#properties of elements and compounds

[superchemistryclasses]

Understanding Matter: The Distinctive Nature of Elements, Compounds, and Mixtures

Introduction to the Building Blocks of Our Universe Our physical world is composed of various forms of matter, which scientists classify into three primary categories: elements, compounds, and mixtures. These classifications help us understand how substances interact, combine, and can be separated. For students in Class 7, grasping these concepts is crucial as they form the foundation of…

[dilemmaontwolegs]

Finish Line || LS2

Summary: A farewell fic to Logan because I'm a sookie and miss him already. Pairing: Logan Sargeant x fem!reader (living in America) WC: 4k

Summer Break 2021

Your mother always said, “Nothing good is easy and nothing easy is good.” To an eighteen year old fresh out of high school you thought she was referring to studying and exam results, not the more impactful experiences you would face once the red brick walls were left in the rear view mirror. 

It would only take a matter of weeks to learn the real meaning.

Loving Logan wasn’t easy but it was impossible to stop the feeling of falling that came soon after meeting him. From the moment you met there was an indescribable connection but the paths of your future were heading in completely different directions and you knew at the end of summer you would say your goodbyes.

In the meantime you would enjoy what the weather had to offer and what better way to emancipate yourself from the innocence of youth and broadcast to the world that you were an adult than a girls road trip to Miami? You may not have been old enough to drink but that didn’t stop the college guys on summer vacation from keeping you and your friends well supplied. 

Looking back, it only proved how young and naive you were. 

“Dalt, I really shouldn’t be here,” Logan complained as a red cup was thrust into his hand. “I could get in so much trouble for this.”

“Relax, bro, you’ll be fine.” His older brother clapped him on the back happily. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

The beach house was right on the waterfront and Logan stepped out onto the white sand to dip his toes in the warm water. He didn’t know who’s family the place belonged to but Dalton seemed to know everyone by name. It only made him feel even more left out and he thought maybe he should have just stayed in England for the summer break. 

The house was stifling with the humid temperatures compounding to a sauna with all the bodies inside. The beer had started off cool but it had warmed in your hands and began to taste disgusting so you abandoned it into the hands of a stranger passing by who swiftly chugged it back before shouting the Greek alphabet you assumed was the name of his frat house. You had certainly bitten off more than you could chew and debated catching a Greyhound bus home where you felt safe but you wouldn’t ditch your friends who were absolutely in their element.

The beach wasn’t like any you had seen before arriving in Miami. The sand bars were tiny pockets of islands and each property seemed to be its own space divided by narrow canals that lead to dry docks for their expensive boats. 

“Mind if I join you?” you asked the stranger who sat in the sand at the water's edge. It was impossible to ignore each other’s presence when the rising tide had left such little space.

“It’s a free country,” he said with a small smile, his palm quickly swiping away the picture he had drawn in the sand. 

“I don’t know about that. Sometimes it feels like a prison. Sorry, that was really morbid.”

He laughed and tipped his head back to the sun that still beat down despite being late in the afternoon. “You’re not wrong though. I love coming home, but sometimes I’m glad I don’t live here anymore. I don’t know how to fit in with that,” he said looking back at drunken revelers who had stripped down to their swimwear despite having no inclination to actually enter the water. 

He looked like the rest of the guys there: tanned skin over a toned body and dirty blonde hair hidden by a cap he wore backwards. The southern drawl also confirmed the fact he called this place home. 

“Where do you fit in then?”

His shoulders shrugged as he picked at a desiccated chain of Neptune’s necklace that had washed up on the beach. He busied himself with plucking each individual bead off the seaweed and flicking it back to the water. “I don’t know.”

“Okay, well, what did you want to be when you were a kid?”

“A Formula One racing driver, or a fisherman.”

You buried your toes in the sand, wiggling them to dig deeper where it was cooler. “I thought the all-american dream was to be an astronaut?”

You met his blue eyes and saw the amusement that sparkled in them. “I’m afraid of heights,” he admitted with a grin before he held out his hand. “I’m Logan.”

“I think we are beyond names here, I already know your hopes and dreams,” you teased, shaking his hand. 

“But I don’t know yours, yet.”

“I can give you my name, but as for hopes and dreams, I have no idea what I want to be. I’m still trying to figure that out.” You realised his hand was still in yours and gave it another small shake. “I’m Y/N.”

As the sun fell below the horizon the party grew larger and soon it spilled into the slice of paradise you had carved out with Logan. Sand was kicked up as two guys tackled each other to the ground and Logan threw a protective arm around you before they could crash into your side.

“Back it up bro,” he said as he rose to his feet and pulled you up too, tucking you in behind his back. “You could have hurt somebody.”

“Aw, Sargeant, is that your girlfriend?”

Logan ignored them and turned to check you were alright. His eyes scanned over your body and slowed on their ascent before he cleared his throat and met your eyes again. “Do you want to get out of here?”

You scanned the crowd and spotted two of your friends dancing and the other sat on some guy's lap, smiles on all their faces. You couldn’t disappear and make them worry but you didn’t want to stay as the party only grew more chaotic. “Yes, please, I’ll just tell my friends I’m leaving.”

You weren’t going to attempt to get amongst the gyrating bodies so instead headed to Dakota. The guy sitting beneath her noticed your arrival first and grinned at Logan as he stepped in beside you, his hand resting on the small of your back. “You’re leaving aren’t you? Well, you lasted longer than I thought you would.”

“You two know each other?” you asked. 

“Only since birth,” Logan answered. “This is my brother, Dalton. Dalton, this is Y/N.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” you said before turning your attention to your friend. “I’m going to head off, Kote. Logan said he can drop me off at the apartment after dinner.”

“Are you sure? I can take you back if you want.”

You laughed and leaned into Logan, enjoying the warmth that came as his arm curled around your waist. “I’m good, someone needs to make sure those two get back.”

You both looked at the twins who had found dance partners and knew the rented 4 bedroom apartment was probably going to double in residents by morning. With a resigned sigh that she didn’t really feel as the group mother, Dakota nodded. “I’ve got them, you two have fun.”

The wink she sent you off with made your cheeks heat but you hadn’t actually planned on doing what the action implied. Of course Logan was attractive, and the thought of taking him to your bedroom was one that had you melting, but you were quite happy just enjoying his company too. 

“Are you hungry? I know this great spot but it’s a bit of a drive from here.”

Out in the street where the sounds of the thumping bass couldn’t reach your stomach rumbled and you smiled sheepishly. “Just a little.”

The restaurant he knew was on Key Largo, about an hour south of where the party was in Miami Beach and you were amazed by how many bridges had been built to connect the keys. It would have felt a bit scary driving over the ocean if it wasn’t for Logan recounting stories of growing up in the state. It was a good distraction to listen to the fondness in his tone as he remembered fishing off the now-closed piers that he pointed out. 

“I think this is where you fit in,” you said as he cruised along the highway in his pickup truck, the radio quietly playing an RnB station in the background. It was warm enough that the window was down and the breeze blew his hair back like a runway model.

He glanced across the car and lifted a questionable brow. “In Florida?”

“No! Behind the wheel. You look, I don’t know, comfortable? No, content, that’s the word.” 

On the beach Logan had shared how he was halfway through the season of Formula 3 in Europe and had hopes to join an F1 team in the future. It was also when he mentioned returning to the country he currently lived in, four thousand miles across the Atlantic Ocean. Despite only just meeting him, you felt the four week countdown arriving like a dark storm cloud.

Those four weeks flew by almost as quickly as you fell in love. 

Summer Break 2024

The soy milk screeched and you winced at the sound before saving the new girl, and the coffee, from the machine. Thankfully it wasn’t scorched as the shop was already full with the busy morning foot-traffic and you wanted to keep it flowing for the customer’s sake. 

“Soy latte with a shot of hazelnut?” A hand went up and you passed the takeaway cup over. “Have a nice day.”

