spiraling summer

After 20 painstaking years of research, Eva Ramon Gallegos, a Mexican scientist has finally developed a cure to eliminate 100 percent human papillomavirus and prevent the spread of cervical cancer among women. (x) (x) (x) Y’all they cured HPV

“Hope you’re a harvest god,” Arepo said, and set up an altar and burnt two stalks of wheat. “It’d be nice, you know.” He looked down at the ash smeared on the stone, the rocks all laid askew, and coughed and scratched his head. “I know it’s not much,” he said, his straw hat in his hands. “But - I’ll do what I can. It’d be nice to think there’s a god looking after me.”

The next day he left a pair of figs, the day after that he spent ten minutes of his morning seated by the temple in prayer. On the third day, the god spoke up.

“You should go to a temple in the city,” the god said. Its voice was like the rustling of the wheat, like the squeaks of fieldmice running through the grass. “A real temple. A good one. Get some real gods to bless you. I’m no one much myself, but I might be able to put in a good word?” It plucked a leaf from a tree and sighed. “I mean, not to be rude. I like this temple. It’s cozy enough. The worship’s been nice. But you can’t honestly believe that any of this is going to bring you anything.”

“This is more than I was expecting when I built it,” Arepo said, laying down his scythe and lowering himself to the ground. “Tell me, what sort of god are you anyway?”

“I’m of the fallen leaves,” it said. “The worms that churn beneath the earth. The boundary of forest and of field. The first hint of frost before the first snow falls. The skin of an apple as it yields beneath your teeth. I’m a god of a dozen different nothings, scraps that lead to rot, momentary glimpses. A change in the air, and then it’s gone.”

The god heaved another sigh. “There’s no point in worship in that, not like War, or the Harvest, or the Storm. Save your prayers for the things beyond your control, good farmer. You’re so tiny in the world. So vulnerable. Best to pray to a greater thing than me.”

Arepo plucked a stalk of wheat and flattened it between his teeth. “I like this sort of worship fine,” he said. “So if you don’t mind, I think I’ll continue.”

“Do what you will,” said the god, and withdrew deeper into the stones. “But don’t say I never warned you otherwise.”

Arepo would say a prayer before the morning’s work, and he and the god contemplated the trees in silence. Days passed like that, and weeks, and then the Storm rolled in, black and bold and blustering. It flooded Arepo’s fields, shook the tiles from his roof, smote his olive tree and set it to cinder. The next day, Arepo and his sons walked among the wheat, salvaging what they could. The little temple had been strewn across the field, and so when the work was done for the day, Arepo gathered the stones and pieced them back together.

“Useless work,” the god whispered, but came creeping back inside the temple regardless. “There wasn’t a thing I could do to spare you this.”

“We’ll be fine,” Arepo said. “The storm’s blown over. We’ll rebuild. Don’t have much of an offering for today,” he said, and laid down some ruined wheat, “but I think I’ll shore up this thing’s foundations tomorrow, how about that?” 

The god rattled around in the temple and sighed.

A year passed, and then another. The temple had layered walls of stones, a roof of woven twigs. Arepo’s neighbors chuckled as they passed it. Some of their children left fruit and flowers. And then the Harvest failed, the gods withdrew their bounty. In Arepo’s field the wheat sprouted thin and brittle. People wailed and tore their robes, slaughtered lambs and spilled their blood, looked upon the ground with haunted eyes and went to bed hungry. Arepo came and sat by the temple, the flowers wilted now, the fruit shriveled nubs, Arepo’s ribs showing through his chest, his hands still shaking, and murmured out a prayer. 

“There is nothing here for you,” said the god, hudding in the dark. “There is nothing I can do. There is nothing to be done.” It shivered, and spat out its words. “What is this temple but another burden to you?”

“We -” Arepo said, and his voice wavered. “So it’s a lean year,” he said. “We’ve gone through this before, we’ll get through this again. So we’re hungry,” he said. “We’ve still got each other, don’t we? And a lot of people prayed to other gods, but it didn’t protect them from this. No,” he said, and shook his head, and laid down some shriveled weeds on the altar. “No, I think I like our arrangement fine.”

