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justgottafinishthischapter · 1 year

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Writing Worlds: Homosexuality in Historical Settings

As someone who loves period romances and craves romantic relationships between queer men, it’s very alluring to write queer romances set against the backdrop of historical settings and time periods. But, due to the treatment of homosexuality for a lot of our world’s history, it can make it tricky to know the best way to handle this topic. Consider this to be a sister post to go along with my Writing Romance: Courting post. The two go hand-in-hand.

ESCAPISM VS REALISM

The first hurdle is to decide whether your story is an escapist fantasy or favors realism. In an escapist historical queer romance, the queerness is simply not an issue. The prince can flat out tell his parents to arrange his marriage to male suitors, and the only real reaction is his mother immediately listing off good matches for him. The conflict has nothing to do with the fact that the relationship is between two same-sex characters, and would work just as well for a heterosexual romance story. With an escapist fantasy, you can show the Count of Yorkshire navigating the hardships of courting by having multiple young men vying for his hand, or the whirlwind romance as he catches the eye of the Duke of Orleans. And this romance can be just as open and public as any straight relationship. This option would fall under Historical Romanticism, the term used for when historical settings are made to be more idyllic and favorable than they likely were in real life. The only media where this approach tends to show up often is Fantasy, in worlds where homophobia simply never really existed. The Elder Scrolls is one such setting where male gods are married to one another, other gods change genders and pronouns as they like, and your player character is free to romance anyone of any gender as well as adopt without anyone making biggotted remarks.

On the other hand, Realism in a Historical Queer Romance is going to come prepackaged with a lot of tension and angst, as it’s automatically a forbidden romance. Because homophobia is a real issue that real queer people deal with, having queer characters deal with these issues can help your queer audience feel seen as these fictional characters can relate to their own life experiences. It’s also just more historically accurate to have queer lovers needing to tiptoe around behind people’s backs and hoping they don’t get caught. However, due to this prejudice, it’s also very easy for such settings and stories to come off as depressing, and can perpetuate unpleasant tropes in queer media, such as Bury Your Gays, Unhappily Ever After, and downer Nomance endings. Because their relationship isn’t “appropriate” for public eyes, it makes it hard for the couple to have a truly happy ending. For someone who’s tired of dealing with homophobia in their own life, or it just being present in almost all queer media, it can be tedious for those who want an escape to enjoy two guys smooching while looking dapper in period costumes.

Homosexuality and Religion

As a medieval historian, I actually did a full research paper on homosexuality in the middle ages as a part of my final for one of my medieval history classes. I still have the paper saved, so let me share an abridged version. Pagan cultures might have had some issues with homosexuality, such as the Norse favoring the “tops” over the “bottoms”, a sentiment shared by both the Greeks and Romans. However compared to later eras of history, these Pre-Christian cultures had little problems with same-sex relationships. Every Greek God but Ares, Hephaestus, and Hades had at least 1 male lover, Emperor Hadrian had his boy-toy Antinous deified after he drowned in the Nile, and the Sacred Band of Thebes was made up entirely of same-sex lovers. The idea that homosexuality was wrong only emerged with Christianity. Just... not as soon as you’d think. Christianity became a wide-spread faith across Europe around about 300 AD, mostly spread by Constantine’s deathbed conversion to Christianity. However, it would not be until the 12th century that homosexuality as a sin would emerge. This shift first started during what is known as the Medieval Renaissance when Christian theologians like St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, and St. Jerome altered the theological discourse on sin and virtue. Prior to the Medieval Renaissance, the mindset was that simply being Christian and accepting Christ as one’s savior was all it took to get into Heaven. After the Medieval Renaissance, the focus shifted to individual sin and the worthiness of the individual soul. They came to view Earth as sort of a testing grounds or waiting room, and any temporary Earthly pleasure was a wicked temptation sent by Satan to lead men astray. How you did on the test impacted whether you passed or failed. One thing that was declared a sin was fornication without the prospect of procreation. And this went for everyone. Any sexual act that would not result in childbirth was a sin, because you were doing it for the pleasure, not for the purposes of making a baby. Furthermore, any position except Missionary was also sinful, again in an attempt to limit pleasure. Since cis-gendered homosexuals cannot procreate, any homosexual acts were universally labeled as a sin by happenstance. Later in 1179, Peter Comestor proposed to the Third Lateran Council a link between the biblical condemnation of sodomy with explicitly condemning homosexuals, and not just anal fornication as a whole, even stating that clerks found guilty of this act should be removed from office, and laymen should be excommunicated from the church. It is Peter Comestor and his stance on homosexuality that truly caused homosexuality to be labeled as a sin on principal, and is why so many modern Christians still believe homosexual relationships are sinful by nature. However, it’s worth pointing out that the time from when Christianity was a widespread faith in Europe (approx. 300 AD) to the Third Lateran Council (1179) is a span of 879 years. As of this point in 2023, the time between Comestor’s condemnation of homosexuality and the present is only 844 years. Meaning that Christianity has a longer history of tolerating homosexuality than it has condemning it. I say all of this because in any setting where Christianity is not a part of the worldbuilding, there is no reason to have homophobia, unless you replace Christianity with a similarly homophobic fictional religion, as George RR Martin does with the Faith of the Seven in A Song of Ice and Fire. As for Judaism and Islam, I’m at a loss there. My studies didn’t really lead me to those topics, and I can’t offer much insight there.

Handwaving Escapist Diversity

Let’s be real, we can’t even cast People of Color in fantasy stories without racists crapping their pants, so unfortunately, we’re going to face similar problems having queer couples openly courting each other in a historical setting. But, there are a few ways around this where we can have our cake and eat it too without the homophobes being able to hide behind “historic accuracy” as a reason to have a problem with queer romances in historical periods. It’s all about the genre. Let’s look at some of the genres we can use.

Historical Fiction: This is the base form. Any period piece is going to be historical fiction. However, Historical Fiction comes in a wide array. Historical Romanticism is the lighter approach, simply putting make-up on the era to make it more palatable and appealing. Think of Bridgerton where the dresses are shaped historically and the characters behave historically, but the Queen is a woman of color, and the dress materials are far more colorful and bright than they would have been at the time. It’s still the Regency era, just with a bit of rouge. On the other hand, there’s Alternate History. Historical settings where a major deviation has occurred in the timeline. Whether the Roman Empire never fell, the British crushed the American Revolution and took over the entire world, Christianity never caught on and the Roman Pantheon is the most widespread belief system, or the industrial revolution exploded even harder, resulting in a more Steampunk vibe. A major upheaval has altered the face of history, and your queer romance is set in an utterly changed world with a different timeline.

Steampunk: As I just touched on, your world can be more technologically advanced, however, Steampunk can also be a genre for completely fictional worlds, giving you a great way to have a story set in an era with an 1880s - 1910s aesthetic, but easily exist as it own world with its own history and values where homosexual relationships aren’t a problem. Steampunk is also the most optimistic and aesthetically oriented of the science-fiction -Punk genres, compared to the much bleaker and more cynical outlooks of Cyberpunk, Diesel Punk, and Gothic Punk.

Gaslamp Fantasy: Basically, Steampunk but with fantastical elements. It keeps that late Victorian - Edwardian aesthetic, but adds magic, faeries, dragons, vampires, etc. Now, Steampunk leans more Sci-fi, while Gaslamp Fantasy is more well.... Fantasy, so Gaslamp Fantasy does tend to lose some of the technological aspects of Steampunk, but it can also overlap with Magitech, a subgenre where machinery is powered and propelled by magical energy. So, you can very well have a Steampunk Gaslamp Fantasy where all of the steam and gears and machinery is powered by magic. It’ still Steampunk, so long as that train is powered by shoveling magic energy crystals into the furnace, instead of coal. Howl’s Moving Castle is a good example of how the two can coexist. There are normal trains as we see in Sophie’s town, but we also see Howl’s castle which can move because of Calcipher, a fire demon that needs to constantly eat a fuel source of one kind or another. The world is full of witches, magic, and curses, but there’s also muskets, trains, airplanes, zeppelins, and a castle that spews steam and smoke as it wanders the countryside.

Paranormal Romance: Especially common with Vampires, but the fallout of Twilight and Alpha/Beta/Omegas in pop culture has also led to a rising interest in Werewolf stories, and a recent trend has also swept Faeries into the pop culture spotlight as well. All three offer stories where one or both of your characters is an immortal (or very long-lived) individual. Perhaps their world is homophobic now, but when they met and fell in love, it was perfectly acceptable. Perhaps being alive for 800 years piqued the main character’s curiosity and they decided to give it a try. The long history of homosexuals being demonized has led to a large percentage of queer people identifying with the monsters and villains of media, causing them to see themselves in the hated monsters, demons, and vampires that threaten the heterosexual heroes of old.

Historical Fantasy: For everything else that’s not within that Victorian-Edwardian window, Historical Fantasy has you covered. From Cyclopes and Sirens in Ancient Greece to Dragons and Goblins in Medieval France, or a mermaid ending up in an Americana freak show, this pretty much covers ever kind of fantasy romance in a historical setting that’s not covered by Paranormal Romance or Gaslamp Fantasy.

Renaissance Punk: It’s like Steampunk, but the world’s technology resembles the contraptions of Leonardo Da Vinci, as opposed to the clockwork, gears, and steam aesthetic plastered onto the turn of the 20th century that Steampunk offers. Also called Da Vinci Punk.

Space Punk: If you’re wanting to lean more Sci-fi, you can do Space Punk. Think Treasure Planet, though I could also call that Sail Punk. It has a very Victorian clothing and technological aesthetic, but then space is full of a breathable Ethereum, and even Doctor Doppler’s “space suit” looks closer to an old-timey diver’s suit. But the ship has solar sails, the mast charges up with a power source that propels the ship into space, lockets project holograms of still photographs, cybernetic prosthetics are technologically advanced, and aliens are a common sight, even for the poorest commoner.

Same-Sex Courting for Escapist Romance

I touched on this in my Writing Romance: Courting post, but I’ll cover it again because it’s especially applicable here. The rules of courting in the 1800s relied heavily on gender roles. So, how does one make sense of courting rules when the couple are the same sex? The basic rule of thumb is that whoever is higher in status is the one to be chased, while the one of lower class does the chasing. If a Duke is looking for a husband, does the Duke chase Viscounts or do Viscounts chase the Duke? Always, the Viscounts chase the Duke. A Duke is a valuable husband, a prize catch those Viscounts would want to have. What if the romance is between two men of equal class? Two Dukes falling in love? The one who would take the more passive role is likely to be whichever is higher in the line of succession. During the courting phase, an elligible queer bachelor is likely to recieve many gentlemen callers. They would come to the bachelor’s house where his family could keep an eye on him, and judge his prospects. They would bring gifts and trinkets, and sit in the tea room, sewing room, drawing room, or whatever room is used to entertain guests. Gentlemen callers would then talk with the bachelor, recite poetry, play the piano, or whatever else they could to impress the bachelor and his family. Again, as I said before, the one being visited by gentlemen callers is whoever is higher up in the chain of nobility. The Duke’s family is going to scrutinize every gentleman who calls on their son, while the Baron’s family is going to urge him to call on every queer man who outranks him. The other thing to keep in mind is inheritance. The first-born son inherits everything, so a second-born son or third-born son will get nothing from his father, or best case scenario, he will get a small fraction of the family fortune from his father or older brother. In order for these younger sons to stay in the lifestyle they were raised in, they will have to marry someone who is coming into his fortune. In a setting where women can inherit her father’s entire estate, a lesbian would function the exact same as a gay man. Ergo, any queer romantic lead who is not inheriting his father’s full estate must seek a first-born son who will inherit his father’s estate. Meanwhile, if your protagonist is a first-born son, he is far more likely to be chased by the younger sons of distinguished families. Finally, when it comes to the social season and courting at dances, queer nobles would likely wear something to distinguish themselves from the heterosexual nobles at the party. Something to let the other guests know their preference in dance partner. That way, gentlemen know not to ask the Baroness of Agincourt to dance, but that the Duke of Orleans is all too eager to receive male attention.

