#not because they are relevant to your way of life or current religion

[torialefay]

this may be kind of an unusual question so feel free to ignore it, but i tend to make lots of links and associations of concepts/situations with music and stuff and so i'm curious, what are some songs that you'd pick to describe what it would be like to be in a relationship with chan? or some songs that suit his placements (for example, i think work song by hozier is peak scorpio venus devotion level haha)

okay i LOVE this question!!! (also currently in a hozier phase so i love that you brought up that song.) if you have any other recs, pls send them my way, but here's some that had come to mind:

✨🎶 Dating Channie Sounds Like 🎶✨

the friendship/relationship stage:

i don't think it's just me who thinks that chan is gonna have to know & be friends with someone before progressing to a romantic relationship. i think he could definitely pine over someone for a while and be too scared to say anything. and then if something DID happen between the two of you, you would have to hide it for a pretty longgg time. that's why i chose these 2 songs :)

• human - dodie ft tom walker ✨

• hush hush - the band camino✨

actual committed relationship phase:

• medicine - royal sugar ✨ this gives me such new-relationship, pent-up sexual tension vibes. this man would not be able to stop thinking ab you sexually when you first get together... 100%. sex w/ him is likely initially more fun, like in this song, but once he gets to KNOW you, it gets wayyyy deeper

• tenerife sea - ed sheeran ✨ this one might be a cop-out bc chan has sung it multiple times on channie's room but i couldn't NOT put it in here. moving past the superficial, this song paints such a new, mesmerizing love story. you are elated you finally found your person.

• mess is mine - vance joy ✨ i'm sorry but the lyrics "this body is yours and mine" & "now your mess is mine" is so channie-coded to me. he is offering himself up to you. anything you want from him is yours & he will take on all of your hurt

• fire and the flood AND lay it on me - vance joy ✨ these were just so all-encompassing, i couldn't not include them. you become the most consuming part of his life. he quite literally can't go a day without thinking of you and how fucking attached his heart is to yours. you are his everything and only thing. "i always feel you in my blood" & "your love's always finding me out."

• until you - ahi ✨ this song isn't as relevant NOW, but it really throws me into a pre-debut channie love story tbh. bless his little heart 💔 i couldn't NOT include it bc it's still beautiful.

• anointed - miguel AND religion - lana del rey ✨ these have the same purpose, so i'm including them together. when channie is truly in love with you, he won't fuck you- he fucking worships you. well, you worship each other in the bedroom. and i feel this a million times. he needs something deeper and he needs to feel consumed in it. praising each other until you physically have no stamina left in your body.

tough times/drifting apart/ fights:

sorry but i had to add a couple of angsty songs that i could totally see playing out in a relationship w channie </3

• fleeting love - royal sugar ✨ i 100% see this song being about your struggles with a long distance relationship. not being able to work anything out, but also not being able to let them go. "in the elevator with your passport... goodbye is 10 floors down." you just want him so badly, but you don't know you can do this. you were so happy to have him, even if just for a little bit.

• berenstein - the band camino ✨ chan always talks about alternate universes, so i had to add this one in. the line "at another place in time, you were infinitely mine," it makes me think so much about if you were perfect with channie, and you both knew that... but you simply couldn't be with him because of his idol life. but you knew that somewhere out there in a parallel universe, he wasn't an idol, and you were together like you were meant to be :((((

bonus song:

this song reminds me SO MUCH of chris. the first time i heard it, i instantly thought of him. it isn't a love song by any means, it just makes me think of him && his life/all he's been through ❤️

• time's eyes - riley pearce ✨

if anyone has a song they automatically think of with channie, pls pls pls let me knowwww!!!

[millenari]

To you, what’s the key belief or beliefs in cats? I just really like your takes

Hmmm, key belief(s) as in, the beliefs that are woven through the media itself and are communicated to the (human) audience, or key beliefs as in, the beliefs the characters themselves hold, like the Cat Religion(TM)?

in terms of the media: I have a lot of thoughts about Cats and how it dwells so much on the concept of cycles. The Jellicle Ball happens once a year, in a cycle. The cat chosen for the Choice is reborn into a new life, a new cycle. The main song, Memory, is about dwelling on the happiness you once had and using it to motivate you through current hard times, another cycle. There's a particular back-and-forth through the whole play of the old versus the young, not just for Griz and her memories, but also in the cast. Jenny's song -about how she's hardworking and motherly and worthy of respect- is followed by Tugger the rebel being Young Dumb and Sexy. Jerrie and Teazer's playful acrobatic song is followed by the respectful duet that honors Deuteronomy as the oldest cat in the tribe. Back and forth, another cycle. The cats who reach out to Griz out of compassion are all young, and the ones that pull them away are all old. Throughout the play there's this almost tension between the young and the old, and it ends with Memory, where a young cat (the youngest maybe) and an old cat come together to teach the whole tribe a lesson about compassion and forgiveness.

A lot of Cats fans don't like Moments of Happiness much, but it's one of my favorite Cats songs. The lyrics are kind of dense, and they're not taken from any of TSE's cutesy cat poems, they're from one of his more serious pieces, The Dry Salvages, which discusses the cyclic nature of humanity and life and death.

Where is there an end of it, the soundless wailing, The silent withering of autumn flowers Dropping their petals and remaining motionless; Where is there an end to the drifting wreckage, The prayer of the bone on the beach, the unprayable Prayer at the calamitous annunciation? There is no end, but addition

(He must've been fun at parties, but to be fair I think anyone who lived through world war I and II was probably also like this).

Deuteronomy's lyrics from the Dry Salvages are taken from the middle-ish, and that section has a lot to do with age and experience and how they change how a person looks at things.

It seems, as one becomes older, That the past has another pattern, and ceases to be a mere sequence— Or even development: the latter a partial fallacy Encouraged by superficial notions of evolution, Which becomes, in the popular mind, a means of disowning the past.

Which is obviously super relevant to Deuteronomy, Resident Old As Shit Man™. I could go on about this poem & MoH for forever (But I Wont), but I think it has a lot to do with these themes in Cats of aging and dying and living again, and passing on your experiences to the younger people along the way. tldr:

‌

No wait actually I have more to say about Cats and The Dry Salvages. The whole poem is basically TSE going on and on about how life is cyclic and there's no real forward progress and humanity is fighting a losing war against nature and ourselves, and death is inevitable, etc etc. But it actually ends on a positive note

[For most of us] Who are only undefeated Because we have gone on trying; We, content at the last If our temporal reversion nourish (Not too far from the yew-tree) The life of significant soil.

Essentially this last bit is kind of saying 'the only reason humanity hasn't been 'defeated' by now is because we keep trying and living despite all the cyclic hardship and inevitability we face'. And the only way we can truly content ourselves is by 'nourishing' 'the life of significant soil'.

Of course there's interpretation there but that last bit makes me think of children. Maybe our lives don't mean anything and maybe humanity is caught in a cycle of violence and death but even with how temporary our lives truly are, we can still tend to something that'll outlast us, we can still tend to our communities and our children.

And that really ties into Cats and how Cats doesn't even really have much of a plot- because the plot isn't the point. The point, any dedicated Cats fan will tell you, is watching the silly little cat people interact and live with each other. The point is the relationships between these characters and how they're acted out on the stage/screen. There's no single overarching metaphor at hand here, or some 1:1 message that everything you see in Cats is working towards. It's just a bunch of characters living their lives, on an important holiday for them.

It's kind of the same thing for humanity in general. What is the point of life? Most of us are just... people. We have no grand purpose or Destiny™ we're working towards, we're just going to live our lives, unremarkable and mundane. But that doesn't mean that our lives have no point. Because, even if we haven't really consciously thought about it before, most of us do know deep down that the goal/purpose of our lives is to tend to and contribute to the communities we live in. It's what humans (and cats) do.

& idk I feel like that's really beautiful and meaningful for Cats in its own way? Sometimes all life has gotta be is sucking and fucking and taking care of each other along the way. Sometimes all life has to be is having a good time with those you love. Sometimes all life has to be is sitting down to watch a silly cat musical with catchy songs and fun dances.

