Scorpio Aesthetic

I am Trash. change my mind. Due to the content posted on this blog I ask that any persons under the age of 18 please leave immediately

[celtichammerclub]

16oz pint glasses MADE TO ORDER with copyrighted Celtic Hammer Club artwork. I offer “ghost” glasses that are fully hazed with transparent artwork, and glasses that are transparent with the artwork etched into.

The etchings are LARGE and take up a nice bit of the glass which is unique as compared to factory etched glasses that tend to have smaller logos.

The ghost glasses are named as such because the fully hazed glass has an otherworldly appearance; as if the creatures on the glass are coming out of a fog or mist. The ghost glasses have a texture to them that feels really cool in your hands as you’re sipping your favorite beverage.

These are standard pint/mixing glasses with a 16oz volume.

Each glass is made by hand in my little shop in Upper Bucks County, PA. ➖ #celtichammerclub #celt #celtic #norse #nordic #viking #vikings #fenrir #fenris #glass #glassware #etching #glassforsale #pintglass #beer #ale #mead #gift #giftideas #handmade https://www.instagram.com/p/CmuFHgarunL/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[theamericanpatriotpage]

[persephone-sighed]

Here is an updated link:

Veterans Crisis Line

24/7, confidential crisis support for Veterans and their loved ones. Contact the Veterans Crisis Line: Dial 988 then Press 1, chat online, o

The link brings you to and option to speak, chat online or text with a live crisis support professional:

[littlewickedthings]

Alejandra Oviedo

[thewitchoftheforest]

❄️Y𝕦𝕝𝕖 & L𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕒🔥 Yule (for those living in the northern hemisphere) and Litha (for those in the southern hemisphere) are a week away. I can’t believe that 2023 is almost here, this year seems to have passed so quickly. If I had to sum up 2022 in three words I’d pick ups, downs and transformation.

What three words would sum up your 2022?

Lindsay 💜 —————————————————————————- #yule #litha #solstice #wintersolstice #summersolstice #greenmagick #nature #moon #moonphase #divination #astrology #greenwitchcraft #energy #tarot #intuition #wicca #pagan #witch #witchcraft #witches #esoteric #witchesofinstagram #witchy #witchyvibes #occult #witchythings #witchystuff #bruja #witchywoman #witchesofinstagram #witchythings #witchytips https://www.instagram.com/p/CmKBEhEtN-Y/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[triskeleaficionado]

[scorpio-grey-wolf]

To all the fans of good coffee and yummy creamer. There’s a petition to bring back the Reese’s creamer!!! It’s delicious and really does make coffee taste like peanut butter cups or Reese’s pieces!!!

Sign the Petition

Bring back International Delight® Reese's® Peanut Butter Cup Creamer

[breelandwalker]

PSA - Will It Summon Demons?

Things That Are Not Likely To Summon Demons And Spirits Into Your Home:

Practicing a pagan religion

Practicing no religion

Skipping religious services

Disobeying your parents

Disobeying oppressive religious rules

Reading books about other religions

Reading books about witchcraft

Casting most types of spells, including hexes

Practicing divination

Reading tarot cards

Owning crystals

Having deity statues

Maintaining an altar

Adopting a black cat

Owning or wearing a pentacle or other pagan symbol

Playing with Ouija or other talking boards

Putting up fantasy or non-Christian artwork

Celebrating pagan holidays

Celebrating Halloween

Watching scary movies and TV shows

Reading horror novels

Playing tabletop RPGs

Playing LARP games

Playing video games

Reading fantasy books

Reading comics and graphic novels

Listening to heavy metal music

Dyeing your hair

Dancing

Swearing

Drinking

Dressing however you please

Having tattoos and piercings

Engaging in premarital sex

Being queer

Being trans

Participating in activism for progressive social causes

Things That Might Summon Demons And Spirits Into Your Home:

Literally summoning demons and spirits into your home

This has been a Public Service Announcement.

[breelandwalker]

And just a few clarifications for folks who don’t know:

- The hype surrounding “The Exorcist” (1972) is exactly that. The reports of accidents and supernatural happenings on set was part of their ad campaign. The only ritual being performed in the movie is the rite of exorcism. That’s not going to SUMMON anything, I promise you.

