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drsohinisastri · 3 years

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7 Most Auspicious Nakshatra for Marriage

Tying the knot sometime soon? Well, you might have found for yourself the Shubh muhurat for marriage. However, we think that there is more that one can do to make sure that they get married on the right day. And that something more is scooping out the most auspicious nakshatra for marriage according to the famous astrologer in Kolkata.

While many of you might be aware of what a nakshatra is, however, some people are unaware of the same and thus, unaware of the goodness it can bring to their life. So for a gist, let’s start with understanding What is a nakshatra before moving forward to highlight the most auspicious nakshatras for marriage.

What is nakshatra?

While most of our life revolves around the zodiac signs, this wasn’t how Sages, back in ancient times, used to predict one’s future. Sages had divided the 12 zodiac signs into 27 nakshatras (also called constellations). Each nakshatra is a day long. The motive behind dividing zodiac signs into nakshatra was for a better understanding of the traits of a particular day.

1. Hasta nakshatra

The Hasta nakshatra is known for its power to attract two individuals to each other, both physically and emotionally. So getting married on this nakshatra surely has its benefits. Apart from these pleasures, the Hasta nakshatra may also bestow the couple with professional prosperity. The male native in the relationship will be of a calm nature while the female, very sensual.

The lord of the Hasta Nakshatra is the Moon. And Moon is known to add the feminine characteristics of love, discipline and loyalty to your relationship. You two, as a couple, will always be ready to help the needy, but what is more, is that you shall do all this without any expectations.

2. Swati nakshatra

The first drop of rain aka, purity is what defines the Swati nakshatra. The people who get married in Swati nakshatra are bestowed with incomparable sharpness and talents. Having these talents make the couple very forward-thinking. They can not only tackle a problem but turn it to their good too.

As the Swati nakshatra sits in the Scorpio sign, the couple will be very sensual, spontaneous and independent. The ruler lord of the Swati nakshatra is Rahu, which makes the couple a believer in karma. You treat each other like the way they treat you, which is what modern relationships are like.

3. Anuradha nakshatra

The Anuradha Nakshatra consists of three stars – Beta, Delta, and Pi Scorpions. And in the night sky, all of these stars are visible in one straight line. Sitting in Scorpio, the ruler of the Anuradha Nakshatra is Saturn. This constellation is one of the most auspicious nakshatras for marriage because it represents balance, honour and harmony.

The couples marrying the Anuradha nakshatra are able to create a bond that works on understanding. You both create grounds for peaceful interactions and rarely let problems plague your relationship. This nakshatra also supports travel and foreign endeavours for the natives.

4. Magha nakshatra

In astrology, the meaning of the Magha is magnificent. The Magha nakshatra comprises the brightest star, namely, regulus. The individuals who marry on Magha nakshatra are to have the influence of power on them. These people can tackle the toughest situations together.

Another thing that makes Magha nakshatra the most auspicious nakshatra to marry is that it produces aspiration for traditions and rituals in the life of the couple. And as that happens, one is able to be soft-spoken and very caring. The couple is led by morals and may also have a lot of materialistic pleasures in their life. This is because the ruler of the Magha nakshatra is Ketu. Thus you may enjoy the goods, but don’t be greedy about them according to the famous astrologer in India.

5. Uttara Phalguni nakshatra

The planet Sun is the governing planet of the Uttara Phalguni nakshatra, which is all the reasons why this is one of the best nakshatras for marriage. The Uttara Phalguni nakshatra represents a life of comfort and luxury for the native. Prosperity will come easily to the couples who get married in this nakshatra.

Moreover, the Uttara Phalguni nakshatra also helps you in raising a prosperous family. You two, together, will be very down to earth and do good for society. Marrying on this nakshatra allows the female good fertility and blessings of being humorous.

6. Rohini Nakshatra

Rohini nakshatra is the first most auspicious nakshatra to get married. This nakshatra is governed by prajapati Brahma. Some of the known characteristics of Rohini nakshatra are fertility, communication, growth and development. Tying the knot on this nakshatra is thus very giving in terms of the emotional and professional growth of the couple.

People who tie the knot on a Rohini nakshatra bring their allure to the world. Their relationship becomes an inspiration for many. However, such a relationship is also prone to an evil eye, which you need to keep a check on. Interestingly, as the lord of the Rohini Nakshatra is Moon, it adds feminine characteristics of sensuality, love and emotions to your relationship.

7. Mrigashirsha nakshatra

The planet Mars is the ruler of the Mrigshirsha nakshatra in astrology. The animal that represents Mrigashirsha nakshatra is the Deer. Getting married on this day, thus allows the couples to enjoy a kind of sensitivity in their relationship. You two will be very understanding of each other and would keenly listen to each other.

However, on the downside, the Mrigshirsha nakshatra can also make the couple suspicious of each other. However, this only happens if you have a cryptic history. As per the famous astrologer in India any bond made in Mrigashirsha nakshatra is considered to be the purest of all the bonds.

#Famous astrologer in india #Famous astrologer in Mumbai #famous astrologer in delhi #famous astrologer #famous astrologer in Kolkata

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woman-loving · 3 years

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Islam, heteronormativity, and lesbian lives in Indonesia

Selections from Heteronormativity, Passionate Aesthetics and Symbolic Subversion in Asia by Saskia Wieringa, 2015.

These passages discuss some general social developments related to sexuality and gender in Indonesia, and then describe stories from different (mostly lesbian) narrators. They also touch on the creation of a religious school for waria (trans women), and include two trans men narrators, one of whom talks about his struggle to get sex reassignment surgery in the 70s. I also included a story from a divorced woman whose sexuality was questioned when her husband complained that she couldn’t sexually please him. Accusations of lesbianism can be directed toward any woman as a method for managing her sexuality/gender and prodding her into compliance with expectations of sexual availability.

In spite of protests by religious right-wing leaders, Islam does not have a single source of its so-called 'Islamic tradition'. There are many different interpretations and, apart from the Quran, many sources are contested. Even the Quran has abundant interpretations. Feminist Muslim writers, such as Fatima Mernissi (1985), Riffat Hassan (1987), and Musdah Mulia (2004 and 2012), locate their interpretations in the primary source of Islam--the Quran. According to those readings, sexuality is seen in an affirmative, positive light, being generally described as a sign of God's mercy and generosity toward humanity, characterised by such valued qualities as tranquillity, love, and beauty. The California-based Muslim scholar Amina Wadud (1999) describes the jalal (masculine) and jamal (feminine) attributes of Allah as a manifestation of sacred unity. She maintains that Allah's jamal qualities are associated with beauty that, although originally evaluated as being at the same level as Allah's masculine qualities that are associated with majesty, have en subsumed in the 14 centuries since the Quran was revealed.

The Quran gives rise to multiple interpretations. Verse 30:21 is one of my favorites:

“And among Allah's signs is this. That Allah created for you spouses from among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquillity whit them, and Allah has put love and mercy between your [hearts]: verily in that there are signs for those who reflect.”[2]

The verse is commonly used in marriage celebrations, and I also used it in my same-sex marriage ritual. It mentions the gender-neutral term 'spouse,' which leaves room for the interpretation that same-sex partners are included.

Indonesian waria (transwomen) derive hope from such texts. In 2008, Maryani, a well-respected waria, opened a pesantren (traditional Islamic religious school) for waria, named Al-Fatah, at her house in Yogyakarta. After her death in March 2014, it was temporarily closed, but fortunately soon reopened in nearby Kotagede. A sexual-rights activist, Shinta Ratri, opened her house to waria santri (santri are strict believers, linked to religious schools) so they could continue to receive religious education. At the official opening, Muslim scholar Abdul Muhaimin of the Faithful People Brotherhood Forum reminded the audience that, as everyone was made by God: "Everyone has the right to observe their religion in their own way...", and added: "I hoped the students here are strong, as they must face stigma in society."[3]

Prior to her death (after she had made the haj),[4] Maryani herself, a deeply-religious person, said: "Here we teach our friends to worship God. People who worship are seeking paradise, this is not limited to our sex or our clothing..."[5] So far, hers is the only waria pesantren in Indonesia, perhaps even globally, and may be due to the fact that Maryani was an exceptionally strong person who spoke at many human-rights meetings. In October 2010, I also interviewed her and was struck by her warm personality, courage, and clear views.

In spite of those progressive readings of the Quran, women's sexuality is interpreted in light of their servility to men in practice, and has been linked to men's honour rather than women's pleasure. Although marriage is not viewed as too sacred to be broken in Indonesia, it is regarded as a religious obligation by all. An unmarried woman over the age of 20 is considered to be a perawan tua ('old virgin'), and is confronted by a continuous barrage of questions as to when she will marry.

Muslim (and Christian) conservative leaders consider homosexuality to be a sin. Women in same-sex relations find themselves in a difficult corner, as exclusion from their religion is a heavy burden. Some simply pray at home, privately hoping that their God will forgive them and trusting in the compassion taught by their holy books. However, outside their private space, religious teachers and society at large denounce their lives as sinful and accuse them of having no religion.

Recent Indonesia legislation strengthens the conservative, heteronormative interpretations of Islam. Apart from the 2008 anti-pornography law (discussed below), a new health law was adopted that further tightened conservative Islam's grip on women's reproductive rights and marginalised non-heteronormative women. That 2009 health bill replaced the law of 1992, which had no chapter on reproductive health. The new law states that a healthy, reproductive, and sexual life may only be enjoyed with a 'lawful partner' and only without 'violating religious values'--which means that all of our narrators would be banned from enjoying healthy, sexual, and reproductive lives.[6]

Conservative statements are also made by women themselves; for example, members of the hard-line Islamic group Hizbut Tahrir, who not only want to restrict reproductive services (such as family planning) to lawfully-wedded heterosexual couples but also see population control as a 'weapon of the West' to weaken the country.[7] They propose to save Indonesia by the imposition of sharia laws. Hard-line Islamic interpretations are widely propagated and creep into the legal system, thus strengthening heteronormativity and further expelling non-normative others.

Yet strong feminist voices are also heard in Indonesia's Muslim circles. Even in a relation to one of the most controversial issues in Islam--homosexuality--a positive, feminist interpretation is possible. Indonesia's prominent feminist Muslim scholar, Siti Musdah Mulia, explains that homosexuality is a natural phenomenon as it was created by Allah, and thus allowed by Islam. The prohibition, however, is the work of fallible interpretations by religion scholars.[8] In her 2011 paper on sexual rights, Mulia bases herself on certain Indonesian traditions that honour transgender people, referring to bissu in south Sulawesi, and warok[9] in the reog dance form in Ponorogo. In those cases, transgender is linked to sacred powers and fertility. She stresses that the story of Lot, always cited as evidence of Quranic condemnation of homosexuality, is actually concerned with sexual violence--the people of Sodom were not the only ones faced with God's wrath, as the people of Gomorrah were also severely chastised even though there is no indication that they engaged in same-sex behaviour. Nor is there any hint of same-sex behaviour in relationship to Lot's poor wife, who was transformed into a pillar of salt. Mulia advances a humanistic interpretation of the Quran that stresses the principles of justice, equity, human dignity, love, and compassion (2011: 7). Her conclusion is that not Islam itself but rather its heterosexist and patriarchal interpretation leads to discrimination.

After the political liberalisation (Reformasi) of 1998, conservative religious groups (which had been banned at the height of the repressive New-Order regime) increased their influence. The dakwah ('spreading of Islam') movement, which grew from small Islamist usroh (cell, family) groups and aimed to turn Indonesia into a Muslim state, gathered momentum.[10] Islamist parties, such as the Partai Kesejahteraan Sosial (PKS), or Social Justice Party, gained wide popularity, although that was not translated into a large number of seats in the national parliament (Hefner 2012; Katjasungkana 2012). In the early Reformasi years, official discourse on women was based on women's rights, taking the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action as its guide, but recent discourse on an Islamic-family model--the so-called keluarga sakinah ('the happy family')--has become dominant in government circles (Wieringa 2015, forthcoming). The growing Islamist emphasis on a heteronormative family model, coupled with homophobia, is spreading in society. During KAN's [Kartini Asia Network for Gender and Women's Studies in Asia] September 2006 TOT [Training of Trainers] course in Jakarta, the following conversation was recorded:

“Farida: Religious teachers go on and on about homosexuality. They keep shouting that it is a very grave sin and that people will go straight to hell. My daughter is in the fifth form of primary school. She has a best friend and the two were inseparable. But the teachers managed to set them apart, as they were considered to be too close. The mother of my daughter's friend came to me crying; she was warned that she had to be careful with her child, or else she might get a daughter who was different. And now the new school regulations stress that a woman must wear the jilbab [headscarf].[11] This has put a lot of stress on tomboyish girls. They cannot wear the clothes they are comfortable with any more. Zeinab: When we were taught fiqih [Islamic law], we never discussed homosexuality. When we studied the issue of zinah [adultery], one of our group asked: "But how about a woman committing zinah with another woman, or a man with another man?" Our teacher just shook is head and muttered that that was not a good thing. The only story we learnt was about the prophet Luth [Lot]. But when we went to study the hadith [Islamic oral law], we found the prophet had a very close friend, Abu Harairah, who never married, while all men were always showing off their wives. There were some indications that he might have had a male lover. Yet the prophet is not known to have warned him. So, while the mainstream interpretation of Islam is that they condemn homosexuality, there are also other traditions that seem to be more tolerant, even from the life of the prophet himself.”

The above fragment shows how fundamentalist practices creep into every nook and cranny of Indonesian people's lives--the growing suspicion toward tomboys, forcible separation of close school friends, and enforcement of Muslim dress codes. But we also see a counter-protest arising. At the TOT training course, the women activists realised that patriarchal interpretations of religion had severely undermined women's space, and started looking for alternative interpretations, such as the story of the prophet's unmarried friend.

However, for many of our narrators, religion is a troubling issue. Putri, for instance, does not even want to discuss the rights of gays and lesbians in Indonesia; she thinks the future looks gloomy, with religious fundamentalism on the rise, and her dream of equal rights is buried by the increasing militancy of religious fanatics. [...]

Women-loving women

Religion is a sensitive aspect of the lives of our women-loving-women narrators, who are from world religions that, although propagating love and compassion in their distinct ways, interpret same-sex love negatively. In some cases, our narrators are able to look beyond the patriarchal interpretations of their religions, which preach hatred for what are emotions of great beauty and satisfaction to them, while others are devastated by guilt and shame. [...]

Indonesian male-identified Lee wonders why "people cannot see us as God's creatures?" but fears that Islam will never accept homosexuality. He knows the story of the prophet Lot, and how the city of Sodom was destroyed by God as a warning so others would not commit the sin of sodomy. Lee was raised as a good Muslim, and tries to follow what he has been taught are God's orders. For some time, he wore a man's outfit for praying.[16] At that time, he thought that religious duties--if conducted sincerely--were more important than his appearance but, after listening to some religious preachers, he felt that it was not right to wear men's clothing: "Sometimes I think it is not right, lying to myself, pretending to be someone else. We cannot lie to God, right? Even if I try to hide it, definitely God knows." So, after attending religious classes, he decided to wear the woman's outfit--the mukena--when praying at home.

Lia grew up in a strict Muslim family. When she pronounced herself to be a lesbian, it came as a shock to her relatives, who invoked the power of religion to cure her. When her mother went on the haj, she brought 'Zamzam water' from Mecca. The miraculous healing powers of the liquid from Mecca's Zamzam well were supposed to bring Lia back to the normal path. Dutifully, Lia drank from it and jokingly exclaimed: "Ah, my God, only now I realise how handsome Delon is!"[17] Yet she found succor in her religion when she went through a crisis in her relationship with Santi:

"When Santi hated me very much and avoided me, I prayed: "God, if it is true that you give me a guiding light, please give me a sign. But if it is a sin...please help me..." Was my relationship with Santi blessed or not? If it wasn't, surely God would have blocked the way, and if it way, would God broaden my path? As, after praying so hard, Santi and I became closer, God must have endorsed it. Does God listen to my prayer, or does God test me?"