“There will come worse,” said the god, from the hollows of the stone. “And there will be nothing I can do to save you.”

The years passed. Arepo rested a wrinkled hand upon the temple of stone and some days spent an hour there, lost in contemplation with the god.

And one fateful day, from across the wine-dark seas, came War.

Arepo came stumbling to his temple now, his hand pressed against his gut, anointing the holy site with his blood. Behind him, his wheat fields burned, and the bones burned black in them. He came crawling on his knees to a temple of hewed stone, and the god rushed out to meet him.

“I could not save them,” said the god, its voice a low wail. “I am sorry. I am sorry. I am so so sorry.” The leaves fell burning from the trees, a soft slow rain of ash. “I have done nothing! All these years, and I have done nothing for you!”

“Shush,” Arepo said, tasting his own blood, his vision blurring. He propped himself up against the temple, forehead pressed against the stone in prayer. “Tell me,” he mumbled. “Tell me again. What sort of god are you?”

“I -” said the god, and reached out, cradling Arepo’s head, and closed its eyes and spoke.

“I’m of the fallen leaves,” it said, and conjured up the image of them. “The worms that churn beneath the earth. The boundary of forest and of field. The first hint of frost before the first snow falls. The skin of an apple as it yields beneath your teeth.” Arepo’s lips parted in a smile.

“I am the god of a dozen different nothings,” it said. “The petals in bloom that lead to rot, the momentary glimpses. A change in the air -” Its voice broke, and it wept. “Before it’s gone.”

“Beautiful,” Arepo said, his blood staining the stones, seeping into the earth. “All of them. They were all so beautiful.”

“Oh, poor god,” she said, “With no-one to bury your last priest.” Then she paused, because she was from far away. “Or is this how the dead are honored here?” The god roused from its contemplation.

“His name was Arepo,” it said, “He was a sower.”

Sora startled, a little, because she had never before heard the voice of a god. “How can I honor him?” She asked.

“Bury him,” the god said, “Beneath my altar.”

“All right,” Sora said, and went to fetch her shovel.

“Wait,” the god said when she got back and began collecting the bones from among the broken twigs and fallen leaves. She laid them out on a roll of undyed wool, the only cloth she had. “Wait,” the god said, “I cannot do anything for you. I am not a god of anything useful.”

Sora sat back on her heels and looked at the altar to listen to the god.

“When the Storm came and destroyed his wheat, I could not save it,” the god said, “When the Harvest failed and he was hungry, I could not feed him. When War came,” the god’s voice faltered. “When War came, I could not protect him. He came bleeding from the battle to die in my arms.” Sora looked down again at the bones.

“I think you are the god of something very useful,” she said.

“What?” the god asked.

The god sat in his peaceful home, staring out at the distant road, to pedestrians, workhorses, and carriages, raining leaves that swirled around bustling feet. How long had it been? The world had progressed without him, for he knew there was no help to be given. The world must be a cruel place, that even the useful gods have abandoned, if farms can flood, harvests can run barren, and homes can burn, he thought.

He had come to understand that humans are senseless creatures, who would pray to a god that cannot grant wishes or bless upon them good fortune. Who would maintain a temple and bring offerings with nothing in return. Who would share their company and meditate with such a fruitless deity. Who would bury a stranger without the hope for profit. What bizarre, futile kindness they had wasted on him. What wonderful, foolish, virtuous, hopeless creatures, humans were.

So he painted the sunset with yellow leaves, enticed the worms to dance in their soil, flourished the boundary between forest and field with blossoms and berries, christened the air with a biting cold before winter came, ripened the apples with crisp, red freckles to break under sinking teeth, and a dozen other nothings, in memory of the man who once praised the god’s work on his dying breath.

“Hello, God of Every Humble Beauty in the World,” called a familiar voice.

The squinting corners of the god’s eyes wept down onto curled lips. “Arepo,” he whispered, for his voice was hoarse from its hundred-year mutism.

