#lanternheart

[gothamlanterns]

the Mystic Flame will not allow its champion to die.

[breelandwalker]

Hello, Bree! I'm moving to a new witchcraft notebook in the new year, and was wondering if you had any tips. I've seen your inspiration book when you've posted about it, and really liked it!

I put everything in one big notebook this last year, and it ended up being... a bit of a mess.

Do you keep different notebooks for different subjects (divination, gardening, keeping track of how spells work, etc)? How have you experimented with your records and notebooks over the years?

(In reference to this post about my witchy inspo art journal.)

I definitely have multiple witchbooks to help keep certain things separate. The research, the experiments and notes, and the spells I've written all live in different volumes. Makes it easier to find things when I need to.

For information-gathering, I tend to organize things the same way I did back in school - 3-ring binders. That way, I can divide things by topic and add or remove material as needed, whether it's printed sheets or handwritten notes. And yes, that means I have multiple binders as well (i.e. one for gardening and plant magic, another for folk magic and crafts, another for spellcraft theory, etc), since it makes pulling by topic easier to do.

So rather than trying to cram everything into one notebook or folder, I just use separate ones and keep them all on the same shelf. I did have all my stuff in one big notebook when I started out, purely for the sake of convenience and storage efficiency, but as I branched out, I had to adjust my storage accordingly.

I've also created a personal digital drive with spells, notes, resources, and images that functions as a sort of e-grimoire. It's not something I distribute publicly, it's just for my own reference.

And of course, there's the inspo journal, which is one part inspiration, one part affirmation, and one part art therapy. Definitely something I recommend for any witch that loves journaling or saving meaningful quotes. It's a fantastic way to have some calm, mindful time with your craft philosophy and create something beautiful at the same time.

[focsle]

Hello, SJ! How was meeting the Dreadnoughts? Were they nice in person?

SO nice! So accessible. I think they really walk the talk about seeing music as something interactive and communal and open to everyone. Their live shows are like that too—playin with the audience, calling people up on stage at the end, etc. They’re delightful.

[nedlittle]

pspsps — what are some of those good gay historical fiction recs? (and due to your askbox title, what's one of your favorite reads on Marlowe, nonfiction or otherwise?)

lucky for you i compiled a handy-dandy list of good gay historical fiction which just so happens to include a tip for the hangman by allison epstein which is about marlowe :)

[sircolinmorgan]

As one of the twenty people in the Endeavour fandom, thank you for your service!

🫡🫡 what we lack in size we make up for in passion!

[literaetures]

this might be more of a question for your sideblog, but how did you know you wanted to go to graduate school for english? was there something in particular that made you choose a PhD over a Master's program first, or did you already have a Master's when you applied? i've been pondering grad school myself lately, and it's hard to know how firm i should be in my convictions other than "i don't think i want to never be in this environment again."

ah yes the sideblog with a great url i don’t use nearly enough... maybe i should get back into that— but it’s fine! i post about my gradventures here so i don’t mind at all! ask away! 

i chose the phd over the masters for a few reasons— first, getting a phd in the u.s. is “free”... ish... they pay you a “living” stipend since you’re committing to a full time job for 6+ years, and they take care of you tuition and give you university health care, so financially it was more feasible for me to do the phd since getting a phd was a something i’ve known i wanted to get in my life— education is super important in my family especially being first gen so there was no doubt in my mind about it, and i felt like i had the stamina to keep me going through school immediately after undergrad (which uh... if i could have done a gap year i absolutely would have but it just wasn’t possible for me)

i didn’t have a masters first— i went in immediately after the summer i graduated with my ba— and i know a lot of people go for a masters first to see if they even want to commit to another 6+ years of that work (because it’s so. so much work. it’s completely different from the undergrad environment and experience so getting an idea of that environment before committing, or even training for it, are great reasons to get an ma!) or they need it for another job they want, etc. but i was certain i wanted to get my phd for myself so it made more sense financially and timeline-wise for me to just go for it!

so i had really strong convictions from the get go— i knew i wanted to get a phd for me and myself alone, while being fully aware that the job market in academia especially the tenure track professor job was and is garbage (and even worse now with a pandemic) and i’m probably not going to land a job at the end of this and every grad student and prof ever telling me not to do it since grad school is... so much and not great if you’re getting a phd. but getting paid (albeit a small amount) to dive into work i’m passionate about in a field that i enjoy and me feeling like my work matters and means something even if it is a drop in the ocean was enough for me to convince myself to do something like commit myself to this for so long! teaching students and helping them learn and grow and strengthen their writing and help them find their voices and support them in any way i can, trying to aspire to the amazing grad student mentors i had in undergrad, emulating the amazing classroom experience and knowledge my professors had given me in undergrad, and just wanting to explore this range of knowledge i get paid to work on felt like a sweet gig— and then you experience the environment of academia and the reality of the situation hits with all its toxic work environment and imposter syndrome and impossible amounts of work to keep up with, and feelings of utter loneliness, etc. etc.— but even through that, the thing that keeps me going is the idea that i might be able to write one good article, help one student with their writing and themselves, read books i have yet to discover or learn about things in ways i hadn’t thought to consider before! 

after being in a phd program, i understand why no one encouraged me to pursue it. it’s fucking hard and so taxing in so many ways— mentally, emotionally, physically— but i knew i wanted to do this, and i think i was certain of the motivations that would keep me going for the 6+ years that it takes to get it which was trying to rid some of that toxicity from the system in the minuscule way my presence can. i don’t know if that helps your feelings at all, bc i am now in the group of people that wants to save people from the toxic environment, but i do know that i’m still here and i still want to pursue the potential diss topics i wanted to pursue when i applied and i met a great roommate who gets to hear me vent about the experience whenever she texts me and my grad mentors/friends are a text away when things get cry worthy and frustrating. i don’t think this post is very encouraging or answered what you asked (and i’m sorry for that!) but i hope it gives you a more well-rounded image of the experience of it 

[moon-gf]

galeries lafayette, boulevard haussmann, paris

[tiffanyachings]

I saw your Maya Hawks tags and agree immensely — I loved her Jo! (And I liked the rest of the 2017 adaptation as well, for that matter, though the end of the last episode seemed a bit rushed, the rest was so good I can't complain.)

the 2017 version is definitely my fave! I do have my grievances with it (amy’s characterisation, amy & laurie getting shortchanged as always, some of the acting is a bit wooden) but the cinematography and casting for it was so GOOD and I love what they did with meg and beth in particular since those two usually end up being a bit boring. also emily watson as marmee made me cry multiple times.