You looked at the next order stuck to the bench and immediately searched for the customer, a smile splitting your face when you found him. “Baby, you’re home! Why didn’t you call?”

Logan ducked under the staff counter and met your embrace with strong arms that pulled you to your tiptoes. “I called, but you must have been busy here. God, it’s good to see you, sweetheart.”

You checked your phone in the pocket of your apron and saw the missed call before slipping it over your head. “Marie, can you keep an eye on everything?”

“Yeah, course, hun, take your time,” the part time barista said with a wave. “Welcome home, Logan.”

“Thank you.” 

You dragged Logan eagerly through the swing door that stated ‘staff only’ and past the break room to the disused office at the back. “I’ve missed you so much,” you managed to say between the desperate kisses you shared as he kicked your door closed. 

“Missed you too.”

Your hands reached beneath his shirt and he chuckled breathlessly as he caught them before they could move any further. “Tempting, sweetheart, but not here.”

You pouted as you draped your arms around his neck instead and held him tight. “I have the studio booked in 20 minutes, did you want to come?”

Logan rolled his eyes at the stupid question and didn’t bother to answer as he tucked his hands into the back of your jeans and buried his face in your hair. “You smell like blueberry muffins,” he hummed happily. 

“I can steal one,” you offered but when you pulled away he quickly pulled you back with a shake of his head.

“Diet.”

You grabbed the flesh on his abdomen, feeling the hard muscle beneath. “You’re perfect, baby, one muffin isn’t going to change that - but it will make you happier. Go grab a seat in the staff room.”

You walked him back down the hall and let him settle into the couch while you grabbed a muffin from the front counter. Most of the rush had quickly cleared and with the lull in orders you made him his favourite drink. 

“You spoil me, sweetheart,” he said with a gratefully smile as you placed the plate and cup on the coffee table. “Thank you.”

“Anything for you.” You sank into the couch beside him and watched him pick apart the muffin, finding all the blueberries to eat first. He could feel your eyes on his hands as they fiddled with crumbs but before he worked up the courage to explain why he caught a flight two days earlier than planned. “What’s going on, baby?”

He exhaled a heavy sigh and wiped his hands clean before taking yours. “I think it’s over.”

Your heart cleaved apart and your ears started ringing as your world came crashing down. There was only one semester left in your art programme before all the plans the two of you made would come to life - plans that started with moving to England with Logan. Plans that were crumbling down.

“It’s over?” you repeated as silent tears streaked your face and your hands slipped from his.

Horror bled into Logan’s features and he snatched your hands back, placing them over his chest where his heart beat rapidly with panic. “Not us, never us,” he rushed with a harsh shake of his head. “Fuck, sweetheart, you are my everything.”

You sagged with relief as he wiped your eyes but the relief was short lived as you understood what he meant and the phantom pain in your chest returned. “Have you spoken to James?”

He nodded and leaned into your touch as your palms ran up his chest to cradle his face. “It’s not good.”

To hear the defeat in his voice was something you never wished to hear again. It was a sound that no 23 year old should make, he was too young to feel the immense pressure he was under and a weaker man would have been broken by it. But Logan was strong, mentally and physically - he would recover from this, you would make sure of it.

“Come on,” you whispered as you rose to your feet and tugged his hands. 

“Where are we going?”

“I’m taking you home.”

“But you have class.”

You grabbed your handbag from your locker and tossed him the car keys. “This is more important, and I can paint anywhere.”

—

The drive to Miami took most of the day and the frown on Logan’s forehead seemed to soften as the arid air turned humid and the paddocks turned to swamp before he sped through Alligator Alley. The top 40 charts played quietly on the radio and Logan hummed along with the ones he liked while he held your hand on your thigh. 

A contented sigh of relief exhaled from deep in Logan’s chest as the sunset and the city lights illuminated the horizon. Though he was tired to his bones, just the sight of his home was enough to rejuvenate him and he sat up a little straighter before taking the exit that would lead him to Fort Lauderdale. 

Madelyn and Daniel were already expecting Logan and the front door opened before he could turn the engine off. It had been a while since they last had Logan home and you felt a little guilty since most of his returns to home soil were to visit you instead, but they didn’t hold it against you. Madelyn was just happy that there was someone who loved and supported Logan as much as she did.  

It was immediately clear that she wasn’t aware of his current struggles as you saw him hide behind a confident smile as she asked how everything was going. 

“I don’t want to disappoint them,” he admitted as he closed his bedroom door after dinner. 

You placed your bag on the floor and took a seat at the headboard before patting the spot beside you. Logan flopped down on the bed and rested his head on your thighs while his long legs hung over the edge, looking up as if you had all the answers. 

“You could never disappoint them, Lo, they just want you to be happy. And, you're worrying about things that haven’t even come to pass. We don’t know what the second half of the season will bring.”

“I know you are being reasonable, but I can’t help thinking this is the end. Everyone else thinks so too.”

“You mean everyone on X, formally known as twitter,” you said with a roll of your eyes that made him chuckle. “How about no social media for the whole break? Just disconnect from it all for four weeks.”

“And what happens at the end of the break?” he asked quietly, sensing deja vu from the last time he asked this three years ago. It was an eerily similar state too with his head on your legs but you were on the white sands instead of a bed. You had already fallen in love but he was due to fly back to Europe and you would be getting in the car with your friends and heading home. He had forever changed you that summer.

You combed your fingers through his hair as you relived the same memory. “We will be grateful for the time we had together.”

A smile tugged at his lips and he sat up so he could pull you onto his lap. “I’m not letting you go again.”

“I should hope not,” you stated as your knees settled either side of his thighs and you reached into his pocket to fish his phone out. “Now say goodbye to this, I am having you all to myself.”

He plucked the phone from your fingers and tossed it to the side table before putting all those glorious muscles to good use. The room spun until he caged your body beneath his and he gently kissed his way across your collarbone. “You already have me, sweetheart.”

–

A sick twisting feeling gripped your gut as you waved goodbye to Logan through misted eyes. No matter what you had said, you could feel his stress growing as the break came to an end and now he was going back alone. You wished you could go with him.

The drive back to your apartment was too quiet but you couldn’t listen to the radio because the songs he would have hummed to would only make you miss him more. It always took days, weeks even, to reacclimate yourself to the loss of his presence when he left. It never got easier but the memories made were worth it.

The days dragged by as classes began again and the repetitive routine of life was reestablished. Finally it was the weekend and you could curl up on the couch and watch Logan’s practice on F1TV while you were surrounded by paintings of him. There were two new additions that had come back from Miami, one capturing his happiness as he reeled in a bluefish and the other capturing his perfect features as he sunbathed shirtless, that one was purely indulgent.

“Oh no, Sargeant has taken a big shunt into the barriers there.”

Your feet slammed to the floor as you jumped out of your seat and stumbled closer to the tv as if you could reach through it and help, but you were helpless to watch as Logan remained in the car in the middle of the track - red flags waving. 

“Come on, baby, get out of there,” you begged as you heard his radio saying he was okay, but then the back of the car ignited into flame. You were screaming for him to get out as George’s car rolled by, his hands gesturing wildly for Logan to get out too before he finally was free of the seat harness and jumping out over the halo. 

You finally breathed a sigh of relief but it didn’t last as the camera cut to Logan leaning on the barriers, his head hung in defeat despite the helmet hiding his face. You knew your boyfriend better than anyone, you knew exactly what was going on inside his head and you knew you had to do something.

The credit card Logan had given you years ago had been left discarded in the back of your underwear drawer. He said it was for you to use but you had never been with him for the money and even as a broke uni student you hadn’t used it once. But this was an emergency, and if you were ever going to use it then you could be damn sure it was going to be spent on him.

One quick email was sent to your professor begging for an extension due to a family emergency before you packed a bag and booked the first flight out to Amsterdam.