So, even though she got together again with Santi after that fervent bout of praying, uncertainty gnaws at Lia, who realises that mainstream Islamic preachers prohibit homosexuality. Ideally, she feels that a person's religion must support people, but Islam does not do that because she is made to feel like a sinner. But, she says, the basic principle that Islam teaches is to love others. As long as she does that, Lia sees nothing wrong in herself as one of God's creatures. She realises that, particularly in the interpretation of the hadith (Islamic oral tradition), all manner of distortions have entered Islamic values, and wonders what was originally taught about homosexuality in Islam. She is aware that many Quranic texts about the status of women were manipulated in order to marginalise them, and avidly follows debates on feminist interpretations that stress that the real message of the Quran does not preach women's subordination.

Lia knows that there are lesbians in the pesantren who carry out religious obligations, such as praying and doing good deeds. If someone has been a lesbian for so long that it feels like natural character, and has been praying and fasting for many years, they cannot change into a heterosexual, she decided.

Religious values are also deeply inculcated in Sandy, who is tortured by guilt and shame about her lesbian desires. Although masculine in appearance and behaviour, she wears the mukena while praying both at home and at the mushola (small mosque) that she frequents. Since she was 23, when her mother died, she realised that what she did with her lover, Mira, was a sin and started reading religious books to discover what they said about people like her. She accepted the traditional interpretation of the story of Lot and the destruction of Sodom. When she was 25 years old, Mira left her to marry a man. Sandy was broken hearted and considered suicide. In that period of great distress, she realised that God prohibits suicide and just wanted her to give up her sinful life. She struggled hard against her desires for women and the masculinity in her:

"If I walk with women, I feel like a man; that I have to protect them. I feel that I am stronger than other women. But I also feel that I am a woman, I am sure that I am a woman, that is why I feel that I am different from others. I accept my own condition as an illness, not as my destiny. ... Yes, an illness, because we follow our lust. It we try to contain our lust, as religion teaches us, we would never be like this. So I try to stay close to God. I do my prayers, and a lot of zikir.[18] I even try to do tahajjud.[19]"

Sandy believes in the hereafter and does not want to spoil her chances of eternal bliss by engaging in something so clearly disproved of by religion, although she has not found any clear prohibitions against lesbianism in either the Quran or hadith.

Bhima, who considers himself to be a secular person, was brought up in a Muslim family. His identity card states that he is a Muslim, which got him into serious trouble when he went for his first sex-change operation at the end of the 1970s. He went through the necessary tests but the doctors hesitated when they looked at his ID, fearing the wrath of conservative clerics. Bhima was desperate:

"Listen, I have come this far! I have saved up for this, sold my car, relatives have contributed, how can you do this to me? Tell me what other religion I should take up and I will immediately get my identity card changed. I have never even been inside a mosque. I don't care about any institutionalised religion!"

The doctors did not heed his plea, instead advising him to get a letter of recommendation from a noted Muslim scholar. Undaunted, Bhima made an appointment with a progressive female psychologist who had been trained in Egypt and often gave liberal advice on Muslim issues on the radio. He managed to persuade her to write a letter of introduction to the well-known Muslim scholar Professor Hamka. Letter in hand, Bhima presented himself at the gate of Hamka's house, and was let in by the great scholar himself. Bhima pleaded his case, upon which Hamka opened the Quran and pointed to a passage that read "when you are ill, you must make all attempts to heal yourself":

"Are you ill?" Hamka asked. Bhima nodded vehemently. "Fine, so then tell them that the Quran advises to heal your illness." "It is better, sir," Bhima suggested, "that you write that down for them."

With that letter, Bhima had no problem to be accepted for the first operation, in which his breasts were removed.

Widows [...] In Eliana's case religion played an important role in her marriage--and subsequent divorce. While still at school, she had joined an usroh group (created to teach students about religious and social issues in the days of the Suharto dictatorship). Proper sexual behaviour played an important role in their teachings. According to usroh, a wife must be sexually subservient to her husband and accept all his wishes, even if they involve him taking a second wife. Eliana felt close to her spiritual leader and tried to sexually behave as a good Muslim wife would. She forced herself to give in to all her husband's sexual wishes, including blow jobs and watching pornography with him. Yet the leader blamed Eliana for not doing enough to please her husband, saying that is why he needed a second wife. Her teacher even asked if she was a lesbian, because she could not satisfy her husband. As both her spiritual leader and husband agreed that it was not nice for a man to have an intellectually-superior woman, she played down her intelligence. Eventually she divorced her husband.

Internalised lesbophobia and conservative-religious (in this case, Muslim) norms prevented Jenar for enjoying the short lesbian relationship that she had between her two marriages. It is interesting how she phrases the conversation, starting on the topic by emphasising how much she distrusted men after her divorce (because her husband did not financially provide for their family). The relationship with her woman lover was not long underway, and had not advanced beyond kissing, but she immediately felt that, according to religion, what she did was laknat (cursed). Anyway, she added, she was a 'normal,' heterosexual woman and did not feel much aroused when they were touching. A middle-aged, male friend added to her feeling of discomfort by emphasising that she would be cursed by God if it would continue. He then took her to a dukun (shaman), where she was bathed with flowers at midnight in order to cure her. That was apparently successful, for she gave the relationship up. However, even though she had stressed that she was 'normal' and did not respond sexually to her lover's advances, she ended the conversation by saying that she felt lesbianism was a 'contagious disease'. That remark stresses her own internalised homophobia but also emphasises her helplessness and lack of agency--contagion is something that cannot be avoided. It also hints at the strength of the pull she felt for a contagion that apparently could not be easily ignored. The important role of the dukun indicates that she follows the syncretist stream of Islam, mixed with elements of the pre-Islamic Javanese religion--Kejawen. [...]

Women in same-sex relationships [...]

As in India, the human-women's-lesbian-rights discourse is gaining momentum in Indonesia. It could only develop after 1998, when the country's dictator was finally forced to resign and a new climate of political openness was created. The new sexual-rights organisations not only opened a public space to discuss women's and sexual rights but also impacted on the behaviour of individuals within their organisations (as discussed in more detail in chapter 9). Before Lee joined a lesbian-rights group, he had decided to undergo sex-reassignment therapy (SRT) to physically become a man as much as possible. Activists warned him of the operations' health risks and asked whether he really needed such a change in order to live with his spouse. Lee feels secure within the group, and is happy to find like-minded people with whom he can share many of his concerns. Lee actively sought them out after reading a newspaper article about a gay male activist: he tracked him down at his workplace and obtained the address of the lesbian group. Lee is less afraid of what will happen when their neighborhood find out that Lee's body is female--as he says: "I have done nothing wrong, I haven't disturbed anyone, I have never asked anyone for food." However, Lee is worried about the media, where gay men and lesbian women are often represented as the sources of disease and disaster.

Lia had no idea what a lesbian was when she first fell in love with a woman. There were many tomboys like her playing in the school's softball team, and she once spotted a female couple in another school's softball team. Her relationship with Santi developed without, as Lia says, any guidance of previous information. Only at college in Yogyakarta did she start reading about homosexuality on the internet. Through the Suara Srikandi portal (one of the first lesbian groups in Jakarta), she came to know of other Indonesian lesbians. Another website that she frequently visited was the Indonesian Lesbian Forum, and one of her lecturers introduced her to the gay and lesbian movement in her city. In 2004, she publicly came out at a press conference. She first joined the KPI, which has an interest group of sexual minorities, but found the attitude of her feminist friends to be unsupportive and decided to join a lesbian-only group. The women activists only wanted to discuss the public role of women and domestic violence, and told her that lesbianism was a disease and a sin.

Lia wants to broaden the lesbian movement. She feels the movement is good in theory but lacking in practice--particularly in creating alliances with other suppressed groups, such as farmers and labourers. In focusing only on lesbians, not on discrimination and marginalisation itself, she asserts that it has become too exclusive. By socialising with other movements, she argues, they will better understand lesbian issues, and, in turn, that will help the lesbian movement. It is true, she concedes, that lesbians are stigmatised by all groups in society but, since 1998 (the fall of General Suharto), the country has seen a process of democratisation. "We must take up that opportunity and not be scared of stigma," she exhorts her friends in the lesbian movement. Lia herself joined a small, radical political party, the PRD,[33] and faced stigma ("we have a lesbian comrade; that's a sin, isn't it?"), but feels that she has ultimately been welcomed. Now, her major problem is to find the finances to conduct her activism. At the time of the interview, she had lost her job and could not find the means to print handouts for her PRD comrades.

Lia is a brave forerunner. At the time of the interview, her lesbian friends were too scared to follow in her footsteps and told her that she was only dreaming. However, her heterosexual friends (in the labour movement) said that they were bored with her, and found her insistence of a connection between the struggle for sexual and labour rights to be too pushy.

Lia dreams of equal rights for lesbians. First, she would like to see a gay-marriage law implemented in Indonesia, which would ensure that the property rights of surviving spouses are protected in case one passes away. She also would like to set up a shelter for lesbians, as she knows many young lesbians who have been thrown out of their family homes and are in need of support.

Sandy is rather hesitant about the rights she would like to see introduced to Indonesian society. Most of all, she wants to be accepted as a normal human being, where no one says bad things about or harasses lesbians like her. What women do in the privacy of their bedrooms is one thing. Women should have the right to have sex, for it comes straight from the heart--it is pure love. But, in public, their behavior should be impeccable: no kissing, no hugging, no holding of hands. However, Sandy thinks that marriage rights for lesbians will not happen in Indonesia, and are only possible in Christian countries. But, minimally, she hopes to lead a life without discrimination or violence:

"If they see us as normal, they won't bother us. We are human, but if we act provocatively then it is ok for them to even hang us ... [I just hope they] won't harass us, or humiliate us. That is all I ask, that if we are being humiliated there is a law to prevent it. That a person like me is protected. To be laughed at is okay, but it is too much if they throw stones at us and if we are not allowed to work."

Sex workers want the right to work without being harassed, and women in same-sex relationships want to be treated like 'normal' human beings and enjoy socio-sexual rights, such as health benefits or the right to buy joint property. Yet the state does not provide those rights and does not protect its citizens in equal measure. As a major agent of heteronormativity, it restricts its benefits and protection to those within its margins. Couples with social stigma and conservative-religious interpretations, some of our narrators have reached deep levels of depression.

#lgbtq #indonesia #trans men #trans women #waria #islam #saskia wieringa #lesbians #women loving women #wlw

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route22ny · 4 years

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We’re Never Going Back to the 1950s

The year 2020 shattered America’s shared reality.

by DEREK THOMPSON

DECEMBER 16, 2020

***

Twenty years ago, the sociologist Robert Putnam in Bowling Alone used the decline of bowling leagues since the middle of the 20th century to symbolize America’s declining social engagement. This year, he published a sequel of sorts, The Upswing, in which he identified more stray threads of our social unraveling: in lower marriage rates, church attendance, and trust in government; in falling membership in all chapter-based associations; collapsing social trust among young adults; and even a decrease in mentions of community versus identity in novels and nonfiction books.

But no measure of communitarian pessimism could have prepared Putnam for the circumstances of the past nine months. America’s bowling alleys haven’t just depopulated; they’ve gone dark, along with thousands of churches, restaurants, bars, cafés, gyms, theaters, and almost every other physical space that could preserve or nurture a physical community.

Mirroring this civic fragmentation, America’s media and entertainment industry has spun apart, and the spinning is accelerating. On December 3, the film studio Warner Bros. announced that subscribers of the company’s digital streaming service HBO Max will be able to watch all of its 2021 film releases at home, on the same day that they’re released in theaters. The movies affected by this decision aren’t humble indies. We’re talking Dune and The Matrix 4—the sort of films that, if they were released exclusively in theaters next year, might earn a domestic box office roughly equal to the GDP of Micronesia.

Like Putnam’s beloved bowling alleys, cinemas are an example of the decline of semiweekly gatherings in the United States—even if they’re less chatty establishments. In the 1940s, the average American bought more than 30 movie tickets a year, regularly packing into theaters with scores of strangers. In the past few years, that figure fell below four. In 2020, movie tickets sold per-person will fall below one—possibly for the first time since the late 1800s. The decision by Warner Bros. will likely encourage other entertainment companies, such as Disney, to funnel more of their marquee content to streaming services in the next few years. And the result could be a death spiral for movie theaters as we know them, as the film industry continues its shift from a public, ticketed affair to a private, living-room experience.

Home entertainment is fracturing as well, and along with it the communal-while-alone possibility of a shared popular culture. Since 2010, 33 million households have either cut the cord or never signed up for cable TV in the first place. The traditional cable bundle is slowly dying, and its death is fertilizing new subscription-only streaming services, such as HBO Max, Disney+, Peacock from NBCUniversal, and Quibi (RIP), which join a landscape crowded with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu, not to mention user-generated video platforms including YouTube and TikTok.

It would be hackish to accuse Netflix or Warner Bros. of being the main accelerants of American loneliness. But the fact is that cinematic entertainment, which was born as the ultimate communal ritual, an experience whose technology required simultaneity and togetherness, has become the ultimate personal activity, an incomprehensibly long spectrum of different stories mostly consumed in a state of solitude.

This media shift—from the scarce and communal to the abundant and privatized—also describes the evolution of the news industry. In the past 20 years, newspaper circulation, advertising revenue, and employment have cratered. But overall, news—that is, sources of new information, of varying truthiness—didn’t decline; it exploded. The web created a phalanx of news publishers, not just websites but also Facebook pages, Instagram personalities, newsletters, podcasts, and so on; at the same time, Google and Facebook duopolized digital advertising, creating a situation where publishers were multiplying as advertising declined.

In ecology, the term niche partitioning describes the way that competing species become hyper-specialized in an attempt to co-exist in an environment with scarce resources. I think that’s what’s happening in the news industry. As the number of competing publishers increases, it makes sense for each of them to carve out an ecological niche. This niches-get-riches race leads logically to a set of more outlets that embrace a more unabashedly partisan perspective—just as they did in the late 1800s.

One might assume that polarization is what happens to people cut off from information. But the truth is closer to the opposite: More information means more polarization. Research shows that access to broadband internet in the U.S. has in many cases increased various measures of polarization, as the web introduces voters to a bigger menu of partisan news from which voters select the sites that match their political tastes.

We’ve seen this phenomenon accelerate in 2020. Four years ago, most people would have said there were three major cable news networks: the center-left one (CNN), the liberal alternative (MSNBC), and the conservative juggernaut (Fox News). But in the past few months, the conservative-news monolith has shattered. Since the election, Newsmax TV and the One America News Network have stepped up to backfill President Donald Trump’s election-fraud lies with programming from an alternate reality. And behold, niche partitioning works: Last week, Newsmax rode the election-conspiracy story to its first-ever ratings win over Fox. Because Trump devotees are going to buy tickets to whatever media universe offers the best narrative, networks are competing to tell the Trumpiest tale.

