Maybe we should find people who are good at driving and give them really big cars, and then people can just pay a small fee to be driven around the city. Maybe in a regular loop so people always know where they'll be at certain times of the day.
As is tradition in tumblr culture the locals unearth the corpse of a long deceased figure and drag it across the streets merrily, laughing at what is preserved of the person’s words. This custom, seen as morbid in other cultures, is instead done gleefully and with an unmatched enthusiasm
When you kill a healthcare ceo, it’s terrorism. When someone shoots your kid in elementary school, it’s thoughts and prayers for like a week and then they move on. It truly shows the fact that terrorism is whatever the american government wants it to mean.
luigi mangione, the SUSPECTED (innocent until proven guilty) united healthcare shooter, has been charged with terrorism. that’s right. a man who supposedly shot ONE SINGLE PERSON is being charged with terrorism. because in america, billionaires lives matter enough that a SINGLE rich man’s death is considered a terrorist act against this country. think about that.
In middle school, my parents went through a really ugly divorce. My mom got a boyfriend during it, which pissed my dad off.
One day I was out shopping with my mom and my sister called us asking us to come home because my dad had come into the house and absolutely fucking destroyed it. You could hear my dad in the background screaming that my mom better come home or he was going to kill us all.
We took him very seriously and rushed home, because he was unmedicated bipolar, had already broken things in our home, had been physically abusive to us in the past, had PTSD from war, and had access to guns.
When we got home, my dad threatened to kill my mom and his four children (age 8, 13, 15, and 17) right in front of us. The cops told my mom that they can't legally make him leave because he hadn't actually touched a person yet and his name was on the mortgage. What they did instead is ask him politely to leave the premises for the night. My mom called his commanding officer (Army) to try to get some help and all he did was make my dad promise not to kill her. Both the cops and his commanding officer told my mom that his feelings were just really hurt because she brought her boyfriend around the kids, and that it was probably a good idea not to bring him around us anymore.
They did absolutely nothing to protect me and my entire family from my father's EXTREMELY credible threat, where he was physically present, had already been violent, and was actively threatening to kill us.
But I'm monstrously relieved to know that they took down Brianna Boston with $100,000 bail and a potential 15 year jail sentence for her vague threat to a corporation in general. Glad to know a woman with no firearms, no intent, and merely speaking out of frustration was considered a credible threat.
When our justice system says "serve and protect," they clearly don't mean women and children in domestic violence situations. They don't mean the average person who's just fed up with a system that steals from us and puts our lives at risk every single day.
They just mean rich, white men and corporations.
Brianna probably shouldn't have said what she said. But I'll defend her with my last breath because she stands for something that the vast majority of us already felt. That nobody is looking out for the average person. That nobody values our lives. That our justice system is unfair and will protect the rich fiercely, but not us.
A rich CEO dies, and we'll support it and everyone defending it, because he was just one more person in the long line of powerful people that didn't protect us. He's just one more person who left us for dead when he had the power to help. And we are so sick and tired after decades of struggling that we just don't feel like we owe it to him to be the bigger person anymore.
Just so we're clear, this is not a threat of any kind. I have no access to firearms and I have no plans to, nor would I ever, harm anyone. This is not a manifesto or a potential motive. It is an analysis of the situation in context.
Briana Boston faces terrorism charges and CEOs are getting free therapy
Briana Boston is a 42 year old mother of three from Florida who is under house arrest for expressing her frustration at her insurance (which she PAYS for) who denied her claim. She owns ZERO guns and doesn't have a criminal record.
She was originally held in prison for $100,000 bail. They have not dropped the charges and she is under house arrest even after widespread backlash.
They are trying to charge her with terrorism. They want her to spend 15 years in prison.
They are calling her a Luigi Mangione copycat. As if she killed someone. She made a indirect, not at all credible threat.
Meanwhile...
I want every woman who has ever faced threats online, stalking, etc to bring this Briana Boston up at every opportunity. Every time you were told by police that there was nothing they could do, know that they not only CAN do something, but they WILL do something, just not for you.
you guys made luigi mangione trend for days and I need to see the same energy for brianna boston. she is a 43 year old mother of three who ended a phone call with blue cross blue shield (after being denied a claim) “delay deny depose, you people are next” and is now being held under a 100,000$ bond and could face FIFTEEN years of prison if charged. she has no weapons, her record is clean, and yet she is being held behind bars. they are afraid of the public and are trying to subdue. do not let them!!!! be outraged that our freedom of speech is being threatened!!!!! deny defend depose! free brianna boston!
Her name is Briana Boston. She was charged with threatening to commit a mass shooting or terrorist act. Which is hopefully what gets her out of it, because they're gonna have to try to prove intent. I wish I knew enough about Florida law to know when that one got enacted, because it sounds like some Homeland Security Theatre nonsense the state picked up somewhere but wouldn't have to be.
Anyway. They're clearly fucking scared. So be careful out there, folks.