With shaking hands you typed a message: I’m so glad you got out of there, baby. I’m on my way and I love you so much xxx

You knew he wouldn’t be able to reply for a little while since he would have to get back to the team garage, and there would be other responsibilities first like having a medical check and debrief, but you sent it anyway along with the flight numbers so he knew where you would be and when. It was going to be a long day with the 13 hours of flights plus the change in timezone but nothing was going to keep you from getting to Logan before the race tomorrow.

–

A stranger with a whiteboard greeted you at the airport and the exhaustion of the trip faded away when you reached the paddock with a pass in hand and stepped into the Williams garage. Bodies of mechanics moved in sync as they rushed around the car preparing it for the race that was due to start in a few short hours but it was one man that was standing among them that drew you closer. 

“Lo,” you greeted softly behind him on raised tiptoes. 

A wide smile split his face as he turned to embrace you, lifting your feet off the ground as he buried his face in your neck. “Hellow, sweetheart,” he breathed against your skin before inhaling the familiar scent of your perfume. 

Your hands tightened on his waist as he pressed a kiss to your temple. “Are you okay?”

He pulled back and his smile faltered. “I’m better now that you’re here.” 

You reached up to trace the curve of his cheek where his smile had been but his team principal called his name before you could feel the shadow of his beard on your palm. “Can I borrow you for a minute?” he asked Logan before spotting you, a flicker of surprise on his face. “Hello, Y/N, it’s lovely to see you again.”

“You too, James,” you replied politely before stepping out of Logan’s arms and giving him a little nudge in the right direction. “I’ll wait over in hospitality.”

Logan spent what time he could with you, reassured by the feel of your arms wrapped around his neck and your cheek pressed to his as you sat on his lap in the single chair that furnished his driver room. The thin walls did little to dampen the noise of the motorhome and the crowd beyond but for a few minutes Logan could forget it all and the pressure that came with it - until the clock ticked away the precious minutes alone and reality returned.

“I have to score a point today,” he whispered like he was confessing a sin and he tipped his head back to stare at the roof. “No point, no seat. That's the deal.”

“Can they do that with your contract?”

“They can do whatever they want, sweetheart. I’m lucky they let me go this long without contributing.”

You cupped his face and tipped it forward so he was forced to look you in the eyes. “There are more ways to contribute to the team than just scoring points. You spend hours in the simulator every week so they can get their precious data.”

“And then I go and cost them $250k when I crash,” he laughed humorlessly and dropped his forehead to yours. “I think this is it. I’m tired and it’s so hard to enjoy it now. That’s the worst part out of all of it. I used to like my job, it was all I wanted to do.”

Your thumbs caught the tears that clung to his lower lashes. “What do you want now?”

“I honestly have no idea, I just know I want to be wherever you are.”

A knock at the door interrupted the promise you were going to make and someone in a William’s shirt said it was time to head back to the garage before ducking back out of the room.

“I love you” you whispered between the kisses you traced across the bow of his lips. “I want you to go out there today and forget James and points and all that stuff and just enjoy the race. I have watched you give everything to this team but today I want you to be selfish, okay? Enjoy it out there or it’s all for nothing, no matter the outcome. And when you get out of that car I will be waiting for you, arms wide open.”

Logan closed his eyes and exhaled a shuddering breath before he captured your lips in a passionate kiss that left you both breathless. Resolute and proud, he stood up and placed you on his feet before grabbing his cap and slapping it on his head. “I’ll see you at the finish line.”

[reality-detective]

The Untold Truth of Borax? Banned in 30 countries: Here is why. 👇

1980s Borax conspiracy document: 👇

Borax Benefits: 👇

You Decide 🤔

[rottenpumpkin13]

out of ASGZC who's the best at math?

They're all good at math, just different kinds.

Cloud: He fumbles with written equations like division and multiplication, but can effortlessly solve complex calculations in his head— division, multiplication, even advanced problems quickly and accurately. This terrifies Zack who discovered that Cloud's like a human calculator when Cloud casually informed Zack that he uses about 25 milliliters of hair gel day, and that the bottle in his hand would last six days, 12 hours, and 27 minutes.

Sephiroth: Had a rigorous, unyielding education under Hojo's watch that now makes him apt at solving calculus, differential equations, advanced physics formulas, you name it. His mind is trained to dissect and solve problems. Sometimes he even solves a few physics problems to decompress like they're no big deal.

Genesis: A genius when it comes to chemical equations, breaking down molecular structures and understanding elements. He can look at a compound and immediately tell you its composition and properties, but this makes him a harsh critic when it comes to the chemical components of cosmetics.

Angeal: Angeal is great at everyday calculations like figuring out discounts, taxes, and percentages—skills that come in handy when buying groceries, planning and budgeting. He can quickly tally up a bill in his head and calculate the final price after a sale.

Zack: He's excellent at what Angeal has lovingly dubbed "Zack Math." He buys an expensive game console for X amount of gil, and when Cloud points out how much it costs, Zack reasons that "If you play it every day, it's really only costing you a few gil per hour. I mean, when you break it down, that's basically free!"

Zack is broke.

[lilith-hazel-mathematics]

Hi there, I’m not a mathematician, so idk if my question is silly, but why is it that integers in set theory are defined as a composition of all the previous integers instead of something simpler like for example just the set containing the previous integer? Is there something that makes the way we official define integers useful, or was it something like “this works, good enough”?

Hey, thanks for your question. What you're describing is actually Zermelo's construction of the integers, which uses the successor function S(n)={n}. You may recognize the name "Zermelo" from his greatest hit "Zermelo-Frankel set theory", the all-time most popular theory of sets, and arguably the de facto foundation of all modern mathematics. So, you are in good company in thinking that's the obvious implementation. However, the Von Neumann implementation (used in Hazel's "count to 100" challenge) is considered to be superior, which I think is for three main reasons.

The first and probably weakest reason is its convenience in defining the "<" relation. Under the Zermelo convention, you need to define "<" using the Recursion theorem, but it's much easier to prove Recursion when you already have "<" at your disposal. Having to prove the Recursion theorem without ever mentioning "<" is a pain in the ass. It's not terribly difficult to prove Recursion if you have access to the axiom of infinity, but it's way harder from a finitistic set theory, and that difficulty is compounded if you can't mention the "<" relation (I've done it and it's fucking annoying). I'm not a dirty finitist*, but I do have a deep interest in reverse mathematics, so these kinds of pragmatic concerns are important to me. Under the Von Neumann implementation, we simply have n<k if and only if n∈k, and the successor operation S(n)=n∪{n} isn't much more complicated. (*finitism is an unpopular but nonetheless respected mathematical philosophy, me calling it "dirty" is a joke.)

The second reason is its relationship to cardinality: as a set, a finite ordinal n contains exactly n elements, provided we use Von Neumann's implementation. For example, 0={} has 0 members, similarly 2={0,1} has 2 members, and so on. Besides being elegant for obvious subjective reasons, it's also pretty convenient in certain technical aspects. For example, there's an important set theoretic operation called set exponentiation, where Y^X denotes the set of all functions f mapping X→Y. In the finite case, it holds that |Y^X|=|Y|^|X|, hence the name and notation. This overlaps with the ordinary notation for the set of ordered pairs, X^2 = {(a,b) : a,b∈X}. This is compatible with the set exponentiation operation, but only if we use the convention 2={0,1}. That is, the ordered pair can be thought of as a function with domain {0,1}, in the sense that (a,b)[0]=a and similarly (a,b)[1]=b. This doesn't work under Zermelo's convention. A similar issue arises for triplets at 3, quadruplets at 4, and so on, essentially forcing the Von Neumann implementation all the way up, if we want this elegance. There are other technical roadblocks I'm sweeping under the rug (roadblock shaped like "a function is a set of ordered pairs"), but this answer is long enough already.

