#sharman

[Image above: Diwata by Charisse ‘Dadis’ Melliza]

Legends and myths about trees

Legendary tree deities (1)

Anito - Nature Spirits, Aminist Beliefs of Ancient Filipinos

Anito is used to refer to spirits, deceased ancestors, nature-spirits nymphs and diwatas. Ancient Filipinos kept statues to represent these spirits, ask guidance and magical protection. Trees, rocks, bodies of water, and animals were believed to be animated by an anito. Pre-colonial Filipinos were animistic. They believed that everything has a spirit, from trees and rocks to animals and humans to natural phenomena.

It can also refer to carved humanoid figures, the taotao, made of wood, stone, or ivory, that represent these spirits. Anito is also sometimes known as diwata in certain ethnic groups.

Animist beliefs involve both the observed physical world and the unseen spirit world. What happens in one world, affects the other. In the seen world, nature is believed to be alive. Trees, caves, mountains, rocks and lakes are often viewed as sacred places where engkanto, or anitos dwell.  Animals may also be embodiments of spirits. They believed that everything was connected and that you could not take away without giving back. They created a sustainable life in their surroundings.

Pag-anito refers to a séance, often accompanied by other rituals or celebrations, in which a shaman acts as a medium to communicate directly with the spirits. The act of worship or a religious sacrifice to a spirit is also sometimes simply referred to as anito. In most Filipino ethnic groups, the shaman was almost always a woman. The few men who achieved shaman status usually dressed as women and lived as women (even if married to men).

The major Pag Anito rituals are centred around seances. Because of their special relationship with their fellow spirits, the shaman acts as a medium for other anitos, allowing the spirits to temporarily possess a body. This possession occurs after the shaman has entered a trance-like state. This allows the spirituality to be communicated verbally with the participants, as well as physically enacting events in the spiritual world. At the moment of occupation, shamans display changes in behaviour and voice. They sometimes have fits and become violent to the point of needing to be restrained. The ritual ends when the spirit leaves and the shaman wakes up.

木にまつわる伝説・神話

伝説の樹木の神々 (1)

アニト〜自然の精霊たち、古代フィリピン人のアミニズムの信仰

アニトは、精霊、亡くなった先祖、自然の精霊であるニンフ、ディワタなどを指す言葉として使われる。古代フィリピン人は、これらの精霊を象徴する像を置き、導きと魔法の保護を求めた。 木、岩、水、動物などは、アニトによって動かされると信じられていた。植民地時代以前のフィリピン人は霊的存在への信仰(ｱﾆﾐｽﾞﾑ)であった。木や岩、動物や人間、自然現象など、すべてのものに魂が宿っていると考えていた。

また、これらの精霊を象徴する木、石、象牙などで作られた人型の彫刻「タオタオ」を指すこともある。また、アニトは、特定の民族ではディワタと呼ばれることもある。

アニミズムの信仰には、観察された物理的な世界と目に見えない霊的な世界の両方が関わっている。一方の世界で起こったことは、もう一方の世界にも影響を及ぼす。目に見える世界では、自然は生きていると信じられている。 木、洞窟、山、岩、湖は、しばしばエンカント、またはアニトたちが住む神聖な場所とみなされている。 動物もまた、精霊の具現化である場合がある。彼らは、すべてがつながっており、お返しをしない限り奪うことはできないと信じていた。 彼らは、周囲の環境の中で持続可能な生活を営んでいた。

パグアニトとは、しばしば他の儀式や祝典を伴う降霊会のことで、シャーマンが霊と直接交信するための媒体として機能するものである。また、精霊への崇拝や宗教的な犠牲の行為を単にアニトと呼ぶこともある。大多数のフィリピンの民族グループでは、シャーマンは選ばれた存在であり、ほとんど常に女性であった。 シャーマンの地位を獲得した少数の男性は、通常、女性の格好をして、たとえ男性と結婚しても、女性として生活していた。

John Salthouse playing a character not too disimilar to our Roy in the pilot to Sharman, The Turnaround.

New Post has been published on https://bit.ly/3UcOHDZ

Magical Subjects Hogwarts Doesn't Teach

When it comes to choosing your school subjects, have you ever been left wanting more? Perhaps you wanted to take Mermish, but it wasn’t offered. Do you really need to take Potions? Couldn’t you swap it instead for Alchemy? If you ever wondered what else you could be learning in your magical career, keep reading. The Daily Prophet has compiled a list of subjects not taught at Hogwarts — we’ll leave you to ponder whether that is a good or bad thing. Maybe you’ll be inspired to take on a new course of study this Halloween.

  Wandless Magic

As the name suggests, wandless magic is magic performed without the use of a wand. British wizards and witches have been using wandless magic for generations — often accidentally, especially when they are underage. The level of difficulty is high, and at times, it can be unstable — a possible reason why wandless magic is not taught at Hogwarts. We wouldn’t recommend Neville try this type of magic, for example. However, if wandless magic is your jam, it is available at the Ugandan wizarding school, where it is taught and used throughout the African witches’ and wizards’ education.

  Source

    Magical Languages

It is very surprising that Hogwarts doesn’t seem to offer any kind of language class for its students. It’s especially odd considering that if we are to believe Percy Weasley in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, there are over 200 magical languages out there, such as Mermish, Gobbledegook, and Troll, just to name a few.