Lavender Marriages in Realist Romances

A lavender marriage is when a queer person marries someone of the opposite sex to disguise their homosexual dalliances, such as Renly Baratheon marrying Margaery Tyrell, or Laenor Valyrian marrying Rhaenyra Targaryen. In these instances, the woman knew her husband was queer and was willing to work with him to keep the secret. However, sometimes the wife wouldn’t know, and the husband was keeping his sexuality a secret from everybody. However, it was usually hard for a noble to keep his dalliances completely hidden from the court, as in both of these cases, both Renly and Laenor were well-known around court to be fanciful of male attention. Everyone typically knows the wedding is a sham, but tend to turn a blind eye to it regardless. I know I’ve been using male examples this whole post, but this does also work with lesbian romances. I believe the term is still lavender marriage with a lesbian, but I could be mistaken.

Actual Homosexuality in Historical Time Periods

Scholars debate the exact nature of their relationship, but in Arthurian Myth, King Galehaut is conquering his way across Arthur’s Kingdom when he challenges Arthur to a duel for the throne of Camelot. However, upon seeing Sir Lancelot, Galehaut offers to concede to Arthur if he’ll introduce him to Lancelot. From then on, Galehaut and Lancelot became Very Close Special Guy Friends, and it’s suspected that the pair might be lovers, or at least that Galehaut is in love with Lancelot.

Leonardo Da Vinci was involved with one of his male models, Pietri Bandielli, who Da Vinci used as a model for Jesus. Which also means, If you pray to the white version of Jesus with the little beard and long brown hair, congratulations! You’re worshiping a gay Italian male model that used to have sex with Leonardo Da Vinci.

Hans Christian Andersen fell in love with the son of his financier, Edvard Collins. But, when Collins became engaged and later married to Henriette Tybjerg, a heartbroken Andersen wrote the story of The Little Mermaid as an allegory for his unrequited love. Collins was the handsome prince who didn’t return the mermaid’s feelings, Henriette was the Temple Girl who stole the mermaid’s love, and Andersen himself was the mermaid, unable to verbalize her true feelings, and suffering great pain just to be near the one she loves.

It’s mostly speculation, but it’s believed that Richard I of England had a clandestine homosexual relationship with Phillip II of France. The majority of evidence comes from one particular courtier’s writings who described them as eating from the same dish and not being separated by their beds at night. However, it’s hard to say if this is evidence of a homosexual relationship, or just the flowery prose writing of the time describing a very close bromance.

Edward II of England had little interest in war. Hoping to toughen up his son, Edward’s father assigned a squire to Edward that excelled in tournaments, Piers Gaveston. However, this backfired spectacularly, as Edward fell in love with Piers. Gaveston flaunted his sway over the king, being so bold as to wear royal purple and the queen’s jewelry during Edward’s coronation. Gaveston was hunted down and beheaded by a group of barons, and Edward himself was killed with a red-hot poker shoved up his backside.

King James I of England was a well-known bisexual, even having a secret passageway linking his bedchambers with that of George Villiers. James’ male lovers experienced royal favoritism and protection, as James absolved one male lover for poisoning a political rival, and twice protecting Villiers from impeachment for incompetency. Following James’ death, Villiers was struck through by a sword.

Anne Lister was a noblewoman who often dressed in masculine clothing and kept a coded diary which recounted her many and varied lesbian affairs over her lifetime. Lister even earned the nickname Gentleman Jack, and is often regarded as the First Modern Lesbian.

Pirate ships were one of the few places where gay marriage was legitimate. Pirate captains could perform marriage ceremonies, and marriages between male crewmates was not uncommon, even having rules about sharing property and distrubution of goods among crew members with a married couple on-board. As well as the distribution of property following the death of a same-sex spouse.

While we know that brothels and prostitution has existed since Ancient Greece, in the 1700s, it was possible to find a Molly House. A house which featured male prostitutes who catered to male clients.

Women were not believed to have sex drives, so when two women loved each other, they were often called “bosom buddies”, and two women living together without a man in the house was called a Boston Marriage.

In the medieval era, it was believed that a woman’s womb was naturally cold and had to be kept warm with regular activity. If the woman was unmarried, the womb was to be kept warm by hand. But since using her own hands would be sinful, it often fell to the woman’s female servants to do the deed.

Men and women often existed in entirely disconnected social spheres. For a man, he would go to work where he would only work with men, after work he would go to a local bar or club that was exclusively for gentlemen, and following dinner, he would often retire to a private room in his home or another man’s home to sit, smoke, and talk with his male colleagues. Even within a single house, men would retire to the gentlemen’s lounge to smoke, while women would depart to the sewing room, tea room, or drawing room to have afternoon tea with the other ladies. As men would spend their entire days solely in the company of men, and the same for women, many men and women only spent time together in public spaces, during meals, and when going to bed. Even then, it was not uncommon to see households where the man and woman had separate bedchambers, and the woman would only sleep in the man’s bedroom when he desired sexual congress. Even the Palace of Versailles had separate chambers for the king and queen. This gave queer couples plenty of time to sneak around without anyone being the wiser.

This to Keep in Mind

One of the biggest issues behind the AIDS epidemic was the promiscuous nature of gay lovers in the 1970s. Because gay men had to be discreet, they would often have anonymous relations in public spaces like bathhouses and bars. This combination of unsafe sex practices and anonymous lovers caused STDs to run rampant through the community, and allowed the AIDS epidemic to have a devastating impact on the queer community.

In Victorian great houses, the footmen were effectively the “face” of the manor’s servants, so height and attractiveness was favored when hiring them. As such, footmen make for excellent romantic interests in a historical time period, since they’re required to be attractive to be hired.

The mafia has a long history of working with and supporting the LGBT community. In the 1920s, nightclubs in the black districts of Harlem would host drag balls, these events being known as Harlem Nights. The mafia helped these groups to meet without police interference for a kickback fee. Even the Stonewall Inn had Mafia protection. In a world where homosexuality is still seen as a sin, think about what groups are willing to turn a blind eye in the interest of profit.

Homosexuals were among those rounded up the Nazi Party during the Holocaust. Just as Jews were forced to wear the Star of David on their clothes, so too were homosexuals marked with a pink triangle. The Nazi Party also destroyed research on gender and sexuality, which destroyed a lot of evidence that had been gathered of queer existence up to that point in time. Today, the Pink Triangle is among the reclaimed symbols used by the queer community.

Queer people found ways to signal to one another. At different points in time, the visual cues have included wearing green ties, having a red carnation in their lapels, and in the 1970s, a bandana in the back pocket was a common way of indicating someone was a homosexual, and the color would even further indicate what they were looking for. Many modern slang words even started out as gay code words so that gay people could talk in public without drawing attention to themselves. Codes like “buns” for butt are still in use today, but got their start as codewords to keep gay conversations undercover.

While we often remember the Red Scare of the 1950s, we often don’t mention that there was also a Lavender Scare at the same time, which hunted down homosexuals just as the Red Scare hunted for communists. It was the belief that homosexuals would be more likely to undermine American policies or spread information to enemy nations, and thus had to be kept down.

Rich men often kept “actresses”, paying for apartments for them, paying for their food, drink, fun, costumes, and whatever else. If they really were an actress or otherwise a struggling entertainer, it was not unheard of for the wealthy benefactor to pay to get the actress roles, pay for tutors and lessons, or even buying them an entire theater. It’s not so hard to believe that a wealthy gentleman could keep a male model, actor, or artist in good stead, especially because artists in particular flourished in periods where rich people would sponsor and commission artists to paint for them. And this can work for either type of story, as a husband or wife would be equally annoyed to learn that the Duke of Orleans is keeping a young actor on the south side.

Gif Sourcing:

1. Bridgerton (2020 - present) 2. Game of Thrones (2011-2019) 3. Mary, Queen of Scots (2018) 4. Downton Abbey (2010-2015) 5. Victoria (2016) 6. Cloud Atlas (2012) 7. A Place to Call Home (2013-2018) 8. Mary Shelley (2017) 9. Brokeback Mountain (2005)

#historical fiction #writing romance #gay romance #historical romance #period piece #period drama #courting #courtship #gay history #gay historical fiction #gay victorian #gay period piece #gay period drama #queer romance #queer history #gay love story

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margridarnauds · 4 years

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pagan-soul replied to your post “My absolute HATRED for the term “Celtic Mythology” VS my desire for...”

Why do you hate that term? ��

So, I decided to give this its own post because I really feel like it does deserve it, since it’s the kind of thing that I think most people outside of the field don’t really think about and you deserve the best answer you can get, though I’m not sure how clear I’m being. If there’s a point that I’m not clear on, please ask me to clarify, since I can never tell if I’m being entirely coherent. I’m not sure if I can give you a FULL answer, since some of this is slightly outside my pay grade (given I don’t get paid, that isn’t hard), but I’ll try to do what I can.

For most of us in the field, I think, we generally hate it because it’s very, very imprecise and a little misleading. There really ISN’T a singular “Celtic Mythology”, just like there was never really a singular “Celtic people”. There were a vast variety of Celtic-speaking groups, spread as far out as modern-day Turkey, and each one of them had a unique cultural environment. Cernunnos, for example, does not have anything to do with, say, Bres mac Elathan or Rhiannon. And, in fact, in terms of the times that each one of them would have been popping up, there’s a SIGNIFICANT difference in ages.

(Taken from David Stifter’s Sengoidelc)

At some point, as you can see on the linguistic map.....during the Proto-Celtic period, they WOULD have had roughly the same cast of characters, BUT that is a time that we really know little to nothing about, and even then, I do believe there would have been localizations depending on family group and region. We can TRY to reconstruct it by comparing different figures/names and then putting them in an Indo-European context. If, for example, you see similar things pop up in India, Ireland, Greece, etc., you can be fairly certain that it is [1] A pre-Christian survival and [2] Specifically, a Proto-Indo European survival, aka going back to really some of the EARLIEST belief systems we have. If you have the same things popping up in Irish and Welsh contexts AND you have the name popping up in Gaulish inscriptions, we can be fairly certain that the figure is a REALLY old ass Celtic figure. Figures like Lugh, Ogma, and Nuada.....they are probably VERY old. Not that we won’t argue over it. Because Celticists argue over everything. (If you want to know about some of what Celticists have conjectured, I highly recommend Proinsias Mac Cana’s ironically-titled , given the topic of this post, book, “Celtic Mythology”. Now, some of what he said has been debated, because.....see above. Celticists. Arguing. We love it. BUT he’s a respected figure in the field, and my supervisor likes him so I’m legally required to like him too.) WHICH brings us to our next problem, which is that the way that each figure developed. Lugh, in an Irish context, is not Lleu in a Welsh context. They probably share the same root figure, at some point in their shared history. Their names match up TOO PERFECTLY for them not to. But the way they developed was specifically in the cultural context of Wales/Ireland. Lugh in particular is a VERY malleable figure. You can read three works where Lugh is in and get a VERY different reading of him in each one. (Good king? Machiavellian schemer? Flawed pragmatist trying to unite a people who won’t be united? A figure who’s more a symbol of kingship than an actual CHARACTER? Depending on the source and the time/context, you can get any combination. For what it’s worth, in the Early Modern period, there is quite a bit of matieral that shows a darker side to Lugh.) Saying, “Yes, these two are related” SOUNDS like it’s admitting a lot, but in reality, that still doesn’t really tell us anything about this hypothetical figure. If you put a knife to my throat and made me GUESS, I would say that he had some connection to kingship and sovereignty. Possibly, in relationship to that, sacral kingship, given that both Lugh and Lleu are betrayed by a woman to their deaths. But that is HIGHLY speculative and again, doesn’t really SAY anything. Lugh is Lugh and Lleu is Lleu. It’d be like trying to say that, because you and your cousin come from the same grandma, you’re exactly the same. Now, you might be able to INTUIT certain things about your grandma from any common traits you and your cousin have, and that’s a valid line of inquiry, and it’s definitely one that plenty of solid Celticists have done, I am NOT denigrating their research, but you’re still you.

