OMG PHOS ART that poor poor child, ship of theseus has never been so sad and kick ass
Mild spoilers but the gold was so so very fucking awsome and like, the ending.... she... the moon ppl... dealing with all of #### in creation... its a lot. Also an interesting view on gnostic thought mixed with buddism that definitely didn't make me cry
your reminder that the “psychotic-disordered person is actually just able to see all the magic portals and has powers!” trope is not only overused but can also actively harm ppl w delusions especially
oh and the thing thats worse than this? telling actual psychotic-disordered ppl, in real life, that you think they are just “sensitive to spirits” or “able to hear god(s)” and it isnt actually psychosis. like i cant believe i have to say this, but that shit is INCREDIBLY harmful. it can stop people getting therapy, it can send people into psychotic episodes and paranoia, and its also just a dick move. this absolutely does happen and its messed up as fuck.
As part of the occult community , this. It doesn't matter what spirituality you engage with - psychosis is not divinity or a gift. It sucks and we try copeing by thinking that, however, that method of copeing is one of the most destructive.
I dont care what you believe in. Ask yourself, "Is this person experiencing psychosis" before affirming odd experiences or beliefs.
Remeber to speak about the good things in the world and your life. We write pages on pain an paragraphs on joy. So tell someone you love them, even if that person is in the mirror. Also to people who see this, I want to hear about the good things happening in your life!
If you want to take part in a little experiment in joy, tag or reblog with what is making you happiest in life right now. Have some friends do the same - there's more love and joy in the world than we think, so let's prove it!
I'll start, today my two cats cuddled for the first time, my cat cleo is new to our house and has been very defensive, but today she cuddled with my handsome boy chonks ! It made me smile even if it was just a little thing,
How about you?
>the baby's cleo and chonks. Cleo is in the dresser and chonks is DMimg a session. It looks like he didn't know the sorcerer had fireball :) ]
on anonymous social media there is more freedom but people still hesitate. ever had someone say to you as a kid "be careful what you post?". its because its a giant panopticon , whether by design or not.
a panopticon was a proposed prison idea, where there was a large dome and a tower in its center. in the tower was essentially one way glass and a guard. or, supposedly. see a panopticon works on the principle that if one person acted out the entire prison was punished. if you saw some one (which by design was everyone) act out you were implicated and also punished. imagine that one time in grade school someone had a phone out and the whole class got punished.
so, what happens is that the prisoners became the guards. you didn't want your cell mate acting out because that's a beating for you. so you stop them. and, here's the trick, after a certain point there is no guard. everyone knows there cell mate is watching for them to fuck up. they take care of it. why do you need police then? guards? there superfluous. don't need them, you have a prison full of them.
social media works the same damn way. you don't post something controversial b/c "what if X sees it, what if I get backlash?" the entire structure is policing each other because were scared of being policed. not physically but socially. this is where I think fear of "cancel culture" comes from. its not that your scared of some fed knocking on your door. no, people are scared of every follower, every employer seeing the graffiti on the prison walls. people dox and rally sure, but not in numbers that matter, not to *you*. but the idea, the thought that everyone is looking at you for the sake of a guard that left his post last week is what makes us scared.
its what the red scare was, its what Orwell tried to get people to avoid.
some things deserve punishment, some don't. both are actions are okay, but ask yourself. are you a prisoner or a guard? or can you tell the difference anymore.
just throwing it out there for you to think about. be careful of becoming a cop because your scared of cops.
social media is fucking weird.
I haven’t really looked yet but the translation of the bit where Lot daughters get him drunk and rape him or whatever, is that translation meaning a one by one or was this an orgy? This has made its way onto my Top Ten Horrific Questions List.
no clue, its kinda weird in general. I will say anything in genesis is... odd. at least from a scholarly point of view. its scribal school is actually quite late in the chronology of the OT, and later books have clear disagreements with it, namely over Noah and Adam. i would hazard a guess and say ambiguous. as far as I know the word doesn't really exist to differentiate between the two. then again my Hebrew is real real bad. most of the sodom narrative is just like, hey bad shit happened and power dynamics were reversed. but yeah.... i don't really know how to answer that in a way that means much other than , likely ambiguous. also probly the strangest question about religion I've ever gotten other than ; do Buddhists have popes?
not a bad thing, its the strange questions that find interesting stuff
Violence, Sexual themes
I want to read House of Leaves again but it has to be a physical book, or a pdf consisting of analog photographs of a slightly waterlogged and moldy copy of the physical book.