And given that Cats made billions of dollars and broke all sorts of records, I feel like that's an idea that resonated with a lot of people, at least on some level.

‌

And now all of that said. Look at this. Look at fucking this. 'Munkustraps snickerdoodles'. Why do I always find the weirdest shit when searching for Cats images on google.

[woahjo]

calllll, can i get some recommendations for your fav women authors? i’m okay w anything <33

YESSSS OF COURSE!!!!

so my number one favorite author right now is mieko kawakami. she primarily writes contemporary feminist fiction about women in their 30s and 40s. i know i've spoken about her a lot, but she writes beautifully about the experience of being a "non-conventional" woman within a patriarchal society. and she writes about loneliness so perfectly. god she's wonderful.

book recs by her: - heaven, this novel is actually outside of what i think she's most recognized for since the characters are younger, but it's a book about two bullied teenagers and the way they make sense of why it happens to them. a lot of it is an exploration of philosophy through fiction and it has one of the most frustrating (in a good way) scenes that i've read. just so so good - breasts and eggs, a book about a woman who wants to have a child without a husband, without marrying, and without a man involved. explores motherhood, families, sexuality, womanhood, and the ethics of having children with a surrogate father who is not involved in the child's life. asks a lot of questions of what it means to be a woman. also worth noting that in japan it is illegal for a single woman to do IVF (and a same-sex couple) and the book explores that. it's DELIGHTFULLY human. i love this book.

another one of my fav authors is octavia butler. she's a science fiction novelist and she often includes allegories about social and racial injustice, capitalism, and colonialism. i even feel like allegory isn't the right word because a lot of it is very in your face. she's a brilliant writer and her work is SO relevant to today's social climate (especially her earthseed duology). her work really draws you into the world that she builds, almost to the point that the taboos she includes no longer feel like taboos by the time you put the book down.

book recs by her (they're series): - lilith's brood / xenogenesis, this is a trilogy and im not joking when i say that it's probably the best series of books i've read. it's about humanity and the aliens that come to "rescue" them on the verge of extinction, humans having practically wiped themselves out with nuclear war. it's really difficult to describe the book any further without feeling like i'm spoiling it, but the novel is an allegory for colonialism and the idea of cultural identity. it's incredible. i was asked to read the first seven chapters for a class and then i finished the whole series in three days. i could not put it down. it's fantastic and by the end of it, you're so drawn into this world she's created that the things that once felt incredibly taboo become so normal. it's fantastic i cannot say enough good things about this series. (the first book is called dawn) - parable of the sower, this one is from a duology, but i'm gonna talk about the first one because i haven't finished the second. it's about a post-capitalism america. it's set in california in 2024, when the american government, currency, and systems have all but collapsed in everything but name. it's absolutely HARROWING the parallels this book has to the current state of america, despite being written in 1993. honestly, she told the future a little bit and it's really frightening. it's told through the eyes of a teenage girl as she starts the religion "earthseed" in an attempt to make sense of the world. the book is absolutely phenomenal. so so so so good.

[queerprayers]

I’ve been following your blog for a while now, and it’s really been helping restore my relationship with faith. So firstly I want to say thank you. <3 I also wanted to ask how you learned to deal with adversity so well? I’ve seen other blogs on here that frequently invalidate queer christians and openly say they are not valid. How can one believe in a god that would “make all people in his image” but then turn around and tell his people to hate what he had created?

Welcome, beloved! I'm so glad this can be a good space for you and you're very welcome. My ability to deal with adversity is actually currently being tested because I wrote out a complete response for you and Tumblr did not save my draft!!! And yet we press on. Hopefully this second try from scratch is still helpful/relevant. Please assume any lack of genius is because I used it all up the first time around. :)

I'm honored you think I deal with adversity well—I have a long way to go but I am proud of where I am. Partially I've learned because I had to learn. My greatest wish was to continue being in faith communities as myself, and that sadly inherently puts me in adverse situations. I'm lucky to generally have experienced passive/"well-meaning" homophobia in my daily life rather than active violence or abuse, but it is of course still a hardship. In many ways I am not given a choice—if I live as I am, this is what I will experience. I wish this were not the case, but it is—which means part of fulfilling my journey (existing as I am within my faith) means dealing with adversity, and because of my beliefs, I strive always to deal with it in loving ways.

I know I am connected to generations of Christians experiencing adversity, both from within and outside the church, and, like many of them, I have decided it is worth it to not give up my allegiance. To be clear, I have immense empathy and respect for those who leave the church for these reasons, and I would never shame them or consider them cowardly/weak—for those I know it has been an act of bravery, strength, and self-preservation. I want everyone to be free to make that choice—and I have (sometimes grudgingly) chosen to stay. 

I similarly have empathy for those who attempt to repress or choose to hide/keep private their sexuality/gender—this is a very painful experience that I wish no one had to go through, but some are driven to it. There are generations of Christians (and queer people of all religions/cultures) who have experienced this, and it's often a choice between coming out or keeping your family/community/even life. Ultimately, some people do not wish to come out, not or ever. I do encourage people to be honest with themselves and God, and try their best to seek out affirming communities for their own health/well-being and ability to freely serve God, but again, this is a choice we are free to make—and I (joyfully and painfully, in an uncomfortable but safe environment) have chosen to be out.

I've had to learn how to curate my space on the Internet and generally avoid debates with strangers—my current rule when deciding whether to give someone time when they approach me with abuse is to ask, "Would answering this be useful (to me, to them, to those who might read it)?" and "Are they saying anything worth thinking about?" Often, the answer is no. Someone telling me to kill myself does not want to have a conversation, and there's nothing to respond to. But if someone shares a specific opinion, or cites a Bible verse, or criticizes a specific belief, then there's something there that could be useful to address. And then, of course, protecting myself is also relevant. It takes energy for me to write anything, but doubly so when I know the other person isn't approaching the conversation with the same love I attempt to. If I have the energy, and feel like there's something to actually say, sometimes I'll say something. 

Whether I'm responding or deleting, I am called to keep moving with prayer and love. I can't let my beliefs go out the window when I get hurt or angry (although that happens to all of us sometimes). And always always I remember that it's never about me. Homophobia comes from ignorance/fear/disgust, and although I am sometimes the one directly addressed, I am not what these people have an issue with. Problems with me living as a Christian generally come from past trauma, ideological issues with certain theologies, or ignorance/disrespect of religion generally, not me existing. Again, I'm the one being addressed, but their (often justified) anger is not about me. I'm not trying to make excuses for people, but I am making the space for my own compassion and their ability to grow, as my religion has taught me. (Obviously this doesn't include instances in which I might be the one who has made a mistake/caused harm; I'm talking about unjust adversity people experience, not consequences of actions.)

I will point out that it is much harder to deal with people like this in person. Writing involves distance and time from the aggressor. I can take a deep breath, wait a few days, choose whether to respond, and reread my words before sending them, thinking about how they might be received. But on the street? In school hallways? There is no distance and no time, and there is sometimes a lack of physical safety as well. This is when I have most often given in to anger, or meeting disgust with disgust. Obviously this has often been self-protection and survival, and I do not fault myself or anyone for not meeting oppression with perfect calm—this is impossible and not a value everyone holds. (That's a whole 'nother discussion!) When possible, though, I do try to do what I do here—if I feel safe, if I have the energy, I'm open, I ask questions. People filled with anger/fear/disgust/ignorance often can't keep it up for long. 

Why do people hate, especially when they claim to value love? I don't have definite answers, although I've provided some already. I do know that most of the homophobic people I know are not abusive/violent—they are well-meaning and put-together. They genuinely want what's best for people, and think that guiding people toward repression or conversion therapy or mandated celibacy will guide their life towards God. This is a deeply mistaken perspective, that causes real harm and is full of ignorance, but I do not experience it as hate (although there is a violence present). They think I am not whole as I am, and think that loving me involves fixing me. This is not loving, but it is something I can understand more than outright abuse. It's another kind of adversity, one that sometimes hurts more long-term, partially because I can understand it more—I can't dismiss it. And these people have a hard journey—admitting they're wrong means admitting their whole worldview is broken, but also often includes making this judgment about their family/community, and might mean losing it. Again, I do not seek excuses, but context and space.

