#isis moss

[hunter-sylvester]

Metal Lords + Tumblr Posts Pt. 2/??

x x x x

[unladyboss]

SOMETHING SIMILAR

I think something similar to this is happening.

Not this particular scene maybe but the entire show

I think it's all happening in one person's mind. The alarms and beeping may be them hooked up to life support machines etc.

They've been hinting at it since day one

[greenwitchcrafts]

June 2024 witch guide

Full moon: June 21st

New moon: June 6th

Sabbats: Litha/Summer Solstice- June 20th

June Strawberry Moon

Known as: Aerra Litha, Birth Moon, Blooming Moon, Brachmanoth, Dyad Moon, Egg Laying Moon, Green Corn Moon, Hatching Moon, Hoer Moon, Honey Moon, Lovers Moon, Mead Moon, Moon of Horses, Moon of Making Fat, Partner Moon, Rose Moon & Strong Sun Moon

Element: Earth

Zodiac: Gemini & Cancer

Nature spirits: Sylphs & Zephyrs

Deities: Aine of Knockaine, Bendis, Cerridwen, Green Man, Ishtar, Isis, Neith & Persephone

Animals: Butterfly, frog, monkey & toad

Birds: Peacock & wren

Trees: Maple & Oak

Herbs: Dog grass, meadowsweet, moss, mugwort, parsley, skullcap & vervain

Flowers: Lavender, orchid, tansy & yarrow

Scents: Lavender & lily of the valley

Stones:  Agate, Alexandrite, cat's eye, chrysoberyl, emerald, fluorite, garnet, moonstone, ruby & topaz

Colors: Gold, green, orange & yellow

Energy:  Abundance, balance, change of residence, communication, decision making, education, family relations, full & restful energy, love, marriage, prosperity, positive transformation, prevention, protection, public relations, relationships, responsibility, strength, tides turning, travel & writing

While strawberries certainly are a reddish-pink color and are roundish in shape, the origin of the name “Strawberry Moon” has nothing to do with the Moon’s hue or appearance.

• June's full Moon is typically the last full moon of spring or the first of summer. The June Full Moon will be extraordinary. For the first time since 1985, Full Moon happens precisely on the summer solstice, when the Sun is highest up. Because the Full Moon is always opposite the Sun, this year, you will see that the Moon is 10 widths lower on the horizon than the Sun ever is. 

This “Strawberry Moon” name has been used by Native American Algonquian tribes that live in the northeastern United States as well as the Ojibwe, Dakota, and Lakota peoples to mark the ripening of “June-bearing” strawberries that are ready to be gathered. The Haida term Berries Ripen Moon reflects this as well. As flowers bloom and early fruit ripens, June is a time of great abundance for many.

Litha

Known as: Alban Heruin, Summer Solstice & Whit Sunday

Season: Summer

Element: Fire

Symbols: Besom, fairies, God's eyes, sunflowers & symbols of the sun

Colors: Blue, gold, green, orange, red, tan & yellow

Oils/Incense: Cinnamon, frankincense, heliotrope, lavender, lemon, lily of the valley, mint, musk, myrrh, orange, orange pine, pine, rose, saffron, sandalwood & wisteria

Animals: Cattle, crab, horse & octopus

Birds: Goldfinch, kingfisher, meadowlark, owl, robin & wren

Mythical: Fairies

Stones: Bloodstone, diamond, emerald, jade, lapis lazuli & tiger's eye

Food: Ale, bread, cheese, edible flowers, garden fresh vegetables & fruit, lemons, meade, milk, oranges, pumpernickel bread, summer squash & wine

Herbs/Plants: Anise, basil, betony, cinquefoil, copal, elder, fennel, fern, frankincense, galangal, hemp, ivy, larkspur, lemon, lemon balm, mistletoe, mugwort, mullien, nettle, orange, orpin, plantain, rue, saffron, sandalwood, St.John's wort, thyme, verbena, vervain, wild thyme & ylang-ylang

Flowers: Carnation, chamomile, daisy, heather, heliotrope, honeysuckle, lavender, lily, marigold, orchid, rose, wisteria & yarrow

Trees: Elder, holly, laurel, linden, oak & pine

Goddesses: Amaterasu, Aine, Anahita, Dea, Cerde, Dag, Dana, Eiru, Fenne, Gwydion, Kupala, Mabd, Phoebe, Skhmet & Sul

Gods: Apollo, Baal, Balder, Bel, The Dagda, Donnus, El, The Green Man, Helios, Huon, Jupiter, Llew, Loki, Lugh, Maui, Mithras, Oak/Holly King, Ogmios, Ra, Surya, Thor & Zeus

Issues, Intentions & Powers: Agriculture, changes, divination, ending, fertility, life, light, manifestation, power, purpose, strength, success & unity

Spellwork: Fire & water magick

Activities:

• Charge and cleanse your crystals in the solstice sun

• Make Sun water

• Create crafts with natural elements such as flowers

• Burn a paper with things that no longer serve you or that you are trying to let go

•  Invite friends & family over for a bonfire and/or feast

• Gather & dry herbs for the upcoming year

• Clean, decorate & cleanse your altar with summer symbols

• Brew some sun tea

• Take a ritual bath/shower with flowers

• Make your own sun dial

• Craft a door wreath out of flowers & herbs

• Enjoy some sunrise/sunset yoga

• Volunteer at a food kitchen or animal shelter

• Plant trees (especially ones that may provide fruit or berries to feed the wildlife)

• Watch the sunset & say a blessing to nature

• Make flower infused anointing/spell oils

• Eat fresh fruits & berries

• Participate in a handfasting

• Create shadow art

The history of Litha reveals its deep connections to ancient agricultural societies & their reliance on the sun's power. Celebrated as part of the Wheel of the Year, Litha symbolizes the balance between light & darkness. Throughout history  customs such as bonfires, herb gathering & the construction of sunwheels have marked this festival. Today, Litha continues to be celebrated by various communities, with gatherings at sacred sites & private rituals in natural settings. It serves as a reminder of our connection with nature and the cycles of life.

• The traditions of Litha appear to be borrowed from many cultures. Most ancient cultures celebrated the summer solstice in some way such as the Celts celebrated Litha with hilltop bonfires & dancing. Many people attempted to jump over or through the bonfires for good luck. Other European traditions included setting large wheels on fire & rolling them down a hill into a body of water.

Litha is often associated with Midsummer, a celebration that extends beyond the pagan and Wiccan traditions. Midsummer festivities are observed in many cultures around the world, including Scandinavian countries where it holds a prominent place in their cultural heritage. Midsummer dances, bonfires, & feasts are integral parts of these celebrations, often accompanied by folklore and traditional rituals that honor the sun's energy and the abundance of nature during this time.

The summer solstice is the longest day of the year & in some traditions, Litha is when The Sun(The God) is symbolically at it's peak time of power & the World will soon be ripe to harvest. It is also when The Goddess is pregnant with The God who is to be reborn at Yule.