  Source

    Shamanism

Shamans are types of healers using alternative states of consciousness to enter spiritual, emotional, mental, mythical, archetypal, and dream worlds. By working with spirits, Shamans are believed to have the power to heal the sick, communicate with spirits, and escort dead souls beyond. There are two camps of thought about how to become a Shaman: Some believe their powers are inherited, while others (such as in many traditional societies) state that Shamanic training varies but tends to take years. Shamans are also often versed in divination methods and can sometimes foretell future events, including through scrying or the of casting bones or runes.

  Invocation and Evocation

Both magical practices involve calling an entity (or spirit) forward. With evocation, the caller is summoning an entity outside of themselves, whereas with invocation, the entity comes forth within the caller, acting through them — think mediums and psychics. We are guessing that this type of magic is quite intense and wildly inappropriate for young minds. Good job, Hogwarts, for not adding invocation and evocation to the school curriculum.

  Source

    Astral Projection

Astral projection is often described as an out-of-body experience. In magical terms, this means being able to project oneself to an astral plane or anywhere else in the world — great for spies and surveillance-type jobs. However, this is perhaps a subject better left for post-Hogwarts education, perhaps for specialist pathways such as Auror training or security-type jobs.

  Wizarding Politics 

An understanding of politics is arguably invaluable for everyone to learn. Creating change and knowing your rights is a basic right for anyone, let alone young witches and wizards with scary developing powers. Also, maybe they should nip that whole Death Eater vs. the world thing in the bud by letting students know they don’t have to join an evil maniac to make a change.

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    Ceremonial Magick

Popping up in the 16th century and popularized in the 19th century by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Ceremonial Magick, or Magic, is a blend of occult teachings and has been practiced over centuries by various European occultists. It is best defined as “the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will” (Aleister Crowley). It is comprised of components such as grimoires, magical formulae, magical weapons, and vibrations of god-names. Though there is no “Ceremonial Magick” class at Hogwarts, it is conceivable that all Hogwarts classes and teachings have aspects of Ceremonial Magic. 

  Source

    Necromancy

Necromancy conjures spirits and ghosts of the dead. This kind of magic has been linked with malevolent purposes such as returning a person to life or using the dead as a weapon. As necromancy is often referred to as “death magic,” there is no need to wonder why this is not offered as a Hogwarts course.

  Xylomancy

Xylomancy is an alternative form of divination relying on twigs. This is done by reading omens from the position of sticks and dry wood found on one’s path. This class was possibly taught at Ilvermony around 1926.

  Other notable school subjects not taught at Hogwarts include Demonology and Toxicology — presumably for reasons as obvious as those keeping Necromancy out of the curriculum.

Which classes on this list would you take if offered at Hogwarts? Let us know in the comments.

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Gif by; @stilesandscott

You and Isaac are digging through a supply closet in a back corner of Beacon Hills High School. The two of you are quietly searching but the small room forces the two of you to be close together and occasionally your arm brushes against his strong forearm. Isaac had always been quiet and reserved, though he’d started to come out of his shell with you, especially because of his werewolf abilities and the swagger that came with them.

You turn to Isaac, “One day we need to hang out when all this werewolf business has calmed down. Just you and I, no drama.”

He smiles at you, “I’d like that.”

Suddenly the door to the closet slams shut, wrenching the two of you into darkness, only lit by the small red light on the ceiling. Isaac whirls around and lunges for the door. He grabs at the smooth surface, nails biting into the wood.

“Isaac!” You yell, as he begins pounding on the door.

“Hey! Let us out!” He’s screaming, growing more frantic by the second. His fists are moving faster and his body is shaking. He struggles to inhale, choking on his breath as if it’s physical painful to move out of his lungs.

You reach for his quivering body, wanting to calm the werewolf.

He whips around the second you start to move, his eyes glowing amber, fangs extended. His arms are wrapped around his heaving body, claws pressing into his skin, threatening to break and split it open

“No! NO!”

He’s growing more out of control, stalking past you to rest his forearms on one of the black metal shelves. He’s shaking and you’re scared. Scared that he’ll lose control. He wouldn’t want to, but he wasn’t fully in control of his new abilities.

“Isaac!” You beg, “Please! Calm down! Listen to my voice!”

You reach out to place a hand on his shoulder, covered with his signature soft white cotton t-shirt.

He roars, spinning around and a clawed hand reaches up, before slicing across your delicate skin. You let out a sob, feeling the sting, seeing the blood bubble and rise up and out onto the surface of your skin.

Isaac falters, and then the door to the supply closet is being ripped open. There’s another werewolf roar and then Isaac is being yanked backwards by his t-shirt and thrown out into the hall.

You glimpse Scott McCall’s amber eyes and fangs as he roars again, straight into Isaac’s face. He whimpers, cradles his head in his hands and lets out a wrecked cry of despair.

You stumble out of the closet, and lean against the door frame, cradling your injured forearm to your chest. Your fingers are slick with blood, and Isaac’s head whips around at the smell of it.

“Damned twins.” Scott mutters, and runs a hand through his hair.

“I-I’m so-so sorry! I d-didn’t mean t-to!” Isaac cries out, he’s staring at your injury and you can see the guilt etched into his features as his wolf slowly fades away.

“It’s okay” you breathe, though it stings more than anything and you’re starting to feel dizzy.

You move to sit next to him and he flinches, attempting to scoot away until he sees how much pain you’re truly in.

“You’re arm.” He chokes out.

You nod, trying to tell him that youre fine, when he laces his fingers with yours and his veins begin to grow black. The pain slows until theres only a tingle, the bleeding reduces and then stops all together.

You stare at Isaac, then glance down at your arm.

He’s exhausted, the adrenaline has gone away, and you are too.

Daniel Sharman in Wonderland Magazine