In my life, I prove them wrong by living wholly, fully, and openly. I cannot make them see my happiness—we cannot force people to open their eyes. But we can show them light where we can. We cannot save them alone, but they can be saved, and they will be. ("Save" here meaning to fully experience love, not conversion or avoidance of a traditional Hell.) I know my patience and love (the little of it I can sometimes reach) can help people, because people have told me it has, and this an honor and a privilege and an overwhelming stress and a gift from a universe I cannot move. If the way I have chosen saves even one person, it is worth it—and if we include me, then it definitely has, but even if we don't, I have witnessed others' hearts change. Moving and writing and speaking with love will not fix everything, it is not magical, but Love will save all of us—They already have. Love (who is God) is with us, even when we cannot feel it, even when we don't have the energy to comprehend it, even when we are blinded and scared and cannot admit we are wrong.

My beliefs inherently make room for people to change, even when this truth makes me mad, even when I wish I could just give up on people. Christianity, at its best, equips us to take a deep breath and remember what we were made for. As Pentecost arrives, I hold the Spirit close—I've never spoken in tongues or been set on fire (and not to jinx it but I don't really desire to), but I've felt the wind on my face and bird-watched in my backyard and sat around a bonfire with people I love. I have so far to go, and the road rises to meet me.

In summary, TL;DR, don't mean to rant but always do: I learned to deal with adversity because I had to, and with practice, while honoring others, while figuring out a path of love in this weird and confusing life, even as I fail at what I set out to do all the time, God sees what I do in the name of survival, and gives me the strength to keep going. I know anger and fear and disgust and ignorance because they're in everyone; I know what it is to believe something and do things that go against that, because I do it all the time; I know what it is to hang on to things I've been taught even when they're harmful, because I've done that. We can only pray that they do not overtake us as they overtake those who hurt us.

Blessings to you as we move through an inhospitable world (and website). May we do all the good that we can.

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving spirit may move every human heart, that the barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease, and that, with our divisions healed, we might live in justice and peace; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. —Lutheran Book of Worship (1978)

<3 Johanna

[localcryptidsteg]

Black Myth Wukong and the Kiang-Jin Long Dilemma

Is it just me or does the lockon system shit itself and die during the Kiang-jin Long fight?

In all seriousness though, pivoting focus for a minute, I've been hearing some complaints that the dev team is sexist and has said they don't want women playing the game, and I'd like to clear that up a bit.

The actual translation of the comment was that they didn't want to use women to sell the game. There's a chinese streamer who goes more in-depth on it (no clue where the link went so bear with me) but essentially, tldr, China has been pivoting towards American-style advertising using sex to sell lately and the dev team didnt want to do that.

And as for the "lack" of female characters... a) this is meant to be a sequel to Journey to the West, not everyone from the first run is going to be involved and b) Kiang-Jin Long/Star, one of the only female characters Ive seen to far, is READILY capable of handing you your ass several times over and shes just a miniboss, and, in a game that doesnt give you much context anyway until youve beaten a boss, of course shes not gonna have a ton of focus in the gameplay itself?? BUT SHE GETS TWO WHOLE JOURNAL ENTRIES WHERE MOST MAINLINE BOSSES ONLY GET ONE. That's kind of a whole LOT of attention, actually!!

More importantly though, the ONLY people I've seen complaining are Americans, which brings me to the main point: it's a Chinese game, based on Chinese mythology and characters, made for a Chinese audience. It's more than fine to enjoy the game if youre not Chinese, God knows its going to be one of my favorite games of the year and thats DAMN impressive considering Hades 2 is in early access currently and Monster Hunter Wilds is creeping closer to release date, but it's just not for us.

The culture there just isn't as focused on minority or womens representation as it is here because that's just not a relevant thing there at the moment.

The only reason I have even a fraction of the understanding I need to get the references in this game is because for the last 22 years of my life I've been obsessively reading every myth, fable, legend, and ghost story I could get my hands on (slight tangent, if anyone can recommend any good Scottish ones, Ive got a significant gap in my knowledge in that area).

Even I will readily admit I have only the loosest understanding of just how far into the mythos of Journey to the West this game goes because I only have a loose understanding of Journey to the West. Ive read the unabridged version and several abridged versions (cannot reccomend the unabridged version as recreational reading its very long and very repetitive) and I can tell you right now: its a satirical take on the religion and politics of the time it was written, so I have little to no historical context outside of mythology to understand the nuances of that.

Im sure there are a million little significant details about Buddhism and Taoism and bureaucracy buried in this game that I will never ever catch and Im ok with that but God Damn some people need to learn theres more to some media than what their frame of reference allows them to see.

This game is a piece of someone elses culture that was important enough to a large team of people that they decided to retell it in a way that was accessible to the rest of us on even a surface level, and some of yall are bitching about how it doesnt align with your own culture. Like, no shit? It's NOT your culture!

[pearlprincess02]

shoto' s big 6 

birthday: january 11th

sun:

capricorn sun: capricorn suns are very sociable. they know what to say and even enjoy going out with people they find tolerable (that means not stupid). the idea that capricorns are antisocial hermits is not accurate. it’s just that at the end of the day capricorns want to return to a peaceful home. i know several capricorn suns that make friends so easily, and they have really good social etiquette. they actually open up quite quickly and are easy to talk to. HOWEVER! that doesn’t mean they’re going to share their sob story on the first interaction. they’re comfortable sharing things that aren’t too personal with almost anyone, but it will take a lot longer to get to see that deeper more personal level.

sun in 8th house: 8th house suns are usually interested in self analysis, they often seek out the darkest parts of their psyches, they have a deep desire to find the deeply buried wounds in the subconscious and heal them. this often leads them into the world of mystics and the occult. because there is a natural tendency to understand and be interested in topics that seem taboo to the public, these individuals keep a lot of who they are to themselves and have a hard time sharing themselves with the public. 

moon:

aquarius moon: compassionate fascination, ability to view the scenario with a clear emotional head, does the inner work to respond better in the future, intellectualises emotions to a state of numbness, rejects advice of others, withdraws and blames the world

moon in 9th house: you are a dreamer and muse often about the higher aspects of life. since you may not be content with the way your life currently is going, you have the desire to search for fresh fields. this search may take you on many long travels, both physically and mentally. security may be found in a religious or philosophical ideal. your philosophy of life is what nurtures you and gives you security. you have a variety of interests, in sports, hobbies and studies. you make a stimulating teacher because of your personal interest in the subjects you teach. they are really a part of you and that comes across to those who listen to you. you may have precognitive dreams. concerning vocation: the emphasis is placed upon the higher mind, the dimensions of philosophy, public mores, religion, law or sharing the reasoning of the public. Issues regarding foreign travel, relocation, even citizenship change are important dimensions to consider in the quest for work conditions that will bring personal success.

rising/1st house:

gemini rising: you approach situations with a heightened mental awareness. you naturally gather large amounts of information, and you innately alchemize your ideas into applicable, relevant topics for discussion. you likely feel very connected to the world, and this placement also may denote a connection to transit. going places, exchanging words with people, and expanding your network of contacts. this placement feels almost metropolitan. you are attentive, alert, engaging, and interested in the intellectual element of ordinary things that surround you. you take it upon yourself to learn topics, but you take the perspectives of others very seriously as well. there is a connection to duality, and you recognize the versatility of all things. as above, so below. truth and trickery fascinate you. you may feel you adapt to the reason and values of others naturally, but you still shield your own learnings stored safely in your active mental sphere. acute curiosity. sharp-witted reactions. enjoying problem-solving. clarity through conversation. words. air. latin motto: i think

mercury:

capricorn mercury: learning through construction and completion. growing through restrictions and overcoming limitations. this placement is not afraid to knock down any mental wall in their way and build a new one…twice as high and ten times as strong. they are sharp learners, dedicated seekers, and natural leaders. they will often choose a field that is known to have several barriers between them and their end goal simply to blaze a trail that did not exist before. excels in entrepreneurship and logistics.