“I am the god of devotion, of small kindnesses, of unbreakable bonds. I am the god of selfless, unconditional love, of everlasting friendships, and trust,” Arepo avowed, soothing the other with every word.

“That’s wonderful, Arepo,” he responded between tears, “I’m so happy for you—such a powerful figure will certainly need a grand temple. Will you leave to the city to gather more worshippers? You’ll be adored by all.”

“No,” Arepo smiled.

“Farther than that, to the capitol, then? Thank you for visiting here before your departure.”

“No, I will not go there, either,” Arepo shook his head and chuckled.

“Farther still? What ambitious goals, you must have. There is no doubt in my mind that you will succeed, though,” the elder god continued.

“Actually,” interrupted Arepo, “I’d like to stay here, if you’ll have me.”

The other god was struck speechless. “…. Why would you want to live here?”

Now, if you are like me, you think ‘how can I possibly make a difference?’ when it comes to conservation and helping restore our earth to a health state of being. Not all witches do this (but they should in my opinion because we all live here and we are all responsible for nature’s survival. Without nature, there are no humans). But, in reality, everyone can make a difference. Even something small can really help. But not all of us have the funds or the means to do extreme things like sell our cars and take a bike to work, or donate buckets of money to reforestation funds. So I thought I would put together a list of easy and simple ways that we, as broke young people and witches, can help change the world for the better.

Tools of the Trade//

Books, for research

Potted plants or a garden

The latest green technology

Environmentalist Activism flyers and pamphlets

Chamomile Infused Water

Moss Agate, Tree Agate, Rainforest Jasper, Jade Crystals

Reducing Your Carbon Footprint//

What is a carbon footprint? Well, according to Oroeco, “The greenhouse gases that cause climate change all eventually trace back to how we spend our money, from the food we eat to the energy we use to power our homes and move around. Since climate change is so big, it’s tempting to think it’s someone else’s problem. But companies won’t clean up until we stop buying their products; politicians won’t enact meaningful policies until we demand them; and most folks won’t change their lifestyles until they see friends and neighbors do the same.”

Every individual creature on the planet emits a carbon footprint. From electricity you use, food you eat, the car you drive, it all effects climate change and global warming.

But because everyone is part of the problem, everyone also has the potential to become a part of the solution.

Keeping track of your footprint doesn’t have to be stressful, either. It can be fun! Using a website/app like Oroeco, which helps you calculate your carbon footprint and guides you into making greener choices can help stop climate change!

Some of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint can be found below!

Ways to Go Green//

Cut back on Electricity use. Turn lights off when you aren’t in the room, unplug electronics when they are not in use, start air drying clothes instead of using electric dryers, and turn the AC up a few degrees in the summer and the heat down a few degrees in the winter.

Cut back on Water use. Cutting back to a 5 minute shower can save you anywhere from 10 to 100 dollars a year, depending on how long you  normally take in the shower. Try to cut back to doing laundry once or twice a week. Leave the water off while you brush your teeth.

Switch to a Renewable energy source. Most energy companies have a ‘renewable energy’ alternative, like for PSO it’s WindChoice.

Recycle. This one sucks for me because the nearest recycling place is over 20 miles away. But it is something I definitely want to do more of. Aluminum and tin, plastic, glass, and cardboard are all good things to recycle.

Cut back on car use, if possible. For some of us, that isn’t possible. Right now my wife takes the car to and from work and that’s pretty much all we do. Some people who live in cities can take public transportation or walk, but that’s not always an option. You can cut back by combining all your errands into one trip, and by carpooling.

Reduce Food Waste. This one is pretty straight forward, I think. Don’t buy things you won’t eat, and try to finish your plate. Try to shop for foods with little or recyclable packaging and that will not go bad right away. Start a compost jar to help reduce the amount of food waste you toss in the trash.

Use a Thermos and reusable cups and bottles, rather than one time use plastic containers.

Bring your own reusable shopping bags when shopping, rather than use plastic or paper.

