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bupia · 7 months

Note

prompts 39, 45, and 3 w/ copia🤭 <3 tysm ily

MIRROR SEX

"I'll take care of you." "Will you let me be your first?" "Is this okay?"

There's a smut under the cut, +18 only, please.

(AFAB!Reader: Copia is a VAMPIRE on this one; mentions of blood; blood drinking; dirty talk; Italian swearing; fingering; unprotected sex; breeding)

Available on AO3

Day 19 | Day 21

Today, it fell upon your shoulders to undertake the responsibility of tidying up Cardinal Copia's quarters. While not the most glamorous task within the Ministry, it was a duty that inevitably needed to be fulfilled, and today, you were the chosen one.

Armed with a bucket and a mop, you ventured towards his quarters, entrusted with these humble tools, a key, and a rather peculiar gaze from the fellow siblings.

You approached the door to Cardinal Copia's quarters, taking a deep breath before inserting the key and turning the lock. The door creaked open, revealing a room with dim lighting and ornate, strange decor. It was a space that reflected the Cardinal's unique taste.

You stepped inside, glancing around at the antique furniture and a dark tapestries adorning the walls, with a silly poster of a cat beside it. The room was a bit cluttered, and dust had settled on various surfaces. You couldn't help but wonder how long this room haven't been cleaned.

With determination, you placed the bucket and mop in the corner and began the task of cleaning. As you moved about the room, dusting and mopping, you couldn't shake the feeling that you were being watched. It was an eerie sensation, as if the very walls had eyes. But you brushed it off as mere paranoia and continued with your work.

"Are you the one they sent today?" Cardinal Copia's voice echoed in your ears.

Startled, you spun around, frantically scanning the room from side to side in search of the source of the unexpected voice. You had assumed you would be alone in this task.

"Cardinal, you surprised me," you said, trying to regain your composure. "Yes, I was sent to clean your quarters today."

You responded to him, though uncertainty lingered about the origin of his voice. You continued to search, your eyes darting around the dimly lit room, which offered enough obscurity for someone to conceal themselves in the shadowy corners. As you scanned the room, your eyes eventually landed on a figure emerging from one of the dimly lit corners. It was indeed Cardinal Copia, dressed in his signature ecclesiastical red attire.

"Don't let me stop you. Carry on with your duties."

"Cardinal Copia," you greeted him with a respectful nod, your heart still racing from the initial surprise. "I apologize for not noticing your presence earlier. I was just beginning to clean."

He smiled faintly and approached you, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "No need to apologize, topino. I enjoy a bit of mystery and intrigue now and then."

You couldn't help but feel a shiver run down your spine at his words, and you wondered what exactly he meant by "mystery and intrigue."

"I'll do my best to be thorough with my cleaning," you replied, trying to maintain your composure.

Copia watched you for a moment before retreating to a nearby chair, seemingly content to observe your work. You continued your cleaning duties, feeling his eyes on you as you moved about the room.

The way Cardinal Copia's gaze bore into you began to make you feel a tad uneasy. While there was a certain allure in having the Cardinal's attention directed your way, it was also an unusual occurrence to see him outside of his quarters, and his intense scrutiny was beginning to grate on your nerves.

"Cardinal," you spoke, turning to squarely face him. "Is there something you require?"

"Me?"

"Yes," you continued, resting the mop within the bucket. "You've been fixated on me, and I couldn't help but wonder if you had something to say or needed assistance with something."

"Sometimes, I find that watching is just as pleasurable as partaking," he said, his voice low and sultry.

Your cheeks flushed as you considered his implications. The room felt charged with an electric tension, and you realized that the Cardinal was making no effort to hide his desires.

"I see," you replied, your voice quivering slightly. "I'll continue with my cleaning, then."

You returned to your duties, more aware than ever of his watchful eyes on you, as you tried to maintain your composure in the face of his audacious advances. Suddenly, you felt Cardinal Copia's arm enveloping you from behind, drawing you tightly against his chest. You froze in place, his grasp unyielding. He inhaled deeply as he positioned his face near your neck, his arm securing you firmly. His nose brushed against your skin, then his lips, and something sharp made contact, followed by the gentle caress of his tongue.

"Do you know why they sent you here today?" he asked.

"N-No..." you stammered.

"Because your Cardinal is hungry," he whispered seductively into your ear. "But don't worry, I'll take care of you."

"I-I... I should finish my cleaning," you stammered, your voice quivering, even as you made no attempt to break free from his grasp.

"Don't worry about it, someone will clean up after I'm finished with you," he whispered, his tone laced with mischief.

Your heart raced as he whispered those words into your ear, and you could feel the sharp sensation grazing your skin again. Despite the fear that coursed through you, there was an undeniable allure to the dangerous situation, as if Cardinal Copia's dark desires had awakened something within you. Your breaths quickened, and your body responded to his closeness in ways you hadn't expected. A mixture of fear and curiosity flooding your senses. You knew this was wrong, but a part of you couldn't deny the thrilling attraction to the forbidden. Your body felt trapped in the web of desire and danger that Cardinal Copia had spun around you.

He tightened his grip on you, and you could feel the warmth of his breath on your skin. The sharpness grazed your neck once again, and he inhaled deeply, savoring your scent. You couldn't help but tremble, caught between the urge to escape and the inexplicable pull of his presence.

"Excuse me," he whispered.

And then, you felt it, the sharp yearning at your neck, and the realization dawned on you; Cardinal Copia was a vampire.

The sensation was both exhilarating and terrifying. Your heart raced, pounding in your chest as his fangs grazed your skin. You couldn't help but shiver as he leaned in, his breath hot against your neck, his lips parting. As his fangs pierced your skin, a mixture of pain and pleasure shot through your body. Your hands clung to his arms, and you let out a soft, involuntary moan. Cardinal Copia's lips locked onto your neck, his tongue flicking over the wound, lapping up your blood. It was an intense, intimate act, and you found yourself torn between the fear of the unknown and the strange allure of his touch.

His hold on your waist gradually slackened as he withdrew from your neck. Cardinal Copia's tongue flicked across the bite mark, and his hands settled on the sides of your body. He kissed the mark, sending shivers coursing through you, and you whimpered softly. His hands explored your form, caressing every contour as if he were savoring your essence, worshipping your body. You closed your eyes and inhaled deeply, his face pressed against your neck, his tongue licking you again, prompting another soft whimper. He repeated the act, as if waiting or testing your reaction, and you couldn't help but moan softly.

"You have an exquisite taste," he whispered. "Your body radiates warmth, teeming with life... Your scent is intoxicating, your heat is driving me wild," he continued to murmur, his hands continuing their journey across your body. "And I can feel it, especially between your legs. What a sinful delight."

"Cardinal, please," you whispered, torn between the need to push him away and the overwhelming desire that made you want to pull him closer.

"Have you ever been touched, topino?" Cardinal Copia inquired, his voice a sultry whisper.

"N-No..." you confessed, your voice quivering with anticipation.

Your breaths quickened, and you couldn't help but respond to his caresses. When his fingers traced down to between your legs, you gasped, your body trembling with longing.

"Can I touch you here?" he asked.

"Yes... Please..." you breathed, your desire palpable in your response.

You moaned softly as he began to explore your heat above your underwear. Your body writhed with pleasure, and you clung to him, lost in the whirlwind of sensations he was unleashing. His fingers danced skillfully, igniting every nerve ending. Your moans grew louder, and your desire intensified with each passing second.

"Is this okay?" Cardinal Copia inquired, seeking your consent as he continued.

"Cardinal... Oh, Cardinal," you gasped, your voice trembling with need. "Yes... Yes..."

"Look at you," he murmured. "Look at yourself in the mirror."

Your eyes turned to the mirror in front of you, revealing only your reflection. Cardinal Copia had no reflection, and you saw yourself with a visage of pleasure etched across your face. As you gazed at your reflection, you turned your eyes to see him standing behind you, a wide grin on his face. He slid his fingers inside your underwear, causing you to gasp, and you obediently shifted your gaze back to the mirror as he had instructed.

"Molto bene," he praised you.

You remained transfixed by your reflection, watching as Cardinal Copia continued to pleasure you, his fingers expertly exploring your wetness. The sight of your own face, twisted with ecstasy in the mirror, only intensified your arousal.

"Cardinal," you moaned, "Please, don't stop..."

"I won't," he promised, "Not until you are satisfied."

His words sending a shiver coursing through your body. You whimpered, your hips moving in rhythm with his hand's ministrations. A mischievous chuckle escaped his lips, his fingers never ceasing their tantalizing dance. You continued to whimper, your hips moving restlessly against his skillful touch.

"Oh, Cardinal..." you groaned, your eyes fixed on the mirror.

His fingers quickened their pace, and your breaths came in rapid gasps. Lost in the overwhelming sensation, your body writhed as his skilled fingers caressed your clit. You hissed and bent forward, pressing your hands against the walls on either side of the mirror. With his other hand, Cardinal Copia lifted your habit, reaching down to pull your underwear down to your knees. His fingers then found their way to your entrance, teasing and circling it.

You couldn't help but look back at him above your shoulder, his eyes fixed on your reflection with a devilish glint. Your body felt hot and needy as his fingers continued their tantalizing dance. Your hands gripped the mirror's edges, your knuckles turning white with the pressure, as you tried to hold yourself up.

"Please... Inside..." you breathed.

Cardinal Copia didn't need further encouragement. His fingers slipped inside your aching core, and a wave of pleasure surged through your body. You moaned loudly, your legs trembling as he expertly pumped his fingers in and out of you. Every thrust seemed to send electric shocks of pleasure through your entire being, and you couldn't contain your desire.

"Yes, yes, Cardinal... Yes...!" you moaned softly.

Your reflection in the mirror was a vision of pure lust and ecstasy. Your eyes were heavy-lidded, your lips parted in a sultry moan, and your body writhed with unbridled passion. Cardinal Copia watched your reflection with rapt attention, a wicked grin playing on his lips

"Oh... Cardinal... That feels so good," you moaned.

"Does it now?" Cardinal Copia's voice was seductive and filled with amusement as he continued to pleasure you.

His fingers worked their magic inside you, and his thumb rubbed circles over your swollen clit, intensifying your arousal. He continued to pump his fingers in and out of you, increasing the tempo, and your body writhed in pleasure. Your breathing became erratic, and your moans grew louder. You couldn't take your eyes off your reflection in the mirror, where your lust-filled expression mirrored the intense sensations building within you.

"Cardinal... Oh, Satan..." you groaned. "Please, fuck me... fuck me...!"

"You want me to fuck you, topino?" he asked, his voice filled with desire. "Will you let me be your first?"

"Yes, please, I need you," you begged. "Please, just fuck me."

Cardinal Copia grinned with a look of satisfaction in the mirror. He pulled his fingers out of you and you whined in frustration. He chuckled at your reaction, stepping back for a moment to undo his pants. Then, he pressed himself against your wet folds, his hardness throbbing as it met your hot, waiting entrance.

"Are you sure?" he teased.

"Yes," you whispered softly.

You spread your legs a little further, arching your back, pushing your hips against him, grinding yourself against his length. He teased you with the tip of his length against your folds before finally thrusting into you, filling you completely.

"Ah!" you exclaimed, feeling a bit of discomfort as you adjusted to him inside you.

"Can I move?" Cardinal Copia inquired.

"Yes," you whispered, giving him permission to continue.

Cardinal Copia held onto your hips as he began to move inside you. His thrusts were slowly, but powerful and rhythmic, each one sending waves of pleasure through your body. You moaned and whimpered, your body responding to his every move.

"Cazzo!" he exclaimed. "I've just discovered something even more enticing than your blood." He lowered his body on top of yours. "What a delectably tight pussy you have."

"Ah... Ah! Cardinal... Yes..." you purred, lost in the feeling of the moment.

He held you firmly, his hot breath caressing your neck as his thrusts grew more intense. Gasps and moans filled the room as his length plunged deeply into you with each motion. Your arousal had made you slick, allowing him to glide effortlessly inside you.

"Merda, how can a pussy be that good?" Cardinal Copia questioned, his voice strained with desire. His hands gripped your hips, fingers digging into your flesh as he continued to thrust deeply.

As Cardinal Copia's words of praise washed over you, your body quivered with delight. You clung to him, feeling your pleasure build with every relentless thrust. Your walls tightened around his length as he thrust his member in and out of you with long, deep strokes.