- The horror movie rule which states “Never Read Books Of Demon Summoning Aloud” is a good one, but it must also be remembered that most ancient spell tomes mentioned or used in horror media are entirely fictional. Including the fabled Necronomicon.

- It is very important to keep in mind that the facts in many of the so-called landmark cases in paranormal study have been greatly embellished, either by the investigators or by writers and movie producers looking to make a buck. Nearly all the stories of “real” hauntings you see in popular media have been exaggerated to hell and back. If the Warrens had anything to do with it, you can bet good money that the actual happenings bear little resemblance to the stories we associate with those cases now.

- While it is possible for spirits to attach themselves to objects, therefore necessitating some basic caution and cleansing if you’re prone to collecting antiques or yard sale fodder, there is no guarantee that something is going to attach itself to your belongings unless you INVITE IT TO DO SO. (Someone cited the Annabelle case. If we believe the story, the ghost did not come with the doll, it was invited to possess it by the owners. Allegedly. See above note about the Warrens.)

- Swearing does not count as baneful magic. It’s CALLED cursing, sure, but if you stub your toe and yell, “FUCK!” you’re not wishing harm on someone. You’re upset and in pain. (Then again, I do like that meme about a witch cursing a house in this fashion….)

- Most pagan holidays are celebrations for some part of the harvest cycle. Holiday observances are not automatically magic rituals, and neither do they summon spirits unless you are openly calling them to the feast. I am not calling in the ghosties by thanking the earth for this beautiful bucket of tomatoes and watering a tree.

- Just because something CAN be part of a spell or ritual doesn’t mean it’s ALWAYS part of a spell or ritual. We don’t accidentally cast spells by dancing or singing or thinking or sneezing. Intention and focus are part of the process for a reason.

[breelandwalker]

Spooky Season means this post is making the rounds again. 🎃

If you’re interested, I covered the topic of ghost, spirits, and suchlike in relation to witchcraft in Eps. 8 and 9 of Hex Positive (“Things That Go Bump, pt. 1 and 2,” October 2020).

Also, the Warrens were full of shit and I will die on that hill and then HAUNT IT.

[questions-for-christians]

Is it possible to reconcile being both pro life AND pro choice?

[prismatic-bell]

No.

Let’s get this straight. “Pro-life” is not pro-life. Let’s start by calling them what they are: forced-birthers.

Forced birthers do not care if a child dies because her rapist got her pregnant when she was too small. We just saw this happen and those fine forced-birther folks literally called this child a liar and her story a hoax, in national media, until it came out that someone had been arrested for raping her.

Forced birthers are overwhelmingly Republican. The Republican party supports:

–the death penalty

–cutting WIC (a nutritional program for gestational parents, infants, and children) and SNAP (nutritional assistance for low-income families)

–cutting funding for Head Start (an early-childhood educational program meant to assist kids in low-income areas)

–allowing employers to dictate whether or not a woman is allowed to use birth control even if it’s to control a life-threatening illness like endometriosis, thus potentially making it impossible for those people to get pregnant

–current parental leave requirements, which are: zero. Most companies offer twelve weeks. Some offer none at all. The average in the rest of the developed world is six to twelve months.

–war, war, war, and more war!

–cutting Social Security, which is a program that was literally started in the 1930s to ensure old people didn’t end up homeless and starving to death

–allowing gestational parents to die because the parasite inside them is already dead and/or will not survive birth

–forcing gestational parents to carry ectopic pregnancies, which will, 100%, without question, kill them, an ectopic pregnancy is literally when the egg implants in the fallopian tube and long before that egg even looks like an alien (the stage before the “recognizably human” stage), it will explode the fallopian tube and the parent will slowly and painfully bleed to death

–forcing children to carry pregnancies

13,000 migrant children in detention: America's horrifying reality | CNN

Alice Driver writes that the ballooning population of migrant children in detention camps points to a disturbing reality -- in which the Tru

is this “pro-life” and “protecting the children”?

Jim Jordan Has No Regrets for Calling 10-Year-Old Rape Victim’s Abortion a ‘Lie’

CNNRep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) refused to apologize for his since-deleted tweet describing the story of a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim as a “lie,

is this “pro-life” and “protecting the children”?

