Overuse could lead to endangerment/extinction easily. Mount Sinai Hospital’s online medical library discusses these properties as does the National Institute of Health. The properties seem to be well proven, especially by ethnobotanical standards!

Marigold primarily grows in warm regions, including warm temperate ones. In Beleriand it probably grew primarily in the west and central regions.

Common tormentil has mild astringent properties which can aid in blood stopping. Creeping jenny or field balm also has similar properties. These both grow throughout temperate climates though tend towards colder regions.

In Beleriand common tormetil could likely grow in Hithlum and in the plains of Eastern Beleriand. Creeping Jenny would likely be found near ponds such as near the Fen of Serech or Twilit Meres.

[alpaca-clouds]

What are Minstrels, Jesters and Bards?

Keeping it up with me rambling about the middle ages and fantasy, let me talk about one of the things that seems to confuse a lot of people - especially because most fantasy media just kinda mixes this one up. The difference between Minstrels, Jesters and Bard. Given that all the words are so often used interchangably. But, indeed, there is a big difference, if we look at it from a historical perspective.

The very, very basic differentiation is like this:

A Bard was a Celtic song writer and storyteller

A Minstrel was a medieval travelling singer, poet, acrobat and storyteller

A Jester was a medieval singer, poet, acrobat and storyteller working at a cort. In the late medieval time they were more acrobats and people telling jokes though.

Also there is Troubadoures, who were mostly singers and storytellers at the courts.

Let me talk a bit about the different groups in detail, though.

Bards

Bard as a word comes specifically from the Gaelic word for "poet", which basically tells us most about them. as with so many things concerning the celts, the early history of them is not very well known. We do know, though, that they played a certain role within the Gaelic and Welsh societies both in keeping the oral history of the societies alive, as well as celebrating chiefs and warriors with their songs. Other than other aspects of Celtic societies, the bards did remain for a long while into the medieval period, though how the societies treated them did vary a lot by region.

While in some areas due to their connection to the Celtic (and hence indigenous) religion and culture, they were seen as "second class poets" in some areas - especially in Ireland - with the true poets being connected to the church.

Never the less: Whatever we still know about the Celtic mythology of the British isles is all only known thanks to bards. Because bards kept those oral traditions alive at times till the late and post-medieval period, allowing them to be written down.

Mistrels

Minstrels developed a lot in what their role was. In the early medieval period they were often still bound to courts of kings and lords, where they would perform a wide variety of things. Songs, poems, theatre, acrobatics and dance being most among them. But in the high medieval period it became more and more common that the courts would employ jesters and troubardores, who were more specialized. With those a lot of minstrels became travellers. They would travel the lands and always remain in cities and villages for a while, collect stories, perform their arts and then move on. As such they helped to spread stories throughout the lands - though people could not always be sure whether the stories they told and sang were true or not.

Minstrels often had close networks among each other, though. Exchanging stories and songs they had written and collected. As such they often had a very wide repatoir that they could share with the people.

It should be noted that while there were people like this throughout the entire medieval world, minstrels as we would call them were most common in Medieval France and England, with some also being around in Germany (that is the Holy Roman Empire). Travelling singers and songwriters in the rest of Europe had a bit of a different background, often being closer to the celtic bards.

And yes, minstrels are very much the closest thing here to what bards in DnD are displayed as.

Jesters

Among those noted here, jesters are probably the one occupation people have the best idea of, given that they are fairly big in even modern popculture - even outside of fantasy. I mean, in your standard deck of cards the "Joker" usually is portrayed as a jester.

Jesters were fairly interesting. While they also would at times do poetry and songs, they often were more acrobats, joksters and magicians, who most of the time were bound to the court of a lord, duke or king. In these positions they did however often serve a very important role, as they were allowed to hold a mirror to whoever they served and give them the truth. Basically: They were allowed most of the time to criticize even kings. (Which does not mean that they always got away with it - but usually they got away with way more than most people.) As such a common idea of a jester was, that they were supposed to be wise and also act as a sort of advisor to whomever they served.

Interestingly enough there is a lot of historical evidence that often enough this specific roll was filled by disabled and disfigured people, who could not work in other rolls. Which in hindsight is interesting especially because it gave some disabled people a very important role within the society.

Troubadours

Finally we have the troubadours, who were most of all singers and poets working at the courts. Their art was seen as more "high class" than the work of the normal minstrels. They often would entertain nobility during their feasts and on festivals and celebrations. While they were not the same as jesters, they often were however allowed to parody and do satire of the lords, with that also reflecting on their actions.

So, yeah. There is a difference between these words. While there definitely were bards that served as troubadours, and troubadours who ended up becoming minstrels... It was a bit of a difference between those roles.

The fact that the bards were so tied to celtic cultures is especially a fact that so often gets overlooked.

So, there you have it. xD Maybe some food for thoughts for my dear fellow bard players.

[capsicrew]

30 WoL Think Thonkers

4. What do they do in their down time? Do they have any hobbies outside of Primal-slaying and world-saving? Are these lifelong hobbies or recent interests?

Note: I think I've briefly talked about their various interests in older posts, so some of this will be repeating those. But hopefully this is sufficient detail to not be repetitive.

J- Jalliim's big interest is in anthropology--studying the different cultures of the world, both historical and modern. In his youth, Jalliim had dreamed of going to the Sharlayan colony in Dravania and studying this aspect of history in more detail. Perhaps in a different life, that happened and he went on to be an archon and professor. But many things forced the change. He didn't get to become an archon, but he's certainly found many unparalleled ways to study historic cultures in ways no other Sharlayan student could have. When they're not needing to save the world, Jalliim enjoys many academic discussions with Y'shtola, Urianger and G'raha Tia where their interests overlap. For modern culture, Jalliim follows the philosophy that everybody's stories are worth sharing and saving. A big interest of his is to learn and document the histories and stories of the largely unknown "beast tribes." Legends, oral traditions, modern tales--fictional and historical. So much history of Etheirys has been lost to time because of the calamities--the big tales and small stories--and he wants to push to ensure these tales are preserved. In a related matter--he prefers to study and learn these stories out in the field--he likes going out and seeing the world he learns about--not only seeing it from tomes.

C- Despite the world-saving adventures, Capsisi still associates and works with the Rogue's Guild. When you're enforcing what's right from the shadows, nobody sees if you're a worlds-saving hero or not. Though that's not really a "down time" hobby, is it? Aside from this, Capsisi also enjoys playing cards--including and especially Triple Triad. Although Jalliim does most of the analysis in battle, Capsisi has no shortage of analysis in her skillset and is quite an efficient player. No few people find out she plays TT and think "well, I can't beat a Warrior of Light in battle, but surely I can beat her at cards!" and get wiped. (she'll sometimes let some kids win, but act like it was just bad luck) And finally, Capsisi has a great interest in electronic technology. In, perhaps, a modern AU, she would be like a computer engineer or something. But for what the world of FFXIV can offer, she investigates what she can, when she has time.

K- Kola doesn't have a, like… deep an intricate personal life, lol. When she's not having to fight to be a hero she… likes to continue training and fighting. Sometimes just fighting for fun--participating in competitions or just spectator fights. Taking all challengers to continue proving how strong she is. But she does like learning about more styles of combat. She'll hear about a new form and she'll be looking to see it in action--to learn all she can and incorporate it into her own frequently eclectic style. More recently, however, she has began to see the appeal of, get this… studying. Turns out there's books about fighting and weapons and strategy! (but also she's started to see her lack of education as a weak point… and you don't get to be the strongest by having weak points). So a good amount of her free time, recently, has been spent learning her letters. So maybe next time the Scions say, "we really need to find out more information in the library" she can actually contribute and not feel like a weak link.

B- Beutiq has managed to find that middle ground where he has been able to use his hobbies to help fight primals and save the world. As much as he does various crafts and construction--music composition that comes up acting as a Bard both in and out of battle has been a focus for him. Taking those lines and melodies composed in their various battles and expanding on them into full songs--composing orchestrions… and perhaps building an orchestrion player to play it lol. This new stretch into Pictomancy is just another road in there, but now in reverse. As a bard, he has experience and turns them into song, now as a pictomancer, he'll be able to turn what he's learned as an artist into action. Beyond that, though, yeah; Beutiq is the most obvious in what his hobbies and interests are, since that's his biggest focus at all times.

E- In addition to partying hard, taking care of her Chocobo and occasional performances at the Masked Carnivale--Ejvi's greatest interest is studying the creatures and wildlife in the world. And while this does include more common animals and wildlife, she also takes great interest in the more wild and esoteric creatures as well. How did seedkin evolve in various ways? What differentiates Sea of Cloud griffins and Gyr Abanian griffins? What exactly are voidsent and how do they function (the EW patches have been GREAT for her)? And before they all began to understand primals better--she wanted to figure out how "life like" they are, what are their physiology… to a point where the first thing she ever said to the other WoLs was interrupting the fight with Ifrit and asking if he had genitals. The only downside is that she doesn't quite have an end-goal in mind. She is studying for her own interests, but to what end? She hasn't been collecting notes to write a book or reference tome--but she'll go on and on talking about it to anyone who'll listen… or the whole bar after a few drinks. But Viera have long lives, so she has a while to decide. Anything to put that bitch Marcette to shame. And maybe Atelloune, but with severely less vitriol.

[ainews]

Tales are important cultural touchstones. They have been shared around campfires and passed down through families for generations as a way of teaching lessons and promoting a shared sense of identity. Yet, despite their ubiquity, tales often go overlooked and unmentionable – and size has something to do with it.

In recent times, tales are thought of as quaint relics, perhaps even quaintly passé. No longer relevant in a world of television, streaming, Snapchat New stories, football, and other more modern and 'hip' pursuits, tales are seen as relics of a bygone era; relics that can take up too much pesky time to tell. With the abundance of entertainment available these days, there's simply no reason to spend precious time listening to a tale, and certainly no room for many of them to fit within the confines of the normal day.

This isn’t to say that stories don’t serve a purpose – indeed, they do. They help us connect with each other, challenge our ideas, and explore our universe. Furthermore, they can be incredibly useful in developing empathy, imagination, and furthering our understanding of culture and history. But with the quick pace of everyday life, and the demands of modern work and leisure activities, tales are often left off the agenda.

Equally important is the way we tell tales. Traditionally, tales (and stories, more broadly) were told orally, often by the light of a fire or camping sites. This was a key part of the culture of sharing, allowing time for the storyteller to captivate their audience with detailed descriptions and creative embellishments. Now, however, tales are often squished into tweets or limited to a few posts. They are smaller units of information, bereft of many of the intricacies that make tales so evocative and meaningful.

It is in our best interest to find ways to make tales more easily accessible and digestible. Even if we cannot return to the traditions of oral storytelling, finding ways to keep tales alive in our busy lives still ensures that stories will remain a part of our culture.

[hyrule-kingdom-updates]

please quill, tell us about The Parallax Society

ok so The Parallax (or The Collimation, it's gonna be one of the two I haven't really set on the name yet feel free to tell me which is cooler) is basically this mysterious society that oversees nearly all divination practices in Hyrule. From Gerudo, to Hylians, to Sheikah, to Zora, those practicing the art of fortune telling or any of its many branches more often than not learned their craft thanks to the Parallax Society.

The earliest forms of divination practices can be traced back to the Sheikah, more specifically the Ancient Sheikah, whose obsession with stars and constellations was due to their ability to read the skies and constellations and weave very vivid fortunes. A Sheikah tradition that survived to modern Hyrule day was to watch the last night of the year disappear into the sun of the new year, analyzing the sky and fading stars to make predictions for the coming times.

However, Sheikah fortune tellers all made oaths to not disclose their visions or fortunes unless they are specifically asked. So for example, if they foresaw in certainty that in this timeline, the prince was going to be assassinated, they would not go out of their way to warn the royal family, and instead, only speak of it if a queen or king asked them specifically what would happen to their son.

This oath, this mysteriously attained knowledge that the Sheikah did not fully share, was one of the reasons the king of Hyrule grew suspicious of their allegiances, and would be one of the reasons fear against them grew and culminated in their casting out.

But, even in the death of a vast wealth of Ancient Sheikah culture, the event would spark further interest in preserving their knowledge and techniques. Not all Rito, Gorons, Zora, Gerudo, or even Hylians were exactly strict on the King of Hyrule's supposed war on the Sheikah. So as few Ancient Sheikah survivors found refuge in these certain people, they passed down their mystical, nearly extinct knowledge.

So came into existence The Parallax Society. Technically a term reserved for higher Sheikah in the golden years of the Ancient Sheikah, the society in present day mostly refers to most anyone in the practice of divination who received their knowledge from a master.

In The Society's history, its knowledge on the art of fate was passed down from master to apprentice, typically orally as writing things down was a bit risky back in the day. But as time moved on, and the fear against the Sheikah was soon forgotten, those part of The Parallax became more well known, more books were written, and more establishments built. The techniques they practiced had also diversified over the centuries, Zora observing still water, watching the ripples alter the reflection of the night sky; Gorons cracking animal bones over fire, watching bowls collect ash and analyzing the shapes; The Society was no long exclusive to its original Sheikah history.

But the one thing of Sheikah origin that did remain, were its oaths.

The schools set up by The Parallax are very exclusive, you don't so much apply as much as someone goes out to find you. And when you arrive, you may very well learn the basics, perhaps just enough so that you don't have visions constantly haunting your slumber.

But if you want to excel, if you want to graduate beyond something than some street artist, become a true master in your craft, you must take the three oaths.

The Oath of Fate's Permission: You will not tell those outside of The Parallax what futures you have seen, unless specifically asked. If the common folk heard every little detail of the future without filter, the world would be driven into madness and war.

The Oath of Fate's Tongue: You will not lie, nor hold back, on telling someone what the future is, if asked. The incomplete truth is considered a lie. Sugar-coating is as good as poison.

The Oath of Fate's Desire: You will not act to alter the future that you see. This is because you cannot alter the future. It is impossible. Any attempts to do so will only result in further ruin than necessary.

If you cannot take these three oaths, you cannot learn from The Parallax. If you break any of these oaths, not only would that be detrimental for your general life and your own atunement to the powers of Fate, but The Society would cast you out.

This is why most every well known divinator, most every Royal Seer in history, has been part of The Parallax. The Parallax is the only way in Hyrule to learn this craft, and its strongest, most knowledgeable people are sworn to keep their knowledge within The Parallax.

And best of luck to any king or queen that wishes to force their information out of them, as well...that didn't exactly work out so well the first time.

But then again, as time has allowed The Parallax Society's presence to exist more openly and peacefully, so to has it become easier for its knowledge to spread further, knowledge once sacred now becoming common place, information once thought dead, now present in books, ripe for the stealing. The Society has thus become a bit more strict, as of late.

And before you ask, yes. Astor the Royal Seer is not part of The Parallax, and thus, is not bound by its oaths.

[sarita-daniele]

Hi, angel! Hope you're doing alright 💓 (hola ángel! También hablo español :) ) I was wondering if you could give some advices in starting out in an arts career?

Hola amigx, ¡perdón que nunca vi tu mensajito! I’m not on my Tumblr very often and definitely forget to check my messages. Luckily my favorite causita @luthienne told me you’d messaged me! 

I don’t know what arts discipline you’re in, so feel free to let me know if the advice I have doesn’t apply to you (and ignore it!). There are so many ways to build an arts career, but I’m happy to share some things I’ve learned through trial and error along the way. 

(Outrageously long post below break!)

Educate yourself in arts technique, but also study widely. 