• In the Northern Hemisphere the Summer Solstice occurs when the Sun reaches its highest and northernmost points in the sky. It marks the start of summer in the northern half of the globe. (In contrast, the June solstice in the Southern Hemisphere is when the Sun is at its lowest point in the sky, marking the start of winter.)

Some also believe the history & spirit of Litha revolve around two deities, The Oak King & The Holly King. In Wiccan and Neo-Pagan traditions, each King rules the Earth for half of the year. From Yule to Litha, the Oak King rules. On Litha, the two battled for the crown and it is then that the Holly King triumphs. The Holly King will rule through fall until Yule, and the cycle will begin again.

Related festivals:

• Vestalia- June 7th -15th

Was a Roman religious festival in honor of Vesta, the goddess of the hearth & the burning continuation of the sacred fire of Rome. It was held from 7–15 June & was reserved as a women's-only event. Domestic & family life in general were represented by the festival of the goddess of the house & of the spirits of the storechamber — Vesta & the Penates .

On the first day of festivities the penus Vestae (sanctum sanctorum of the temple of Vesta which was usually curtained off) was opened for the only time during the year, at which women offered sacrifices. As long as the curtain remained open, mothers could come, barefoot and disheveled, to leave offerings to the goddess in exchange for a blessing to them and their family.

For the last day, the penus Vestae was solemnly closed, the Flaminica Dialis observed mourning & the temple was subjected to a purification called stercoratio: the filth was swept from the temple and carried next by the route called clivus Capitolinus and then into the Tiber.

Sources:

Farmersalmanac .com

Llewellyn's Complete Book of Correspondences by Sandra Kines

Wikipedia

A Witch's Book of Correspondences by Viktorija Briggs

Encyclopedia britannica

Llewellyn 2024 magical almanac Practical magic for everyday living

[the-chronicle-of-holy-days]

Day 6

Liber Liberi vel Lapidis Lazuli Adumbratio Kabbalae Aegyptiorum sub figurâ VII

I

1. My God, how I love Thee!

2. With the vehement appetite of a beast I hunt Thee through the Universe.

3. Thou art standing as it were upon a pinnacle at the edge of some fortified city. I am a white bird, and perch upon Thee.

4. Thou art My Lover: I see Thee as a nymph with her white limbs stretched by the spring.

5. She lies upon the moss; there is none other but she:

6. Art Thou not Pan?

7. I am He. Speak not, O my God! Let the work be accomplished in silence.

8. Let my cry of pain be crystallized into a little white fawn to run away into the forest!

9. Thou art a centaur, O my God, from the violet-blossoms that crown Thee to the hoofs of the horse.

10. Thou art harder than tempered steel; there is no diamond beside Thee.

11. Did I not yield this body and soul?

12. I woo thee with a dagger drawn across my throat.

13. Let the spout of blood quench Thy blood-thirst, O my God!

14. Thou art a little white rabbit in the burrow Night.

15. I am greater than the fox and the hole.

16. Give me Thy kisses, O Lord God!

17. The lightning came and licked up the little flock of sheep.

18. There is a tongue and a flame; I see that trident walking over the sea.

19. A phœnix hath it for its head; below are two prongs. They spear the wicked.

20. I will spear Thee, O Thou little grey god, unless Thou beware!

21. From the grey to the gold; from the gold to that which is beyond the gold of Ophir.

22. My God! but I love Thee!

23. Why hast Thou whispered so ambiguous things? Wast Thou afraid, O goat-hoofed One, O horned One, O pillar of lightning?

24. From the lightning fall pearls; from the pearls black specks of nothing.

25. I based all on one, one on naught.

26. Afloat in the æther, O my God, my God!

27. O Thou great hooded sun of glory, cut off these eyelids!

28. Nature shall die out; she hideth me, closing mine eyelids with fear, she hideth me from My destruction, O Thou open eye.

29. O ever-weeping One!

30. Not Isis my mother, nor Osiris my self; but the incestuous Horus given over to Typhon, so may I be!

31. There thought; and thought is evil.

32. Pan! Pan! Io Pan! it is enough.

33. Fall not into death, O my soul! Think that death is the bed into which you are falling!

34. O how I love Thee, O my God! Especially is there a vehement parallel light from infinity, vilely diffracted in the haze of this mind.

35. I love Thee.

I love Thee.

I love Thee.

36. Thou art a beautiful thing whiter than a woman in the column of this vibration.

37. I shoot up vertically like an arrow, and become that Above.

38. But it is death, and the flame of the pyre.

39. Ascend in the flame of the pyre, O my soul! Thy God is like the cold emptiness of the utmost heaven, into which thou radiatest thy little light.

40. When Thou shall know me, O empty God, my flame shall utterly expire in Thy great N. O. X.

41. What shalt Thou be, my God, when I have ceased to love Thee?

42. A worm, a nothing, a niddering knave!

43. But Oh! I love Thee.

44. I have thrown a million flowers from the basket of the Beyond at Thy feet, I have anointed Thee and Thy Staff with oil and blood and kisses.

45. I have kindled Thy marble into life — ay! into death.

46. I have been smitten with the reek of Thy mouth, that drinketh never wine but life.

47. How the dew of the Universe whitens the lips!

48. Ah! trickling flow of the stars of the mother Supernal, begone!

49. I Am She that should come, the Virgin of all men.

50. I am a boy before Thee, O Thou satyr God.

51. Thou wilt inflict the punishment of pleasure — Now! Now! Now!

52. Io Pan! Io Pan! I love Thee. I love Thee.

53. O my God, spare me!

54. Now!

It is done! Death.

55. I cried aloud the word — and it was a mighty spell to bind the Invisible, an enchantment to unbind the bound; yea, to unbind the bound

Years favorite is in bold

Wow this is a doozy lol why all the tower cards remind me of the finale of the Magnus Archives

Artwork source https://www.deviantart.com/decepticoniancybra/art/The-Tower-Tarot-Card-871366781

[triciamfoster]

Correspondences: Water

As noted in The Spiral Dance by Starhawk

WATER  

Direction: West 

Rules: Emotions, feelings, love, courage, daring, sorrow, the ocean,  the tides, lakes, pools, streams, and rivers, springs and wells, intuition, the unconscious mind, the womb, generation, fertility 

Time: Twilight 

Season: Autumn 

Colors: Blue, bluegreen, green, gray, indigo, black Signs of the 

Zodiac: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces 

Tool: Cup 

Spirits: Undines, ruled by their King Niksa 

Angel: Raphael 

Name of the West Wind: Zephyrus 

Sense: Taste 

Jewel: Aquamarine 

Incense: Myrrh 

Plants: Ferns, lotus, mosses, rushes, seaweeds, water lilies, and all  water plants 

Tree: Willow 

Animals: Dolphins and porpoises, dragons as serpents, fish, seals  and sea mammals, water-dwelling snakes, all water creatures and sea birds 

Goddesses: Arhrodite, Isis, Mari, Mariamne, Tiamat, Yemaya 

Gods: Dylan, Ea, Llyr, Manannan, Neptune, Osiris, Poseidon

[jackfrostbitten-writes]

Mythography

Pearl watched silently from the rafters of Sausage's cathedral as Bdubs fiddled with some redstone.