"How can your pussy be that tight and wet?" he mused, his breath hot against your neck. His hips moved with a relentless rhythm, each thrust making you gasp.

He continued to move within you, his thrusts unyielding, and the ecstasy he was driving you toward grew more intense with every passing moment. Your cries of pleasure filled the room, mingling with his own fervent groans.

"Is this because of me, topino?" he inquired, his voice husky.

"Yes... yes, yes, yes, yes!" you gasped in response, your body arching in pleasure, meeting his every thrust with fervor.

You straightened up your body, your back pressed against him, and you began to meet each of his thrusts with one of your own. The incredible sensations overwhelmed you, and you surrendered completely to the passionate rhythm, savoring the feeling of his length penetrating you. Each stroke brought you both closer to the edge, and you could sense him growing even harder inside you with every movement. Your walls clenched tightly around him, intensifying the pleasure for both of you.

"Cardi...Ah!" you whispered. "You're so big! It feels so good!"

His lips descended to your neck, kissing you with fervor as he devoured your skin hungrily. His hot breath on your neck sent delicious shivers through your body, intensifying the pleasure. His hands shifted from your hips to your thighs, gripping them firmly, causing you to clench around him once again.

"Giuro su Satana... Your pussy feels even better than your blood," he moaned in your ear. "Satana blessed you with this, and gifted me with you today." His words dripped with desire and reverence for the moment.

He pounded into you relentlessly, the intensity of his thrusts driving you both closer to the edge. Your bodies moved in perfect unison, a symphony of passion that echoed through the room. His moans filled your ears, spurring you on even more.

"Mmm... Cardinal..." you moaned, your voice laced with lust. "Fuck me... Fuck me hard!"

Cardinal Copia eagerly complied, his thrusts becoming faster and more forceful. You responded by pushing back against him, your breathless moans filling the room. Your gaze remained locked on the mirror, where you could see the pleasure etched across your face, your body undulating with each passionate encounter. You yearned to witness his reflection too, to see your bodies entwined as his movements grew more urgent, the rhythmic sound of your bodies meeting echoing throughout the room.

"Yes, Cardinal... Oh Satan, yes!" you cried out in ecstasy. "You're going to make me cum... I'm going to cum..." The intense pleasure building within you was reaching its peak, and you could hardly contain yourself.

Your moans grew louder and more urgent as Cardinal Copia's relentless thrusts pushed you to the brink of ecstasy. The pleasure surged through your body, and you could feel yourself teetering on the edge, ready to tumble into the abyss of release. His hands tightened on your hips, guiding your movements to match his rhythm as he relentlessly drove into you, each stroke sending you closer to the climax you so desperately craved.

"I'm going to make you cum now, sì?" he said. "And when you do, I want you to look into the mirror."

Your heart raced in anticipation as his hand reached down to your clit, his fingers working it fervently while he continued to pound into you with unrestrained abandon. The combined sensations of his thrusts and his skillful touch sent you hurtling toward a powerful climax. He grunted, and suddenly you felt his length throbbing inside you.

"I- Cazzo! I'm going to cum," he growled, relinquishing your clit and concentrating solely on thrusting into you.

He gripped your hips tightly as his own orgasm overtook him, filling you with his hot release. The pulsating waves of pleasure from his climax and the rhythmic movements of his fingers against your clit sent you into a mind-shattering orgasm. Your vision blurred, and your body convulsed with ecstasy. You both moaned in unison as you rode out the waves of pleasure together.

Copia's hand gently cupped your chin, guiding your gaze to the mirror. You watched your entire body tremble with pleasure, your face a picture of ecstasy, until the sensation reached its climax, leaving you feeling utterly relaxed and weak in the knees. Copia held you securely in his arms, gradually lowering you to a more comfortable position, his gentle hand soothing your flushed face.

"Are you okay?" he asked, a concerned tone in his voice.

You nodded and managed a smile, meeting his soft gaze as he looked at you with tenderness, his concern reflecting in his eyes. Gently, he lifted you up and carried you to his bed, laying you down there and sitting beside you.

"Mi dispiace, I guess I was a little too rough and drank a certain amount of your blood," he expressed with remorse.

"T-That's... Okay," you replied weakly.

He offered a gentle smile. "Rest now."

You nodded and closed your eyes slowly, taking deep breaths to regain your strength.

"I'll be here when you wake up," he whispered softly, his presence a comforting reassurance as you drifted into a well-deserved slumber.

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yoga-onion · 10 months

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[Image above+below: works of an Estonian artist, Kaljo Põllu (28 November 1934 – 23 March 2010) ]

Legends and myths about trees

Forest myths, Estonian traditional beliefs (2)

The world of the Estonians’ ancestors - Proto-Estonian mythology

The world of the Estonians’ ancestors is believed to have turned around a pillar or a tree, to which the skies were nailed with the North Star. The Milky Way (Linnutee or Birds' Way in Estonian) was a branch of the World tree (Ilmapuu) or the way by which birds moved (and took the souls of the deceased to the other world). These myths were based on animistic beliefs.

Some traces of the oldest authentic myths may have survived in runic songs. There is a song about the birth of the world – a bird lays three eggs and starts to lay out the nestlings – one becomes Sun, one becomes Moon and one becomes the Earth. Other Finnic peoples also have myths according to which the world has emerged from an egg.

It has been suggested by ethnologist and former president Lennart Meri and among others, that a Kaali meteorite crater which passed dramatically over populated regions and landed on the island of Saaremaa around 3,000 - 4,000 years ago was a cataclysmic event that may have influenced the mythology of Estonia and neighboring countries, especially those from whose vantage point a "sun" seemed to set in the east.

There are surviving stories about Kaali crater in Finnish mythology (Description of indigenous paganism by Finns who always believed in spirit beliefs).

In the Karelian-Finnish folk epic, the Kalevala, cantos (songs) 47, 48 and 49 can be interpreted as descriptions of the impact, the resulting tsunami and devastating forest fires. It has also been suggested that the Virumaa-born Oeselian god Tharapita is a reflection of the meteorite that entered the atmosphere somewhere near the suggested "birthplace" of the god and landed in Oesel.

Estonian mythology is a complex of myths belonging to Estonian folk heritage and literary mythology, and the systematic documentation of Estonian folklore had only began in the 19th century.

Therefore, information on Proto-Estonian mythology before the conquest of the Northern Crusades, Christianisation and incorporation into the European world and during the medieval era, is only scattered in historical chronicles, travellers' accounts and in ecclesiastical registers.

It can be difficult to tell how much of Estonian mythology as we know it today was actually constructed in the 19th and early 20th century. Friedrich Robert Fehlmann, one of the compilers of the Estonian national epic, Kalevipoeg in the introduction to Esthnische Sagen (Estonian Legends), states.

"However, since Pietism has started to penetrate deep into the life of the people...singing folk songs and telling legends have become forbidden for the people; moreover, the last survivals of pagan deities are being destroyed and there is no chance for historical research."

木にまつわる伝説・神話

森の神話・エストニアの民間伝承 (2)

エストニア人の祖先の世界〜原始エストニア神話

エストニア人の祖先の世界は、柱または木の周りを回っていたと信じられており、その柱には北極星とともに天空が釘付けにされていた。天の川（エストニア語ではリヌーテーまたは鳥の道）は世界樹（イルマプー）の枝であり、鳥が移動する（そして亡くなった人の魂をあの世に連れて行く）道であった。これらの神話はアニミズム的な信仰に基づいていた。

最古の本物の神話の痕跡が、ルーン文字の歌詞の中に残っているかもしれない。ある鳥が3つの卵を産み、雛を産み始める。ひとつは太陽になり、ひとつは月になり、ひとつは地球になる、という世界の誕生の歌がある。他にはフィン族にも、世界が卵から生まれたという神話がある。

3,000～4,000年前に人口密集地域の上空を劇的に通過し、サーレマー島に落下したカーリ隕石 (ｶｰﾘ･ｸﾚｰﾀｰ) は、エストニアや近隣諸国、特に「太陽」が東に沈むように見えた国々の神話に影響を与えた可能性がある、と民族学者で元大統領のレンナルト・メリらによって示唆されている。

フィンランド神話 (精霊信仰を常に信仰していたフィン族による原始宗教的な伝説) にカーリ隕石に関する物語が残っている。カレリア・フィンランドの民俗叙事詩『カレワラ』の第47、48、49カント (聖歌) は、その衝撃と、その結果生じた津波、壊滅的な森林火災についての記述であると解釈できる。また、ヴィルマア生まれのオイセルの神タラピタは、この神の「出生地」とされる場所の近くで大気圏に突入し、オイセルに落下した隕石の反映であるとも言われている。

エストニア神話は、エストニアの民間伝承と文学的神話に属する神話の複合体であり、エストニアの民間伝承の体系的な記録が始まったのは19世紀になってからである。そのため、北方十字軍の征服、キリスト教化、ヨーロッパ世界への併合以前、そして中世のエストニア神話の原型に関する情報は、歴史年代記、旅行者の記録、教会の記録に散見されるのみである。

今日私たちが知っているエストニア神話のどれだけが、19世紀から20世紀初頭にかけて実際に構築されたものなのかを見分けるのは難しい。エストニアの民族叙事詩『カレヴィポエグ』の編纂者の一人であるフリードリヒ・ロベルト・フェールマンは、『エストニア伝説』の序文で次のように述べている。

“しかし、敬虔主義が人々の生活に深く浸透し始めて以来......民謡を歌い、伝説を語ることは、人々にとって禁忌となった；さらに、異教の神々の最後の生き残りは破壊されつつあり、歴史研究のチャンスはない。"

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theoutcastedartist · 1 year

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Hello, I love your Anathema AU.

What does Anathema mean? Why you chose that title? And did Wukong just kidnap Macaque while he wandering or from his home?

THANK YOU! I'm glad yourself and others are enjoying the AU, which is VERY Macaque focused.

The AU's name, "Anathema", in this case has more to do with something or someone that inspires extreme dislike.

Though, it is often used in conjunction with religion when referring to an ecclesiastical curse typically followed by excommunication. Shunned to damnation.

But it's common definition "extreme detest or loathing of someone or something"

The stone Macaque emerged from contained an ancient evil entity shunned and sealed away by the absolute highest in the celestial court. Very few know about the existence of this particular entity, it takes on the forms of many other malevolent beings.

This entity, has slowly been trying to possess Liu'er Mihou. Since the minute the six eared monkey came to exist.

It is also the reason for Macaque's shadow-y powers. The stronger the entity becomes in its possession, the stronger Macaque's shadow magic become, the darker his fur becomes.

(Originally Liu'er Mihou was a snow-white macaque)

Both this entity and Macaque have been shunned and looked upon with deep hatred over the centuries.

The entity by the Heavenly Court's highest.

Macaque the minute he was taken away by The Old Chief Monkey's peaceful troop by the Demon King of Havoc, has been met with scorn and disgust. Used as a tool for others, no true will of his own...

Until he killed The Demon King of Havoc after 700 years of being his prisoner.

Macaque had been on the run since then, many of Havoc's followers were looking to have his head.

Sun Wukong, the Young, Handsome Monkey King of Flower Fruit Mountain, happened to be flying by on his mystic cloud at the right time.

Six-Eared Macaque had been attacked; cornered and injured, with broken, rusted, enchanted chains cuffed to his wrists, from the fault one of the deceased Havoc's most loyal followers. A monkey accompanying Wukong spotted him and they came to his rescue.

And then just took him to Flower Fruit Mountain, because Sun Wukong will, of course, be Sun Wukong. Impulsive, but well meaning.

But it's not like Macaque has anywhere to go anyway, his home has been burned to the ground centuries ago and believes that everyone he once loved before is dead.

#AnathemaAU #au asks #au ask #wukong x macaque #peachbuds #lego monkie kid #mei hou wang 2009 #mei hou wang #liu er mihou #six eared macaque #sun wukong #AnathemaAU asks

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saintsenara · 3 months

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writing patterns

[list the first line of your last ten fics and see if there's a pattern.]

thank you so much for the tag @perverse-idyll! a variety of multi-chapter and one shots here, so let's see if any similarities emerge...

subluxation - rodolphus lestrange/percy weasley

It is an ordinary day.