This is an aspect of my path that I'm currently exploring more deeply, and as I learn to navigate it and reveal more ways it's useful to me I've noticed an increasing passion towards the subject. I'm by no means an expert on the subject, but I hope I can provide a post that helps explain the concept to those who are curious.
Reccomended Sources
The Crooked Path: An Introduction to Traditional Witchcraft by Kelden
Besom, Stang, and Sword: A Guide to Traditional Witchcraft, the Six Fold Path & the Hidden Landscape by Christopher Orapello and Tara-Love Maguire
Traditional Witchcraft: A Cornish Book of Ways by Gemma Gary
The Witch Compass by Ian Chambers
I'd like to note that of the books I don't have copies of the first three listed sources, but when I was initially on my journey I had access to them digitally and they opened my eyes to the concepts I'll be speaking on. All of my written information will be paraphrase from my grimoire as a result.
What Is The Witches Compass?
I honestly would divide it into two different answers, there's a long answer and a short answer.
Generally I'd say: The Witches Compass is a means similar to casting a circle that allows you to traverse the Hedge (perform astral work), work with spirits to perform spells, and to harness the powers of the directions to tap into your abilities.
The more 'esoteric', long answer I'd give: The Witches Compass is both a tool and a method comprised of symbolism, story telling, and allegory. These three elements allow the user to tap into their "unconcious mind" so they can better perceive the spirits and world around them. To put it short, the Compass is an inherent part of us-- seeing as it's a part of our perception --and it's up to us to use the tool as we see fit-- whatever symbols and stories we attribute to it is up to us.
How does the Compass differ from casting a Circle?
I have some Key Ideas based on observation and what I've read:
A circle intends to keep out Spirits, the Witches' Compass generally does not
A circle is intended to raise energy, The Compass generally is about focusing and maintaining energy
A circle is usually ritualistic in intent; focused on consecrating a space, a Witches' Compass isn't nessicarily ritual focused.
Similarly, a Circle usually is opened with specific steps and must be closed with a specific set of steps, the Compass (while having steps from others you may want to follow) doesn't always have to follow specific rules and has a lot less to do when closing it.
This one is a little more personal, but I generally relate the Circle to tapping into Higher Powers, and I likewise attribute the Witches' Compass to tapping into Earthly Powers (though it's not mutually exclusive).
I highly reccomend you explore both methods and try them out, Circle Casting is definitely still a very useful skill that you can use.
Why Would I Use It?
I'd highly reccomend giving it a try if you fit into the following categories:
You Like/Want to explore. . .
Hedge Work
Spirit Work
Forms of Folk Magic
Animist forms of Spirituality
Challenging yourself with differing or new concepts
Visual based workings
There's a lot of ways for you to learn to incorporate it into your beliefs. If you're concerned about wanting to adapt it into your practice and you have a baseline understanding on the subject, I highly reccomend looking at the last book in the reccomended list because it gives you a lot of exercises that will help you broaden your understanding of the Witches' Compass.
How Do I Tap Into the Compass?
These are some baseline ideas on how you might begin your journey to tapping into the Compass. These are exercises I do to help me better understand it.
Meditating on each direction was one of the first steps I ever took. I focused on sounds (both imagined and literal), visuals, and feelings as I faced each cardinal direction. I then wrote them down so I could further investigate what it means to me.
Finding out what I correspond with each direction helped me out a lot too. That can include elements, tarot card courts, colors basically anything that you place high importance on. It should be noted that in the reccomended sources they do give ideas on correspondences, but I reccomend you explore your own ideas so you can better understand it.
Creating a story for each direction is an idea I've been planning for a while. I want to basically tap into each element in a meditative state and create a short story inspired by my deities, my practice, etc. as a means to better explore how the Compass fits into my faith. You can also attribute stories already known to the Compass as well.
Tying into the previous idea, you can use stories to apply deities, archetypal figures, etc. to each cardinal direction for guidance. Be careful and mindful if you do so, that way you can be respectful with whatever you work with. As a celtic pagan, I've been finding ways that the deities I worship can represent each direction as a means to better interpret and I've found its helped me develop a better understanding and relationship with the deities I worship as a result. Of course, you don't have to incorproate deities, you can even use nameless beings if you want. What matters is you have a representation of each facet.
Practicing laying the Compass is self explanatory. I will say, there are differing methods out there and as you become comfortable you may build your own method to do it. Generally, I'd reccomend a trying a more well known method first so you can get an understanding of the symbolism, general vibe, etc. After the first couple of times if it really doesn't mesh well with you, then I'd say you can definitely explore more into what you'd like to do. You don't even have to do anything too significant either if you don't want to. Try it for simple spellwork, try it for meditative purposes, whatever you feel will ease you into it.