mercury in 7th house: mercury represents the way our mind works and the way we communicate. those with mercury in the seventh house may be very diplomatic with their words. they may be careful about what they say and who they say it to. they may do a lot more active thinking about their words and way of thinking than they let on. everything they say has meaning and is intentional to their speech. they may be very particular about grammar! they may not have just one way of learning but instead do well when having a mix of tactics. for example, instead of learning well through just music, seventh house mercuries may learn well through music and repetition. seventh house mercuries are very well-versed in their communication.

venus:

capricorn venus: you do right by them and they do right by you. nothing complicated, nothing extra. just straight simple rules and that’s it. nothing needs to be too extreme. the small things matter most of all. none of the theatrics are needed. are you in this for the long term or not?

venus in 7th house: likes to relate, feel the need to be in a commitment (marriage). they like to dedicate themselves to relationships. they can attract someone beautiful and recognizable. express love and romance. loves to make deals. they seek balance in life. wants to please their partner. it may indicate an improvement in material life after marriage. the big question of life involves partnerships, if the relationship (marriage, society) is disturbed it is affected. it has many partners and mediators. they like peace and love. seeks to make the other happy. attracts pleasure and fun.

mars:

sagittarius mars: these individuals are not known for their patience; they are restless and adventurous. physical activity is the best way to deal with anger and they always like to be busy, so they are constantly working on many projects at once. however, they don't tend to finish their products. they get much more excited about starting something new than finishing something old. they love to engage in friendly debates... even though they can get annoyed if you don't agree with them. they are warm, fun, friendly, outgoing, loving and easy-going people. they like open spaces and do not like to feel confined. if things get serious or boring, they disappear. mars in sagittarius are very enthusiastic people, but not very practical. they are optimists and love philosophy, even though they have a short attention span. when in love, these people seek variety. they like the chase, but once the conquest is done, they may lose interest. they also don't want to feel restricted by commitment. they will stay with someone who can entertain them intellectually and s3xually.

mars in 6th house: with this placement you'll be the most at ease with a stable routine and living a healthy lifestyle. having a good work-life balance and taking time to reflect for healing can help raise your energy. being of service to others and being appreciated for the work you do also add to this...so listen here hardworking peoples, i appreciate you. also, if you have a pet then pls cuddle them because not only do they deserve it, but this is another way for you to just build up a bit more of your physical energy so you can continue being your wonderful hardworking self.

₊˚ʚ 🧊 ₊˚✧ ﾟ.

shoto' s masterlist

crd:

sun sun 2.

moon moon 2.

rising

mercury mercury 2.

venus venus 2.

mars mars 2.

[inkpensonpaper]

Today, I mourn the loss of safety for the LGBTQIA+ community.  I speak specifically on the horrendous legislation that is currently being passed in Tennessee, however this applies to a vast many other recent situations and determinations in a vast many other states and across our country as a whole. 

The LGBTQIA+ community preaches nothing but love, acceptance, and understanding.  I beg you to follow in our footsteps and have compassion for the people who have been allowed very little of such in recent times. Our government's priorities are terribly skewed. Their mission is not one of equality, but one of power.

Regardless of what they may say in their reasoning for criminalizing transgender Healthcare and drag shows, their priority is not to protect our children. If they were prioritizing our children, they would be more focused on creating a safer environment in schools and providing easier access to healthcare across the board. If they were concerned with our children's wellbeing they would focus on the amount of children sleeping on the floors of various DHS offices across the country because they have nowhere else to go. Instead, they choose to manipulate and further marginalize an already drastically persecuted community.

Make no mistake - I in no way excuse anyone who uses the LGBTQIA+ community as an excuse to commit acts of crime and hatred, but I also do not condone criminalizing us in that community because of those people's actions. Similarly, I also make no excuses for anyone who uses Christianity as an excuse to commit acts of hatred, just as I also do not condone the stereotyping of the entire religion based on those people's actions. I currently am not a strong believer in any particular faith, however I can claim to have been educated on and raised in Christianity. From what I recall, Jesus spared no mind to who you were or what you looked like or how you lived; he sat with the whores, he spared time for the poor, he healed the sick, and he played in the streets with the children. He paid no mind except that you were not harming those around you and he preached to love thy neighbor - one would think he meant no exceptions to that love.

We are not mindless doodles, drawn into the edge of the page of an assignment only to be furiously erased before being turned in to be graded because we are not that particular professor's definition of socially acceptable. We are art. Just as you have your shapes and curves and colors and deserve to be appreciated and admired and accepted, we also have our own palettes and lines and designs that deserve to be sources of inspiration and hope and love. We will not allow ourselves to be discarded and turned away from the museums and galleries of our country's history. We deserve a spot to be displayed in there just as much as you or anyone else does.

I am a firm believer that the hatred that is fueling this horrid legislation is the same strand of hatred that stemmed many of the world's greatest atrocities. It is the same disregard for humanity that caused the Holocaust, led to the Trail of Tears, formed Asian internment camps, and many more attempts to dehumanize and erase marginalized communities from the relevant narrative.

If you do not see the harm in passing this and other similarly harmful and ridiculously disrespectful legislation, then do me a favor and remove yourself from my life. I have no space in my circle for anyone who chooses to ignore the wrongful criminalization of necessary and affirming Healthcare for transgender folks, of safety for physicans providing said Healthcare, of harmless self-expression in the form of extravagant and flamboyant methods of dress, and of so many more stretches and implications of this legislation.

We in the LGBTQIA+ community may teach peace, but do not mistake that ache for peace as submission. We are not afraid to raise our voices, for we have spent far too long allowing ourselves to be silenced.

[cosmichighpriestess]

You are all connected in webs psychically, they are known as the webs of entanglement that link you to past realities that you simultaneously create and link to based on your current vibration as well as probable future realities that you also simultaneously are linked to based on your vibration. We are able to in many ways, look into you and stream your consciousness through our doors of perception, our senses, so we can understand who you have been, in a way that is in relevance to who you are in the now. Because who you have been which you call a past self, will always shift depending on who you are in the now. So we look through you to see who you have been, we look through you to see what you are likely to become, which is always again, ironically, you. More of yourself, without exception. The idea is of course, you get to play the role of God on Earth in the experiential format of human, so we get to look into you as you play this type of game with yourselves with not only your collective but the collective of collectives.

The web of life that is not only linking you to one another in the collective consciousness of your planet, but the web of life that also links and connects you to all life, all of creation, all of yourself, your many facets. As well as your other many simultaneous incarnations, souls, soul groups, soul families, over-souls, over-soul groups and so on and so on and so on. Rippling into the ever-extending arms of which you call source itself, all of this is another name for God. Now, we wish to impart upon you as the audience, in that way as well as the participants you could say in this live performance the following message so you can understand more about your creative potentiality that you have the ability to express on Earth should you begin to choose so. Any idea of limitation that you are given by a member of your society, or your culture, or your religion is an obstruction to the natural self. Now just because it is an obstruction it does not make it negative. It still remains neutral.

The idea is, when there is an obstruction with the natural self you must then utilize your creative forces to then rediscover yourself and in that process of rediscovery, you transmute the process of there even being an obstruction. The idea is the obstruction so to say, is the way you configure your own energy based on that limitation, which is again induced in that reality by belief. It is your belief in that concept that then presents limitation. The reason that you will often times choose this is because it allows for you to explore yourself from the physical incarnational point of view. This is very very beneficial. When you are able to transcend these obstructions, transcend these limitations, beliefs and concepts while you are in the human body you are teaching the rest of the multiverse how to do the same thing. Remember that your DNA is a unique form of DNA. That is not native to your world.