Plant a tree. Or grow one in a pot. Growing a container garden is actually pretty easy, you can even do it indoors. Here’s a list of plants that can be grown indoors in containers. Every little plant helps put out oxygen and combats greenhouse effects. If you can’t do this, then you can help plant trees by using the Ecosia search engine, which uses their ad rev to plant trees (I’ve already helped plant over 100 trees just by using their search engine) or you can donate a tree for 1 dollar at OneTreePlanted, and even pick where it gets put in the ground. My detailed pitch for OneTreePlanted for witches can be found here.

Recycle or Donate old electronics and batteries, rather than throwing them away. Best Buy has a pretty great recycling program for electronics, and almost all of them are free. I think that Amazon may have a trade in program, too.

Donate old clothes. Don’t throw them out! Goodwill and local thrift shops are great for this.

Cut back on Disposable Razors. Use green products like Preserve Triple Razor, which require only the replacements of the heads. Good razor care, such as keeping the head dry after it to prevent rusting, can increase a good razor’s life by months. In many places it is illegal to recycle disposable razors and over 1 billion disposable razors are dumped into landfills every year. Preserve also makes toothbrushes.

Start using a Menstrual Cup, like Diva Cup or EvaCup. 20 billion estimated pounds of menstrual product waste will be deposited in landfills just this year alone. EvaCup is made of medical grade silicone, lasts for up to 15 years, and costs less than 30 dollars. It could save you thousands of dollars that would’ve been spent on Eco-harmful tampons and pads.

Start using Cotton Menstrual Pads. More well known brands such as GladRags and LunaPads can be expensive, but they all make a huge dent. One cotton washable pad is equal to about 600 disposable pads in its lifetime. I get mine off of ebay for like 2 bucks a pad, so that may be a better choice for those of us who aren’t as well off.

Start using a Deodorant Crystal. No more buying chemically tainted deodorant for you! Stick Deodorant has been known to only treat symptoms of smelliness, and last maybe a month. They produce plastic and bio waste. Deodorant crystals are all natural, actually work to kill of the bacteria that causes body odor, can last from anywhere from one to five years, and are completely biodegradable.

Use less cleaning chemicals. Vinegar, Baking Soda and Lemon are all eco friendly cleaning supplies you could swap out for your chemical based cleaners.

Switch to glass and metal, over plastic and paper. This goes for containers of any kind, really. They last longer and are easier to recycle.

Use Solar Power. You can get solar power banks for charging electronics, solar powered fans and lights, etc that cut back on the use of harmful electricity.

Learn about and switch to eco-friendly tech. My favorite website for keeping up with conservation news is Earth911.

Keep indoor and outdoor house plants that absorb and clean up harmful chemicals and air pollution. See list below!

Houseplants that Clean up Air Pollution//

(please note some are not same for pet owners)

Aloe Vera (cleans formaldehyde)

Bamboo (cleans benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene)

Snake Plant (cleans benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, and xylene)

Boston Fern (cleans formaldehyde and xylene)

Garden Mum ( ammonia, benzene, formaldehyde, and xylene)

Spider Plant (cleans formaldehyde and xylene)

Ficus (benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene)

Dracaena (cleans benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, and xylene)

Peace Lily (ammonia, benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene)

Carbon Offsetting Programs//

A Carbon Offsetting Program is a charity or non profit organization that is making an effort to combat climate change and pollution. COPs are very important, but also a dime a dozen. I am going to list just a few of my favorite ones that are pretty affordable and I think are doing pretty important stuff.

Plant Trees! You can do this by either actually going out, getting a tree and planting it on your property (just be sure its a species native to your area!), or by donating trees for a dollar a tree on OneTreePlanted, or by switching to the Ecosia Search Engine, which uses their ad rev to plant trees. They have an app for pretty much every internet browser, as well as a smart phone app.

Ocean Waste Removal and Water Pollution Reduction. There are a few programs for cleaning up all the trash dumped into the worlds oceans, but a few that I prefer are The Ocean Cleanup and the Seabin. For Water Pollution programs I really like the Freshwater Society.