Try to interact with spirits of the land (if they're willing), especially since a part of the Compass is forming working relationships with the landscape around you I'd recommend it heavily. If you're like me and you can't freely or safely explore at random I recommend going places you know you're safe (even if it's as simple as your backyard!) and find a way to covertly do so. For example: instead of visibly laying a Compass and going into a clear trance-like state you can draw one out in a notebook and pretend to be writing in it while connecting with spirits.
Overall. . .
I covered some basic definitions, differences between casting a circle and using The Compass, and some ideas on how you can start your work. Now it's time for you to do some research given that you have an idea on what the Witches Compass is!
This post is merely skimming the surface and there is much more for you to uncover.
Using Cartomancy to Understand your Witches Compass
This is a method I've been doing to uncover archetypes, symbolism, and mythologies/stories (some of my own making, some are not). If you are personally attuned to divination, this may be a fun exercise for you!
I'd like to note that I'm not an authority by any means over the subject of the Witches' Compass, I'm still exploring and learning how it fits into my life. However, I'm really passionate about the subject so I'm quite eager to share this idea I've been working with.
[Process explained under the cut. Warning! This is a lengthy post]
There are probably more correspondences to the cardinal directions than I'm even aware of, and there are multitudes of ways you can correspond each element. I highly recommend finding a firm understanding of how you generally perceive each cardinal direction, that way you have a basis before you start.
First, a list of things I recommend for this exercise, but they aren't necessarily required:
Have a preexisting idea of what each Cardinal Direction means to you. For example, I meditated on each direction and got an idea of which senses and emotions were evoked by each direction.
Take advantage of how the time of day can be associated with the Compass.
Have an understanding of how the elements connect to your cards and what symbolism they possess.
Now, moving onto the exercise itself:
1. Select a deck from which you can work with.
Tarot. Playing cards. Whatever you feel will take you on this journey without hindering you with preconceived notions. In my case, I selected a playing card deck I consecrated for divination.
2. Select four cards that represent each element along with 'beginnings'.
In my case, I used the ace card and then meditated on each card until I felt pulled to ascribe a direction to each one. You may feel pulled to rely on predetermined associations when it comes to ascribing directions-- go ahead and do that if it feels fit.
3. Take the card you associated with "East", this is the first card you will be starting with. Meditate on what symbolism behind the card means to you and how it empowers the cardinal direction.
If you're working with unfamiliar symbolism, don't shy away from taking a day to research the hidden meanings behind each card. You may also ascribe any preconceived feelings or notions towards this cardinal direction while you meditate on this card.
4. When you feel like you've sufficiently connected to both the card and the cardinal direction, place it to the east. Place the others in one of the cardinal directions.
Since the other cards aren't the focus, it shouldn't matter how accurately the others are placed. However it's desirable to attempt some accuracy if it doesn't pull away from your focus.
5. Now, this is when you will invoke the Compass:
I am not one for consistently opening the compass the same way every time, but for this excersize specifically I felt it nessicary to start with rhythmic humming and chanting. Moving clockwise, I invoked the spirits of each direction. I used an "open arms" gesture as I spoke to better connect me to each spirit (a symbolic way of welcoming each one). When I finished invoking each spirit, I would bend down and place a hand on each card, imagining the spirits of that direction standing guard over their respective card. I also find it helpful to imagine myself as the center of a Compass, and the circle I walk is the bounds I traverse.
6. Stand/sit at the center (whichever is more comfortable for you) and state your intentions with this working:
In this instance, I had said something to the effect of "I ask the spirits to facilitate my exploration of the East direction." And then I specifically asked the spirits of the east to "help me better connect with the direction of the East through symbolism and mythos."
7. Close your eyes and let yourself be taken on a journey. While waiting for the journey to begin, imagine the aspects of the cardinal direction, and imagine sensations and feelings you associate with it.
How this journey looks will vary greatly from person to person based on their beliefs, notions, and ideas of the unseen world. For me, I was approached each time by a different Goddess who shared with me a pivotal story that shaped them, but for you it could be a wide variety of possibilities.
8. After your journey is done, write down what you experienced. I personally like keeping my compass open for this portion because I feel that it helps me recall better. After you're done thank each cardinal direction for it's part in the exercise, and then close the compass when you feel ready.
I strongly recommend taking the rest of the day to do other things. I found it was easier for me to fully understand and digest the experience when I split each component of the exercise into dedicated days.
9. Repeat with each cardinal direction, moving in a clockwise direction.
So after your work with East, you will delve into South, then West, and finally North.
Concluding Statement
I think that just about covers everything! I took heavy inspiration from the exercises created by Ian Chambers in his book "The Witch Compass" so I definitely urge you to read his work if my exercise did anything to help you open your eyes to the nature of your compass.
I myself am nearing the end of my cycle on this exercise (I'll be honest I'm waiting until winter solstice to fully harness the energy of the north for my final journey), and it definitely has given me a robust understanding of how each facet of the compass can represent me as a person.
I hope this idea can be as helpful to you as it was to me! Feel free --as always-- to share any ideas you have for exercises that can supplement this one or ideas that can work alongside mine!
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