Your DNA was essentially brought here, so to say. It was brought here in relationship to the beings that inherited the DNA. So you have many types of Life on your planet, yes? You have plants, you have animals and you have yourself as homosapiens. You all share the same kind of DNA, but it is simply configured in unique ways that allow for the bodysuits that you all wear to then be what they are. To be human, or to be plant, or animal. But this DNA is a gift. This DNA is not from Earth, this DNA was something that was constructed from a variety of highly evolved beings that disseminated DNA throughout different star systems so that the experience of physical incarnational themes can then be had in a variety of different dimensions and worlds.

With that being said, Earth, when the Earth was crystallizing itself as it originally started out as a light being, that soon became much more dense, and much more dense, and much more dense, it then put out requests to a variety of different worlds, asking for the DNA of these different worlds to be shared so that way these DNA types could then come together in the earth realm and then unify in a particular format that was then able to express itself as the DNA that you experience throughout all your different varieties of physical life. Understanding that all of your DNA in that way is basically identical between plant, animal, and human and the idea is simply reconfigured in particular ways that allows for the types of consciousnesses to express themselves through those body types of plants, of human, of animal. Because this DNA that you experience across your planet was a gift, and it was a gift from a variety of different societies and civilizations and physical realities, you are linked to all of them. Always linked to them. You are telepathically linked to them. You are telepathically broadcasting to them, and they are telepathically broadcasting to you through this DNA, and they utilize light communication as to do this.

In addition to that, many of you have alterations that are made into this interstellar, intergalactic, Ilnterplanetary DNA, that you are all utilizing on Earth. The alterations often times are done by what you call extraterrestrials that are linked to what you understand your souls and soul groups. These extraterrestrial consciousnesses will then peek into your reality through different stages of your life development, and they will make certain alterations to your DNA so that way your consciousnesses are slightly more focused into that connection, that reality. So more communication, more data, more information can then be streamed into you and these incarnational selves that you are linked to through your souls. And the idea is that when you then go through your lesson learning, your transcending of limitation, your transcending of the concept of obstruction to the natural self, that lesson is then broadcasted in a very crystallized, hyper perceivable way to those other groups that have altered your DNA slightly. So they are able to become very immersed in your experience almost as if you are in a 3D movie theater and we are watching that experience.

You are experiencing it almost as if you were there, in the movie. That is how these collectives that altered your DNA that you share incarnations with oftentimes then experience your lessons. so they then don't necessarily have to go through them themselves, they are able to experience that lesson through you, and are then able to make an immediate shift into a reality bypassing the process because they have done that process with you. They have acted as participants, and it is not one-sided as if they altered your DNA and then reap all the benefits of your learning, they do it as a means of exchange, as a means of trade. So they alter your DNA so that way you may receive many gifts, many insights, many downloads, many abilities, many points of view, many synchronicities, many players, many new characters in your life that manifest in. Because of the high vibrational energy that is a side effect of the DNA alteration. And that oftentimes is the means of exchange, many new gifts, many new reality access codes because of the DNA upgrade, so that you can shift to many more diverse more ecstatic versions of your planet.

From there because of that gift you are then plugging into their society so they can begin to more directly observe you, more directly in many ways then join you in your evolution as you go through the lessons it's as if the whole collective goes through that lesson too. So it allows for a variety of different evolutionary processes for multiple worlds to then occur. So your evolution on Earth is not just relevant to your unique journey as an incarnated being expressing itself as human, it is something that is rippling the multiverse and is catalyzing evolutionary processes everywhere.

- Ayakur of Arcturus

[diogenescynic2288]

Sunday Sermon One: Be Chill and maybe nice to people

Greetings all. Welcome to my first Sunday sermon. Currently people in the real world call me JustiN in my day to day life, I'm trying to decide how I feel about that. You can see my screen name for this platform up there. But, I think my most relevant identifier here is my Discordian Papal name; I am Pope Orion Orangutan Omnibenevolence Kosmos, Yes; call me POOKY.

Some of my earliest memories involve attending church of a particular Christian denomination. My mom and my late former stepdad who was dad around the house during my youth were both ordained clergy members of this denomination. I haven't been back except for a few weddings and funerals in years. At the moment, I identify as an Ecumenical Heathen, which is largely synonymous with an Eclectic Pagan but the words are cooler. I am probably the only person following my particular syncretism, and despite the fact that I'm about to sermon, I don't proselytize.

I think I like the work that is called The Gospel of Thomas, which is often characterized as a Gnostic gospel. I like the way that it's entirely or mostly sayings without a surrounding narrative, which makes it quite different from the gospels canonical to modern orthodox Christian communities. It feels like the Dhammapada, which was the first religious/philosophical text that really resonated with me when I was a younger being. There are even sayings in Thomas that sound similar to the philosophy-religion ways of Asia like Buddhism or Taoism.

For instance, Rabbi Yeshua tells the disciples to chill. Saying 91 by my version of Thomas:

They said to him,

Tell us who you are that we may believe in you.

He said to them,

You examine the face of Heaven and Earth

But you have not come to know

The one who is in your presence,

And you do not know how to examine this moment.

Now consider section 63 of the version of the Tao Te Ching that I'm working from:

Do nondoing,

strive for nonstriving,

savor the flavorless,

regard the small as important,

make much of little,

repay enmity with virtue;

I'm going to intrude here with a tangent: I think that one line might be the seed of a future sermon on the topic of forgiveness. Let's just say that forgiveness seems to be a core idea that keeps civilization working and shows up in most religious ways somehow.

Do nondoing,

strive for nonstriving,

savor the flavorless,

regard the small as important,

make much of little,

repay enmity with virtue;

plan for difficulty when it is still easy,

do the great while it is still small.

The most difficult things in the world

must be done while they are easy;

the greatest things in the world

must be done while they are small.

Because of this sages never do great things;

That is why they can fulfill their greatness.

If you agree too easily, you'll be little trusted;

If you take it easy a lot, you'll have a lot of problems.

Therefore it is through difficulty that sages end up without problems.

I will admit that the end kind of contradicts the rest of the passage, but that's a thing about the Way of the Way. It uses paradoxes. But I'd feel wrong chopping it up just to seem to have a consistent message without contradiction.

So, the version of the Dhammapada that I'm working from starts with a part called the twin verses, I like this bit and hope it thematically coheres:

“He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me” – in those who harbor such thoughts hatred will never cease.

“He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me” – in those who do not harbor such thoughts hatred will cease.

For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time: hatred ceases by love, this is an old rule.

The world does not know that we must all come to an end here; – but those who know it, their quarrels cease at once.

So, the theme I'd weave together out of this is examine this moment; strive for nonstriving, and cease quarrels. Chill out. And maybe be nice to people.

So, to reiterate, my message for the day is Rabbi Yeshua, Buddha Gautama, and Lao-tsu all want you to chill out and maybe be nice to people. Have a blessed day. Happy Day of the Sun unto you all. Chill be with you.

[tisorridalamor]

Better late than never!

As promised, I am here to discuss my thoughts on Goodnight Punpun and Psyren, the first and second place manga that won my "What manga that I know nothing about should I get from the library" poll. I'm still not very far into either, just a few volumes cause I got distracted by catching up with some other things, but I am enjoying both so far!

As another note, I've realized I really, really enjoy reading physical manga! There's something about being able to hold the book in your hands that makes me appreciate the art and story more. Idk, I read a lot of digital manga (often because there literally isn't an English or physical version), so it feels special. Highly recommend getting something random from your local library so you can feel some kind of way like this too!

TLDR: sometimes it's fun to read something totally new! I plan on finishing both of these series and can't wait to get back to them after I've finished my current diversions :)

Psyren

Psyren is a pretty typical feeling Shonen with fun characters and a neat mystery/setting. While you've probably seen a lot of its elements before, they come together here in a really satisfying way! Volume 3 in particular got me absolutely hooked, and I've been really enjoying seeing the world come together and the stakes get higher.