2. one year in every ten - harry potter/tom riddle

In the United Kingdom, a man kills a woman every three days.

3. the war of the roses - sirius black/severus snape

It begins with blood.

4. ecclesiastes three - andromeda tonks & her sisters

How bizarre, she said to herself, that the charms on the ceiling of the Great Hall should have held through a battle.

5. bó na leath adhairce - merope gaunt

The village of Little Hangleton was a cluster of houses and shops - stone walls the shimmery colour of brown sugar, gardens neat with lupins and alliums - set in a rolling swipe of bucolic Lancashire splendour.

6. sparkling cyanide - hokey the house elf & hepzibah smith

Eokhí is waking up one morning in her nest on the kitchen floor.

7. the pleiades - bellatrix lestrange/lord voldemort

The cupboard had been unlocked the day she turned ten.

8. catmint - minerva mcgonagall & pomona sprout

For thirty years, her morning stomp to the greenhouses had been marked by a crunch - crunch - crunch-ing of gravel under the stout boots she used to shield her ankles from the more nibbly plants.

9. scylla and charybdis - severus snape/lord voldemort

[this one needs two sentences, for obvious reasons.]

In 1963, Richard Beeching published a report called The Reshaping of British Railways. This has made many people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.

10. everlasting ink - delphini riddle & ginny weasley

When she was sixteen, she nearly died.

well. it's clear we can learn that i'm not particularly fond of a long opening sentence - which is at odds with the fact that i use a lot of compound sentences elsewhere in all of these stories.

although sentence structure isn't - as i doubt it is for most people - the thing that readers particularly comment on... what gets brought up to me most frequently when people are kind enough to leave responses to my writing is the idea that each of my characters has a distinctive narrative voice, whether they're part of an ensemble piece [readers of one year in every ten have told me a lot that they particularly look forward to sections from ron's perspective as a emotionally mature respite from harry being reckless and tom being a dick] or the sole focus of the piece, and i think you can see that in these lines.

and - y'know - hopefully they're a good hook...

[i'll tag @ashesandhackles, @cealesti, @midnightstargazer, @celestemagnoliathewriter @incalculablepower and anyone else interested in playing.]

#asenora fics #asenora on writing #for someone who doesn't shut up i can be surprisingly restrained when it comes to the written word...

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awakenallpatriots · 18 days

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WARNING - PRIVATE PROPERTY

NO TRESPASSING

THIS PROPERTY IS UNDER THE SOLE AUTHORITY OF JESUS CHRIST.

IAM THE TRUSTEE FOR GOD AND HAVE THE SOLE USUFRUCT OF THIS PROPERTY.

NO ONE IS ALLOWED ON THIS PROPERTY WITHOUT THE WRITTEN PERMISSION OF A TRUSTEE

This includes any and all Government or private agents and persons,

Except in Case of a Fire or Medical Emergency.

Those so trespassing are subject to civil and criminal penalties per USC TITLE 18, Sections 241 & 242 And any and all other applicable Federal and State civil and criminal "Trespass" Statutes.

This NO TRESPASS notice is also subject to the following provisions:

You are hereby notified that the owner(s)/trustee(s) of this property require(s) all public officials, agents or person(s) to abide by God's Law and the "Supreme Law of the Land", the U.S. Constitution and the ratified Amendments, thereto. Owner(s) refuse to permit any access, search, audit, assessment or inspection whatsoever of this property, without the presentation of a warrant, prepared as prescribed by the 4th and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and "particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized." Alleged zoning or land use code violations do NOT establish constitutional reasons for entering this property. Ecclesiastical Law applies.

VIOLATORS WILL BE TREATED AS INTRUDERS!

Any government official, agent or any other person(s) entering this property, without the express consent of the owner(s)/trustee(s) and without proper warrant or reason as described above, will be considered an intruder, attempting to trespass, extort, injure, threaten, harass, intimidate or otherwise jeopardize the life and property of the owner(s)/trustee(s) of this property. Violations can impose fines of up to $50,000 and prison sentences up to 10 years, or both, pursuant to trespass law as above listed. Use of necessary force may be used at the sole discretion of the owner(s)/ trustee(s).

If notice should need to be provided to the owner(s)/ trustee(s), the mailing address is available from the County Assessor's office. Any such notice must be mailed by U.S. Mail, postage pre-paid, Certified - Return Requested.

WARNING - PRIVATE PROPERTY

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maslows-pyramid-scheme · 4 months

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Any discussion of sixteenth-century witch persecutions must mention the growing power of the state … The ducal and royal governments of Europe were becoming more efficient, centralised, and powerful, in other words, more capable of controlling many aspects of more people's lives … They demanded not only taxes and military levies but also a new ideological conformity: nationalism as we know it first reached rural western Europe in the seventeenth century … The state was willing to take on the responsibility and expense of [prosecuting 'sexual wrong-doing' from the local church and neighbourhood] because these moral judgments helped to define what it stood for and allowed for the control of the most intimate aspects of the lives of its citizens [which fell heaviest on the lower class]. As for the status of women in European legal history, one notable fact about them is their absence. Until the sixteenth century, women made up a very small number of the defendants, accusers, or witnesses in legal cases, and the personnel who ran the courts, whether secular or ecclesiastical, were, of course, male. When women were arrested it was primarily on sexual chares. Married women, in fact, as dependents of their husbands, were not held accountable for many types of crimes. Few females appeared as witnesses, because a woman's testimony was not legally acceptable. Furthermore, women rarely took the initiative in bringing charges, because whatever problem their lives contained were settled mostly outside the courts, by extra-legal methods ... The courts, meanwhile, busied themselves with the affairs of men, matters such as quarrels between heads of families over property and issues touching male honour. Even when women did take part in what were seen as major crimes - receiving stolen goods, poisonings, and so on - they were often acting as their husband's agents, carrying out a supporting role in the schemes and vendettas of the family. The court regarded women as minors; married women, it was assumed, would be kept in line by their husbands, and single women, a more problematic group, were left to the community to control. I conclude that until the sixteenth century the European legal system lumped women, children, serfs, and slaves into the category of dependent property and therefore largely ignored them, except when they got too far out of line. Then around 1560 European secular courts began to hear accusations of witchcraft and sexual crimes, and women began to appear in court in large numbers, an entirely new phenomenon. Larner was correct to point out that women were criminalised, as witches and infanticides, for the first time in this period. These were heinous crimes, newly perceived as so threatening to society that they could no longer be left to the control of the women's world. But in the process of bringing these offenses under their jurisdiction, sixteenth-century courts were forced to admit their perpetrators to a new legal standing. No longer seen as too dependent to be prosecuted, women were now held accountable in court for their actions. Because witches were believed to freely choose their craft, they were held responsible for the harm they reputedly caused. Even though they acted through the power of the devil, they alone (and certainly not their husbands) must be punished. The surprising number of husbands who joined others in accusing their wives of witchcraft makes it clear that on a charge so dangerous many men would not be responsible for their wives nor dare to be identified with the. That European women first emerged into full legal adulthood as witches, that they were first accorded independent legal status in order to be prosecuted for witchcraft, indicates both their vulnerability and the level of [misogyny/'anti-feminism'] in modern European society.

Anne Llewellyn Barstow, A New History of the European Witch Hunts

#barstow argued that the witchcraze was a genocide and male readers on goodreads are not handling it well #radblr

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scotianostra · 7 months

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October 12th 1929 saw the birth of Magnus Magnusson, writer, broadcaster and quiznmaster in TV programme “Mastermind”.

Aye ah know he wasn’t born in Scotland but -I’ve started so I’ll finish!

Magnus was born in Reykjavík but grew up in Edinburgh, where his father, Sigursteinn Magnússon, was the Icelandic consul. Magnus’ Icelandic name at birth was Magnús Sigursteinsson, but in Scotland his family adopted British naming conventions and from childhood he used his father’s patronymic as a surname. Living in Joppa, he was educated at the Edinburgh Academy and was in the school’s marching brass band. So to those saying he’s not Scottish, he did live almost his entire life here.

After graduating from Jesus College, Oxford, Magnusson became a reporter with the Scottish Daily Express and The Scotsman. He went freelance in 1967, then joined the British Broadcasting Corporation, presenting programmes on history and archaeology as well as appearing in news programmes.

He retained his academic connections, however, and was Lord Rector of Edinburgh University from 1975 to 1978 from 2002 served as chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University. The Magnus Magnusson Fellowship, an intellectual group based at the Glasgow Caledonian University, was named in his honour. Magnusson’s books included I’ve Started so I’ll Finish, a memoir of his years on Mastermind, and Scotland: The Story of a Nation.

Magnus of course is most famous for the quiz show, Mastermind, it was originally broadcast late on a Sunday night and was not expected to receive a huge audience. In 1973 it was moved to a prime-time slot as an emergency replacement for a Leslie Phillips sitcom, Casanova ‘73, which had been moved to a later time following complaints about its risqué content. The quiz subsequently became one of the most-watched shows on television. Magnusson was famous for his catchphrase “I’ve started so I’ll finish,” which was also the title of his history of the show. The original series was also noted for the variety of venues where filming took place—often including academic and ecclesiastical buildings. The last programme of the original series was filmed at St Magnus Cathedral in Orkney.

To further add to Magnus’s credentials for being a Scot he married Glasgow lass Mamie Ian Baird and they had 5 children together, including Reporting Scotland presenter Sally.

On 12th October 2006, his 77th birthday, Magnusson was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Magnusson mordantly noted that “This has to be one of my worst birthdays ever”. His condition forced him to cancel a string of public appearances. He died on 7th January 2007.The Aigas Field Centre a nature centre near Beauly has a building named in his honour.

In 2014 an auction sold off a lot of his belongings for the Scottish based Balmore Trust, a fair trade charity which sells fairly-traded goods in its shop The Coach House and supports projects in Africa, India and the west of Scotland.

Magnus Magnusson, Icelandic by birth Scottish through choice. Anyone still not convinced of his Scottish & Proud credentials, check out this quote from the man “I have got the best of both worlds; growing up in Edinburgh and now living outside Glasgow.”

Scotland is a welcoming country and have a rich culture which comes from all round the world, with his writing and knowledge Magnus brought so much to our country

Magnus Magnusson is buried in Baldernock Churchyard, East Dunbartonshire.

#Scotland #iceland #icelandic #Scottish #TV personality #TV Presenter #Author #history

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thepastisalreadywritten · 2 months

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SAINT OF THE DAY (April 5)

Roman Catholics celebrate the missionary efforts of St. Vincent Ferrer on April 5.

The Dominican preacher brought thousands of Europeans into the Catholic Church during a period of political and spiritual crisis in Western Europe.

Vincent Ferrer was born on 23 January 1350 in Valencia, Spain. His parents raised him to care deeply about his religious duties, without neglecting his education or concern for the poor.

One of his siblings, Boniface, later joined the Carthusian order and became its superior general.

Vincent, however, would become a Dominican and preach the Gospel throughout Europe. He joined at the age of 18 in 1374.

As a member of the Dominican Order of Preachers, Vincent committed much of the Bible to memory while also studying the Church Fathers and philosophy.

By age 28, he was renowned for his preaching and also known to have a gift of prophecy.

Five years later, a representative of Pope Clement VII chose Vincent to accompany him to France, where he preached extensively.

While Vincent sought to live out his order's commitment to the preaching of the Gospel, he could not escape becoming involved in the political intrigues of the day.

Two rival claimants to the papacy emerged during the late 1300s, one in Rome and another in the French city of Avignon.

Each claimed the allegiance of roughly half of Western Europe.

Caught between the rival claimants, Vincent attempted to persuade the Avignon Pope Benedict XIII to negotiate an end to the schism.

Benedict, who was regarded as Pope in both Spain and France, sought to honor Vincent by consecrating him as a bishop.

But the Dominican friar had no interest in advancing within the Church. He regarded many bishops of his time as negligent leaders distracted by luxury.

“I blush and tremble,” he wrote in a letter, “when I consider the terrible judgment impending on ecclesiastical superiors who live at their ease in rich palaces, while so many souls redeemed by the blood of Christ are perishing.

I pray without ceasing, to the Lord of the harvest, that he send good workmen into his harvest.”

Vincent not only prayed but acted, committing himself to missionary work and resolving to preach in every town between Avignon and his hometown in Spain.