Finally, “Celtic Mythology” really is.....rather bombastic, as a term, for a group that almost always consists of Irish Mythology (and, sometimes, Irish folklore, which is VERY different from the mythological texts), with Medieval Welsh literature sprinkled in for a bit of flavor. (Even the term “Welsh Mythology” is controversial, simply because, really...it’s much harder to pick the MYTHOLOGY from the literature. Even harder than the Irish.) And, in the field, even saying “Celtic Studies” is something that we kind of do through gritted teeth because we don’t really have a better term for what we do. See that big-ass linguistic family tree up there? Yeah, I’m not too proud to admit that there are exactly two languages on there that I am in any way equipped to talk about: Middle Welsh and Old Irish. Now, an IDEAL Celticist, aka some of the best in the field, is a jack of all trades, someone who can talk about the linguistic evolution of at LEAST Old Irish and Welsh (including their modern descendants), with a solid background in Proto Indo European and the ability to at least comment on the various other Celtic languages. (There are some scholars who specialize in, say, Scottish Gaelic, Breton, Cornish, and Manx, but they are basically a niche in a niche. The field, as a WHOLE, is VERY much dominated by Irish, both modern and medieval. Which suits me very well, but does make me feel very bad for the other languages that get left out of the mix.) But that is a VERY small number of people in the field. Hell, I got met with basically crickets when I said that I wanted to study Breton, not because people didn’t WANT me to, but because the resources simply weren’t available, much less as an English speaker. (I still want to take it up, though.) I know of some professionals in the field who NEVER would call themselves a Celticist, simply because the term doesn’t really fit them. My paleography professor was, incidentally, one of them. Personally, I DO use it, because again, I don’t have another term.

But, and I can’t emphasize this enough, what I study isn’t a SINGULAR Celtic Mythology. What I study is Medieval Irish Literature, with a focus on the Mythological Cycle and, when needed, I can sometimes comment on the similarities to Welsh figures. I don’t LIKE it, because I feel like I can’t do the richness of the Welsh material justice, but I can do it if you put a knife to my throat. With stuff like, say, Gaulish Mythology....we can make very educated guesses based off of inscriptions and things that the Romans/Greeks said and comparing them to Irish/Welsh material, but we don’t really know. Can’t really know. And with others...there were no written materials during the medieval period, or at least none currently surviving. (This is why Old Irish and Middle Welsh to tend to dominate mythological discussion: The bulk of our medieval material does come from those sources. People can say all they want about the scribes who wrote down the Mythological Cycle, but the simple fact remains that, if it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t be studying these texts.)

For me, the term “Celtic Mythology” kind of lumps all the individual Celtic materials into one massive soup bowl, regardless of time, context, culture, or any other distinguishing features, and, most of the time, would be just as easily done by saying “Irish Mythology” or “Welsh Mythology”. There are very few times, unless you’re talking about the ENTIRE POSTULATED HISTORY of a figure, that “Celtic” is really needed and it tends to assume that Irish = “Celtic” (most of the time, I see posts where Irish, in particular, is treated as being the same as “Celtic”, and my ire in this instance is directed towards them) instead of admitting the full variety of what that term actually means. Irish IS a Celtic language, yes, absolutely, but it is not the be-all, end-all, and the two terms are not synonymous. “Celtic” is a very broad term that can only really be useful in a few contexts, mainly linguistic, and is insanely controversial in the field as it is.

On a religious perspective, since I know that this is inevitable in conversations like this, does this mean that I’m saying, going back to my original example, “No, you cannot worship Rhiannon, Bres, and Cernunnos at the same time?” No. I am VERY firm on my stance that I can only speak from the perspective of my knowledge of the field, NOT on other people’s belief systems. This is similar to if someone was to ask me about the function of a given postulated deity, where I can only say “The material as it was written down indicates x, y, or z, and most of us in the field are VERY hesitant to apply a solid function to these figures, but if you feel that this figure is guiding you to a given conclusion, that’s fine. It isn’t ‘inaccurate.’ I don’t believe that there’s any way for a religion to be ‘inaccurate' so long as it’s harming no one.” (Use Celtic Studies as a smokescreen for white supremacy and I WILL roll down your throat faster than a hot dog on the 4th of July, though.) If all three of them are calling you, that’s something that I have no call on. I personally think that it’s a HELL of a combination, and I’d wish you the best of luck, but....it would certainly be an interesting one. If you want to take the reconstructionist root and try to figure out how they would have been worshipped in the Proto-Celtic times, that’s fine (though I do strongly advise against human sacrifice.) You’d have a devil of a task, but it’s certainly a fine one, and in many ways, not too unlike what scholars like Mac Cana did. And, if you want to worship them as they appear in the texts or how they’re personally guiding you, that’s not something that I can make a call on one way or another. Again, this is about my own personal feelings, from inside the field, on the term and how it can be rather misleading.

#pagan-soul #long post #celtic studies #celtic mythology #irish mythology

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that-shamrock-vibe · 6 years

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Superhero Spotlight: #SaveLucifer (Spoilers)

One of the biggest shocks of 2018 so far is the announcement made at the end of last week that Fox have cancelled Lucifer after 3 seasons. Not only was this a shock for fans but also to the cast including star Tom Ellis who started the #SaveLucifer campaign. So I thought I would offer my reasons as to why the cancellation is a mistake and also offer my suggestions to Fox for where they can take the show going forward.

Also as a disclaimer, this post will have spoilers for the entirety of the show so if you haven’t see the series finale of Lucifer, don’t read on.

Reasons to #SaveLucifer:

#1. Tom Ellis is Fantastic in the Role

Like many Brits who have watched this show, I knew of Tom Ellis in British TV roles prior to this such as EastEnders, Merlin and most notably Miranda. So prior to becoming the devil, he was diverse in both comedy and drama, however nothing to this level.

Lucifer as a character is charismatic, charming, hilarious and relatable as someone who is a genuinely honest person and essentially a fish out of water as of course he is used to either Heaven or Hell. All of that is obviously partly down to the writers but mostly down to Tom Ellis’ acting as he is almost unrecognizable in this role compared to those previously mentioned roles.

I think the difference is with roles like EastEnders and Miranda, he is playing the typical “nice guy” and with Merlin he was a stereotypical “arc villain”, but as Lucifer Morningstar, he is a fully-rounded, complex character and that, I feel, is why the show works at its core, because of Tom Ellis’ acting.

#2. A Different Type of Comic-Book TV Show

Believe it or not, Lucifer is based on DC Comics! Officially the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics but Lucifer Morningstar is a supporting character of The Sandman, who is a creation of Neil Gaiman. Now yes, Lucifer in the comics is blonde, Gothic and has different adventures to what he has in the show, but the very fact Lucifer is officially based on a comic-book property makes it a very different type of comic-book show compared to the likes of the Arrowverse shows or even the Marvel Netflix shows.

Because of this it is in a unique space of being a relief to both fans and non-fans of comic-book shows that may be finding the genre saturated at this point with the same type of show.

The only powers featured in Lucifer are divine powers which are either the effects of heavenly weapons or flight. Also the show is in that unique position of not needing special effects or powers because that isn’t what the primary focus of the series is.

#3. A Lovable Cast

Aside from Tom Ellis, this show has one of the best supporting cast in any show currently out there. I would list my MVPs but I do really like them all; I didn’t care much for Kevin Ranklin as Malcolm Graham in the first season but other than that I have loved watching all of these characters and obviously the acting is a huge part of that.

My two favourites aside from Tom Ellis are Lesley-Ann Brandt and Rachel Harris as both were just so compelling to watch whether with Mazikeen’s bad-ass nature or the journey of Linda discovering Lucifer’s true identity.

Also Scarlett Estevez who portrayed Dan and Chloe’s daughter Trix was fantastic, for a child actor (she was seven at the start of the series so by now she must be 9/10) to steal a fair few amount of scenes without diminishing the roles of the other actors is a gift, this girl I see a great future for if she pursues this as a career.

#4. Equality for Both Genders

There is a slight imbalance in genders as there has been one more female main cast member than male, but that’s not to say they push a feminist agenda or even make it about girl power like Supergirl. In fact the cast is very well-balanced both in terms of gender roles and ethnic diversity.

Also the victims and culprits every week or story have an equal mixture in both male and female showing that anyone can be a murder victim and anyone can be a murderer if given the right motive.

#5. Inventive and Creative Plots

So yes it is essentially a police drama with a divine twist but that is not to say that every episode has that formulaic “murderer of the week” angle, in fact while a lot of the cases are a simple murder investigation plot, the story around said plot is what becomes inventive and creative.

For example, in Season 2 there is one episode where Azrael’s blade is the murder weapon, Azrael’s blade is a divine weapon originally owned by the Angel of Death which forms the Flaming Sword when combined with a medallion and a key that Amenadiel always wears around his neck. In its debut episode, “The Sword of Death” is wielded by mere mortals which brings their inner anger to the surface and causes a mass stabathon.

This was inventive because it was the first and really only time that a weapon of the divine had been used by mortals without anyone aside from the divine realizing what the weapon was.

Which brings me on nicely to the series-long plot of Lucifer’s true identity, this was a very creative plot because...he was completely honest about who he was from the very first episode. Every opportunity Lucifer had to refer to himself as “the devil” he took it, even some random prostitute calling him “the devil” and him going “you have no idea”. The greatest part of this entire plot was that it took 3 seasons and 55 episodes for Chloe Dekker, who was the secondary protagonist and Lucifer’s main love interest, to finally realise that Lucifer was in fact the devil. How was this revealed? His devil face finally returned after a season-long arc of losing said face and Chloe finally saw it.

Honestly, and no disrespect to blondes, but Dekker is the definition of a stereotypical dumb blonde because while she was brilliant as a detective, the woman had literally every other episode with Lucifer telling her who he is and yet, a lot like Linda used to do, she compartmentalized that into Lucifer using metaphors.

It has been a fantastic long-running plot because, again, with traditional comic-book superhero shows it’s all about protecting the hero’s identity, like on Arrow this season, yet here Lucifer makes no secret as to who he is it’s just a question of no one actually believing him.

#6. Responsible for Bringing Tom Welling Back

This point was a personal bonus addition for me because I grew up in the noughties watching Smallville, which was the origins of Clark Kent becoming Superman, which starred Tom Welling in the main role of Clark Kent.