GOP Texas lawmaker introduces bill to allow death penalty for women who have abortions

A Republican lawmaker in Texas has introduced a bill that would allow the death penalty for women who have abortions. “Today, I filed HB 332

So pro-life they’ll kill you for it!

Nine Republicans vote "no" on bill that would help low-income parents access baby food amid shortage

The bill's detractors include Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert, and Paul Gosar

Who cares if the kid can eat? It’s been born, right? YAY PRO-LIFE! Oh–and let’s not forget a lot of these fine pro-life folks said white babies should get formula before migrant babies. Can’t forget the racism, which should also be made obvious by the fact that the Hobbs decision included the phrase “to ensure an adequate supply of domestic infants.” IT WAS LITERALLY DONE TO MAKE BREEDERS. THAT’S IT. THAT’S THE ONLY REASON. TO BOLSTER THE WHITE POPULATION.

Another Woman Alleges Herschel Walker Pressured Her To Get An Abortion

She is the second woman to come forward with allegations that the anti-abortion GOP Senate candidate pushed for her to have the procedure.

And let’s not forget it’s only The Filthy Poors who can’t get abortion. If you’re standing in the way of a rich man you will always have access.

In multiple states, rapists can sue their victims for parental custody

Rape survivors say they need stronger laws restricting rapists’ parental rights to keep themselves and their families safe

Want to know how many “multiple” is? Thirty-one. Keep in mind the Republican platform says there should be no “exception” (i.e.: recognition of humanity) for rape victims.

Meanwhile, the PRO-CHOICE opinion is the true PRO-LIFE opinion. It states:

–comprehensive sex ed is necessary. It’s been shown to be the #1 way to reduce unwanted pregnancies, which in turn leads to fewer abortions. Weirdly, most forced-birthers are against this.

–free, readily-available pregnancy control methods such as condoms should be the rule of the land. Did you know in France and England you can literally just buy condoms out of a vending machine? This also reduces unwanted pregnancies and thus abortions. Most forced-birthers are against this, too.

–all gestational parents have the right to adequate healthcare, both prenatal and postnatal. Most forced-birthers are against healthcare for all.

–all children have the right to be born into stable homes that can take care of them. Most forced-birthers are big fans of “parental rights,” which include the right to beat your child to a bloody pulp for being queer or disabled.

–parental leave is a human right and necessary for the physical and mental health of both parent and child

–all children deserve food, shelter, and appropriate education

–most gestational parents who have abortions do it for reasons related to physical or mental health, and many wish to have children later when they’re able. Forced birth often prevents them from doing so, and should be banned.

–a gestational parent with a wanted pregnancy who suffers either a miscarriage or a pregnancy incompatible with life who must have an abortion as a result should be provided with medical and emotional support as they grieve the loss.

–WIC, SNAP, and Head Start are vitally important programs to ensure every child, regardless of income bracket, is able to eat and get a good education.

–The racism and classism inherent in our system that make pregnancy more dangerous for poor people and people of color must be addressed.

–a corpse should not have more medical rights than a living person. Abortion bans automatically make this the case.

–abortion bans do not stop abortions. They just stop safe abortions.

Opinion: In The Septic Abortion Ward, I Saw The Horrors Of The Pre-Roe Era. Let's Never Go Back.

I worked in a 40-bed hospital ward dedicated to women whose unsafe abortions went wrong. Deaths were a common occurrence.

Why Do People Have Abortions?

The decision to have an abortion is complex and difficult. Learn about the reasoning most women usually cite for abortion.

Either you are pro-choice, or you are a monster. No middle ground. Either you want children to thrive or you don’t. BY DEFINITION forced-birthers demand that children not thrive. BY DEFINITION forced-birthers do not give a shit about life. BY DEFINITION forced-birthers hate women and children. BY DEFINITION forced-birthers do not care if people die, as long as they give birth first.