In a commanding style, he denounced greed, blasphemy, sexual immorality, and popular disregard for the truths of faith.

His sermons often drew crowds of thousands and prompted dramatic conversions.

Popular acclaim, however, did not distract him from a life of asceticism and poverty.

He abstained completely from meat, slept on a straw mat, consumed only bread and water on Wednesdays and Fridays, and accepted no donations for himself beyond what he needed to survive.

He traveled with five other Dominican friars at all times, and the men would spend hours hearing confessions.

For two decades, Vincent and his group of friars undertook preaching missions in Spain, Italy, and France.

When he traveled outside these regions, into Germany and other parts of the Mediterranean, those who did not know the languages in which he preached would testify that they had understood every word he said, in the same manner as the apostles experienced at Pentecost.

Although he did not heal the temporary divisions within the Church, Vincent succeeded in strengthening large numbers of Europeans in their Catholic faith.

He wrote little, although some of his works have survived, and exist in modern English translations.

Vincent Ferrer died on 5 April 1419 at the age of 62 in Vannes, Brittany.

He was canonized by Pope Callixtus III on 3 June 1455.

He has recently become the namesake of a traditional Catholic community approved by the Holy See, the Fraternity of Saint Vincent Ferrer.

He is considered the patron saint of builders due to his effectiveness in building up the Church.

#Saint of the Day #St. Vincent Ferrer

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astroartmuse · 1 year

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were you born under a lucky star? an index of fixed stars and their meanings

the fixed stars of the constellation of aries

Kerb: 1°03 Aries - Danger of being jilted by a lover. Neutral effect; Mars/ Mercury influence

Difda (Deneb Kaitos): 2°35 Aries - Laziness, self destruction, nervousness, illness, inhibitions, loss. Unfortunate effect; Saturn influence

Algenib: 9°09 Aries - Ambition, vanity, intuition, enthusiasm, bad judgment. Unfortunate; Mars/ Mercury

Alderamin: 12°47 Aries - Gravity, sternness, judgement, severe trials, poetry, drama. Fortunate; Saturn/ Jupiter

Alpheratz: 14°18 Aries - Grace, popularity, independence, honours. Fortunate effect; Venus influence

Baten Kaitos: 21°48 Aries - Isolation, depression, accidents, emigration, shipwrecks. Unfortunate effect; Saturn influence

Acamar: 23°16 Aries - Success in public office, ecclesiastical success. Fortunate; Jupiter

Alrisha: 29°23 Aries - Unifying influence with groups. Fortunate effect; Mars/ Mercury influece

the fixed stars of the constellation of taurus

Mirach: 0°24 Taurus - Good fortune through marriage, beauty, love talent. Fortunate effect; Venus influence

Sharatan: 3°49 Taurus - Violence, defeat, accidents, injury, danger, honours. Neutral effect; Mars/ Saturn influence

Hamal: 7°40 Taurus - Violence, cruelty, brutality, also the “Healer”. Unfortunate effect; Mars/Saturn influence

Schedir: 7°48 Taurus - Astrology, mysticism, writing. Fortunate effect; Saturn/Venus influence

Almach: 14°15 Taurus - Success in Venusian occupations, artistic ability, popularity. Fortunate effect; Venus influence

Menkar: 14°19 Taurus - Disease, throat trouble, disgrace, ruin, injury from beasts, unjustified enmities; sudden emergence of deep unconscious issues. Unfortunate; Saturn/Venus

Rana: 20°52 Taurus - Love of knowledge, science, much travel, many changes, position of authority, accidents at sea, drowning. Fortunate effect; Saturn influence (part of “The River”, a constellation traversing several signs)

Zaurak: 23°52 Taurus - Melancholy, fear of death and suicidal tendencies. Unfortunate effect; Saturn influence

Capulus: 24°12 Taurus - Primitive male sexual energy; penetrating; ruthless; adventurous; dishonesty; mass effects, esp. meteorological. Unfortunate; Mars/ Mercury

Algol (The Gorgon’s Head): 26°10 Taurus - Primitive female sexuality; strangulation, beheading, danger to throat and neck, murder, violence, mass catastrophe, the “Evil One”, the Demon Star; passionate; intense; hysterical. Very Unfortunate effect; Saturn/Jupiter influence

Pleiades (The Seven Sisters): 29°58 Taurus - Accidents, blindness, violence, homosexuality, feminine power. Unfortunate effect; Constellation of 7 stars (refer Alcyone)

the fixed stars of the constellation of gemini

Alcyone (Central star of the Pleiades): 0°00 Gemini - Ambition, honour and glory. Trouble with opposite sex. Neutral effect; Moon/Jupiter influence

Mirfak (Alpha Perseus): 02°05 Gemini - Indicative of events effecting large numbers of people, especially those caused by major meteorological phenomena. Bold, adventurous, somewhat dishonest. Fortunate effect; Jupiter/ Saturn influence

Hyades: 5°45 Gemini - Scandal, violence, disgrace, imprisonment. Unfortunate effect; Saturn/Mercury influence

Aldebaran (Bull’s North Eye): 9°47 Gemini - A Royal Star. The archangel Michael, the Watcher of the East. Eloquence, high honours, integrity, popularity, courage, war mongering, agitation. Unfortunate effect; Mars influence

Cursa: 15°17 Gemini - Currents of Fate, fluctuating emotions, irreversible changes to rhythm of life, sense of oblivion. Fortunate effect; Saturn influence

Rigel (Orion’s Foot): 16°50 Gemini - Technical and artistic ability, inventiveness, humour, honours, riches, happiness. Fortunate effect; Jupiter/ Mars influence

Bellatrix (Orion’s Left Shoulder): 21°28 Gemini - Loquaciousness, accidents, sudden dishonour. Unfortunate effect; Mars/Mercury influence

Capella: 21°51 Gemini - Inquisitiveness, open mindedness, powerful friends. Fortunate effect; Mars/Mercury influence

Phact: 22°16 Gemini - Talent in art or science. Fortunate effect; Venus/Mercury/Uranus influence

El Nath: 22°26 Gemini - Luck, fortune, success, quarrels, headstrong. Fortunate effect; Mars influence

Alnilam: 23°49 Gemini - Brief fame, quick temper, scandal. Fortunate effect; Jupiter/Saturn influence

Al Hecka: 24°42 Gemini - Honours, wealth, power, greed, aggression. Fortunate effect; Mars influence

Polaris (The Pole Star): 28°34 Gemini - Sickness, trouble, loss, affliction, spiritual powers. Unfortunate effect; Saturn/Venus influence

Betelgeuse (Orion’s Right Shoulder): 28°45 Gemini - Calamities, danger, violence. Unfortunate effect; Mars/Mercury influence

the fixed stars of the constellation of cancer

Propus: 3°26 Cancer - Overconfidence, pride, shamelessness, violence. Unfortunate effect; Saturn influence

Mirzam: 7°11 Cancer - Good qualities, charitable, faithful; dangerous passions; “The Roarer”, announcing the rising of Sirius; “The Announcer”, with Gomeisa. Fortunate effect; Venus influence

Alhena (Almeisan, the shining one): 9°06 Cancer - Acute sensitivity, creative imagination, artistic skills, writing, injuries to feet. Fortunate effect; Mercury/Venus/Jupiter influence

Alzirr: 11°13 Cancer - Hunting, besieging towns, the revenge of princes, trouble, disgrace, sickness, loss of fortune, affliction, danger to knees. Unfortunate effect; Mercury/Venus/Jupiter influence

Dziban (The Two Jackals): 13°48 Cancer - Artistic, emotional but sombre; penetrating, analytical mind, much travel, many friends; danger of robbery and accidental poisoning. Craft, ingenuity, valour. A binary star in Draco, the Dragon. Unfortunate effect; Saturn/Mars influence

Sirius (the Dog Star; the Sun of the Sun; the prime Sun of our Galaxy): 14°05 Cancer - Ambition, pride, emotionality, fame, leadership, wealth, fires, drought, danger through impetuosity. Fortunate effect; Jupiter/Mars influence

Canopus (Ship of the Desert): 14°51 Cancer - Voyages, journeys, creativity; scandal, violence; great glory, fame, wealth; changes evil to good; the Rishi (Hindu sage) Agasthya; star of St Catharine; helmsman of the Argo. Fortunate effect; Saturn/Jupiter

Wasat: 18°31 Cancer - Chemicals, poisons, gas; violence, malevolence, destructiveness as a first principal; pessimism; clear, authoritative speech; prominence in public affairs. Unfortunate effect; Saturn/Mars influence

Castor: 20°14 Cancer - Sudden fame or loss, distinction, keen mind, violence, mischief; “The Mortal Twin”. Unfortunate effect; Saturn/Mars/Venus influence

Gomeisa: 22°12 Cancer - “The Weeping One”; frivolity; love of dogs; dogbite; death by drowning. Unfortunate effect; Mercury/Mars influence

Pollux (Caput Hercules): 23°13 Cancer - Contemplative speculation, audacity, astrology, ruin, disgrace, death, calamity; the “Immortal Twin”; the “Heartless Judge”. Unfortunate effect; Mars/Moon/Uranus influence

Procyon: 25°47 Cancer - Violence, sudden success then disaster, occult, politics, dissipation. Unfortunate effect; Mars/Mercury influence

the fixed stars of the constellation of leo

Talitha: 2°48 Leo - Quiet, prudent, suspicious, mistrustful, self-controlled, great anger when roused. Neutral; Saturn/ Mars

Nebulous Cluster in 1st decan of Leo - The Aselli (The ***** ): Death by fever, fire, hanging, beheading, or violent catastrophe, ruin, disgrace, wounds, hurts to face, eye trouble, blindness, imprisonment, great changes in society. Unfortunate effect; Mars/Moon influence

Praesaepe: 7°12 Leo - Inner drive, reclusive, blindness, murder, tragedy, fires. Unfortunate effect; Mars/Moon influence

North Asellus (Asellus Borealis): 7°24 Leo - Patience, beneficence and courage, heroic and defiant leader. Fortunate effect; Sun/Mars influence

South Asellus (Asellus Australis): 8°35 Leo - Military preferment, blindness, eye trouble, shipwreck, mass murder, horrors, self-willed, uncooperative. Unfortunate effect; Sun/Mars influence

Giansar: 10°20 Leo - Penetrating and analytical mind, travel and many friends, craft, ingenuity, and valour, but danger of robbery and accidental poisoning. Neutral effect; Saturn/Mars influence

Acubens: 13°35 Leo - Astrology, writing, perseverance, domestic problems, poison, liars. Fortunate effect; Saturn/Mercury influence

Dubhe (The Bear): 15°00 Leo - Astrology, arrogance, psychic power, destruction; aka Krathu, one of the 7 Rishis (Hindu sages) in Ursa Major; Bast Isis, the Egyptian goddess; “The Eye”; “Heaven’s Pivot”. Fortunate effect; Venus/Mercury/Mars influence

Merak: 19°06 Leo - Prudent, restrained, mistrustful, self-controlled (but angry when roused), love of command, power to achieve, good with animals; Pulaha, one of the 7 Rishis (Hindu sages) of Ursa Major. Fortunate effect; Saturn/Mercury/Mars influence

Ras Elased Aust (Algenubi): 20°42 Leo - Cruel, heartless, bold, bombastic, brutish, destructive, artistic appreciation. power of expression, spiritual gifts, leadership. Neutral effect; Saturn/Mars influence

“Own Worst Enemy”: 22°00 Leo - An unfortunate degree. No freedom to act on one’s own behalf. Unfortunate effect

Subra: 24°15 Leo - Strength; plunder; swagger; yet simple and without guile. Unfortunate effect; Saturn/Mars influence

Alphard: 27°08 Leo - Gives wisdom, musical and artistic appreciation, knowledge of human nature, strong passions, lack of self control, immorality. Sudden death by poison or drowning. Problems with law, love affairs, drugs. Fortunate effect; Saturn/Venus influence

Adhafera: 27°34 Leo - Crime, lying and stealing, suicide. Unfortunate effect; Saturn/Mercury influence

Al Jabhah: 27°41 Leo - Wealth, sound judgement, cleverness, prone to violence, self-seeking, danger, loss, mutiny. Neutral effect; Saturn/Mercury influence