With weekly religious attendance at low ebb and live TV in structural decline, national elections are arguably the only activity that Americans do together in shared time. But shared time is not shared reality. Led by the president, Republican lawmakers have petitioned to sabotage the results of the election, based on fantastic conspiracy theories. The GOP fever dream, which is credulously reproduced across Trump-friendly media, is clearly contagious: More than 80 percent of Trump voters believe that Biden’s win is illegitimate, a figure corresponding to about 60 million people. There is nothing unique about reality and fantasy blending together in politics. But the speed and severity with which Trump’s “Stop the Steal!” mind virus has infected the GOP is the sign of a compromised civic immune system. A far-right cohort has been effectively quarantined from reality in one corner of our honeycombed media landscape.

There is no going back to the 1950s. We will never again be enfolded by those bespoke mid-century circumstances, the scarce broadcasts and broadsheets. The dividing forces are too strong and too many. The film experience pushed out across millions of flatscreens; the live-television networks splintering into millions of digital entertainment queues; the news dissolving into innumerable political realities: One by one, these are not evil trends. But they add up. Or, more aptly, they divide. They individuate.

People ask me if I’m optimistic about 2021, and the answer is that, in a way, I’m ecstatically optimistic. The economy will reopen, and life will reopen. People will come out of their homes; they will send their kids to school; they will hug and kiss and live. But underneath the high tide of economic growth and social normalization, I think we’ll feel something else, an eerie undertow of isolation and anxiety.

“The definition of community is ‘where you keep showing up,’” said someone I met, whose name I’ve forgotten, back in the days when it was normal to meet new people whose names you could forget. I haven’t forgotten that line, though: Community is where you keep showing up. What a lovely idea. But where do people keep showing up, these days? Nowhere. Not the office, not the COVID-aerosolized bars and gyms. A lot of people have spent a year finding community via a glowing screen in a room they never leave.

The empty bowling alleys and movie theaters; the infinity buffet of entertainment and partisan media; the dissolution of a shared American reality—these are distinct yet connected phenomena. Digital technology has spawned a choose-your-own-adventure mediascape, which has flooded the electorate with alternate realities, at the same time that its community ties wither. America is coming apart, and these pieces will not be easily reassembled.

***

DEREK THOMPSON is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he writes about economics, technology, and the media. He is the author of Hit Makers and the host of the podcast Crazy/Genius.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/12/how-2020-shattered-shared-reality/617398/

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historic-old-guard-lover · 4 years

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The emperor has to be god-king Andy. Also like since nicky and Joe obv have to have the lovers why not have andy and quyhn kissing as the empress.

Another related ask (potentially by the same person):

Also since the fool is a journey's beginning I'd almost want to pick Nile for it. As well there are four characters who commonly have swords (or an axe but close enough) and cards have four corners. So one sword each corner, nicky, joe, andy, and quyhn.

So. Someone has good ideas. Here’s the post that prompted these asks. This made me pull out my tarot deck and go through the cards. Below the cut is a break down of the entire tarot deck. There will be an explanation of the (standard) interpretation of the cards, good then less good, and then my associated headcannon (or more than one if I couldn’t decide). The source is my experience with tarot. I’m trying to minimize repeats, but historic and modern Old Guard members are counted separately. Enjoy.

The Major Arcana (aka the cards most people have heard about)

0. The Fool - the seeker. Naivety. Courage. Living in the moment. Journey’s beginning. All paths available. Folly. Apathy.

Nile. Anon convinced me. Though Booker has got the folly, apathy, and madness down, Nile is ultimately the beginning. She’s naïve but headstrong, and quite frankly a perfect match.

I. The Magician - the trickster. Power, skill, talent. Mastery, self-control, willpower. Subtlety. Divine connection and inspiration. Self-reliant.

Modern Nicky. Definitely Nicky. Just. He’s a formerly very religious man who just says these things. Also sniper.

II. The High Priestess - the moon goddess. Intuition, wisdom, foresight, divination, prophecy. Enlightenment, understanding, intelligence, education. Pride, emotional instability, unforgiving.

Historic Quynh. Her name means “night-blooming flower”, which is very moon goddess vibes to me. Also, I’d say over 500 years in a box turns understanding and enlightenment into emotional instability and unforgiveness.

III. The Empress - the queen. Feminine power, matriarch, mother. Fertility, pleasure, beauty. Success, evolution, movement. Marriage, wealth. Overattachment, domestic upheaval, delay.

Quynh. The counterpart to Andy’s emperor card.

Nile. Let’s be honest, she’s going to take over from Andy some day.

IV. The Emperor - the king. Masculine power, patriarch, father. Authority, leadership, proficiency. Wealth, stability, effectiveness. Perseverance, logic, endurance, experience. Lack of ability, weak character, immature, rebellious.

Modern Andy. She is the leader who’s short-comings effect her entire team. And who doesn’t love a little gender bending? (and her film look is already soft butch)

V. The Hierophant - the religious leader. Tradition, convention, ritual symbolism. Ceremony, religion, morality, philosophy. Mercy, goodness, forgiveness, humility, vulnerability, Impotence, Religious tyranny.

Historic Nicky. I mean, former priest (enough said).

Historic Andy. “I was once worshipped as a god” (enough said).

VI. The Lovers - the lovers. Love, attraction. Compatibility, harmony, choice. Triumph over trials, vacillation. Entanglement, enmeshment. Infidelity, moral lapse, vice, separation, quarrels, inadequacy, failing tests.

Andromaquynh. *peeks out from behind barricade* I know that most people would just put Kaysanova as this card, but look at all the negatives it is associated with. Sounds a lot more like our immortal wives can really cover the gamut. They have the range....I am a sucker for Kaysanova, though. Even though the beginning of their relationship is rocky, I’d like to think it’s been fairly constant over the years. But let’s reverse the uhaul lesbians and fickle gay men tropes! Sorry, Book of Nile fans. That ship just isn’t established enough for this, I’d say. Maybe one day?

VII. The Chariot - the journey. Ordeal, obstacles, competition. High stakes, ambition, discipline. Conquest, victory, greatness. Right action prevails, overwhelming odds, sudden defeat.

Merrick and/or Dr. Kozak. I mean, this is literally their characters in a nutshell. Merrick is the journey/ordeal for the old guard. He is driven by his ambition, thinks he’s won over impossible odds, and then has a sudden defeat.

VIII. Justice - the balance. Equilibrium, equality, symmetry, harmony. Integrity, honor, fairness, neutrality, moderation. Vindication, self-righteousness, bigotry, prejudice, favoritism.

Nile. This is the woman with a sword card. She brings a balance to the team, she clearly moderates conflict, and I’d love to see BLM art of her in this style. Just sayin.

IX. The Hermit - the seeker-sage. Wisdom, inspiration, contemplation, discretion, understanding. Safety, protection, spiritual quest. Seeking truth and justice. Self-denial, timidity, fear.

Historic Joe. The idealized warrior poet? Definitely just a form of the hermit. Helps explain why a Magrebhi trader/artist fought at the Siege of Jerusalem: spiritual quest. I also like the idea of Joe having a secret reserved side.

X. The Wheel of Fortune - cycles of life. Destiney, evolution and progress, advancement. Manifestation, unexpected events. Success, sudden luck. Ups and downs.

Modern Quynh. There is nothing that better encapsulates her storyline than the wheel of fortune. One day you’re roaming the world with your immortal wife. The next, you’re drowning for over 500 years. The next you’re in Booker’s shitty Paris apartment.

XI. Strength - fortitude. Resilience, courage, resolve, confidence. Integrity, moral victory, endurance. Energy, action, vitality. Power, force, violence. Abuse of power, disgrace, impotence.

Lykon. Do I love this character beyong measure and reason? Maybe so. We have so little to go on about him, however, that the only things we do know bely his strengths. Also, he becomes ultimately the weakest when he dies and encapsulates both “extremes” of the card.

XII. The Hanged Man - the tested. Delay, sacrifice, abandonment, rejection. Betrayal. Reversals, restrained or bound, limbo, trials. Falseness.

Booker. If the fact that his first death was by hanging didn’t convince you? Read that description again. His character arc is literally working through being the hanged man.

XIII. Death - the loss or parting. Alteration, transformation, transition. Boredom, depression, stagnation, failure or disaster. Bereavement, recovery, immobility.

Lykon. He literally represents the fear of death to the remaining immortals. It is HE that they invoke when they discuss it. Also, I’m still mourning my favorite underdeveloped character.

XIV. Temperance - the moderation. Self-control, economy, patience, coordination. Consolidation, harmony, friendship, recuperation. Unfulfilled desires, discord, stubbornness, hostility, clashing of interests. Time, seasons, and climate.

A Safehouse. I don’t think any of the people really capture the tempered essence of this card, the constancy throughout all seasons of life. An actual physical building that rises and falls with (regular) humanity, though, seems to do the trick.

XV. The Devil - the arcane. Magic, strange occurrences, prophecy, fate. Catastrophe, downfall, negative attitude, Temptations, sins, obsessions. Enslavement, bondage, misplaced loyalty, violence, fatality.

Honestly? I’m so torn. I feel like a major commentary of the movie is that our demons are the way people react more so than the people themselves. Maybe the armored van?

XVI. The Tower - the House of God. Disruption, expulsion from an earthly paradise, divine wrath. Punishment (of pride), loss, destructive rivalry, plans ruined. Need to start again, bankruptcy.

The Iron Coffin. While this doesn’t capture the religious undertones quite right, the coffin is the Tower for Andromaquynh, It is (divine? or very human?) wrath brought on by pride since the two probably thought that they would be fine. It is loss and painful new beginnings.

XVII. The Star - the bright promise. Hope, faith, light of the spirit. Recovery, symbols of immortality. Gifts, good prospects, new dawn, frustrated expectations.

Nile. The new immortal, enough said.

Historic Andy/Lykon. In a way, the first immortal would also be a great choice of representation.

XVIII, The Moon - the hidden forces. Twilight, illusion, deception, trickery. Dishonesty, danger, uncertainty, terror. Developments, particularly somewhat concealed. Errors, powerful feelings.

Copley. I know, I know. “He’s the moon when I’m lost in darkness” and all that jazz. But look at this card’s interpretation and notice it’s pretty negative. Copley’s entire role is to pull the strings behind the scenes. He makes headway on problems in secrets, he lies and deceives everyone in the film at some point.

XIX. The Sun - the work’s rewards. Daylight, co-creation, union “of male and female”. Peace, joy, pleasure, love, contentment. Accomplishment, achievement, success.

Joe. Not only is he the sun, he also fits this card perfectly. He is creation and happiness. Enough said.

XX Judgement - the rebirth. Judgement, sentence. Rejuvenation, renewal, resurrection, call to the new from the old, rehabilitation. Creation, promotion.

Historic Booker. I feel like his backstory with his family helped highlight the theme of rebirth for the Old Guard. They must be willing to give up what they have left behind to move forward. Also, there’s the more literal play as well since Booker was a conscripted criminal.

XXI The World - the long journey. Perfection, completion, conclusion. Power through intelligence and wisdom. The universe and the material world.

A group photo, of course! Beyond that? Who knows.

Historic Andy? She’s seen so much of it. Like just her eyes portray the history of the world.

The Minor Arcana (aka the rest of the cards)

Since most people are only familiar with the major arcana, I’ll just briefly explain it. The minor arcana are actually the majority of a tarot deck. There are four suits associated with the four elements. Each suit has ten number cards and four court/face cards (traditionally modelled either based on one person or different interpretations of similar costuming). Each number or face has its own meaning, each suit has its own meaning, and their combination mostly explains what the card should be interpreted as. Quite frankly, the minor arcana are vastly underrated in popular understandings of tarot.

Suit of Wands - fire. Spontaneity, action, passion, adrenaline, life force, stroke of genius.

Guns? It’d be a bit of a niche take, but I associate guns with fires.

Staffs? More traditional in shape.

Suit of Coins - earth. Solid growth, material interests, possessions, profit, business, labor, slow and considerate.

Historic currency. Enough said.

Suit of Cups - water. Heartfelt involvements, imagination, spirituality, love, friendship, family.

Fountains around the world. Enough said.

Suit of Swords - air. Worry, trouble, boundaries, objectivity, the power of truth.

Obviously, their weapons of choice. I would go into more detail about who best represents each number, but I don’t want to bore you.

Court of Kings - mature men. Leaders, authority, status-quo, taking responsibility.

Again, most tarot is very gendered. But members in tuxes?

Court of Queens - mature women. Reflective and active, concerned with security/foundations, supportive, focused.

Members in dresses/gowns/anything that glitters?

Court of Knights/Cavaliers - young men. Dynamic, adventurous, intensive, revolutionary.

Tactical gear. Or historical armor. But it’s easier to do tactical gear right than accidentally draw a 15th century helmet on a 14th century suit of armor.

Court of Knaves/Pages - younger women, teenagers, and children. Students, apprentices, trainees, messengers, new opportunities.

Casual clothes.

#asks #lovely anon #tarot #reference #niche headcannons #major and minor arcana #i really thought this would have more kaysanova #but tarot is for wlw i guess? who knows

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cavehags · 5 years

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do you have any articles you’ve read that accurately explain why you hate weddings and why they’re bad for women? i agree but i find it so hard to put in words so i need some ref

anon I want to have these resources for you!!! I do!!! but I have never found many compelling articles on this topic, and not for lack of trying. so I’m gonna try and gather up the ammo myself by going topic-by-topic, if I can. my hope is to give a holistic view of just some of the many, many harms marriage imposes on women. cw sexual assault, pedophilia, misogyny, abuse, basically everything bad.

i think a lot of people see marriage the way it’s practiced by 20- to 30-somethings in the coastal united states today as pretty much the only relevant snapshot of the tradition. if you’re a certain type of person, weddings make marriage look pretty good! most people enjoy lavish parties that someone else paid for. and almost everyone has, knowingly or not, been exposed to a lot of propaganda that states that a wedding is the happiest day of a couple’s life, that women in particular are or deserve to be in a state of bliss on their wedding day, and that all the trappings associated with weddings, from purchasing expensive dresses to purchasing expensive tablecloths, are fun expressions of the couple’s creative side. obviously this is marketing dialed up to eleven and none of it is true. further, people like to argue that because brides tend to take the more active role in wedding planning, therefore weddings are in some way a feminist practice (????). this is total nonsense. for a start, weddings put women on display as physical objects–just think of how much marketing goes into the idea that a bride should look perfect on her wedding day, with a dedicated stylist and hairstylist, a team of friends and relatives to get her dressed, and a dress that cost at least $1,600 on average (i’m not linking to theknot dot com but trust me, that’s what it says). don’t forget that there will be a photographer and a videographer there to capture the bride at her most beautiful. and you only have to google “wedding crash diet” to see how how beauty standards of thin bodies are a singular focus of obsession by the wedding industry.

putting women on display for their physical apperance disturbs me. enforcing the idea that finding a man produces the most beautiful day of a woman’s life also disturbs me. and marketing that pretends that the happiness of a couple is in some way connected to how much they spend on a big, dumb, sexist party also disturbs me. but that’s just weddings.

i could put aside my issue with weddings if weddings weren’t just the first day of marriage. because my real issue is with marriage. so anon, i’m going to take you on a tour of everything that sickens me about marriage to put all my wedding hatred into context for you.

marriage is an ancient practice and misogyny is embedded in basically every variant of marriage ever practiced in the world. the commercialized, commodified weddings practiced by affluent couples in the west today just put some gloss and propaganda on the old tradition. but the skeleton of the tradition is really fucking ugly and hateful towards women. and the more you examine how marriage plays out today, the more you see that that hasn’t gone away. and it never will.

let’s start with the basics. historically, marriage as an institution has reinforced the myth of male superiority by giving tangible structure to what was previously just a notion–the notion of gender roles. if a home contains one man and one woman (often a girl, really, but i’ll get to that), then it naturally follows that a man’s role is to contribute x, y and z to the household, while women contribute… uh, a through w at the very least. and often x, y and z too. so you’re immediately left with a society where men are expected to be active and women are expected to be passive. that mandated passivity erodes choice and freedom and consent.