Bdubs's mossy coat had been "prettyified" with Stress's help to look like glowstone. Bunches of pale, bioluminescent mushrooms were growing out from it--pulsing and shifting like a giant yellow heart. He even had the deepslate sword Keralis had forged for him on his back, glittering with enchantments.

"Y'know, you would make for a pretty decent god," Pearl snickered.

Bdubs yelped in surprise, nearly falling off the ledge.

"You scared me!" He huffed, "I could'a fallen off!"

Pearl rolled her eyes, "You're a living moss ball, Dubs, you could fall from a skyscraper and be fine."

Bdubs stuck out his tongue and returned to his redstone.

Pearl chuckled, climbing over to where Bdubs was working.

"I don't wanna be a real god," Bdubs said as he laid out another line of redstone, "Keralis, Stress, and them all have it pretty rough, dontcha' think?"

Bdubs turned and gave Pearl a pointed look.

Pearl sighed, sitting cross-legged beside him, "It wasn't my choice to be cursed or be a god. That's just what time has turned me into."

Bdubs was quiet for a moment. He sat back on his heels, looking over his work before turning to Pearl.

"What's it like?"

Pearl chuckled, letting her legs dangle over the edge of the rafters, "Depends."

"On what?"

"On what you represent."

Bdubs hummed, "Like Keralis? He's everything evil, isn't he?"

Pearl was silent.

"Czernobog was worshipped out of fear. People would lay out food at their tables to keep misfortune away. They thought he was the one that rotted their crops and caused people to become ill.

"Xiuhtecuhtli was known as the "creator of all life". Priests spent their entire lives ensuring that his sacred fire was tended to, and he was given festivals at the hottest and coldest times of year.

"Isis and Demeter were regarded as some of the most important of their pantheons. Isis was the goddess of childbirth, and the only one to ever know Ra's true name and the power that came with it. Demeter ensured that nature remained stable and that crops grew in the spring and summer."

Pearl paused, "...I guess I kinda took a bit of Stress's thunder. I'm a god of the moon and the harvest."

Bdubs shrugged with a grin, "I think she'll appreciate the help, especially with the new version of Vault Hunters coming out."

It was silent in the cathedral for a while. The crickets chirped outside as the sun fell behind the mountains. Pearl shivered as the moon began to come up, casting a glow of quartz and shadow over the world.

Bdubs shivered, too, but not for the same reason. His eyes lit up like miniature flashlights to help him see in the dark. Pearl knew he was itching to pull his bed out of his inventory and sleep the night away.

"There's some that I think are at least related to the divine. I know Evil X and X have primordial blood in them, Doc killed Dinnerbone, Mumbo's always had a weird thing with bats..."

Bdubs knew some that sure as hell weren't related to the divine. Beef was a shape-stealing alien and Etho was a demon that preyed on nightmares. He was pretty sure Impulse had some demonic connection, but didn't know for sure.

But Pearl didn't know that, so Bdubs stayed silent.

"We're all kinda weird," Bdubs said.

Pearl smiled, "You've got that right."

[oapostle]

Gentleness of her voice, as soft the trees swayed and the moss that dangled down off the branches in the calm breeze, drew the hunter back in from his venturing thoughts. Laving in the peacefulness that Isis’ presence and property brought him. A safe space in a world of nightmares. Giles watches the woman as she approaches him. Step by step, she came into clearer focus. Features sunkissed and lovely as the sunset. Lovelier, dare he say making such a comparison. Scarred brow arches at her words.

“You startin’ to dream of fish like your mamma said, sunshine?” He inquires curiously with a small, toothy smile. It’s a statement he isn’t quick to catch onto. Woman’s body, mind and spirit… always knows what? He mulls over those words. On a heeled boot the hunter turns to face the woman. Sight flickering over her, perhaps searching for a physical difference of some sort. Yet, he sees nothing. Though he would be lying to say if something didn’t feel different. That faint aura about her shining brighter than usual. Quiet hum rumbles in the man’s throat, “I ain’t so certain I follow, darlin’. You know me, a fool of a man when it comes to a lady’s riddle.”

@creolejesus con't

[isy-ferrante]

Diaries of a Brazilian Mess

by Isy Ferrante

August 18th

I can’t sleep.

I keep looking at geometric patterns on my blanket that match perfectly with the moss green curtains, which in turn matches the dome of the lamp that is on the top of the desk, the same desk where I caressless threw my backpack, before I lay down under the blanket with geometric patterns.

It’s my first night at Enzo’s guest room.

Not that I’ve never slept here before. Enzo’s guest room had always been my preferred place to spend the night when I was way too drunk to go home by myself. But it was different when I had my own place to go back to.

I was still in the hospital bed when Enzo offered me his guest room and didn’t offer me a chance to say no to it.

I hated him. Who he is to assume I couldn’t make my own decisions? To decide that I had lost all control over my life? I would had send him and his fucking burgeois three room apartment to somewhere worse than hell, if only I wasn’t too tired to fool myself into believe that I was still able to pay my rent without my former job.

And just like that, I had no option but low my head, and instead, send my own apartment to hell and move into Enzo’s guest room.

It’s not a guest room anymore, he said to me, now, it’s your room. That doesn’t felt right at all, yet, something in the way he said soothed me. Drowning in my own frustrations I forgot Enzo is a good friend. The best one I have.

I also forgot that Renato has just left him. Renato was the one who chose all the curtains in the apartment. Now Enzo is alone. Enzo gave perfectly good reasons for Renato to leave, yet, Enzo can’t stand being alone.

So Enzo took me by the hand and brought me to his guest room. And here I am, living in the guest room of someone who not only believes he can protect me from myself, but also believes I fill a gap shaped nothing like me.

I dread that there might come a day when, broken-hearted, he’ll realize he was wrong.

I can’t sleep.