Regulus (Lion’s Heart): 29°53 Leo - The most Royal Star. Raphael, the Healing Archangel, the Watcher of the North. Nobility, ambition, alertness, great power, status, leadership, sudden downfall, accidents, violence. Fortunate effect; Mars/Jupiter/Uranus influence

the fixed stars of the constellation of virgo

Phecda: 0°29 Virgo - Civilizing influence, tamer of beasts, transmission of divine knowledge; Pulasthya, one of the 7 Rishis (Hindu sages) of the Great Bear, Ursa Major; bloodbaths, assassinations, riots, sexual perversion. Fortunate effect; Jupiter/Venus influence

Præcipua: 0°53 Virgo - Generous, noble, peaceful, fearless nature, with the ability to undertake prominent and responsible positions. Fortunate effect; Jupiter/Mars influence

Megrez: 1°04 Virgo - Spiritual sight; creativity; violence; Atri, one of the 7 Rishis (Hindu sages), the ruling star of the Great Bear, Ursa Major. Fortunate effect; Mars influence

Thuban: 7°27 Virgo - Prospectors of gold and silver or those who are ministers of money; burning to death in own house. Fortunate effect; Saturn/Mars influence

Alioth (The Black Horse): 8°56 Virgo - Suicide among women; danger in pregnancy; Angirasa, one of the 7 Rishis (Hindu sages) in Ursa Major. Unfortunate effect; Saturn/Venus influence

Zosma: 11°16 Virgo - Keen intellect, depression, fearful, unhappy, feels restricted, loss in childhood; egotism; prophetic ability (with Coxa: “Kua, the Oracle”). Fortunate effect; Saturn/Venus influence

Coxa: 13°25 Virgo - Good for voyages, gain by merchandise, redemption of captives; prophetic ability (with Zosma: “Kua, the Oracle”). Strength. Wisdom. Fortunate effect; Saturn/Venus influence

Mizar: 15°42 Virgo - Connected with fires of a catastrophic extent and mass calamities; Vasishta, one of the 7 Rishis (Hindu sages) of Ursa Major. Unfortunate effect; Saturn/Venus influence

Denebola: 21°38 Virgo - Criticism, perseverance, control, lack of imagination, honours, undesirable associates, mental illness, happiness turns to despair, disease, natural disasters, catastrophes. Neutral effect; Saturn/Venus influence

Coma Berenices: 23°48 Virgo - Eye problems; suave manner, with great personal charm; idle and dissipated, dramatic; a constellation rather than a star, with the main star being Diadem. Fortunate effect; Moon/Venus influence

Labrum: 26°38 Virgo - Honours, riches, ambition, psychic, chronic illness, dishonest income. Fortunate effect; Mercury/Venus influence

Alkaid (Benetnash): 26°56 Virgo - Associated with death and mourning, war, natural catastrophes; Marichi, one of the 7 Rishis (Hindu sages) of Ursa Major. Unfortunate effect; Moon/Mercury/Saturn influence

Markeb: 28°54 Virgo - Voyages, educational work, broad knowledge, piety. Fortunate effect; Saturn/Jupiter influence

the fixed stars of the constellation of libra

Zaniah: 4°31 Libra - Order, congeniality, lovable nature, refinement, honour. Very Fortunate effect; Mercury/Venus influence

Diadem: 8°57 Libra - Suave, well-bred; personal charm; dissipation. Dramatic ability. The “Wreath of Jewels” in Berenice’s hair (the constellation Coma Berenices). Fortunate effect; Saturn/Mercury influence

Vindemiatrix: 9°56 Libra - Falsity, folly, disgrace, stealing, widowhood, depression, witch-hunts, mysticism & the occult. Unfortunate effect; Saturn/Mercury influence

Algorab: 13°27 Libra - Scavenging, destructiveness, repulsiveness, malevolence, fiendishness and lying, suicide, greed, injuries. Unfortunate effect; Mars/Saturn influence

Merga: 15°27 Libra - Guardians, ministers of state, custodians, treasurers, force behind the scenes, hidden masters, economists, architects, designers, “The Sickle”. Fortunate effect; Mercury/Saturn influence

Seginus: 17°39 Libra - Business, astrology, law, loss through friends, deceitful, shameless. Fortunate effect; Mercury/Saturn/Venus influence

Mufrid: 19°20 Libra - Prosperity from work, planning, strong desires, a tendency to excess, a fondness for rural pursuits, occultism. Fortunate effect; Mercury/Saturn influence

Foramen: 22°09 Libra - Prosperity, leadership; divine teacher, creative power; ear and eye trouble, indecision, shipwreck. Fortunate effect; Saturn/Jupiter influence

Spica: 23°50 Libra - Wealth, fame, honour, glamour, the “Fortunate One”. Very Fortunate effect; Venus/Mars influence

Arcturus: 24°14 Libra - Inspiration, riches, fame, honour, popularity, benefits through travel, success through work. Very Fortunate effect; Jupiter/Mars influence

the fixed stars of the constellation of scorpio

Princeps: 3°09 Scorpio - Ability to research keen, studious and profound mind, business, government, law, science, arts, lies. Fortunate effect; Mercury/Saturn influence

Khambalia: 6°57 Scorpio - Deep research of any kind, police investigation, espionage and esoteric subjects. Fortunate effect; Mercury/Mars influence

Acrux: 11°52 Scorpio - Interest in astrology and spirituality, metaphysics, sacrifice. Occult effect; Jupiter influence

Alphecca: 12°16 Scorpio - Honour, dignity, literate, brilliant, poetic, scandals, betrayal in love, sorrow through children. Fortunate effect; Venus/ Mercury influence

Menken: 12°18 Scorpio - Wisdom, astronomy, divination, medicine, botany and music. Fortunate effect; Venus/Mercury influence

South Scale (Zuben Algenubi): 15°04 Scorpio - Loss, theft, betrayal, abuse, venereal disease, poisoning, drowning, anguish, revenge, criminality. Unfortunate effect; Saturn/Mars influence

Serpentis (the “Accursed Degree”): 19°00 Scorpio - A malefic degree, tragedy, misfortune, the “Accursed Degree”. This degree does not precess; Unfortunate effect; Mars/ Saturn influence

North Scale (Zuben Alschemali): 19°23 Scorpio - Honours, wealth, distinction, brilliant mind, success in sports, politics, war, religion, writing, tragedy, violence, melancholy. Fortunate effect; Jupiter/Mercury/Mars influence

Alpha Serpentis (Unukalhai): 22°04 Scorpio - Success followed by fall, suicide, insanity, accidents, success in war, politics, writing, problems in love, forgery, shipwreck, loss, earthquake. Unfortunate effect; Saturn/Mars influence

Agena: 23°48 Scorpio - Good health, high morals, disillusion through love, success with the masses. Fortunate effect; Venus/Jupiter influence

Toliman (Bungula): 29°36 Scorpio - Occult and philosophical learning, self analysis, honours, stubborn, cruel. Fortunate effect; Venus/Jupiter influence

the fixed stars of the constellations of sagittarius

Kornephoros: 1°05 Sagittarius - Fixity of purpose, strength of character, ardent nature and dangerous passions. Neutral; Mercury influence

Yed Prior: 2°18 Sagittarius - Success in astrology & 9th house matters, shrewd. Fortunate effect; Saturn/Venus influence

Marfik: 5°36 Sagittarius - Passionate, blindly good-hearted, easily seduced, healer with herbs. Neutral effect; Saturn/Venus influence

Antares (Heart of the Scorpion): 9°46 Sagittarius - A Royal Star. The Archangel Oriel, the Watcher of the West. Spirit of adventure, obstinacy, injuries to eyes, honours, sudden loss, stubborn, suspicious, violent, several marriages. Fortunate effect; Mars/Jupiter/Mercury influence

Rastaban: 11°58 Sagittarius - Impulsive, honourable, good for astrology, government, writing, sports, finance, the arts, accidents, wounds, blindness, criminality. Unfortunate effect; Saturn/Mars/Jupiter influence

Sabik: 17°58 Sagittarius - Wastefulness and lost energy, perverted moral, success in evil deeds. Unfortunate effect; Saturn/Venus influence

Atria: 20°54 Sagittarius - Just, truthful, righteous and benevolent, interest in architecture and freemasonry. Very Fortunate effect; Mercury/Jupiter influence

Ras Alhague: 22°27 Sagittarius - Trouble with women, drugs, poisoning, hallucination, medicines, infections, mystical healing. Fortunate effect; Saturn/Venus influence

Lesath (Scorpion’s Sting - with Shaula): 24°01 Sagittarius - Danger, desperation, immorality and malevolence, connected with acid poisons, accidents, catastrophes, operations. Unfortunate effect; Mercury/Mars influence

Shaula (Mulam: the Root): 24°35 Sagittarius - Danger, desperation, immorality and malevolence, connected with acid poisons, aids victory in sieges, destruction of seafarers and captives, exorcism, mesmerism, spiritual pressure towards enlightenment. Unfortunate effect; Mercury/Mars influence

Galactic Centre: 26°52 Sagittarius - A vast Black Hole at the center of our galaxy, discovered 1932; source of energy, motivation, aspiration; alien consciousness; crisis of faith; travel; education; philosophy; spiritual urges; single-minded dedication. Fortunate effect; Jupiter influence

Etamin: 27°58 Sagittarius - Liking solitude, good concentration, dishonour, downfall and loss of prestige, esoteric and philosophical studies. Neutral effect; Mars/Moon influence

the fixed stars of the constellation of capricorn

Spiculum: 1°04 Capricorn - Eye trouble, blindness, depression, hopelessly doomed, morbid religious outlook, no concern for human life. Unfortunate effect; Mars/Moon influence

Alnasl: 1°16 Capricorn - Eye trouble, blindness (or bad eyesight). Unfortunate effect; Mars/Moon influence

Polis: 3°13 Capricorn - Martial desires, high ambitions, domination, keen perception, success. Very Fortunate effect; Jupiter/Mars influence

Kaus Borealis: 6°19 Capricorn - Promoters of idealistic and humane ideas, promoters of mental stimuli, enterprise and a sense of justice. Fortunate; Mercury/Mars influence

Facies: 8°16 Capricorn - Blindness, violent death, sickness, accidents; leadership, war, coldness, detachment, perfectionism; earthquakes; pure combative energies; risk-taking, glamour; seeks fulfilment through charitable works. Very Unfortunate effect; Sun/Mars influence

Vega: 15°19 Capricorn - Luck in politics, artistic talent, fleeting fame, double dealing, generosity, practicality. Fortunate effect; Venus/Mercury influence

Sheliak: 18°53 Capricorn - Artistic talent, sexual adventures, disgrace, gaudiness, independent thought, trouble with authority, death by violence. Fortunate effect; Venus/Mercury influence

Dheneb: 19°48 Capricorn - Martial Arts, ability to command, liberality, beneficence. Very Fortunate effect; Mars/Jupiter influence

Peacock: 23°49 Capricorn - Vanity and love of display, together with a long life and sometimes fame. Fortunate effect; Venus/Mercury/Saturn influence

Terebellum: 25°51 Capricorn - Strength and power, rise in life, riches, cunning, disgrace. Fortunate effect; Venus/Saturn influence

the fixed stars of the constellation of aquarius

Tarazed (The Plundering Falcon): 0°56 Aquarius - Spoil and plunder, imagination, strong passions, will, clairvoyance, fame, powerful mind. Fortunate effect; Mars/Jupiter influence

Sham: 1°04 Aquarius - Combative, opinionated, jealousy, danger of death in battle. Unfortunate effect; Mars/Venus influence

Albireo: 1°15 Aquarius - Contemplative, cultured, artistic, congenial appearance and disposition. Fortunate effect; Venus/Mercury influence

Altair (The Eagle): 1°47 Aquarius - Sudden but ephemeral fortune, impulsiveness, courage, accidents, astrology, writing. Neutral effect; Mars/Jupiter influence

Algedi (Giedi Prima): 3°46 Aquarius - Beneficence, peculiar events, love affairs, great good fortune. Neutral effect; Venus/Mars influence

Bos: 5°34 Aquarius - Keen intellect, good for business, military, analysis. Fortunate effect; Saturn/Venus influence

Albali: 11°43 Aquarius - Danger, persecution and even death, but also said to give good fortune. Neutral effect; Mars/ Mercury influence