The great thing about house of leaves is you never get the book dirty, you add astetic.
Also also, do you think an MA in modern religions specifically might be a waste of time compared to something like social theory if I’m focused on documenting current/changing processes on the causes/needs/requirements for formations of religions? Like the modernizing pagans etc and how they’re demarcating based on like…idk even I can’t really figure it out but not so much historical sources as social concepts I guess is what I see.
modern religions are very much worth studying and a degree focusing on it is a wonderful thing. religion is an impure science and includes history and sociology. I avoid modernity because I don't like arguing with people's actual faiths for the most part, follow what you enjoy, just research it.
as a whole one of my best justifications is a simple question; name one event in history not influenced by religion in some way or another. from row vs wade to the invasions of alexander the pretty alright religion effects the world and it always has. when taking classes in the field you would be surprised how little time is given to actual religion and instead history and psychoanalysis.
in short, i study antiquity because no one is going to be offended by my hot take on Tiamat, Jesus hot takes make people uncomfortable. I think any form of learning more about the world is beautiful.
Idk man lol some of these kids worshipping Tiamat now I hope surprise you in a library somewhere. But yeah that’s all good point, probs gonna get some heat…
Fair enough, old gods new religion. I'm fine with any religion as long as your not actively harming , just do enough reasrch so it's not just appropriating a cool name. Worship who ever you like, just know what your geting in to ya know
Also also, do you think an MA in modern religions specifically might be a waste of time compared to something like social theory if I’m focused on documenting current/changing processes on the causes/needs/requirements for formations of religions? Like the modernizing pagans etc and how they’re demarcating based on like…idk even I can’t really figure it out but not so much historical sources as social concepts I guess is what I see.
modern religions are very much worth studying and a degree focusing on it is a wonderful thing. religion is an impure science and includes history and sociology. I avoid modernity because I don't like arguing with people's actual faiths for the most part, follow what you enjoy, just research it.
as a whole one of my best justifications is a simple question; name one event in history not influenced by religion in some way or another. from row vs wade to the invasions of alexander the pretty alright religion effects the world and it always has. when taking classes in the field you would be surprised how little time is given to actual religion and instead history and psychoanalysis.
in short, i study antiquity because no one is going to be offended by my hot take on Tiamat, Jesus hot takes make people uncomfortable. I think any form of learning more about the world is beautiful.
Hey friend i know you’re doing Inana and Aphrodite but what do you think about them or the epic and the tree re lilith because I’m scared I didn’t realize how serious folks get about her like worshipping her in modernity reasons and I was like…I should ask.
most people don't realize what Lilith's purpose is in Jewish myth.
the narrative of Lilith not being subservient to Adam and the first woman is a relatively new concept (first appearing in an Islamic semi-satirical text and an extra-canonical book by a priest; named the book of Adam and eve. both dating to about the 700's CE she existed in folklore long before those books). for most of history she was just a demon that was samiel's (what would become Satan) favorite wife. etymology her name is related to a class of beings known as Lilit. in Mesopotamia the Lilit were night demons that raped children and ate baby's in the cradle, however myths change and gods are mailable. the only issue in my opinion with left hand path schools worshiping Lilith is that in both texts she absolutely hates the daughters of eve, mostly because they were favored over her daughters. if only reading the parts where she is not submissive to Adam then like there's no problem using her as a LHP feminist icon. but most myths around her she would not actually like the children of eve even if they swore loyalty to her.
however goddesses change, and all that. just like read the full history and implications before signing binding oaths. she isn't what a lot of new age religions have appropriated her as
*a transcribed conversation with my boyf*
Road work ahead uh, I SURE HOPE IT DOES
/very quietly / my heads not in a good place right now
My boyf laughing: I feel like I would see that on tumblur tagged under "mecore or some shit"
does anyone have like a default obsession
like your mind switches through these current obsessions and once the hype kind of dies down, there’s always this one fandom that it switches back to when there’s nothing else new and it’s like always there without fail
I have such a default obsession im geting a degree in it :/
i’m spending today thinking about how saber toothed cats ALSO probably had a potato form. how they also had a stage where they were fat little babies with very triangle tails and tiny squeaky voices. how they also probably play wrestled and failed badly at calculating jumps.