[no-longer-another-bondi-blonde]

[delightfulsubg-deactivated20210]

Leaving an Abusive Relationship

I blog a lot about my experience in leaving my narcissistic ex husband. It definitely wasn’t easy. As a result, I get a lot of PM’s from others on the subject. Often they are just seeking some support or advice on healing. However I get a lot of PM’s saying they are still in their relationship and need help leaving. I’ve always addressed these privately in PM. It’s a sensitive topic. Tonight I was asked if I had ever written out tips or advice on how to leave. Leaving is not a one size fits all event, however I do think it’s a good idea to put some ideas out there. For every PM I get I am very aware that there are others who are too shy or don’t feel comfortable coming out of the shadows. 

1. First, if you are in danger.. don’t worry about these steps, just get out. Go to a hotel, to a shelter, to the police station.. whatever you have to do. If you fear for your safety… Do whatever you have to. Just get out. If that means hopping in the car and driving until you have no money left.. do it. But take cash out of the ATM before you leave so you can’t be tracked. If you have children, I can’t recommend that route. If you are caught you WILL lose those children and they will be stuck in that abuse. It isn’t a risk I can recommend. 

2. If there is not quite the immediate danger. There are things I recommend doing before you leave if you can. 

        A. Put some money aside. Even if all you can set back is enough for a couple nights at a cheap motel. The more you can set back the better. You will have to get creative in where you store that money. I had a baby. I put my money inside a baggie and stored it at the bottom of the diaper wipes. He never changed a single diaper, so I knew it was safe there. Another option may be the tampon box, or at the bottom of your cleaning supplies, maybe with the spare tire in your car. In some states you can open a separate bank account and they would have no access to it. Check the laws where you live. Personally I found it better to have the money on hand. I wasn’t dependent on the ATM working or being able to get out as much as I needed. 

      B. Talk to very trusted friends and family. Don’t talk to ANYONE who is also friends with the abuser. Don’t have an expectation to retain any mutual friends between the two of you. If you do, great, but wait a while before you trust any of them with information. I was burned pretty badly by someone who promised inside the sanctuary of our church, that she wasn’t picking sides and just wanted to be there for me. She had been my best friend for over a decade. Don’t trust anyone who could possibly take the abusers side. But.. you do need to build your support system. Talk to those people whom you’re 1000% certain will stand by you. 

     C. Call you local RDAP center. (Rape and Domestic Abuse) This is what they specialize in. You don’t have to have been raped. or beaten for them to help. They are well aware that Domestic Abuse takes many forms. They have a lot of resources they can help you find. They also have counselors and they can help you come up with a plan to leave. They should be able to recommend attorneys, sit with you in court, and help you through getting a restraining order if you need it. 

     D. Make a plan. Where can you stay? Will you need a new job? Who is hiring? If a friend offers their place, be careful with accepting that. If you are worried your ex will come after you or them, you don’t want to put someone in danger.. certainly not without them being fully aware of the risks. Check out shelters in your area. That is what I used and honestly.. it was an amazing experience for me and my girls. However, not all shelters are the same. .so check them out. Family is sometimes an option. Make sure outside light bulbs have been recently changed so you won’t have to risk going inside in the dark. Make sure windows are locked, make sure everyone locks the home securely every single time. Keep a flashlight by your door. Not only because you may need it to see out, but a large one could potentially be used as an unsuspicious weapon. To find your closest Women’s Shelter call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) It is a 24 hour hotline. 

     E. If you haven’t worked, you will probably qualify for assistance. While you can’t really apply until you’ve left, you can make sure that you have everything you will need when the time comes so that you can get help as quickly as possible. For instance, you will need Birth Certificates and Social Security Cards for you and your children. You will need proof of income and proof of residency. They will want to know about assets. How much is your car worth. If you’re leaving the home, you don’t have to claim your home.. just explain you’ve left your ex. 

     F. Contact an attorney. I recommend this before you actually leave if you can. They know your local laws, they know the local judges, and they can tell you if the plan you’re making is a good idea for court. For instance.. if you have children, don’t leave the state. It will work against you. If you can’t afford an attorney, there are often still some options. Most (Not all.. mine was no help) areas have legal aid that can assist with divorce. Sometimes they only assist in cases of Domestic Abuse. Sometimes you can also find an attorney pro bono. It doesn’t hurt to look into it. The RDAP center hopefully can help in this search. 