Dorsum: 13°51 Aquarius - The Wheel of Fortune; bites from venomous creatures (with Sun or Mars). Unfortunate effect; Saturn/Jupiter influence

Alnair: 15°54 Aquarius - Retiring, active, proud, watchful, kind, idealistic, devoted, liking for astronomy, “the Bright One”. Fortunate effect; Mercury/Jupiter influence

Castra: 20°12 Aquarius - Destructiveness, uncontrollable temper, malevolence. Unfortunate effect; Saturn/Jupiter influence

Nashira: 21°47 Aquarius - Writing, government, religion, overcomes evil. Fortunate effect; Saturn/Jupiter influence

Kitalpha: 23°07 Aquarius - Gives friendship and sagacity but frivolity and love of pleasure. Neutral effect; Mercury/Venus influence

Sadalsuud: 23°46 Aquarius - Fortuna Fortunarum, great fortune; astrology, occult, government, business, psychic, visionary, originality; personal charm; temperance; aviation. Fortunate effect; Saturn/Mercury influence

Deneb Algedi: 23°50 Aquarius - A wise leader; finding the joy inherent in sorrow – and vice versa; glory and fame if death is avoided; betrayal, loss of position if associated with Sun or Moon. Fortunate effect; Saturn/Jupiter influence

Sador: 24°50 Aquarius - Glittering wings, figured by stars. Part of the Christian Cross. Words of command, gathering of wealth; a hidden god; love of water, swimming, the arts; communication with birds; aviation. Fortunate effect; Jupiter/Saturn influence

Gienah: 27°45 Aquarius - Soar to great heights, potential of sudden downfall. Neutral effect; Venus/Mercury influence

the fixed stars of the constellation of pisces

Fomalhaut: 3°52 Pisces - A Royal Star. Archangel Gabriel, the Watcher of the South. Congenital birth defects, magic, fame, occult, faith, “Star of Alchemy”, addiction, undesirable associates. Fortunate effect; Venus/Mercury/Neptune influence

Deneb Adige (Alpha Cygnus): 5°16 Pisces - Intelligent, creative, original, naive, astrology, writing, the public, dog bites. Fortunate effect; Venus/Mercury influence

Sadalachbia: 6°43 Pisces - Success in ventures, personal charm, movement to rich pastures, aviation, discovery of lost items, “the Star of Hidden Things”. Fortunate effect; Venus/Mercury influence

Skat: 8°52 Pisces - Good fortune, personal charm, lasting happiness, psychic interests, sensitivity, occult interests, many friends. Fortunate effect; Saturn/Jupiter influence

Achernar: 15°19 Pisces - Sudden success in public office, religious benefits, access to another realm. Fortunate effect; Jupiter influence (“the mouth of the River” a constellation extending over several Signs. NOTE: stars in this constellation (Eridanus) are ruled by Saturn, with the exception of Achernar, the brightest)

Markab: 23°29 Pisces - Violence, honours and riches, “Star of Sorrow”, literary, legal problems, accidents. Unfortunate effect; Mars/Mercury/Venus influence

Scheat: 29°22 Pisces - Imprisonment, murder, suicide, drowning, extreme misfortune. Unfortunate effect; Mars/Mercury influence

(x)

#fixed stars #birth chart #conjunctions #close degrees #orbs #zodiac

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akosybob · 2 months

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Blessings in Disguise: Discovering Godly Friendships Amid Betrayal

I've learned firsthand the importance of discernment and wisdom in choosing the right people to walk alongside me in my journey of faith. However, amidst the trials of betrayal and wrong accusations, I've also experienced the profound faithfulness of God in bringing unexpected blessings into my life.

The pain of betrayal and false accusations runs deep, shaking the very foundation of trust and leaving scars that linger long after the wounds have healed. Yet, in the midst of my struggles, I've come to realize that God's plan for my life is far greater than the pain I endure. He is a God of redemption and restoration, capable of turning even the darkest moments into opportunities for growth and blessing.

In the aftermath of betrayal, I found myself questioning the sincerity of friendships and struggling to trust others. Yet, it was during this season of uncertainty that God revealed His faithfulness in a most unexpected way. He brought not just one, but three individuals into my life—friends who stood by me with unwavering loyalty, love, and support.

These godly friendships were a testament to God's provision and grace, reminding me that He is always at work, even in the midst of our pain and confusion. Through their encouragement and companionship, I found healing and restoration, as well as a renewed sense of hope for the future.

These friendships were not just a coincidence; they were divine appointments orchestrated by a loving and sovereign God. They served as a reminder that God never abandons His children, even in their darkest moments. And through them, I experienced the truth of Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, which says, "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up."

As I reflect on my journey of choosing godly friendships, I'm reminded of the importance of trusting in God's timing and sovereignty. While betrayal and wrong accusations may have shaken my faith, they ultimately led me to a deeper reliance on God and a greater appreciation for the friends He has placed in my life.

Moving forward, I am grateful for the lessons learned through adversity and for the blessings that have emerged from the ashes of pain. And as I continue to journey through life, I do so with a heart open to the divine appointments that God has in store, trusting that He will continue to lead me to relationships that reflect His love, grace, and faithfulness.

#BlessingsinDisguise #Truefriendships

#Spotify

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fatehbaz · 1 year

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Adam Sills’s well-written and beautifully produced Against the Map is in some ways a strange book to review [...] [from the disciplinary perspective of environmental studies]. Sills shows little interest in environmental history or ecocriticism, even in the “ecology without nature” mode [...]. His basic argument is that cartography, because of print capitalism, seeped into all sorts of facets of life on the British Isles during the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It became something that playwrights, novelists, and creative nonfiction types, like Samuel Johnson, developed spaces of resistance to in their publications. Sills highlights the political nature and problematic historical genealogies of maps, an argument that has broader implications for [contemporary] environmental historians who use maps to convey [relatively more “objective” and/or “scientific” information] [...].

Sills begins by accepting the idea, derived from Ben Anderson’s comparative work, that “the history of the map and the history of the modern nation state are inextricably bound up with each other” (p. 1). He then cites two of the key analysts of this in relation to Britain: Richard Helgerson on the literary nationalism of the English Renaissance and John Brewer on the fiscal-military state of the eighteenth century, with its army of surveyors and excise tax collectors. In this historiography, the “surveyor emerges as an authorial figure,” key to the making of the modern state as distinct from traditional dynastic and ecclesiastical authority (p. 3). Combined with cheap printing, the result was what Mary Pedley has called a “democratization of the map” (p. 4). [...]

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For John Bunyan, the “neighborhood” became a site of resistance (as it is for Denis Wood in his 2010 Everything Sings: Maps for a Narrative Atlas). [...]

For Aphra Behn, [...] the theater and “built environment” of the “fragmented, chameleonlike ... scenic stage” had the ability to challenge coherent representations of the Atlantic empire produced by maps like those of world atlas publisher and road mapper John Ogilby (p. 65).

From Dublin, Jonathan Swift directly satirized the cartographic and statistical impulses of the likes of William Petty, Henry Pratt, and Herman Moll, who all helped visualize London’s colonial relationship with Ireland [...].

From London, Daniel Defoe questioned efforts to define what precisely makes a market or market town through maps and travel itineraries, pointing toward the entropic aspects of the market (“its inherent instabilities and elusive nature”) that challenged and escaped efforts to stabilize such spaces through representations in print (p. 163).

Johnson’s travels to Scotland redefined surveying, resisting the model put forward by the fiscal-military state in the aftermath of the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745.

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The final chapter and conclusion, “The Neighborhood Revisited,” looks at Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park (1814), a classic novel of the artificial environment of the estate garden. By the early nineteenth century, neighborhoods were more like gated communities and symptomatic of Burkean conservatism and nostalgia. But in Austen’s hands, their structures of affect also suggest the limits of the controversial map- and data-centric literary methodologies [...] and perhaps more broadly the digital humanities. “The principle of spatial difference and differentiation, the heterotopic conceit, always remains a formal possibility, not only at the margins of the empire but at its very center as well,... a possibility that the map cannot acknowledge or register in any fashion” (p. 234). For Sills, this is true of eighteenth-century mapping as well as the fashion for “graphs, maps, and trees” in the early twenty-first century.

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Sills’s basic argument, that a certain canonical strain of English literature - from Bunyan to Austen - positioned itself “against the map,” seems quite solid. He makes this point most directly by appealing to the work of Mary Poovey on the modern “fact,” with the map as “a rhetorical mode ... that serves to legitimate private and state interests by displacing and, ultimately, effacing the political, religious, and economic impact of those interests” (p. 91).

Nevertheless, returning to a[n] [exclusively] canonical, Bunyan-centered, “small is beautiful” neighborhood approach [potentially ignoring planetary environmental systems, the global context, in cartography] seems limited and problematic from the perspective of Anthropocene [...]. The global maps and mathematics used by the likes of Edmund Halley and Isaac Newton, which were directly satirized by Swift in the Laputa section of Gulliver’s Travels (1726), did something different than Petty’s mapping of Ireland. High-flying as they may have been, such maps and diagrams were key to the development of [...] environmental thinking by Charles Darwin, Charles Lyell, Alexander von Humboldt, and others in the nineteenth century. More recently, global mapping [...], like the internet closely tied initially to the modern American fiscal-military state, have [also later then] been essential to identifying processes of climate change, ocean acidification, deforestation, dead zones, sea level rise, desertification, and a host of other processes that would otherwise be challenging to perceive. This is no mere “Vanity Fair.” Sills’s book would have benefited from engaging with Jason Pearl’s Utopian Geographies and the Early English Novel, published in 2014 [...]. Pearl also does close readings of Behn, Defoe, and Swift, choosing Margaret Cavendish instead of Bunyan and stopping in 1730, just before things became picturesque but just after they were financialized by the South Sea Bubble, Newton’s mint, and Robert Walpole. Pearl reproduces maps by Defoe of Robinson Crusoe’s global travels and of Crusoe’s island, Swift of Houyhnhnmland, Ambrosius Holbein of Thomas More’s Utopia [...].

What if rather than “against the map,” we are seeing struggles between radical and conservative cartography [...] engaged in a fight over the future (utopia)?

What if what [...] [some have] called “capitalist realism” [...], what might in the eighteenth century be called “nationalist realism,” is not the only thing happening with maps and the imagination?

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Text above by: Robert Batchelor. “Review of Sills, Adam, Against the Map: The Politics of Geography in Eighteenth-Century Britain.” H-Environment, H-Net Reviews. May 2023. Published online at: h-net,org/reviews/showrev,php?id:58887. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me. In this post, all italicized text within brackets added by me.]

#hmm lot going on here pretty thoughtprovoking for a review #i have lots of thoughts about radical potential of maps for conception of planetary scale and antiimperialism #though simultaneously must remain critical of panopticon aerial perspective of satellite imagery as batchelor says originating with usempire #to acknowledge radical alternatives to imperial mapping in nineteenth century #instead of namedropping humboldt and darwin and chauvinist racist figures i wouldve pointed to #exslaves and abolitionists and their use of global scale conceptions to frame revolutionary atlantic and international solidarity #anyway #abolition #ecology #colonial

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nanshe-of-nina · 3 months

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Favorite History Books || Baldwin I of Jerusalem, 1100–1118 by Susan B. Edgington ★★★★☆

Baldwin of Boulogne was a crusader who became the first Latin count of Edessa and then the first Latin king of Jerusalem, a realm that he ruled for almost eighteen years. These would be outstanding achievements for any man, but for someone who was the youngest of three brothers and whose prospects at birth and as a youth were correspondingly modest, they suggest extraordinary strength of character as well as a modicum of good fortune. The balance between these assets will emerge from an investigation of his life and rule. Inevitably, however, the enquiry must begin with Baldwin’s background and early years, a period for which the documentary sources are sparse and sometimes contradictory. A fair amount of what follows, therefore, is necessarily conjectural. … King Baldwin I’s reign started as it began, with a succession dispute. Nevertheless, the intervening period, something short of eighteen years, had ensured that there was a kingdom to dispute and to inherit. Baldwin’s reputation has suffered by comparison with his brother Godfrey, who was remembered as a valiant crusader and a saintly character for centuries afterwards. Baldwin’s crusade had lacked the necessary consummation, for he was absent from the siege of Jerusalem in 1099. Yet despite Godfrey’s virtues, it was fortunate for Jerusalem that he died after only a year of ruling the infant kingdom of Jerusalem. His successor was singleminded in appropriating the kingship because he knew it was needed to defend and expand the realm, and he was effective in organising its limited resources to the same end. Insofar as his character emerges from the often conflicting accounts of his life and reign, he was neither a ‘nice’ man nor a good husband, but this is beside the point. Hans Eberhard Mayer observed, ‘C’était un homme politique avisé, à l’âme calculatrice, sans scrupules, violent, poursuivant froidement ses intérêts et qui dirigeait ses vassaux d’une main de fer.’ These were precisely the ruthless qualities needed to establish and preserve the kingdom of Jerusalem. Over a century ago, W. B. Stevenson summed up Baldwin’s achievements in a paragraph that deserves to be better known: in brief, Stevenson recognised Baldwin’s effective use of his scant resources, his personal courage and military expertise, his establishing a stable government. In addition, ‘it was his determination and, indeed, his high-handed treatment of opponents that shattered the project of an ecclesiastical or papal state in Palestine’. It is doubtful that such a state could have survived for any length of time at all. It is impossible to say what drove Baldwin, whether personal ambition, dynastic loyalty or even crusading piety, but for the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem he was indubitably the right man at the right time.

