#pomegranate magic

[thejewitches]

Fish Head: Rosh Hashanah means head of the year. Rosh = head, ha = the, shanah = year. We eat the heads of various animals to symbolize the head of the new year. Vegans/vegetarians may also eat a head of cabbage or lettuce.

Figs: Figs are one of the sacred foods.

Leeks: One of the Simanim, represents asking for protection and cutting our enemies off.

Pomegranates: One of the sacred foods, pomegranates are believed to contain 613 kernels, representing the mitzvot as well as fertility and bounty.

Apples: Eaten to bring sweetness to the new year, typically dipped in honey or baked into a cake.

Honey: While it was historically date honey, honey is believed to be a sacred food. It is eaten at the new year to bring in sweetness. Often baked into a cake.

Dates: One of our sacred foods, eaten to bring sweetness to the new year.

The Ocean: At Tashlikh, we cast our sins into the depths. We use living waters, like the great sea.

[naarlar]

Okie so hot take: I don’t think Melinoë is as good of a protagonist as Zagreus. And here’s why.

It all comes down to motivation. Why did Zag go through the events of Hades 1? Because he was living in an abusive and volatile household and had to find some way to make things better for not just himself but his house. Otherwise he surely would have lost his mind having to deal with the abuse he got (remember at the beginning of the game basically only Nyx and Achilles were helping him. Everyone else is either neutral towards him or outright hostile). He needed answers, he needed to find out who and what he was by trying to find Persephone. And in the end he succeeded and was able to create a better life for himself and his house. Hell, even his relationship with his dad improved.

Now let’s look at Mel (yes this criticism is only addressing Early Access Hades 2). Why is she going through the events of Hades 2? Because… she’s been groomed since basically birth to kill Chronos. She doesn’t really have any other motivation than because it is what is expected of her essentially. She even says during her confrontation with Chronos, AFTER HE THREATENS TO HURT HER FAMILY, what do I care I barely know them (yeah sure she could just be bluffing to Chronos but that is still a very chilling thing to say when supposedly all of this is to save them and it makes her reunion with Hades lowkey ring hollow or weak). In another scene she even says the same thing to Hecate and says Hecate is more her mother than anyone else. Heck even in the flashback scene with young Mel and Hecate (which was very cute I’ll admit) she says she would want her mother to come back so Hecate isn’t sad. This makes all her motivations to kill Chronos and save the Underworld seem very… disconnected from the main component of the game? Being saving the house of hades and her family??

Like it’s expected of her and she was raised at birth to basically be prepared for this but she doesn’t have any personal reasons for doing any of this than just not letting Hecate and the others in the Crossroads down. Hell when she comes back from killing Chronos for the first time it honestly feels like Hecate is more interested and invested in what happened than Mel herself.

It makes her a really weird protagonist especially when comparing to her brother and how effective he was as a protagonist. Think about it, with Zag we got really in depth and character revealing moments where as the player we understand why he is doing all of this and so it is easy to go along for the ride because we like Zag and want to help him. Mel says she cares a lot about what is going on and wants revenge, but it all feels surface level (and which is understandable she doesn’t know these people, all she can say is “the titan took my family” when let’s be real she sees the people in the crossroads as more of her family). It honestly just seems like because she is expected to kill Chronos since she could think, she feels she has to do all this. It feels weird how she is disconnected from the core point of the game being to save the house of hades when Zag was so integral to that same core point in the first game.

I dunno, just my thoughts, I’m curious to see what everyone else thinks.

Edit: just fyi cause I feel with the comments I’ve been getting from my posts, I like hades 2 I am excited especially for the official release. I recognize my criticism/analysis could be wrong or out of date since the game isn’t finished yet. These are just my initial thoughts.

[mysticsublimeperson]

I want to express my frustration because... im trying to write some time travel Merthur fanfic as one does...

and I keep hitting my head against the same wall. Because just in case you didn't know England SUCKED before imperialism and colonialism.