Techniques are important in art, but only as important as the concepts behind them. When I was younger, I wowed people by drawing near-photographic portraits, but that technical talent and skill alone couldn’t make me a professional artist. Memorable artwork has not just a how, but a why. It isn’t just the object but the story behind the object, and the meaning of the object in the world. Art is about what interests you, what makes you think, what you most value and want to change in this world. So as you build an arts career, learn the techniques behind drawing, woodworking, casting, writing, music-making, whatever your discipline is, but take time, if you can, to also study history, sociology, anthropology, ecology, linguistics, politics, or whatever else you’re drawn to conceptually. Study as widely as you can. 

The studio art program I went through (a public university in the US) was very technique-forward; we signed up for classes according to technique, like printmaking or small metals, learned those techniques, completed technique-based assignments. Then I did a one-term exchange at arts university in the UK that was very concept-forward. We had no technical courses, just exhibition deadlines, and what mattered in critique was the concept. Both of these schools had their strengths and flaws, but what I learned was that, to be a practicing artist, I needed both technique and concepts that I genuinely cared about and could stand behind. If I could go back and change anything, I would probably take fewer studio courses (after graduating, I couldn’t afford access to a wood shop, metal shop, or expensive casting materials, and lost many of those skills) and more courses in sociology, Latin American studies, linguistics, ecology, anthropology, etc., because my artwork today centers on social justice, racial justice, Latinx stories and histories, educational access and justice, the politics of language, and community ethics. 

And please know that whenever I talk about seeking an education, I’m not talking solely about institutional spaces. College career tracks in the arts (BFA, MFA, etc., much less high-cost conservatory programs) are not accessible to everyone and aren’t the only way to establish an arts career. You can study technique and learn about the world using any educational space accessible to you: nonprofits that offer programming in your community, online resources, Continuing Education programs. And of course, self-education: read as much as you possibly can!

Know the value of your story. 

I come from a Cuban/Peruvian family and grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. My father’s family fled political violence surrounding the Cuban Revolution and came to the U.S. when he was a teenager. My mother was born in Brooklyn to Peruvian parents on work visas and moved back to Lima in her childhood. I grew up with these two cultures present and deeply embedded in our household, in our language, our food, our sense of humor, our sense of history. And yet, some residual assimilation trauma still affected me. I drifted towards the most American things, the whitest things, English authors and Irish music, in part because I enjoyed them but also because those were the things I saw valued in society. I wanted to fit in, wanted to be unique but not different, wanted to prove that I could navigate all spaces. The reality of marginalized identities in America is that our country tells us our identities are only valuable when they can be seen as exotic, while still kept inferior to the dominant, white American narrative (note that this “us” is a general statement, not meant to make assumptions about how you identify or what country you live in). 

But as an artist, all I have is my story, and who I am. I wasn’t willing to look at it directly. For years, I avoided doing so. It turns out, though, that I couldn’t actually begin my career until I reckoned with myself and learned to value everything about myself. To fully acknowledge my story, my history, my cultural reality, my sense of language, and my privileges. So I encourage young artists to look always inward, to ask questions about themselves, their families, and what made them who they are. 

The reason for doing this is to understand the source from which you make art.  Sometimes, however, for marginalized artists, the world warps this introspection into a trap, pigeonholing us into making art only “about” our identities, because that work is capital-I-Important to white audiences who want to tokenize our traumas. This is the white lens, and if anything, I try to understand myself as deeply as I can so that I can make art consciously for my community, not for that assumed white audience. 

Know that your career doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s, or like anything you’ve envisioned up to this point. 

As a high schooler I imagined that a life in the arts meant me in a studio, drawing and making, selling my work, getting exhibitions near and far, and gaining recognition. It was a solitary vision, one with a long history in the arts, rooted in the idea of individual genius. My career ended up completely different. Today, my arts projects involve teaching, collaborating, collecting interviews and oral histories, and creating public installations, rarely in traditional galleries or museums. 

As you work towards an arts career, figure out what does and doesn’t work for you: the kind of art you like and don’t like, the kinds of spaces that feel comfortable and those that don’t. I always thought I wanted to be part of traditional galleries, so I got a job working in a high-end art gallery in Boston during my grad program. Once in that space, however— even though I found the space calming and the work beautiful— I realized that there was something that I deeply disliked about the commodified art world. I didn’t like that we were selling art for over $10,000, that our exhibitions were geared exclusively towards collectors and wealthy art-buyers. The work was often technically masterful, but didn’t move or connect with me on a deeper level, and I realized that was because it wasn’t creating any change in the world. I liked work that shifted the needle, that made the world more inclusive and equitable, that centered marginalized stories (that gallery represented 90% white artists). I liked artwork that people made together, which drew me to collaborative art. I liked artwork that was accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy, which drew me to public art. I liked art exhibited in non-institutional spaces, which led me to community spaces. Since I was in an MFA for Creative Writing, I liked interdisciplinary art that engaged performance, technology, text, that was participatory and not just a 2D or 3D object. Figuring out all of these things led me to apply to my first major arts job: as a teaching artist in a community nonprofit that made art for social change in collaboration with local youth, in a predominantly Latinx neighborhood. 

My career path didn’t look like anything I expected, but I love it. The bulk of my income comes from teaching creative writing and art classes for nonprofits, working as a core member of a public arts nonprofit, and freelance consulting for book manuscripts. I love being an educator and consider it part of my creative practice. I love that I’m constantly collaborating with and talking to other artists. I love working with books and public art every day. I publish poetry, fiction, and literary translations, and exhibit artwork I’ve created in the studio and through funded opportunities. 

Fellow artists tell me often that I’m lucky, that my “day jobs” are all within the arts. But there are downsides to the way I’ve chosen to structure my career. I’m constantly balancing many projects, and my income is unstable. It’s difficult to save and plan towards the future,. I get by, but financial instability isn’t an option for many artists with families and dependents, with debts, medical expenses, and just isn’t the preferred lifestyle for a lot of people. I know artists who worked office jobs for years to support their practice and gain financial stability. I know artists who had entire careers as lawyers or accountants before becoming artists full time. I know artists who teach in public schools or work as substitute teachers. I know artists who are business owners and artists who work in policy and politics. I know artists who work in framing stores and shipping warehouses while being represented by galleries. These are all arts careers, and I admire every one of them. So as you build your career, don’t feel like it has to look like anyone’s else’s, like there’s anything you “should” be doing. Focus on the kind of artwork you want to make and what kind of work-life balance is best for you, then structure your career around that as best you can. 

Any job you use to support yourself can connect to an arts career!  

I get asked often by young people looking for jobs what kinds of jobs will best propel them towards an arts career. I believe that any kind of job can connect to and support an arts career, and I know that some suggestions out there in the arts world (like “get an unpaid internship at an art gallery!” or “become a studio apprentice to a well-known artist!”) assume a certain amount of privilege. So I want to break down how different kinds of jobs can connect to your art career: 

1) Jobs that allow for the flexibility and mental capacity to create. My friends who work restaurant jobs while going to auditions fall into this category. Who work as bartenders in evening so that they can be in the studio by day. Who dog-walk or babysit or nanny because the timing and flexibility allows for arts opportunities. My friends who are Lyft drivers or work in deliveries. These are often jobs outside of a creative field, but they can be beneficial because they don’t drain your creative batteries, so to speak. You still have your creative brain fully charged, and some jobs (like dog-walking) even allow for good mental processing (you can think through creative problems). As long as the job doesn’t drain you to the point where you have no energy at all, these kinds of jobs can be great because they allow time and space for your creative work. 

2) Jobs that place you in arts spaces, arts adjacent spaces, or spaces where you can learn about material/technique. My sculptor friends who work in hardware stores, quarries, foundries, or in construction. My printmaker friend who interned with graphic designers. My writer friends who work in bookstores and libraries, artists who work in art supply stores. My friend who worked with her dad’s painting company and got to improve her precision as a painter, which she then took back to the canvas. My teen students who get paid to work on murals or get stipend payments for making art at the nonprofit I work for. My filmmaker friends who worked on film crews. Friends who worked as theater ushers, in ticket sales, or as janitorial staff at museums. All of these jobs kept these artists adjacent to their artwork, whether through access to tools, materials, supplies, or books, through networking and conversations with other artists, or through skillsets that could enhance their art. 

3) Jobs that deeply engage another interest of yours, that bring you joy or can influence your work in other ways. If there’s a job that has nothing to do with your art but that you would love, do it! First, because I believe that the things we’re passionate about get integrated into our art, and second, because any job that gives you peace of mind and joy creates a positive base from which you can create. My friend who worked at a stable because she got to be around horses. My friends who worked at gyms or coaching sports because it kept them active. My friend who worked in a bike repair shop because he was obsessed with biking. An artist I knew who worked at the children’s science museum because she loved being around kids and planetariums. An artist who worked at a mineral store because rocks made her happy. If you have the opportunity, work doing things you like without worrying about whether it directly feeds your arts career.

Because believe it or not, all jobs you work can intersect in some way with your art. You’re creative— you find those connections! A Nobel-Prize winning poet helped his dad on the potato farm and wrote his best-known poem about it. Successful novelists have written about their time working in hair salons and convenience stores. A great printmaker I know who worked in a flower shop began weaving botanical forms and plant knowledge into her designs. The key in an arts career is to see all your experiences as valuable, to find ways that they can influence your art, and to be constantly thinking about and observing the world around you. 

As for me, I worked as a tennis instructor, a tennis court site supervisor, an academic advisor, an art gallery intern, and a coffee shop barista before and during my work in the arts!

Let go of objective measures of what it means to be good. 

I was always an academic overachiever. Top of my class, merit scholarships, science fair awards, AP credit overload, the whole thing. On the one hand, I grew up in a house where education was valued and celebrated, and my parents emphasized the importance of doing my best in school— not getting good grades, but working hard, doing my personal best, and reading and learning all I could. I loved school. I loved academics. And I’m not saying this to brag, but to lay the groundwork for something I struggled with in the arts.

It is jarring to be an academic overachiever and enter an arts career. I thrived off of objective value systems: study, work hard, get an A. If I worked hard and learned what I was supposed to learn, I earned recognition, validation, and opportunity. 

And then I entered the arts. The arts are entirely subjective. We hear it over and over— great artists get rejected hundreds of times, certain art forms require cutthroat competition, etc. —but it’s hard to understand the subjectivity of the art world (and the entrenched discrimination and commercial interests that affect who gets opportunities and who doesn’t) until you’re trying to live as an artist. That you can work hard on something, give all of your time and physical effort and mental and emotional energy to it, only to have it rejected. That what you think is good isn’t what another person thinks is good. That there is a magical alchemy in the act of creation that can’t be taught, or learned, but must be felt, and that you can be working to find that light while actively others try to extinguish it. That you can be good and work hard, yet still not get chosen for the awards, the exhibitions, the publications. If you chased being “the best” your whole life, you’re now in a world where there is no “best”, where greatness is subjective, where the idea of competitive greatness is actually detrimental to artists supporting each other, and where work that sells or connects to white, cishetero traditions is still the most valued. 

After struggling with this for a long time, I came to the conclusion that the most important thing to me now is making the art I want to make, the art only I can make, whether or not it fits what arts industries are looking for or what’s going to win awards. If I make art I believe in from a healthy mental and emotional place, doors will open, even if they aren’t the doors I expected. So try to let go of any sense that worth comes from external validation. Learn to accept critical feedback when it is given kindly, thoughtfully, and constructively. Surround yourself with friends and artists who who can talk to about your work, who build up your work and help you think through it rather than cutting you down. Don’t believe anyone in the arts world who thinks they get to be the arbiters of what’s “good” and who has “what it takes”. People have probably said things like that to the artists you most admire, and if they’d listened, you wouldn’t have experienced art that changed your life. 

Work to gain skills in basic business, marketing, and finances for artists. 

Many artists (at least where I am in the U.S.) go through an entire arts education without receiving resources or training in the financial side of the arts world. Your arts career will likely involve some degree of self-promotion and marketing, creating project budgets and grant proposals, artist statements and bios, sorting out taxes, and other economic elements. I can’t speak to other countries, but for artists in the U.S., taxes can be extremely complex. If you’re awarded a stipend, grant, fellowship, or employed for gigs or one-time projects, you’ll likely be taxed as an independent contractor and have to deduct your own taxes. Through residencies and exhibitions, you may pull income in multiple states and countries, which can also affect taxation. If you’re an artist who doesn’t have access to resources about finance and taxation in your arts program or who doesn’t independently have expertise in those fields, I recommend finding ways to educate yourself early: online resources, low cost courses, or even just taking your financially-savvy friends out for a coffee!

ANYWAY SORRY FOR THE LONG POST I HOPE SOMETHING IN THIS DIATRIBE WAS HELPFUL I HOPE THERE WEREN’T TOO MANY TYPOS AND I hope you have the most wonderful, fulfilling arts career! <3 

[gloomverse-theories]

Who is Amaryllis?

The first magician in the history of Gloomverse, Amaryllis, is shrouded in mystery. A legend who opened the doors for humankind to a new era: one of magic, and freedom.

However, they have yet to make an appearance in the comic unlike the others, and they have been missing ever since that first accomplishment. In this post, we will try to figure out who could be Amaryllis.

Let’s start with the obvious one and get it out of the way:

Amaryllis is dead.

This one seems logical. It’s been 2000 years since that first feat of magic, and if the strain of parting the Storm didn’t sever them, then time took care of it.

But I have some objections to that.

Mancers seem unaffected by time, and are both ageless and hard to kill. Even Prisma is not completely gone after what the Dark Lord, another mancer, did to her. Unless the same happened to Amaryllis, they are likely still kicking as much as Amadeus, Malus and Hyacinth are.

What if the effort was too much? They were a young teen, a new magician who used magic for the first time in history! They wouldn’t have known about the rules and the risks, and severed themself.

As we have seen with Cakegirl, there’s still a body left after a severing. She’s also (probably) completely intact and not broken like a statue or with huge scars from the blast and the fall.

If Amaryllis had severed, the body would have been preserved! Sure, it could have been lost, but the myth would have more solidity to it if for a time there was a body to call Amaryllis. Oral traditions would pass the word around, and pilgrimage would have taken place, which is something that can be traced with archeology.

My conclusion? Amaryllis is still alive and actively avoided the spotlight. They went into hiding after that first act and remained a legend on purpose.

Amaryllis is Amadeus

:)

We already alluded to that theory in some posts.

In my last point I stated that Amaryllis purposefully remained in the shadows, and… so did the Dark Overlord. Absolutely nothing is mentioned about a fifth mancer in Purple’s book, no name, no deeds, nothing. Yet there was a fifth figure in the illustration of the mancers, and that’s the only proof we have that they exist. The rest of the evidence and records of their existence might have been erased, possibly on purpose, to keep themself out of the spotlight…

But as readers, we have access to more knowledge than Purple. We know that our resident mooching Hobo is also known as Amadeus the Dark Overlord, and that he is undeniably a mancer. In the dream, all of the known mancers were present: Prisma and a younger Amadeus (?) who were the stars of the show, but behind Yellow we also see (who we theorize to be) Malus and Hyacinth rushing towards the temple.

They’re all in the same room! Except one…. Have you ever seen Amaryllis and Amadeus together in the same room? No? Then I rest my case.

More seriously, Yellow calls out a name, but never finishes it. She says “AMA—” before being interrupted/before Rylie wakes up. Coincidentally, both Amadeus and Amaryllis start with “Ama” and we have no way of knowing which one she was saying. 