#litedit #historyedit #baldwin i of jerusalem #french history #medieval #european history #asian history #history #history books #nanshe's graphics #house of flanders

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subjects-of-the-king · 1 year

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The Historical Value of Geoffrey of Monmouth

An Original Essay of Lucas Del Rio

The year was 1136. Britain in recent centuries had come to be defined by her English, Welsh, and Scottish boundaries. Of the three, England by far exercised the greatest hegemony. Most of the people living there talked in the English tongue, although the Norman leadership spoke French. This was because the population of England consisted mainly of the Anglo-Saxons, with their Norman-French overlords only recently having seized power. There had been a time, however, when the Saxons were the invaders, for they were not the indigenous people of the island. It was the story of Britain and her early history that the Welsh clergyman Geoffrey of Monmouth told in his 1136 work The History of the Kings of Britain.

Other British historians, including those of the present day and his own contemporaries, have tended to be highly critical of Geoffrey. His work, they say, is filled with myth. There is no doubt that there is a great deal of legend contained within its pages, although there are also reasons that the text deserves to be the subject of historical research. Many early history books filled in gaps of knowledge with legend, and the myths the medieval Welshman provides offer insight into the now largely forgotten traditional beliefs of the Celtic Britons. It is also the only surviving source to thoroughly explore the history of Britain prior to Roman occupation. Some of the episodes of British history from the Roman era and early Middle Ages touched on by other writers are discussed in far more detail by Geoffrey. Finally, his account of the life of King Arthur towards the end of the book is among the earliest sources for the Arthurian legend.

Geoffrey was aware that there were other writers of British history, but he felt that he could offer insight that others had not yet been able to do. “It has seemed a remarkable thing to me that, apart from such mention of them as Gildas and Bede had each made in a brilliant book about the subject, I have not been able to discover anything at all on the kings who lived here before the Incarnation of Christ, or indeed about Arthur and all the others who followed on after the Incarnation,” says Geoffrey as he opens his book. In this fragment of his opening statement, he is clearly giving praise to Gildas and the Venerable Bede, two historians who had lived centuries before his own time but whose works were highly respected. The first of these, published by the Romano-British monk Gildas in 540 AD, was On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain. When Gildas wrote, Roman occupation was still a fresh memory, and the withdrawal of Roman garrisons had left the Britons vulnerable to Germanic, Irish, and Pictish invaders. Gildas, in his book, writes a brief history of how the Romans had once subjugated the island and then how they had left. Later, the book consists of Gildas condemning the new kings who had emerged from the former Roman province. From his perspective, they were both sinful and had been unable to effectively respond to the challenges facing a post-Roman Britain.

The other British historian referenced by Geoffrey at the start of his book is the Venerable Bede, who wrote much later than Gildas but still a very long time before he himself wrote The History of the Kings of Britain. His chief work, and probably the one that Geoffrey is calling “a brilliant book,” was the 731 AD book Ecclesiastical History of the English People. As the title suggests, the primary focus of the book is the history of the church in English society. Along the way, Bede also chronicles the wars, cultural changes, and royal dynasties of the era. Ecclesiastical History of the English People is the oldest surviving comprehensive British history book, and one that was the gold standard for other British history books to emulate for much of the rest of the medieval era. Even today, it remains invaluable for the particular time period that it covers. Geoffrey obviously respected both him and the earlier Gildas, yet he saw certain weaknesses in works that did indeed have a great deal of merit. Britain in the era prior to the dawn of Christianity is almost entirely ignored by the two historians. Their chronicles of the early medieval era also are lacking in biographic information of the kings of the Celtic Britons. Gildas offers more criticism of leadership style than any real biographical detail, and Bede neglects the Britons in favor of the lives of Anglo-Saxon kings.

“The deeds of these men were such that they deserve to be praised for all time,” continues Geoffrey, making it clear that he is setting out to write a book that he feels deserves to exist. “These deeds were handed joyfully down in oral tradition,” he asserts, although he also claims to have used as a source “a certain very ancient book written in the British language.” Certainly, any history of the Britons written at this point which covered the span that it did would have had to make use of oral tradition. A trickier question is whether or not the “ancient book written in the British language” really existed. Prior to English becoming the dominant language, the Britons had spoken a language called Brythonic, which eventually branched into the modern Celtic dialects of Breton, Cornish, and Welsh. As someone who was Welsh, especially at a time when Wales was not yet as Anglicized as it would later become, it seems perfectly feasible that Geoffrey would have had knowledge of Brythonic. Modern knowledge of Brythonic is limited, but it may have been written in the Ogham alphabetic script that was at the time used by the Irish and the Picts. Geoffrey could, however, have simply been adding such a detail at the beginning of his book to capture the attention of his audience. Discovering an “ancient book” is more exciting than depending solely on oral tradition.

Geoffrey clearly made use of surviving sources whether or not he really had an “ancient book written in the British language.” Bede, whom Geoffrey highly respected despite perceiving certain shortcomings, was one. Both Ecclesiastical History of the English People and The History of the Kings of Britain start their chronicles by introducing the island of Britain herself, with very similar descriptions of her geography and natural resources. This opening of Bede must have been as influential on medieval British historians as the rest of his book, as it is also closely copied by Henry of Huntington, a contemporary of Geoffrey, in History of the English. Next, Geoffrey makes a statement that very much sets up a great deal of the rest of his book, which largely consists of the epic struggle of the Britons against hostile foreigners such as the Romans, Norwegians, and Irish. “Britain is inhabited by five races of people,” he says. Even though “the Britons once occupied the land from sea to sea,” he declares that “the vengeance of God overtook them because of their arrogance and they submitted to the Picts and the Saxons.”

The first tale told by Geoffrey is the one that is the most blatantly a legend, and also one that ties in closely with Greco-Roman mythology. In fact, Greco-Roman myth is a prominent theme for much of the book, with the early Britons described as worshiping their deities. Multiple explanations can be offered for this. For one, there was plenty of nostalgia in the Middle Ages for classical antiquity, which some medieval Europeans perceived to have been a more civilized time. However, perhaps a better explanation is that Celtic religion was assimilated into that of the Roman Empire when Celtic lands were conquered. Today, many aspects of Celtic religion are lost to history, and this may have been no less true at a time when Britain had already long been Christianized. It seems likely that all Geoffrey knew of the religion of the Celtic Britons was its eventual fusion with Roman elements. All of the references to classical mythology in the book align more closely with the Romans than with the Greeks. Roman names of the gods and goddesses are used, the book incorporates the story found in the Latin poem The Aeneid by Virgil, and the Greeks are portrayed as antagonists while the Trojans are glorified.

The story Geoffrey tells at the beginning of his narrative is also told to an extent in an older work from 833 AD called The History of the Britons. While the authorship of the work is disputed, and it may actually be a compilation of multiple authors over many years, The History of the Britons is commonly ascribed to the monk Nennius. Like The History of the Kings of Britain, the text attempts to chronicle history from the perspective of the Celtic Britons rather than the Anglo-Saxons who were writing the overwhelming majority of the accounts. Both books tell many of the same stories with some differences, although The History of the Britons is significantly shorter than the work penned by Geoffrey. At the start of both books, the reader is introduced to a great-grandson of the Trojan hero Aeneas by the name of Brutus. After accidentally killing his father, he is exiled from Italy and ultimately arrives in Britain. Apparently it was from him that the island took her name. This cannot be true, of course, because the term “Britain” originates with Greek explorers and was not used by native Britons prior to contact with Mediterranean peoples. Nennius, or whomever else may have written The History of the Britons, does not detail how Britain was populated. Nor does the book History of the English by Henry of Huntington, who also tells the story of Brutus.

For all the reader knows, Britain may already have had inhabitants, and Brutus may merely have become a person of prominence there. Geoffrey, on the other hand, tells a far more fanciful tale. In his book, the island “called Albion” when Brutus arrived “was uninhabited except for a few giants.” Accompanying Brutus to Albion were other descendants of those who had lived in Troy. After the Trojan War, Geoffrey tells his reader, the Greeks had enslaved their vanquished enemies. Brutus can be described as leading a revolutionary Exodus of sorts against an apparent “King of the Greeks.” Some modern readers may view such a term with skepticism, noting that Greece in antiquity was divided into numerous independent city-states. It should also be noted, however, that Greece was organized in this fashion during the archaic, classical, and hellenistic eras of Greek history. Much less is known of Greek society during the Bronze Age, when the Trojan War would have taken place, due to a total absence of literature. The Iliad by the legendary poet Homer describes Greek forces being commanded by an overlord named Agamemnon during the Trojan War.

Regardless of any other details of this section of the narrative, it is almost certainly fantasy. However, it has value in that it shows how the myths of the Britons meshed at some point with their Roman conquerors. As the story is told, albeit in much less detail, in The History of the Britons more than three hundred years earlier, Geoffrey cannot have simply made the whole thing up for entertainment value. Perhaps of greater interest to historical scholarship are the stories that immediately follow, which tell of a Celtic society in Britain prior to Roman subjugation. No written records exist from this era of British history, so a book preserving its oral traditions is invaluable. Some readers may be surprised by the tales of powerful kings, burgeoning towns, and massive wars, possibly meeting them with skepticism. It is nearly impossible to assess the accuracy of the stories, although they should not be dismissed. A common yet ignorant image of pre-Roman Britain is that it was barely emerging from the Stone Age, yet archaeology demonstrates otherwise. Trade goods have been unearthed from as far away as Egypt and Greece, and it should be remembered that the Celtic Britons managed to construct the magnificent monument now known as Stonehenge.

One of the first stories after the kingship of Brutus, and certainly one of interest, follows the partition of the island amongst his three sons. There are no quarrels between them, but they end up having to repel an invasion of the Huns. As the Huns did not invade Europe until the final decades of the Roman Empire, it is impossible that this exact circumstance could have taken place. It is a stretch to suggest the Huns even existed just a few generations after the Trojan War. However, there have been numerous nomadic peoples who have invaded different regions of Europe at various points in history. A horde similar to the one led back Attila could feasibly have built boats and sailed to Britain, and they may simply have been remembered later by a familiar name. On the other hand, the ravages of the Huns in Europe could have created a legend that they had attacked Britain many centuries earlier.

Some of the events that Geoffrey claims to have occurred at this point in British history can be observed in British lore in general, indicating that they were indeed derived from oral tradition. Modern audiences are likely to instantly recognize the story of King Lear, which William Shakespeare would turn into a play hundreds of years after The History of the Kings of Britain was written. A lesser known fact is that other Elizabethan playwrights penned plays concerning Lear and different kings that Geoffrey wrote about. There is another tale, that of the brothers Belinus and Brennus, which may initially seem to be fantasy but possibly has roots in reality. Belinus and Brennus both desire the British kingship and fight multiple civil wars over it, which on one occasion leads to Brennus fleeing to Gaul. While in this foreign land, he befriends Segnius, the Duke of the Allobroges, and eventually becomes duke himself. After the brothers decide to put aside their differences and unite, they fight various leaders in what would one day be France and then go on to invade Italy. They even sack Rome herself.

