Hekserier

[xianzhong]

reproduction

[cmykflowers-archived]

Some celestial friends!

[starrywisdomsect]

Edward Gorey’s Fantod Pack was first published in 1995. It is a 20 card tarot deck featuring a guide to interpreting the cards by Madame Groeda Weyrd.

“Now that you have learned of all the dreadful things that have overtaken your friends and relations during the past year as scribbled on the inside of their Christmas cards, don’t you want to know what dreadful things lie in wait for you?”

[artdeath]

Finished this web! It’s a meter tall and 75 cm wide, pencil on watercolour paper ❤️🕸 (sold) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrbyV35A1xZ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1vz3nvfzwckcq

[violetwitchcraft-deactivated202]

Please read up what herbs are safe to work with if you are on anti-depressants (or in fact any medication)! I was googling the side effects of my new prescription and was shocked to see my favourite herb was suggested against; completely didn’t expect to find that out.

[artofmaquenda]

“The Womb”

I noticed a few spikes were sticking out of the pond with duckweed and I wondered what it was. It turned out to be a young little hedgehog that drowned… Such a horrible and scary death for this small creature. I went to the old cemetery, as this place is so beautiful and special to me to make berry mandala for it, to symbolize it’s return to Nature’s womb.

[chaosophia218]

Antique Astronomical Engraving of the Solar System and the Zodiac, “Encyclopedia Britannica”, 1797.

[skyewilversteanbooks]

Recreational Witchcraft’s Sabbats Masterpost

I thought linking all of these in one post would be very useful for those of us who are stuck for ideas on celebrating the sabbats.  Celebrate Yule

Celebrate Imbolc

Celebrate Ostara

Celebrate Beltane

Celebrate Midsummer

Celebrate Lammas

Celebrate Mabon

Celebrate Samhain

[haimeart]

Wheel of the year Thanks for the help, dear satanuwka

[broomsick]

The holidays’ wreaths, by Julia Nikita

[astral-obscura]

Retrograde planet(s) in the 1st house: the Ascendant sign’s manifestation will be heavily hindered/reduced. Very insecure, perhaps prone to self-hatred. Introverted. Identity and life path may change a lot. Likely more self-aware than most others with the same Rising. Tend to be very interesting to others, but don’t feel that way. Worldview is unstable & usually subjective but insightful.

Retrograde planet(s) in the 2nd house: have no idea what they’re worth until they take the time to study their personal values; before that happens, they tend not to have a solid foundation from which to operate & base their decisions/will on whims or temporary mindsets. May have many regrets because of this. Fluctuating & unconventional finances/possessions.

Retrograde planet(s) in the 3rd house: tend to be quiet, considerate, and thoughtful. May prefer to observe rather than participate. Acutely aware of flaws in mindsets/thoughts/statements, especially their own; analytical and clever. Shy, may be unwilling to share thoughts. May tend to talk in circles without getting to the point. Erratic productivity and mental activity.

Retrograde planet(s) in the 4th house: prone to withdraw, extremely introverted and introspective. Self-reliant, psychologically strained but independent nonetheless. Many intrinsic issues that they usually make an effort to work out. Family/upbringing is the source of much inner trouble. Possibly emotionally repressed, or they express emotion unconventionally.

Retrograde planet(s) in the 5th house: poor self-confidence, hate standing out. High standards for themselves. Fear not being received well so they may water themselves down or put up a facade. Self-censure is a big problem, and so is self-denial. Pleasures/enjoyment are stressful & cause inner tug-of-war so they may avoid it altogether. Prefer to experience pleasure in private.

Retrograde planet(s) in the 6th house: easily distracted and prone to procrastination. Tend to prefer working alone as it’s difficult to cooperate and collaborate. Can be lazy and unproductive. Need a lot of motivation and reward. May fall ill often. Mental health may be poor. Anxious. The part of the body associated with the planet or sign on the cusp may have many issues.

Retrograde planet(s) in the 7th house: usually able to acknowledge the parts of themselves they dislike/reject, thus they tend to be relatively self-aware. Very inhibited, may be hypocritical. Potentially the type to back out of commitments, present ultimatums, blackmail/manipulate, and “negotiate” their way through life in an unfair manner. Potentially repressive and superficial.

Retrograde planet(s) in the 8th house: particularly secretive; expression is inhibited. Tear themselves apart looking for answers to their problems; can be blind to things in their life that will help them, may ignore them on purpose out of fear, resentment, or self-contempt. Wise, insightful, extremely intuitive. Inner world is out of control so they’re excessively controlled on the outside.

Retrograde planet(s) in the 9th house: fleeing is a natural defense mechanism. Easily feels suffocated and the first instinct is to disappear from the immediate situation. Feel lost intellectually because nothing really makes sense to them or clicks; tend to have unconventional but intriguing opinions. Restless on the inside. Can’t settle on beliefs; can’t agree with anyone.

Retrograde planet(s) in the 10th house: feel lost in the world; feel as if the world has no room for them. Unsure of who they truly aspire to be, and that trickles down into their personal life, so they tend to be generally indecisive. Feel weak or inadequate. May have too many ambitions or a lack of them. Lack of belief in themselves. Limit their opportunities with underperformance.

Retrograde planet(s) in the 11th house: usually have issues making & keeping friends. Difficult to connect to in a lasting way, despite their efforts to integrate. Uncomfortable with fully “belonging” to a community, or attaching to dreams/ideals. May feel lost and disconnected, possibly excluded. Sometimes prone to withdrawal. Usually limit/filter their personality when socializing.

Retrograde planet(s) in the 12th house: generally present an image of themselves to others that differs greatly from who they are on the inside. Unsure of themselves, may be either extremely self-aware or extremely self-unaware depending on the sign/planet. Rarely seen or treated the way they should be. Painfully repressive but they can’t avoid the truth about themselves.