Not that that made it better but, the English isles didn't have a variety of fruits or vegetables, the did have meat and fish and salt I think, but no sugar or way of producing it but honey if I remember correctly.

And admittedly climate change is a pain in the ass, but in medieval times the winters probably consisted in huge blizzards and freezing for 4 months.

They didn't even had tea!!!

All the good stuff its because of colonialism which is horrible for the world but whatever.

Im trying so hard to ignore this facts... to be free and write about silly angsty boys but I needed someone to know how difficult it is.

Because Merlin having lived in a 21 century would have spent since the 16th drinking bloody tea, and now he is back in time and doesn't have tea, doesn't even have sugar, it's a pain in the ass to get milk, and he can't even get his favorites foods because the fruits and vegetables aren't even evolved yet.

BECAUSE YES! All of the greens have suffered a tremendous amount of change because of selective farming!! so even if there were apples back there, they probably wasn't the same apple, probably weren't even half as sweet as they are now a days!

Same with animals, and plants. Many of the species have gone extinct but they existed back then. And im dying for a chance to bring this into the fic, to prove just how difficult the transition it's, but a the same time, it doesn't matter right? not really.

bUT I NEEDED TO VENT A LITTLE SO thank you for listening to my rant.

Also im not even a history girly, im an art babe, so all of this I know by logic and assumptions from my art history clases, and my hyper fixation, so obviously take everything with a grain of salt.

((It's just that I was cooking and I was trying to think which ingredients were available at that time to make the most simple dish but no, there was almost none, no spices, no tomato, I think the had cabbage, and like broccoli because its the same plant, but probably wasn't evolved into all of the different versions we know, they had beans, and lentils I think, the potatoes come from South America, so no potatoes, the had bread but what kind of bread??? sO YEAH, this is my head.. all the time))

[wonderfull-star]

For some reason I thought that Licorice would be greatly disgusted by something like this.

Like, yes, I knew it would be too immoral for him! And someone else thought that Licorice works with flesh and beetles...

Wait, he almost threw up?? Now this is interesting. I knew that it would disgust Licorice. But so much??

Could this be partly related to his past?Who knows..

[tokyomewmewgifs]

[kaciekc]

My Tokyo Mew Mew charms and stickers make me so happy. 

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[comparativeoracle]

Pomegranate. Art by Elin Manon, from the Forest Magic Oracle.

Punica granatum The rules of Hades's Underworld were remarkably similar to the rules of the fae: as long as you consumed neither food nor drink, they could not keep you. And so, when Zeus demanded that Hades had release Persephone, Hades had no choice, because Persephone had eaten nothing during her time with him. But, pleading with her to stay, he made one final attempt and offered her a pomegranate. Persephone, knowing all too well what she did, chose in the end to consume six tiny pomegranate seeds, making it so that she would remain queen of the Underworld for six months out of the year. Because of this tale, this mysterious, vibrantly colored fruit is best known for its love magic, but it is also useful for prosperity, divination, and creativity spells.

[akirakirxaa]

Persephone's not sure what's going on but she and Pommy are going to figure it out.

[historiaocculta]

witchy season...

[kazz-brekker]

interesting to think about the familiar by leigh bardugo and the pomegranate gate by ariel kaplan as parallel jewish fantasy novels because one is about the jewish families who stayed in spain and converted to christianity and the other is about the families who chose to go into exile rather than do so, but they're both about trying to preserve your history, culture, and the magic handed down by your ancestors

[thejewitches]

Crimson Beeswax Pomegranate Candles, Handmade in Los Angeles | PRE-ORDER

[lailoken]

The Devotional Botanic Collection

The newest release on Wending Wares Occult Parlor is the Devotional Botanic Collection—a selection of earrings, lovingly crafted with botanical designs and consecrated to respective tutelary plant spirits, including Belladonna, Pomegranate, Hawthorn, and Blackthorn.

Every set of earrings comes with a pair of rubber backers.

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Devotional Belladonna Earrings (Pearl & Silver)

These devotional earrings were crafted in the likeness of Belladonna Berries using violet-black freshwater Pearls, Sterling Silver bead-caps, and Fine Silver wire hooks.