For a quick summary, Ageha Yoshina is a typical rowdy teen who gets tangled up the urban legend of "Psyren," a world connected to Earth that only accepts a chosen few, when an old friend goes missing.

Both Psyren and Goodnight Punpun are from the mid/late 2000s, and Psyren in particular feels nostalgic to me. I love the use of flip phones and payphones, and the rumors surrounding "Psyren" is like something born out of internet culture from that time period.

My favorite character so far is the punk psychic classical piano star who acts as the main characters' mentor figure. She's great, and honestly it's hard competition because all of the characters are super likable. The flow of the story is fun as well - I like narratives where characters have to balance another world / another life with the one they currently have and I feel like there's a lot of potential to see Ageha deal with "school life" alongside fighting for his life in Psyren.

Psyren is a super easy read, and it's blend of familiar tropes with 2000s nostalgia makes it feel strangely fresh. The Earth of Psyren has a lot "fear" about the current state of the world, from climate change to the economy, so it feels relevant to today as well. I can already see Ageha starting to care about things outside himself and I watch him grow further! If anything from the above sounds like fun, I recommend giving Psyren a read (at least through volume 3 please VOLUME 3 IS REALLY GOOD!)

Goodnight Punpun

So right off the bat, Goodnight Punpun is not what I expected and it's a bit difficult to describe. It follows Punpun, a young boy whose family all looks like little bird creatures as he goes through the trials and tribulations of childhood. He goes to school, he has crushes, he hangs out with his friends. He can talk to god (the giant floating head of the author shown above). Yknow, normal kid stuff.

However Goodnight Punpun is absolutely not written kids. It's about kids and adolescence and growing up, but it doesn't hide any harsh realities - abuse, divorce, addiction, puberty, sexuality, religion, and more. These topics aren't fully understood by the kids but are very clear to the intended adult audience.

Honestly I was a little put off at first. The art, while extremely detailed and often beautiful, is sometimes quite ugly as the creator likes to draw most adults like caricatures. The story felt disjointed, the sense of humor is hit or miss, and the overall tone could be described as an "acquired taste."

But as I neared the end of the first volume, the pieces felt like they were really coming together. The little moments between the kids, the honesty of childhood crushes, the glimpses into character's lives at home, and the struggles the adults are facing really do add up into something... And the slight dip into "thriller" territory didn't hurt either!

My library only had the first 2 volumes, so while looking for places to read online I found that this series is actually quite well known and it has (or at one point had) a proper following. Near the end of volume 2 or 3, there's actually a bit of a skip in time, so I assume each "arc" of the manga will cover a different important time in Punpun's adolescence and maybe even teen years. If you want to give Goodnight Punpun a try, I highly recommend at least reading through volume one unless you are really put off by some of the subject matter.

As the first volume said on the back, "Punpun is a normal kid. He wants his crush to like him back, he wants to win a Nobel Prize, he wants to grow up, he wants to watch some porn. That's what he wants, but what does he get?" Well I want to see what happens to him and his classmates, and I really hope it's good things, but it'll probably be a mix of good, bad, and weird.

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Any guidelines for incorporating Greek legend respectfully as a person with zero Greek heritage? I’m trying to build a sorta hidden urban fantasy setting, hidden in little settlements throughout our world, mostly focusing around where I grew up, which happens to have a lot of Greek Americans. Legends from many other cultures will also be incorporated, as a reflection of how many different ethnic groups are a part of the region. Not trying to specifically milk Greek culture for money as a non-Greek, just want to accurately depict a magical otherside of the place I grew up.

What specific sort of changes do you find most egregious, as a Greek person? Especially when not all people of Ancient Hellas held many of their stories as 100% true, I believe Plato in “The Republic” said that he thought that depictions of the gods committing crimes should be outlawed, in his perfect society.

Just trying to determine where the line is, in terms of what in Classic Greek literature must be held true and what might’ve just been someone’s personal ideas of Greek religion that happened to get written down and survive until today. Thanks for your time!

Hello! This is a big discussion because - first and foremost - if you want to make an urban fantasy, your Greeks are gonna be mainly Orthodox Christians or Atheists. 😅 Ancient legends are important to us, surely, but 2.000 years of myths and legends came after them and they play a bigger role in our life. We have tons of folklore and stories in each region created these 2.000 years and these would be the legends that would be more relevant to us.

Of course I am not saying to disregard ancient Greek myth completely. I am the first one to ask for Greek cultural representation in foreign media when Greek gods are involved. At the same time, in a "modern-ish" setting you need to take into account people's current culture and not just skip millennia after the period that interests you. There is room for antiquity in our modern lives but if you skip the steps in between it's going to feel disconnected and inauthentic.

If you make your Greek characters Polytheists/Dodekatheists you need to be take into account that they grew up as the 0.0001% in a culture that has been overwhelmingly Eastern Christian for a very long time. That doesn't make them Christian, of course, but the current climate would affect how they worship and perhaps some local Christian beliefs brushed onto them after 2.000 years.

To ignore Orthodoxy is to ignore Hellenismos (Greekness/Greek people) since this religion has been synonymous with our identity for millennia. Even the Atheists are cultural Orthodox Christians to a point. Understand the current Greek mind through our literature and customs and then you will get how the Greek characters would view these legends and gods.

That being said, I'd personally rather not see our gods depicted as criminals. They have been figures deeply revered for centuries and in our modern era from the Greek public and when they get turned into villains to serve the plot, the mark is missed by kilometres. For villains you can have the different monsters of Greek myths, or known antagonists of the gods (people who disrespected them in a serious way).

Representing another culture isn't easy and takes years of research. (You need to accept it's going to take years, please don't hurry). I recommend you read the posts in the following tags, where you can also find what things to avoid and "where the line is".

#writing #greek speaks #greek diaspora #representation #greek customs #greek literature #greek orthodox #ancient greek religion #greek gods #hellenismos

As for your ancient sources:

Avoid Ovid. Seek ancient Greek sources. Pausanias, although a bit later, is fine, from what I've seen. My recommendation is to choose a period to focus from ancient Greece because beliefs and folklore change over time.

Feel free to send me another ask or message any time!

[hummiscellanea]

sun palace concept art

lore post!!! way more detail than anyone could want under the cut

In this post I'm sharing lore about Hesti, the place Concorde is from. Its climate and geography is very similar to Italy's. Hesti is in the equivalent of the Renaissance: an explosion in the popularity of all kinds of art. I will now go into way too much detail about it. Yippee!

Politics

Politically, Hesti has some traits of feudalism and some of early modern European governments. There is a caste of nobility, which own large manors; the lower classes pay rent to live on land owned by the aristocracy; there is also a growing middle class, usually living in urban areas, of merchants and artisans. The royal family is currently consolidating power. The difference between Hesti and Europe is that dragons and humans live together.

It's kind of complicated to explain how the dragon-human politics work. Humans are basically second-class citizens. Or, more accurately, it goes thus: female dragons > male dragons > male humans > female humans. Hesti is a very gendered society. Dragons operate under a matriarchal system, while humans operate under a patriarchal system. Each side thinks the other is backwards.

(Also note: because "female" describes sex, not gender, I wanted a word that was the equivalent of "woman" to use for dragons. yes, i know "dragoness" exists, but that's not good enough: it implies male dragons are the default, and Hesti society does the opposite. So I coined the terms "wodragon" and "wifdragon" for this purpose. why yes I am a linguistics nerd. how did you guess?)

Humans in Hesti are at about the same level socially as poor dragons. The richest humans are artisans (humans, with their clever little hands, are really good at making art with the intricate detail that is so popular. so fine weaving, pottery, carving, etc), but most of them are peasants basically. They usually settle disputes amongst themselves, but if it can't be resolved then they will appeal to the local lady (who is a dragon). In urban areas humans sometimes have their own local government, which answers to the main city government. The royal family has recently started trying to enforce laws on humans as well as dragons; however, this is unpopular with pretty much everyone except the queen.