     G. Collect any evidence that you can now. Once you leave, you are not going to have access to everything you do now. If he drinks, get receipts, get pictures or video. If he rants and screams and you’re able to.. record it. Either video or audio, but only if you can do this safely. Get copies of bank statements now. My bank charges $25 per month for them. If he misspends money, get the evidence. Get tax documents for at least the last 3 years. It will be important when figuring out child support, and alimony if that applies. Pictures of the home are important. Either to show that he is a slob if he or.. or that you are not. If he claims that you left the house a wreck all the time, you want to be able to prove him wrong. Make a list of everything you own. It’s hard to make this list 6 months after you leave and you can’t remember what was in each room. If you can, get the value for things. If you don’t know what a tool is called, take a picture and ask a friend or ask someone online. Otherwise you’re trying to describe it and assign a value to it.. it doesn’t work in court. If you have bruises or visible injuries.. TAKE PICTURES!!

     H. Get a secondary cell phone. Memorize important numbers for your safe people. If the abuser won’t leave your number alone, you can block them.. but all they have to do is call from another number. More importantly though, you need privacy as you plan to leave. You also don’t want to risk them taking your phone. The last thing you want is for your attorney’s number to show up on your cell phone bill, or for the ex to go through your phone. Keep the phone in a safe place. Password protect it. It’s also a good idea to hide a secondary set of keys somewhere. Get one of those magnetic boxes and hide it under your car or in the trunk. 

     I. If you use the internet to do any research, go to the library or some other safe place if possible. Have your safe friends research things for you if that’s an option. Make sure whatever activity you have though isn’t trackable. Keep everything off social media. If they hack your account you don’t want them reading your messages. 

     J. If you think you would qualify for a credit card… take one out. Use a friends address or PO Box so it isn’t sent to your home. It will help to have something to rely on if you need it. Do not have their name anywhere in the application. If their income is your sole income this may not be an option for you.

     K. Pack a bag for you and your kids. Just a few days worth of clothes. Keep it at your safe persons house. If you need to leave in a hurry, don’t stop to get clothes. Don’t stop for anything except the kids. Just go. But try to have these things set aside somewhere in case that happens. 

3. Even if they’ve never been physical before, the most dangerous time for someone is when they leave an abusive relationship. One of the biggest reasons many people stay, is because they are afraid to go. Even when there hasn’t been physical abuse in the past.. you instinctually know it’s dangerous. Not to mention, you’ve likely heard threats. I know I did. So when you do leave.. it needs to be as safe as possible. If you’ve contacted an attorney and plan to have them served, make sure they are served away from the home. If you’re staying, wait for them to leave and have the locks changed. The house should be completely locked.. but do not plan for you or your children to be home that night. Also, do NOT send them to grandmas. If he shows up.. legally, unless the abuser was served with something granting you custody, they can walk in and take the kids from grandma and she has no recourse. Even so.. it’s better for them to be somewhere they don’t expect them to be and wouldn’t check. How the court handles that differs for each state and sometimes county. So you need to know ahead of time what arrangements you need to make. Follow whatever your attorney recommends regarding visitation between serving and getting a temporary order. Whether staying in the home or leaving, the first few nights especially need to be spent in as safe a place as possible. Rely on your local resources to help you with those decisions.

4. If you need to schedule a time for him to come get his things, do not be shy about requesting police presence. Even if it seems silly, maybe the person has never been physical.. request it. Have the police there. When an abuser realizes they are really losing control, they are far more likely to escalate. It is better to have the police there and not need them than to need them and not have them. 

5. Ask those close friends and family members to write affidavits for you. They need to be short and to the point. You don’t want to annoy or piss off your judge with 50 pages of “I never liked the ex, I think he’s a jerk.” They aren’t interested in drama.. they want facts. So if you have a friend who can testify that you’re a good parent, your kids are well cared for, clean and well fed. They behave relatively well when with you etc… that is what you need. Unless they have witnessed abusive or questionable behavior from the ex, they need to focus on you and not them. It can be telling however.. if they’ve never seen the ex interact with the kids.. they can say that. One comment. They don’t need to spell out what that means. This worked for me.. it also worked for my mom. When she was asked why she thought she should have custody, she talked about how close she was to all of us. The meals we liked, the clothes we preferred, music, hobbies, interests. She talked about giving us baths when we were younger, the ways she successfully disciplined etc. When my dad was asked… he badmouthed my mom. His focus wasn’t on what we needed or who we were. His focus was on making her look bad. Judges and court officials know you don’t think well of each other. Otherwise you wouldn’t be divorcing. It is absolutely ok to bring up abusive behavior IF it is something physical or tangible. If it something that ban be proven, the court is interested. However in the event of emotional or psychological abuse.. there is no proof. It won’t really do you any good to say he was mean. Again though.. your attorney knows the judges in your area.. follow their advice here. One of the best affidavits I had was from my pediatrician. He’d never been to an appointment. But she could say that I was receptive to her advice, the girls were clean and well behaved and that she’d witnessed loving behavior from me to them.