Our one eye witness of the scene didn’t seem to know whether the Dark Lord was a man or a woman, so their look is ambiguous (long dark hair, face obscured, (possibly malnourished) slim body, concealing rags, nothing to indicate a preferred gender presentation). If it hadn’t been that way, we would have been more prone to say “oh he’s a man, so it’s definitely Amadeus / oh she’s a woman, so it’s definitely Amaryllis”. 

HOWEVER

That’s only if we assume cisnormativity. 

Who’s to say an immortal and powerful being would stay as their assigned gender? Sounds fake. 

If one person would get that gender is a social construct that doesn’t really matter, it’s a millenias old hermit with magical power. 

Which brings me to this conclusion: Amaryllis and Amadeus are the same person who goes by different names depending on how they’re feeling or what others call them.

 Hobo never threw a fit like Rylie about being called by his name, and in that he reminds me of Wander. Embracing the names given to him. 

What about the Storm? Amadeus and Amaryllis don’t have the same magical abilities, one works with Darkness and the other deals with the sky. A good point, for which I fortunately have a retort. 

Compared to a random magician, mancers have incredible powers and magic potential. This also includes their “magic personality” which is much broader and encompassing than your average magician. Compare Cakegirl who can only create and manipulate cakes and other sweets, to Amadeus who’s domain is darkness and who can presumably create and control everything that relates to it. Your first thought might be that controlling shadows isn’t as all encompassing and powerful as what I’m making it out to be, but I’ll reply that you’re thinking too small. With mancers, the sky's the limit! (pun intended) 

Speaking of sky, a storm can count as Darkness, can’t it? It casts an enormous shadow, and if you can manipulate shadows, you could also manipulate what casts it. The Storm also has a color palette reminiscent of the Dark Lord: Red, greys, black… I think there’s a link!

And I’ll end with this:

Amaryllis was the first person to gain magic, and they did so as a child who grew up in caves, unable to go outside because of the raging Storm. Magic is based on your interests, on what you like to do. Would a child have such a love for the Storm depriving them of freedom that their magic would be sky-themed? Or would they resent it for everything they put them through? It’s possible that Amaryllis was indeed fascinated by the Storm and that their sky magic reflects that, but I think it’s also likely that Amaryllis’ magic was not sky magic, but rather shadow magic. They grew up in caves, playing and hiding amongst the omnipresent darkness, and I think it’s more likely that they developed a fondness for this rather than for the storm. Since their first feat of magic was getting rid of the Storm, people remembered them as a sky magician, and they disappeared into the shadow before proving them wrong.

Amaryllis is Yellow

Did that last one seem a bit too far-fetched? Well I’m not done!

Let’s say there IS indeed five mancers, and not actually four.

Amaryllis’ name has been cited in the comic by Cirrus. In Stratoverse, the Sun is revered as a Goddess who gives stratoversians their weather magic and looks after them. This Goddess is known by the name Amaryllis.

Amaryllis is a flower, as most ecoversians are named after a plant, but amarillo is also the color "yellow" in Spanish. Coincidentally, Yellow is both of those. She's originally from Ecoverse as her room indicates (the bed sheet has a Hyacy symbol), and she was briefly in Gloomverse during its foundation as part of Prisma’s entourage. After the events that transpired there, she went to Stratoverse where she is nowadays seen as a Goddess. The grandchildren of the King admire her and the Queen takes orders from her: she’s in a position of power, in the shoes of a leader.

Sidenote: if the theory that Prisma and Yellow were a couple is exact, and that Rylie is their child (or a reincarnation of), then she’s the “daughter” of two mancers and as such, probably dangerous. She’s also Rainbow themed, and what is a rainbow if not the convergence of Sky/Cloud and Light? Rylie Rainbow Mancer Confirmed.

It also makes sense that the weather mancer would find herself in Stratoverse, the cloud kingdom, near the planetary Storm that she cast away many years ago. She may be here because of the Storm, to keep it at bay with the help of other weather magicians. It is said that the closer you are to Stratoverse, the stronger magic potential you have. Coincidentally, Stratoverse is where the discoverer of magic resides. Could she be the source of magic?

However, Yellow has a ladder in her room and likely can’t fly. If she was a weather magician or even a weather mancer like Amaryllis must have been, then she should be able to fly like the other stratoversians. Beside her passive coloration abilities, she doesn’t showcase any magic. Why? Maybe she lost her wand and hat after the events in Gloomverse, maybe she can’t use magic anymore… or maybe she does not have weather magic.

In her room, the bedsheet has a Hyacy symbol which means she’s from Ecoverse, but AFTER the revolution of Malus and subsequent peace of Hyacinth. Unless the 500 years old Yellow really liked Hyacy ideology yet didn’t feel the need to intervene during the slavery, the revolution or the restoration, it’s safe to say that she wasn’t alive at the time and grew up during a period where it was already an established religion.

Purple also says that the Colors were a Mancer’s servant and even if “servant” may not be entirely accurate, Prisma still seems to be in charge. If Yellow were a mancer, would she still be “Yellow”? Being a Color puts you under the authority of Prisma, if she truly was a Mancer (and an older one than Prisma) why would she become one of her followers and not an equal? I can see two ways out of this. Either Yellow is indeed a mancer and wanted to have her abilities enhanced by Prisma via Colorification, or Yellow is not the original Amaryllis, but a reincarnation who became a Color before getting magic/figuring out her powers.

Between those two, Yellow being a reincarnation is more convincing. However we don’t know what are the consequences of becoming a “Color”, and if Yellow being a mancer would affect this in anyway. Since Harold’s and Purple’s “color palette switch” happened when they got their magic, we can theorize that Yellow became a color when she got her magic. How did it affect her powers? It’s unclear, but like I said before, Yellow can’t fly and likely can’t use other forms of magic. Prisma “gave” her magic (like Hobo did for Harold) but maybe also took its real version away? Prisma had the power of another mancer under her control, which could explain why she had to be taken down.

While Yellow = Amaryllis is a very interesting theory, I believe that Yellow being Amaryllis is a red herring.

She literally denies being a goddess to the Stratoversian children who believe her to be Amaryllis.

Amaryllis is Rylie

I mentioned in the last one that Amaryllis may have “reincarnated” or something of the sort in Yellow. It’s unclear if there IS a reincarnation mess in gloomverse, but the whole Color thing makes it seem plausible. It also explains why Amaryllis didn’t do anything when human rights were being violated: they weren’t there anymore. 

Why Rylie though? Isn’t Yellow a much likelier Amaryllis? Well, my dear conspirator, this theory also explains why Yellow wants her dead. 

Let’s go over the evidence! 

Rylie’s magic is very air-themed: she has blue boots that make her fly and yellow gloves that make others fly (Cakegirl got to fly thanks to the AIR PUNCH Rylie gave her). Both of her altered hats have a little wing as decoration and her wand is composed of two clouds (and a rainbow) which are sky symbols.

We also know that Amadeus and everyone else involved in this shebang didn’t want Rylie to get magic. Why not? Magic is supposedly based on someone’s interest, so her getting magic when she was obsessed with unicron the unicorn would have resulted in a non-threatening magic. It seems they were more worried about her potential than what kind of magic she would get, though Hobo looked like he recognised her wand/power when she used them during the camp out.

Everyone looked away. He did not.

Rylie’s magic is sky themed, and her potential was frightening enough that Amadeus tried to keep magic away from her. That sounds like a (sky) mancer to me. 

During her dreams (specifically Hereafter) she is often seen in a cloudy landscape, walking on clouds in an open sky with no lands beneath. The clouds take her where she wants to go, they obey her instinctually.

And where does she want to go? To a cave, similar to the ones early humans might have lived in, maybe the cave the original Amaryllis lived in? The scene she sees inside possibly comes from either Prisma, Yellow or the baby, but the outside must come from Amaryllis, or an equally old mancer.

Now here comes the fun part. Why did Yellow ask Virga to kill Rylie? Why did Amadeus keep her magic away from her for so long? 

Because Rylie is Amaryllis. A Sky mancer with the Storm, the deadliest phenomenon to exist on the planet, under her control. What would happen if an inexperienced magician accidentally unleashed their power? What if the Storm came back and sent all of humanity in a dark age? 

Well… what if it had already happened once before?

In his book, Purple mentions “The Return” but never explains what it is for legal reasons. We believe that the “return” that drastically changed stratoverse’s society was the return of the Storm. 

Amaryllis was the only one who could control the Storm, but they disappeared for centuries, and had no reasons to make it return. 

Which is why I think it was an accident. A newly reincarnated Amaryllis would not be aware of the scope of their power. Like Wallis showed us, magic tends to go wild when a powerful magician is feeling… strong emotions. Sadly that magical outburst affected a lot more people and threatened all of Stratoverse. It seems like people don’t want that to happen ever again.

It may seem harsh to kill Amaryllis and all of their reincarnation, but the fate of the world is in the balance. Yellow has shown with Stratoverse’s system that she cares more about the greater good than for the individuals. What’s one person in the grand scheme of things? Not much. It’s a trolley problem, really. Except you either kill one person every time they reincarnate, or risk dooming the entirety of humanity. Would you be willing to take that risk? Yellow isn’t. 

Amadeus has tried a more peaceful way of resolving this conundrum: no hat, no magic, no problem! Alas Cakegirl forced his hand, and now he is keeping a close watch on Rylie. He won’t let it happen again.

One thing doesn’t hold up. Amaryllis is seen as a Sun God, as a personification of the Sun. Not as a sky mancer. Even though the sun is in the sky, it’s much more related to Light, to Prisma, to Yellow. Everyone is quick to assume that she IS Amaryllis, but in this theory, she would be usurping this name to get her ways. I don’t know if Virga would be aware of that, or if she’s going to find out that Yellow lied to her and ordered the death of her goddess. Wouldn’t that be fun :3

One last thing: AmaRYLLIS => AmaRYLIE 

Amaryllis is Ylil

I know that it sounds crazy. Ylil is an inversian and she doesn’t even have magic. What sort of proof could I possibly have? Just one. Amaryllises the flowers are closely related to lillies. Lilly…. or should I say Yllil? 

That’s it, that’s the theory. 

More seriously, while they may not be Ylil, it is possible that Amaryllis lives in Inverse. Maybe not as an official resident or maybe not currently, but them retiring from the world by living in Inverse when all the other events went down would make sense. It would explain their lack of intervention or relevance. 

Inversian eyes can only support blues because the color of the sky is the only one that can not be blocked. The sky, the weather, they cannot be blocked. They’re the only ones allowed. The only magician to be tolerated in Inverse is the sky magician. 

Thematically, Amaryllis relates more closely to Inverse than to Stratoverse. 

Important event marked by a discovery? Check

Retiring from the world to get away from magicians? Check

Only like the sky? Check

Very secretive? Check

Instead of Amaryllis=Stratoverse and Prisma/Amadeus=Inverse/Gloomverse, I think we have Amaryllis=Inverse, Prisma=Stratoverse and Amadeus=Gloomverse.

Amaryllis is… someone else

Sometimes people exist to add flavour but end up not being relevant and that’s okay.

It’s not. I’m a conspiracy theorist. Everything MUST be linked.

The end.

TL;DR

Amaryllis diseappeared on purpose, either by fleeing to inverse, staying in the shadows or going by a different name and face. While Yellow is a convincing Amaryllis at first glance, some stuff doesn’t hold up. Amadeus and Amaryllis are linked, if not the same person. It’s possible that Amaryllis reincarnated, perhaps in Rylie, and is a danger to humanity because of their control of the Storm.

[whiterosebrian]

Quick and Basic Explainer on Occultism, Neopaganism, and New Age

Many of my followers—along with many other people who happen across my page—might not understand what I’ve been talking about whenever I write about neopaganism, occultism, and even the apparent New Age umbrella. For their benefit, I have typed and posted an explainer. It’s just as well—I’m personally utterly convinced that more people need more mystic influences in their lives.

Neopaganism simply refers to revivals of pre-Christian European religions. There is Nordic neopaganism, Celtic neopaganism, Hellenic or Italic neopaganism, Slavic neopaganism, and even Kemetic neopaganism. The main reason why neo-pagan paths are considered open practices is that they faded into such obscurity that they were considered dead, even if traces could be found in later writings, oral traditions, and archeological finds. The reason why there’s some tension between those who try to reconstruct the old practices and those who simply find inspiration in them is that there’s only so much that is still left behind by these pre-Christian communities. You may have heard of Wicca, which has sometimes been purported to be a primal religion—though in fact Gerald Gardner cobbled it together in the 1950s based on his pet theory of a pan-European witch-cult, and he has come under more scrutiny lately. Many witches and neopagans endeavor to clarify that they aren’t Wiccan, however much Gardner’s work may have influenced their crafts and practices.

Occultism is, surprisingly enough, a somewhat broad topic. The term doesn’t have to carry the sensational connotation that Christian preachers and pulp fictions often give. It simply refers to something like hidden knowledge. Throughout history there are a number of people who have sought hidden knowledge and hidden power—yes, some sought them for personal gain, but others were motivated by an earnest desire to bond with the divine and the universe and to serve the entire web of life. I trust that I am among the latter. Whether I can be sure of that is a totally fair question to ask—double-checking my own motives and thinking is important to remaining humble and sane. I’ve been beaten down by a superficially privileged but evidently stagnant life and I’ve long pondered whatever is beyond simply avoiding a premature death.

The New Age movement is a loose amalgamation of ideas that grew in the 1970s in hopes of a united, mystical earth in the astrological Age of Aquarius, hence the name. It might be partially attributed to the more esoteric aspects of the 1960s hippie counterculture as well as pre-existing modern occultism. It may seem silly and childish at first blush, but the desire for genuine spirituality is most certainly there. I still frequently shop at a place called “New Age People”, mostly for lightly sweetened caffeinated drinks, to support a local business; my first serious looks into alternative spiritualities also stemmed from shopping trips to that store. Anyone who wants to begin anew with alternative spirituality might start with a local New Age shop—but that would only be a starting point and occasional resource.

The New Age movement can be credited for bringing alternative spiritualities more into the mainstream. Nonetheless, it also faced justified criticism for unintentional colonialism—that is, grabbing aspects from various religions and traditions, including those of highly marginalized communities, and repackaging them for middle- and upper-class white people. The term “plastic shamanism” is sometimes thrown at those who appropriate indigenous spiritualties. The sentiment that people are fundamentally united is laudable, but I’ve become convinced that throwing things together in a blender is not the right way to go. I myself could have fallen into the trap of randomly throwing spiritual traditions together in that manner. I was starting to lean towards Kabbalah, as I wanted a genuine path towards the one source of all creation after an acute crisis of faith, but some Jewish practitioners whom I’ve spoken with convinced me to leave it alone. I became convinced to simply lean more into my own heritage by going into neopaganism.

Theories and opinions within occult and neopagan cultures can be startlingly widely varied—and some might be less well-grounded than others. One reason for putting together a grimoire as a magician is that I’ve been looking to many different books and webpages in order to synthesize something thoughtful, coherent, and workable. I’m still at the beginning of learning my craft, which is all the more reason to learn from other practitioners.