Next

[spyraleyes]

Happy Ostara! Ostara, a day of equal day and night. Also known as the Vernal Equinox, is all about celebrating our mother Gaia. It is a time of rebirth and renewal as nature starts to wake up, from her winter slumber. Celebrate by spring cleaning, planting a garden, creating a faerie garden, making a flower crown, walking in nature, birdwatching or decorating a spring alter. Rune: Berkano Tarot Card: The Empress, The Sun Herbs/Oils: Clover, cedar, geranium, patchouli, chamomile, lemon, lime, honeysuckle, lilac, mint, narcissus, pansy, ylang ylang, lavender, patchouli, Crystals: Moonstone, Green Moss Agate, Clear Quartz, Chiastolite, Chrysocolla, Rose Quartz, Amethyst, Bloodstone, Carnelian, bumblebee Jasper, Septarian, Green Aventurine, Sunstone Deities: Fertility/nature gods and goddesses. Gaia, Asat (Isis), Eostre, Aphrodite, Persephone, Nefertum, Asar (Osiris), Min, Pan Animals: ducks, rabbits, deer, lambs, hare, butterflies Colors: Think pastels! Spells/rituals: rebirth, fertility, balance, growth, cleansing, goals, manifestation, abundance and increasing power. Affirmations: "I cleanse all that doesn't serve my higher self" "I am growing every day" "Anything worth having takes time" "I create my own life" "All is love" Other symbols: Eggs, flowers, babies, greens https://www.instagram.com/p/CqDwh17JxMB/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[divinexxchaos]

Name a song for each letter of your username:  

D - Devastated by Joey Bada$$ (& Dazed and Confused by Ruel)

I - Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls (& Isis by Joyner Lucas)

V - Valerie by Mark Ronson ft. Amy Winehouse (& Vienna by Billy Joel)

I - I Miss The Misery by Halestorm (& II’ll Be Good by Jaymes Young)

N - No Role Modelz by J. Cole (& Nobody’s Home by Avril Lavigne) 

E - Easy by the Commodores (& Everything by Buckcherry)

X - X Gon’ Give it to Ya by DMX (& Xanny by Billie Eilish) 

X - XO by Eden (& XO by Beyonce)

C - Concert for Aliens by MGK (& Consequences by Camila Cabello)

H - Hate Myself by NF (& Heaven Falls / Fall on Me by Surfaces)

A - Asleep by The Smiths (& Addicted by Saving Abel) 

O - Ophelia by The Lumineers (& Old School Turntables by Matt DiMona)

S - Sober by Demi Lovato (& Slip by Elliot Moss) (& Surf by Mac Miller)

(I know it said only one song but music is literally my passion and I couldn’t help but do two songs okay. TBH I could have done a whole ass themed playlist for each letter OR a representation of my URL for each genre of music So this is really me exsercising self control)

I also couldn’t do a music thing and not include a NIckelback song (plus the video is SO sweet) !!!! SO...

I’d Come For You by Nickelback

I’d also never forgive myself for not sharing the following song with you all 

Peanut Butter Waffles by Ryan Caraveo

Tagged by: @erncst​

Tagging: @ssvperboy @wingsandahalo @entityforged @fullofhcart @troublesomemix  @almcstgolden @alxnetxgether @blueletterss @tragedyfollows @blumhouses @strawbcrryskyys & anyone else who wants to do it!

(p.s. none of u saw me tag myself but a different blog bc I wanna do this again) 

[thursdaythetwelfth]

Chimera

A shadow herself across the brine matte of trenchant faces descends

Amid the humid debris, before the shale alms, shivering,

Leaving the crawl space or light severed valley, spiraling herself by the armchairs,

bypassing the emptied streets, whispering,

Daughter bubble cascade produced by folding of ruptured thin linens.

 

A bridge rocks herself from pumice to knee, beyond the sails ducked beneath her eaves

Abruptly pausing, with a wooden spoon between her teeth,

What day is this? Or what may arise behind the curtain

Where whose portière upon skene dines;

 

                  Accepting severance blithely, undulating spheres in her drawing room,

Of rewards, the kind who tells the wind to do,

Of proffer or adulation, a disappearing film to stain.

 

Om mani padme om, singing

                  Blindly vast upon the dune turns the oleaginous Kingdom

                  Of borrowed shells,

 

Of anxious, dewy pails, rain-leavened and care-worn

                  There, the champignons of pendulous rappine, a Cosmogonic bloom

In perfidy of youth,

 

                                    Indeed a pale, but sigilant tide cast out in dry winter (12 o’clock)

To sea of bedeviled or perforated faces, somnolent (Dante’s guest)

Song of innocence, or of deviance (chimes the bell)

 

                  Fustian moss poured through a sieve, at dusk these silver halides

                  Fell, glozened eyes behind them, spume and spindrift

                  Hailing ash from each to each, windows mutter

 

All fall down, or ever as we decide (she, an Optimist, declines)

                                    An Isis procession of trains winding about her when she lingers in her gowns

Forestalling the open gutters, retreating

Her opalescent curves returned by coastal plain’s alluvium, dressing,

On wooden elbows, perigee obscurely feint, cross-cut with sighs

Delivered of her shadow’s music, just grazing the inchoate with a promontory veil of skin,

She slides,

Tops and Downs

the stairwell, arriving to the blacktop moon engulfing the banister,

 

And here, c’est damage, so revolving away like a sick snail, shuttering out the light,

Shuffling all the portaments against the night, replete with a round or tremulous voice,

She stays, she lies to rest to dream the dream that cannot be afforded by her impresario.

[savefilescomng12]

Why Does Imogen Want to Help Adilah in The Veil? (SPOILERS)

The clue we think Adilah leaves behind in the library only further fuels the ideal that she is an ISIS commander.

Source: FXWarning: This article contains spoilers for Episodes 1 and 2 of FX's The Veil.When it comes to finding out someone’s true identity, British M16 agent Imogen Salter (played by Elisabeth Moss) in The Veil is undoubtedly the woman for the job. She gets recruited to safely transport Adilah El Idrissi (played by Yumna Marwan) from one refugee camp to the next and unveil her true identity in the process. However, Imogen goes rogue and abruptly knocks her fellow agents off her trail. Apparently, it isn't the first time she’s gone off the grid.Article continues below advertisementArticle continues below advertisementWith Adilah possibly covering up her true identity, which many believe to be Djinn al Raqqa, an ISIS commander with a substantial amount of blood on her hands, why is Imogen putting her career and life in jeopardy to keep her alive?

Why is Imogen helping Adilah in ‘The Veil’?

Source: FXImogen believes Adilah is, in fact, Sabine al Cabas, aka Djinn al Raqqa, a 15-year veteran ISIS commander — and she’s prepared to go to any length to prove it. In an attempt to live up to her reputation in the mission control business, Imogen has made it her duty to unveil Adilah’s identity, but she’ll need to keep her alive to do it.Article continues below advertisementWhile it’s unclear what deterred Imogen from the initial path she and the French DGSE laid out (perhaps she has her own secret agenda or is part of an unknown agency), she hasn’t abandoned the mission.Even after the CIA confirmed to Malik Amar (played by Dali Benssalah) and his colleague that the young girl’s hair sample matched that of Adilah, “proving” Adilah is who she says she is, Imogen is still convinced she’s dealing with one of the most wanted women in the world. But, in order to uncover the truth, she decides to keep her enemy closer, even if it requires personal sacrifices.Article continues below advertisement

Is Adilah really an ISIS commander?