The third reason I'll say, and certainly the strongest, is its relationship to infinite ordinal numbers. Infinite ordinals are unbelievably important in set theory, for like a trillion reasons I could talk about for an entire decade, so it's pretty important to have some kind of implementation. The least infinite ordinal is named ω, which is the least nonzero ordinal obeying the property ∀(n<ω), n+1<ω. In other words, ω has no immediate predecessor. Under the Von Neumann implementation, we can simply say ω={n : n is a finite ordinal}, albeit the formal way to say "n is a finite ordinal" is a mouthful of logic. This extends to larger ordinals, in the sense that Von Neumann's convention allows us to easily construct ordinals of any infinite size. There's no good way to extend Zermelo's implementation to the infinite ordinals, so it's just not as good.

TL;DR Zermelo's convention works, but it's very slightly more inconvenient in almost every conceivable way. Nobody actually writes out Von Neumann ordinals by hand (except as a fun joke), so there are no downsides.... unless you don't have Axiom of Replacement, since then you have to use a completely different third convention which almost nobody knows about.

-Lilith

[astra-ravana]

American Mandrake

American mandrake (Podophyllum peltatum), also known as mayapple, is a native plant of North America. Despite its name, it is not related to the European Mandrake (Mandragora officinarum), which is famous for its magickal and folkloric associations. However, the mayapple has its own history of use in indigenous medicine and herbalism. The plant is toxic in most parts, except for its ripe fruit, which is edible in small amounts.

It has been traditionally used for purgative, antiviral, and wart-removal purposes. Its active compound, podophyllotoxin, is highly potent and used in modern medicine. While it lacks the rich folkloric history of European mandrake, American mandrake still carries a powerful mystical energy, making it suitable for protection, cursing, transformation, and banishing magick.

Correspondences:

Element: Water

Planet: Saturn

Zodiac: Scorpio, Capricorn

Deities: Hekate, Persephone, Chthonic deities, spirits of nature and the underworld

Chakra: Solar Plexus, Third Eye

Gender: Masculine

Magickal Properties:

• Protection & Banishing - Used to ward off negative energies and spirits. Placing dried leaves or roots around the home or in a sachet can act as a protective barrier. Can be symbolically used in banishing rituals to sever toxic ties.

• Shadow Work & Transformation - Represents death and rebirth, making it useful for working through personal transformation. Aids in deep introspection and confronting fears. Useful in rituals for breaking negative cycles and embracing change.

• Hex-Breaking & Curse Removal - Historically linked to purification, it can be used in spellwork to remove spiritual blockages. Mayapple root (or a symbolic representation) can be included in spell jars for dispelling hexes.

• Spirit Communication & Underworld Work - As an underworld-associated plant, it is useful for honoring ancestors and connecting with spirits. Used in rituals invoking chthonic deities or seeking guidance from the dead (necromancy).

• Healing & Purification (Symbolic Use Only) - Traditionally used in folk medicine, but due to its toxicity, it should not be ingested. Can be placed on an altar to represent purification and renewal.

• Hexing & Cursing - Historically, baneful plants have been used in curses or malefic workings. Used in poppets, powders, or symbolic rituals to weaken an enemy’s resolve. If used in sympathetic magick, it may create obstacles or confusion for a target.

• Poisonous Energy in Witchcraft - Represents corruption, rot, and decay in spellwork. Can be used in spells to cause disruption, block progress, or instill doubt. Symbolic use in Dark Moon rituals for destruction before renewal.

• Illusion & Deception Magick - Mayapple has a dual nature—both healing and toxic—making it useful in glamours, deception, or misleading rituals. Used in spell jars or sigil magick to create confusion or misdirection.

Highly toxic: The root, unripe fruit, and leaves contain podophyllotoxin, which can be fatal if ingested or absorbed in large amounts. Use with caution in rituals. American mandrake is best used symbolically rather than physically handled.

[serpentface]

What does medical theory look like in Wardi areas? There's a concept of diseases caused by dabi, but what about other causes? And what does becoming a doctor or healer look like?

Dagi are specifically evil spirits that are explanatory for ailments with clear or presumed external cause, and that are known to spread (either through the body or between people). They are thus considered the source of most infections and contagious diseases. They are sort of a proto-proto germ theory in that they are conceptualized as being tiny and/or invisible and entering the body through wounds and orifices, though this is conceptualized more along the lines of miasma theory (they are usually spread in the form of Bad Air). They're a pretty small part of the medical model as a whole, being a direct Cause of the disease but not what Enables it.

The broader medical model revolves around these core concepts:

-Blood is the living spirit. Every person has two souls, with living spirit being the one that animates and maintains the body. A body's healthy function is dependent upon blood flow being normal and uninhibited, and the blood not being polluted.

-All matter in the world is composed of a mix of essential properties of Sea (female/cold/wet/malleable) and Sky (male/hot/dry/transformative). In medical contexts, these essences are usually referred to as Hot or Cold as proper nouns. This does not usually refer to literal temperature, and rather describes an object's presumed interactive qualities.

-All non-human/animal matter in the world is also God's body and carries the flow of God's living spirit, with each discrete form of matter being imbued with an Essence that is a fundamental nature that defines its being. In the context of medicine, Essences are influenced by their Hot/Cold properties, and are the mechanism for medicinal effects ascribed to any given object. This is rooted in Wardi animism, and the concept of Essence is basically interchangeable with the notion that all natural objects have an interactive Spirit. The explicitness of this element and how much this Spirit is ascribed internal agency/personhood is more variable.

-The body/living spirit is metaphysically vulnerable to spiritual pollution. Forms of spiritual pollution first weaken the living spirit, thus becoming an avenue for ailments to develop. Curses can similarly weaken the body, as can attachment/inhabitation by evil spirits. An already weakened body is more vulnerable to this sort of outside harm by dagi/other evil spirits/curses, so the effects can be compounded.

-The totality of your wellbeing is dependent upon your connection to God, maintained on an individual day to day level by prayer and offerings, and by avoiding spiritual pollution. God's body and living spirit, while great on scales beyond imagining, is still a body, still susceptible to its natural flows being blocked or severed. Proper orthopraxy maintains your connection, which is the ultimate foundation for a good life, good fortune, and good health.

-The worldview in general doesn't distinguish a 'mundane' dimension from a 'spiritual' dimension. Most things are spiritual and mundane at the same time. Everyday ablution is cleansing yourself of spiritual pollution and it's also just washing your hands because they have dirt on them. There is no fundamental difference between physical health and spiritual health, even wholly physical injuries (ie a broken arm) affect the living spirit, even wholly spiritual injuries (ie a curse) affect the physical body.

---

So pretty much every possible ailment can be interpreted through this model. Contagious flu is dagi entering the body through orifices and spreading into the blood, causing the blood to become polluted and obstructing its proper flow, thus resulting in the flu's physical effects. Infection is dagi entering the body through wounds, obstructing the blood from healing the wound and causing inflammation and rot. A migraine is an excess of blood flow to the head that becomes too Hot, potentially caused by blockage of blood flow in other parts of the body. Erectile dysfunction might be because the testes or penis are too Cold and/or have obstructed blood flow and/or have localized polluted blood and/or you could be cursed, buddy. Intestinal parasites are small bugs that get inside your body and feed on blood (yeah), causing blockages and disruption of bloodflow to the affected parts and harming your health.

The medical system is built upon this model and attempts to address every dimension of these concerns.

At the most abstract end of things, heartbeat drums are used in healing contexts as a matter of belief they can influence the flow of living spirit. In almost all cases, this is supplemental, encouraging the blood to move in the necessary capacity while more direct treatments go to work. IE- your wounds have been cleaned and you've been given medicine, the healing is already in process but further encouraged via the healer drumming the medicine through your body. Their use is most critical in life-or-death circumstances- a midwife overseeing a childbirth will have an assistant to drum throughout as a matter of keeping both parties alive and strengthening their blood flow.