I was very happy when he was announced as a main character for the third season and hoped he would have a bigger role outside of just being Dekker and Dan’s lieutenant and fortunately he was. Not only was he the criminal known as the Sinnerman but also in a mid-season twist he was revealed to be Cain from the bible.

It has been great because to see Welling go from playing one of fiction’s greatest superheroes to supposedly the world’s first murderer shows a good range in acting from Welling despite the fact his two best-known TV roles are both with DC Comics.

Ideas for Future Seasons:

Alright so I have said why the series is so good, now I’m going to say why I think the series should come back with some suggestions for future plots.

#1. Introduce God

We’ve met Lucifer, we’ve met Amenadiel, we’ve met their mum who I am going to call Goddess and we’ve met one of their other siblings Uriel, but where the hell is God himself. i’ll admit that I am an Atheist/inactive pagan so believing in a higher power or deity for me only applies to the Greek/Roman/Egyptian mythologies but in a show that deals with angels and demons I do want to see the king of angels as I have seen the king of demons.

Introducing God I did always feel would be an endgame for the series of the build up he has had but even if they brought the series back for a final season just to give the fans a feel of closure then to bring in God for that final season would be a great idea.

#2. Crossover With Other DC Shows

Even though I know it is ending, I would really like Lucifer to crossover with the likes of Gotham because both shows have the same type of genre and both do not usually go so far into the comic-book genre that it becomes fantastical.

Failing that I would love Lucifer and Mazikeen to meet Constantine because Constantine is all about banishing demons and the next season of Legends of Tomorrow does seem to be a demon hunt so why not bring Mazikeen in for that?

#3. Crossover With Shadowhunters

This is a personal favoured choice of mine but again much like Constantine, the Shadowhunters are all about destroying demons and with that in mind I would to see a full on fight between Mazikeen and Isabelle. I also think both Lucifer and Dan’s egos vs. Jace and Alec’s egos would be a fun battle to witness within itself. Think Star-Lord and Thor in Avengers: Infinity War.

Now I know people are probably going to say “What are you talking about? Shadowhunters is on a completely different network to Fox!” Yes well because Fox has dumped Lucifer, it makes sense for it to be picked up by another network, now with Shadowhunters I think being broadcast on ABC in America (If I am wrong correct me please) but being broadcast by Netflix worldwide, it does make sense just to move Lucifer from Amazon to Netflix.

Also in regards to the different networks, the Supernatural boys just had a comic-book crossover with Scooby Doo, I think this is doable.

#4. Show Heaven

Quite simple for this one, we have seen Hell and purgatory but we have yet to actually see Heaven. Amenadiel took Charlotte to Heaven when she died in the penultimate episode but we never actually saw them go there, even just to have see them fly up towards it and see the golden gates or something would have at least maybe given us a tease for something potentially to come.

Also visiting Heaven would hopefully introduce God as I stated before but also allow for returning characters like Amenadiel and Charlotte but also, now that Chloe believes all this Heaven and Hell stuff, if Lucifer was to somehow take her there then she may be reunited with her dad which would make for a great dramatic and emotional scene.

#5. A War for the Earth

Alright so this one is kind of a follow-on from the last one but also a throwback to the very first episode. Right at the end of the first episode in a conversation between Lucifer and Amenadiel about how Lucifer defying both their father and Amenadiel would start a war, something Amenadiel was okay with.

Now while Amenadiel is currently on side with Lucifer, that doesn’t mean God will start a war either with Lucifer, Earth or Hell to get what he wants, and that could be the main story-arc of Season 4...a war either between Heaven and Hell or a War for the Earth. After all, god supposedly created the Earth so logically he can also destroy it.

This doesn’t even have to be a series-long war like Arrow has been known for, it can simply be a villain of the week or couple of weeks and then God interjected at random moments in the season until the big confrontation at the end. Wars don’t just have to be physical they can also be intellectual.

Overall I think I have made some rather good arguments as to why Lucifer is a fantastic show, why it should remain and what the potential storylines could be. There are still talks about the show trying to find a new home so hopefully we will see it back. #SaveLucifer

So that’s my Superhero Spotlight on the current state of Lucifer and the possibility of it going forward, what do you guys think? Post your comments and check out more Superhero and Supervillain Spotlights as well as other posts.

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rayonfrozenwings · 6 years

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Rayonfrozenwings Masterlist and Explanation.

Updated 16th September 2018.

::: Find the list below the intro:::

:: Intro ::

These Fan theories have been released from after EOS as that is when I joined Tumblr, I lurked for a long time in the fandom, only liking and not re-blogging, then I started adding comments to other people’s posts, eventually re-blogging them. I was a serial lurker. haha. There is some amazing theories out there especially if you look for ‘tog6 theory’ in the fandom on older blogs - a time before we knew “Tower of Dawn” was going to be a full book.

I have tried to source other Url’s in my theories if I expand on a point or want to give credit for the fact that they also had this type of theory, coz it's not cool to take other peoples ideas if you know they are out there (same ideas unknowingly being shared are ok because we can draw the same conclusions - I’m just sharing how I work and I like to give credit where it is due).

As different books came out my theories changed.

As I re-read for the third or fourth time, my theories changed.

Some of my Theories I like.

Some I have drifted away from, like a friend you no longer see because you’re too busy.

Some I think might still be valid - if only a small proportion of them.

I write theories with an open mind. I put them out into the world with the hope that people will discuss them with me when I do that. Some of my theories weren’t really seen by others because I was/am a small blog and I’m ok with that. And some theories blew up because a few big blogs shared it and i’m ok with that too.

If you disagree with the Erilea post I have written, I keep an open mind to all possibilities.

And The reason I choose not to fully believe SJM’s tweet about ACOTAR and TOG being linked is because of three reasons. The first is that she said they could live in the same multi-verse (so a “sliders” style parallel universe perhaps?). The Second is that she used a winky face! A winky face in the tweet. What does that mean!!!! And the Third is that I read another book series by Terry Brooks and he said his series were not linked for the longest time. Then years later he said -oh yeah, they are linked and this series is kinda a prequel but I couldn’t tell you that at the time, because “spoilers”. And I think Sarah would twist the truth to keep us from looking too closely and ruining our own enjoyment of her books. Also it is just a theory. Does it really matter? Pretend its an AU type of thing :P.

However some of them I really really am invested in (e.g. my Truth Teller theory because it just feels so right to me and the Weavers Lament because it feels right too). And I just really really want to be told that I have something right!

::So without further ado ::

I’m making a Masterlist of my work. Mostly Theory but I dabbled in some fic writing as well, it just depends on my mood. So I have also included some of those pieces. Theories tend to come thick and fast when a new book is released and discussed. Or when we all re-read before the next book comes out - as you will see by my published dates. Have a browse - I’ve left the this as Url’s rather than hyperlinks because it makes it easier for me to keep track of what I do and don’t have listed. I may change it later if I feel like it. :D

I hope I found everything, sifting through my long ass blog is annoying.

*** THIS IS NOT SPOILER FREE: I AM CURRENTLY UP TO DATE WITH ALL SJM’s BOOK RELEASES (except Kingdom of Ash - as it hasn’t come out yet). I TALK ABOUT BOTH SERIES IN POSTS. IF YOU HAVE ONLY READ ONE SERIES I CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT THE THEORY WILL BE SPOILER FREE FOR THE OTHER ONE. ESPECIALLY WHEN I HAVE CROSSOVER THEORIES. ***

:: RAYONFROZENWINGS MASTERLIST ::

Posts are in Order of Date Published on Tumblr.

Most Recent First. (NEW) September 16th 2018 - The Interconnection of ACOTAR and TOG and what this means for Kingdom of Ash.

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/178126351358/the-interconnection-of-acotar-and-tog-and-what

May 5th 2018 - Renee’s crazy amalgamation of theories - Part 2.

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/173589912933/part-two-an-addition-to-renees-crazy-theory

May 4th 2018 - Renee’s Crazy Amalgamation of Theories after reading ACOFAS.

- https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/173572241063/renees-crazy-amalgamation-of-theories-after

March 5th 2018 - Maeve as Lani the Goddess of Dreams

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/171540195098/fan-theory-maeve-as-lani-goddess-of-dreams-and

And https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/171540160743/what-if

the quick summary of that theory. Maeve as the first embodiment of desire in the universe.

March 5th 2018 - Creepy Foreshadowing in HOF (Also here is a link to a fan fic based on this topic written by someone else - it can also be found in the reblogs of my post as I didn’t know it existed before writing mine.)

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/171528748258/guys-there-is-some-creepy-foreshadowing-in-heir-of

Feb 20th 2018 - A New Acolyte, a tiny fan fic.

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/171084627053/a-new-acolyte

Jan 6th 2018 - The Weavers Lament - A Poem based on my Theory assumptions. (most of these theory assumptions were made on my acc ‘reneestowerofdawnspoilers’ because I was trying to keep my freak outs contained to a side blog after reading TOD).

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/169363770928/the-weavers-lament

Nov 6th 2017 - Truth Teller and the Subtle Knife https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/167176210028/truth-teller-vs-the-subtle-knife

A Theory about Azriel’s Blade Truth Teller, and how Elain was able to kill the king of Hybern.

Nov 4th 2017 - Part One and Part two on The Archeron sisters, their possible link to the fates and the origins of their family.

PART 1 - The Archeron sisters as the fates.

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/167094350393/the-archeron-sisters-as-the-fates-moirai-part

A Theory about the sisters as fates - Lachesis as Nesta, Clotho as Feyre, and Atropos as Elain. This then moves into part 2 …

PART 2 - Speculation on the Archeron Mother

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/167094408403/speculation-on-the-archeron-mother

Where the mother is possibly linked to the Mercenary in ACOTAR and a goddess.

Nov 3rd 2017 - Starfall and the Wild Hunt

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/167067744473/starfall-and-the-wild-hunt-a-acotartog-fan

An ACOTAR and TOG Crossover Theory, involving why Amren is so afraid of Starfall, the importance of Wyrd Gates and Wyrd Keys, The hounds of Erawan.

Nov 3rd 2017 - Galaythanius - name stuff

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/167074118023/ok-so-i-posted-a-theory-about-starfall-and-the

Just me jumping to conclusions about a link between a name that sounds like galaythanius and Artemis.

Oct 19th 2017 - Erilea

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/166565225118/erilea

A Theory about a possible crossover of Erilea and Prythian..

Have a look at the gif I made to see if you want to read it... >.<

Some of my Older Theories below have the assumption that ACOTAR is based on a bible based world or at least some of the characters are. However my thoughts have changed since writing these theories. I didn’t understand how much from all mythologies and religions around the world cross-over, so It's possible this is still true, or that SJM drew some ideas from it; but it's equally possible that she drew from greek/ roman/ norse/ egyptian/ jewish/ christian / folk tales etc etc. it is very hard when theory is an ever evolving process involving lots of discussion and viewpoints. So I still love these theories but I do recognise that anything is possible. Also comparative theology would be freaking amazing to study and I kind of wish I was still at uni.

Oct 14th and 15th 2017 (A collection of theories based on the Bible)

- The Story of Prythian

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/166412696743/the-story-of-prythian

- Feyre as Jesus Christ and Saviour

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/166412698178/feyre

- Angels - Fallen Angels and The Prison, Amren, Bryaxis, The Bone Carver and Styrga.