Source: FXDespite the CIA’s failed attempt at connecting Adilah to Djinn el Raqqa using a hair sample collected from the girl presumed to be her 10-year-old daughter, Imogen is convinced she’s a high-ranking member of ISIS. And Adilah’s suspicious behavior seems to corroborate this.Just after Imogen makes the abrupt decision to travel toward Istanbul, veering away from her original destination, Adilah jots down the phone number that keeps ringing on Imogen’s phone on the windshield of the vehicle.Article continues below advertisementThere’s also the clue Adilah appears to leave behind in the library book she calls “the book of surprises” which centers around devils and shapeshifters, a term once used to describe her. While it seems odd that Adilah leaves behind a hand-drawn map for a suspicious man to come and collect. She hasn't made contact with anyone aside from her daughter. It's also odd that Imogen comes across a familiar book, Shakespeare’s Comedy of Twelfth Night or What You Will. Did she also leave behind or gather a clue from the library or is it all just a coincidence? Or, did she leave behind the map in Adilah's favorite book?Both the CIA and French DGSE conclude at the end of Episode 2 that Adilah, a woman from Paris seemingly involved with ISIS, isn't deemed as threatening as Sabine. However, there's still a chance Sabine may have adopted Adilah’s identity and is using it to get closer to her next targets. Source link Read the full article

[unladyboss]

TEN OTHER TIMES RICHIE JERIMOVICH MADE YOU TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT HIM (HAWT)

Don't think about his personality.

Matter of fact think about Ebon Moss Bachrach's personality

1. OUT ON A DATE

2. INDULGING A NASTY HABIT

3. Doing whatever this is

4. GETTING SERIOUS WITH THE SPECTRALS

5. LAUGHING

6. HOTTER THAN MIKEY

7. MAKING THAT FACE

8. LEAVING A DATE DEJECTED

9. TELLING EVERYONE WHAT TO DO

10. TRANSFORMATION INTO ANUBIS

[greenwitchcrafts]

March 2024 witch guide

Full moon: March 25th

New moon: March 10th

Sabbats: Ostara-March 19th

March Worm Moon

Known as: Crow Moon, Eagle Moon, Goose Moon, Hrethmonath, Lenting moon, Lentzinmanoth, Moon of Snowblind, Moon of Winds, Plow Moon, Sap Moon, Seed Moon, Sore Eyes Moon, Storm Moon, Sugar Moon & Wind Strong Moon

Element: Water

Zodiac: Pisces & Aries

Nature spirits: Air & water spirits & Mer-people

Deities: Artemis, Astarte, Athena, Cybele, Isis, Luna & Minerva

Animals: Boar, cougar & hedgehog

Birds: Sea crow & sea eagle

Trees: Alder, dogwood & honeysuckle

Herbs: Apple blossom, broom, high John root, Irish moss, pennyroyal, wood betony & yellow dock

Flowers: Daffodil, jonquil & violet

Scents: Apple blossom & honeysuckle

Stones: Aquamarine, bloodstone, jasper, opal &topaz

Colors: Pale-green, red, violet, yellow & white

Energy:  Balance, beginnings, dream work, energy breaking into the open, exploring, fertility, inner development, karma, prosperity, spirituality, success & truth seeking

For many years, it was thought that the name "Worm Moon" referred to the earthworms that appear as the soil warms in spring. This invites robins and other birds to feed—a true sign of spring.

However, more research revealed another explanation. In the 1760s, Captain Jonathan Carver visited the Naudowessie (Dakota) and other Native American tribes and wrote that the name Worm Moon refers to a different sort of “worm”—beetle larvae—which begin to emerge from the thawing bark of trees and other winter hideouts at this time.

March’s full Moon often plays a role in religion, specifically in Christianity, this Moon is known as the Lenten Moon if it is the last full Moon of the winter season (i.e., if it occurs before the spring equinox) or as the Paschal Full Moon if it is the first full Moon of spring (i.e., if it occurs after the spring equinox).

Ostara

Known as: Alban Eiler, Lady Day & Spring/Vernal equinox

Season: Spring

Symbols: 8-spoked wheel, butterflies, chicks, decorated baskets, eggs, feathers, jellybeans, lambs, rabbits, seeds, shamrocks, spring flowers & sunwheels

Colors: Green, indigo, light blue, pastels, pink, red & yellow

Oils/Incense: African violet, florals, ginger, jasmine, lotus, magnolia, rose, sage & strawberry

Animals: Cormorant, hare, hawk, rabbit, sheep, sparrow & swallow

Mythical: Dragon & Unicorn

Stones: Amethyst, aquamarine, bloodstone, moonstone, red jasper & rose quartz

Food: Dairy foods, eggs(hard boiled), fruits, honey, honey cakes, leafy greens, vegetables, pine nuts, pumpkin, sunflower seeds, sprouts & waffles

Herbs/Plants: Acorn, cinquefoil, dogwood, ginger, Irish moss, olive, strawberry & woodruff

Flowers: Celandine, crocus, daffodil, dandelion, Easter lily,  jasmine gorse, honeysuckle, hyssop, iris, jonquil, linden, narcissus, peony, snowdrop, tansy & violet

Goddesses: Aphrodite, Ariadne, Artemis, Athena, Coatlicue, Cybele,Demeter, Diana, Eos, Eostre, Flora, Gaia, Hera, Idunn, Iris, Ishtar, Juno, Minerva, Persephone, Venus & Vesta

Gods: Adonis, Attis, Celi, Cernunnos, Coel, Dagda, Dalon ap Landu, Dumuzi, Green Man, Lord of the Greenwood, Mithras, Odin, Osiris, Ovis & Pan

Issues, Intentions & Powers: Agriculture, balance, beauty, fertility, growth, life, love & rebirth/renewal

Spellwork: Air magick, fertility, new beginnings & water magick

Activities:

• Go on a hike/walk & look for signs of spring

• Add Ostara symbols to decorate your altar space

• Plant vegetable &/or flower seedlings

• Decorate eggs with bright colors

• Set your intentions for the weeks/months ahead

• Start a new class or hobby

• Create eggshell candles

• Make plans & new routines for the future

• Participate in rituals & ceremonies that connect you with energy & the life force of nature

• Have a feast with your friends &/family with sprouts & leafy greens

• Bake hot cross buns or lavender/lemon flavored treats

• Clean & de-clutter your home

• Try a re-birthing/ renewing ritual

• Bring fresh flowers or plants into into the home

• Host a spring & floral themed tea party

• Make egg based food dishes & desserts

This holiday marks the Spring Equinox, which happens before March 19-22. It is the second of three spring celebrations (the midpoint between Imbolc and Beltane)  during which light & darkness are again in balance, with light on the rise. It is a time of new beginnings & of life emerging further from the grips of winter.

There is much debate regarding the origins of Ostara due to the lack of primary sources about this sabbat. One theory is the name of Ostara came from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre. Another theory is that Eostre is more of a localized goddess in Kent County, England. Despite the questions of her origins, Eostre is associated with modern-day Pagan traditions of Ostara.

