The Empty Dragon

insulin has been mass produced (from animal extracts) since -1923-. slow acting insulin has existed since the ‘50s, and ‘human’ genetically engineered insulin (derived from E. coli bacteria) has existed since 1982.

insulin treatment for diabetes is not some new or ‘unproven’ treatment. according to beyondtype1, “Humalog rapid-acting insulin came on to the market with a list price of $21 a vial in 1997.” adjusting for inflation, a vial these days should cost about $34 at most. instead, it costs over $300. there is NO reason for it to be steadily gaining in price to the point that diabetics are unable to afford their lifesaving medication, other than the sheer inhuman greed of pharmaceutical manufacturers.

“ We’re a team of biohackers with a variety of backgrounds, and skills, and relationships to insulin and diabetes from many cities and countries around the world, including Oakland, California; Baltimore, Maryland; Paraiba, Brazil; Dakar, Senegal; Yaounde, Cameroon; and Puerto Rico. We’re working to develop the first practical, small-scale, community-centered model for insulin production to make insulin accessible to all. We envision a world in which communities in need have local sources of safe, affordable, high-quality insulin, and where people living with diabetes and their communities can own and govern the organizations that produce the medicine they depend on to survive. 

What We Do

We are creating an open-source (freely available) model for insulin production that centers on sustainable, small-scale manufacturing and open-source alternatives to production. We are developing protocols to produce short-acting (lispro) and long-acting (glargine) insulin, working on developing open-hardware equivalents to traditional production equipment, are researching sustainable regulation pathways to bring our insulin to the public, and are building capacities for local, small-scale manufacturing.

How Do I Participate?

Our work would not be possible without the support of volunteers, interns, and community advisors. We welcome people of all backgrounds from all over the world to bring their enthusiasm, time, connections, and experiences, both in life and in work. Our volunteers promote us on social media, build equipment, run experiments, write reports and blog posts, facilitate meetings, connect with other organizations and groups, meet with experts in the field, run virtual events, and contribute in designing tools, resources, and methods of all sorts.

Potential Partners

We welcome collaboration with other groups that share our mission―community labs, academic institutions, patient advocacy groups, and NGOs.

Donate

Your donation will help us get closer to our goal. With a healthy financial situation, we can pay for lab supplies, acquire lab equipment, recruit scientists, and pay for consultation fees for regulation and manufacturing experts.”

Autumn is here! We love fall! Quick, play in the leaves! 🍂 Have you seen this enormous mushroom? 🍄

I'm Thane of every hold in Skyrim, but all the Jarls hate my guts. They call me a miserable wretch and then offer me the nicest house in the city. I personally assassinated the Emperor, brought him back as a zombie and successfully negotiated a peace treaty with his generals while he wandered around the room snarling and moaning. I've gotten married to every single eligible bachelor and bachelorette in the country and they keep saying yes even though my previous spouses all died mysteriously while getting hit in the head with my enchanted war hammer. I'm pretty sure my horse is a daedra.

Everybody says the elder scrolls are powerful artifacts from before the dawn of time that have been lost to history, but I have two of them in my backpack next to my collection of severed witch heads and a couple of pies. The pies are a treat for my adopted children whom I love with all my heart, I haven't seen them in a while because I forgot which of my mansions I left them in. I have pledged my immortal soul to five different daedric princes.

I'm a serial killer. I'm a legendary hero. I'm an abomination in the eyes of gods, men and mer. I'm a delivery boy.

Persephone🥀🦇🌾🌼

Goddess-Queen of the Underworld, goddess of spring growth, grain seed, agriculture, necromancy, ghosts, & curses

🍁Invocation :

Persephone, glorious goddess,

fair one with hair that flows like rippened grain,

eyes that catch the clear blue sky,

a smile sweet yet shadowed,

O-light footed one who dances in flowered fields, I praise you.

Persephone, lovely one who knows the feel of sun on skin,

who knows as well the press of cold stone on warm flesh,

in the world of the living, no maid is so alive as you,

In the world of the dead, Persephone, you reign as queen, crowned with riches unsurpassed, enthroned in splendor,honored above all others.

Goddess, child of the earth, bride of the darkness, i honor you.