6. Grey Rock. Read this for those times you have to interact. https://delightfulsubgirl.tumblr.com/post/181145551274/grey-rock-is-a-method-used-when-dealing-with-an

7. Self care. This is going to be really hard. Don’t forget your self care. You need to take care of yourself so that you can be as strong as you need to be every step of the way. Drink lots of water. Small amounts of exercise if you can. Long hot baths. A manicure. Read a book. Light a candle.. sit for 5 mins with a cup of decaf tea at the end of the day. Eat healthy… go to the Dr. Please, please, take care of yourself.

8. Educate yourself. Spend time on your case. Research, talk to other people who’ve been there. I recommend the Facebook page OneMomsBattle as a great resource. You can ask questions in PM there and she will post it anonymously for others to weigh in on. The woman who runs it is named Tina Swithin, she has written books that I’ve heard amazing things about. She describes her divorce as a Category 5 Divorce. However she has managed to win full custody of her girls, and just this year, she won the ultimate battle to protect her girls in terminating her ex’s rights as a father. Also check out online support groups for those recovering from narcissistic abuse.

I want to point out, that I am not anti-father’s rights. I am not pro-mom. I am pro-child. Whatever the children need. If the ex is truly a good parent, then by all means they should have the ability to parent. In the case of narcissism, they are never truly good parents. They may be able to put on the show for a while, but their true colors will eventually shine. However, courts do not take emotional abuse seriously, and forget about spiritual abuse. Courts won’t touch it. All of this is based on my own experiences here in the US. Also.. I tried really hard to use non gender terms… because this is not solely a male issue.. however my ex is a male, and thus far the case of every person I’ve talked to in PM.. so if I slipped anywhere it wasn’t intentional. When I have more time I can proofread it and make any changes where I see this, but please don’t sent me hate asks or PM’s pointing out women can be narcs also. I absolutely agree! I have known men who found themselves in these circumstances. I’ve known far many more women though. Statistically, men are more likely to be a narcissist than a woman. The asshole disease knows no gender though. 

PLEASE!!! If you have tips or advice to add to this… PLEASE add it!! So many people need help in leaving toxic and abusive relationships. I know I have a lot of followers who would really appreciate any advice, support or help you can offer. 

[motionlussyinwhussy]

Chris’ new TikTok features a haunted pool 👀

[staff]

Introducing: Community Labels

As you know, art and artists make Tumblr what it is. We want everyone on Tumblr to be able to fully express themselves while also having control over what they encounter on their dashboards. That’s why we’re introducing Community Labels, an extension to your “Content you see” settings. Our ultimate goal is to create a more open Tumblr, and this is our first step in that direction. 

As a poster and reblogger, Community Labels are your way to help your followers avoid anything they’d rather not come across on their dashboards.

As a follower, setting your content preferences is a way to adjust your feed to your own comfort levels. 

How does it work?

When creating new posts (or editing old posts), you’ll see controls allowing you to label your post as unsuitable for those filtering certain content types it contains. 

When content is labeled, it will either be hidden, blurred, or displayed normally, based on each user’s preferences.

In your “Content you see” settings, you can now choose to show, blur, or hide content that depicts the following topics:

Drug and alcohol addiction: Contains discussions of substance abuse or addiction experience.

Violence: Contains violent or graphic content similar to what you might see in an age-restricted movie.

Sexual themes: Contains sexually suggestive subject matter, such as erotic writing or imagery.