I’m certainly aware that occultism can be turned towards toxic ends. The Nazis of the twentieth century showed some interest in the occult and had some influence from it, even if that has apparently been exaggerated by pulp fictions. An article on the website Medium, entitled “Nazi Hippies”, discusses that—as well as how some New-Agers are drawn into deadly conspiracy theories such as Q-Anon. On a roughly related side note, a purported Christian mystic in Tsarist Russia was among the first people to publicize the infamous Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Today’s right-wingers might sometimes use “Satanic elites” or “global elites” as codes for “Jews”, reinforcing why any demonizing reference to elites is a cause for concern, no matter what one speaker or another has in mind. Serious occultists and neopagans have a grave responsibility to stand against conspiracism and neofascism. I’m very pleased to see some of that pushback on the social media sites that I frequent.

There are plenty others who give earnest spiritualism a bad name and make it look absolutely unhinged. The YouTube channel called Spirit Science has been called out especially for one pseudo-historical video about human origins. That video has been described as a crack-addled Dungeons and Dragons campaign at best and deceitful reactionary fascist propaganda at worst. I’m pleased to see occult and pagan practitioners who actually look to quality scholarship and history to inform their practices. I wish to be historically rooted in my practice myself for reasons such as what I’ve mentioned here.

I could potentially say more. However, I don’t want to waste your time, and I don’t even know what to fit into a journal entry that I wrote during a Friday afternoon. This is a simply a quick and basic explainer for the benefit of those who aren’t familiar with occultism or neopaganism. Did I help you better understand what I’ve increasingly mentioned throughout my postings to the web?

[raeynbowboi]

Dating Disney: The Black Cauldron

The Black Cauldron is a 1985 Grimdark fantasy movie based primarily on the first two novels of the Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander written between 1964-1968. A primary reference and inspiration behind the series being the Mabinogion, a collection of early Celtic myths written in Middle Welsh. The character names also follow a Welsh naming conventions as Fflewdder Fflam uses the “Double F” found in the Welsh language, as a single F by itself makes a [v] sound in the Welsh language. The name Taran is also Welsh, meaning Thunder. So the movie is very neatly rooted in Wales, or Welsh-speaking Albion.

The Mabinogion

The Mabinogion is comprised of 4 main branches recounting Welsh mythology, compiled in the late 12th-13th centuries based on older oral traditions likely dating back to some time between 1050-1225. However, there are many suggestions as to when the stories might date from. (To hear a story from the Mabinogion, check out Red’s summary of Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed.)

Now, you may be wondering “why is there only 1 book on all Welsh mythology?” and I’m glad you hypothetically asked because it’s time to blame the Christians. Seriously, because Celtic mythology is loaded with god-like figures, Christian interpreters when they came to Albion censored or outright destroyed stories that implied that there was more than their God. Figures such as the Irish Tuatha de Dannan, which were godlike ancestral figures, had to be recontexualized as Faeries, Spirits, or Angels in order to avoid censorship by the Christian monks who transcribed these myths. Brigid, a very important Irish goddess, was Christianized into the figure of Saint Bridgette. This was actually an attempt by Christian missionaries to ease the pagans into Christianity. Essentially the mindset of “yeah, you can worship your holy figures, but uh, cut it out with the holy divine aspect. We can’t have that. They’re clearly not as top tier as our God.” 

You may remember from my Sword in the Stone discussion that I mentioned that Rome occupied Albion before Christianity wormed its way in, and you may be wondering, were the Romans this bad? Haha, clearly you underestimate how awful medieval Christians were. No, the Romans just viewed foreign pantheons as extensions of their pantheon. You have a sun god? So do we. It must be the same god with a different name. This is what’s referred to as Interpretatio Romana. So the Celtic Sun God Belenus would be referred to by the Romans as Apollo Belenus. It’s the same god, but the Roman name always came first. Compared to what is known as Interpretatio Christiana, which boils down to ‘you’re worshiping Satan in the form of a false idol. Stop that.’ So, when I say that our lack of written accounts of Welsh mythology is entirely the fault of the Christians, I’m completely sincere in that statement because the Romans didn’t censor Celtic myths or history, only the Christians did.

The Black Cauldron and Mythological Parallels

Prydain

It might sound like a generic fantasy name, but the name Prydain actually comes from the Welsh name for Great Britain, Prydain Fawr. Unfortunately, the term Great Britain dates to 1707. However, Prydain is also the medieval name for the island, as the Welsh never referred to the Island as Albion.

Henwen

Literally meaning “Old White” in Welsh, Henwen is a sow under the care of Coll, a pigkeeper for Dallwyr Dallben. In the Chronicles of Prydain, Coll is a character, but in the Disney film, Taran seems to have absorbed Coll’s role as pigkeeper. However, the fact that he refers to himself as an assistant pigkeeper could still mean that he is ranked below an off-screen Coll. However, the Henwen of Welsh mythology could not predict the future. It was known that Henwen was to birth something terrible, and so she was chased off a cliff into the sea in Cornwall. She survived however and went on to give birth to many unusual things, including a cat, a wolf, an eagle, and a single grain each of wheat, rye, and barley. And three bees. I really wish I was making this up.

Gurgi

Gurgi’s name might take inspiration from Gwrgi Garwlwyd, whose name literally means man-dog rough-grey. He was a warrior in Welsh Arthurian Legend, and was possibly a werewolf. Gwrgi was a monster that killed a man every day, and two on Saturday so he would not kill on Sunday. The Gurgi in the books is far more monstrous looking with horns, but Gurgi in the Disney film retains the dog-like traits of Gwrgi.

The Black Cauldron

Known in Welsh mythology as Pair Dadeni or “the Cauldron of Rebirth”, it is referenced in the second branch of the Mabinogion. Like in the movie, the cauldron has the power to revive the dead, and is destroyed when a living person is thrown into it, in the mythological case, Efnisien pretends to be a corpse and is thrown into the cauldron for revival, causing the cauldron to be destroyed. There are other similar magical cauldrons in Welsh and Irish mythology, including the cauldrons of Arawn and Diwrnach, which would not boil the food of cowards, and Ceriddwen’s Cauldron of Inspiration, which caused those who drank from it to gain infinite wisdom. There is also The Cauldron of the Dagda in Irish mythology. One of the 4 Treasures of the Tuatha de Dannan, the Cauldron of the Dagda was stored in the mythical city of Muirius, and no man would ever leave the cauldron hungry, for it produced infinite food.

The Horned King

In the novels, the Horned King is a minor villain, subjugated to Arawn, God of Death. However, in Welsh mythology, Arawn is not a death god. Rather, Arawn is king of Annwn, the Welsh Otherworld. Aka, the Faerieworld. See, this is another example of Christians mucking up translations and trying to force other religions to reflect Christianity, so Annwn is often treated as the Underworld of Celtic mythology, but considering Pwyll wanders into Annwn completely by accident, I don’t think that’s how it was interpreted in traditional texts. The Horned King may also draw inspiration from the Horned God, Cernunnos. Little is known about Cernunnos due to being a very ancient god, but his role as a horned god of the wilderness has historians guessing that he’s one of the oldest gods or divine archetypes in human history, as ancient horned gods pop up with surprising regularity in older religions: namely Baphomet and Pan. Cernunnos is also sometimes but not always folded in with the figure of the All-Father as a sort of father to all creation in Gallo-Celtic paganism. Cernunnos is often regarded as a god of nature and the wilds, but is also a psychopomp god that guides the dead to the afterlife, and maybe is also a god of death and rebirth as a part of life. Again, this is kind of very uncertain because of just how ancient Cernunnos is, so don’t take this interpretation as law. But despite how uncertain we are about what all this figure represents, he’s a very interesting deity none-the-less, and very likely contributed to the Christian idea of the devil as a horned figure with goat legs. As a seemingly undead creature, the Horned King may draw parallels to a creature known as a Revenant. A creature found in Celtic folklore, a Revenant is a vengeful undead that seeks to torment all life until it has found the person who wronged it while it was alive and exacts its revenge. However, it should be noted that in the books, the Horned King is a living man wearing a horned skull mask, whereas the movie version is very clearly a corpse.

Taran’s Sword

In Welsh mythology, the sword Dyrnwyn belonged to the great king Rhydderch Hael, and when held by a worthy man would glow with fire. In the books, Taran’s sword is indeed referred to as Dyrnwyn. Similarly, alongside the Cauldron of the Dagda, another treasure of the Tuatha de Dannan is the Claiomh Solais or the Sword of Light, housed in the mythical city of Findias. This may also be the mythical origin of Excalibur, though scholars have not made a direct, perfect connection.

Conclusion

With so much of the story pulling from the single source of the Mabinogion, we can boil down the likely setting to around when the stories were written as our general setting. Luckily, we can roughly guestimate to about when the Mabinogion might originate from, and the general look of the movie seems to match with this time setting. So, we’re looking at about 1050-1225, around the time that the stories in the Mabinogion might have started to be told, thus inspiring the events in the film.

Setting: Prydain (Wales/Isle of Britain) Kingdom: Kingdom of Prydain Era: High Middle Ages (1000-1250) Year: 1050-1225 AD Language: Middle Welsh

[reallifesultanas]

Portrait of Hürrem/Hürrem portréja

It is very difficult to write about Hürrem. Not because we know little about her, as fortunately a relatively large amount of information available, but because Hürrem was one of the most interesting characters in the history of the Ottoman Empire. There were more influential women than her, though she was the first to receive special privileges as a woman, to be politically active, and to seriously influence the development of the Ottoman dynasty.

Her origin

There are many misunderstandings about the origin of Hürrem, many treat her as a Russian, even though she was far from it. She was born in Ruthenia, part of the Kingdom of Poland, which is now located in Ukraine. Most sources count her as the daughter of an Orthodox priest, but there is no evidence to suggest this, it is just a legend. Her date of birth is controversial, however it is speculated to be 1503 because several sources mention that her first child was born at age 17. This calculated date of birth also helps us to uncover when and how she was enslaved! In Ruthenia, the Tartars were the greatest threat, they were the ones who collected the slaves from there, then took them to the Crimea and then sold them from there to the surrounding empires. Minor Tartar raids could have been happen anytime, however, in 1509 her supposed hometown, Rohatyn was hit by a larger Tartar attack, so it is likely that she was enslaved then, at about 6 years old. Where she got from there, where she grew up, remains an eternal mystery. She probably arrived to the Crimea from Rohatyn after a long walk. There are indications that she grew up at theCrimea and later was sent to Istanbul.

Her journey from slavery to Suleiman's bed

There are several theories as to when and by whom she was gifted to the Sultan. One such theory is that Pargali Ibrahim bought the girl on the slave market after Suleiman’s accession and then gifted her to the sultan. Of course, this possibility cannot be ruled out either, but even if it was him, who gifted her, he certainly have had to buy her earlier than when Suleiman's accession. The girls could only enter the harem of the palace from the slave market as children, so their virginity and proper education would be ensured. Older girls could only get into the harem as a gift, already educuted somewhere. Ibrahim did not have a palace, he did not have a position before Suleiman's accession that would make him able to secure Hürrem's upbringing.

Most likely, Hürrem was an accession gift to Suleiman, so she previously grew up in a harem of an influential person and then came to Suleiman from there. But who raised her then? According to some sources, the granddaughter of Sultan Bayezid II, Hançerli Fatma Sultan, raised the girl and then presented to Suleiman. This is a plausible version, however, it does not explain Hürrem’s poor Turkish knowledge. After all, if she grew up in the household of an Ottoman princess, she should have spoken Turkish fluently, but we know that her oral and written skills were weak in the early 1520s.

For this reason, it is plausible that Hürrem was raised in a place, far away from Istanbul, maybe at some beylerbey's palace, or in the Crimea. The Crimean khan was in a close relationship with Suleiman, as he supported his father's ascension before. It would be worthy for such a friendship to send an exceptional concubine as a gift to Suleiman’s accession. And that would also explain how she could still get into the sultan's palace without fluent Turkish knowledge.

Either way, the 16-17-year-old girl was gifted shortly after Suleiman's accession, around November-December 1520. There are also sources, not at all credible, that she was already the concubine of Suleiman in Manisa, but this is completely not reliable. Hürrem's cheerful nature must have had a refreshing effect on Suleiman during the troubled period which he lived after his accession. Something sparkled between the two immediately, but given that they couldn’t have depth conversations because of language barriers, they were probably mostly connected by sex at first. Over time, as Hürrem’s Turkish knowledge developed, they became more and more acquainted with each other and a legendary love intertwined between them.

The new concubine

In the winter of 1520 Ayşe Hafsa also arrived to Istanbul after her son and probably met Hürrem for the first time. Not knowing what Ayşe Hafsa thought of the girl, maybe she was surprised that she was less beautiful than Suleiman's other concubines? After all, according to the descriptions, Hürrem was petite and graceful, but not an outstanding beauty. In any case, to the great delight of Ayşe Hafsa and Suleiman, Hürrem soon became pregnant. Thus, by the time Suleiman’s Manisa harem arrived to Istanbul with his concubines and children, Hürrem was already pregnant with her first child. For this reason, it is utterly inconceivable that Mahidevran, Suleiman’s other concubine, would have physically abused the girl. After all, beating the sultan's pregnant concubine would have entailed a punishment that would have wiped Mahidevran out of history forever. Furthermore, Mahidevran had no reason to hate Hürrem, since all of Suleiman's children were born from different concubines, so Suleiman was not a monogamous man at all in Manisa either.

Young Hürrem became part of a whole new world, where she had to learn language, customs, train herself to be a worthy partner of the sultan and a worthy mother of his child. She must have received much help in this from Ayşe Hafsa, who strictly supervised her son's harem, and with her kind nature she surely tried to help the young consort. In addition, another important figure came into Hürrem's life during this period, Gülfem. Gülfem was probably a high-ranking harem kalfa, and also a close friend of Suleiman. The two women soon became friends because of their presumably similar nature.

However, her romantic time with Suleiman could not last long, because in the spring of 1521 Suleiman embarked on his first campaign. Hürrem certainly spent the summer studying and relaxing, and with Gülfem's help, perhaps she was able to write letters to the Sultan. Her first son, Mehmed, was born in September 1521. In the absence of the sultan, Ayşe Hafsa was the one who named the newcomer. There must have been great ceremonies in the harem in honor of the new prince, and Suleiman was also immediately notified of the arrival of his fifth child. However, the joy could not last long. By September 1521, the plague was already present in the city, and by the end of September, it had also broken into the palace. October 1521 thus became the month of mourning. Suleiman had probably received the terrible news and could have hurried home even more, but unfortunately it was too late. His toddler son, Murad, his little daughter Raziye, fell victim to the plague before he could return home. After his arrival, his eldest son, Mahmud, also passed away. With this, Suleiman had only two heirs left, the young Mustafa, the son of Mahidevran Hatun, and the newborn Mehmed, the son of Hürrem.

Breaking with traditions

With the death of Suleiman’s two eldest sons, the number of heirs was limited to 2 young children. In that period, it was extremely small, so he had to produce more children immediately. Everyone expected the Sultan, who had kept the traditions so far, to start a relationship with a new concubine, but he asked for Hürrem again. This must have caused a great deal of shock within the harem, for so far a consort who had given birth to a soncould no longer be the sexual partner of the sultan. Perhaps the relationship between Hürrem and Mahidevran also deteriorated here. However, there is no indication that Ayşe Hafsa opposed Suleiman's decision. Thus Hürrem soon became pregnant again and in 1522 (presumably in autumn) she gave birth to her only daughter, Mihrimah. She was quickly followed in May 1524 by Prince Selim, then in late 1525 or early 1526 by Prince Abdullah. We have no specific information about Abdullah's birth, but a pre-1527 letter from Hürrem refers to the order of birth. At the end of this letter, Hürrem said goodbye to Suleiman:

"Sultanim, your son Mehmed, your daughter Mihrimah, Selim han and Abdullah also send their greetings..."