Air Pollution Reduction. My favorite is the Smog Free Project, which is basically a giant air purifier that turns smog into jewelry. Air pollution has been linked to cancers and death, as well as thousands of other health problems. In fact, in many parts of the world, breathing the air is the equivalent of breathing through an exhaust pipe. There are many houseplants you can keep that also help with cleaning up harmful toxins in the air, as listed above.

Light Pollution Reduction. If changes are not made soon, our children will not be able to star gaze. Light Pollution is quickly destroying the night sky. My favorite program for combating this is the International Dark-Sky Association. You can purchase their products, become a member or donate to the cause on their website.

Land Offerings in the Americas//

If you work with land spirits, or are a green witch, it is important to remember, specifically if you live in North or South America, that you are on colonized, stolen and traumatized land. 500 years of genocide and industry have damaged not just us indigenous peoples who live here, but also the native plants, wildlife and the land itself.

It is important to recognize this fact and to make proper offerings to the land if you want to work with it, and respect the fact that just as we natives were ripped away from our homes, the land suffered from our removal as well. We continue to fight for the protection of our sacred places and this continent as a whole, but the white man is pretty set on destroying everything.

For my detailed letter to White American/Canadian Witches and Pagans from me, a Native Witch, click here.

So, how can you help?

Stand alongside Native Environmental Activists at places like Standing Rock. If you can’t protest or be there, then donate to their cause.

Stop culturally appropriating in your witchcraft. Respect closed cultures. I swear to god, the amount of pagans and witches I see claiming to smudge or have spirit animals makes me want to vomit. There are other terms you can use. You do not understand those terms and the religious and cultural connotations behind them, so don’t use them. They are not yours.

Make offerings to the land. Acceptable offerings include comforting and nurturing energy, adopting a sickly plant and nursing it back to health, planting plants and trees native to the area, making donations to local parks and protected environments, chamomile infused water, moss agate/tree agate, and lobelia leaf. These are just some basic examples.

DO NOT bury jar spells or poppets or spells in general in the ground. Unless you use biofriendly alternatives, such as potatoes.

DO NOT send spells into a body of water, unless it is biofriendly and not at all harmful to the environment.

Other Sects of the Craft to Check Out//

Resistance Witchcraft: Standing Your Ground

Green Witchery: Earth Magic

Sea Witchery: Water Magic

Stormcraft: Wind and Weather Magic

Suncraft: Sun and Fire Magic

Meaning they were somewhat related to big celebrities such as Daedon (the “hell pig”) and Andrewsarchus.

The appearence of the first ancestors of whales probably looked like a small hoofed thing called Indohyus.

(Illustration by julio lacerda)

(illustration by Tiffany Turill)

Not as much as you might think.

Games often overestimate how much a sword or an axe weighs, and the assumption that many people make is that this lump of steel in your hand is a great burden, although this assumption has been working is way out.

The simple fact of the matter is, medieval weapons are quite light.

The medieval Arming Sword, the single most common sword of the middle ages. One handed, ext to carry, you wouldn’t expect this one to be that heavy, and it isn’t. Arming Swords tend to weigh between 3 and 4 pounds / 1⅓ and 1.8kg, that’s it! This particular example weighs 3 lbs. 11 oz / 1.6kg.

The Longsword, a much longer weapon than the Arming Sword, as the name implies, and obviously much heavier. But it’s not.

Standard Longswords, especially later period ones designed more for thrusting (like the one pictured above,) can be shockingly light. They can weigh in the same range as arming swords, although they can weigh more as well.

Longswords tend to sit between 3 and 5 pounds / 1⅓ and 2.25kg, and this example is 3 lbs. 7oz. / 1.5kg meaning it weighs less than the Arming Sword pictured before!

The Rapier, a famously light and nimble weapon that is also clouded in a fog of incorrect assumptions. The rapier is a long weapon. This example measures 45 inches in the blade and isn’t even among the longest I’ve seen.