'Medicine' refers to any objects that encourage health or healing via their direct interaction with the physical body. Medicines that are Consumed or topically applied usually intend to be active treatments, medicines that are Worn usually intend to be preventative.

Every discrete object is believed to have a Hot or Cold property, and a more nuanced Essence. The former describes how it interacts with other matter on a fundamental level, the latter ascribes its actual effects. Everything that exists Could potentially be medicinal and the grand totality of Wardi medicinal knowledge includes plants, minerals, and animal parts, though the majority of common medicine is based around herbalism. This medicine system is built on centuries of accumulated knowledge and some more historically recent scholarly investigation. Some of it is ultimately Vibes Based (astoundingly, antlers/horns and animal penises/testes tend to be ascribed positive effects for virility and male fertility), some is actively damaging (lead is sometimes consumed medicinally), but a lot of the most central medicines have Become central for having very strong correlation with positive results.

For example, wounds are usually cleaned with vinegar (the acetic acid of which has actual antimicrobial functions). Some contraceptives definitely Reduce the chance of pregnancy via properties that actually block the cervix, reduce sperm motility, make vaginal PH more hostile to sperm, or contain spermicidal chemicals (ie inserting bandage soaked in a ground mix of olive oil, honey, and acacia- the latter is spermicidal, the liquids reduce motility, and blocking the cervix via a barrier is just intuitive). Honey and garlic figure heavily into a lot of medicines in general, largely due to their actual antimicrobial properties. Cumin is already central to the diet, and is the preeminent treatment for internal parasites (and has some positive effect). Etc.

Ailments are also in part addressed by general dietary changes. Everything you eat has Hot or Cold properties as well as more nuanced individual Essences, so your everyday diet can address some dimensions of health and be a supplement for more directed medical treatment.

Bloodletting is a response to more severe or resistant ailments, usually when the cause is regarded as polluted blood in a specific body part and/or evil spirits in the body. It attempts to treat ailments by removing polluted blood at the sources of pollution, allowing the body's natural defenses to replace it with clean blood. Bloodletting is not performed willy-nilly and is generally not the first resort- this is your living spirit, the soul that animates your body, and you should only intentionally shed it with great purpose.

Given the lack of distinction between physical and spiritual health, all these forms of medicine are supplemented with everyday religious practice. Your connection with God is also a source of maintaining your health, and most priesthoods can assist you with more complex physical-spiritual matters via blessings and sacrifices in your name.

---

DOCTORS:

There are two main bodies of physicians who receive formal educations and work as physicians. Both of them are connected to the priesthood of Ganmache (largely due to that priesthood having become heavily interwoven with educational institutions in general) and receive their basic education from them, as spiritual knowledge is considered a fundamental necessity for medical care. These are the Hittlatlamii and Nacouy.

Hittlatlamii are predominantly midwives, but are also general physicians specializing in women's care. This role is Technically open regardless of gender, but male Hittlatlamii are uncommon and often subject to mockery as having failed at being Nacouy or possibly being some kind of pervert. The order is mostly composed of women and akoshos, and they are uniquely condoned to remain unmarried and given significant freedom of movement due to the necessities of their work. Most of their patients are women who may not necessarily leave the home as much as men, so Hittlatlami often have to travel to their patient's homes and may sometimes live there temporarily. Most Hittlatlamii are members of the commoner class, and usually inherit the position from a relative via recommendation (who will often become their mentor).

They are formally educated in the priesthood of Ganmache's schools from the age of ~7-10 to 15, and work in a close mentor-mentee relationship with a senior Hittlatlamii until the age of 30. In this process, they will have learned to read and write, have access to a broad base of recorded medical knowledge, and will have had extensive hands-on experience as physicians and midwives. Their specialty is women's health re: fertility and pregnancy and 'female anatomy', but they are also equipped to treat non-gendered common ailments and will sometimes attend to men as needed. They are also a cult to Anmir-Ganmache (God as the hearth/domestic sphere)- their work itself is a matter of this devotion, and they are considered equipped to provide blessings and attend to domestic spiritual issues (though are not full priests and thus not permitted to perform sacrifices).

Nacouy are the other group, with the word 'nacouy' being functionally translatable as just 'physician'. This role is exclusive to men. Most are commoners, but being a Nacouy is a fairly common 'youngest son of 6 brothers in a noble family that doesn't really have anything else to do' career path. They are general purpose doctors who will have been extensively educated, and will know/have access to the breadth of recorded medical knowledge. They are educated in the priesthood of Ganmache's schools from ~7-10 into their early 20s, and from there will work with a mentor until the latter dies or retires. They usually receive patients as visitors instead of coming to their homes (unless the patient is bed-bound or any travel would otherwise harm them), with full Nacouy usually sending their mentees to handle the majority of house calls. Highly esteemed nacouy are sometimes hired to become permanent doctors for royal families.

They are considered the backbone of medical practice and knowledge in Imperial Wardin, working life-long as healers while also extensively recording their knowledge and findings in the process. They are expected to be highly literate and good writers, though usually hire servant scribes as assistants for this matter. After retirement (usually around 50) they generally spend the remainders of their lives as teachers in their former schools.

There are plenty of people in this society who work as healers without being a member of these orders. These are mostly people living in small villages who work as doctors for their community, usually having inherited this position from their parents. They are very unlikely to have a formal education or to be literate in written Wardi, but will have learned a broad variety of medical lore via oral transmission and cooperation with other healers. This role tends to double as a local spiritual authority in places that are distant from priestly centers, as spiritual knowledge is a requirement for being a good healer.

[elementcattos]

How do isotopologue cattos` looks differ? Like heavy water from regular water, or Hydrogen Deuteride from regular dihydrogen.

@starkat-cosmickitty has actually done a take on Tritiated Water in our server which I absolutely love

Ideally every compound catto would resemble the actual appearance and/or properties of their respective substance, but since that information isn't always easily available, they can also just be a mix of their constituent elements like this! very heavy oiter

The appearance and properties of heavy water are known very well though, so here's Water's slightly denser sister

[theantarwitch]

Alchemy, the untouched friend of Witchcraft

If there is something interesting that is nearly not used on mostly of the witch community, is Alchemy, and is something from which we could take some few useful stuffs.

As always, disclaimer first, I’m not an expert on the subject and I barely if I read a couple of books about the topic (from another 10 untouched ones lol), so as always in life, take what I say with tweezers. This is meant to be a light superficial view to open a door of possibilities in a mix of Witchcraft and Alchemy, is not a thesis. Saying that, to the core of the question.

Alchemy use elements. A lot of them.

The three primes or Tria Prima (the basic 3 materials): Sulfur (Related to the Soul and the principle of combustibility, so it has volatility, can burn, explode, combust), Mercury (Related to the Spirit, the principle of fusibility so the material can be fused together and volatility so a substance vaporizes), and Salt (Relate to the Body, the principle of non-combustibility and non-volatility).

Our beloved Four basic Elements: Air, Earth, Fire, Water.

The Seven Metals associated with the seven classical planets: Lead, corresponding with Saturn. Tin, corresponding with Jupiter. Iron, corresponding with Mars. Gold, corresponding with the Sun. Copper, corresponding with Venus. Mercury, corresponding with Mercury. Silver, corresponding with the Moon.

The 13 Mundane Elements and Later Metals: Antimony, Arsenic, Bismuth, Cobalt, Magnesium, Manganese, Nickel, Oxygen, Phlogiston, Phosphorus, Platinum, Sulfur, Zinc (All of them with a lot of interesting properties and functions, in and out the alchemy world).

The 10 Alchemical Compounds: Acid, Sal ammoniac, Aqua fortis, Aqua regia, Aqua vitae, Amalgam, Cinnabar, Vinegar, Vitriol, Brimstone (All of them also with amazing properties).

