Where Magic Blooms

Hi everyone! You can call me Magnolia, and this blog is a collection of things I find interesting and helpful as well as a few original posts on Hellenic religion. 18+ please! Sun in Aries, moon in Libra, heart in Missouri

[msgraveyarddirt]

Hagging Out: Making & Killing of Marena

“The custom of drowning the effigy of Marzanna [Marena] derives from sacrificial rites; its function was to ensure a good harvest in the upcoming year. Following the principles of sympathetic magic – as described by James Frazer – it was believed that burning an effigy representing the goddess of death would remove any results of her presence (i.e., the winter) and thus bring about the coming of spring.” – Drowning of Marzanna

Foraging starts at the tail-end of winter as the search for Marena’s midspring [vernal equinox] funeral attire draws me back to the still-slumbering land. Cold afternoons are spent following muddy trails through public parks and damp playgrounds, eyes darting from ground to bush to fence in the hopes of spotting something knitted or fleeced that’d help clothe a winter queen and goddess.

The rules that govern this special harvest:

* items must have been exposed to winter, or show winter wear * only viable items are allowed to be taken * items not used are returned to spot of finding * nothing obviously handmade (fair game if left all winter, tho)

Chosen items are thoroughly washed, carefully repaired (if necessary), then torn apart at seams. An outfit’s drafted from the altered components over the course of several days. Once Marena’s ensemble is finalized a few more days are spent hand-sewing every item. Leftover material and scraps - including bits of twine and thread - are used as tinder to help light the ritual fire that reduces the drowned effigy to ash (“leave her no form to return to”).

Two years ago I documented the process from start to finish, but never got a chance to post the photo series. These 10 images illustrate the annual undertaking, beginning with the creation of Marena, and ending with her fiery equinox death.

Altered components [2021]: black glove, blue pom-pom hat, grey cleaning cloth, red bow, black cloth headband with bow, pink cat collar with bell, child’s mitten, outdoor animal sock, snowflake earmuff headband & black glove.

Keep reading

[dvoeverie-stitches]

2024 ritual year in photos.

[magnoliessence]

Beautiful! 🤩 ✨

[fravery]

Come in, babe Across these purple fields The sun has sunk behind you Across these purple fields Winter Solstice Sunrise - Android Jones, 2015

[vintage-halloween]

[dvoeverie-stitches]

Center complete

[petitepointplace]

Published in St. Petersburg, 1871

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

[softwaring]

sourdough butterfly by the sourdough mama

[cristalplanetheart]

[msgraveyarddirt]

Harvest Altar [2024]

This particular altar will be with me from Lammas [Aug. 1st] to Winter Solstice Eve [Dec. 20th] overseeing the harvesting, preserving, and storing portion of my devotional year.

see also: #altar, #fall, #midfall

[msgraveyarddirt]

Mat Zemlya

Chthonic mother, fertile creatrix, sustainer of life. Blessed are your holy names, and blessed is your indiscriminate mantle. From your moist embrace we emerge, and into your earthen arms we will return.

see also: #dirt, #black madonna, #savior days

[msgraveyarddirt]

Makoveichyk [2024]

A makoveichyk is a small bouquet made primarily from fresh herbage that’s traditionally part of the Медовый спас [Honey Feast of the Savior] blessing basket.

Herbs and flowers are chosen based on availability and significance (both cultural and personal). Once blessed, the makoveichyk is placed on or near the family’s displayed icons and remains there until the following year, when it’s replaced with a new one - very much in-keeping with Assumption’s herbal bouquet.

2024’s makoveichyk was made from homegrown and foraged herbage ritually harvested on Old Lammas (Honey Feast of the Savior and Lammas share the same calendar day): nettle, oregano, yarrow, tansy, larch, horseradish leaf, lady's mantle, wormwood, and St. John's wort.

see also: #honey feast of the savior, #makoveichyk, #savior days

[msgraveyarddirt]

Preparing for Assumption [2024]

let us strike the cymbals and cry out in song as we begin to celebrate the feast of her passing let us sing songs at her radiant grave for the mother of god the golden ark prepares now to pass from earth to heaven to the brightness of god eternally dazzling - assumption forefeast vespers

Preparing for the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.