many forms of early marriage permitted men to have multiple wives while women were of course tied to their one husband. across the board, the minimum legal age for marriage has been lower for girls than for men, since long before anyone understood fertility patterns; though it may have been stated in some cases that this is because women “mature faster,” the real reason is that men were expected to have established themselves and their wives were expected to be young, inexperienced and virginal. across the world, married women have often been treated as if the act of marrying a man symbolizes passing from one guardian to another; this is clear even from an extremely common ritual still practiced today–the changing of the bride’s last name to match her husband’s. and worldwide and throughout histories, legal systems have granted husbands the right to control their wives and everything in their orbit. this includes the practice of marital rape.

girls and women have always been denied choices and agency through the constraints of marriage. child marriage is an obvious example. in many parts of the world, girls as young as seven years old (which was the minimum in the united states in 1880, btw) have been forced to marry adult men. marriage is the only cultural ritual practiced in large numbers today that transforms what would be viewed as sexual assault on a child one day to a private family matter the next. child marriage is slavery and still takes place in 50+ countries today, including the US. child brides, who are often from poor families, are thrust out of their homes generally because their parents are looking to eliminate the financial burden of raising a girl. but in their new marriages, they are subject to violent rape and domestic violence, dangerously young pregnancies that put fatal stress on their developing bodies, and a host of inequalities in the law that permit their husbands to do whatever they want with them. marrying eliminates any chance of a young girl enjoying her childhood or pursuing an education. her life prospects are reduced to a short lifetime of unpaid domestic labor and sex she can’t consent to.

further, marriage between partners of any age is wrapped up in the idea that men must control women and girls’ sexuality. some have argued that the practice of marriage is commonplace for no other reason than to keep women’s sexuality in check. naturally, then, what we’re left with is a longstanding tradition of marital rape. throughout history, in many places, rape of a married woman was legally considered a crime against her husband and not the victim herself, as she was his property. extending that logic reveals that no husband could be found guilty of assaulting his property. so marital rape was commonplace, and was not even viewed to be a crime in many parts of the world until the twentieth century. through marriage and the misogynistic laws surrounding it, a very chilling sentiment was normalized: the concept that men are entitled to sex with the women in their lives. that perspective has not yet been fully destabilized. in a 2018 study of 4,000 british adults, a quarter of participants reported that they don’t believe marital rape is rape.

some other quick hits… the extremely widespread practices of paying dowries and bride prices further reinforce how marriage is understood as a transaction over a woman. and i wouldn’t want to overlook how the structured gender roles enforced through marriage resulted in trapping generations of women inside their home, where they were expected to do all the household labor and reproduce for as long as their bodies could support it. think of all the work those women could have done in the world, and all the worldly experiences that they might have had, if they were not trapped in their homes based on the idea that only their husbands had the right to experience the world.

marriage is a religious tradition that was eventually adopted by the state. but we already know that many religions were constructed by and to the advantage of men, and they are full of quite misogynistic traditions, including the ideology that shaped marriage rituals over the centuries. the state recognizes marriage and grants certain privileges to married couples that others don’t have access to. often these privileges can be life-saving, as in the case of the benefits pertaining to medical insurance. the legalization of gay marriage, and before that, interracial marriage, expanded the prospects of who was eligible to reap those benefits. however, there will always be limitations on who can enjoy those benefits–and use them to survive–so long as they are extended to married couples only.

and then suppose that a woman has decided that she’s seen enough injustice in her marriage and she would like to divorce. research shows that women face a great deal of gender-based scrutiny in divorce courts, and when men sue for custody–which occurs in a minority of cases–they generally win. and in cases of abuse, divorce is a costly obstacle to a woman escaping with her freedom. some abused women have said that the time-intensive process of divorce put them off of leaving. the regimented structure of marriage was a trap that subjected those women to a greater degree of violence.

so! all this being said, i am adamantly against marriage. i cannot see a version of the practice that doesn’t just slap a shiny coat of paint over a violent tradition that has restricted women’s rights to a horrifying degree and continues to do so today. so when i see weddings treated as romantic and aspirational and objects of envy in the media, i’m left feeling disgusted that this tradition is so often painted as good for women. wedding magazines are marketed to us. there are new startups emerging every day that promise to make the wedding-planning process easier, more fun, more romantic. i just can’t see the romance in women’s continued subjugation.

anyway. i hope this was helpful. there are lots of BOOKS you can read with plenty of history on marriage: i just read who cooked the last supper?: the women’s history of the world by rosalind miles and there’s in depth discussion of the many abuses women were subject to under the laws governing marriage. you might even look to the wikipedia page for criticism of marriage to start more research.

#wedding hate #also believe it or not i wrote this mostly in a stream of consciousness so my ability to entertain counterarguments is quite limited #and along the same lines - any fractured sentences are one hundred percent my b #marriage

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ladyshilya · 5 years

Text

2020 January Witch Challenge Part 1

Finally getting around to doing this had a pretty bad case of winter blues. Legalized weed has been helping with it.

Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome & Ancient Egypt

I decided to do three of the societies since they are the ones, I love the most. I know there are a lot of similarities in their societies especially from conquering each other. I have never really done in an in-depth study about magic during these times. I know they were all Polytheistic societies who prayed and gave offerings to their Gods. I know Oracles existed especially in Ancient Greece and were often considered to be blessed by Apollo. The Greeks and Romans had the Goddess Hecate who was Goddess of moon and witchcraft. These are societies where religion, science, and politics were all merged.

I skipped really doing the daily life sections mostly because I love Ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt. I know a good amount of their daily life since I am planning on writing a novel or novels set in these times. They mostly have 3 class structures of the upper class, merchant class, and poor. Upper class has the most money, most political influence and most of the power. There were a lot of marriages done for politics and power. Members of the merchant class can be wealthy but not all of them were. The upper class often did what they could to limit the power of the middle class. The poor usually the one with the small homes or the not the best land for farming. There were the poor that lived by each other in something like a community. They would help each other as best they could.

Slavery was as a thing usually people who were conquest of war or kidnapped. Purchasing of slaves did happen as well. As will most all cases of slavery, they were considered to inferior and treated horribly. There is a very consistent history in how slaves are treated throughout history spanning all the way back to BC. They would have the chance the to buy their freedom which was usually easier for those who worked in a merchant trade. Sometimes some could be given freedom after serving in the army. Ancient Egypt did give their slaves more rights such as letting them inherit land. They were able to marry and own personal belongings.

Women barely had rights and often had to deal with whatever their husbands wanted. In Ancient Rome a man could keep his mistress in the same house where his family lived. Most often if there was a divorce then the husband had to give back the woman’s dowry. If she was a widow, then she was often expected to marry within the family so they could keep the land and money. In Sparta in Ancient Greece women there had more right as in they could own land and do physical training. Women did have some better rights in Ancient Egypt where they were able to own and inherit land. They were even allowed to learn a skilled trade and they could divorce their husbands. Which is not really something women were able to do in Ancient Greece or Rome. There are some rare cases where it happened, but they were few and far between. Women who were prostitutes where often divided by the ones in a brothel which was the lowest. They also had the higher-level ones who were educated in music, culture and even some politics. They resembled more of what someone would consider an escort.

For these lessons I was most curious about the role magic played and if it differed from what I have been thinking this whole time. I find the history of magic to be rather fascinating especially way people treat magic and those who practiced it.

Ancient Greece:

When: 12th – 9th BC

Where: Greece and various colonies around the Middle East, Europe and Africa which includes Egypt. What role did magic play? Magic was practiced by people who specialized in magic. They had the Goddess Hecate was the Goddess of Moon and Witchcraft. Circe was a sorceress mentioned in fiction who was proficient in herbalism and could turn people into animals. Usually practiced by both men and women. It was something separate from religion. What was the most used form of magic (e.g. curses, weather magick)? They did spells, enhanced drugs, love potions, binding spells and cursed items. They created amulets which contained the spell that was cast. Like the Ancient Egyptians they kept a record of spells on papyri but this was done more by those who were Graeco- Egyptian then Graeco-Roman. Graeco-Egyptian were considered Hellenistic and they would add Egyptian elements to their religious practices. What was the public perception of magic? Was it endorsed? Hated? Magic did have an association with death and evil mostly to separate it from religious practices. Magic was trying to achieve more selfishness and power while religion was uses for the benefit of society. Religious rituals were used to give favor to the Gods and asks them for divine help. Magic did not always have a religious or scientific base. There were spells cast that did evoke Gods or ask for their favor. There were the Oracles of Dephi who were priestess of Apollo who where gift with the powers to translated messages from the Gods and prophecy.

People in every class level would seek out help from those who practiced magic for various aspects in their life. There were many people who would wear amulets for good luck or protection. There has also be cases of finding curses with the death because people believed they could take the request with them. Also binding dolls have been found buried with the dead.

There were cases of people who were killed because they practiced harmful magic. They did have laws against those who killed with magic. Plato advocated punishing those who sold spells and cursed tablets. While there were other philosophers who thought magic should be eradicated. Necromancy was illegal but people would still practice it in secret. They would often build temples where they thought an entrance to the Underworld was. They temples were often dedicated to Hades and Persephone. People often sought the dead because they believed they had the ability to tell the future. What was the public perception of those who practiced magic? There were the Magi were more than just magical practitioners but were also considered to be masters in mathematics and science. Since magic did carry a slight stigma to is often those who practiced where members of the poor class. What similarities do you see between their magic and modern witchcraft? What differences? There are some similarities to modern timed where people are still casing spells and curses. There are people who still fear magic believing it was evil even today. Necromancy still has stigmas to this very day. There are still people who seek out those who know magic or divination for help and guidance. There is a lot more acceptance of magic and divination in modern day so there are some making a living with their gifts. Magic is often associated with specific religions unlike before where they were seperate. People who practice today even worship the Greek Gods. There are a lot of ways that are still similar because people often pass down ideas of superstition and fear.

Ancient Rome

When: 8th century BC – 5th century AD

Where: Italy, much of Europe including Greece and the United Kingdom, most of the Middle East and Africa including Egypt. What role did magic play? Magic was practiced by actual practitioners, but it was also done by everyday people. Magic was usually used for political, legal or economic gain. It was also used for protection, all children wore amulets to protect against death. They did blend magic with their religion. They also worshiped the Goddess Hecate like the Greeks. What was the most used form of magic (e.g. curses, weather magick)? They created amulets which were imbued with the spell casted. People would pay to have political rivals killed by those who knew magic. They would also use magic in the cases of love, chariot races, legal cases, health and fertility. There has been evidence found of binding spells, magical gems and cursed objects being used. People would as seek protection from the supernatural elements such as the evil eye. It was common for parents to get amulets for children to protect them from death. Some magic was used in rituals that would evoke the Gods Incantation were performed for various reasons often written down on papyri and found in various inscriptions. Exorcisms where also performed as was weather magic and sex magic. There would also practice divination of animal entrails and with using animals in general. What was the public perception of magic? Was it endorsed? Hated? The Romans took over the Greek Gods and renamed them when they conquered Greece. There were laws against magic that killed.

Most people regardless of social class used magic. They would often get items form magical practitioners who would set up a stand outside a temple. Magic was often found in medicine, alchemy, astrology and divination. It was a major part of daily life.

The Roman government did have concerns about magic in 510 BC – 476 AD there were laws in place banning the practice of magic. Often anyone found practicing would be persecuted. It did not stop people from practicing magic. What was the public perception of those who practiced magic? I was not able to find much on how people felt about those who practiced magic. Some people were skeptical about those who performed magic. Since it was used for so many reasons in everyday society. It would stand to reason that people had a favorable outlook. It is also human nature to fear what they do not know so I am sure there were people who feared it. Practitioners of magic could be found in all class levels. What similarities do you see between their magic and modern witchcraft? What differences? Shops where people can buy magical items is similar today. It was more widely used during Ancient Rome. In this day an age people do not have amulets done for their children to prevent death. This was a very common practice against everyone. It is very rare to see people call on magical practitioners for spells and talismans for various aspects on their life. It is similar that the practice of magic can be found with any social class. People still perform certain rituals and spells for various aspects in their life.

Ancient Egypt

When: 3050 BC – 30 BC and Roman occupation from 30 BC – 641 AD

Where: Egypt and most of western Africa as well as small area of the Middle East located nearby. What role did magic play? Magic was called by two names Heka which was used by everyone. Akhu which was used by stars and deities. It was through heka that symbolic actions could have some effects. People drew Heka as a person since it was not uncommon for the Egyptians to personify things. Heka might also be the name of a God, there was conflicting information. Priests were the main practitioners; they were the only ones who could read the ancient tomes, so they were the guardians of the knowledge. For a long time lector priests were the ones who protected the Pharaoh and would help lead the dead to be reborn. The priest who served Sekhmet were known for healing magic. There were the scorpion charmers who would get rid of poisonous reptiles and insects. Midwives and the wise women were also known to incorporate magic in their skills. Protection-makers were the ones who usually created magical amulets. Most rituals were done in the temple without an audience. There is evidence to suggest that people practiced their own style of magic at home. What was the most used form of magic (e.g. curses, weather magick)? The Ancient Egyptians were known for casting curses. There are many well known cases of curses on the entrances to tombs. Magic rituals often accompanied their funeral process. It was not uncommon to people to be mummified with amulets. They would create amulet which were covered in symbolism. Members of all the classes could be found wearing amulets. Magic was used for healing, protection and potion making. The Ancient Egyptians were among the first to record spells and incantations on papyri. It was not uncommon to sure those who practiced magic to use wands. What was the public perception of magic? Was it endorsed? Hated? Magic was approved by the state and only foreigners were usually accused of using evil magic. Since most of the people were not very literate all written spells were considered prized possessions handed down in families. Magic was performed in the temples every day. What was the public perception of those who practiced magic? Magic was a very much a huge aspect of daily life with everyone practicing some form of it. The perception was positive until the Roman’s took over which caused things to change more to their views of magic. What similarities do you see between their magic and modern witchcraft? What differences? The biggest difference is that everyone believed in magic. All people were practicing it from royalty to slaves. It was done in the temples every day. Fear was used to keep people relying on magic. While we have priest and priestess that perform magic in religions its not to extent it was in Ancient Egypt. This was a world that completely believed in the power of magic. Like today they had people who practiced in their homes which is probably the most common way people practice now. They too handed down spells within families which is also something that happens today within some families. The use of magical talismans for luck and protection can still be found today.

This was fun to do because I learned a lot. Ancient Egypt was closest to what I had been expecting its culture to be based on everything I already knew. While Ancient Greece surprised me because I had not realized that separated religion and magic. They were less accepting about magic then I had previously thought. Ancient Rome had been more accepting of magic then I had originally thought. I had not been expecting the selling of magical items and making sure all children had a talisman. It was interesting to look at three cultures that were relatively similar in how their societies were run to view magic so differently. At the end of the day it will often come down what those in charge believe. If the individuals are willing to go against those power and believe something different.

#2020witch #2020witchchallenge-jan #janwitch #Solitary witch #ecletic witch #beginner witch #2020witchchallenge

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chaoticgothicwiccanchik · 5 years

Text

Type of Post: Fanfiction

Main Fandom: Harry Potter

Side Fandom: Sherlock(BBC), Dexter(TV)

Story Summary & Information: This is what I think would've happened if Lily and James had three sons instead of one. I gave Harry one older brother named Charles and a younger brother named Evan.