🍁About Persephone:

Symbols: Pomegranate & Torch

Sacred Animals: Bats, Black Rams, Parrots & all other talking birds, & Monkeys

Sacred Plants: Asphodel Wheat, Narcissus, Willow Tree, Lily, Ivy, Lily of the Valley, Oriental Lily, Maidenhair Fern, Daisy, & Lavender

Retinue: Hekate, Iacchus, & the Erinyes

Other names: Kore

Cult terms: terms related to her religious praxis

Eleusinion: Temple of the Eleusinian

Kthonia: Festival of Kthonia

🍁 Titles & Epithets:

Khthonia(Cthonia): of the earth

Azêsia(Azesia): Of the dried fruits, or who seeks

Brimô(Brimo): The Angry, The terrifying

Karpophoroi(Carpophori): Bringer of Fruit

Dêïônê(Deione): Daughter of Demeter

Despoina(Despoena): Ruling Goddess or The Mistress

Eleusina: Of Eleusis

Epainê(Epaine): Fearful

Melitôdês(Melitodes): Sweet As Honey

Praxidikê(Praxidice): Bringer Of Justice

Sôteira(Soteria): Savior

🍁Offerings

Pomegranates

Pomegranate juice

Honey

Dark Chocolate

Floral tea

Spring water

Bread

Grain

Cakes

Sweets

Flower crown

Wild flowers

Fake flowers

Rose with thorns

Dried flowers

Natural Moss

Jewelry

Keys

Potted plants

Floral, Lavender,Almond, Cinnamon, Vanilla, Narcissus, Bergamot, frankincense, storax, or pomegranate incense

Crushed Mint(HAS TO BE CRUSHED)

Crowns

Statues or paintings of rams, bats, and/or deer

Statues or paintings of her

Sugar skulls or floral design skulls(to represent her duality)

Things that are reminiscent of Spring (when she returns to Demeter), & Fall(when she reunites with Hades)

Autumn leaves

Spring flowers

Rose quartz, garnet, citrine, green tourmaline, topaz, black onyx, agate, quartz, pink tourmaline, malachite, jasper, coral, sapphire, and obsidian

Small animal bones

Animal skulls (real or fake)

Artwork

Poetry, hymns, letters

Seeds

Tarot cards(and/or other tools of divination)

21+ offerings

Pomegranate Wine

Honey infused wine

🍁Devotional acts

Tend to a garden or take care of a plant

Study herbalism

Learn about flowers & the seasonal cycle

Make a playlist of songs reminiscent of her

Meditate Outside

Go on nature walks or hikes

Clean up nature trails

Smell the flowers

Celebrate the coming of spring & her return

Celebrate the coming of Autumn & her reunion with Hades

Honor the dead

Visit graveyards & help clean them up

Honor Hades, her husband

Honor Demeter, her mother

Honor Zeus, her father

Honor Hekate, her companion

Honor the Erinyes/Furies, her servants, Tisiphone(vengeance), Megaera(jealousy), & Alecto(anger)

Dedicate an outfit to her

Wear jewelry dedicated to her

Wear pomegranate scented things

Tend to wild plants if they need care

Go barefoot more often & feel the earth

Honor the death of animals and if you can bury them or move them to wear nature will care for them, I personally do this now in utah but im moving to Las Vegas in November where theres no nature or soft ground so I’ll have to dispose of them i cant bury or anything so if this is the case for you too just say words of respect & pray for the spirit to find peace

Buy or make a Bouquet of Flowers

Place flowers on neglected graves

Spread seeds of native flowers on the sides of highways or other unincorporated areas

Wear something fancy

Wear a flower crown

Paint your nails dark red or wear red lipstick

Build up your night vision, be familiar with the darkness

Shadow work

Take time to enjoy the sun

Practice assertion & demand respect & a listening ear from others

Decorate your home with dried flowers in the winter

Hold people accountable to their actions, do not forgive easily

Grow a rose bush or buy roses

Visit an arboretum or large garden

Volunteer for organizations that clean and restore forgotten places-graveyards, empty plots of land, etc

Offer a few dollars to those in need

Wear floral or fruity scents

Spend time outside in the winter too

Stand up for the abused

Dance in the rain

Defy stereotypes

Take a candlelit bath

Don’t let anyone dictate who you can and can’t love

Practice self love

Write poetry, hymns, songs, and/or letters to her

Make art for her

Donate to those who can’t afford a funeral service

Support local farmers & beekeepers

Support those who are grieving especially if they’re financially struggling bc of the loss

Donate to environmentalist organizations to help combat climate change

Digital Devotions:

Make an E-shrine to her

Make a mood board for her

Make blogs about her, agriculture, cemeteries, seasonal cycles, climate change

When playing video games you can dedicate any agricultural or funeral related actions to her, if you play AC Odyssey you can also visit the Eleusian Temple, the cult center of the Eleusian Mysteries that devoted themselves to Demeter and Persephone & theres also the Temple of Demeter and Kore in Tegea you can visit

🍁Altar/Shrine ideas