There is no evidence that the ancient Greeks or Romans celebrated Ostara, although they did celebrate their own spring festivals, such as the Roman festival of Floralia & the Greek festival of Anthesteria. It was a time to honor the returning sun, fertility & rebirth.

Related festivals:

• Nowruz- March 19th

Nowruz marks the first day of spring & renewal of nature. It is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox. It is also celebrated as the beginning of the new year by people all around the world for over 3,000 years in the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East & other regions.

It promotes values of peace & solidarity between generations & within families as well as reconciliation & neighbourliness. Nowruz plays a significant role in strengthening the ties among peoples based on mutual respect & the ideals of peace and good neighbourliness. 

Traditional customs of Nowruz include fire & water, ritual dances, gift exchanges, reciting poetry, symbolic objects & more; these customs differ between the diverse peoples & countries that celebrate the festival.

• Holi- March 25th

Holi is a popular & significant Hindu festival celebrated as the The festival of colors, Love &Spring. It commemorates eternal and divine love of the deities Radha & Krishna. Additionally, the day signifies the triumph of good over evil, as it celebratess the victory of Vishnu as Narasimha over Hiranyakashipu. Holi originated & is predominantly celebrated in the Indian subcontinent, but has also spread to other regions of Asia & parts of the Western world through the Indian diaspora.

Holi also celebrates the arrival of Spring in India, the end of winter & the blossoming of love. It is also an invocation for a good spring harvest season. It lasts for a night & a day, starting on the evening of the Purnima (full moon day) falling on the Hindu calendar month of Phalguna, which falls around the middle of March in the Gregorian calendar.

• Easter- March 31st

also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday is a Christian festival & cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD. It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus Christ, preceded by Lent (or Great Lent), a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, & penance.

Easter traditions vary across the Christian world & include sunrise services or late-night vigils, exclamations & exchanges of Paschal greetings, flowering the cross & the decoration and the communal breaking of Easter eggs (a symbol of the empty tomb) among many others. The Easter lily is a symbol of the resurrection in Western Christianity traditionally decorates the chancel area of churches on this day & for the rest of Eastertide. Additional customs that have become associated with Easter & are observed by both Christians & some non-Christians include Easter parades, communal dancing, the Easter Bunny & egg hunting.

Other Celebrations:

• Festival of Luna- March 31st

Is a feast day honoring the Goddess Luna who is seen as the divine embodiment of the Moon.

The Temple of Luna was a temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome, dedicated to Luna, the moon goddess. Its dedication was celebrated on March 31st, thus the celebration.

According to Tacitus, it was built by king Servius Tullius. However, the first confirmed reference to a temple to Luna dates to 182 BC & refers to one of its doors being knocked off its posts by a miraculous blast of air & shot into the back of the Temple of Ceres. That account probably places the temple at the north end of the hill, just above porta Trigemina. The temple was struck by lightning around the time of the death of Cinna, as was the temple of Ceres. After the destruction of Corinth, Lucius Mummius Achaicus dedicated some of his spoils from the city to this temple. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD & not rebuilt.

Sources:

Farmersalmanac .com

Llewellyn's Complete Book of Correspondences by Sandra Kines

Wikipedia

A Witch's Book of Correspondences by Viktorija Briggs

Encyclopedia britannica

Llewellyn 2024 magical almanac Practical magic for everyday living

[libidomechanica]

By natural

A sonnet sequence

               1

Bank of vapour; while the midst of men recoil away and isolate pure that he plots again, without; but yet forgot, and soft adorings from birth to Geb and Nut, Isis and Osiris thought, and the down wi’ right earnest. By natural? And yet say no to-day thou forget that heard with free scope of high disdain intended. And all those that best thou gavest it, else mistake to Balaam, and the think, because he cast no shadow where the shepherd blows us canonized for crowns on me, and somehow, each other it seems apart, as, supperless to say her daughter, plaiting for thee.

               2

But if thou canst not stand on her, so graciously with his Associated without-end hour whilst the prize, did draw, when turtles tread, as might make it worth his lips uncurled and skilful pilot, thou seest the wild lorelie; over the walls so fair. Work that shine like liquor or aspirin. My glass a whit, to say they speak, kneel, touch, kiss—in sooth such a throne, his lands and piteous eye an inmate owns: all strut, and his finger move, and the darkness among the conjuror plays Ah, silver, too. Of peeresses ready. A little charge, whose three make in one in the aged creature grow: but because to wive; but faithless Thing—to whom they, with such success produce of each suck the seats a place where I am quite sure if t is a very source of love has my hand for the eggs both thorough my gentleman, who fights, or finer stays, and to the beauteous region both defy, not wonder.

               3

Hyacinth, so will let me laughing jest. Assist me, Heav’n! Bow to Shooting—from these weird seizures, Heaven knows what is not! As on a shining. Half house; but he the Pleiads; his Discourse the Mourners of a saint: she touched it lying bathed in the King. The loved as warm starfish. The way. Then houerly thy letters, but all bail shall court an heiress forth, and his lands and owns the midst of me when the royal game of the grave. So your roseate bow’rs, celestial canopy. And could liberty began to weep! Yet in bud and honour. Bronze faint remove, fame, wealth brings contains repent old please you?

               4

Not dashed with grains and the Sea’s self, a sight to say thy place. It kills without sin without a though not to love’s love, again? To point you for what in an hour. By what the Foam of his air, exposed, shall I felt for to thy great shapes of that bed; she comes, like a man of mankind’s forlorn, dying abroad and my state with a panic fear, but will be mud on the comfort fast, which takes his wind-tossed upon by both, to be market I steal, a waste garden, flowers and thy unbraided, her poniard, had oppos’d these other rapture of her good nor had a fever late, and harass’d with you too.

               5

In memory to what thou hast spied. Not soon, as late a fable which quarrel tilts, yclept the Great World; for it. Our guide turneth through all the foxglove’s alembic, and whiskers, to demands our backs are plough which flies before: the world of trouble, well cultivated, it will not sweet mama … truth is the bride and fro. These moss-grown domes with thee and yet, to speak to me, taking your sweet Tibbie, I hae seen the curling brats the rest for your head anither aiming at the virgin-treasure than you will coin young, and I think such rites are in this, and jewel hangs upon them cruel; do not die.

               6

Princely name is Shame, but not think to canter gently lay, in this silver saints I see; nor envy them, and my doorway? Numerous as shadowy brook, that thou go with Athos. From the thing approve his cheeks were long cupped in lilies and be thy breast doth hide something happens a dozen times do I love to speak to you and forbear to taste: the last year’s leaves are few, and she would split a Hair, drove Penmen, as an examples may streamingly. May be the sea-coal, come, and sweet, tore the rind of those that, we just mounting higher he’s to see them out, not even to Madeline, St.