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/166412699068/angels

- Angels continued - High Lords as Descendants

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/166412700453/angels-continued

- Origins of the Illyrians - The fall of the Watchers

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/166412701713/origins-illyrians

- Predictions based on this series of theories

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/166412704178/acotar-fan-theory-predictions-past

and i’m done.. for now. Acofas is only 2 more sleeps away, so i’m sure I’ll think of something else soon. >.<

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Army of the Dead: How Advanced Are Zeus and His Alpha Zombie Society?

https://ift.tt/2RBBQk8

This Army of the Dead article contains spoilers.

It’s not a subtle image. But then who comes to a Zack Snyder movie for that? During the bloody and marvelous opening credits to Army of the Dead, the alpha zombie they call Zeus (Richard Cetrone) earns his nickname while staring up at a statue of the ancient Greek god of thunder in front of the fictional Mount Olympus hotel and casino. Our Mr. Zombie+ may not be an actual god, but one alpha can clearly recognize another’s game, and as we eventually learn, “Zeus” will make the Greco-Roman themed high-rise his home in the months to come.

Olympus is again the seat of power for those who seek to rule over all.

Such is our early introduction to Snyder’s update of zombie lore in Army of the Dead, the filmmaker’s second zombie movie after his debut film nearly 20 years ago, the Dawn of the Dead remake (2004), and his first original project since 2011’s Sucker Punch. Obviously, Snyder is still playing with genre in his new undead adventure, embedding a heist movie into the trappings of a more traditional zombie survival horror. However, the closer one examines the zombie hierarchy of this new movie, the more evident it is that there’s little you could call “traditional” about Zeus and his brood.

“I think the conversation I was starting to have with myself is: What will people allow in this genre of film?” Snyder told Den of Geek earlier this month about Army of the Dead. If audiences are receptive to the film, the answer will be a lot since Snyder’s movie seems to suggest zombies can be highly intelligent, successful at problem solving, and even in some ways more evolved and egalitarian than us. And if they can ever get outside of the ruins of Las Vegas… they really might just be the new gods of this world.

Of course on paper, the idea of a “smarter zombie” is not entirely new. The grandfather of our modern conceptualization of zombie lore, George A. Romero, even began toying with his image of mindless undead shamblers with his third zombie movie, Day of the Dead (1985). In that film, a zombie they call Bub is trained to solve rudimentary puzzles and even use a gun by humans; he then develops affection for the scientist who taught him. Romero further built on the idea in Land of the Dead (2005) when a zombie nicknamed “Big Daddy” leads a pseudo-revolution by organizing fellow walkers to storm Dennis Hopper’s high-rise citadel of power.

However, both those films, particularly Land, were far more intrigued with the allegorical aspects of the undead workers of the world uniting, as opposed to deepening the definition of a zombie itself. Big Daddy and his cohorts represented the “have-nots” of capitalism and 20th century geopolitics, with Hopper’s character a thinly veiled caricature of then-U.S. President George W. Bush (he is killed by oil at the end of the film).

Other fictions have also somewhat explored the idea of an intelligent zombie, but it’s always been in a format meant to feed into other genre tropes, like the romantic comedy in Warm Bodies (2013) or high fantasy in Game of Thrones. Still, Thrones is probably the best comparison to what Snyder is going for in Army of the Dead since the White Walkers (or “Others” in George R.R. Martin’s novels) are the top of a hierarchical food chain with the ability to magically command the more mindless Wights. They even kept pets like undead horses and bears—which is not dissimilar to Zeus’ own undead mount and tiger in Army of the Dead.

Nevertheless, the White Walkers are essentially a fantastical catchall for any force of nature (or inescapable death) that overwhelms and obliterates the petty grievances of man. Hence the countless think pieces about the Night King being the harbinger of climate change. By contrast, “alphas” in Army of the Dead are not allegorical creatures at all. They’re envisioned to be the next step in evolution among the undead and (perhaps) humanity as well.

We don’t technically know where Zeus comes from in this story. There’s some cheeky lip-service paid in the cold open about the zombie king hailing from Area 51, yet these details are intentionally left vague and dubious. The point is that he was in the military’s custody and they rather hilariously lost control of the zombie. Now every person he bites becomes an alpha—which is odd since it raises the question of where the traditional walkers came from if Zeus is the proverbial Patient Zero of the zombie outbreak.

Be that as it may, after the new normal sets in around Vegas, we learn Zeus rules on high from Olympus, sending out his zombie tiger as if it were both a hunting dog and a herald to announce his power. And his elected ruling class of zombies have developed the ability to communicate and barter with the living humans who occasionally slip into their domain. We learn from Lilly (Nora Arnezeder) that she only successfully ferrets materials in and out of Vegas by sacrificing “shitheads” to her alpha zombie gods. And when she feeds one such sexist pig to the alphas, Zeus’ zombie bride (Hera?) communicates with the humans through a series of vocal cues, making it clear she accepts that these mouth-breathers are buying safe passage.

Which raises the question: just how smart are the alpha zombies in Army of the Dead?

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The answer appears to be very. Zeus is able to organize his fellow alphas into an army that attacks in waves, like the Night King in Game of Thrones. Yet each alpha appears to have its own personality and ambition. They are not extensions of his will, but creatures with their own individual thought processes—they just fear the real alpha among them. Maybe this is the only element of allegorical heft in the film, since Zeus has organized zombie society around a group of powerful producers who take what they want through virtue of their talent (the alphas) and a bunch of underachiever shamblers who don’t complain about getting scraps. One even wonders if there’s an undead Atlas to shrug among Zeus’ cohorts?

In any event, Zeus is able to problem solve enough to build a seemingly magic helmet that no high-powered bullet can penetrate, thereby protecting his sensitive brain tissue, and he can strategize how to lead an assault with both alphas and shamblers. Most importantly though… he can grieve.

In another significant departure from typical zombie fiction, Zeus procreates in this film the old-fashioned way. His new species still increases its numbers via zombie bites. Yet Zeus and his proverbial bride also conceive a child who is still in utero when she is decapitated. Zeus is able to be anguished by the desecration of her body (and later her final death), and he can be outraged by discovering his zombie child died for realsies in utero.

We have seen “zombie babies” and zombie children before, including in Snyder’s own Dawn of the Dead remake. But we have never seen zombies conceive a child, which seems to suggest zombies can actually age and grow in this universe. After all, the baby Zeus and his lover intended to birth could grow from an apparently zombified embryo, so can Zeus and his minions grow older themselves? Zeus’ hair certainly grows out over the length of the movie.

In which case, are the alphas in Army of the Dead really dead at all? In a biological sense, yes. Their hearts stop beating and they can apparently take any form of punishment except a bullet or blade to the cranium. In a philosophical sense, however, the differences between the living and the dead appear to have become moot. The alphas can procreate, strategize, and build a society of their own.

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As even Lilly says, this isn’t their prison; it’s their kingdom. A realm for a new species that in some ways is an improvement on ours. For starters, they are a lot harder to kill. Zeus’ lover is outright decapitated and her head’s still going. But, on a more serious note, they also display fewer deficiencies of character. If Martin (Garret Dillahunt) hadn’t screwed over his compatriots to get to the roof alone, most of the cast of characters in Army of the Dead would’ve survived. In a plot point straight out of James Cameron’s Aliens, at least the alpha zombies aren’t “fucking each other over” for a percentage.

Additionally, the alphas can overtake entire communities in the span of a few days. If not for the wall erected by humans during the movie’s opening credits, North America would be swarming with zombies. So, in a way, putting Zeus down at the end was the best thing our heroes could’ve done for their obsolete species.

But—as teased by Vanderohe (Omari Hardwick) surviving just long enough to get out of the irradiated ruins of Vegas to notice his zombie bite—life, much like death, will find a way. And among the alphas, those distinctions are becoming almost meaningless.

The post Army of the Dead: How Advanced Are Zeus and His Alpha Zombie Society? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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clearrevelationstarot · 4 years

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READING FROM THE NEW MOON (JULY 20-24TH -- AUGUST 8TH= “LIONSGATE”, & what’s coming in re: our World during this time, & what to prepare for:

• Picture #1): (above)

••“Hilly & Milly” help me with this Tarot reading today! Hilly the Faerie & Millicent the Mouse Puppet, are over-seeing this next week ahead, since we need our friends, no matter how big or small, to get us through... the lineup looks very interesting!••

• Picture #2), below: (The Celtic Cross)= by a new deck I got as a lovely gift! It is the “Enchanted Tarot deck” by Amy Zerner & Monte Farber. LOVE the pics in this deck!

• This reading covers from the beg. of the last New Moon (July 20th-July 24th) - August 8th (aka “Lionsgate”): I will explain each section, but first here’s the next 4 cards of the future lineup:

• Picture #3), below: (future lineup)=

••• BEFORE THE TAROT: OVERALL HISTORY ABOUT SOME PLANETARY INFO. OCCURRING NOW VS. PAST PANDEMICS IN HISTORY:•••

• Now, the reason why this time is so important, it’s right after the alignment of many planets that just occurred, (also: at the same time as the Neowise Comet); & the last time these planetary alignments happened, it was similar in nature to what occurred with past pandemics in history, over the Centuries!

••• MOST IMPORTANT planetary similarity is: •••

A) Jupiter & Pluto were in a conjunction pattern with each other= what this means is, Jupiter, & Pluto are side by side very close to each other in the sky for a period of time. There are 3 times that this same pattern have & will continue to occur in this year of 2020, always in the sign of Capricorn: 1) April 4th (4/4); 2) June 30th; & lastly 3) Nov. 12th.

B) & Saturn, & Pluto also have been in conjunction= They have been traveling in close proximity all year. It began on Jan. 12th that Saturn-Pluto went into conjunction, (when Covid was first introduced into the U.S.) & then in April, (when the first major spike of Covid happened), it just moved into the sign of Capricorn= which represents, Government, structures & the economy, so this alliance of planets, is already revealing its “footprint”.

•• JUPITER-PLUTO CONJUNCTION explained, re: why clashes in our life have occurred & any other times in History, when these 2 planets have been in this pattern in the sky:

• The reason this is important if we compare to what has occurred in history is: EVERY pandemic that has occurred in History has had this planetary alignment happening at the same time:

• JUPITER represents global connections, & expands everything it touches. In Roman mythology, Jupiter (Zeus to the ancient Greeks) is the god of all gods -- the ruler of the sky & thunder! VS.

• PLUTO: In mythology, Pluto (or Hades to the Greeks), was the god of the underworld. Astrological lore contends that Pluto rules all things hidden-- from viruses to government conspiracies. This shadowy sign governs death, rebirth, & transformation that “rises form the ashes.” SO...

• During a Jupiter-Pluto conjunction (meetup), heaven & hell essentially come together... (& these conjunctions occur every 13 years.) What history has shown us during past astrological cycles, when Jupiter & Pluto were side-by-side as a pandemic broke out:

• 1) 1918 Flu Pandemic (The Spanish Flu) : Jupiter & Pluto in the sign of Cancer. The 1st of 2 pandemics caused by the H1N1 influenza virus.

• 2) The 2nd H1N1 influenza virus pandemic: Swine Flu (2009) Jupiter & Pluto were in Capricorn, when it first broke out.

• 3) 1981 HIV Outbreak- Jupiter & Pluto were in the sign of Libra, the sign that rules relationships, & in 1994, when it occurred again, it was in the sign of Scorpio, which is the sign that represents the sexual organs, when the antibody test for HIV first came out, & AIDS was the leading cause of death for adults 25-44 yrs. old.