. Certainly, in this letter, Hürrem listed the children in order of birth. Hürrem probably did not write her own letters at this time, as his written Turkish skills developed much more slowly than oral. The letters have been ornate, artistic works, maybe by an experienced, talented harem kalfa. But the letters also contain personal notes written in much weaker Turkish knowledge and uglier handwriting, so Hürrem herself probably attached them to the finished letter.

Her writing skills were also constantly evolving, so she was soon able to write all her letters on her own. In addition, she was more skilful in doing financial things and maintaining her household. She had difficulties with this at first, as she had a hard time handling the money. Suleiman therefore entrusted his consort to the care of Gülfem. Gülfem had to constantly monitor Hürrem's spending in the sultan's absence. At first, unfortunately, Gülfem could not report much good, but over time, Hürrem learned how to do it.

She also became an increasingly experienced mother, aided by the birth of Prince Bayezid in 1526 or 1527. Unfortunately, she was soon forced to learn to mourn as well, for Prince Abdullah died as a young child, presumably as a result of an epidemic. To alleviate her grief, Cihangir, the youngest and last child of Hürrem and Suleiman, was born in 1532. Unfortunately, the little one was born with physical deformities, thus testing the soul of the grieving mother.

The empress

In 1533, Suleiman sent his eldest son, Mustafa, to a princely province who thus left Istanbul with his mother, Mahidevran. With that, only Ayşe Hafsa remained, who overruled Hürrem.

Suleiman had begun renovating the harem of Topkapi Palace in the first years of his reign, so that his mother and loved ones could always be nearby. The renovation was finally completed in 1534. However, the health of the Valide Sultan was already in decline by this time and she soon died. The harem and the whole empire fell into deep mourning after the loss of the beloved valide. However, life must go on, so Suleiman had to take care of leading the harem in the absence of his mother. He could have entrusted the harem to any leading eunuch or kalfa, but he wanted his beloved Hürrem as the head of the harem. However, this was not an easy task, as Hürrem had a lower rank, than many inhabitants of the harem. All the widow sultans, the sisters and aunts of Suleiman, lived there, who were superior to Hürrem as true-born sultanas. Therefore, Suleiman created a new rank, the rank of Hasheki Sultan, by which he elevated Hürrem below to the rank of the Valide, roughly equal to the other sultanas. And if that hadn’t been enough, he married Hürrem. The marriage was probably contracted in 1534, but the ceremony did not take place until 1536. The ceremony took place in the palace and according to all records it was magneficent, with plenty of public events, gifts, and at night the streets were filled with celebrating people, music, feasts. All the houses were decorated with garlands, everyone happily celebrated the wedding. A huge stage was set up in Hippodrome Square, where various entertainment programs were organized and which Hürrem could also watch from her veiled place.

From then on, Hürrem, as the sultan’s legal wife, mother of his six children, and leader of the harem, became a true empress. Gates opened before her that she had never dreamed of. In essence, in the absence of the Valide, she performed all the duties and powers of hers. She was also the first to move into the renovated harem of Topkapi Palace with her children. Of course, she still spent a lot of time in Old Palace, as the harem itself was still there, with its bustling world remaining attractive to Hürrem as well. Thus Hürrem lived a real duplicitous life. When a massive fire destroyed the Old Palace in January 1541, her headquarters were completely relocated to Topkapi Palace. Her apartement, her letters, her clothes, her memories all became prey to the fire. Fortunately, Hürrem herself was not in Istanbul at that time, so she was not harmed. However, in the twilight of her life, she returned once again to where it all began, for her aggravating illness could only be treated by the doctors of the Old Palace, so she lived there again in her last months.

Loving wife and careing mother

We know a lot about Hürrem as a lover. This side of her was shown a lot in the series and filmsabout her. This is natural, as their love with Suleiman is legendary. However, there is less talk about their daily life, that the couple lived in a fairly normal relationship and traditionally raised their children. In the past, sultans kept themselves away from their children, living separately. Suleiman, on the other hand, spent a lot of time with his family, often having dinner and traveling together. Hürrem was a devoted companion of Suleiman for 38 years, she was with him all her life, she listened, supported him, cheered him up like a good wife and companion. However, there was something in her life that was far more important than Suleiman. Motherhood.

She gave birth to six children, but only five reached adulthood. Hürrem loved all her children very much, countless letters and evidence point to this. Her first serious test as a mother was the early death of Prince Abdullah; the second when Cihangir was born deformed. But the biggest test was yet to come. As Mehmed grew older, it became timely for him to be given a province as his brother, Mustafa. According to tradition, the prince's mother was also went with the prince to the province, but in the case of Hürrem this raised several problems. On the one hand, she had several sons, so if she goes with Mehmed, she must leave the rest behind; Cihangir demanded constant medical proximity so he could not leave Istanbul and Hürrem did not want to leave her ill son behind; moreover, as the legal wife of the Sultan, it would not have been appropriate for her to live far from the Sultan. No doubt she did not want to leave Suleiman either, but as a mother it was not easy for her to let her eldest son, her hope go alone to his province. For the sake of his sons'future, however, she had to stay in Istanbul. Hürrem's four living sons were the source of her power, but also her weakness. Because the law of fratricide states that the prince who ascend the throne must kill his brothers in order to maintain order. Hürrem was the first to have several sons, so she had two tasks: to get rid of the eldest prince, Mustafa, to save her own sons, and to build a relationship with her sons so that when the time came she could prevent his victorious son from executing his brothers. To do this, she had to stay close to the sultan and the power, so she sent Mehmed to Manisa with a sore heart with his governess. However, she did not let his son alone, they corresponded regularly and she set out on every occasion to visit him. As time passed and her other two sons, Selim and Bayezid, also received provinces, Hürrem traveled even more and visited his children regularly, which journeys she was accompanied by her sick son Cihangir and sometimes by her daughter, Mihrimah.

After one of these trips, she was on her way home from Manisa when received the tragic news: Mehmed died. Hürrem’s pain is indescribable and unimaginable. Not only did she lose her firstborn son, but she also lost her hope to save her younger sons from fratricide with Mehmed’s accession. With Mehmed's death, she certainly saw the future hopeless for a long time. However, she had to gather herself for her children, so she soon continued to fight for the future of his children.

Unlike her sons, she never had to leave her daughter, Mihrimah. There was probably a conflict over Mihrimah's marriage, but at least a disagreement between Hürrem and Suleiman. According to reports, Hürrem choosed the young, handsome Egyptian beylerbey as the future husband of her daughter, while Suleiman favored the old and not-so-good-looking Rüstem Pasha. Mihrimah was the apple of her father's eye, so the sultan would never have allowed his daughter to marry to a faraway province and, anyway, the Egyptian beylerbey was rumored to have syphilis. However, there was also a rumor about Rüstem, namely that he had leprosy. Suleiman eventually only examined Rüstem, and when it turned out he was healthy, he arranged the marriage with his daughter. Hürrem was not happy about this at first, though she knew Rüstem, she knew he would be a faithful and good husband to her daughter. Over time, they reconciled and made a lifelong alliance. He became an ally of Hürrem in all her intrigues.

Her intrigues

When we hear Hürrem's name, the intrigues immediately come to our mind. Many believe that a lot of executions can be attributed to her, but this is not entirely true. For example, they blame Hürrem with the death of Pargali Ibrahim Pasa for no reason. She had nothing to do with Ibrahim's execution, possibly encouraging Suleiman. It is true that the relationship between Hürrem and Ibrahim was based on jealousy and probably they did not like each other because of their similar nature, but Hürrem would not have had enough power to overthrow Ibrahim, whereas Ibrahim caused his own destiny. However, it is probable that she tried to open Suleiman's eyes to Ibrahim’s abuses. At least one letter is known in which Hürrem writes about Ibrahim to the Sultan, recalling an earlier discussion of theirs. Thus, indirectly, she may indeed have played some role in Ibrahim's execution, but it was not up to him and Ibrahim was far from being innocent.

She probably had more to do with the execution of Mustafa. However, there is no evidence of any of Hürrem's actions against Mustafa, it is difficult to accuse her. The fact is, however, that indirectly, all indications are that they worked hard with Rustem and Mihrimah to get Mustafa out of their way. To this Rüstem tried to hinder the work of the prince by political means, and if he made a mistake, Rütem immediately exposed the mistakes to the sultan. Hürrem probably gave instructions to Rüstem and tried to influence the Sultan when he complained to his wife about the situation. In any case, Suleiman soon made a decision and in 1553 executed his son, Mustafa. It's hard to say what Hürrem might have felt. She was probably relieved as it became clear that one of her sons would ascend the throne, so she could hope that her children had escaped death. However, Hürrem was soon hit by a tragic blow. A few months after Mustafa was execution, her son Cihangir fell ill and died.

Her charity

Many people think that Hürrem was an evil woman who lived for her intrigues and who caused the death of many. However, this is not true. She did a lot of charity. During her life she created mosques, schools, soup kitchens, accommodations for travelers, Sufi lodges, spas, and a hospital. Her constructions surpassed the constructions of all former Ottoman women in both size and location. Many of her buildings stand still today. Besides, she never forgot where she came from. She also sacrificed much for the slaves, tried to help them, and often gave money to her servants if they wanted to do similarly noble acts. One of her servants, Nevbahar, for example, was able to renovate a small mosque with parts left out of the Hasheki complex.

And most controversially, she also supported the Janissaries who hated her, according to an anonymous contemporary note. But not in the way we would first think, she didn’t try to buy them with bribes. According to the story, she once accompanied Suleiman to the barracks of the Janissaries, and when she saw the young boys exercising without shoes, her heart was broken and asked Suleiman to give them a regular monthly stipend and shoes. Suleiman did so, but Hürrem did not want to weaken the treasury either, so she sold some of her gold, jewels, and returned the money to the treasury.

Last years

Although Hürrem relieved with Mustafa's death, unfortunately not everything happened as she expected. Cihangir's death moved her down a slope, and then Bayezid's hostility towards Selim finally pulled the ground out from under her feet. Although Hürrem supported Bayezid, it is unlikely that she wanted to see him on the throne, she merely wanted a more balanced struggle between her two surviving sons, as the sultan - though not openly - favored Selim. In addition, Hürrem may have feared that if Bayezid was left without a supporter, he would openly revolt against his father and brother. He tried his best to keep Bayezid in control, for he feared that he would annoy the sultan until he would get the same destiny as Mustafa.

Perhaps this much pain also contributed to her deteriorating health. To this day, we don't know exactly what disease Hürrem had, it is possible that she had some kind of tumor. In any case, Hürrem's health gradually deteriorated and by the winter of 1557 she had reached such proportions that she was forced to move permanently back to Old Palace, where she was treated by the best doctors. Suleiman tried to spend as much time with her as possible. In the spring of 1558 Hürrem was already very ill, and Suleiman handed over all his duties to Rüstem Pasha so that he could spend his time with his dying wife. Hürrem finally passed away on April 15, 1558. The French ambassador wrote: "The Haseki, the sultan's wife, died at about two o'clock in the morning, left the palace in deep mourning, besides the sultan, Rüstem Pasa also mourned and everyone else who owed her their positions. The sultan was so worn out by her death, that his appearance had changed quite as if he had aged for years. It is said that the day before Hürrem's death, Suleiman promised her for the soul of his late father, Selim, that he would never look at another woman if he lost Hürrem." As we know, Suleiman kept his promise and mourned Hürrem until his own death. In addition, breaking the customs, he buried his beloved wife in his own mosque, in an independent türbe. Hürrem’s türbe is one of the most wonderful of all the sultanas. The tiles show cheerful pictures, alluding to her nature, which also seduced Suleiman.

Prologue

It is very difficult to write about Hürrem. She was an infinitely complex personality who was very misunderstood by people. She was not evil, not desired for power, she was only a woman who had been abducted and enslaved; a mother who would have done — and has done — anything for the welfare of her children; and a lover who was a devoted companion to her husband until her death. Many people stay in deep silence about her charity, as it does not fit into the image of her... Yet his charity is unique and outstanding in the history of the entire Ottoman Empire.

Luckily, we have a lot of information about her, so when I read my own work I have a constant sense of lack, yet it’s impossible to condense everything into a blog post. So for those who want to know more about Hürrem, I strongly recommend Leslie Peirce's work - Empress of the East, as you can't find a more perfect and detailed description of Hürrem's life.

Used sources: L. Peirce - Empress of the east, L. Peirce - The imperial harem, Galina I. Yermolenko - Roxolana in European literature, history and culture, Colin Imber - The Ottoman Empire 1300-1650

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Hürremről írni meglehetősen nehéz. Nem azért mert keveset tudunk róla, hiszen szerencsére viszonylag sok információ áll rendelkezésünkre, hanem mert Hürrem az egyik legérdekesebb karakter volt az Oszmán Birodalom történetében. Igaz, voltak nála befolyásosabb nők, azonban ő volt az első, aki különleges kiváltságokat kapva nőként, politikailag is aktív lehetett és aki komolyan befolyásolta az Oszmán-ház alakulását. Emellett azon kevés nő egyike volt, aki elrablása, eladása és rabszolgasorban töltött szenvedése után megtalálta a valódi szerelmet.

Eredete

Hürrem eredetével kapcsolatban sok a félreértés, sokan oroszként kezelik, holott távolról sem volt az. Az akkori Ruténia területén született egyszerű családba, amely a Lengyel Királyság része volt, ma pedig Ukrajna területén fekszik. A legtöbb forrás egy ortodox pap leányaként tartja számon, azonban nincs erre utaló bizonyíték, nem tudni igaz e. Születési ideje vitatott, valószínűleg 1503-ban vagy 1504-ben jött világra. Ez a dátum azért tűnik hihetőnek, mert a letöbb forrás úgy említi, 17 évesen született meg első gyermeke (1521-ben). Saccolt születési ideje pedig abban is segít minket, hogy megpróbáljuk feltárni, mikor és hogyan került rabszolgasorba! Ruténiában a tatárok számítottak a legnagyobb fenyegetésnek, ők voltak azok, akik az innen származó rabszolgákat begyűjtötték, a Krímre vitték majd onnan eladták őket a környező birodalmakba. Apróbb tatár rajtaütések gyakorlatilag bármikor lehettek, kisebb mennyiségű rabszolgát így akármikor zsákmányolhattak, azonban, 1509-ben Hürrem feltételezett szülővárosát Rohatynt érte egy nagyobb tatár támadás, így valószínűsíthető, hogy ekkor került rabszolgasorba, nagyjából 6 évesen. Az, hogy innen hová került, hol nevelkedett örök rejtély marad. Valószínűleg Rohatynból hosszú gyaloglás után érkezett meg a Krímre. Vannak arra utaló jelek, hogy itt nevelkedett és innen került később egyenesen Isztambulba.

Útja a rabszolgasorból Szulejmán ágyába

Több teória is létezik arra, hogy mikor és ki által került a szultáni palotába. Egyik ilyen teória szerint Pargali Ibrahim vásárolta meg a lányt a rabszolgapiacon Szulejmán trónralépése után, majd ő ajándékozta a szultánnak. Természetesen nem zárható ki ez a lehetőség sem, azonban ha így is volt, és Ibrahim ajándékaként került Szulejmánhoz, egészen biztosan korábban kellett volna megvásárolnia őt Ibrahimnak, mint Szulejmán trónralépése. Ugyanis a palota háremébe csak gyermekként kerülhettek be a lányok rabszolgapiacról, így volt biztosítva szüzességük és megfelelő oktatásuk. Idősebb lányok csak ajándékként, már kitanítva juthattak be a hárembe. Ibrahimnak nem volt palotája, nem volt olyan pozíciója Szulejmán trónralépése előtt, hogy biztosítani tudta volna Hürrem neveltetését. 