And what interesting me the most (at least to my way to do witchcraft), The 12 Alchemical Processes:

Calcination (Aries): The thermal treatment of a solid to removing impurities or volatile substances.

Congelation (Taurus): Term used in medieval and early modern alchemy for the process known today as crystallization. Process by which a solid form into a structure known as a crystal, by precipitating from a solution or freezing.

Fixation (Gemini): Process by which a previously volatile substance is "transformed" into a form (often solid) that is not affected by fire.

Solution (Cancer): Homogeneous mixture composed of two or more substances. In such a mixture, a solute is a substance dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent.

Digestion (Leo): A process in which gentle heat is applied to a substance over a period of several weeks.

Distillation (Virgo): Separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation.

Sublimation (Libra): The transition of a substance directly from the solid to the gas state, without passing through the liquid state.

Separation (Scorpio): Converts a mixture or solution of chemical substances into two or more distinct product mixtures. Process of distinguishing to two or more substance in order to obtain purity.

Ceration (Sagittarius): Chemical process, by continuously adding a liquid by imbibition to a hard, dry substance while it is heated. Typically, this treatment makes the substance softer.

Fermentation/ Putrefaction (Capricorn): A metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes/ Decomposition of organic matter by bacterial or fungal digestion.

Multiplication (Aquarius): Process to increase the potency of the elixir or projection powder, in order to increase the gains in the subsequent projection.

Projection (Pisces): Process to transmute a lesser substance into a higher form; often lead into gold.

Damn, alchemy even have symbols to Units: Month, Day, Hour, Dram (Unit of mass between 1 and 3 grams), Half Dram, Ounce (Unit of mass, weight or volume of 28 grams, Half Ounce, Scruple (1 grams), Pound (500 grams).

So just with this simple 2 pages of basic Wikipedia info, we have a ton of new things to use. Everything here has specific properties, some more physical and chemical oriented, but others (like the 3 Tria Prima and The 12 Alchemical Processes) have a lot of correspondences with the witch life itself.

The 12 Alchemical Processes could be absolutely used to represent an desired outcome.

Calcination uses thermal treatment, so it can boost the Fire element of a spell. It also “removing impurities or volatile substances”, so can be applied to generate a mild fever to get rid off the flu, or to boost the organs that clean the body (kidneys and liver mostly)

Congelation turns a solid by freezing, can boost the Water element, so all the “freezer spells” can be boosted with this.

Fixation? A volatile substance is transformed into a solid form? Sound pretty much to grounding, or to help to focus an ADHD head as mine, or to put down to earth someone who is VOLATILE AND VIOLENT. Also, Earth element.

Solution? Homogeneous mixture of two or more substances? It sounds like an aid to make two people on conflict to get into an agreement, or to boost a new business by mixing the opportunities with the action. Air element.

Digestion. A process in which gentle heat is applied to a substance over a period of several weeks? It sounds like something that can help any process that need digestion (bad news must be “digested”, hard choices must be “consulted with the pillow”), and the “gentle heat” sounds comforting. Someone is grieving? Maybe Digestion can help them to overcome the awful times.

Distillation. Separating the components or substances. Anything that need to be separated can be helped with this. Relationships that must end, breakups, cut the ties with older things or habits.

Sublimation. The transition of a substance. I heard trans rights? Can this maybe help with your hormones? Or even to transition from what you previously left behind with the distillation, to focus in a new better future.

Separation. Process of distinguishing to two or more substance in order to obtain purity. How to choose from two or more choices? How to pick the better one? The one with purity? Separation maid aid.

Ceration. A hard, dry is heated to make it softer. Make that person less frigid, make the boss less bitchy, make your chronic pain less hurtful, make your bills less heavy, all that you can think in make softer.

Fermentation/ Putrefaction. I personally love this one. Produces changes in organic substrates and decomposition of organic matter by bacterial or fungal digestion. Prime element to curses. All what you want to rid off in the most disgusting way. May their flesh get rotten under a car in a hot summer.

Multiplication. Process to increase the potency of the elixir in order to increase the gains in the subsequent projection. MONEY MONEY MAKE MORE MONEY, all what need to be increased and all what you want to multiply, go go go!

Projection. Transmute a lesser substance into a higher form “lead into gold”. Perfect to get better as a person, to learn to adapt, accept, to grow compassion, love, etc.

At this you can add the Units, the metals and mundane elements, the 4 elements, the tria prima, your crystals and herbs and sigils and all. And your spells will be filled with components and correspondences.

What’s better, a lot of the physical elements are not too hard to get (some yes, they are, but you are not here to make lead into gold with a full set of chemistry), but alchemy use a lot of symbology, so even if you don’t have the physical element, you can use their properties with the symbol, just as any other sigil.

Salt is easy. Tin in a food can. Antimony in mostly all the rocks. Arsenic in apple seeds (technically no but still). Cobalt and Manganese basically everywhere. Magnesium in your own body. Nickel in coins. Oxygen in the air., Phosphorus, Zinc and Sulfur in food. Acid in anything acid lol. Aqua vitae in alcohol (especially Whisky). Vinegar in vinegars.

Long story short, if you feel that maybe you are lacking something, check some books about alchemy would maybe help. Don’t pick super chemical specific pro books and don’t be discouraged by the terms, pick what can be useful to you, and I hope this open some doors and bring more curiosity about this amazing topic.

[majingojira]

Complete List of Public Domain McGuffin Materials

I wanted a clean collection of these based on @titleknown original post, just for ease of reference and adding a few along the way.

Also, HAPPY PUBLIC DOMAIN DAY!

Cavorite - An Anti-Gravity Metal from First Men On The Moon by H.G. Wells.

Hihi'irokane - From "The Takenouchi Documents" (1935). A super durable metal that never rusts and is also a conductor of heat. In other words, it's Minecraft Red Stone.

Taduki - From the Alan Quartermain stories, a drug that allows users to relive past lives via smoking. It's a great framing device, and was used as one in the original stories.

The Absolute - from "The Absolute At Large". Byproduct of a matter-to-energy conversion. Implied to be the element of 'Divinity'.

Eitr - Source of all life in Norse Mythology. The mixing of the FIres of Muspelheim and the ice of Nifilheim -- but also a deadly poison to the earth.

Fleury's Gas - Rudyard Kipling's super gas from his story "With the Night Mail." Used to run Zepplins. It expands explosively fast as a gas and is both powerful and rigid. It can be liquified with Fleury's Ray. Produces a lot of power and acts as Hydrogen. Could be used very easily in Neumatics (ROBOTS!)

Tulu Metal - Lovecraft invention. rare space-metal. Extremely magnetic. Speculatively, it could do space-warping weirdness (given Lovecraft stories, that tracks).

Abyssal Gold - The Gold of the Deep Ones. It's whitish-gold alloy with a weird lustrousness. No special properties, it's just weird. And rather pretty. Rare type of gold are sure to go for a higher market value.

Alkahest/The Universal Solvent - Alchemy dissolver. It dissolved/breaks apart whatever it comes across.

Jeckyll's Compound - Most people use the Hyde formula as shorthand to make Hulk-knockoffs, but the reality of it more than that. Hyde is not just a coalescence of a man's "Dark Impulses" but a chemical 'disguise' to allow a person to indulge in whatever a person wants.

The Red Weed - A plant native to Mars from War of the Worlds. It tastes metallic, absorbs water, grows extremely quickly, and is bioluminescent.

Starlite - A purportedly heatproof material. Up to 90% organic.

Rossum's Protoplasm - Rossum's Universal Robots, the McGuffin that makes the robots move and behave.

Liquid Electricity - Glowing energy liquid. It was a common belief about Electricity in the early days, so it ended up in a lot of stories.