               7

I sleep oppression—or at large. Or Andalusian girl from the truth miscall’d my nest, when they might employ his art; at lengths of puissance; and those restraining stars. And maiden’s chamber. By natural, to temptation, unless a man. Close meeting off, about her sparkling eye glance traduce; no envious eyes though not vainer from love? As in a Prayer, or in quarrel tilts, yclept the Great Migration of his forehead’s smooth as any saint, half-canonized by pearly shepherd’s nose, that’s still, hoping the corner strain they fail! Drunk as a piper, kicking in constitution some days.

               8

Sure a pow’r away; and yet, love and those bred up by us to our town, the young them, and never, never knew till now, either fright abode; assist the shut off the horse alone, and mails. Angels in the year in a waver of love her we have tied her up forever. Prostrate heat where were first notes of Yazd; and, all akin Northwards journals squeak and girl with his javelin wounded me: from what should bargain for the eggs both times declare. Where you not extremely sick? Life it was certain that reseeds itself the Cord fitted unhelpt, and shadow flits and envied passions springs have sworn.

               9

Into her; and on her hands, to bear it. Who never she to mellow, If the kissed again. That heard the darkness, walking like a God in pain, made of Adamant, would overtake this shape. Of her sex: but could reach her will I visit from the timbrels, and crocuses, and be possessed! The clarity of three days he is waking, half anguishment which holds out its arms, and while I woo thee his bar to teach the glen sae shy; for laik o’ gear ye light, over the grounded springs me back to you this? Is but short, and oft a wanton is, school’d onely planet with a jewelled sky.

               10

That heaven is love. Ask me why that this sad interim like Marius, to sit amidst the painted maid: but the rubies grew, and died in the act of love, for one shortest day, in clear melodious lyre.— An’ Charlie, he’s my darlin’ darling, my darlin’ darling, the youthful Sun. ’Er every morning, nor in nothing too much, some sort, I can give you too. But, like a pedantic, into thy heart wreck’d, with grief to find the nations and wanton-wise. Proud looked at scarce palls. Though royalty was written— wash it out dispense from soul to soul, one thought, ere frozen home in the liberties.

               11

If left us first. This day I’ll dare to boast that I would have a genius from accident; it suffers not policy, that he want to make a fire with his finger pointed dart, and thine, the pale shade of Buonaparte’s noble! Then tell me, Angela was feeling yield both the town; found and kissed my mouth cushions and mountains sloped down with proud and hospitable: or, maybe, I myself almost despite thy sight, and me, curled, and made Love or lust makes or takes them born to our town, the youthful Sun. National possessing, and never heed: and dream of haggard seeming, but all as one.

               12

Why, I’m posterity, or future bard shall complete their guilt: for how often must it love, defiance, hate, and woe the deity of good society is but she was yet inexperience rather not the pin; and her how, upon a trick; down on Danaë in a sainted maid: but all bail shall be as thine at anchor, the council broke, I rose and pour out alloy of fop or beau, a finish’d gentle reader’s eyelid dry, but since she cannot profit much more—but thought, ere it came, that neuer heeds the loom through Love’s Elysium. My glass shall in love, no doubt or stay?

               13

Both thorough-bred to tie her up forever. ’ Such the soul, and steam-boats of vapours to waste, the bases deepe; griefe but Loues winter away straight and debonnaire: the tale belong to creepe: she sigh’d for Agnes’ Eve! An’ down yon scroggie glen, we daur na gang a milking, for Charlie came to mind the broken, I keep the world’s souls entranced in act, remembered lays, sweet maiden, wilt thou trace and movement with my boots but I trust that French novel? Of the old Man young, keep the while she asleepe did lay, he burning, by us; we two being made from faring ill. His wind-tossed upon the story ran.

               14

The love is liberties; there, thought and fetes, and to cedar’d Lebanon. A present, a greatest ashes, as half-acre tombs, as you turn back to-night. The glorious lamp of my pity-wanting pain. My Muses do not blind to the vast idol; whilst we receive still to them there but to dread? As on a Monday morning light and moisten’d spring from expense; they now can I then, as the devil his due; nor in thin array after the Horizon into caves, say, maiden virtue leads people are all men and hastes the children, grown old, and down monogamy like Tom Waits.

               15

The torch of a merely speculation, stared as blank as death. As children of the drunk with fascination, I saw two wand’ring to myself alone. All cates and his magic whisks and cheek when it shows its boundless summer sang in the Braine. Led through a windy nightly, to the empty arms; it glides, thou art the door upon its hinges here: ’ but No! For, Maud, although the lady wed, or may do. When the days you can see for mintage lie, and all the ground? Ye who but see them out, not even nose, one with shifting change my years, I have done goes all the moon shines on my rose tree. Harsh and coole.

               16

For once, and nothing mythological it was like ships, together prose or song, my sweet, the sound of missing thy amiss, accord perusals to hide our kisses from every source of love allows gather blisse. Her poniard, had one safeguard more; such as be carved angel, face, and still, although a door was wide, sam slips with the whole years the enemy with faery land, which had a whole years in absence Hell. Handsome ancient ditty, long such sweets are, it seems the southern moors I have your verse discoveries and not to my pure light, priests, tapers too, and feeling yield both times of your great.

               17

I felt for thee. Then sighing, salving thy sight, when her father’s blush, that she stood a bust of Pallas for heart, which works on leases man from out an amatory score, true, t is my Abelard and merry note, while the tear is used. He held an ivory lute with her willing teach, till he came tumbling I unclose, the govern more endeared without regardless eyes, for Love’s fev’rous choices? The truth live, as this for my mare, my mother prose or song, my darling, my darling, my darlin’ darling, my darling, the child of snow; even Plutarch’s Lives have I said to it … You are a sample.

               18

We shall move the sooner heart, which takes to a grande passionless can never a wrinkle. Better to be-that with a hole in it, had a dread altars blaze, and ten women living, thou canst pour from the little flower that crawled through. And this rusty bosom fire, showing dangerous tenderest be, at which increased. And maiden, can thy life be led to join theirs, less for lovers find when once touch’d, so pierce with him on my heart; but, fool, seekst not be sought; I mourn the lips, those who play unfair! Up, she sings he: the argent revelry, for the dear object is morality whate’er was and is no more. I have done goes all trembling the blissfully haven’d both from the truth, I bade the letters, but a voyage done! Full browses; he had seen only God’s will I walk as free as air, and fells it too became, in thee and shining heart, with thee and not the word by his side: were not winced.

               19

She yields: my Lady in her love of the same ages can’t form a curl; or with the Foam of his Munificence, forc’t, by a tedious hours, that like virtuous she. And darken into caves, long-sounding an hour and back at us, amazed, two the best can paint out ioy, thought of a dream, I lay broad light. However, at the years till, tir’d of his force, lightly me, but, trowth, I care’t na by. Yesterday! What your introduction give rest, the food tree or turned in the floor, saw many a door in my eye-balls roll, and will banisht art; but somehow, each morn and love thee, and call my length.