Each earring was consecrated to the spirit of Poison Nightshade in a ritual where they were anointed with the juice of its berries and fumigated with the smoke of mixed Belladonna Blossoms and Drgaon's Blood.

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Devotional Pomegranate Earrings (Lampglass & Gold)

These devotional earrings were crafted in the likeness of Pomegranate Seeds using handmade Lampglass beads and 14k Gold-filled components.

Each earring was consecrated to the tutelary spirit of the Pomegranate in a ritual where the beads were anointed with the fruit's juices and fumigated with the smoke of its burned flowers.

Every pair of earrings comes with a pair of rubber backers.

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Devotional Hawthorn Earrings (Hawthorn Wood & Silver)

These devotional earrings were crafted in the likeness of Haw Berries using handmade Hawthorn Wood beads, Sterling Silver bead caps, and Fine Silver ear wire.

Each bead was consecrated to the tutelary spirit of the Whitethorn Tree in a ritual where the wood was reddened with Dragon's Blood pigment and then fumigated with the smoke of burned Hawthorn flowers.

Every pair of earrings comes with a pair of rubber backers.

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Devotional Blackthorn Earrings (Sloe Thorn & Steel)

These are Blackthorn Devotional Earrings created using hand-gathered Sloe thorns.

Each thorn was ritually harvested from local Blackthorn trees (Prunus spinosa) and then hearth-dried, before being individually sealed with Wisefool's Glaze (a magically empowered wood varnish crafted from an array of potent arboreal resins.) Thereafter, they were each affixed with a Stainless Steel pendant cap and a Fine Silver ear wire, before finally being consecrated to the spirit of the Sloe Tree and fumigated with a mixture of dried Blackthorn Flowers and Dragon's Blood.

Each earring measures between 2 and 2.5 inches/ 4 and 5 centimeters in length, and every pair is a bit unique, since they include natural materials. Additionally, the thorns used are fairly sharp, so please handle with care!

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If interested, you can reach out to me here, or you can buy them directly from my shop using the links provided above!

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads / storygraph

The Pomegranate Gate

start of a trilogy set in a high fantasy version of Spain 1942, where Jewish people are being forced to either convert to Christianity or leave

follows a young woman who, when her family are being driven out of the country, stumbles through a pomegranate grove on the full moon and finds herself in another world with two Maziks (mythical magical people) living in a ruined castle

and a young man who saw Toba disappear, who’s left in the company of two old women, trying to figure out what happened to her, and why he dreams of the Mazik and their world

multiple worlds, dreamrealms, politics, learning magic, m/m

[thepomegranatewitch]

Join us Sunday 25 August for some poetry celebrating Jewish magic, pleasure, and joy by Hannah Yerington.

Pre-register for link.

Like the stickers? Check the redbubble!

Image description. A square graphic with a background of white pomegranate blossom line drawings on a leafy green background. All text is white serif with black outlines. The top has a lifelike hamsa with light skin and brown eye next to a red pomegranate blossom, the text 'the pomegranate witch's Jewish Book Club,' and a golem holding an untitled open brown book. Below are two darker green boxes with text. Left box reads Sunday 25 August 2024. Below reads 1PM PDT, 4PM EDT, 9PM BST, 11PM IDT, confirm your local time! The right box has a black and white qr code, a link underneath it, and the word 'pre-register' rotated 90 degrees. Large font reads Sheologies by Hannah Yerington. A square cropped preview of the cover has a yellow background, a calla lily, garlic, peony, and a lemon behind bold, all capitals black text reading Sheologies, with author's name below. Just below and to the right of that is the artist's chop in red. Bottom of graphic has black-only text and graphics reading @ the.pomegranate.witch with an instagram, tumblr, and ko-fi logo, a red bubble logo, and 'Sahar Bareket.'

[tokyomewmewgifs]

[nazarjoon]

new holo stickers in the shop ✨️ link