A legvalószínűbb az, hogy Hürrem trónralépési ajándék volt Szulejmánnak, tehát korábban valamely befolyásos személy háremében nevelkedett, majd innen került Szulejmánhoz. Na de ki nevelte akkor? Egyes források szerint II. Bayezid szultán leányunokája, Hançerli Fatma Sultan nevelte a lányt, majd ajándékozta Szulejmánnak. Ez hihető verzió, azonban nem magyarázza Hürrem gyenge török tudását. Hiszen ha egy oszmán hercegnő háztartásában nevelkedett, folyékonyan beszélnie kellett volna oszmán törökül, azonban tudjuk, hogy mind szóbeli, mind írásbeli képességei gyengék voltak az 1520-as évek elején. 

Emiatt az az opció sem elvethető, hogy Hürrem a birodalom távolabbi szegletében nevelkedett, valamelyik beglerbégnél, vagy eseteg a Krímen. A krími kán ugyanis Szulejmánnal közeli viszonyban állt, hiszen I. Szelim támogatójaként segítette annak trónra jutását. Méltó lenne egy ilyen barátsághoz, hogy egy kivételes ágyast küldjön ajándékul Szulejmán trónralépésére. És ez megmagyarázná azt is, hogy gyenge török tudásával hogyan kerülhetett mégis a szultán ágyába. 

Akárhogyan is, a 16-17 éves lány nemsokkal Szulejmán trónralépése után került hozzá, 1520 novembere, decembere körül. Vannak olyan, egyáltalán nem hiteles források is, melyek szerint már Manisában Szulejmán ágyasa volt, azonban ez teljes mértékben kizárt. Hürrem vidám természete bizonyára üdítően hatott Szulejmánra a gondterhelt időszakban. Kettejük között azonnal lángragyúlt valami, ám figyelembe véve, hogy mélyremenő beszélgetéseket nem tudtak folytatni a nyelvi korlátok miatt, valószínűleg eleinte főleg a szex kötötte őket össze. Idővel ahogy Hürrem török tudása fejlődött, egyre jobban megismerték egymást és legendás szerelem szövődött közöttük.

Az új ágyas

1520 telén Ayşe Hafsa, Szulejmán édesanyja is megérkezett Isztambulba fia után és valószínűleg ekkor találkozott először Hürremmel. Nem tudni Ayşe Hafsa mit gondolt a lányról, talán meglepte, hogy kevéssé volt szép, mint Szulejmán többi ágyasa? Hiszen a leírások szerint Hürrem bár kecses volt és alacsony ám nem volt kiemelkedő szépség. Mindenesetre Ayşe Hafsa és Szulejmán legnagyobb örömére Hürrem hamarosan várandós lett. Így mire Szulejmán manisai háreme, ágyasaival és gyermekeivel Isztambulba ért, Hürrem már első gyermekét várta. Emiatt is teljesen elképzelhetetlen, hogy Mahidevran, Szulejmán másik ágyasa, fizikailag bántalmazta volna a lányt. Hiszen a szultán várandós ágyasának megverése olyan büntetést vont volna maga után, ami Mahidevrant örökre kitörölte volna a történelemből. Továbbá Mahidevrannak semmi oka nem volt gyűlölni Hürremet, hiszen Szulejmán minden gyermeke más ágyastól született, tehát Szulejmán egyáltalán nem volt monogám Manisában sem. 

A fiatal Hürrem egy merőben új világba csöppent, ahol meg kellett tanulnia a nyelvet, a szokásokat, képeznie kellett magát, hogy a szultán méltó partnere lehessen és gyermekének méltó anyja. Ebben bizonyára sok segítséget kapott Ayşe Hafsától, aki szigorúan felügyelte fia háremét, kedves természetével pedig segíteni igyekezett a fiatal ágyast. Emellett még egy fontos szereplő került Hürrem életébe ezen időszakban. Ő pedig nem volt más, mint Gülfem. Gülfem valószínűleg egy magasbeosztású hárem kalfa volt, emellett Szulejmán közeli barátja. A két nő, feltehetőleg hasonló természete miatt igen hamar összebarátkozott. 

Szulejmánnal való turbékolása azonban nem tarthatott sokáig, hiszen 1521 tavaszán Szulejmán elindult első hadjáratára. Hürrem a nyarat minden bizonnyal tanulással, pihenéssel töltötte, és Gülfem segítségével talán már ekkor leveleket írhatott a szultánnak. 1521 szeptemberében megszületett első fia, Mehmed, akit a szultán távollétében minden bizonnyal Ayşe Hafsa nevezhetett el. A háremben nagy ünnepségeket rendeztek az új herceg tiszteletére, és Szulejmánt is azonnal értesítették gyermeke jöveteléről. Az öröm azonban nem tarthatott sokáig. 1521 szeptemberében a pestis már jelen volt a városban, szeptember végére pedig a palotába is betört. 1521 októbere így vált a gyász hónapjává. Szulejmán valószínűleg levélben már hírt kapott a szörnyű hírről és még jobban siethetett haza, ám sajnos elkésett. Totyogó fia, Murad, kislánya Raziye a pestis áldozatává váltak mielőtt hazaérhetett volna. Jövetele után pedig legidősebb fia, Mahmud is elhunyt. Ezzel Szulejmánnak mindössze két örököse maradt, a kisgyermek Musztafa, Mahidevran Hatun fia és az újszülött Mehmed, Hürrem fia.

Szakítás a hagyományokkal

Szulejmánnak két idősebb fia halálával örököseinek száma 2 kisgyermekre korlátozódott. Ez a kort figyelembe véve rendkívül kevés volt, így azonnal gondoskodnia kellett újabb gyermekek nemzéséről. A hagyományokat eddig betartó szultántól mindenki azt várta, hogy új ágyast kéret magához, azonban ő újra Hürremet kérette. Ez nagy megdöbbenést váltott ki a háremen belül, hiszen eddig egy ágyas, aki fiút szült a szultánnak, többé nem lehetett a szexuális partnere. Talán Hürrem és Mahidevran viszonya is itt romlott meg. Arra azonban semmi nem utal, hogy Ayşe Hafsa ellenezte volna Szulejmán döntését. Így Hürrem hamarosan újra teherbe esett és 1522-ben (feltehetőleg ősszel) világra hozta egyetlen kislányát, Mihrimaht. Őt gyorsan követte 1524 májusában Szelim herceg. Szelimet pedig 1525 végén, vagy 1526 elején Abdullah herceg. Abdullah születéséről nincsenek konkrét információink, azonban Hürrem egy 1527 előtti levele utal a születési sorrendre. Ezen levél végén Hürrem ugyanis így búcsúzott Szulejmántól:

"Szultánom, fiad Mehmed, lányod Mihrimah, Szelim han és Abdullah is üdvözletüket küldik..."

. Minden bizonnyal ebben a levélben születési sorrendben sorolta a gyermekeket Hürrem. Hürrem ekkoriban még nem maga írta leveleit, mivel írásbeli török készsége jóval lassabban fejlődött a szóbelinél. A levelek díszes, míves munkák, egy gyakorlott, tehetséges hárem kalfa írhatta őket, ám a leveleken megtalálhatóak személyes megjegyzések is, melyek sokkal gyengébb török tudással, csúnyább kézírással íródtak, így ezeket feltehetőleg maga Hürrem illesztette rá a már kész levélre. 

Írástudása is folyamatosan fejlődött, így hamarosan már önmaga írhatta minden levelét. Emellett az anyagi dolgokat, háztartásának fenntartását is egyre ügyeseben végezte. Ebben eleinte akadtak nehézségei, ugyanis a pénzzel nehezen tudott bánni. Szulejmán ezért bízta Gülfem gondjaira kedvencét. Gülfemnek állandóan figyelnie kellett Hürrem költekezéseit a szultán távollétében. Eleinte sajnos nem túl sok jóról tudott beszámolni Gülfem, ám idővel Hürrem ebbe is beletanult. 

Emellett egyre gyakorlottabb anyává is vált, amit csak segített Bayezid herceg 1526-os vagy 1527-es születése. Sajnálatos módon, hamarosan a gyászba is kénytelen volt beletanulni. Abdullah herceg ugyanis még kisgyermekként elhunyt, feltehetőleg egy járvány következtében. Gyászát enyhítendő, hamarosan, 1532-ben megszületett Hürrem és Szulejmán legkisebb - egyben utolsó - gyermeke Cihangir. A kicsi azonban sajnos fizikai deformitásokkal jött világra, ezzel is próbáratéve a gyászoló anya lelkét.

Egyeduralom

1533-ban Szulejmán tartományt adott legidősebb fiának Musztafának, aki így édesanyjával együtt elhagyta Isztambult. Ezzel egyedül Ayşe Hafsa maradt, aki befolyásban lekörözte Hürremet. 

Szulejmán már jóval korábban elkezdte a Topkapi Palota háremének felújítását, hogy édesanyja és szerelme mindig a közelében lehessenek. A felújítás végül 1534-ben fejeződött be. Ayşe Hafsa valide szultána egészsége azonban ekkor már hanyatlott, majd hamarosan elhunyt. A hárem és az egész birodalom mély gyászba borult a szeretett valide elvesztése után. Azonban az élet ment tovább, így Szulejmánnak gondoskodnia kellett a hárem vezetéséről édesanyja hiányában. A háremet rábízhatta volna akármelyik vezető eunuchra vagy kalfára, ám ő szerelmét Hürremet szerette volna a hárem élén látni. Ez azonban nem volt egyszerű feladat, hiszen Hürrem rangban a hárem sok lakója alatt állt, ugyanis minden özvegy szultána, Szulejmán özvegy testvérei, nagynénjei ott éltek, akik született szultánákként rangban felülmúlták Hürremet. 

Ezért Szulejmán megalkotott egy új rangot, a Haszeki szultána rangot, amellyel Hürremet a Valide Szultána rang alá emelte, a született szultánákkal nagyjából egyenrangúvá. És ha ez még nem lett volna elég, döntését nyomatékosítandó és szerelmét kifejezendő, feleségül vette Hürremet. A házasság valószínűleg 1534-ben köttetett, azonban megünneplésére csak 1536-ban került sor. Az ünnepi ceremónia a palotában került megrendezésre és minden feljegyzés szerint fantasztikus volt, rengeteg nyilvános eseménnyel, ajándékokkal, éjjel pedig az utcák megteltek ünneplő emberekkel, zenével, lakomával. Az összes ház girlandokkal volt díszítve, mindenki boldogan ünnepelte a lakodalmat. A Hippodrom téren hatalmas színpad lett felállítva, ahol különböző szórakoztató műsorokat szerveztek és amelyeket Hürrem is elfátyolozott helyéről figyelemmel követhetett.

Hürrem innentől kezdve, a szultán hites feleségeként, hat gyermekének anyjaként és a hárem vezetőjeként igazi egyeduralkodóvá vált. Olyan kapuk nyíltak meg előtte, melyekről korábban nem is álmodhatott. Lényegében, valide szultána hiányában, a valide minden feladatát és jogkörét ő látta el. 

Emellett első volt, aki a Topkapi Palota felújított háremének falai közé költözhetett gyermekeivel. Természetesen továbbra is sok időt töltött a Régi Palotában, hiszen a hárem maga továbbra is ott volt, nyüzsgő világával vonzó maradt Hürrem számára is. Így Hürrem igazi kétlaki életet élt. Akkortájt helyeződött át székhelye teljesen a Topkapi Palotába, amikor 1541 januárjában hatalmas tűz pusztított a Régi Palotában. Lakrésze, levelei, ruhái, emlékei mind a tűz martalékává váltak. Szerencsére Hürrem maga ekkor nem tartózkodott Isztambulban, így neki nem esett bántódása. Élete alkonyán még egyszer azonban visszatért oda, ahol minden elkezdődött, ugyanis súlyosbodó betegségét csak a Régi Palota orvosai tudták kezelni, így utolsó hónapjaiban újra itt élt.

Szerető feleség és aggódó anya

Hürremről, mint szeretőről sokat tudunk. A sorozatok, filmek ezt az oldalát domborítják ki. Ez természetes, ugyanis szerelmük Szulejmánnal legendás. Azonban arról kevesebb szó esik, hogy a pár meglehetősen normális kapcsolatban élt és hagyományosan nevelték gyermekeiket. Korábban a szultánok távol tartották magukat gyermekeiktől, külön éltek. Ezzel szemben Szulejmán rengeteg időt töltött családja körében, sokszor vacsoráztak, utaztak együtt. Hürrem 38 évig volt odaadó társa Szulejmánnak, egész életében mellette volt, meghallgatta, támogatta, jókedvre derítette, mint egy jó feleség és társ. Volt azonban életében valami, ami sokkal fontosabb volt, mint Szulejmán. Az anyaság. 

Hat gyermeket szült a szultánnak, ám csupán öt érte meg a felnőttkort. Hürrem nagyon szerette minden gyermekét, számtalan levél és más bizonyíték utal erre. Első komoly próbatétele anyaként Abdullah herceg korai halála volt, második mikor Cihangir fia betegen született meg. Ám a legnagyobb próbatétel még előtte állt. Ahogy Mehmed egyre idősödött, időszerűvé vált, hogy ő is tartományt kapjon, mint bátyja Musztafa herceg. A hagyományok szerint, ilyenkor a hercegekkel tartott anyjuk is, azonban Hürrem esetében ez több problémát felvetett. Egyrészt, több fia volt, így ha Mehmeddel tart, hátra kell hagyja a többit; Cihangir herceg állandó orvosi közelséget igényelt, így ő nem hagyhatta el Isztambult, Hürrem pedig nem akarta hátrahagyni beteg fiát; emellett pedig, mint a szultán hites felesége nem lett volna illendő a szultántól távol élnie. Kétségtelen, hogy nem is vágyott rá, hogy elhagyja Szulejmánt, azonban anyaként nem lehetett könnyű számára egyedül elengedni legidősebb fiát, reménységét sem. Fiai jövője érdekében, azonban Isztambulban kellett maradnia. Hürrem 4 élő fia volt hatalmának forrása, ugyanakkor gyengesége is. A testvérgyilkosság törvénye ugyanis kimondja, hogy a trónralépő hercegnek a rend fenntartása érdekében meg kell ölnie fiútestvéreit. Hürrem volt az első, akinek több fia volt, így előtte két feladat is állt: egyrészt megszabadulni a legidősebb hercegtől, Musztafától, hogy megmentse saját fiai életét, másrészt olyan viszonyt kialakítani fiaival, hogy ha eljön az idő képes legyen megakadályozni, hogy győztes fia kivégeztesse testvéreit. Ehhez pedig a szultán és a hatalom közelében kellett maradnia, így fájó szívvel de dajkájával bocsátotta útjára Mehmed herceget Manisába. Azonban nem engedte el fia kezét, rendszeresen leveleztek és minden adandó alkalommal útra kelt, hogy meglátogassa őt. Ahogy telt az idő és másik két fia, Szelim és Bayezid is tartományt kapott, Hürrem mégtöbbet utazott és rendszeresen meglátogatta gyermekeit, mely utakra a beteges Cihangir herceg is vele tartott. 