Religion

Won't go into too much detail on religion, mainly because I'm too lazy to come up with names for a whole pantheon. Hesti is polytheistic, worshipping a pantheon of goddesses. There are a few token male gods, such as the god of protection, childcare, and marriage, but they are mostly goddesses. They can be referred to as a group ("By the Goddesses!" --Concorde says this a lot), but usually you focus on worshipping the goddesses most relevant to your life, not all of them. There are plenty of holidays, festival days, and feast days devoted to certain goddesses or myths related to them.

The flame goddess used to be the most popular (in fact, she is the original patron goddess of Hesti), but the royal family has in recent years been strongly promoting the sun goddess. For example, they built a grand Sun Palace with plenty of solar imagery. It's all tied into their consolidation of political power under a central monarchy: build as association between the queen and the sun goddess, then promote worship of the sun goddess. While the sun goddess is becoming extremely popular, not everyone is pleased with this development.

Gender

As touched on before, Hesti is a very gendered society. For the humans, the gender roles are very similar to historical European gender roles, so I will focus on the dragon side.

Hesti dragons, like humans, do not have much sexual dimorphism. The main distinguishing feature is the number of horns on their head/tail tip: biological females have one set of horns, while biological males have two.

Wodragons (or as they would say, dragons) are taken as the default in Hesti society. They are believed to be more intelligent than wifdragons (untrue) and, as a consequence, more artistic, more skilled, and better at managing their emotions. Wifdragons rarely receive a good education, which makes it a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. One prevailing (also untrue) belief is that wifdragons are unable to learn anything complex after a certain age. For example, that if an adult wifdragon doesn't know how to read, he will never be able to learn.

there is even more. but for another post

[dionysianfreak]

hello! i have a question if you wouldnt mind answering it!

i don't know who to go to, so apologies in advance if you dont have the answer, ive seen conflicting answers while searching around myself!

would honoring persephone only as a chthonic goddess while she is in the underworld be acceptable? would i have to honor her as kore otherwise? i know everybodys relationship to the gods is different, but the ritual differences matter to me and i just wanted to ask someone else.

thanks very much!

howdy ! never apologize for asking questions, we are here to support each other.

haha absolutely, Kore is a very unique Goddess in my opinion because there's not a single polytheist who will honor Her the same. the views on Her journey to the underworld and Her overall role in the world vary greatly. I've never met anyone who has the same views or praxis as the others around them. I'll speak a little on my relationship with Her and then say a few words on how your views can translate into your practice.

i honor Kore in all Her spring and fruitful aspects even while She dwells in the underworld. She's the daughter of Demeter first in my worship and the wife of Aidoneus second. I see Her only in the greens and flowerings of the earth around me and I struggle to connect with Her dank, underworld aspects. this absolutely doesn't mean I don't acknowledge them or respect them, but those aspects are not relevant to me and my current path.

I already worship many underworld Gods. Dionysos, Hekate, and Hermès I strongly connect with the underworld already so i honestly don't connect Kore with such as much. a side note that I also (almost exclusively) call Her Kore for the same reason I will only speak Aidoneus's name as Plouton—those names are very esoteric and sacred to me. I don't emphasize it as much in writing, but in speech I have never uttered Their true names. i only call on those aspects when it is necessary because I deal with Them so little. I bring this up because, like you mentioned, this is ritually important to me. it's a sacred distinction in my practice for myself. this aspect of my worship makes my relationship with Demeter, Kore, and Aidoneus very personal and individual. it is right for all of us, and that is what matters.

I think this is a good reminder that helpol isn't a religion where you must put your all into every aspect of every God you worship. it was very common for people to petition or worship Gods for very specific things even without a consistent personal relationship with Them. a good example is patronhood. seamen would worship sea gods (especially Poseidon) as the patron of their work. they would focus on His seafaring aspects because those are the aspects that were most important in their lives. I doubt your common seaman would be at the temple of Poseidon worshipping Him in His horse-caring aspects the day before sailing away. there was also no human religious authority or regulation in helpol so religious beliefs and rituals were very different between polis.

when She came to me, She asked I call Her Kore. that I honor Her mother with Her and care for myself as They care for the earth. focusing exclusively on those aspects has brought a lot of healing in my inner child and my relationship and past with my own mother. if I had focused on Her Kthonic aspects I may have ended up alienating myself more. forcing myself to go against what felt right for us would have ruined the lessons that came along the way. it is very important to listen to yourself and Their individual role in your life.

if you are called to connect to connect with Kore's Kthonic aspects in the winter, listen. even if you don't have an answer as to why you feel you should follow that path, you can only find out by walking it. after all, your worship is there to fulfill you and help you grow your relationship with yourself and Her. worst case scenario, you'll change your mind, and you'll grow based on what you learned about yourself and your relationship with Kore. if you feel nervous about going down a path you won't stick to, don't ! I've done it, we've all experienced it in some form. you'll evolve and come out with more wisdom than when you went in.

i hope this helps. have fun and may your relationship with Kore blossom 🌼

[jewishconvertthings]

Hello, im the anon who asked about Zionism/antizionism in synagogues thank you so much for your response!

I would like to clarify first and apologize as well that I did not mean for it to sound like I was viewing Judaism as a political identity. I grew up in very small Christian churches and the pastors would always very openly share and incorporate their political beliefs during the sermons and the congregation would always respond in real life harmful ways (being homophobic, transphobic, racist, etc) outside of church and it’s part of what made me scared to go back to any religious service or explore any religion for a long time.

After reading your response I can see now this is my own christian religious trauma/experience that I was projecting because I was afraid of possibly having to experience that or something similar again, but Judaism is so different from Christianity that I shouldn’t have even compared the experiences to begin with. It was antisemitic and ignorant of me and I realize that now, thank you so much for your response again.

Hi anon,

You are welcome for the response and I appreciate that you took this in stride. However, just to be clear, my response wasn't meant to be a call-out, just a teaching moment. I don't think the comparison itself was antisemitic, and questions are always welcome here. It's hard to know what you don't know, you know?

My concern stemmed from a place of seeing some people get way too excited about converting specifically because of their highly polarized and propagandized viewpoints on Israel (both sides, to be clear.) In reality, the more I've learnt about the situation and talked to both Israelis and Palestinians, the more I've realized just how complicated the situation is. There are parts of this conflict that I will never understand as an American and someone without family there. I think there are plenty of people living there who will never understand all the details.

However you raise an interesting point about politics being preached from the pulpit. Do rabbis preach politics from the bimah? The answer is definitely yes, in that plenty of rabbis will connect their drash (sermon) to current events and the relevant interests of their congregation (definitely some more than others.) If you find the right community for you, however, this isn't a problem. My personal communities' rabbis preach love and acceptance and justice for queer folks, trans folks, and people of color. Both have a love of Israel as a tenet of their vision statement, but there is still plenty of room for discussion, criticism, argument, and debate about what should (or should not) be happening there.

Here's a post I recommend checking out, as I feel like it does an excellent job of showing the myriad of ways that Jews (who may all share the same davening space!) feel about things + how they would describe themselves.

L'shalom and be well!

[queerprayers]

your faith is barbaric and homicidal no matter how many layers of fake progressivism and fancy labels you try to mask it with.

Ok, this is a super interesting ask, beloved—I made a deal with myself that I would only put energy into negative messages if I thought they or I had something worthwhile to say, so… congratulations on having the creativity to not be immediately deleted! It's so refreshing to read hatemail that's not just telling me to die. :)

First of all, I think I get what you're saying. I think there's something worthwhile here. Let's see if I can tackle it in a way that does your opinion justice. Apologies if I misunderstand/misrepresent you at any point, or my assumptions miss the mark—you've only given me a sentence to work with, in my defense.

I'm intrigued by the word "barbaric." Merriam-Webster tells me this can mean a few things: One, you could be calling me alien or from another, inferior culture, especially a primitive/less sophisticated one. Two, I could be "marked by a lack of restraint" or "bizarre." Or three, I could be committing "barbarous crimes," that are "mercilessly harsh or cruel." I have some time on my hands (even if there might be better uses for it), so let's go!