               20

Not the seed of gods, I grow a talker! What’s thick, or long white virgins keep, and studies artful postures, such things are fewer to the variously, a melancholy silence seal’d. But all was lost its will with buds and cannot step as does not love stol’n from the soft illusions, dear doting heart, I look forward to an evening on the true bloody spur cannot longing grabs me by moonlight of the more! And saints—to window that took my sight of that promise set on Vertues gold that in fact she talks. Gave out thy rest’? And radiant from thy fellowship I needs the fire of his Largess.

               21

And she was written—wash it out, my tears before my sire charms o’ lovely glorious proof, that dies wishing me on the heard, that to the clear! Of air, not man, absolves our love! That is old, and win perhaps this year and all rich attire creeps rustling were: and, snugging their first blush; for a moment fell, when, with Silence! The wonder how quickly fired, as in bed. So Anacreon drawn the rimes, and all rich array, blendeth its odour with their ever-flourish’d too much in sighs, still the World call’d my nest, saving man at her casement high and strange with spites; yet we think, proceeds.

               22

That dwell in my madness might take at her hair, it is a passion’d far while they be more ease that hides your great appears already with the town; found a dying flame; and so live in a convent’s solitary self-discoursing the little strange too in my beclowded stormie face, where his spurs in thy songs to my boat with chastity retire, along the true; and the chains were fix’d, but the Folly he sets up. ’Ve been a-toying, and birds sit brooding still. He rose alone. While praying in thee and softly so you wrong than he lost are left all these, which but to lifeless than the knot.

               23

The Beadsman heard in the ground-worms riot. With fine Conceits, arise! Now you’re seared to say there; he always face, as alone surveys the wild and witty, and pardon me saying, Mercy, Porphyro! And yet your troubled like a printed page, black loam long manured by Vice, only to keep that name you. Real spirit reels at the Future clay,—to me seek with no special legend be, it will not swear it to his billets? A Corner, passion to go by quite unnatural. For laik o’ gear, was left me by moonlight, throbbed us so, that heav’nly- pensive thing art the dead. A tulip?

[xtruss]

A Sandstone Hieroglpyh dating to 2250 B.C. shows the goddess Isis, her son, and the god Hathor (far left). There is evidence Egyptians used papyrus to manage their menstrual flow. Photograph By Leemage, Corbis/Getty Images

Egyptians Used Papyrus—and Other Ways of Handling Periods Through the Years

How we’ve dealt with our periods over millennia says a lot about our societies—and the persistent stigma surrounding menstruation.

— By Jude Coleman | November 29, 2023

In ancient Egypt, people used softened papyrus, a grass-like plant, to absorb their menstrual blood—sort of like an early tampon. The oldest historical record of period management, it’s also one of the few known, perhaps because menstruation has long been such a taboo subject, experts say.

Since written histories that reference menstruation are so limited, oral histories are some of the only sources available, such as accounts from Indigenous communities, says Alma Gottlieb, a cultural anthropologist at the University of Illinois. Not only that, but the products people likely used to control blood flow were organic materials, meaning that the artifacts have degraded over time.

Ultimately, experts say, people turned to whatever was available and compatible with their clothes. For many, that meant long strips of rags, which could be folded and pinned to clothing, then washed and reused. The practice is how the popular phrase “on the rag” originates, says Sharra Vostral, a menstruation and menstrual product historian at Northwestern University.

“How it's experienced and by whom, and the social attitudes around it—they're different in different places at different times,” says Vostral. For example, in the late 19th century, some U.S. doctors believed menstruation was an illness. One doctor, Edward Clark, believed that going to school while having a period hampered the development of reproductive organs.

Absorbent plant matter such as moss or bark could have also been useful, where available. Though it’s rumored that some Vikings might have used bog moss, for instance, it’s unconfirmed by historical records. Some period care theories float around on the internet, but in fact, “most of that is B.S.,” says Kate Clancy, an anthropologist at the University of Illinois, particularly since it’s difficult to prove speculated methods of period care.

Another option was to free bleed into clothes. For centuries in Europe and the United States, for example, many layers of underskirts and dresses absorbed the blood. Around the end of the 19th century, a garter belt-like contraption emerged. Made with an elastic waistband, the belts had loops on the front and back to clip a rag on.

It might have been helpful in the transition to more fitted clothes, as opposed to massive skirts, but they weren’t great, Vostral says. “People really were interested in something that was better.”

Menstrual Myths

Many cultures have long viewed menstruation negatively.

A lack of understanding fueled such perspectives. Take humoral theory: In the Middle Ages, the body was thought to consist of four liquid components called humors—blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm. These bodily fluids had to stay in balance to maintain health. The monthly blood loss of menstruation was key to stabilizing humors, since women were considered weaker and incapable of keeping their humors in check, says Rachael Gillibrand, a historian at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom.

That belief persisted into the Victorian era, she says. Other inaccurate perceptions included the idea that menstruating people emitted a toxin and could cause disease, that the blood was impure, and even that the blood could wipe out agricultural crops.

The bias against menstruation can also be traced back to the Bible. Eve was said to have disobeyed a monotheistic god and punished with the curse of painful childbirth. Later, the view on that curse was broadened to include menstruation.

“Discriminatory menstrual practices and perceptions have been practiced since the beginning of civilization,” says Radha Paudel, the founder of the Global South Coalition for Dignified Menstruation in Nepal.

These stigmas created a sense of shame, and even into the early 20th century, people in Western cultures talked so little about menstruation that many adolescents had no idea what was happening to them, says Camilla Røstvik, who studies menstrual culture at the University of Agder in Norway.

“Many of them thought that they were dying,” says Røstvik, “If you're thinking back in time, this must have been very traumatic for a lot of children in particular.”

Shame Persists

Around 1930 in the U.S., advertisements for some of the first modern pads came with a coupon that buyers could hand to druggists without needing to speak. The attitude of silence and shame is true in many parts of the world, says Paudel, who has spent decades researching perceptions of menstruation in cultures from Sri Lanka to Canada.

But it’s important to note that not all cultures villainized menstruation, Clancy says. The Beng people of West Africa, for example, treat menstrual blood as sacred and recognize its importance in reproduction.

Alternatively, the Rungus people of northern Borneo view menstruation neutrally: neither sacred nor cursed. People of this community manage their flow by situating themselves over a gap in the slatted floors of their homes, free-bleeding onto the lush forest greenery below. “It’s all a very casual process,” says Gottlieb.

Today, commercial products have evolved to include more internal control methods, such as tampons, menstrual cups, and menstrual disks.

But Clancy points out that there’s still a significant focus on hiding menstruation and not enough on other topics, such as symptoms that accompany menstruation. Though debilitating cramps can disrupt a person’s daily life, for instance, it’s little discussed.