Egyik ilyen utazása után már éppen hazafelé tartott Manisából, mikor megkapta a tragikus hírt: Mehmed herceg elhunyt. Hürrem fájdalma leírhatatlan és elképzelhetetlen. Nem csak elsőszülött fiát veszítette el, hanem a reményt is, hogy Mehmed trónralépésével megmenthesse kisebbik fiait a testvérgyilkosságtól. Mehmed halálával minden bizonnyal sokáig reménytelennek látta a jövőt. Azonban össze kellett szednie magát gyermekeiért, így hamarosan folytatta küzdelmet. 

Fiaival szemben, kislányát, Mihrimaht sosem kellett elhagynia. Mihrimah házasságával kapcsolatban valószínűleg összetűzés, de legalábbis egyet nem értés volt Hürrem és Szulejmán között. A beszámolók szerint Hürrem a fiatal és jóképű egyiptomi beglerbéget szemelte ki kislánya mellé, míg Szulejmán az idősebb és nem túl szép Rüsztem Pasát favorizálta. Mihrimah apja szemefénye volt, így a szultán sosem engedte volna, hogy leánya távoli tartományba házasodjon és egyébként is, az egyiptomi beglerbégről az a pletyka járta, hogy szifiliszes. Azonban Rüsztemről is pletykáltak, méghozzá azt, hogy leprás. Szulejmán végül csak Rüsztemet vizsgáltatta ki, és mikor kiderült, hogy egészséges, elrendezte házasságát lányával. Hürrem eleinte nem örült ennek, pedig ismerte Rüsztemet, tudta, hogy hűséges és jó férje lesz lányának. Idővel megbékéltek és életreszóló szövetséget kötöttek. Rüsztem lett Hürrem partnere minden intrikájában.

Az intrikus

Ha Hürrem nevét meghalljuk egyből az intrikák jutnak eszünkbe köszönhetően a sorozatnak. Sokan úgy tartják, hogy rengeteg kivégzés köthető nevéhez, ám ez nem teljesen igaz. Például Pargali Ibrahim Pasa halálát minden ok nélkül varrják Hürrem nyakába. Semmi köze nem volt Ibrahim kivégzéséhez, esetleg Szulejmánt bátorította. Tény, hogy Hürrem és Ibrahim kapcsolata féltékenységen alapult és valószínűleg hasonló természetük miatt nem kedvelték egymást, de Hürremnek nem lett volna kellő hatalma, hogy Ibrahimot megbuktassa, ellenben Ibrahim nagy erővel vágta önmaga alatt a fát. Az azonban valószínű, hogy Hürrem igyekezett Szulejmán szemét felnyitni Ibrahim visszaéléseivel kapcsolatban. Legalább egy levél ismert, melyben Hürrem Ibrahimról ír a szultánnak, felemlegetve egy korábbi vitájukat. Így közvetve talán valóban játszott valamiféle szerepet Ibrahim kivégzésében, ám nem rajta múlott és Ibrahim távolról sem volt ártatlan. 

Musztafa kivégzéséhez már valószínűleg több köze volt. Hürrem egyik Musztafa ellenes ténykedéséről sincs azonban bizonyíték, így nehéz megvádolni. Tény azonban, hogy közvetve, minden jel arra mutat, hogy erősen azon munkálkodtak Rüsztemmel és Mihrimahval, hogy Musztafát eltegyék útjukból. Ehhez Rüsztem igyekezett politikai módszerekkel hátráltatni a herceg munkáját, ha pedig hibázott, azonnal a szultán elé tárta a hibákat. Hürrem valószínűleg Rüsztemnak adott instrukciókat és a szultánt igyekezett befolyásolni, mikor az elpanaszolta feleségének a helyzetet. Mindenesetre Szulejmán hamarosan döntést hozott, és 1553-ban kivégeztette fiát, Musztafát. Nehéz megmondani, hogy Hürrem mit érezhetett. Valószínűleg megkönnyebbült, hiszen egyértelművé vált, hogy fiai közül kerül majd valaki a trónra, így azt remélhette, gyermekei megmenekültek a haláltól. Ugyanakkor hamarosan tragikus csapás érte Hürremet. Néhány hónappal Musztafa kivégzése után, gyenge egészségű fia Cihangir megbetegedett és elhalálozott.

A jótékony

Hürremről sokan azt hiszik, hogy gonosz nő volt, aki az intrikáknak élt. Ez azonban nem igaz. Rengeteget jótékonykodott. Élete során létrehozott mecseteket, iskolákat, leves-konyhákat, szálláshelyeket utazók számára, szúfi szállásokat, fürdőket és egy kórházat. Építkezései mind méretben, mind elhelyezkedésben túlszárnyalták az összes korábbi oszmán nő építkezéseit. Építményei közül sok a mai napig is áll. Emellett sosem felejtette el, hogy honnan jött. Sokat áldozott a rabszolgáknak is, igyekezett segíteni őket és szolgálóinak is gyakran adott pénzt, ha azok akartak hasonlóan nemes építkezéseket csinálni. Egyik szolgálója Nevbahar például a Haszeki komplexumból kimaradt alkatrészekkel renoválhatott egy közeli apró mecsetet, mely ezekután az ő nevét viselte.

És a legellentmondásosabb, hogy az őt gyűlölő janicsárokat is támogatta egy névtelen korabeli feljegyzés szerint. De nem oly módon, ahogy először gondolnánk, nem kenőpénzzel igyekezett megvenni őket. A történet szerint, egyszer elkísérte Szulejmánt a janicsárok barakkjaihoz, és mikor meglátta a fiatal fiúkat cipő nélkül, szakadt ruhában gyakorolni, megesett rajtuk a szíve és arra kérte Szulejmánt, adjon nekik rendszeres havi juttatást és cipőt. Szulejmán úgy tett, Hürrem azonban nem akarta gyengíteni a kincstárat sem, ezért eladta néhány aranyát, ékszerét és a pénzt visszajuttatta a kincstárba.

Utolsó évei

Hürrem, bár gondolhatnánk, Musztafa halálával fellélegezhetett, sajnos nem minden úgy történt, ahogy várta. Cihangir halála megindította őt egy lejtőn, majd Bayezid, Szelim irányába tanusított ellenségeskedése végleg kihúzta lába alól a talajt. Hürrem bár Bayezidet támogatta, nem valószínű, hogy őt szerette volna a trónon látni. Csupán kiegyenlítettebb küzdelmet szeretett volna két megmaradt fia között, hiszen a szultán - bár nem nyíltan, de - Szelimet favorizálta. Emellett Hürrem talán félt attól, hogy ha Bayezid támogató nélkül marad, nyíltan fellázad apja és bátyja ellen. Minden erejével igyekezett tehát Bayezidet féken tartani, mert félt, hogy addig feszíti a húrt és addig bosszantja a szultánt, amíg Musztafa sorsára jut. 

Talán ez a sok fájdalom is elősegítette egészségének romlását. Mai napig nem tudni, hogy pontosan milyen betegsége volt Hürremnek, lehetséges, hogy valamiféle daganata volt, akut betegségekkel erősítve. Hürrem egészsége mindenesetre fokozatosan romlott és 1557 telére olyan méreteket öltött, hogy kénytelen volt végérvényesen visszaköltözni a Régi Palotába, ahol a legjobb orvosok kezelték őt. Szulejmán igyekezett minél több időt vele tölteni. 1558 tavaszán Hürrem már igen rosszul volt, Szulejmán pedig minden feladatát átadta Rüsztem Pasának, hogy idejét teljes mértékben haldokló feleségével tölthesse. Hürrem végül 1558. április 15-én elhunyt. Erről a francia követ így írt: 

"A haseki, a szultán felesége nagyjából hajnali két órakor hunyt el, mély gyászba borítva a palotát, a szultán mellett Rüsztem Pasa is gyászolta és mindenki más is, aki neki köszönhette pozícióját. A szultánt annyira megviselte a halála, hogy külsőre egészen megváltozott, mintha éveket öregedett volna. Azt mondják, hogy a Hürrem halála előtti napon Szulejmán megígérte neki megboldogult apja, Szelim lelkére, hogy soha sem fog más nőre nézni ha Hürremet elveszíti."

Mint tudjuk Szulejmán betartotta ígéretét és haláláig gyászolta Hürremet. Mindemellett a szokásokat megtörve, saját mecsetjében, önálló türbébe temette szerelmét. Hürrem türbéje az egyik legcsodálatosabb az összes szultánáé közül. Csempéi vidám képeket mutatnak, ezzel is utalva természetére, amely annyira magával ragadta Szulejmánt is.

Prológus

Hürrem egy végtelenül összetett személyiség volt, akit nagyon félreismernek az emberek sajnálatos módon még ma is. Nem volt gonosz, nem volt hatalomvágyó, csupán egy nő, akit elraboltak és rabszolgasorba taszítottak; egy anya, aki bármit meg tett volna - és meg is tett - gyermekei jólétéért; és egy szerető, aki haláláig odaadó társa volt férjének. Jótékonykodásáról sokan mélyen hallgatnak, hiszen nem illik bele a róla alkotott negatív képbe... Pedig jótékonykodása egyedülálló és kimagasló az egész Oszmán Birodalom történelmében. 

Szerencsére rengeteg információnk van róla, így egyszerűen állandó hiányérzettel olvasom saját munkámat, mindazonáltal lehetetlen mindent besűríteni egy bejegyzésbe. Így aki többet szeretne róla tudni annak bátran ajánlom Leslie Peirce - Empress of the East című munkáját, hiszen ennél tökéletesebb és részletesebb leírást keresve sem lehet találni Hürrem életéről.

Felhasznált források: L. Peirce - Empress of the east, L. Peirce - The imperial harem, Galina I. Yermolenko - Roxolana in European literature, history and culture, Colin Imber - The Ottoman Empire 1300-1650

[giant-cerebrums]

Introduction, Reading I Authority, ownership, originality by Veera Kemppainen, 24 Sept 2021

Andrew Bennett handles in his text from “The Author” authorship and who is owning text. Even though text was about literature, there there were things which are applies also to our field in visual designing. The history of authorship is clearly connected also to history of designing.

In text there was said that authorship were more valued or “more author centered” after industrialization. Industrialization also created this whole new field of ours: graphic designing.

Circle back to oral tradition?

Bennett’s chapter was talking about time before industrialization. Before printing opportunity stories and poems were only spreading by word of mouth. Because of that, there were not this thing called authorship. In a way I was connecting that to modern days social medias influence of authorship. Originator is not relevant in Facebook or Instagram, same way it was not in time before printing press. Everyone can copy and paste one anothers ideas and make it own. Also in text it was said that book were back then for more “elite” people. Also that is changed, at least in my opinion. People are using more and more internet and less and less reading literature. I started to think when was last time when I read full book, instead of watching Netflix or reading online news papers or scrolling social media.

Even though chapter was not dealing with modern day or social media yet, I still thought about modern day during my reading. I think that nowdays because of internet and constantly sharing culture is made authorship again less important. The constanly growing visual and information is made everyone basically authors now. In social media there is not “rules” for ownership. Or of course there is rules but no one is following them. Everything is shared and modified in peoples own accounts. Bennett wrote about “Aura of individuality” and I really loved that sentence.

Maybe this authorship thing is actually made full circle back to this “oral epic tradition” which were handled in Bennett’s text.

Commercial work as a designer

Also Bennet was writing about how commercial work is often thought lacking of aesthetic. I think this is also interesting thought from visual designers perspective. Often we designers work at at least someway in commercial world. I don’t think that commercial purposes necessarily makes design less aesthetical. In my mind however I have found out that its sometimes pleasant not to have authorship in commercial work.

Bennet’s text was also dealing with the idea of a romantic author. I wanted to ponder upon the myth that is well-known in all artistic circles, about art being born from great suffering. However, it is seldom discussed that for many mental health problems are the cause of block at the very beginning of creative process. I have noticed that in my own work that sometimes that kind of idea of being independent designer and representing yourself through your work is super distressing.

That’s why in commercial work I give creatorship gladly to someone else. That doesn’t make me more lazy or care less about design,rather it gives me opportunity to actually focus on what im designing, not constantly thinking how everyone else sees me as a designer.

I often say to myself “It’s made by me but its not me. “ That really eases the creative process for me and serves more the cause.

Company owns copyrights but what about romantic creatorship?

Also in my own life i have thought about creatorship for example working in creative agency. Almost every time projects are created with big team or at least copywriter and graphic designer. In bigger projects someone still ends up in position of creator. Usually they are art directors or creative directors who will get the prices …or in other hand handles criticism. I have noticed that expecially in creative agencies there is still this strong competitive culture and individualistic idea of “masterminds”.

Clearly the company where designers are working is owning the copyrights. When you are signed your contract you don’t have no more ownership to designs you make for company.

So like in the Bennett’s text there were said that “copyright were invented to protect the investments and not so much to protect artistic authorship.”

So in a way there is this company who practically owns the design, but creatorship is still someones even its not official.

[dr-ladybird]

Do you think Garrus masturbates? Is he kinky? Did he ever have oral sex or anal sex? When do you think Garrus lost his virginity?

Hey! Sorry it’s taken me a while to get to this!

First, can I persuade you to come off anon? I know you’re probably just shy, but there are some pretty dodgy people on tumblr, so I’d prefer an identity if you're going to ask me blatantly pornographic questions.

It seems to me that to answer these questions, we should start by asking what kind of genitalia Garrus has. I like the fanon-standard retractable ridged tube, with or without knotting, but I'd like to see a bit more variety. Anyone else want to headcanon that all turians have a similar ridged, vulva-like structure regardless of biological sex, and traditional reproductive sex involves rubbing them together? Maybe I'm just being weird again?

And there's one turian headcanon I really wish was more common: cat-style retractable claws. Fingers with the same general structure as a cat's finger, just much longer and with a few more joints, with the last joint bending backwards so that the claw slips into a sheath of skin and stays out of the way. Combines sharp, dangerous claws with soft sensitive fingertips that won't accidentally cut anything.

Does Garrus masturbate: well, most people who aren’t asexual masturbate regularly, right? And a fair few of the asexuals? And I’ve never thought of Garrus as being asexual. So I'd assume he masturbates fairly regularly? I can't say I've considered the details. It might be hard to get toys on a Cerberus ship, so I'd guess he stuck to using his hands during that period?

...You know what I want to imagine now? Not for sexual reasons, but for characterisation reasons. Let's assume Garrus was something of a Saren fanboy up till Eden Prime, and that a lot of his anger at Saren was betrayal-related. Now let's assume he has a history of sexual fantasies about Saren. I don't find this particularly arousing (although I'm sure someone could turn it into good porn!) but I do find it interestingly sad. 

Is he kinky? Canon: unclear. But he's sexually attracted to at least one quite alien alien (two if you like Garrus/Tali). Now, is that more of a "you're weird looking but you have such a good personality that I don't care" thing, or does he start seeing their alien nature as a bonus? I favour the second. Does anyone else want to picture him happily poking Shepard or Tali and going "ooh, soft!"

Headcanons: I like to imagine him as enjoying taking orders and providing service in bed, and I love the more-or-less canon implications about sparring matches as foreplay (wait, is that "a kink" in his culture, or is it considered normal? You know what else I ship? Garrus/Ash.) I could also see him enjoying being a service top, or inappropriate use of blue face paint. 

Oral sex: Well, canonically he'd never tried interspecies sex till he got together with Shepard or Tali. Turians can't suck anything, not enough flexibility in the mouthparts, but they can lick fine (and I tend to go with the fanon foot-long prehensile tongue.) He seems fairly sexually experienced and open, so I'd assume he's tried various mouth-on-genitals acts and probably liked them? Unless his society has a major taboo against that? (Which is not what I'd assume).