The idea of the Britons sacking Rome at a time well before the Romans had ever reached Britain may seem preposterous. Geoffrey concludes his biographical information on Brennus by stating that “I have not attempted to describe his other activities there or his eventual death, for the histories of Rome explain these matters.” By “histories of Rome,” Geoffrey is likely referring to a 9 BC work of this name by the ancient Roman historian Livy, who writes of the Celts sacking Rome early in her history. Leading the Celts in this endeavor was a chieftain by the name of Brennus. Much later in Roman history, when Julius Caesar battled the Gauls, these enemies of his often received aid from the Britons, so there easily could have been Britons involved in the events described by Livy. Brennus could actually have been born in Britain, or his acclaim amongst the Celtic tribes may have caused the Britons to claim that he was one of them. As the title of The History of the Kings of Britain suggests, there are descriptions of the lives of many other British kings, including in the pre-Roman era.

A rising action in the narrative of the book is when the Romans arrive on British soil. Geoffrey asserts that Julius Caesar led the earliest Roman expeditions to Britain, as the Roman general himself attested to in his 52 BC memoir Commentaries on the Gallic War. Caesar states in his memoir that he wished to explore Britain due to her people providing support to the tribes in Gaul that he was fighting. However, Geoffrey claims that he launched an invasion after the Britons rejected his demand that they immediately submit to Roman rule. As this is the time that the Romans started to write down information about events occurring in Britain, it is often said to be when the “recorded history” of the island begins. Other medieval accounts of British history concur with this notion, for they mostly ignore the earlier centuries described in The History of the Kings of Britain. Gildas says nothing of Britain before the Romans. In Ecclesiastical History of the English People by Bede, Chapter 1 is a summary of Britain as an island, while Chapter 2 begins with the words “Britain remained unknown and unvisited by the Romans until the time of Gaius Julius Caesar.” Nennius and Henry of Huntington skip to the arrival of Julius Caesar after their descriptions of Britain being settled.

The account given by Geoffrey of Julius Caesar and his activities in Britain does not contradict Bede, Nennius, or Henry of Huntington in any major way, although he provides far greater detail. Each of the chronicles describe Caesar failing in his first invasion and defeating the united forces of Cassivelaunus in the second. Bede, unlike the others, asserts that the Romans lost control of Britain right after Caesar departed from the island and did not regain it until the reign of Emperor Claudius. Geoffrey tells his reader that Britain was reduced to a tributary state after the campaign led by Caesar, with Claudius invading when the Britons stopped paying the tribute owed to Rome. Between the initial subjugation and the resumption of war, Geoffrey says that the Britons would be ruled successively by Tenvantius, Cymbeline, and Guiderius. Tenvantius and Cymbeline are known to modern historians as descendants of Cassivelaunus who were later leaders of his tribe, and Cymbeline was another figure that Shakespeare penned a play about. Details about the war with Claudius, however, are very fanciful and therefore dubious.

Sometimes The History of the Kings of Britain downplays the importance of Roman rule at this time in favor of discussion of local affairs of the Britons. Both Bede and Geoffrey mention a certain King Lucius. They agree that, in 156 AD, Lucius was the first British king to convert to Christianity and that many other Britons were soon to follow in his footsteps. Lucius is mentioned in other medieval sources, and scholars today continue to debate whether or not he really existed. Geoffrey later describes the persecution of British Christians by the Emperor Diocletian, a despot whose oppressive actions are also condemned by Gildas and Bede. During their accounts of the Diocletian persecutions, Bede and Geoffrey both tell of the martyrdom of St. Alban. All of the chroniclers write that the Roman Empire struggled more and more with usurpers at this point in time, some of whom came from Britain, and that this weakened imperial resources. In a year that Bede assigns as 409 AD, the Romans were forced to withdraw from the island forever.

Geoffrey writes of a leader coming to power in Britain after the Roman departure named Vortigern. Gildas, Bede, Nennius, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, and Henry of Huntington all also include him. They discuss Vortigern warring with the Picts, whom Geoffrey says that he antagonized after he had some of them executed for assassinating his predecessor. It was what would happen next according to the medieval chroniclers, a tale which many modern historians dispute the accuracy of, that changed Britain forever. In the year said by The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles to have been 449 AD, Vortigern hired the Saxon brothers Hengist and Horsa to help him in the war that he was losing against the Picts. Hengist and Horsa, according to Geoffrey and the other chroniclers, were very successful in fighting the Picts. The History of the Kings of Britain says that this allowed the brothers to convince Vortigern to allow more and more Saxon warriors to come to Britain until they were able to turn on the army of the king.

The History of the Kings of Britain concludes with the victory of the Saxons but a glimmer of future hope for the Britons. Vortigern encountered a young Merlin, who told him of his doom and symbolized the events of the future by showing him a battle between a red and white dragon. This same prophetic vision is also found in the work of Nennius. After the death of Vortigern, the Britons enjoyed some military success against the Saxons and reached their peak of glory, says Geoffrey, under King Arthur. He died of wounds sustained in battle in 542 AD, yet the Britons continued to resist under eleven more kings until the death of King Cadwallader in 689 AD. Arthur is also described by Nennius and Henry of Huntington as having led battles against the Saxons. Historians today tend to dismiss the possibility of the existence of Arthur, just as they dismiss the value of Geoffrey, yet sometimes lore and oral tradition go a long way in outlining the events of history.

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dutch-and-flemish-painters · 1 year

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Jan de Herdt - Portrait of Emperor Leopold I - 1660s

oil on canvas

Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; Hungarian: I. Lipót; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain, Leopold became heir apparent in 1654 by the death of his elder brother Ferdinand IV. Elected in 1658, Leopold ruled the Holy Roman Empire until his death in 1705, becoming the second longest-ruling Habsburg emperor (46 years and 9 months). He was both a composer and considerable patron of music.

Leopold's reign is known for conflicts with the Ottoman Empire in the Great Turkish War (1683–1699) and rivalry with Louis XIV, a contemporary and first cousin (on the maternal side; fourth cousin on the paternal side), in the west. After more than a decade of warfare, Leopold emerged victorious in the east thanks to the military talents of Prince Eugene of Savoy. By the Treaty of Karlowitz, Leopold recovered almost all of the Kingdom of Hungary, which had fallen under Turkish power in the years after the 1526 Battle of Mohács.

Leopold fought three wars against France: the Franco-Dutch War, the Nine Years' War, and the War of the Spanish Succession. In this last, Leopold sought to give his younger son Charles the entire Spanish inheritance, disregarding the will of the late Charles II. Leopold started a war that soon engulfed much of Europe. The early years of the war went fairly well for Austria, with victories at Schellenberg and Blenheim, but the war would drag on until 1714, nine years after Leopold's death, which barely had an effect on the warring nations. When peace returned with the Treaty of Rastatt, Austria could not be said to have emerged as triumphant as it had from the war against the Turks.

Jan de Herdt, in Italy also called Il fiammingo (Antwerp, c. 1620 – between 1686 and 1690) was a Flemish painter and draughtsman. After training in Antwerp, he spent his entire career abroad, first in Northern Italy and later in Vienna and other cities in central Europe. He was mainly a portrait artist but also painted genre scenes as well as religious, mythological and allegorical subjects. He was part of a network of Flemish and Dutch painters working for the court, aristocracy and ecclesiastical institutions of central Europe.

#Jan de Herdt #golden age #antwerpen #Italy #Austria #portrait #leopold i #emperor

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officialyourdailyinspiration · 4 months

Text

Nine Things You Should Know About the Westminster Confession

by John R. Bower

After nearly 400 years of service, the Westminster Confession of Faith continues to provide Reformed and Presbyterian churches worldwide a vibrant summary of Scripture’s principal teachings. But how has this document, drawn from a strikingly different age, remained equally relevant to today’s church?

In exploring this question, we consider nine essential elements of the Confession whereby the 17th-century Reformed church can be seen as standing arm in arm with the 21st-century church and beyond.

I. The Westminster Confession was designed as a doctrinal compass to keep the scriptural bearings of the church true, even when tossed by error and division. Civil war had thrown the Church of England into political, social, and ecclesiastical upheaval, and as its first step toward rebuilding the church, Parliament convened a national assembly of clergy to advise on the most scriptural guides for doctrine, worship, and government. Between 1643 and 1648, the Westminster Assembly of Divines created six separate documents for equipping the church anew, but of these the Confession of Faith was key. It alone expressed the mind of the church concerning the truths of Scripture and meshed the documents of worship and government into a unified working system.

II. From its inception, the Confession stood subordinate to the Word of God. In writing the Confession of Faith, the assembly remained passionately committed to the Reformation dictum of sola Scriptura, that Scripture alone speaks with final authority in all areas of faith and life. Indeed, the Confession’s statement “On the Scripture” is the document’s first and longest chapter. Here, Scripture is declared the inspired, infallible, sufficient, understandable, and the supreme judge of all disputes. Throughout the assembly’s work, members were oath-bound to affirm only those propositions supported by Scripture. Reflecting this commitment to the Word, the Confession’s 33 chapters bristle with more than 4,000 verses.

The Confession’s 33 chapters bristle with more than 4,000 verses.

III. In presenting the core truths of Scripture, the Confession followed a comprehensive and unified system of faith, reaching as far back as the Apostle’s Creed. Indeed, among the major Protestant confessions of the Reformation (Augsburg, Belgic, French, Second Helvetic), not only were the principle truths of Scripture held in common, but these doctrines were sorted into the same broad system of faith in God and duty to God. Following its creedal predecessors, the Westminster Assembly carefully preserved this doctrinal division of faith and service—a distinction the Shorter Catechism more expressively rendered as “what we are to believe concerning God” and “what duty God requires of man.”

IV. In its opening chapters, the Confession represents the heart of Reformed orthodoxy and historic Christianity. Here, the doctrines of faith emerge in three parts: God’s creative work and man’s fall (chs. 1–6), Christ’s work as Redeemer (chs. 7–8) and the Holy Spirit’s work in applying redemption (chs. 9–19).

V. The remaining part of the Confession (chs. 20–33) describes the believer’s responsibility to serve God, a service that embraces our neighbor, the state, and the church. The church, however, provides the principle venue wherein we serve God. Moving through chapters 25–31, the Confession elaborates on the doctrine of the church, the communion of the saints, the sacraments, and the far-reaching scope of church discipline. And culminating the saint’s life of service to God is entrance into the church glorious, described by the resurrection of the dead and the last judgment (chs. 32–33).

VI. “Of Christian Liberty and Liberty of Conscience” affirms how the individual believer’s conscience is free to serve Christ alone. But this freedom of conscience is further subject to those lawful civil and ecclesiastical authorities instituted by Christ. Balancing the several God-ordained authorities over conscience proved one of the assembly’s greatest challenges in framing the Confession, especially when faced with increasingly autonomous parishioners and competing civil and ecclesiastical claims of authority.

VII. The Confession offers a superlative platform for expressing consensus on the doctrines of Scripture and building unity within the church at large. When the Westminster Assembly labored to rebuild the church in the 17th century, England—like Scotland and many regions on the continent—recognized only a single church, making unity a societal as well as an ecclesiastical imperative. Today, although multiple denominations have replaced the single church model of the Reformation, the Confession retains its place in fostering unity within, and between, Reformed and Presbyterian churches worldwide.

VIII. Found within each of these nine essentials of the Confession is the centrality of Christ’s church. Guided by Scripture alone, the Confession affords a doctrinal anchor expressing the breadth of faith within the framework of the historic church. Saints are carefully guided in rendering their fullest service to God, especially within the visible church, where they are built toward unity in the one faith. In fact, while the Confession can be seen as enveloping all the great solas of the Reformation, it excelled in advancing the “forgotten sola” of sola ecclessia, the church alone.

While the Confession can be seen as enveloping all the great solas of the Reformation, it excelled in advancing the ‘forgotten sola’ of sola ecclessia, the church alone.

IX. The Confession was not intended to serve as a doctrinal storehouse, but to be communicated to every member of every church. The Larger and Shorter Catechisms were composed for this purpose. Thus, in writing its catechisms, the assembly kept an “eye to the Confession.” But this focus meant more than replicating content; the catechisms effectively conveyed the purposes of the confession, for as the principles of faith, life, and the church were taught and memorized, they built unity in the one faith from the ground up.

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