This story will also be a minor crossover with a few other fandoms. I say minor because it will mostly have the children of the MC in some other fandoms mention their parents.

For example, this will be a Dexter crossover because Dexter's son Harrison will attend Hogwarts in the same year as Harry (I know Dexter is set in America but I change the fandom slightly to fit this, also in my story S1 ended differently and anything after S5 never happened). This will be a Sherlock crossover because John's daughter Rosie is in Charles' year (also Fred and George's year)(also Johnlock is mentioned). I may also reference other fandoms but those are the two that matter as the Potter brothers will be interacting with their children and maybe sometimes them. You do not have to have watched Sherlock or Dexter to read this fic, maybe just do a basic Google search and you'll be good to go.

Chapter 1- Potters Fate

Straight out of Hogwarts Lily Evans married James Potter and to the jealousy of her older sister Petunia got pregnant right away. (Though Petunia would later say Lily must have gotten knocked up in school and was trying to hide it. How shameful, in her fine opinion.) The Potters were overjoyed as James' parents were getting quite on in years and wanted to be sure their family had an heir. With such a fine, young, and fertile bride, the elder Potters could be quite content their family would survive the next few generations. James and Lily named the boy, Charles Fleamont Cadmar Potter, he had James' hair and eyes but would grow to have many of Lily's facial features.

Just as Fleamont and Euphemia Potter were on their death beds, Lily fell pregnant again, another boy, Henry James Hyacinth Potter. These were dark times to be living in but James' parents died with the hope that their two grandsons would live to see a better future. (Petunia also sent a scathing letter to Lily that contained news of Dudley Dursley's birth but mentioned several times she had waited a few years into her marriage to have a child "like a proper born woman.") Shortly after Harry was born the Potters moved several times every few weeks as Dumbledore had informed them of a prophecy which Voldemort thought was referring to Harry.

While on the run Lily took the entire Potter family library with her sorted into several trunks, sorted by subject, then date, then author names alphabetically. One trunk however contained only books written/edited by members of the Potter family, it was these books that had Lily hunched over a table looking desperately for an answer. According to many spell crafters research, the Killing Curse was so effective because it simply killed you, there were no injures that could possibly be healed, no poisons to find an antidote to, you simply die. Many of the same researchers theorized that this was because the curse didn't just kill you, it tore your soul from your body.

For many years the Potter family specialized in soul and blood magic, until the Ministry banned such arts a few centuries ago. Aegeus Potter, one of James' great-grandfather, had entirely disagreed with the laws and argued heavily against them. When the laws finally went through due to the votes of one of the Potter House rivals, Basil Livington, Aegeus hid the real books on Soul and Blood magic and gave the Ministry some fake books and journals he messed with so they couldn't read it anyways. "Potter family magik, you understand Livington? Even if I have to give it away I can't let anyone else read it." And so the Potters had taken up Transfiguration as their new family magiks instead.

Lily smirked, she really did love the family she had married into. The books on soul magic disappointingly did not contain much extra knowledge on the Killing Curse, they did however contain several draughts which could heal a person who had suffered the other Unforgivables to their previous state. According to the Potters, the other two curses were soul magic as well, the Cruciatus targeting your souls ability to function in this world and the Imperius targeting your souls will to live freely and crushing your spirit. Disappointed, Lily jotted those potions down and closed the books on soul magic.

It felt as if all her work was for nothing, she had been searching and searching for a way to have her children survive and there was nothing. Lily had tried convincing James to leave the country and stay gone until Charles was ready for Hogwarts or the war ended but James was adamant about staying to fight...not that they did much fighting these days. James was so confident, he thought they would win and it would all be okay. Lily wished she had such faith, such hope.

The Lady of Potter House was also unsure about how much longer she could keep this next secret from her husband...she had fallen pregnant again. In these dark times, with two children already and on the run Lily wondered if she should get rid of it. Could she force a child to grow up in this life? Never staying in one place, always moving, always afraid, never making any friends. Lily wasn't even sure they would get to go to Hogwarts, what if Voldemort captured it first? Would her children ever know joy? Would the other two (oh goodness she was already thinking of the baby inside her as hers) resent Harry for being the reason their family was targeted?

No! That was enough! The second Lily Marie Evans Potter let some madman dictate her actions was the second she became someone else. Lily wanted this baby, it was hers, it was a little piece of James and Lily growing inside her and Lily wanted to be his or her mother. Voldemort would not force her to give up on her dream of becoming a mother, he could not force her out of her world, Lily Potter would fight to the death if it ever came to it but she would not give up on a way to protect and save her children. (And, well, if Charles or the little one inside her ever decided to be angry with Harry because he happened to be apart of some prophecy then Lily would just have to be a mother and explain the them that it was not Harry's fault and that it was always the fault of the murderer, not the one they intended to murder.) With a renewed sense of passion, Lily began to go through the blood magic books, leave no stone unturned, there must be something that could help.

-~-~

James was ecstatic when he found out Lily was pregnant again. They threw a big party with the rest of the order. Sirius was made godfather again with Lily choosing Alice Longbottom as godmother (Charles' godmother was Pandora Lovegood and Harry's was Marlene McKinnon.) Lily was worried her choices of godparents would either die in the war so she chose three separate ones just in case. Surely not all of these people would die if she did? Right? James laughed it off and said Sirius would be alright. Sometimes she thought her husband didn't get the point. The party was also partly a naming ceremony because the Potters doubted there'd be another opportunity. It was decided that a boy would be named Evan Godfrey Elijah Potter and a girl would be named Amethyst Evelyn Astor Potter.

There was some good news, Lily had found a way to protect her children. Within the Potter books about blood magic there was a ritual often called the Ritual of Love. There was a protector and a protectee, the protector had to make several potions involving some blood from the protector, willingly given. The protectee (or protectees, in one case an older brother used this on all four of his younger sisters) must drink the potion while the protector drew a soul-symbol over their heart to symbolize the love the protector must feel for the protectee. The protector would then place the protectee in a symbol meant to represent their relationship. This would ensure that if the protector shielded one protectee from any kind of magical attack the attacker would then have their attack rebound on them and would no longer be able to touch any of the protectees, even if the protector was only shielding one. There seemed to be a few downsides to this plan, Lily would die meaning she could no longer protect them from anything else (what if Voldemort sent one of his lackeys to kill her children but the others and himself were free to do so?), Lily had no idea what symbol would represent herself and her children (easily fixed, find something to do with motherhood or sons), and there was no recorded incident of it being used to shield the killing curse (what if it didn't work?!).

Because this ritual could only be used once Lily would have to wait until the new baby was born. She also picked out several different symbols in case the child was a girl and the one to do with mothers and sons was no longer applicable. "Don't worry baby," Lily whispered rubbing her swollen stomach. "Mommy won't let anyone hurt you or your big brothers." Then she sighed and added "Hopefully I won't have to die for you to be safe."

-~-~

Charles wasn't sure what had happened. It had been Halloween and Daddy was shooting sparks up in the air and Mommy was laughing. Harry and Evan were being their usual baby selves. Mommy said Charles had to be patient with them because they were small and couldn't do as much as he could. Charles could do lots, he could runs and speak with big words and ride a toy broom alone and climb Daddy's deer antlers. Harry and Evan couldn't do that though, they were small but that was okay 'cause Charles was a big boy and he would teach his little brothers to be big boys too! (But not bigger than him because he was the big brother.)

Anyways, what was he talking about? Oh, yeah, yeah. There was a weird man at the door and Mommy suddenly started actin' scared like something was gonna hurt her. But that was silly because she was Mommy and Mommy's weren't supposed to be scared. Mommy told him to run real fast up to Harry and Evan's room and Charles did. (Mommy had to carry Harry and Evan because they were big boys yet like Charles and couldn't run up the stairs like he could.) Charles thought it was weird though, Mommy told him he wasn't 'posed to run up and down the stairs. Maybe it was different because they only ran up once?

Bangs and shouts chased them up the stairs and Charles reminded himself not to be scared, it sounded like thunder and Mommy said thunder didn't hurt. Mommy was still scared and she placed Harry and Evan inside the big crib where Harry slept. Mommy picked him up to put him inside the crib too, that was when he complained, "I'm too big Momma, I get the big boy bed."

That was the first time his mother ever gave him a sharp look, "Charles Potter, I need you inside this crib and I can't argue with you right now." Charles shut his mouth and let his mother put him inside the crib. Mommy had never spoken to him that way, her voice was always gentle and soft. The bangs had fallen silent and Mommy looked sad. Mommy leaned down so she was level with their tiny faces, even Evan had been sat up against Charles' tummy. "Listen very carefully, my boys, Mommy loves you, Daddy loves you. We will always love you even if we aren't around anymore." Mommy looked so afraid and Charles reached his tiny hands (big boy hands!) through the bars to touch her face. It came back wet, Mommy was crying.

There was a lot of shouting, Mommy cried, she begged to man in the odd cloak to leave them alone. Charles would remember her screams for the rest of his life. "Please not my babies! Take anyone else! Please not Harry! Take me! Kill me instead!"

And the high, cold voice which answered. "Stand aside! Move Mudblood! Stand aside you silly girl! Avada Kedavra!" And the man turned his wand on Harry. Charles made sure to wrap his arms around Harry and Evan incase they were scared but when the man pointed his wand at Harry and the green light flashed it got sent back to the man and the room exploded outwards.

-~-~

Charles didn't like this new place. These people were apparently called the Dursley's and they were his Aunt, Uncle, and cousins Dudley and Daisy. Dudley was Harry's age and Daisy was younger than Evan, she was still in Aunt Petunia's tummy when they got here. Charles, Harry and Evan all shared the littlest bedroom in the Dursley's household while Dudley and Daisy each got their own room. Whenever Charles or Harry or Evan disobeyed the Dursley's or annoyed the Dursley's or took food without asking first (the answer was always no) they were put in the cupboard until the Dursley's thought they were properly punished.

The Potter boys had chores as soon as they could walk. They cleaned the house, cooked the food as soon as Charles could reach the stove, and weeded the garden. Charles told stories to his brothers in the middle of the night, he told them all he remembered about Mommy and Daddy and what he called their real Aunts and Uncles. (He learned to only say this when all the Dursley's had gone to bed because Aunt Petunia had screamed and slapped him and Uncle Vernon had put red stripes across his back until he was bleeding with his belt.) When they didn't do the chores properly (which as often as small children could not get that much done in a day) they weren't fed. Once, Harry abandoned his chores to talk to one of the neighborhood boys, Uncle Vernon pulled off his belt and beat him until he screamed, he beat Charles too because the second he heard his little brother cry he jumped in front of Vernon and tried unsuccessfully to drive him off.

Charles tried to protect Harry and Evan but he wasn't sure he was good at it. Interrupting their punishments only got him beaten as well and if he was in the cupboard with one he couldn't protect the other. Then school happened and he was forced away from his little brothers for eight whole hours!

Something strange happened in his second year of school though. Charles had taken to staying in the library so he could read their books. Mommy was always reading books and Charles vaguely remembered her saying the books had helped Mommy save him and Harry and Evan. It probably didn't work though, Mommy was gone and if she couldn't protect herself then how could she protect them? The library didn't have any books on how to save his little brothers though. While mostly a loner as he didn't know how to talk to other children, Charles eventually realized he had to ask the librarian what he wanted to find like he'd seen some of the other kids doing.

"Mrs.Bradley? I need help finding a book but I'm not sure what it's called."

Mrs.Bradley smiled down at the polite little boy. He had been coming into the school library for over a year now, never checked anything out, just sat quietly in a chair and read for the whole of recess and lunch. He seemed a bit too thin and she had been bringing in extra sandwiches for him a few other kids, it was so sad how some families couldn't afford enough food. "What are you looking for, dear?"

"I need something to help me save my brothers." Charles said with a very serious tone.

Feeling slightly amused the old librarian smiled down at him. "Save them from what?"

She was not going to like the answer.

-~-~

On July 24th to Charles' Potter amazement he found his Hogwarts letter amidst the boring Dursley's mail. Charles had gotten rather good at looking miserable when he was happy (the Dursley's didn't like it when he was happy) so he plastered a miserable look on his face and brought his relatives his mail. The second he was aloud back in his room he tore open the Hogwarts letter and read it with gusto.

This was it! He was finally going to Hogwarts! And Harry and Evan would see--

And just like that the happiness he's been carrying beyond his miserable expression popped.

Oh. Oh no. Charles was the only one to get a letter. What if Harry and Evan couldn't come? He--he couldn't leave them here! They were brothers! They were supposed to stick together! What would Uncle Vernon do to Evan with only Harry to protect him? And Harry couldn't defend himself either! (Common sense would say that Charles couldn't either really but who listened the that?)

Still, Charles might as well write his reply to see if he could go though he didn't know where he would find an owl.

Dear Professor McGonagall,

I have a few concerns about Hogwarts I would like to ask if you have the time. First, where do I get all this supplies? I live with my muggle relatives and they aren't too fond of magic. I doubt they'd take me to a magic shop or that they even know where one is. Second, where would my brothers go while I'm at school? They can't stay here. As I said before my relatives aren't fond of magic, it would be more apt to say they hate it. I worry that if I leave my Aunt and Uncle would treat them even worse. Please reply if you have anywhere for them to stay while I'm at Hogwarts. If you do not, I would not bother. I won't leave this house if I don't know my brothers will be safe.

Sincerely, Charles Fleamont Cadmar Potter

The owl problem was fixed almost as soon as he went outside. An owl swooped down and grabbed his letter and took off with it. Hopefully it was the right owl.

Author's Note

Okay so that was Chapter 1. I usually like to try and finish a story before I post it but I've decided with this one to roll with it and post immediately. I hope I didn't make any glaring mistakes but I wrote this as soon as I got the idea and it took about 4 hrs.

Some notes for if you didn't read the summary. This story has small multicrossover parts in it. It's nothing big, just some kids from various other TV shows going to Hogwarts at the same time as the Potters. You don't have to watch any of the shows the kids are from to read this story.

Rosie Watson, John's daughter from Sherlock is in the same year as Charles, she doesn't have a big part and I don't even think I'll put her dad in at all. (Just know I ship Johnlock so she will mention having two dads and some adopted siblings I made up who aren't at all important to the story.)

Another kid, Harrison Morgan from Dexter will be in Harry's year. I know, I know, Dexter is in Miami, Florida, how did his son get an invite to a boarding school in Britain? Basically Dex took a family vacation at one point and Harrison did some accidental magic in Britain. Hogwarts picked up on it and sent him a letter. So he got one Hogwarts letter and one Ilvermorny letter and chose Hogwarts. Dex thought it was a good idea to send his son away so he would be safer away from Dexter and his enemies. (Also in my personal headcannon Brian survives past S1 but I probably won't mention it. Also I liked Lumen so I always headcannon Dex and her together so when Harrison says "Mom" he's talking about her and I have him a little brother who, again, isn't important to the story. You don't need to know who Dexter and Lumen are to enjoy the story and can consider Harrison an OC if you want.)

Those are the only other fandom kids that are important to the story but if you recognize any familiar last names from other shows who aren't in the original Harry Potter schoolmates list just ask. For example, Beatrice "Trixie" Decker from Lucifer will be in the year above Harry's but will only be mentioned attending things like DA meeting and stuff. No importance to the storyline. And yes I know Lucifer is set in LA, just refer to Harrison's answer for any questions about that.

Tell me if you have any request for a kid cameo and I'll try to grant it. For easy reading try to write it like this:

Kids name

Parents name(s)

Fandom/Fandoms

What country they are from

Any special attributes they might have

You may also include things like:

What year you want them to be in (in accordance to Harry's year)

Anything special you want them to say/do?

