E-Grimoire

Fuckin FINALLY.

The article's behind a paywall, so I had to grab a screenshot fast. It's not the clearest picture, and I may have cut some off.

Here's the article, if you can get around the paywall.

From BBC News via Yahoo News:

NHS England charter to stress biological sex when placing patients in wards

Transgender women should not be put on single-sex female NHS wards, the government is proposing.

The measure is part of a raft of changes to the NHS Constitution for England, the charter of rights for patients.

The proposals stress the importance of biological sex for the first time when it comes to same-sex accommodation and intimate care.

In both cases, the rights are available only where possible.

For example, same-sex accommodation rights, which have existed for years, can and are breached where there is a clinically urgent need to admit and treat a patient and do not extend to areas such as critical care or accident and emergency.

The guidance also means that trans men should not be housed on single-sex male wards.

Under the proposals:

transgender people, whose gender identity differs from their biological sex, may be provided single rooms, where appropriate

patients will have the right to request a person of the same biological sex delivers any intimate care

Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said it was about making it clear that "sex matters".

"We want to make it abundantly clear that if a patient wants same-sex care, they should have access to it wherever reasonably possible," she said.

"By putting this in the NHS Constitution, we're highlighting the importance of balancing the rights and needs of all patients, to make a healthcare system that is faster, simpler and fairer to all."

'Trampled over'

Maya Forstater, of the Sex Matters campaign group, said the changes were "excellent news".

"The confusion between 'sex' and 'gender' in official policies like the NHS Constitution is what has enabled women's rights to be trampled over in the name of transgender identities," she said.

But Cleo Madeleine, of Gendered Intelligence, said robust policies were already in place and the government had its priorities wrong.

"After 14 years of austerity, medical professionals are crying out for more funding, more resources, and better conditions for staff and patients," she said.

"The government seems hell-bent on pursuing its obsession with the transgender community instead of addressing these longstanding needs."

'Martha's rule'

The changes are part of a wider review of the NHS Constitution, which the government must complete every 10 years.

They also include a plan to embed patients and their loved ones' right to access a rapid review from outside the care team if the patient is deteriorating.

This is the right behind "Martha's rule", which is being introduced in the NHS, to ensure patients know they can ask for a second opinion, with the government providing funding to hospitals for posters and leaflets informing patients and their families.

Martha Mills died aged 13, after being admitted to King's College Hospital, south London, in 2021, having injured her pancreas slipping on to the handlebars of her bike while cycling.

She later developed sepsis - but with better care, could have survived, an inquest found.

All the changes will be consulted on over the next eight weeks, before the constitution is updated later this year.

Labour's shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: "Rights on paper are worthless unless they are delivered in practice.

I spend a lot of time visiting various graveyards, as most of you know quite well. it is curiosity, and passion, historical and cultural fascination, but also respect - and so often it is less about death and more about life, and the living. 

but death is of course the most prominent part of this, and one that demands to be acknowledged.

the cemetary I visited today - gray and somber, and still damp from freshly melted, dirty snow - is one of the bigger ones in the Basin, and lies across the power plant. it is gray, and ugly, and lonely.

how strange then, the open forget-me-not blue sky spread above the rows, and the brick-red power plant chimneys looming over it. life is so busy around it, and so impossible to ignore.

the dead, on the contrary, lie on the verge of oblivion.

but I want to remember it, and commemorate some things here - so I will ramble about it under the cut. those of you who are curious, let me share some things about this particular place with you.

you know me, this will mostly be melancholic wonderings - death, the dead, the living, the melancholy, the forgotten ones, the tragic ones.

the first things you see is the power plant; the second the wall and angel statues surrounding the place.

third, the neglect, the mess, the sad reality of what happens to so many gravestones, and graves, and the dead.

not a new or original sight, of course, especially not for someone used to the reality of Polish graveyards. and yet, there are countless of those - most sunken in, or devoured by bushes and weeds, ruined, broken, many nameless and forgotten - but every single one evokes the same strange and lonely sadness.