i’m going to fistfight god for killing them off before i could personally see fat potato saber kittens
Like this?
hey what of gnostic influence in ireland? you know anything on that?
not particularly, i know that Irenaeus / Herodotus wrote very very passingly about those the Irish/ Scotts under the general "Germanic" title. from what i understand gnostikos didn't have a school that would have moved that far up before the eradication order. however its entirely possible and likely plausible, I just haven't personally read up on it.
i know there is a lot of esoteric schools of thought in Ireland but i haven't been able to read much on it (mainly because of source material being burned or never written
Sethian, valentinian , or a secret third option when it comes to gnostikos?
Also what got you into gnostic study?
Also are you interested in gnostic Islam or hermeticism (either pre or post Renaissance. It makes a huge diffrence) ?
right, 1) might love you
I will pick a secret option of the Mandae, who are considered the only surviving Gnostic sect. Their history involves a claim as a "People of the Book" and may be one of the groups that were called the Sabians mentioned 3 times in the Quran. They used to live in Iraq until the US invasion, and then kinda scattered to neighboring nations as well as US and Europe. They're so secretive. I'm soooo interested.
I was (unfortunately) raised Roman Catholic so I was doing confirmation idk maybe 12-14 and I had to take all these classes on the religion and the catholic version of history. I read about gnostics from my dads bookshelf, I think in a volume in a set. I was mad about something idk what but focused on right after JC and then afterwards onwards and the Gnostics were ofc in there :) so basically what got me into them is that I resented the lecturer.
I ended up doing a history BA with a specialization in Muslim Studies thru the religious studies dept so was always within arms-length of Gnosticism, and you can just sort of always feel its influence. And I got really really into "those Greeks" so the whole Dionysian bit. Like 1/3 of those damn plays oh look there they are.
I am into the interactions with Islam, particularly in Ismailism and with the Sufis. I think it's pretty obvious the influences there too.
In regards to Hermeticism yes absolutely pre renaissance, the greeky-egypty Hermeticism and the Asclepius and Corpus. Was part of my Greeks phase.
ok now you must also answer the questions
ah, the Mandaeans. good pick, an original one too! there is a sect in California strangely enough, still very private but its fun to know. i was sad to learn that the only surviving group cant really give us examples of rituals, the diaspora with a dash of syncretism makes it to where we are still not sure what the actual fuck gnostic baptism looked like. all we know is that baptism/communion were defiantly not the catholic/Baptist variety. and had something to do with "the waters of life" which may or may not have been fire (btw i use the word sect in the least pejorative way possible)
as for my pick... hmmm. sethians are fun, don't get me wrong, however it looks like there was a few schools of thought within the sethian school, some of which im not the fondest of for the racism bits, however generally sethian is were i vibe at ; if that is the correct term for the school (book of judas, reality of the rulers and a lot of the john/Simon texts are a fun read. Noriel is a personal favorite figure of mine. just because etymologically her name is both star and dragon. and she destroyed the ark for not being let on by breathing flame on it with the help of Eleleth was generally bad ass).
as for interest fairly similar story with a few bits shuffled. grew up super Mormon, became a priest (not something impressive in Mormonism) left at 16-17ish but was already deeply invested in mythology and Buddhism. took a few years of biochem with a specialization in genome editing, stopped for ethical reasons ( its an area we should not play god. not for like personal belief reasons but for Manhattan project reasons. did you know you can engineer a virus to only target a specific ethnicity? fucking terrifying.) instead moved to religious studies where i learned my second rate school has a FUCKIN WILD religious study's department. most of my functional knowledge of Gnosticism comes from a professor who helped translate the nag Hammadi texts and still actively translates the dead sea scrolls. (this man hates me btw, still take every class he puts out. also the only person i know to casually walk into class and say "i found some weird stuff in the dead sea scrolls last night so were talking about that today") and my specialty is religion of antiquity and esoterism , gnostic checks both boxes so yeah, I know far to much about it. writing my MA thesis next year about how Aphrodite and Inana are likely the same goddess and its terrifying.