Some examples of content that would require a community label:

Fanart of your favorite ship engaging with each other in…a very private moment 

Euphoria GIFs showing Rue’s substance abuse 

A movie trailer depicting graphic war scenes 

A graphic 50 Shades of Grey edit

This doesn’t change our content policies: spam, hate content, and porn bots are still not welcome in the community. It’s also still important that we abide by app store rules, which means we need to make sure that mature content is only accessible to people who are old enough and have opted in to view that type of content. More information about Community Labels is available in the Help Center.

This is an opportunity to work towards a richer, more nuanced Tumblr experience while making sure everyone who enjoys using Tumblr can do so safely. That future we mentioned above? We’re already moving towards it.

[animalwoonz]

[shadowingeclipse]

such a mystical little spot 🌿

[nasa]

You Are Made of Stardust

Though the billions of people on Earth may come from different areas, we share a common heritage: we are all made of stardust! From the carbon in our DNA to the calcium in our bones, nearly all of the elements in our bodies were forged in the fiery hearts and death throes of stars.

The building blocks for humans, and even our planet, wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for stars. If we could rewind the universe back almost to the very beginning, we would just see a sea of hydrogen, helium, and a tiny bit of lithium.

The first generation of stars formed from this material. There’s so much heat and pressure in a star’s core that they can fuse atoms together, forming new elements. Our DNA is made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus. All those elements (except hydrogen, which has existed since shortly after the big bang) are made by stars and released into the cosmos when the stars die.

Each star comes with a limited fuel supply. When a medium-mass star runs out of fuel, it will swell up and shrug off its outer layers. Only a small, hot core called a white dwarf is left behind. The star’s cast-off debris includes elements like carbon and nitrogen. It expands out into the cosmos, possibly destined to be recycled into later generations of stars and planets. New life may be born from the ashes of stars.

Massive stars are doomed to a more violent fate. For most of their lives, stars are balanced between the outward pressure created by nuclear fusion and the inward pull of gravity. When a massive star runs out of fuel and its nuclear processes die down, it completely throws the star out of balance. The result? An explosion!

Supernova explosions create such intense conditions that even more elements can form. The oxygen we breathe and essential minerals like magnesium and potassium are flung into space by these supernovas.

Supernovas can also occur another way in binary, or double-star, systems. When a white dwarf steals material from its companion, it can throw everything off balance too and lead to another kind of cataclysmic supernova. Our Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will study these stellar explosions to figure out what’s speeding up the universe’s expansion. 

This kind of explosion creates calcium – the mineral we need most in our bodies – and trace minerals that we only need a little of, like zinc and manganese. It also produces iron, which is found in our blood and also makes up the bulk of our planet’s mass!

A supernova will either leave behind a black hole or a neutron star – the superdense core of an exploded star. When two neutron stars collide, it showers the cosmos in elements like silver, gold, iodine, uranium, and plutonium.

Some elements only come from stars indirectly. Cosmic rays are nuclei (the central parts of atoms) that have been boosted to high speed by the most energetic events in the universe. When they collide with atoms, the impact can break them apart, forming simpler elements. That’s how we get boron and beryllium – from breaking star-made atoms into smaller ones.

Half a dozen other elements are created by radioactive decay. Some elements are radioactive, which means their nuclei are unstable. They naturally break down to form simpler elements by emitting radiation and particles. That’s how we get elements like radium. The rest are made by humans in labs by slamming atoms of lighter elements together at super high speeds to form heavier ones. We can fuse together elements made by stars to create exotic, short-lived elements like seaborgium and einsteinium.

From some of the most cataclysmic events in the cosmos comes all of the beauty we see here on Earth. Life, and even our planet, wouldn’t have formed without them! But we still have lots of questions about these stellar factories. 

In 2006, our Stardust spacecraft returned to Earth containing tiny particles of interstellar dust that originated in distant stars, light-years away – the first star dust to ever be collected from space and returned for study. You can help us identify and study the composition of these tiny, elusive particles through our Stardust@Home Citizen Science project.

Our upcoming Roman Space Telescope will help us learn more about how elements were created and distributed throughout galaxies, all while exploring many other cosmic questions. Learn more about the exciting science this mission will investigate on Twitter and Facebook.

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