All depictions of Mary are covered, and my primary statue is shrouded with an Orthodox burial cloth. A secondary blessing of this year's makoveichyk and a personal cleansing will be performed after myrrh-scented lamentations.

see also: #assumption, #mary

[msgraveyarddirt]

Day of the Divine Mother of Herbs

god, who on this day raised up to highest heaven the rod of jesse, the mother of your son, our lord jesus christ, that by her prayers and patronage you might communicate to our mortal nature the fruit of her womb, your very son; we humbly implore you to help us use these fruits of the soil for our temporal and everlasting welfare, aided by the power of your son and the prayers of his glorious mother; through christ our lord. – assumption herb blessing

There was a little Day of the Divine Mother of Herbs [Assumption] on Old Lammas Eve when I was out foraging for herbs I wanted to bless the following day.

see also: #assumption, #fall, #icon

[teauchiha-deactivated20240820]

[upyrica]

"From time immemorial the archaic consciousness of the primeval human recognised two kinds of death, broadly speaking, - "righteous" and "unrighteous". On this basis was formed the idea of two kinds of dead people, "clean" and "unclean". [The "clean" dead in the understanding of the Boyko people] are those whose souls found rest in the afterlife and became patrons of their line (didy, grandfathers). Such dead could influence the world of the living, take care of their family by sending them good harvests and gains in their herds, speak on behalf of the living before God, thus being as a matter of fact household spirits that later received the name of Domovyky [pl, sing. Domovyk] in Slavic traditions. We consider the name to be quite simplified (it is only one of the demonyms of a house spirit), as it does not reflect the entire spectrum of the demonological beliefs about such entities that are recognised in various parts of the Slavic world. Besides, it is doubtful that the anthropomorphic idea of a house spirit (a Domovyk) is the original in relation to other types, therefore researchers have no right to use this lexeme as general and universal." - N. Vojtovych, Folk Demonology of the Boyko Region

[msgraveyarddirt]

Feast of St. Mary Magdalene [2024]

behold, mary magdalene, thou who art godly-minded. behold, mary magdalene, thou who art christ-centered. behold, mary magdalene, thou who art spirit-filled. behold, mary magdalene, thou who art of one mind and heart with the apostles. - akathist hymn to saint mary magdalene: ikos 9

The feast of the Holy Glorious Saint Mary Magdalene, myrrh-bearer and equal to the Apostles.

see also: #altar, #saint mary magdalene

[thememedaddy]

[the-final-sif]

So! This is a perfect case study in situations where you should be wary of misinformation.

Take a moment and ask yourself, a project like this requires a lot of time, money and dedication of resources, why would scientists dedicate that time to something that could just be done by a tree?

The answer is they wouldn't. So that means this claim requires further investigation!

This project is called LIQUID 3, and it's not meant for cities with wide open spaces, it's meant for cities like Belgrade in Serbia. These cities are densely populated and heavily polluted, to the point where pollution actually chokes out current trees and makes creating green spaces difficult.

Liquid 3 was a PhD scientists answer to these problems. The microalgae tank is intended for spaces where you either:

Don't have enough space to plant full trees, or

Don't have enough time to plant trees and wait for them to grow up.

The tank is extremely efficient when you consider the amount of space needed compared to the amount of CO2 turned into oxygen. The tank can operate throughout the winter. And most importantly, it can be quickly set up in areas that desperately need relief from air pollution NOW not in 10 years when trees are done growing. Children currently suffocating on polluted air can't wait for trees to grow, they need to be taken care of now, and Liquid 3 is one of the ways to take care of them. Depending on the species of microalgea used, a number have shown a pretty amazing capacity to pull heavy metals out of the air which is something trees can get choked up by.

The tanks aren't just tanks either! Liquid 3 have solar panels placed on top, they have lighting and mobile phone charging, and they work as public benches. The designers of it want to encourage green spaces where there's room, but where there isn't room or time, Liquid 3 can step in. Realistically, this isn't a replacement for trees. It's replacing boring metal city benches with new, cooler benches that also clean the air (and have at least some heating during the winter).

Not only that, but the microalgea that grows is native to Serbia and all that microalgea has a ton of great uses! It makes for great fertilizer, compost, wastewater treatment, cleaner biofuels and even for helping create new tanks for further air purification. They only require a quick algae divide once a month, and the produced algae can be carted off to where ever it's needed. This makes them effective solutions for areas that can't sustain complex installations.

So yeah, there's actually quite a lot of places that would like these. Lots of people currently breathing in terrible quality air would much rather have their boring city benches replaced with really fucking cool algae tanks that clean the air and can be used to help create + sustain future green spaces in cities. I dunno about you, but I'd take that over a dumb metal bench any day. Put these at every bus stop and I'd be delighted.