May apply to houses with their ruler in retrograde.

These descriptions also count for the nodal axis (if retrograde) to a lesser degree because retrogrades often relate to lessons that need to be learned in order for the native to “evolve” as a person, which is a big theme of the nodes.

[falseknees]

I actually find this reassuring somehow

[sound-dream]

[falseknees]

I actually find this reassuring somehow

[thelatestkate]

Holidays can feel like too much when you’re already coping with a lot. Take care of yourself today. ♥   °˖✧*•  Shop, Patreon, Book *•. ✧˖°`

[juniperwildwalk]

Why Samhain Is Not Fun

A look at the last night of the Wiccan Year

——————————————————

This post is about Wicca, and as such it is wholly focused on faith, religion, and the observance of religious rites. It is written by a Goddess-focused Wiccan who worships the Sacred Feminine and feels little connection to the masculine. If you’re not a Wiccan, not interested in my views on Wicca, or simply not interested in the sabbats, feel free to skip this post. If not, I hope you read on!

I know that a large number of my followers are not Wiccan themselves; the majority of my posts are deliberately written to be secular, and this is mostly because I have seen a great many blogs that try to shoehorn their faith into even the most transparently secular of posts. This kind of proselytism is unacceptable to me - all should be free to be called to their own faith, and if you’re not called to serve the Goddess I have no right to try to force that. So whilst I do make Wiccan-focused posts occasionally I do try to avoid doing it too much.

This issue is different, though. About this issue, I will speak from a firmly Wiccan standpoint, because this is a firmly Wiccan issue. That issue is about Samhain. 

For those of you who don’t know, the Wiccan religious year is broken up into 8 equally sized pieces by observances known as the Sabbats. These are held every quarter-day (the equinoxes and solstices), and every cross-quarter day (the midpoints between each equinox and its adjacent solstice), and are primarily focused on worshipping the cycles of nature, the seasons, and the life energy in our world. We give thanks to the Gods, and in my practice (which is feminine-focused) we leave offerings for the next portion of the Goddess’ yearly cycle.

But this “wheel of the year” as it is known isn’t endless - at least, not at a human level. The end of each religious year, for humans, is the night of Samhain, the cross-quarter day that occurs just before Yuletide (the winter solstice). This is the night when the walls between our world and the spirit world are thinnest - spirits and souls cross most easily at these times, and it leaves humans feeling at their most connected to the spirit world. In the Wiccan tradition, this is a night of solemnity, contemplation of those who have died in the last year, and remembering the past - both good and bad. Samhain is about spending the dark night in quiet thought, sharing a meal with friends and loved ones, and lighting candles for those who have parted from us, or those who are soon to leave.

But lately, this has become… somewhat confused. Witches and Wiccans with limited experience in the wider community have learnt about “Wicca” as Hollywood seems to think of it. They incorrectly conflate Samhain with Halloween - a Christian event rather than a pagan one - and throw “Samhain parties”. They act like Samhain is some tacky excuse to get drunk, to loudly boast about being a “witch” because you know how to spell Samhain (though rarely how to pronounce it), and are generally loud, brass, and think it’s appropriate to act like this is a fun occasion in the least.

The whole point of Samhain is that. It. Is. Not. 

Samhain (pronounced “sah-WIN”, and in no other way) is the ONE sabbat where we do NOT go out and have fun. Save the attitude of wild and hedonistic abandon for Beltane, the late-spring sabbat that’s basically nothing BUT endless partying and having seriously enjoyable sex. Or wait just a month and a half until Yuletide, when we feast, laugh, and enjoy the first new sabbat of the year when we praise the Sun and ask him to return to us. 

Samhain is not the time for celebration, because Samhain is the sabbat we have that makes the other sabbats the celebrations that they are. At Samhain, we contemplate the past; what has happened, what we cannot change. It’s not like Lughnasadh, the sabbat of the future when we laugh and break bread and make grand plans for the futures we’ll share together. Samhain is the sabbat of what’s lost, what’s gone, and what’s never returning.

So this year, as the leaves die, as the animals turn to hibernation, and as the Earth sleeps beneath her blankets oft winter wind, I’m asking that you put the party hats away for just a little while. Take out the black altar cloth, lay out the animal bones and the photos of loved ones, light the candles to remember who and what we’ve lost. Remember that this is one night of the year that is not about living. It’s not about what is or what will be. This one night of the year, it’s about what isn’t. About what cannot be again. 

So for one night this year… don’t have fun. 

Just remember. Just mourn. Just be still. 

And then… wake up on November the first, to the bright new year ahead. Wake with joy in your hearts and bright happiness in your souls, because you’ve left your grief behind you.

Thank you.

– Juniper

[sciencesourceimages]

Video Clip SS218421 (Tardigrade Walking Through Algae)

Tardigrade (Hypsibius dujardini) walking through algae, microscope view.

Tardigrades are commonly known as water bears or moss piglets. They are found in practically every habitat on Earth, from hot springs to beneath ice sheets, and are renowned for their toughness. 

See More Tardigrade Videos

Experiments have shown they can survive being frozen to nearly absolute zero and heated to 150 degrees Celsius. They have survived pressures of more than 6000 atmospheres, and have survived after prolonged exposure to the vacuum and radiation found in space. 

In unfavorable conditions they can dehydrate to 1% of their normal water content and remain alive in stasis for over a decade. In more normal conditions, they prefer moist environments where they feed on algae and bacteria. 

This tardigrade is often used as a model organism in biological research, and its genome is being sequenced.

© Sinclair Stammers / Science Source

[biochemandstuff]

@thesleepiestpsleepscientist

[swordoftheberserkgutsrage]

BABYBOY

[toast-potent]

he is SO fucking valid