• 4) Russian Plague of 1771: (the Bubonic Plague) Jupiter & Pluto in Capricorn: in Moscow, when first reported, officials were first skeptical & dismissive, & national gov’t was slow to respond, but waited to long to act, & in the end, 100,000 lives were lost in Moscow.

• 5) The Black Death of 14th Century Europe: Jupiter & Pluto were in Aries. 50 million people across Europe perished, since this original Bubonic plague was orig. transmitted through rats, & the fleas that bit the rats, gave it to humans, when they in turn bit the humans.

•• NOTE: Re: this pandemic, it was the year of 1346, Jupiter pivoted between Aquarius & Pisces, as it will again in 2021. Aquarius rules large populations, & Pisces is associated w hospitals & illness. The crucial error that caused the Bubonic plague to spread - like most pandemics- was a slow response or recognition time. The faster we address an outbreak, the better we’ll be able to contain it.••

•• IMP. TO NOTE: For context, it takes Pluto ~247 yrs. to return to each astrology sign. Pluto was last in Capricorn when the United States was founded. It returned here in 2008, & will move to the next sign in 2024. This has been a time that’s brought massive Plutonian transformation & shakeups to Capricorn-ruled areas of Government & economy.

•• SO, the added weight of Saturn also being in conjunct with Pluto at this same time, is like activating a dormant volcano. As Saturn will return to Aquarius from Dec. 17th- March 2023, we’ll have to be careful (as a society) so there’s not more spikes, esp. during this period of time...

•• JUST thought some of this was important to post about in the midst of this Tarot reading, because some of the symbolism in this reading has to do with what’s directly going on in our world right now... & has some of these similar sounding themes...

•• TERMINOLOGY: What LIONS GATE means:

•• The Lions Gate is: “Every year on and around the 8th day of the 8th month of the year (August 8th), there is a cosmic alignment called “the Lions Gateway”. The Lions Gate is a time of increased cosmic energy flowing between the physical and spiritual realms.“ - & this year it is supposed to be a very strong energy that has a positive effect on us, during the astrological time of Leo (The Lion), which we have just crossed into on the 23rd of June...

• Here’s a website to read more about this, (just for the definition, not what they are then selling in the last paragraphs, ok?) ... but they give a good lead in re: the history, & how & when this all began: https://www.ask-angels.com/spiritual-guidance/the-888-lions-gate-activation/

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•• SO, ONTO THE READING: ... I asked the question, what are we to expect: what energies or experiences will we (as a human collective) be experiencing from the time period of the last New Moon (in Cancer) on June 20th, until Aug. 8th, the date of the “Lions Gate”?:

Picture #4, below: (=Energy of Us All:) = Ace of Hearts (Cups)

• Our 1st card: is the card representing the energy of us all (as a human collective), & the strongest energetic pull of the reading= The Ace of Hearts (Cups):

• Usually this placement, speaks of what’s on the mind of the person you’re doing the reading for, & also their energy around them, or representing them in this moment. The Ace of Hearts here, I believe, reps everyone’s opening up to an awareness of what do they really WANT or DESIRE (LOVE to do) in this lifetime that would be their ultimate dream, or make them happy. =

• Whatever that is for you, the Ace of Hearts, (or Ace of Cups in other decks), speaks of: that we are just leaving the time of Water (Cancer), & the Ace=a period of One (=Ace & for the past mo. at least) w/ us all focusing on our inner desires, or thinking about “What do we want out of life?, now that this pandemic is here, & I am stationary, and not distracted away from my true purpose here on Earth?”... It also can represent a great love coming into (or is in) your life!

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• Picture #5, below: (Present Environment): 9 of Hearts (Cups):

• Our 2nd Card: is the card representing the Present Environment, around us. Here, the 9 of Hearts (Cups) wanted to come out. Taking the theme of “What do we love” further, the 9 of Hearts (Cups) can also stand for our wish fulfillment. Right now, a lot of focus is being put on this question. If there is also a partner in your life, the focus may also be on being IN the energy of, or the company of what you love to do, or also can be WHO you love.

• I actually feel this period will take us through the Summer, ( a period of 9 wks), & into the beg. of Sept. Also, the Ace of Hearts (or Cups) stands for the season of Summer. So, the focus feels like it’s going to be on this throughout the Summer, into Sept.

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• Picture #6, below: (Crossing Immed. Our Path): Queen of Pentacles=

• Our 3rd Card: is the card representing the energy that will be Immed. Crossing our Path: Here, the Queen of Pentacles, came out. First of all, it’s important when you are using a deck you have just gotten (a deck you have not used before, & don’t know the symbolism, let’s say), you are not familiar with the way the cards are drawn for each card. ie) In this deck, it almost feels like there’s a “Wheel of Fortune” (Higher Life lesson card) on her head, as part of her hat= which is interesting... since the “Wheel” usually refers to the Wheel of Life, & where we all are at on it... here, it seems we’re continuing to question this...

• First of all, the Pentacles as a suit, rep. the time of Earth, and the next time that starts a time of Earth, is in the astrological time of Virgo (Aug. 23rd - Sept 22nd). So, this person, place or thing, coming across our paths, feels like it will occur during this time. In this situation, since I asked for the human collective my orig. question, I feel this reps Earth (Mother Earth). But just to see, I clarified this with another card... (see below):

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• Picture #7, below: (Crossing Immed. Our Path, Clarified): Strength (Higher Life lesson) card=

• Our 3rd Card: is the card representing the energy that will be Immed. Crossing our Path, & the Clarified card=Strength card: The Strength card is one of the cards that reps the astrological sign of Leo (July 23rd - Aug. 22nd) in the deck. Besides being a marker confirming what time we’re speaking about, Strength is actually a Higher Life lesson card that asks us to “tame” the beast=the Lion, which reps. our lower instinctual nature vs. staying true to our Higher selves, & higher purposes, during this time. We’re also asked to overcome any lower behavior, or to strive to work on these challenges we all have, esp. during these times of major change happening around us.

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• Picture #8, (below):

• Here, the beginning 3 cards (so far) always lay in this formation, in a Celtic Cross:

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• Picture #9, see below: (Our Goals): The Tower (Higher Life lesson card):

• Our 4th Card: is the card representing the energy of Our Goals (the card at the top of the Celtic Cross)= what we are needing to do, or what we want to do: Here, to get the Tower card, in this position, feels like what we all are wanting to do= to keep pushing through this incredibly unexpected, & hard time of “not-knowingness” of tumultuous change, no matter what. The time of The Tower (which is a Higher Life lesson) shows us things that are unexpected, & at times situations where we are tested. The key message is: to hang in there, and continue moving through this time of grey, & the unknown. - We will get through it, even though it doesn’t look like that at ALL right now...

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• Picture #10, below: (Difficulties in the Past): 7 wands=

• Our 5th Card: is the card representing the energy of Difficulties in the Past (the card underneath the Celtic Cross)= what energy or who may have affected you along your way (many yrs. ago in the past)=

• NOTE: By the time the card that lands here hits this placement, it usually is showing us how far we have come w the issue at hand vs. where we were at in comparison a very long time ago. ie) In this instance, because this is a human collective reading & not a personal reading, I feel this period of 7 correlates to when this pandemic orig. came into our lives= 7 months ago...

• This card usually reps being defensive /possibly fighting off, or fighting for a person, thing or situation even. Here, it shows a person, (Us as a people) taking a stand for what we believe in, during these tough times, & standing up against obstacles, &/or challenges (the 7 of wands are sticking up at him). = these can be w/ regards to many things: each wand is a separate issue: ie) Keeping healthy during Covid; Political protests supporting Black Lives Matter; Dealing w a Gov’t that didn’t & isn’t helping the pandemic by denying its’ existence; Loss of our jobs; etc.

• A personal visual I found interesting that’s in the drawing of this card, in this particular deck (my opinion)= He is a warrior that is fighting through it all, & even has a shield to protect himself with= showing he’s def. ready for the fight ahead! This is showing hope for continuing to move forward.

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• Picture #11, below: (Last of the Present): Queen of Hearts (Cups)=

• Our 6th Card: is the card representing the Last of the Present / = (the card on the Left of the Celtic Cross)= What Just Occurred rt. before the reading: Here, this Queen reps the time of Water (just like the Ace & 9 of Hearts/Cups, because she is of the Cups suit); & she correlates to the recent past, & to the time of Cancer. (which just ended.)

• This feels like for many people it became very clear, that we all may have to think differently about what else (other abilities we may have), or we can do to make a living; but the key thing was to think of something we ENJOY/LOVE also doing! (not just doing anything...)

• So, my personal belief is it started this way, thinking with regards to work, & this forced us to look at what was/is it that makes us happy? If you already ARE living your dream, this is fabulous!- but then you were being asked “How can you continue to do what you do, make a living still, & have an impact on others, during this challenging time?” =

•=This is what the Queen of Hearts (Cups) asks of us... Because it’s asking questions of the human collective & of Earth, we as a human collective, are showing up as a Queen here, with these concerns/thoughts. The gender doesn’t matter here, being the female (Queen vs. this being a King) since it really isn’t about gender per se in Tarot, it’s more the energy behind the feeling. Because it’s a bit more receptive energy, it’s showing up as a female, & as this Queen.

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• Picture #12, below: (First of the Future): 7 Pents=

• Our 7th Card: is the card representing the First of the Future = (the card on the Right of the Celtic Cross)= What Will Occur rt. after the reading:

Here, the 7 of Pents, I feel, reps. a period of 7 days, (since it’s an immediate period of time), & for the week ahead. The 7 of Pents asks us to pause and look back at the last period of time we are coming from, & if we have made progress. It’s a time of self-assessment, if you will. It also is a time to re-think before moving forward. The number 7 is also a reflective, going-within time, & it will set us up for the beginning of August. (literally ~Aug. 1st).

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• Picture #13, below: (Future Environment): The Sun (Higher Life lesson card)=

• Our 8th Card: is the card representing the Future Environment=

• Here, this is the 2nd card in the Tarot deck that reps the astrological sign of Leo- (July 23rd - Aug. 22nd) So, it is re-stating, that this future environment time period will be occurring RIGHT as it turns into August 2020.

• Also, The Sun (as a Higher Life lesson) is one that stands for several things:

• 1) Things that may have been hidden, will now come into light (or are exposed); • 2) partnerships of all kinds become more significant (business & in the area of love), • 3) It also finds you more clear & in control, & able to direct your mental energy. You’re able to develop great sensitivity towards all form of life & expand your awareness.

••NOTE: With regards to world issues: I feel there def. will be some significant reveals or information that is finally exposed (re: our Gov’t right now) that will be happening esp. during this time. ••

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• Picture #14, below: (Influences from the Outside): The World (#21) (Higher Life lesson)=

• Our 9th Card: is the card representing the Influences from the Outside=

• Here, it’s interesting the imagery in this deck!! She almost looks like she’s running FROM the world, or holding it back!.. OK, so on an instantaneous level, I am feeling like mostly this card has to deal w the real-life issue of being in a World health crisis, obviously.

• I also find it interesting that the building in the background, looks like our monuments in Washington, that stand for our Liberty & Justice! (the Courthouse too...)

• But “The World” is also a Higher Life lesson card & reps. the ending of one cycle, to make way for a new one. Even though this is the imagery on this particular deck, The World card usually speaks about everything is moving according to an intended arrangement. “Your destiny unfolds at its proper pace as you constantly move towards the goals of your lifetime.”