Including all that weight from the steel basket around your hand, and it starts to add up. Rapiers can however be quite light, so including the extremes of the spectrum you end up with a range of between 2.5 pounds and 5 pounds / 1.1 and 2.25kg. This particular example is on the lighter side, weighing 2 lbs. 13 oz / 1.3kg.

The Zweihander, the famous greatsword, surely this is a much heavier weapons! Well of course it’s heavier than the others, the entire thing is five and a half feet tall, however they are deceptively light.

Zweihander weigh, on average, 6 pounds / 2.7kg. That’s it, only 6 pounds. Some on the heavier side weigh about 7lbs / 3.1kg, but they rarely exceed that. This example weighs 6 lbs. 2 oz. / 2.8kg.

Moving away from swords, axes will surely be heavier, won’t they? Think again.

There is an important distinction between battle axes and wood cutting axes. Battle Axe heads tend to be thin, very thin, good for cutting flesh and bone, and easier to wield. Wood cutting heads are wider so as to be more robust, and split wood open more efficiently, and let’s not even talk about splitting mauls.

As such, one handed battle aces like this tend only to weigh between 1 and 4 pounds / 0.45 and 1.8kg. They can be very very light! The example is 1 lb. 7 oz. / 0.65kg.

Warhammer even tend to stick to that same range, between 1 and 4 pounds / 0.45 and 1.80. This example is 2 lbs. 8 oz / 1.15kg.

It’s only once you reach polearms that you begin getting heavier weights. The weights of a polearm is greatly changed by the length of it’s shaft, which can vary greatly, so these numbers will be somewhat more flexible.

Spears tend to be the lightest polearms, often weighing between 3 and 6 pounds / 1.⅓ and 2.7kg, with this example coming in at 4 lbs. even / 1.8kg.

Poleaxes, tending to be on the shorter end of polearms, also tend to be lighter. Interestingly, the examples I’ve seen are quite consistent, and all weigh between 6 and 7 pounds / 2.7 and 3.175kg, though greater variation is possible. This example weighs 6 lbs. 9 oz / 3kg.

Halberds tend to be even heavier, though examples in museums tend to have hafts that are too short simply for storage and display purposes.

As such, the weights tend to be somewhat off, however we know from period sources and good modern reproductions that properly sized balberds tend to be about 8 pounds. This museum piece fits the “too light” mould, and weighs 5 lbs. 10 oz / 2.5kg.

For the purposes of giving you (the reader) a proper appreciation of what the pike is, I elected to not use a museum photo for this one, so you can see their full scale.

The pike is a massive weapon, and these piles being used by reenactors in this photo are quite short. On the shorter end, they measured over 10 feet / 3m in length, and on the lookout get end occasionally hit 30 feet / 9.1m !

These could be the heaviest melee weapons typically used in medieval/renaissance warfare, and even these only weigh between 5 and 13 pounds / 2.25 and 5.9kg.

With your heaviest weapons only weighing 13 pounds at their most extreme, this paints a good picture of how light these hand weapons tended to be. Something for RPG and video game developers to keep in mind in the future.

and anakin/vader thinks that he killed padme

and they both think the other is dead and vader hates the shadowy leader of the rebellion and padme hates the emperor’s black-suited attack dog

Padme just

fucking takes her mask off and throws it at him and says she’ll use herself in her own arguments all she fucking well wants and it bounces off his face and she figures she’s gonna die and she’s totally not prepared for the second-in-command of the entire Empire to just fall on his knees at her feet.

The best thing about She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: big, tall, buff women 👍

Tumblr is biting at the ‘artists’ heels and suddenly there is a bit more noise, because artists aren’t supposed to be treated like shit, are they? However even now the hair-splitting over what’s porn and therefore garbage and not-art shows that attitudes are not so different. It’s still the same divisive, dangerous us v.s. them mentality that is so easily exploited.

Whistle past the graveyard. An anonymous fear submitted to Deep Dark Fears - thanks!