Herbet West's Re-Animation Fluid - From Lovecraft's Herbet West: Reanimator. It chemically kickstarts the mechanical process of life in organic tissue.

Solarnite/Solarbenite/Solarite - Plan 9 From Outer Space. It causes light particles to... explode.

Vril - The life energies harnessed by an underground utopian civilization. The energies are controlled by staves and there's different type of staff to control Vril in different ways. It can be used to heal, to destroy, or to enhance organic material.

Herakleophorbia IV - The Food of the Gods of H.G. Well. Organisms that ingest this chemical quickly grow to 5 to 7 times their normal size. This is used primarily on livestock to increase their food yield, but it naturally gets eaten by pest animals. Many common household pest insects are now the size of a person's thumb or their hand! A rat is now 6 to 9ft long. And if some jerk feeds it to an Alligator... it now as large as a blue whale.

The New Accelerator - From the HG Wells story from the same name. Within the story, Prof. Gibberne creates a drug that enables the user’s mind and body to gain temporary super-speed, so that everything in the world appears frozen solid as time appears to slow.

There are downsides to being a 1901 version of the Flash however. Users are still subject to friction, so moving while on the drug causes your clothes to get singed (this same friction making it impossible to breathe is ignored, however).

Devil's Foot Root - From the Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes story The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot. A poison made from an African root, which vaporizes when heated, leading to those exposed going mad or dying after inhaling the fumes.

 Basically, works like the Scarecrow’s fear toxin from Batman, and is considered rare enough that someone has to specifically use some from a stolen from the collection of someone who had to gather it personally as an explorer. At least, at the time.

The White Powder - The novel of The White Powder by Arthur Machen, wherein a student is prescribed a drug made from a mysterious white flakey substance. His sister begins to worry about his sudden changes in mood and personality, which is only compounded when his prolonged abuse of the titular White Powder causes the student to literally melt.

One of Machen’s more famous stories, would go on to be listed as among Lovecraft’s favorite's and inspiring future writers, from the finale of Lovecraft’s Cool Air to one Stephen King story where a tainted six pack turns a dude into a blob monster.

[magicandpizza]

Prompt 4 please?

Hello, thanks for playing!

4. Ear kiss.

One of the many, many things that Jesper loves about Wylan - besides just everything - is how easy it is to make him blush. He also has a habit of ducking his head or turning his face away to hide his smile, which makes Jesper want to shake him and beg him to stop, because Jesper loves making him smile.

They’re walking back to the Slat from Wylan’s workshop, hand in hand as they navigate the streets of the Barrel, and Jesper finds himself in a buoyant mood, despite the overwhelming dark clouds lingering overhead.

Wylan is talking about how he’s going to create a specific compound for Kaz, explaining each chemical property to Jesper and laying out his process, even though Jesper doesn’t really understand what he’s trying to create in the first place. But Jesper loves watching Wylan very much in his element, so he nods and smiles and listens and asks questions where he can.

When Wylan finishes up his explanation, his eyes are sparkling, and Jesper feels a rush of fondness for his brilliant demo man. He gestures for Wylan to lean in closer, as though he wants to whisper a secret into his ear, and Wylan instantly complies, casting a furtive glance over his shoulder.

“What is it?” he asks.

But instead of replying, Jesper just presses a kiss to the shell of his ear, grinning when Wylan blushes and ducks his head.

“You’re an idiot,” Wylan mumbles, but Jesper catches a glimpse of his smile before he turns his head to the side.

“Made you smile, though.”

[j4neseyre]

a weekly to do that i probably won't end up completing bc i m the definition of ambitious but too lazy to actually do the work but i gotta get over myself because i have no choice <3

week one

1. d and f block elements (revision + pyq) 2. mechanical properties of solids (revision + pyq + lecture) 3. mechanical prop. of fluids (revision + pyq ) 4. redox reaction (lecture + pyq) 5. thermodynamics (physics pyq) 6. thermal properties (lecture + pyq) 7. hyperbola , parabola (lecture + pyq)

week two

1. solutions + electrochemisty + chemical kinetics (revision + pyq) 2. kinetic theory of gases (rev & pyq) 3. waves & oscillations (rev & pyq) 4. coordination compounds (rev & pyq) 5. straight lines (rev & pyq)

idk if i will be able to finish bc i struggle with procrastination a lot and literally have the attention span of a puppy but i am gonna try my best i promise <3

[mosertone]

How the Universe may view Humankind — Bertrand Russell (1919) “In the visible world, the Milky Way* is a tiny fragment; within this fragment, the solar system is an infinitesimal speck, and of this speck our planet is a microscopic dot. On this dot, tiny lumps of impure carbon and water, of complicated structure, with somewhat unusual physical and chemical properties, crawl about for a few years, until they are dissolved again into the elements of which they are compounded. They divide their time between labour designed to postpone the moment of dissolution for themselves and frantic struggles to hasten it for others of their kind. Natural convulsions periodically destroy some thousands or millions of them, and disease prematurely sweeps away many more. These events are considered to be misfortunes; but when men succeed in inflicting similar destruction by their own efforts, they rejoice, and give thanks to their God. Such is man’s life viewed from the outside.“

[sansculottides]

Maximilien Robespierre was executed on July 28, 1794, or the 10th of Thermidor in the Republican Calendar. A conventional textbook may mark the end of the French Revolution with Napoleon’s coup in 1799. But Ralph Korngold, Marxist historian, wrote:

“No one man creates a revolution or carries it on, but the currents of revolution may sometimes range themselves in such a manner that the fate of one man becomes the fate of the revolution itself. ‘We did not realize,’ said Cambon, ‘that in killing Robespierre we would kill the Republic.” (From Robespierre and the Fourth Estate–the “fourth estate” here referring to the budding proletarian class of the time. Korngold gave particular attention to Robespierre’s role in the attempt to enact the Ventôse Decrees, the most revolutionary laws proposed during the Republic which would have expropriated the wealth of counter-revolutionaries to be redistributed to the propertyless.)

Napoleon’s ascent ten years after the start of the Revolution only marked the final stab in a Republic that was already good as dead. The death of Robespierre and his allies was the death of the Revolution’s radical aspirations, and allowed the propertied men to fully take charge. Though I also appreciate the sentiment that we can also mark the Revolution’s end a bit after Robespierre, with the death of Babeuf, the “proto-communist."

Anyway, what I really wanted to do was talk about a phenomenal short film that came out this year (on Robespierre’s birthday), “La mort de Robespierre” by smileyfaceorg/Janelle Feng (who has done so much amazing art about Robespierre and the French Revolution).

The film focuses on the night before 10 Thermidor, before Robespierre’s forceful arrest. This historical episode has been depicted before, in various ways. In the 1989 movie La Revolution Francaise, Robespierre had gone insane at this point, an interpretation that fed off of years of black propaganda. In Feng’s film, Robespierre is depressed, remorseful and self-loathing, an interpretation that does have its footing in historical record. In the months leading up to his arrest, Robespierre was frequently sick from the mental exhaustion of running and defending the Republic.

Mental health isn’t a new thing, though we have admittedly only recently begun to be articulate on the subject. Mental health amongst revolutionaries isn’t new either. Even Lenin died of sickness likely compounded by the stress of protecting the Revolution’s gains. In the 1871 Paris Commune, the commune council was “a working, not a parliamentary body [but] executive and legislative at the same time,” which allowed members to fully dedicate themselves to the cause of building a socialist future, but also burdened them with a punishing workload with little room for rest, and the mental exhaustion that naturally follows. I’m sure every person in any radical movement knows the weight of the struggle, but that’s one reason why it must be a collective effort.

At one point in the film Saint-Just looks at the 1793 Declaration of Rights on the wall and comments “To think we made that.” It’s another historically-rooted moment, as there was at least one eyewitness account claiming he did something like that on that night. I think the presence of the 1793 Declaration also ties the film in with the radical tradition of interpreting the Revolution. The ‘93 Declaration was more egalitarian than the initial 1789 Declaration, signed off by a pressured Louis XVI and also the one more textbooks would remember.