• Also, w this slow & steady movement, the cosmos gives us time in which to actualize our destinies.

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•• BECAUSE THIS WAS BRINGING IN WORLD ISSUES (showing this “World” card specifically), I clarified this placement with 3 cards, to hear more of the story:

• Picture #15, below: (Influences form the Outside Clarified): 1) Two of Swords; 2) 5 of Swords; 3) Judgement (Higher Life lesson)=

• Let’s take each one separately: 1) Two of Swords= If you look at the image on this card, the first thing that hit me was, the upside down “V” shape and 2 pillars (that rep the Swords on this particular drawing of this card), made me think of NASA’s symbol, & I looked up when they were to launch their mission to Mars. Also, the feather that is being held by the woman in the middle of the picture, looks like a fish, & I looked up the timeline of when they are to land on Mars, & it correlated to the EXACT date that Pisces begins, Feb. 18- Feb. 19th, 2021!

• So why is this important you ask?= Because w/ regards to this card, we are clarifying what Outer Influences w/ the World are we going to be dealing w/ in the future... (Even though I asked only for the 1-2 weeks ahead, sometimes Tarot gives you larger-than-life messages, here, about the human collective, & you have to be open to it...)

• So, first, in my opinion from this, it feels like the NASA Mars mission will reveal info. that will affect our World here on Earth, & I kind of feel, we may also find out hidden info. or plans re: the current Gov’t’s plans for possible space warfare. I think this is only related to our present Gov’t & hopefully, if this is exposed as a truth during this time, hopefully a new person will be in the White House, & we can avoid anything as a country that would’ve been potentially dangerous.

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•• CONT’D:

•• Down to the nuts & bolts: Because all Higher Life lesson cards don’t normally have a time period attached to them, when you see more than 1 of them in a reading, it’s understood they all are happening usually at the same time.

• So, in between these 2 Higher Life lesson cards: The World (#21), & Judgement (#20)= there is a message that we as a human collective, are being judged, re: how we handle this crisis, how we treat each other as people during this time, etc.- & the a) 2 of Swords has to do w/ a decision of sorts that will be made, or 2 sides are being seen, that may be in conflict- this feels like our Gov’t vs. the protests.. I feel this will correlate to 2 months from now= Beg. of October.

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• b) The 2 of swords clarifying the World, & then the 5 of swords we clarified further= 5 swords= deals with conflicts; where the actual meaning involves a battle where there are definite aggressors, who do not listen to any possibilities, & discord exists. ie) Again, a threatened Gov’t (President) will not listen to reason, & in doing so, jeopardizes the whole health & safety of the United States. His behavior seems like ti will continue.

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•• c) NOTE: Because the 2 of swords is clarifying a Higher Life lesson card (”The World”), & the message is the strongest towards the next card chronologically after “The World” card, this feels like the timeline the cards are trying to say to focus on first. (2 months after Leo/ August)..

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• 2) Five of Swords=

• If you check out the 5 swords in this deck, it almost looks like each sword is a lightening rod. I feel around this timeline, we will be having issues with our weather, & major storms from tornadoes, (where because of instabilities caused by natural disasters, it is seeming like we may have another Covid spike due to major weather changes.

•• a) So, the 5 wks (represented in the 5 swords card) after the 2 months= feels like this is the full timeline expressed here= these conflicts will fully take us to the time period of beg. to mid- November. As a side-note, it feels like conflicts also w the election will be taking place at the same time.. (& another reason for a spike re: our health crisis.)

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• 3) Judgement (#20) -Higher Life lesson card=

• If you look at this card, Archangel Michael here is taking on the battle, & hopefully will help the people (=the hand in this image): Usually, in other decks it is Archangel Gabriel that is blowing a wake-up horn, with a Red Cross symbol on a flag, saying we will be awakened from the state of affairs, & receive help. Here, regardless of which Archangel the artist meant for us to see, this Angel is helping the people in the water to have a spiritual awakening too.

• a) Because all of these cards are showing up, it feels like it is referring to more battles that will be coming/ happening in our society as we know it, to the point that Judgement, (or the Archangels Michael & Gabriel) metaphorically are called in, to correct the situation back to balance.

•• NOTE: Everything represented by Judgement, spoken about here, definitely needs to be replaced by harmony & teamwork in the future.

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• Picture #16, below: (Hopes & Fears) Princess of Swords (Page of Swords)=

• Our 10th Card: is the card representing our Hopes & Fears=

• Here, the Princess of Swords (Page of Swords in other decks), reps. a time of researching & checking facts on information being put out there; also this reps. watching the behavior of another person in a calculated manner.

•• (ie) Because Swords rep. Air, & the next Air sign coming up is Libra (Sept. 23rd - Oct. 23rd), this feels like we, as a country, and a people, may start to challenge the Gov’t further starting during this timeline, into the next season. (Fall into Winter.)

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• Picture #17, below: (The Outcome card) The Eight of Pents=

• Our 11th Card: is the card representing The Outcome=

• Here, the Outcome card is the 8 of Pents: This as an Outcome card speaks of two different layers or timelines. Originally, I asked what was coming in (situations, in our world, our health, livelihood, etc.) from June 20th - August 8th, so on One Level, this card reps 1 week after the Leo card (7 of Pents, turns into the 8 of Pents), & this = August 8th.

• In the immediate future of this first timeline, I feel we will continue to focus on what we as a people can do to work together, create new work opportunities, and help each other with common goals, & causes that we’re all interested in.

• On the Second Level, if we follow the Higher Life lesson timeline, after the World & Judgement cards, it looks like this period of 8 is another 8 weeks, on top of the last date we stated, mid- November. So, 2 months after that, will take us to January, & my sense from this card, I am hoping from the feel of what this card usually stands for, we will have a different person in the White House.

• It may take some effort to move him out of there, but this card is ALL ABOUT placing other people alongside of yourself and working towards a common goal, & honestly, that’s not what’s going on w/ the person running our Gov’t right now... so I am hoping my prediction here is correct!

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NOTE: I clarified the Outcome Card, and got some more detailed info. I also Clarified the card underneath the deck, (usually known as the Overall Energy of the reading), but I will be revealing those extra cards in the next post!

• Know this was Long, but I so appreciate you checking it all out if this is something either you are interested in learning or just to see what may be occurring in the near future, & why!!

•• I am very grateful for you stopping by!!•• :-)!!!

#heidischooler @heidischooler @ClearRevelationsTarot @MillicentAndMeAndTheAppleTree

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thesleeplessfangirl · 4 years

Text

OKAY HEAR ME OUT (Sander Sides Theory Time)

Pretty long (oops), but there is a TL;DR at the end! This is just a couple theories mainly surrounding the orange side, though everyone gets a moment here and there (Virgil more so than others).

I’ve always kind of subscribed to the theory that procrastination is the orange side, mostly because of the clip where the “light sides” list Thomas's biggest flaws (link here). If you’re unable to watch, basically Roman, Patton, and Logan list Thomas’s biggest flaws according to themselves. For instance, Roman thinks Thomas is not “adventurous” enough, Patton claims he can be “a bit selfish” with his things, and Logan states that Thomas procrastinates “a lot”. Someone goes a bit more in depth about this than I will so here’s that post here (they’ve also combed though a good amount of the episodes to find references to ALL the dark sides throughout the series, it’s really cool, you should check it out if you haven’t already😊)

Anyhow, keeping the fact I believe the orange side is laziness/procrastination/sloth/etc. in mind (Also wouldn’t it be such a great moment if the last side was procrastination? Just casually walking up like, “Hey guys, how are you?” Like, the guy already casually said/typed “hello” to us in SvsSR/PoF. The comedic potential on this bus is astronomical.) I think the name of the orange side has something to do with the Roman god (or actually goddess) of sloth. Now I have checked multiple websites and such, and if I’m being honest, I’m very unsure if the Roman equivalent to the Greek goddess of sloth (Aergia) is actually Murcia, Socordia or Ignavia. I’m not that skilled at research, despite being a Ravenclaw secondary, however from what I can piece together, Socordia or Ignavia seem to be more common. That being said, whenever Murcia is mentioned, I found that the name was interpreted by Christian writers, connecting Murcia with the Latin adjective “murcus” or “murcidus” meaning "lazy” or “inactive”, which was an example of a false etymology. This popular connection lead some to believe she was the "goddess of sloth and laziness". I could see Thomas and Joan using any of these names as a basis, as it keeps with the current “Roman theme”. I also feel like they would adjust it a little bit to fit the “-us” theme that the dark sides seem to have (Janus and Remus being clear examples of this). And honestly, it is plausible that they could tweak it to make it work with the narrative (ex. the real pronunciation of Janus).

Now, to get a bit off topic, I say “clear” examples, because of Virgil. Virgil is a confirmed in canon ex-dark side. But his name doesn’t end in “-us” like the others do. Or does it? In SvsS, (you know, the first one, not part two, the one that destroyed Roceit, ripped open my heart, caused my skin to break out, razed my crops, blackened the sun, made my grades fall, took 20 years off my life, etc.) Deceit (or Janus, as we now know) makes a seemingly off-handed remark about Virgil and how he was “reluctant to share” with the light sides. When Virgil told him “don’t”, Janus replied “I just meant your name”, and Virgil seemed to get more upset with Janus. I’ve had two different theories about why this comment in particular upset Virgil.

The First Theory: Backed by canon confirmation, the secret Janus is referring to is that Virgil is a dark side. He was reluctant to share that he was a dark side, whether that be because he was scared of a bad reaction from the group, or because he was ashamed, or something else entirely. He clearly has some sort of reason for hiding things, probably because Virgil is the literal embodiment of Thomas’s anxiety, but who knows😅. One could argue that Janus bringing up Virgil’s “name” could refer to his old title as a dark side (the Paranoia/Anxiety theory, another well thought-out, amazing post that I love).

Or, there is a second theory: Virgil gets arguably more upset when Janus mentions his name. Perhaps that is because Virgil’s name is true to its origins. The poet that the name Virgil originates from was called Virgil as a nickname. His full name was Publius Vergilius Maro. Vergilius could be Anxiety’s full name (or his name when he was Paranoia, because honestly that theory deserves to be canon and it gives Janus’s statement a double meaning and who doesn’t love giving the side named after the god of duality more sneaky, under-the-table meanings to seemingly harmless sentences). It would also check off the missing “-us” ending to fit the dark side vs. light side name suffixes (-on/-an for light, -us for dark).

Now that Virgil has once again stole the show and my heart, let’s get back to the orange side. If he is truly the embodiment of laziness/sloth/procrastination/etc., then his name could be something like “Ignavius”, “Socordus”, or maybe something like “Murcus/Murcius”. It could also be a play off of Aergia, as Logos (Logan) and Pathos (Patton) have Greek origins rather than Latin ones. SO something like Aergus isn’t too far out either. Out of all those options, I personally like Murcus or Ignavius, though I’m definitely leaning towards Murcus (which is also a Greek word, but the meaning isn’t completely clear at least to me. Another thing to note is that Murcus is also described as a “personal name” on this website) I personally pronounce Murcus “mur-shus” though that doesn’t follow any of the language rules for Latin or Greek as far as I know.

But hey, that’s just a theory. A Sander Sides theory. Thanks for reading.