I'm certain if I need to find out anything else I can just use their name and the shows name to find more. I will say one thing though, no one who's not in this world. That means no Lord of the Rings, no Avatar:The Last Airbender, no Game of Thrones. It has to be set in the real world. And yes, regretfully, I will include Twilight in that as it technically fits. Want me to include your Sam and Emily, Jared and Kim, Jacob and Renessmee , any wolf and their imprints kid, I can work with that. ( I wonder how many times I'll have to use the vacation and chose the foreign school option?)

Also, no overpowered kids. I'm going to try to make everything work in the realm of possibly so no kids that can alter reality or something.

And these kids have to exist as KIDS in their respective fandom, with their parents as the main character. For example I won't use Wanda and Pietro Maximoff because although they are Magneto's children they are also adult character with their own storylines. (I refuse to accept that Magneto isn't their father. Suck it Marvel.)

#harry potter fanfiction #harry potter has brothers fanfiction #minor crossover with sherlock #minor crossover with dexter #harry potter

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nerdygaymormon · 5 years

Note

Do you think that the church will one day allow gay marriage? I truly hope it will - I don’t think it would be as big a doctrinal change as many conservative members seem to believe

I’m no church leader. I’m not entitled to receive revelation or determine policies for the church and I’m certainly not privy to the thinking of the leaders about future changes. But to me, it seems inevitable that gay marriage will one day be allowed, and here are some reasons why I believe so:

The many reasons the church has used to explain homosexuality have all been disproved. Not so long ago, our leaders finally acknowledged that homosexuality isn’t a choice, that’s a significant shift in their understanding. It was upon this earlier belief that the existing rules and doctrine were created. This change has already led to some softening of rhetoric and I hope it also leads to more substantial changes.

As the church tries to explain the reasons it opposes gay marriage, usually by reducing marriage down to fertility and ability to have children, it ends up negating many straight marriages. This again is a sign that there’s a problem in how it understands & defines marriage.

A majority of LDS members in the U.S. age 18-29 already are in favor of marriage equality. The percentage of the overall US church membership that supports gay marriage already is in the 40-something percentage range. It won’t be long before it crosses the 50% threshold.

Currently LGBTQ people are absent from the Plan of Salvation. There’s no path to complete the covenant path that leads to exaltation for gay people unless they enter a mixed-orientation marriage. More and more people are wanting answers, which is reasonable to request from a church with a prophet and apostles and on-going revelation.

There’s theological teachings, which are backed up by academic studies, that the greatest happiness in life is to be found in being connected with another person. Current policies forbid gay people from this deep level of satisfaction and all the positive benefits it has in a person’s quality of life. Why would loving and fair Heavenly Parents create someone only to deny them a shot at real happiness?

————————————————————

There have been significant doctrinal shifts that the Church has made in several areas and is the better for having done so. It can do so again.

For one thing, the Church doesn’t use the Bible to explain or justify its teachings about homosexuality. I can’t remember the last time I heard any General Authority use Biblical verses in such a way. I assume it’s because they know the Bible isn’t so clear on the subject, it doesn’t say what a lot of Christians think it does.

Plus, there are things in the Bible that are clear which we don’t follow, such as Christ’s prohibition on divorce & remarriage except in cases where one partner cheated on the other. Getting past that seems like it would be difficult, but not so. Why would allowing same-gendered couples be any more difficult when Christ didn’t speak against them?

————————————————————

Taylor Petrey, in his presentation “Toward a Post-Heterosexual Mormon Theology,” imagines the possible future of LDS doctrine regarding homosexuality. (It can be downloaded here). Essentially he says by bringing back some of our theology and ritualistic practices of the past the Church can accommodate same-sex couples.

He points out that we teach that God organized intelligences into spirits. That doesn’t sound like sex, does it? Currently the Church talks about needing a man & a woman to sexually create a spirit child and that’s why it’s a no-go on same-gender couples.

Also, there doesn’t appear to be any women involved in any of the creation processes until Eve is made. It’s all men working with other men. Together they even created Adam.

A former ritual he refers to is how people chose to be sealed to other people they weren’t related to, nor lived with. They talked about the “law of adoption” and sealed themselves to each other, men to men as father/son, as a way to link families. Wilford Woodruff ended that practice.

Today we let LDS families be sealed to non-biologic children whom they’ve adopted or who came to them via surrogacy.

Both these types of sealings can allow a gay couple to have have the same sealing blessings as non-gay couples.

Petrey is critical of the Church’s teachings about gender. He points out how confusing it is. 1) It’s the one physical trait that our spirit has pre-mortal, mortal and post-mortal worlds. Why is gender the one thing that is fixed? 2) Gender in nature and in humans is not strictly binary, so how does this work with the idea that gender is eternal? 3) The Church is very concerned about gender confusion, meaning that gender roles have to be taught and same-sex couples confuse things. Including such things as who presides, who is the nurturer, the provider?

How can gender be a fixed thing, but also be something that must be learned?

Plus Heavenly Father seems to inhabit the nurturing role that the Family Proclamation says belongs to females. And we don’t hear much about Heavenly Mother doing much “mothering.” So clearly heavenly gender roles don’t match earthly gender roles.

Dr. Petrey uses the Church’s manual A Parent’s Guide to show that we don’t have to stick to the current binary thinking regarding gender and gender roles.

“There is nearly as much variation within each gender as there is between the genders. Each human being is unique. There is no one model except the Redeemer of all mankind. Development of a person’s gifts or interests is one of life’s most enjoyable experiences. No one should be denied such growth.”

LDS ritual and rhetoric could embrace this variation, which could include homosexual relationships.

————————————————————

I appreciated Shawn Tucker’s My 22 Point Opinion on Temple Sealings

1. People don’t choose to be gay, to be only sexually attracted to people of their same sex.2. No one, I believe, would make that choice, since it is so socially frowned upon and since it does not lend itself to the advantages (of which there are many!) of heterosexual marriage.3. Since they don’t choose it, and since it is really born in them, I believe the gay people I know when they say that they do not feel that their attraction is wrong or a sin.4. Mormons typically think that such attraction is inherently wrong and against God’s plan, while gay people, especially gay Mormons, do not believe that their attraction is wrong or sinful.5. Mormons see heterosexual attraction as normal, natural, and even God-given.6. I believe gay Mormons when they say that they believe that their homosexual attraction is normal, natural, and God-given for them.7. Homosexual marriage seems to interrupt God’s plan, since such couples cannot have children in the traditional manner.8. That is the common argument against gay marriage.9. This, I believe, is partly why the church is placing so much emphasis on the family—to put up the traditional, heterosexual couple as the norm and their families as the only way to fulfill God’s work and plan.10. But I think that this emphasis has some bad consequences.11. This emphasis tells single people that they are not actually fulfilling God’s plan.12. It tells couples that cannot have kids that they are not fulfilling God’s plan.13 It tells couples that feel like they should not have kids that they are not fulfilling God’s plan.14. I believe that God can have a plan for His children that does not include having children—this happens for singles, for the infertile, for those who believe they should not have children.15. This can happen for gay couples.16. People who do not have children can be of great, great benefit to their ward, stake, church, and world.17. Their work can be just as important as having children. (This is a very important point—you might want to repeat it in your mind.)18. I can imagine God being happy with that work, in fact just as happy with that work as any other.19. I can imagine God very happy with same-sex attracted people finding each other, loving each other, fully committing themselves to each, and expressing that love and commitment physically.20. I can imagine God fully sanctioning gay marriage as right for that couple.21. I believe that the love that they share and develop here in mortality will accompany them in the next life, and that the “same sociality which exists among [them] here will exist among [them] there.” (D&C 130:2).22. I can imagine God sanctioning temple sealings of gay couples.

#gay marriage #taylor petrey #shawn tucker #queerstake

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heartofstanding · 5 years

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@princess-of-france asked me to do prime numbers from the Excessively Detailed Headcanon Meme for Margaret of Anjou and if I did it, it would’ve been like “daily ritual: polishing the Lancastrian family axe while thinking about the Yorks”.

So @princess-of-france very kindly allowed me to pick someone else and I was like, I never talk about my girl Eleanor Cobham and I want to write about her soon. So! I’m going to do Eleanor.

(also, sorry it’s so late yikes)

2. Do they have any daily rituals?

During her marriage to Humphrey, Eleanor devotes a great slab of her day to trying to preserve and perfect her beauty with an elaborate skincare regime. It began as part of a great, cumulative effort to be just after she married Humphrey where she tried to present herself as the perfect duchess - beautiful, pious, dutiful, silent, learned, discreet, respectable, charitable - after being deeply aware that she is not “worthy” of him and is the deplorable woman who had seduced him away from his rightful wife. It was exhausting and it didn’t work, so she gave up on most of it. But everyone says she’s beautiful so it becomes vital to preserve that one part of her that’s celebrated, and in a way, it helps her feel more like the Duchess of Gloucester and less like Eleanor.

(later in her marriage, her daily routine also includes various fertility treatments and rituals)

3. Do they exercise, and if so, what do they do? How often?

Of course not, it’s not seemly (though in a modern AU, Eleanor would probably tackle the gym every other day with grim determination as part of her “must retain beauty” regime).

5. Cleanliness habits (personal, workspace, etc.)

Eleanor loves baths. Especially with her husband.

More seriously, she is careful to maintain her personal hygiene and ensure that wherever she’s residing is not only clean but looks, feels and smells beautiful. This drive is, again, partly connected to her anxieties about how she’s perceived, but also she just really likes baths and things being pretty. She’s not, like, precious about it, and her favourite room is Humphrey’s messy study because it feels so very much like him, with books lying everywhere, a desk with parchment and pens (one usually broken) lying all over it, sometimes a forgotten cup of wine still sitting there.

7. Favourite way to waste time and feelings surrounding wasting time

She doesn’t feel like she has very much time to waste. There’s a lot in her life that could be considered frivolous time-wasters (her skincare regime, the feasts she and Humphrey regularly throw) but they are ways she deals with her anxieties or really not that relaxing for her (e.g. she’s the hostess, she has to make sure everything runs perfectly).

Probably her favourite way to waste time is the hours after the feasts are over, where she can relax and bask in the success of the evening and have a quiet drink with her husband. Or rainy days where they curl up in bed and have books read to them.

11. Intellectual pursuits?

She actually shares a lot of Humphrey’s interests in art, music and, of course, literature (one of Humphrey’s extant books has an inscription suggesting it was a gift either from or to Eleanor). People think she probably pretended to share his interests as a ploy, but while he introduced them to her, she has a genuine interest in these things herself and has more time than him to read all the books they’ve got. They often spend a lot of time talking about them, finding new titles for each other.

Eleanor’s interests in the more... dubious areas of medieval science (e.g. astrology) are initially fairly typical of medieval nobility. It’s legitimate science, she’s not particularly devoted to it. It’s only when she begins to get more and more desperate to have a child that she begins to get invested in it.

13. Sexual Orientation? And, regardless of own orientation, thoughts on sexual orientation in general?

[insert a standard disclaimer here about medieval understandings of sexuality being vastly different from our own here].

Eleanor is as perfectly capable of being swayed by a woman as by a man and I tend to headcanon that her sexual relationship with Humphrey began as part of an affair she had with Humphrey and Jacqueline. She has fairly lax attitudes towards the strictures of the church - she loves sex, she doesn’t particularly hold with sex being sinful depending on who you have it with or when you have it.

She and Humphrey are extremely sexually compatible (and very much in love), and they are probably extremely kinky by medieval standards (sometimes she goes on top!) and will try most things once.

17. Preferred mode of dress and rituals surrounding dress

Unsurprisingly, Eleanor is very careful about how she dresses. She prefers high-quality, beautiful clothes that are fashionable, but not too revealing. Again, it’s all about managing how she’s perceived. She has to be beautiful, of course, but she can’t be too conservative in her dress (or else would be seen as trying too hard to fool people) or too revealing (or else it reinforces her image as the shameful seductress and worse) or too cheap (or else it just reinforces the fact that she’s married far above her rank). She also can’t look like she cares too much on or spends too much on fashion, or else she appears arrogant and superficial.

Similarly to the ritual of her skincare regime, Eleanor enjoys the ritual of getting dressed as a way of helping her take on the role of Duchess of Gloucester and feels that it’s akin to putting on her battle armour.

19. What do they think about before falling asleep at night?

It depends. If she’s on her own, it’s the moment where her guard is down and her anxieties - about how she’s perceived, about how she’s not been able to give Humphrey an heir, about the future, about her sins, about the things she doesn’t think are sins but what if they were - crowd in on her and she doesn’t end up sleeping very well because how can you sleep with that going on in your head? If she’s with Humphrey, though, they’ve probably spent the evening talking or reading or at a feast before having sex, and she’s tired and comfortable and happy.

23. How organized are they? How does this organization/disorganization manifest in their everyday life?

When she’s organising a feast or a celebration or event that she’s hosting or trying to prepare for an event that she’s a fairly on display for, she gets extremely well-organised and painstakingly goes through everything herself (she tries to hide her stress, because Humphrey would be “relax, it’s meant to be fun” and she’d be like “easy for you to say, buster” and then he’d get sad and try to help) . But on a day to day basis, she’s far more moderate and chill.

29. Reaction to sudden extrapersonal disaster (eg The house is on fire! What do they do?)

In the immediate afterlife, she tries really, really, really hard to be practical about it and take charge and sort everything out. Again, it’s about her putting on a front. And that’s exactly what it is because she’s really struggling. Her daily routines - which are really coping mechanisms - are all disrupted, she’s had a terrible scare, and there will be a moment where it’s all too much, and she just can’t do it anymore.

And, given support, she might find it possible to use the disaster to break free from her obsession with how she’s perceived and re-establish a sense of self that’s not so caught up in her beauty. But, without support, she probably goes back to those routines with grim-faced determination.

31. Most prized possession?

The first book Humphrey gave her.

It was when she was passing on Jacqueline’s messages to Humphrey (before they got married) and they would get to talking and Humphrey was like “you must read this book!” and she was like “oh, okay, I’ll try to find a copy” and he was like “I have a copy somewhere!” and she was like “you don’t have to go to the trouble” and he was like “keep it! but tell me what you think” And it’s precious to Eleanor because it was the first time someone (especially a man) had really shown an interest in what she thinks.

37. Are they more analytical or more emotional in their decision-making?

She is fairly analytical for most decisions. But when it comes to a decision about something she’s obsessed and obsessed about but hasn’t managed to do - like having a baby - she gets very emotional and makes decisions that she would like to kick her own arse for normally.

41. How misanthropic are they?

She is someone who hates being on her own and is naturally highly sociable... but because of her anxieties around how she’s perceived, because she’s blamed for Humphrey’s abandonment of Jacqueline, because she’s considered an arrogant woman with ideas above her station - she is very closed-off and there is no one she really lets her guard completely down for. Humphrey comes closest, but she wouldn’t, for instance, confide in him about her fears about her fertility in the interests of protecting him (because she recognises he is already very messed up).

43. How far did they get in formal education? What are their views on formal education vs self-education?

As far as she could go. She respects both, but sees formal education as more of “things you need to know” and self-education as “things you want to know”. Again, this from a medieval perspective and in a modern AU, she’d have very different attitudes.

47. If they were to fall in love, who (or what) is their ideal?

Someone who can be a real companion for her, who wants her for more than just her beauty, who can laugh and cry with her, and someone who will be a good father to their eventual children.