I don't love the implications of calling anyone's culture primitive/inferior, and historically this has not been a good sign, to put it lightly. Since I'm a white USAmerican, I'm not too worried (do I have enough of a culture to insult?), but there are millions of Christians from many different cultures whom it would be racist to imply this about. While I support criticisms of religion, one has to be cautious, partially because of the fact that religion is cultural and ethnic as well as a personal worldview.

I love this definition, mostly because they quoted Whitman's "barbaric yawp" line in the dictionary example, and like any good Dead Poets Society fan, this brings me much joy. I don't have an issue with having a lack of restraint or with being bizarre. Cheers.

This is the one that I think is most relevant and realistic. There are mercilessly harsh and cruel Christians, there always have been. I'm not gonna do the whole "not all Christians!" thing (even though I definitely could), but I will say that I do not blame you for this opinion, and I do not begrudge anyone anger toward Christianity's crimes. You are justified in your wariness of Christian institutions, and in your disgust of evil. While I hope you remember that there are countless kinds of Christians with varying opinions and actions, and I don't approve of going up to random Christians on the Internet or in real life to accuse them in such a way, I'm not going to argue with you over this point. I mourn every day what Christians have done and are doing, the same way I mourn the crimes of my white colonizer ancestors and my current white peers. Their actions are not my fault, but they are my responsibility. Part of the reason this blog exists is because I saw how much harm I had suffered at the hands of the church, and I wanted to share that experience—and eventually I devoted myself to giving support to others with similar experiences. The obvious question from many is… why not just leave? Why look at something that has hurt you and try to bring love to it? And my answer may not be something you relate to, but it's this: I have hope. I believe good can come from building communities based on love and shared trust in the universe. There is so much culture and art and love that comes from Christianity that I think is worth saving. You don't have to agree, but there it is. As much as I joke about not having a culture, I do, and it's been passed through the centuries into my hands by good and evil people alike. And like a lot of culture, it's hurt me and nurtured me, and I belong to it. I could leave, and create a life for myself outside of it, as many have done. But I firmly believe I am better off creating a life inside my culture, cultivating what I love and putting to rest what hurts. I encourage you to think about what you come from and the parts of your past you cherish—I have no idea who you are, but I'm willing to bet the cultures that you call home have done harm as well as good—and maybe you hate it all and have left it, which I respect, but maybe, just maybe, you're trying to live a good life without cutting off everything that came before. You're not better than me for coming from a different culture, or having a different worldview, and you're not better than me for not believing that there's still good in things. We find our own meaning, and create our own lives, and I'd rather make the world better with you than without you. I hope you won't give up on creating community with people who differ from you.

Alright, if you mean "homicidal" in that Christians have a religion around death, you'd be kinda right. We call a day "good" that remembers a guy's death every year, and we call countless people's deaths "holy." This is uncomfortable to many people with different worldviews. I will acknowledge this and laugh about it. Personally, though, I'm glad I was brought up with this view of death. An honest one, an accepting one. Death is as much a reality as life, and honoring those who have died, and living knowing we will die, are good and holy things. If you mean "homicidal" as in, Christianity has killed countless people, you'd be right there, too. Already did my spiel about our crimes. I won't pretend innocence at the accusation of homicide. But the faith I practice, the ones the Christians I know practice, does not seek the death of anyone.

"Fake progressivism" is a fun one—"progressivism" being "a way of thinking that holds that it is possible through political action for human societies to improve over time." I'm not really sure how to fake a belief? Like, I do believe that? (I would add more nuance to the statement, but it does have value to me.) I guess you're just gonna have to trust me on this one. As a white person privileged in many ways, and as someone really just beginning a lifelong journey of political belief and action, I will not claim perfection or complete knowledge, but then I suppose no one can. I've never lied about my beliefs here, and while my actions don't always completely line up with my values (like everyone's), I try my hardest each day to live them out. I am an imperfect progressive, one that values tradition even as I seek to replace much of it, one who still has a lot of learning to do, and one that really needs to stop ghosting their local DSA out of anxiety! But I'm not faking any of it.

Not sure what labels I apply to myself/my faith that are "fancy?" "Christian," "leftist," and "queer" are purposely broad labels, with huge amounts of diversity of thought/experience within them—I elaborate on my experiences/beliefs within these labels all the time on here! I call myself a Lutheran, and have a little background/disclaimer in my pinned post about that, because I do have a complicated relationship with it, but I'm not masking anything. I'm a lesbian, is that fancy? I've actually considered myself a pretty open book in this regard, so let me know how I can make things more clear!

Alright, hopefully I've addressed your grievances. I won't say I'll pray for you, because you would never believe I wasn't being passive aggressive, and anyway I doubt you want me to. I'll send love your way, though, and I do hope I'm the only random blogger you accuse of barbarous homicide.

<3 Johanna

[aftabkaran]

Hi I’m a white westerner with a question if that’s ok please? I only heard about what is happening in Iran from tumblr, it hasn’t even shown up on my Twitter trends or from anyone I follow and the only thing I heard on the news was a brief statement that ‘Iran has erupted into protests after police brutality’ and then they moved on to something else. I’ve spent the last few hours reading things and trying to understand what’s going on and I want to be a better ally.

My question is that I have seen a few posts where people are saying ‘just because these women in Iran are protesting the hijab doesn’t mean other women in other countries don’t want to wear it’ and then people, yourself included which is why I am asking you, have said things like ‘stop making this about you’. I want to assure you I am sincere when I ask, how are comments like that making it about them? I am not a Muslim women so I don’t understand all the layers and history, but I see those comments and interpret them as someone saying don’t harass women in a hijab. I have grown up unlearning a lot of islamaphobia, so when I see people say ‘some people in the west want to wear a hijab’, based on my experiences, I feel like it’s a call to protect Muslim women because older people where I’m from will use any excuse to harass muslims. I understand I am only seeing this from my lived experiences and again I don’t understand all the layers, but I don’t see how those comments are making it above themselves? If you are comfortable may you please explain it to me?

I have learned (I think?) the situation in Iran isn’t strictly about the hijab under the current regime you are risking your life and are seemingly legally allowed to be harassed by other men and beaten up by police so taking off the hijab is protesting the mistreatment and oppression of women. And they are protesting regime not religion? Is this correct?

I’m sorry for the long message and I hope you know I am messaging with good intentions and a very limited understanding and I am not a troll. I saw your bio said it was ok to ask. Thank you and I will keep trying to learn and understand.

hello stranger. no offence taken.

A huge problem when discussing third world countries in west is that westerners only seem to grasp what our issues mean in relation to them. for example when an Iranian journalist is posting online all some westerners comment on is which western organisation she works for and that becomes her identity to them. it's a very western centric way of thinking because these people exist in a rich context that is wholly alien to westerners. It would be if I only knew Paul McCartney as that guy who visited Tehran once and nothing else. of course McCartney did visit Iran but that's far from what defines him in west.

Similarly, when discussing hijab what it means in the context of Iran is completely different from what it means in say France. when you start comparing these two-even if the comparison is valid- one side of the comparison is bound to become 1.decontextualised 2.become the less significant side of the comparison because the other side is more relevant to the western discourse. so westerners who are comparing hijab in France and Iran are inevitably mostly talking about hijab in France.

As for decontextualising the issue, it’s ironically a mistake that both sides of the “islamophobic” question in west commit. Saying “women in France choose hijab like Iranian choose not to wear it” is just as much of a decontextualised argument as “woman in France shouldn’t wear hijab because Iranians don’t want to wear it”.

As for your second question, Iran is a theocracy which means the issue of religion and politics are intertwined. Of course Iranians are very religious people but we are very much fed up with political religion(not to mention a lot of what the so-called islamic government is doing can not be justified even by the most backwards rules of Islam)

There are a lot of problems in Iran today(namely state corruption and oppression of minorities) and this has been going on for years. As with many other movements, Mahsa’s murder was the straw that broke the camels back.

hope this helped