Now if we're going Shakarian... this is where the fanon assumption that he has a penis becomes an actively good idea. Because Shepard can suck it (with a future!condom if they're allergic). A whole new awesome act that he's never tried before! Watch him make interesting squeaking noises! Foot-long prehensile tongue, plus human vulva, plus space condoms if necessary, also sounds like a great combination (less ideal if your Shep has an outie, but there are still interesting possibilities).See also Ash. I know it's not canon or popular, but those two need a bromance, and possibly a romance while they're at it.

Tali, now... she probably also has lips and some sort of vulva, but he's probably covered in dextro germs. Use all the protection. Maybe keep her mouth away from him - maybe have her program her gloves to vibrate instead.

Anal sex: Who knows? Do turians even have the reproductive/excretory nerve crosswiring that makes anal sex pleasurable for humans? (Probably?) For all I know, maybe they're like actual hawks and they've only got one hole each?I'd guess he's probably tried it, both ways or however many ways his anatomy allows? High chance he liked it? I'm not planning to write that - anal's not really my thing.

If you want a porn-with-feelings fic involving Garrus having standard fanon anatomy, a cisgendered female Shepard, and a vibrating strap-on, this one's amazing: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14663559

How did he lose his virginity? I'm guessing enthusiastic boot camp experimentation with a friend. I've never really thought about the details... probably a really competent friend, as he seems to be into that? Probably started out with hand-based acts? You pick the friend's gender, I'm not fussy?

[lailanihan]

Hello! I was wondering if you'd be willing to answer a question about the use of Filipino tattoos? I wanted to use some for my d&d npc but I don't want to be insensitive to the culture. The character is a dragon of south east asian descent, and she has a humaonid form that would have the tattoos. I thought it might be nice to have the tattoos to hint she is a dragon, but also for the traditional warrior purpose. Would that be offensive to Filipino culture? I love your art btw, Lailani is cool!

Hey!! This is an awesome question, thanks so much for coming to me about it! Apologies in advance for the really long-ass post, but this is a really important topic to me.

On the topic of Filipino tattooing as a whole:

It’s a practice that was once widespread among many ethnic groups in the Philippines prior to Spanish colonization, each group having their own patterns, meanings, and reasons for tattooing. Post-Spanish contact, much of the practices have since been erased and the idea vilified in modern Filipino society. There are still groups of indigenous Filipinos today who have tattoos and continue to practice, though the art is in danger of dying out due to lack of interest, knowledge, etc. One of the most famed practitioners alive today is Apo Whang-Od, of the Kalinga tribe in the Cordilleras. Many tourists (both local and international) make trips to see her specifically to receive batok (tatoo) from her, so in recent days, its not uncommon anymore for people outside of the culture to wear these marks (though they still are not without meaning and should be held and worn with respect to the history that they hold, much like any cultural tattoo).

Regarding whether or not it is appropriate for a character to have them: I think it is perfectly acceptable to put the tattoos on your character! BUT there are some very important things to keep in mind when doing so.

1. The Philippines, like many places in the world, is not a mono-culture. There are 7,461 islands, and over 120 or so distinct languages (calling them dialects is a disservice, as often times said languages are not mutually intelligible). Do some research into ethnic group influences, figure out what their tattoos looked like specifically and what they mean. Even when tattoos are practiced for beauty reasons alone, certain symbols are commonly used to do said things, and can mean various things even down to where and how they are placed on the body.

2. Much knowledge about pre-colonial tattooing in the Philippines specifically is hard to come by, and a LOT of what we know today about pre-colonial Filipinos is specifically through a colonial lens based on how the Spanish perceived us. Modern Filipinos have done a lot of work at analyzing and reconstructing our own history from this in tandem with oral historical accounts from indigenous groups. Honestly, the interest in the revival of these tattoos has been relatively recent to my understanding, so information changes and is added to regularly!

3. This I think should go without saying, but please please please, take the time to design said tattoos specifically to fit your character, and do not copy the tattoos of someone else 1 for 1! Recurring patterns and pattern placement is fine, but historically, these tattoos across the board have been ways that Filipinos have documented their personal life history + story, and those things show through in their tattoos. You wouldn’t want to wear someone else’s story on your own skin. 

Using Lailani as an example: I’ve changed her tattoos a LOT (and they still continue to change a little bit b/c what is consistency lol) but the primary reason for this is b/c I’m making decisions about what markings I have found fit her that I feel are appropriate for her character’s story, as they don’t exist purely for aesthetic. However, the actual LOOKS of her tattoos are inspired primarily by two groups - the Kalinga, and pre-colonial Visayans. Practically all tattooing practices done in the Visayas have been eradicated thanks to the Spanish, so a lot of it has been guess work + reinterpretation on my end founded on my own research.

TL;DR, it’s perfectly fine to use Filipino tattoos on your character, so long as you are mindful and do your research! I celebrate at the idea of it, because it is a step forward I feel in terms of visibility and I think it helps us in our work to preserve a history that has been all but stolen from us.

that being said, I would love to see the designs that you come up with! I also encourage you to be adventurous with your designs, don’t be afraid to change up placement/flow or break out of what seems to be the bounds of the aesthetics. Lots of cool things can come from that!

[evilelitest2]

Sorry, I should've been more clear. I was asking in context of the earlier question you answered about pre colonial Africa. Many of the factors you mentioned are obscuring the history in Africa also affect the pre Columbian Americas, like the bias toward monument building societies who had standing armies and writing, but like you said, the extent of the genocide against indigenous Americans is bigger than in Africa, so that's the kind of comparison I was thinking of.

Oh ok, so like an overview of the continental historiography, yeah I can do that.  

one interesting comparison between the two continents is that in both, certain specific civilizations get a lot of love and attention while most get neglected.  The Aztecs, Inca, and Maya, as well as specific North American tribes (Apache, Iroquois/Haudenosaunee, Sioux) get a TON of attention and focus, while others are totally neglected and ignored.  Just like how in Africa, certain parts of African history get a lot of love (Egypt, the Zulu, Ethiopia) but the rest are neglected.  

So like with Africa, you have a few of the same factors that makes pre-Columbian American history get neglected.  

1) Racism, like with Africa you have the problem of non white history, where the major historical institutions just do not put as much money and energy into the subject as those with white people.  There is so much more written about Native history post 1492 than prior.  However, its actually less neglected than SubSaharan African history is, because white people actually came to live in the America and got interested in the history (eventually).  So you will find a lot more books in English on the history and culture of various Amazonian people groups than those of the Congo.  This probably also has to do with the fact that in many South American countries, Natives or mixed race descendants, still make up a large part of the populations of these nations and play an active part in the historical/political community.  And since these nations are new and generally speaking more powerful than the new African states (wow that is a generalization I am going to respect as all the Nigerains and South Africans get pissed at me) there is a more established histographical tradition 

2) Lack of written sources, or in the case of the Inca, we still haven’t figured out the written sources translation.  Its actually a lot worse than Africa, because while there were Native civilizations that got written languages, a lot less than Africa, and Africa has the advantage of having accounts from Arabic traders in the middle ages.   Once you take into account the centuries of destruction, and we are actually left worse than Africa on that account

3) A multitude of languages.  This isn’t as bad as in Africa though, because most of these are filtered through Spanish, Portuguese or English, so if you speak one of those, it opens up a ton of options for you.  So while the language barrier is still a problem, if you are willing to learn English suddenly there are a tone of new options 

4) Neglect because you didn’t build the big thing.  The Americas gets this less than Africa because some of the “tribal” cultures became huge like...fetish items for various settler civilizations, and while there are a LOT of problems with that (see below) it does mean that groups like the Sioux will get more historical attention.  This tends to only apply to some people groups over others though.  

Then there are some unique challenging facing Native American history vs Africa  

5) Massive genocide on an almost unimaginable scale.  Don’t get me wrong, the colonization of Africa was abominable and was full to the brim of various genocides.  However the vast majority of the African civilizations who were subjected to colonization are...still around.  Subjected to cultural erasure and murder but they still exist.  Meanwhile with the Native Americans, entire regions are just...gone forever.  And this isn’t just because the Europeans were a lot more genocidal focused in the Americas than in Africa (thought that is a factor). A big factor is the “Great Dying” which was the series of plagues unleashed by the arrival of the europeons, which possibly killed up to 90% of the new world, up to 110 million people, sometimes even before Europeans even encountered them.  Then Europeans massacred like 90% of people on top of that.  SInce most of what we rely upon here is oral history...yeah that really hurts.   

6) Deliberate cultural erasure.  This was also evident in Africa but was never really as successful, the various colonial regimes in the Americas really made an effort to wipe out native culture, and while entirely successful, which adds to the problem of oral history

7) However, due to the US being the most powerful nation in the world, it does mean that a lot of historical societies who are into local history get into Native American history, so despite all of those disadvantages, Pre Columbia Americna history is actually a lot easier to access than most African history, because there is a ton of interest.  I’ve studied at three universities in the US and all of them offered some sort of Native history course, and none of them offered a pre colonial African, and some of these research schools have been around for centuries.  Now there is the problem of cultural fetishism, where white people start to take on a Utopian vision of pre Columbian society which just gets in the way of real history, but there is genuine interest so it is a LOT easier to get into Native History, doubly so if you can read Spanish.  

[musicpeanut21]

Imaginative Peptides

Sarms Save

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Nootropic Impacts.

The Function Of Sarms?

Digestive Tract Health.

Could Sarms Be The Brand-new Steroids

Background Of Solid Stage Peptide Synthesis (spps).

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All the proof that Dr. Katz needed to develop GenFx came from his years as a medical researcher and practitioner. He performed research using human cells in culture, and when the cells started to multiply he saw what he calls "a silent warning sign". These cells showed signs of spontaneous tumors, immune suppression and autoimmune response. Since Sarms and other pharmaceuticals can have some serious side effects, Dr. Katz developed a system called "selective cell suspension" that makes use of only the most effective and selective androgens and estrogens and uses a delivery system to make it compatible with the body.

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Are SARMs Safe to Use? - MedShadow

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While Saw Palmetto is a proven DHT inhibitor, Exogen is not. So, it may not be appropriate for those with hormone-receptor-related side effects such as osteoporosis. Some consumers who have used Exogen have complained of nosebleeds, headaches, and muscle and joint pain. Some have even reported experiencing liver problems. So, if you suffer from one of these side effects, or other adverse reactions, Exogen may not be a wise choice for you.

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5 Ways SARMs Promote Wellness as You Age - Science World Report

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Could Sarms Be The New Steroids

If you're a man in your late twenties or early thirties, you may have already tried using Exogen sarms. If so, you probably know by now that the high doses can cause liver damage and problems. You may also be aware that high doses of anabolic steroids cause changes in blood cells called microangiopathic effects. Exogen has similar properties when it comes to causing microangiopathic effects. In short, Exogen can cause serious health problems if taken at doses higher than what your body can tolerate.

Why do I have 3 balls?

Polyorchidism is a very rare condition. Men with this condition are born with more than two testes, also known as testicles or gonads. There are only about 200 known reported cases. In the vast majority of cases, the individuals have three testes.

Testosterone is primarily made in the testes, which are located on top of the uterus. There, androgens are produced from high levels of naturally occurring oestrogens by converting into an amino acid called testosterone. The testes also produce estrogen, which is responsible for female characteristics such as breasts, hair growth, and the ability to menstruate. The androgens and estrogens synthesize their respective hormones in the gonads, which are the remaining part of the body where the production of testosterone and estrogen is done.

Selective androgen receptor modulators or SARMs are basically a new class of steroid hormones that act on androgen receptors and stimulate them to reduce unwanted side effects in patients with diabetes, high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, excess facial or trunk hair, excess body fat and many other conditions. These hormones can help reduce swelling of blood vessels in the face, neck and armpit areas and help the skin retain moisture. They also improve skin quality by reducing wrinkles. As an effector tissue, the hormone helps the body recover faster from injuries.

The dangers of sarms are therefore that they may lead to increased levels of oestrogens in the body, as well as a reduction in the production of testosterone. This may lead to the development of several types of reproductive cancers. The effects of long-term use of sarms can also produce changes in the functioning of the pituitary gland. This gland controls the production of human hormones such as luteinizing hormone (LH), human growth hormone, and follicle stimulating hormone. When a person uses anabolic steroids pharmaceuticals for muscle building or weight loss, the pituitary gland releases extra LH along with other anabolic hormones.

Sarms have a long history as one of the most effective and safest hair growth supplements for both men and women. The active ingredient, DHT is responsible for many of the symptoms of menopause. DHT has been shown to contribute to breast cancer and prostate cancer. In recent years, there has been a lot of interest in the use of herbal hair loss supplements that have natural DHT inhibitors and stimulate new growth.

' The unfortunate fact is that some nutritional supplement makers illegally placed ostarine and also other SARMs in their products, and also some leave out ostarine from the tag totally or utilize deceptive names to puzzle consumers', writes UFC/USADA.

He sent out 20 items in to be examined and also every one returned adverse for ostarine.

" One is rather a well-known competitor, as well as he vouched on his children life that he had not taken ostarine.

' You need to look out for ostarine's many synonyms, consisting of MK-2866, enobasarm, -3-( 4-cyanophenoxy)- N- [4-cyano-3-phenyl] -2- hydroxy-2-methylpropanamide, and also GTx-024 on supplement labels'.

I am thinking that also if it was that product or a contaminated supplement, or a polluted batch, then the probabilities are low of it coming back favorable.

But what are the health risks of using these hormones? On the whole, studies have shown positive results but there are some important issues. First, long-term use of SARMs can cause cataracts and hypothyroidism. Second, many of the adverse side effects produced by regular use of these hormones might be permanent and irreversible. And third, despite the beneficial results from early trials of selective androgen, current data do not support the use of these substances in the treatment of hypothyroidism or hypertension. This is largely because of the severe adverse side effects produced by regular use of SARMs in these conditions.

A few companies have designed two different lines of sarm products marketed under the brand names Exogen and GenF20. Both products are dietary supplements intended to be taken orally once or twice per day. One line is targeted at men while the other is targeted at women. Exogen and GenF20 both contain an ingredient called Saw Palmetto, which has been shown to inhibit DHT.

Can you still buy SARMs in Australia?

In Australia, SARMs are a prescription-only medicine, and can only be imported with a permit. Tim does not have a prescription or permit, and is breaking the law.

GenFx was founded by Dr. Harold Katz, a world-recognized expert in the area of sexual disorders. Dr. Katz discovered that natural compounds called androgens and estrogens can cause changes in the body. If there are too many androgens or estrogens in the blood, the result can be the development of male characteristics like enlarged prostate, breast enlargement and hair loss. If there are too few androgens or estrogens, men can develop symptoms like irritability, shrinking testicles or prostate enlargement. It's a simple concept: if you can block the production of testosterone, you can block the formation of other harmful androgens.

Not only do ostarine and sarmebium act as hormones, they are also sold under the names Actonel, Adderall and Acomplia. The ingredients in these dietary supplements aren't regulated. No clinical studies have been done on their safety in treating overweight or obesity, or their ability to improve a person's cholesterol. There is some evidence, however, that they might be effective for other conditions like low testosterone or erectile dysfunction. The best way to buy Sarms and other products without risking your health is to buy them from a reputable company. One type of company that has a good reputation for conducting studies on all of their products is GenFx.