#eleanor cobham #asks #princess of france #text posts #headcanons everywhere #i FINALLY did this #i love eleanor #eleanor cobham is a goddamn mess #the eleanor novel

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chickenfriedhorror · 5 years

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Chicken-Fried Horror Reviews 2013's Jug Face

Once uponce a time, there was a sickness that began to claim the people in the woods. The people prayed and prayed; their preacher read from scripture and advised the people, but it did not help. The people were dying. Even the preacher caught the sickness. One day, a man had a vision of the Pit in the clearing. The Pit showed him a face. He went to his potter's wheel and made a jug of that face. When he was finished, he took the jug and led the people to the Pit. The face on the jug was face of the preacher. The people turned on the preacher and sacrificed him to the Pit. The people washed in the mingled blood and waters of the Pit, and were healed.

From the looks of it, I'm in for a backwoods weirdo cult flick. I'm game. We're talking Jug Face.

We open with a girl running through the woods, pursued by a boy who is 'ready for love.' She doesn't want to, but he's pretty persuasive when it comes to getting into Ada's sensible white cotton drawers. Ah; nothing like coercing your girlfriend into having sex next to the pit in the woods while a creepy potter makes a satanic fertility jug in the barn right there by your booty tree!

When she gets back home, her ma and pa have an announcement: She's going to be joined to Bodie Jenkins at the next full moon. Arrainged marriages in the foothills ensures that your hillbilly bloodlines keep some variety. A big deal is made about the state of her virginitude, (and I just know there's going to be some kind of freaky virginity test coming sometime soon) and plans for a big dinner are made. Ada asks to go to the Pit to pray on it, and she ends up a the potter's shack, and she paints her panties with red glaze to make it look like she's on her moon time. As soon as she gets herself put back together, Dwigh comes in and she tells him to come to the celebration dinner they're having tonight because of the Joining.

She starts to head back to the house, but stops and opens the kiln (which is dangerous; cold air can make hot ceramics freaking explode in your face, but they overlooked that detail) to reveal a jug face. Her jug face. She grabs it without any type of protective gear, and buries it. I don't think burying your sacrificial jug is going to work, hon.

She finally gets back home, and I'll just say that it's a good thing she painted her underpants, because Ma checks her out.

Dinner rolls around, and at the table are all the families that live in the woods, and we see the boy who rolled in the leaves with her earlier. EW THEY'RE BROTHER AND SISTER, EW EW EW! They say grace, and thank the Pit. Nobody is drinking water here, they're all drinking jars of moonshine... just like dinner here at home! They may be a little strange, but dang if they can't throw a good party! Lots of good music, dancing, and weird cult-talk.

So Ada's brother's name is Jessaby, and he's none too thrilled about her being joined with another man. What kind of name is that, anyway? Regardless, he pretty much just throws her to the wolves and threatens her so she won't tell that he's been rooting around in her goodie basket. Seriously- I'm not looking forward to seeing what kind of virginity test they're going to give her. (I mean it, I can feel it in my bones, it's coming.)

After dinner, Ada is sent to take a plate to her grandpappy, who is living in a decrepit RV on a corner of their property. He is pretty much bedridden and can't talk, so that makes Ada talk her fool head off. She tells him that she knows who the next Jug Face is, that it is her. She then catches a glimpse of a ghostly figure, and runs away.

The next day, her pa takes her into town. I mean, really; they seem pretty normal aside from the pit and making their own roadkill for dinner. They sell 'shine to the town pharmacist to make money. Pa sends Ada into the store while he makes a deal, and she steals a pregnancy test. She sneaks it home, and lo and behold, she is with child. Her brother's child. Yuck.

While all this is going on, Dwigh is freaking out. There's a whole shrine of jugs in Dwigh's shed, and Ada's is nowhere to be found.

Ada is off doing laundry with Bodie's sister, Eileen, when she gets visited by the ghost again. He tells her "it's awake" the next thing we see is that something has killed Eileen and dragged pieces of her down to the pit. Everyone is frightened and angry because there wasn't a jug-face made, which always gives them the one that they are to sacricfice. They blame Dwigh, because someone was killed without being fortold by the pit.

Dwigh is rightly upset, because someone was killed that wasn't supposed to be kill't. Ada tries to make him lie and make a false jug. He reveals that he has made another one, but didn't think it was right. He unveils it, and it is a giant fetus. This rightly freaks Ada out, and Dwigh even says that it can't be right because nobody has a baby right now. Ada's ma thinks she is spending way too much time around Dwigh, and when she gets back home, yep; there's the virginity test.

What I said about them being fairly normal? I take it back.

Dwigh does as Ada told him, and makes a new Jug Face- Bodie's. He is sacrificed, and everyone thinks that the worst is over.

Nope.

I have to say that I don't like Ada much. She's being conniving, and people are getting killed. Now that her betrothed has been sacrificed, how is she going to play being pregnant off?? Because of her fibbinations, the Pit won't talk to Dwigh, and all heck is breaking loose in the holler.

Ada keeps seeing the ghost of the shunned boy (The people who get killed for disobeying the Pit, hiding a jug-face, etc.) and having seizures where she has visions of the demon thing from the Pit tearing people to shreds. She visits her grandpa again, and the ghost tells her that her grandpa once hid a Jug Face, which is why he is in this horrible state. They poisoned him with some bad 'shine, and this poor sod is doomed to wander the woods because he was killed instead of the one the Pit wanted.

Now Jessaby is sick, and their pa takes him to the Pit to bathe and pray. He gets put down in the pit, it starts boiling and burbling and the pit takes him out. Now they know that something isn't right, and they're coming for Dwigh. They take him out to the woods and tie him up, and Ada pretty much lets them. She does try to make it right by grabbing the horrible baby jug and freeing Dwigh so they can run away to the only place they know: the pharmacy. She tries to get the pharmacist to buy some of Dwigh's brain-burner swill, then has a nuclear freakout full of visions where the Pit is taking people out because it hasn't gotten the victims it wants. Of course, the pharmacist calls her pa, and they take them back to the woods.

Everybody is enraged, most of all Ma, who utters the best line in the whole movie: "He's good enough to run off with, then he's good enough to get in your puddin'!" They tie Dwigh and Ada up into this rack contraption and whip the skin off their backs. Ada loses the baby, and admits to Ma and Pa that it was her brother Jessaby's baby. They react in the proper way, outrage and disgust! Pa stalks off to beat the snot out of Dwigh, and the Pit kills him, while Dwigh just sits there helpless.

Now, both Ada and Dwigh are banished, told they'd be dead by sunrise. They're both tied to the big log next to the Pit to await their fate. Late in the night, Grandpa appears, led by the ghost, who unties Ada, but she doesn't run. Ma leads the remaining wood folk to the Pit, and Ada gets her jug from her hiding place. She accepts her fate, and is given to the Pit.

The moral of the story is: The Pit wants what it wants, and is gon' get it. Don't make the sign of the electrified double-wombat with your brother, and don't touch jugs that don't belong to you, even if they look like yours.

Give this one a watch. It doesn't give your typical portrayal of a backwoods creepy cult; not too many stereotypes aside from the distilling of piquant corn liquors, incest, and virginity testing. At least in this movie, the hillbillies aren't the ones doing all the gruesome murdering.

Totals:

Only 2 breasts, but plenty of Jugs

About 15 Jugs of blood

2 Beasts: The Pit, and Ma. Yeesh!

Jug making, Jug swigging, Jug tossing, Jug hiding... so many Jugs, so little time! Throat cutting, limbs ripped off, guts all over the creek, guts all over the Pit, sacrifical ritual stump.

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whiteappalachianwitch · 7 years

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A Witch’s Tool Kit

For the new witches, or witches seeking further education into their practice, here are some essential tools you should acquire in your home.

The Altar

This is a place to do magickal work on for the new or already established witch. Charms or objects that speak to you should be on your alter. A large extravagant alter is not needed. You can use a shelf or tabletop. If you are born under a fire or earth sign, you may prefer to do your alter on natural wood. If you would rather cover your altar-top with cloth, lavender or deep purple are wonderful colors to decorate with, the most positive color to attract spiritual fulfillment. Chakra balancing and healing thus creating a perfect mood for magick is also associated with the purple hues. Placing your cloth on the floor for quick ritual access can also be done if you’re traveling or more discreet about your practice.

Leanna’s Tip: “If an item’s position on the alter is not specified in the following list, then just placed it in a spot you feel comfortable with. Except for certain items, modern Wicca is quite flexible about the arrangement of tools on the altar” (Robbins & Greenaway, 2014).

The Pentacle

This is a very essential item a witch can use when casting spells. The five-pointed star, or pentacle/pentagram, is believed to date back are than five thousand years to ancient Mesopotamia. It is a powerful and positive symbol for many religions throughout history, as well as alchemy. The symbol was worn as an amulet in pagan times for spiritual protection and to ensure a safe, happy homecoming.

The five points of the start represent the five elements (moving in clockwise direction):

Spirit (the top most point)

Water

Fire

Earth

Air

If you turn the pentacle upside down, it assumes the shape of a goat, symbolizing the horned got of some neo-pagan faiths. Westernization has made the upside down pentacle into some sort of tan and devil worship. Sensationalized in horror movies and the adoption of the upside down pentacle in darker magick has also given it a bad name.

However, many witches that want to practice purely white magick will use the pentacle in its upright position to where the star’s image itself represents a person; head, two arms, two legs. It is normally worn on a necklace in this day and age.

When casting spells, have the pentacle on yourself or your altar. You can also draw the pentagram symbol. But whatever you choose, place the pentacle in the center of your altar and arrange the other items around it. The size of your pentacle does not matter.

Steps to take for your pentacle:

Charge it either by cleanse and blessing or leave it outside during a full moon. Place your charged pentacle in the center of the altar to ward off negativity and protect

(Robbins & Greenaway, 2014)

Candles

The representative of elements fire and air, most spells will include one candle or many candles. Always have a selection of colors at hand. The traditional candle to have is one white one on the altar to neutralize the energies. The best place to put this candle is near the back of the altar. No need to inscribe or anoint this candle, but bless it with water is advised.

To bless with water, dip your fingers in some bottled water and run them over the candle while saying “this candle is now cleansed and blessed.” Dry it with paper towels.

(Robbins & Greenaway, 2014).

Incense

When a spell is in progress, one must always burn incense! The magickal properties help create an atmosphere that is perfect and spell potency-boosting. There are many varieties of incense to choose from, but here are a few with their benefits and properties:

Basil: A very aromatic smell used for attracting wealth and prosperity and in fertility rituals.

Eucalyptus: This will center and balance emotions. It is also an excellent in helping you make decisions.

Frankincense: A spiritual disinfectant that is wonderful if anyone in the family has a cold, as well as any health spells.

Opium: Sleep-induction and invigoration of psychic senses. Light about an hour before bed to sleep deeply.

Sage: Used as a smudging stick or can be burned as incense. To cleanse the space in prep for a spell, burn sage. It is an automatic negative energy dispeller and gets the bad vibes out.

Sandalwood: Warm, gentle and woody that relaxes and eases distress.

Ylang-ylang: Enhances any love spell and attracts new love, harmonizing marriages and healing impotency problems.

(Robbins & Greenaway, 2014).

Soil and Water

For natural earth elemental symbols upon your alter, one should have these substances to bring balance and harmony to the work space. A small bowl or eggcup of garden soil should sit on one side of the pentagram. The water can be in a similar container sitting on the other side of the pentagram (Robbins & Greenaway, 2014).

Salt

Salt is a wonderful source of protection and can be used in a lot of banishment spells of anything evil. Sprinkle a little sea salt over the altar cloth or put some on the altar in a small bowl (Robbins & Greenaway, 2014).

Optional Tools

Chalice

Symbolizes fertility, once represented the womb of the Goddess. The base of the vessel signified our world as we know it and the stem suggests rapport between humans and spirits. Filling it with magickal water and keeping it on the altar can be helpful.

Cauldron

Used for making infusions and potions. If your spell calls for burning herbs, the cauldron can be a useful object since it is usually fashioned from copper or cast iron.

Bell

Banishment spells call for bell-use the most. However, you can use a bell to indicate that a spell is about to begin, or to get rid of any unwanted vibrations. It can help settle the atmosphere for calm feelings again.

Athame

This is also known as a ceremonial knife. Black handled, with a double-edged blade, it is an ancient tool that isn’t used on many altars today. Some witches will use an athame to inscribe their candles or cast a magickal circle around the altar before spell commencing.

“To cast a magickal circle, hold the knife in your right hand and draw a circle clockwise over the altar, a few inches above the items on it. The athame works by conducting your powers through it, and it is to be used only for magikal purposes” (Robbins & Greenaway, 2014).

Wand

Traditionally, these are crafted from wood of the willow, elder, apple, or cherry tree. You can buy wands many places, but it is recommended that you make yours yourself sincerely the magick is channeled into it by its maker. If you decide to make a wand yourself, you can use any tree branch you feel an affinity for. Always thank the tree for sharing its wood with you after.

The length of the wand should measure from your elbow to the top of your index finger. Designs on the wood are welcome as well as painting it; decorate your wand however you like. You can charge your wand the same way you would a pentagram.

For casting a spell, the wand is used as summoning tool and also to bless and charge certain objects. Before your ritual begins, touch each object on your altar with the end of your wand to transfer the natural earth energy to the items, adding a little extra magick.

“Some witches like to “draw down the moon” prior to casting a spell. This is a very old tradition that involves standing outside during a full moon phase and pointing the wand at the moon. It is thought that the moon’s power charges the wand, making its magick more powerful” (Robbins & Greenaway, 2014).

Broomstick

The round-bottom of the broomstick, or besom, is most commonly associated with fertility, long used by female witches in fertility rituals and to sweep away negativity. The sweep, or brush part, is associated with female genetalia, and the staff is associated with the male phallus. Therefore, the broomstick is a symbol of the male and female combined. Besoms were often propped near the hearth of a witch’s home to keep evil energy from entering through the chimney (Robbins & Greenaway, 2014).

Crystals & Gemstones

These beautiful rocks possess a pure, natural magick. Keeping some on your altar for their specific magickal purposes is recommended. Charge your gems and crystals in the full moon regularly (Robbins & Greenaway, 2014).

Feathers

Most spells invoke angelic energy, therefore use of feathers is common and called for. Place a selection of feathers on your altar to entice the angels to visit. Color coordination is okay in the practice with the candles you’re using. You can also use white for purity and peace (Robbins & Greenaway, 2014).

The Book of Shadows

The Book of Shadows is a journal/diary for witches to keep close-by for jotting things down or spells down. Any type of notebook can be used, but because this is very private it is recommended to get something fancy or something that locks. When you cast a spell, write down the details of the ritual such as the date, the ingredients used, and the phase of the moon. Leave a place to record the results underneath somewhere. This is a wonderful way to pass down spells to your family (Robbins & Greenaway, 2014).

References

Robbins, Shawn, and Greenaway, Leanna. Wiccapedia. New York: Sterling Ethos, 2014. Print.

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professortennant · 6 years

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Sam/Jack Rec List, Pt. 1

This is mostly for me in case my bookmarks are lost but yeah! I’ve gone through like 90% of AO3, a good chunk of ff.net, and I just dived into LJ. But since I have 103 fics already bookmarked, I’m just gonna put this list up first and then add to it later.

Plz read the tags of each fic to avoid stuff you don’t wanna read. If you read something and love it, GO TELL THE AUTHOR SO THEY WRITE MORE.

Absolute Fucking Favorites (aka I have read these more times than I feel comfortable admitting)

We Made It Series: A series of connected episode tags beginning with Forever in a Day. Sam shows up on Jack's doorstep with a six pack of beer, a bottle of cheap wine and a package of chicken breasts. Jack's confused. They cook dinner.