I enjoy sufi islam, however i am most certainly not qualified to make commentary on it. as for hermeticism... the shortest way i can say it without writing a few thousand words is yes.
Islam is unfortunately not my field (and by that i mean i know jack shit beyond the basics), I'm more of a first temple period Judaism kinda guy. i will tear my hair out if i can't find more on Asherah though.
and the Greeks are great fun to look at. percy jackson ruined a generation. I feel like it's a prerequisite for *limp wristed hand motion* and honestly the world is better for it.
okay here me out though- what are your thoughts on Manicheism, those wild wild folks. (also have a sect ;conveniently in California, and Mani died in the most metal way possible. i meAN A FLESH SCARECROW?!)
(p.s. your one of the only people I've run into who know about Gnosticism- that is pretty damn cool mate.)
how does one begin studying gnosticism?
Hey! Hope all is well with you love. My recommendations if you’re starting to learn about Gnosticism would definitely read through:
These texts are a great introduction on the general thoughts and beliefs. That being said, ‘Gnosticism’ encompasses a wide group of people with varying beliefs. Very similar to how ‘Protestant’ includes denominations such as Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians. So in the same way, there are different sects of Gnostic beliefs (i.e. Sethianism, Valentinism, Manichaeism, etc.) but these texts are pretty good starting points. And they’re not horrifically lengthy either.
I would also recommend the Gospels of the New Testament. As well as the first six chapters of Genesis. I wouldn’t say that this is necessarily required depending on what your personal beliefs are but I personally do read the Bible and I think it would be beneficial to at the very least to read the ‘canonical’ creation story of Genesis because it provides a good foundation so you can better understand what is being talked about in the books above.
I hope this was helpful. I really tried not to throw too much information your way. If it was a bit overboard, reading the first two bulletpoints would definitely suffice (which is why I italicized them). And I’m going to be very biased here and say I would definitely stay away from Thelemites claiming to be Gnostic. Anyways, be blessed love.
Reblogging for the nice collection of text links there ty vm
If I can add on , "the gnostic scripture" is an anthology of naghamadi texts and some other lesser known texts with a splash of the PGM. Its one of the better translations out there
ok some days being visibly homo is the most wonderful thing in the world. an old woman walking her dog stopped to say hello to me and I asked if i could say hi to her dog. she seemed really excited and told me "his name is rupert brooke. i named him after a gay poet from the era of the first world war. he had red hair just like my dogs fur". then she leans in and whispers like she's divulging some great secret and says "i don't usually tell people about the gay part"
I didn’t know cheetahs meow I’ve always thought they roar my whole life has been a lie
Ok but the other one is purring so hard
If I ever don’t reblog this assume I’m dead
Fun fact: technically, because of its inability to roar and its ability to purr, the cheetah is not a ‘big cat’ (or Great Cat) - they are still classified as Lesser Cats.
Also you haven’t heard anything until you hear them cheep.
YOU CANNOT JUST SAY THAT AND NOT PROVIDE A VIDEO
I HAVE REALISED MY MISTAKE AND SHALL RECTIFY IT:
Cheeps.
Filed under: Things I Was Not Prepared For
hello stranger, I see that the world is having a hard time right now, and I feel the need to say something.
you deserve love. if the world is falling apart, if you feel like its hell right now. you deserve love.
if you hate yourself, you deserve love.
if your life is perfect, you deserve love.
being loved and cared about is not a privilege, it is a right that so many people seem to not have.
find love from the trees, from a pet, from a random stranger on the internet.
but most importantly , you deserve love from the face in the mirror. I have I favor to ask. next time you see yourself in the mirror, even if it feels like a lie, say to yourself "this person deserves love."
I know what it is like to suffer. I truly do. but I also know what it can mean to have that little bit of love in your day.
so please. from one person dwelling in a hell to another, show yourself just a little love today.
because you don't just deserve it for the things you do or your family/friends. you deserve it just because you exist.
and because if you can read this you have chosen to keep existing despite the hardships. that in itself that is beautiful
shanti shanti shanti