however, the saddest part - one I do not have many photos of, even though I spent the most time there - is the part where children are buried, in the upper half of the cemetary.

the lower half also has a sector for children, but it is newer, and taken care of.

the upper one is mostly bushes. mounds of grass which you realise are graves. so, so many of them. some still have crosses, some even gravestones.

some are, as they have always been, nameless, abandonded, given back to the earth.

it goes on for quite a distance - the grass and bushes you see are actually mounds, some still have remnants of candles, wood, stone. most have nothing. to the left the sector gets better - graves date around 1940-50, and many of them still have decipherable names. only one seems like there’s someone still visiting.

and then I always wonder - should that be a happy sight? of people who moved on, carried on, lived through this tragedy - or perhaps people who have already joined those little ones, and there are no more tears.

yet, it is heartbreaking. it takes a long time to get to some of them, even to just say a prayer, remember, pick up old plastic or glass - because you have to be careful, most of them have no stones, every step has to be coordinated, or you’ll step where they rest.

but the plants will bloom. the birds are already singing, and some of those little graves are adorned in hawthorn hips from the nearby tree.

there’s a cat wandering around, unhappy with my presence - I think I’ve interrupted his supper.

and finally, a part that always chills me, and something that awakens not only deep respect but also a strange and profound realisation of the connection - seeing the faces of those who passed so so long ago.

… I stepped into those woods and my life began.

Lunar Eclipse

Rahdue’s Wheel, a 78-card spread.

If you were wondering what this would be like, wonder no more.

Since my best friend and I have a great deal of magickal motivation and are clearly insane, WE COMPLETED THIS READING.

It was roughly 5 hours of direct cardwork and reading, but we took breaks for food and rest, so the total time spent, between taking the cards out of the box and putting them back in, was about 9 HOURS.

(Photo ft. bad lighting and my unbrushed hair.)

I had the privilege of choosing the cards, setting them up, and giving the reading for my much-beloved @haemoferedoll, who was a very patient and open querent.

By the end of the reading, we were decidedly exhausted.  My eyes were blurry, my head was swimming, my brain seemed to have deteriorated into rude, viscous mush, and my throat felt raw and sore from having talked so much.  Even my joints were achy.  I was basically an old crone by the end of it.

But, oh, let me learn you a thing.  THIS SHIT WAS  

E N L I G H T E N I N G.

The cards spelled out a clear story, with significant life lessons, warnings, and even illuminating information about past lives.  I’ve honestly never had a reading with such clear and definitive messages.  It was like the veil just parted to let the universe throw us some handy-dandy-4-1-1.  

For real, the cards were super specific and helpful.

Actually, after we were done, I was told that the reading was “more helpful than years of therapy.”~.  Potential hyperbole aside, I think the reading really did assist real and significant progress for my friend, which I’m wicked pumped about. 

IF YOU WANT TO DO THIS READING YOURSELF, I say to fuckin’ go for it.  It was a great experience as a diviner, an awesome chance to practice, and very affirming of my ability, and @haemoferedoll found it really helpful.  

However, PLEASE read all of the detailed information on the spread and how it works BEFORE you start the reading. If you don’t, you’re gonna have a hell of a bad time.  

Also, be aware that a significant portion of the reading revolves around past lives. If that doesn’t align with your personal beliefs, I would suggest you either skip those parts of the reading, or replace them with specific questions of your own.

ALSO.  I’m pretty sure this reading doesn’t NEED to last so long.  I was extremely thorough, and I’m very picky with choosing cards, so just the process of setting up took almost an hour.  

I also personally went into a lot detail with helping my friend interpret the cards and their story.  If you simply do a quick overview, I bet the reading would be way faster and much less of an ordeal.

For me though, the “ordeal” of it made it an experience.  It was absolutely worth the effort for what I got out of it.

TL;DR: We did the thing.  We liked the thing.  The thing was exhausting.  If you do the thing yourself, do the thing your own way and be smart about it.