Taking Christmas Off: How Sam and Jack end up spending Christmas alone together every single year, accidentally at first, and then very much on purpose. A fluffy/shippy Christmas fic in eight parts, with spoilers through season 8.

The Dreams We Left Behind: The day Sam Carter marries Pete Shanahan is not the worst day of Jack’s life; he’s already lived that day. But that doesn't make it easy.

Like Kissing a Stranger: There is not one day he spends on this planet, or any other, that his mouth doesn't get him into trouble.(An episode tag for Point Of View.)

Retrospective: Sam doesn’t give it a name, this feeling. She doesn’t even think about it much, preferring to glimpse it obliquely from the corner of her eye. It’s a secret delight that she shares with no one, scarcely even herself.One story in eight parts charting Sam and Jack’s relationship from the start of S1 to the end of S8.

The Short Straw: She hadn't set out to cheat, certainly, but had thought that she'd at least be able to interpret her own work in a way that would lead to victory. (Tag for Shades of Grey)

Post-Eps/Episode Tags (except for Threads, which is its own category)

The Price of Edora: Sam suffers the consequences of pushing herself too hard in order to bring Jack back from Edora.

For Just One Taste of This: After that, though, things got tricky and dangerous because they pushed a little more and went a little (a lot) further off that deep end, and soon it was the two of them alone in the empty barracks and this wasn’t wrong, was it, just sitting side by side in the darkness? (Post Divide and Conquer)

Let Your Demons Run: (here can't be that many eyes in the building that haven't noticed her. Post-ep for Entity.

Midnight at the Oasis: What if Abydos wasn't destroyed, and Jack and Sam really did go to Skaara's wedding? A short AU based on the wonderful (!) exchange among the three at the beginning of Full Circle.

Thyself, Unknown: And then they were strangers again and their world was brand new with signs of aging. Beneath the Surface

Unlearn your Stars: Thera turned her eyes toward the ceiling, as if she could see through the miles of earth and snow to the sky beyond. Something about her seemed to yearn, and for reasons he could not fathom Jonah felt like Thera belonged there. Among the stars. (Beneath the Surface)

Transcendental: Alternate Sam and Jack who got stranded in the alternate timeline in Moebius.

The Fundamental Theorem of Samantha Carter: Samantha Carter knew precisely what she wanted. And then she didn’t. S.8 Full Alert through Threads with references to Gemini.

The Rainy Season: Tag for The Light. Their arguing was beginning to grate on her nerves.

Icarus Ascending: What if Jack and Sam didn't keep it in the room after all? A/U tag to Divide and Conquer.

The Space Between: There's a little space between them on the bed. Small enough to be close, but enough space to remind them where the line should be. (tag for Death Knell.)

Mimesis: Jack tries to help Carter deal with her time spent with Fifth and the Replicators.

A Rush of Blood to the Head: "You volunteering to come with me, Carter?" Sam and Jack deal (or don't) with the creation of mini!Jack.

The Breaking Point: Daniel’s ‘death’ in Meridian forces Sam Carter to reevaluate her life and what really matters to her.

Window on a Room: The first time around, Sam had found that face the Colonel was making to be endearing, in the increasingly problematic way she found pretty much everything he did to be endearing. The second time, she had found it alarming - not the Colonel specifically, of course, just the fact that she’d already experienced that exact moment not ten hours earlier. She went from being alarmed on the second loop to being frustrated, baffled and discouraged in subsequent loops as their attempts to stop the looping had all failed. And now that they had settled into this routine, with Sam and Teal’c, loop after loop, learning to translate the altar text themselves, well now she was just tired. Not even the Colonel’s problematically endearing face was helping.Another loop, she thought to herself. Here we go again.

black holes and revelations: It’s late and dark and as far as she’s concerned, the world has stopped for them (they’d done the Earth a few favors, it's time one was returned).

Lifelines: Everyone expects her to be so resilient--but beneath her calm exterior seethe emotions beyond her control and understanding. Months post "Beneath the Surface", Sam finally has to face it all, and find a way to accept the way things have to be.

Reflections on a Broken Surface: Episode tag to Beneath the Surface. How Sam and Jack became a couple in the ep.

Tilting at Windmills: Jack's struggling to deal with the events of Euronda and Alar's people. Angry, depressed, and alone, he needs Sam's help to find his way home, literally, and figuratively.

untitled: Sam/Jack, word prompt- 'never' Episode tag to Death Knell

the art of reincarnation: Detoxing in a Goa’uld palace, Jack struggles with something he can't let go, and Sam struggles with everything.

Cracks in the Glass: Doctor Carter has stepped through the mirror-seeking refuge from her ravaged world. Her presence forces Sam and Jack to question their own decisions. Sam and Jack focused episode enhancement to "Point of View".

Before the Invitation: A chance meeting in the commissary leads to some unintended revelations. (Set just prior to 'Nemesis')

Threads

Full Disclosure: She looks at him with that complex expression that’s punctuated their relationship ever since Pete barged onto the scene. The one that looks like a question, or a plea – the one he’s never really understood and has never dared pursue.

Down to the Bone: She knows now, what’s essential.

Sooner: Some bonus scenes for "Threads," because a lot went on in and around that episode that we just didn't get to see.

an angel came down: The first Christmas after her father dies is rough. The second Christmas after her father dies is better.

Breathe In: It wasn’t an immediate thing, despite what people thought. They didn’t jump each other the second SG1 was on vacation, with her emotionally vulnerable after her father’s death and no longer engaged, or him now free of SG Command and DC-bound.

Sam or Jack are Tortured/Abused (but it ends happily)

Primary Emotion: After seventeen weeks of torture in a Goa'uld prison, Samantha Carter is rescued by SG-1. In the time that follows she must relearn how to relate to her team, reassess her relationships with both herself and others, and decide whether or not she'll continue to step through the Stargate. Luckily she's got the benefit of a good psychologist and the love of a great man.

Character: SG1 is kidnapped by an alien king who needs Sam to perpetuate his bloodline & will do anything to possess her. The team must find a way to escape before she pays the ultimate price for her defiance.

Compos Mentis: After Colonel O'Neill is stranded on a seemingly friendly planet, it's up to his team to rescue him. Who they find, though, isn't the man they left behind.

Crawl from the Chasm: After Jack's experiences in Ba'al's Abyss, he struggles to find peace. Angsty Jack/Sam Ship.

After All: They’d been trapped for a month. He’d been tortured within an inch of her life. And then their roles had been reversed.

All We Need of Hell: Jack is captured and tortured and when he returns, he just doesn’t see the point in following the regs anymore--Sam is essential. And he convinces her to forget the regs, too. (Dark fic). (chap 2)

Aliens Made Them Do It

Auctions and Consequences: Slavery has been abolished for good reason, but apparently not everyone got the memo… landing Sam and Jack in hot water.

Auction and Reaction (sequel to the above): Jack manages to get himself captured and Sam is sent to negotiate for his freedom. Unfortunately, the matriarch in charge of the male slaves is unconvinced of her claim and threatens to keep Jack as her personal slave.

Relief: How they'd managed to gate to a planet right in the middle of their annual fertility festival was beyond him.

in doorways and dreams i run to you: They had stepped through the gate together. They were looking for something.Light.There had been a blinding light and then nothing. Nothing but the heat and the taste of his skin on her lips. And now he was on his knees and she wasn't stopping him from sliding a hand underneath her.

Beautiful Far Away: While on a routine exploratory mission, Colonel Jack O'Neill and Captain Samantha Carter get caught up in a children's game that turns out to be the beginning of Rorilian marriage rites. When seismic activity starts to rock the village, the local leaders demand the ritual be seen through to its natural conclusion to avoid further angering their gods. Sam's equipment suggests the tremors are caused by an unidentifiable metal, but her science seems to be a point of contention amongst the leaders. She's convinced she needs just a little more time to figure out what is happening on the planet. Unfortunately, that means she's jumping into a ritual marriage with her new commanding officer. What could possibly go wrong?

Xanadu: The team travels offworld to take care of some mining negotiations, only to meet with an unanticipated challenge on P3X-427.

5 Times Fic

Five Times Jack Sees Sam Out of Uniform

The Nature We Leave Behind Us: 5 Times Daniel (and Teal’c) find out or suspect about Sam and Jack

Five Times Jack Came Close to Breaking the Frat Regs with Sam

Desperation: 5 times Jack kisses Sam

Ambient: 3 morning-afters that they miss and 1 they don’t.

5 missing ship scenes from s9/s10

5 times jack asked sam out and 1 time he didn’t have to

Stranded/Retired/Moved Off-World

My Scars Healed (aka the Cottage AU): Abandoned off-world, living is about more than just survival.

In Media Res: When Sam and Jack are taken captive and put to work in a mining camp, that turns out to be the least of their troubles. Forced by circumstance to live in close proximity, their time as captives has consequences neither one foresees.

Compliance: The end comes fast. One moment it’s a normal day with paperwork and bad coffee and the next it’s a scramble for the event horizon as the Mountain comes down around them. The base empties out with surprising efficiency, and by the time Jack hangs up the red phone on the last conversation he’ll ever have with the President, only Carter and Daniel and a couple techs are still in the gate room, the last of the supplies being sent through to their fall back site.

I Love It When a Plan Comes Together: Dear Airline, I was marooned on an alien planet…

And then I dreamt of yes: The universe has really bad timing, but neither Sam or Jack is ready to give it the last word.

The Final Straw: Sam's injured and trapped off-world.

Twilight: General O'Neill gets ansty to do some Gate travel, but a natural phenomenon on another world causes problems and changes things

Bird Stealing Bread: Jack had actually imagined being stranded off-world quite a few times. But he really, really, really hadn't counted on being stranded off-world with Sam. And Pete.

Under the Sun: ABANDONED FIC BUT IT’S SO GOOD. When lightning strikes the DHD and strands Sam and Jack alone on a planet, they must rely on one another to get through until help can arrive. Soon, though, they discover they're not alone on the planet and things change. Suddenly they're thrust into local politics and Sam is drafted to help save the locals' lives. Perhaps, if they play their cards right, all of it can help them get home.

Total AU

String Theory: Dr. Samantha Carter joins the SGC and discovers a life she never expected.

Imprimatura: Even in a completely different reality, where a strictly enforced color-based caste system stands between them, some things remain the same.

How to Start a Fire: She denies it's physical attraction. He denies it's anything but. Sam/Jack. Changeling Universe.

Convergence Series: Jack O’Neill is a man waiting to die, and she’s the only one brave enough not to look away.

Right as rain: Jack never went on the Abydos mission. Charlie never died. But when Jack accidentally activates a device that Kawalsky brings by the Academy, he catches the interest of a certain Major Carter. Soon he finds himself in for one hell of a ride, and if aliens and space travel and weird DNA weren't crazy enough, he might actually be falling in love with a theoretical astrophysicist...

The Dating Game: Catherine Langford had been instrumental in getting AU Sam/Jack together in There But For The Grace of God

Defining Family: Set after "Ripple Effect". What happens to Janet and the rest of the alternate SG-1 team after the episode? How does it affect our reality?

Worlds Apart: An Ancient device sends Jack and Sam to a world where everything is just a little bit... wrong. Why? Can they cope with the differences? And, most importantly, can they find their way back?

I don’t know what to categorize these as but they’re amazing

Deep City Lights: He picks her up in a blue convertible. (Road trip fic where they say ‘fuck the regs’ and then remember the regs)

we build then we break (and build up again): Sam’s last mission on SG-1, and the life that follows.

the slow revelation of self: In the beginning there was sex. And it was good.

untitled: on a mission, sam and jack are painting their mark on a wall.

things not dreamed: Daniel doesn't understand their need to fly.

Cultural Drift: Six days before the shit hit the fan and nothing was ever the same again, Daniel fell over a tablet on P3X-324. That was two years ago.

Concentric Unto Thee: Her attempts at normality have never worked before, and Jack won't stand for any attempts to apply the logic of command to their relationship.

the lesson: Jack and Sam haven’t wasted the three years they’ve been cut off from Earth…and though the price is high, they manage to teach that lesson to another couple who badly needed to learn it.

Escape Pod: "I just need," shift, "to move," shift, "a little." (Accidental Stimulation fic) Tonight: It's been too many years of it, the death, the resurrection, the sheer and aching loneliness, the hurt that comes from walking away.

Rocket Fuel: Sam and Jack get together after Heroes but also AU + Christmas.

Home Economics: He would never have imagined that the biggest problem Sam Carter would have with his house would be his toaster.

Atlantis/Continuum

Gravity Always Wins in the End: After Sam is held hostage, Jack takes an impromptu trip to Atlantis.

Backlit: Carter turns 43 years old on day 6 of a 14-day run to P98-007 aboard the General Hammond. The only events that mark the occasion are the little note Daniel must have stuffed into her pack before she left, a cheerful "Happy Birthday, Ma'am" from her second over a morning cup of coffee, and a long stare at herself in the mirror after she washes her face before bed. It's not like she expected more.

Yesterday’s Life: She feels frayed and faded, like a scrap of fabric accidentally discarded and forced to weather the elements. S/J, spoilers for Stargate: Continuum.

Distance: Sam contemplates the difficulties of a long distance relationship with Jack on Valentine's Day...

Post-Series

Look Again Into Your Heart: It's not that cold, not by the standard of some of the places she's been in the last decade or so of her life, but then again, she's not used to braving the weather in heels and an evening dress.

Follow the Star of the North: When Jack talked about losing himself in Minnesota, Sam never really understood the appeal.

Radio Silence: “It’s Mitchell.”He grabbed the phone out of her hand, smiling at the horrified expression on her face when he flicked it open and held it to his ear.“This is General O’Neill. Is the world ending?”

Rainy Days: Sam and Jack spend a rainy day at the cabin

The Lies You Feed Yourself: They simply aren’t part of each other’s worlds anymore. They haven’t been for years. Jack and Sam three years after they leave the SGC.

Bygones: He's a man of few words. Sam, however, wants to hear a couple of specific ones - at least once. It takes another woman to help her understand just how her husband communicates.

Twelve Years Two Weeks: She had finally 'switched off'. It had taken her a few days to rid herself of the itch that she was neglecting a to-do list the size of her arm.

DC Series: SG-1 is moving on, but Sam is standing still.

Interlude: Jack turns up unexpectedly, and he and Sam make an important decision.

fly me to the moon: Jack is baffled. What do you do for a woman's 40th birthday when she routinely explores alien planets, has blown up a sun, and raced in the Loop of Kon Garat? Give her the moon of course.

Folding a Map: Distance makes Jack an unhappy camper.

Taur’i Whispers: "He likes her throaty laugh. He likes that her voice has dropped and softened in the years he's known her." - Sam/Jack, romance and a bit of angst and hurt/comfort

Blue Dark: The sun’s barely peeking above the horizon and already she’s up, perched on a stool at the breakfast bar in his kitchen, her index finger circling the rim of her coffee cup.“And we have to go to this?” she asks, taking a sip of the hot beverage.

Un-fish: “Caught any un-fish?” she asked softly.Their lives would never be normal because of little things like fish that were or were not there and sometimes he wondered who had done what exactly to his pond to drive the fish away. He knew better than to ask, unwilling to listen to her explain to him the various possibilities of… whatever.

Real Life: This was what she'd been waiting for, held out for all those years. Someone -- him -- to come home with every night, to sink into after saving the world or spending three days dug in on an alien planet with fifty-odd Jaffa between her team and the 'gate, someone who knew just how she liked to be touched... She rolled onto her back, offering sleepy kisses when his lips crossed hers, sighing when his wandering hands brushed across her belly...

#sam x jack #sg1 fic #stargate sg1 #stargate #fic rec #rec list #jack x sam

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