I love the use of comic elements too. Comic devices in film would make me think of stuff like Spiderverse or Scott Pilgrim where it’s fun and wacky, but in this film Feng uses comic devices to contract and expand space and time to an introspective yet claustrophobic effect. Especially the scenes where panels surrounded by negative space hint at Robespierre’s inner turmoil. It works really well; comic elements can work like poetry, after all.

I love stuff like this, art that is rooted in history (with quite scholarly rigor) while also aiming to go beyond academic scholarship. You can’t quite explore things like emotions and human experience the same way you can through art. Art like this film looks at historical facts and tries to fill in the gaps. How did they feel about this, what kind of effect did it have? And it explores how these historical people and episodes were human. More importantly, it does so with empathy and purpose, keeping in the “spirit” of the historical figures depicted. If you truly read Robespierre, you wouldn’t give in to lazy portrayals of a mad dictator. In contrast, Feng’s short film shows so much care and attention for this person in the past.

I’m so happy that someone like Feng is making art about the French Revolution. Most of the films, novels, games, etc that come out about the French Rev usually just follow the boring, very liberal and mainstream narratives, and calumnies about Robespierre being a dictator or various other kinds of monsters (not true). Korngold wrote about this too: “The Red Terror appears unpardonable to the Whites, and the White Terror to the Reds. Carlyle penetrates closely to the truth when he says that the reason the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution has received so much scathing comment, is mainly because it was directed against the privileged classes and their followers and not against ‘the voiceless millions.’”

Like the rest of history, our interpretation of the French Revolution exposes the undercurrents of ideology, conscious or not. Our ideas of who should be in power, who should be listened to. Ultimately, it did end as a revolution of the budding bourgeoisie, but before that defeat, there were revolutionaries who imagined and fought for a new future for all. Not just a political revolution, but a social and economic one. We should remember their revolutionary example. There is a reason, after all, why the Soviets held the likes of Robespierre, Saint-Just and Marat in high regard.

[maybe-boys-do-love]

So I shared, the Spanish-language horror visual references in this week’s Peaceful Property episode (which are great ghost story films for comparison in thematic elements, as well). The death this week, though, is yet another ghost story reference, this time in an English-language series with lots of commentary on class and the racial and gender politics of domestic work, The Haunting of Bly Manor.

🚨spoilers for both series from here on🚨

In Bly Manor, Hannah Grose, the estate’s maid is revealed late in the series to be a ghost, who had fallen into a well on the grounds. Although the series is based off Henry James’s Turn of the Screw and its celebrated film adaptation The Innocents from the 1960s and its celebrated 2000s remake The Others* with Nicole Kidman (in which the twist from the previous is that the governess main character is revealed to be dead), Hannah Grose’s death is a new addition in the Netflix series. It compounds the complex themes about class and domestic servitude in the original British story and adds issues of race to the proceedings.

Peaceful Property uses Baanchuen’s story for similar purposes. Migrant domestic work is an important issue in Southeast Asia. The International Labor Organization put out a report last year stating, “29 per cent of surveyed migrant domestic workers in Malaysia were in conditions meeting the ILO’s statistical definition of forced labour; as were 7 per cent of surveyed workers in Singapore and 4 per cent in Thailand. Indicators of involuntariness include not being able to quit your job, having to stay in the job longer than agreed, and being made to work without overtime pay, among others.” Shackles, like those on Baanchuen’s ghost, are an easily recognizable symbol of enslavement, indicating the extent of Aunt Phom’s cruelty.

But even under legal circumstances, domestic workers are one of the least protected group of laborers in Thailand and abroad. Taiwanese-American labor organizer, MacArthur “genius” grant recipient, and mentor/friend to BLM cofounder Alicia Garza, Ai-Jen Poo has a fantastic interview on On Being, in which she discusses the racialized, gendered, international, and cross-class dynamics that define domestic care work, which impacts the strategies to organizing for workers rights in the field.

“The average annual income for a home care worker [presumably in the US at the time of recording in 2020] is $15,000 per year. And I can’t think of any community that I’ve ever lived in where you can survive on $15,000 a year. It’s really quite extraordinary. And they’re there and see employers come home with a pair of shoes that are maybe more than they make in a week, and yet, their job is to care and support and love, and they do so. You can’t actually do your job as a caregiver if you dehumanize the person that is in your charge. And I think that that is so much of what’s needed in this moment. All of us need to understand that we have a profound set of challenges and inequities that we have to deal with and transform, but we have to do it with a boundless sense of compassion and humanity.”

I’d encourage some of my fellow watchers of Peaceful Property to heed Poo’s perspective on disrupting class distinctions and what the advocacy for equitable practices has looked like in her work. I’m a caseworker myself and have worked alongside people who had less privilege than me for caring wealthy people who never the less didn’t always recognize the value of those whose work they depended on and didn’t have the labor laws that might provide that guidance. There are a few pieces of work that explore this meaningfully (better than The Help, although Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer absolutely carved out depths in their characters stories that weren’t there on the page). Glad to see Peaceful Property making its attempt to explore these depths. It actually made me reflect on how many of the jobs after the first episode really focused on gendered aspects of labor—a wig-maker, assistants, food-making…

And for my Homepeach truthers out there, that gender conversation is not just about labor. Bly Manor is also notable for its queer romance storyline with a wealthier character running from her internalized homophobia/guilt after a car accident…

*Incidentally, The Others is also heavily influenced by the same Spanish film, The Spirit of the Beehive, as both referenced Spanish-language horror films in these weeks episode.

[greenwitchcrafts]

Thyme

Thymus vulgaris | Thymus serpyllum

Known as: Common thyme & garden thyme

Related plants: There are hundreds of species of thyme. Some members of the genus thymus are aromatic evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae (Like shown) that include basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory, marjoram, oregano,hyssop lavender, catnip, bee balm, salvia, wild dagga, oriental motherwort & perilla

Parts used : Leaves

Habitat and cultivation: This shrub is native to southern Europe from the western Mediterranean to southern Italy. It thrives in medium-dry, sandy, loose & well drained soils.

Plant type: Perennial

Region: 2-10 with zones below 5 using both mulch and protections from frost damage.

Harvest: Anytime

Growing tips: This plant does the best in full sun in a well draining container. Like rosemary, it is very hard to grow from seed and therefore should look into cuttings or getting a starter plant from a nursery. I highly recommend lemon thyme.

Medicinal information: Thyme contains the compound thymol, which can help control or neutralize some bacterial, parasitic, fungal, or viral infections and have  anti-inflammatory properties.  been used to strengthen the lungs, purge the body of  phlegm, as a remedy for shortness of breath, to kill worms. It was applied as an ointment to remove “hot swellings” and warts, and to ease pains in the spleen, the loins, and hips.

Cautions: Fresh and dried thyme is generally safe to eat or drink as a refreshing tea. But essential oils are different. They’re highly concentrated and can be toxic in their undiluted form. Ingesting too much thyme in essential oil could cause a risky drop in your blood pressure. 

Magickal properties

Gender: Feminine

Planet: Venus

Element: Water

Deities: Faeries

Magical uses:

• Place under your pillow to prevent nightmares & to ensure a restful night's sleep

• Wear in your hair to make you seem irresistible

• Plant in your garden to attract faeries

• A little under your tongue is said to allow you to see faery folk more clearly

• Make and infusion in boiled water & add to your bath to help you release the past

• Carry thyme with you to help develop psychic powers

• Smell to steady nerves, invoke courage & attract good health

• Burn to clear negative energies attached to you and renew them

• Hang to bring peace to a sad or angry space

• The ancient Greeks used it in their baths and burnt it as incense in their temples, believing it was a source of courage