Lol

TL;DR: Orange Side represents laziness and is possibly named Murcus. Virgil used to be Paranoia and went by the full version of Virgil, Vergilius. No I won’t be taking any questions. (except I will if I see the notification lol)

#orange side name theory #orange side #svs #svs pt 1 #sanders side theory #sander sides #thomas sanders #ts sanders sides #virgil sanders #ts orange side #ts virgil

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agameforgoodchristians · 4 years

Text

A lukewarm, wretched, pitiable, poverty-stricken, blind, and naked loser. (Revelation 3:17)

tl:dr = You should Learn what ‘LUKEWARM’ MEANS AND then Stop being so God-damned ‘lukewarm.’ also,why aren’t you in the streets right now?

This card comes from John of Patmos’ message in the Book of Revelation to the church located in Laodicea. It is the last church addressed of the seven churches of Asia Minor that appear in Revelation 2-3. From the start, let us be clear that we are not going to delve into the end-times, conspiracy theories over these letters. We know they exist. We were weened on them as children. We grew up and read a book or two, including the Bible.

What is important of note at this juncture is that is the only one of the seven churches for which nothing good is said. This is the “lukewarm” church in danger of being spit out of God’s mouth (Rev 3:15-16). But more on that later. Right now we want to show the connection to a figure important to the story of this church: a man named Archippus.

Archippus Who?

While Church tradition names him as possibly one of the 70 disciples Jesus sent out in Luke 10:1-16, Archippus is only mentioned twice in the Bible. At the beginning of Philemon (1:2) he gets a typical, “say ‘h'i’ to that guy” from Paul, but in Colossians 4:15-16, Paul gets a little more personal writing:

Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters in Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. And when this letter has been read among you, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you read also the letter from Laodicea.

Then in vs 17 he drops:

And say to Archippus, “See that you complete the task that you have received in the Lord.”

Imagine being Archippus at this moment. A letter from the great apostle Paul is being read among the congregation. You hear your name mentioned. Your head pops up, chest puff out for a second, and then you hear everyone hear Paul tell you to suck less and do the work you’ve been given to do (an admonishment no one else ever got in any of the Pauline letters).

Translations and interpretations of what Paul meant abound. We are a bit partial to how Wuest formulated it: “be ever keeping a watchful eye upon the ministry which you received in the Lord, that you discharge it fully.” The Ye Olde King James Version of the Bible (KJV) employs the phrase “take heed.” We like it, so we’ll be using it as a shorthand from here on out.

At its core, the Greek for “take heed” means to literally or metaphorically turn towards something, and to have intimate empirical knowledge of something because of use; to understand, weigh maturely, and consider in a very specific way. This is born out in its usage in other New Testament Scripture (e.g. Mt 5:28 & Eph. 5:15-21). Thus, Paul is calling to Archippus’ specific attention to complete some task, and Paul has publicly charged the community to push him toward its completion. Cool, but what does this have to do with our card from the Book of Revelation?

According to Tradition, Archippus was the first bishop of Laodicea. He helped start the church there and, by varying accounts, was later martyred during a pagan feast in Colossae where, along with Philemon and Apphia, their home was raided, they were captured, tortured, whipped, stoned, and then stabbed to death by children holding nails. It’s assumed that taking up the call to ministry was what Paul was telling Archippus to do. And even though it had dire consequences, he sacrificed to do the will of God.

So how did his church end up so “lukewarm” and God-damned (not a swear: we mean that literary)?

The Comfort of Laodicea

Laodicea (in modern Turkey) was initially a church-plant from the Christian community in Colossae. The Christians who lived in Laodicea resided in the center of one of the great economic powerhouses in the Roman empire.

Laodicea was a regional hub. The most important thoroughfare for trade and culture of the day—the road running east to west from Ephesus to Syria—ran through Laodicea. Another less-important, but pretty snazzy road also ran from north to south through the city. Laodicea was also an important clothing manufacturing center for the region. Not only did they cultivate and breed a strain of sheep whose wool was highly sought, they were also able to mass produce relatively inexpensive clothing and widely distribute it (they were Versace and Wal-Mart at the same). In addition, Laodicea was an academic and medical center for the region, boasting a prestigious medical school, as well as the production and sale of Phygarian Powder, an eye salve which was exported around the Greek world, and heralded by the likes of Galen and Aristotle.

As a result of these factors and others, Laodicea was the banking and financial center of the region, and one of the wealthiest cities in the ancient world. So much so, that emperors were known to cash their checks there. An anecdote illustrates the level of Laodicean wealth: In 61 CE, an earthquake struck the region devastating everything. As a part of the Roman Empire, the Laodiceans were entitled to a government bail-out to help them rebuild this important cog in the economic machinery. The people of Laodicea did not want to be seen as beholden to the central Roman government. They were so rich, and so proud, that they pooled their resources and rebuilt without any assistance, creating a city more fabulous than it was before.

In short, the Christian community living in Laodicea were in very secure and comfortable place. But just like Archippus, they are the only church to receive an admonishment from John of Patmos, with nothing good being said about them (the others that got crapped on at least got a small pat on the back first). The ironic tragedy: the very things that they took pride in are the things that John says are holding them back from doing the work they were given to do.

A Message to the “Lukewarm” Church

“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin of God’s creation:

I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.

I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent.”

~ Revelation 3:14-19

Some Sunday School lessons (and Sunday morning sermons) of this story, import a “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” mentality: Some things are too hot, some things are too cold, but the middle is juuuussssst riiiiiight! Apparently these people can’t read (but they teach our young and our adults. Cool. Cool. Cool.) Just as incorrect, some teach that ON FIRE CHRISTIANS are “good” and COLD-HEARTED CHRISTIANS are bad, again showing a lack of reading comprehension (but a good use of metaphoric thinking, so points for that). However, they fail to see that the metaphors could be changed: “hot” Christians are “backsliders” and “apostates” on their way to HELL! “Cold” Christians will be “chilling” in the clouds above with the Father. Whatever. Our metaphor doesn’t have to work because our point is that this line of thinking completely ignores both the biblical text and the geographic realities that they are based on. In addition to the other historical features mentioned above,

an aqueduct that ran from a hot spring in Hierapolis, cut through Laodicea on the way to Colossae.

This is the source of the famous, though often misunderstood/misinterpreted passage. The hot spring at Hierapolis was healing; the cold waters at Colossae were refreshing. Both are good. Good. Not one good, the other bad. Both are good. However, The lukewarm sludge at Laodicea was pretty damn useless.

Which makes sense:

A critical writer can be effective in communicating her message if she is very hot or very cold to her subject—loves it or hates it—, but not in the middle. Some strong emotion must be felt or it is just a bland restatement of dry facts.

Meat in the freezer, good and safe. Meat, appropriately browned and finished off in the oven, good and safe. Meat, allowed to sit on your counter all day and then snacked on, God bless.

While some people love hot coffee, others iced coffee, but only a freaking monster loves a cup of tepid, room temperature, congealed, decaffeinated garbage. There is a revolting quality to those who are in this position, hence the illustration of being “spit out of the mouth.”

But how does a church community end up in this position? How does an individual? “Because you say I am rich, need nothing . . . blind, poor, wretched, naked, worthy of pity” (vs 17). John of Patmos takes direct aim at the things the city of Laodicea was best known for, the things that they took the most pride, security and comfort in. They are so far from the path that they are pitied by God, and admonished to find true wealth, clothing, and vision (vs 18). They are further admonished to “be earnest and repent,” to take heed, and change, before it is too late (vs 19).

And Here We Are

We write our Card Talks in a (relatively) timeless manner. Meaning, years from now, other than a few topical touchstones and pop culture references, the message should be unambiguous and clear without relying on contemporary tropes, people, events, or issues. At times we purposefully break this rule and write about things completely wrapped up in where we are. Right now we hope that this post is an example of that: a post that will make no sense in the future.

This Card Talk is being written in the midst of racial unrest in the United States. In recent days:

Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed Black man, was chased down by two white men and shot to death for jogging through the neighborhood. The prosecuting attorneys refused to act until after the video of the murder was released to the public.

Breonna Taylor, an unarmed Black woman, was murdered in her home, in her own bed, when police executed a no-knock warrant in the middle of the night, without announcing themselves. They then arrested her boyfriend for “attempted murder” for defending them against the intruders. It is doubtful that the officers will face any criminal charges.

Christian Cooper, an unarmed Black man, survived a white woman’s attempt to weaponize the police to intimidate or murder him. He had asked her to leash her dog in a public park. She called the police, screaming in increasing hysterics, saying she was being attacked, while Christian recorded her lies from a safe distance.

George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, was crushed to death by four police officers—two kneeling on his back, one on his throat, and one keeping onlookers at bay. After crying out for help, saying he couldn’t breathe, that he was dying, he gave up the ghost. The police continued applying pressure on his dead body for a while after. They had pulled him out of his car for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill at a store nearby.

We were going to include a list of the many, many, many others. But figured your eyes would just gloss over them. Just like they glossed over the descriptions we gave above, because you “already know” the stories.

But we hope future Bible nerds and lay people reading this post will look on these descriptions in shock and disgust. Not just at the horrors described, but at the very notion that such atrocities were common place. We hope that they will look at these events the was we (should) look at the (slightly) less government-sanctioned lynchings from only a few decades ago (“officially” ending in 1968). We hope this will be the case. But we have our doubts.

Such a change would require the Church in the United States to actually “take heed” to the ministry given by God to love and care for all of God’s children. The same Church who still (problematically) sings

“…red and yellow, black and white, they’re ALL precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.”

The same Church which seems happier, more content, when those red, yellow, and black children live in other countries which are not so “rich…prospered, and [in] need [of] nothing” as ours is. he Church, which will do mission-trips to ever corner of the world to spread clean water, the Word, or to simply do it for the ‘gram, seems to forget the people with similar skin tones here.

When will the Church in the United States realize how wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked we are when we deny the dignity of our sisters and brothers?

Look at this scene:

We don't know the full context of this photo. We don't know the people at the table or in the background. They could be you. And that's the point.

This image shows the division

in the Church right now:

On one side, in the streets, you see a racially and socioeconomically diverse group, taking action against injustice.

On the other, at the table, a homogeneous group wondering what all the fuss is about, desperately wanting not to be bothered, and hoping none of this will impact their plans. And, honestly, it makes us fucking sick.

Use your Sunday School training: where would Moses be, at the table or in the streets? What about David and Deborah? Jeremiah and Ezekiel’s crazy ass? John the Baptist, Peter, Paul, Archippus? Jesus?

And let’s be fair to the table sitters: maybe he’s scratching his head because he is genuinely confused or has been living under a rock. Maybe red hat is sympathetic to their cause, but was raised not to make too much noise, so she’s “with them in spirit.” Maybe green shirt is wanting to get up and join them, but is afraid of what arms-folding and giggling will think and say. We can’t know what is in everyone’s head. But we can make a simple request:

Get up from the damn table, OR spit the bread and wine from ouT OF YOUR mouth;

stop pretending you break bread with Jesus or his people.

Stop posting more about “looting” and “rioting” than the murders that presaged them. Stop pretending like you give a damn about the corporate interest of Target or the small business that have been destroyed when you didn’t comment on the families burying actual human beings. Stop defending, once again, a president or pundit because…you know what, screw your reasons. Just stop doing it: you make all of us look bad.

Wipe the excuses and lies from your eyes. Trust less in the comfort and security of your skin (yes, talking to you white people). Be the damn Church. “Take heed” of the ministry we have been given.

Or never open your mouth again in moral outrage ever again.

World without end.

#Revelation 3:17 #Sardis #Lukewarm #Racism #Hypocrites #Faith or Bullshit

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