Welcome Traveler

The reason was that, if you get pantsed, and you weren't in on the joke / it wasn't planned, that's a massive breakdown in respect and discipline, and you have to make an example of that kid (generally by wrestling them, and in serious cases, taking away candy privileges). But getting pranked is still a bad look, and makes it seem cool to rebel against your authority.

However, if you get pantsed, and you are in on the joke, everyone has a good laugh, including you, and no one was actually rebelling. It both makes you look like a cool authority figure and makes the person doing it look like they're the sort of person in cahoots with counselors. Then, if there's a behavioral issue, you can have that quiet conversation later, away from an audience.

And since those underwear are so culturally specific as punchlines in a pantsing gag that the only plausible reason to be wearing them is if you're in on a slapstick act, you can retroactively Shanghai any would-be prankster into looking like they did it with your consent and planning, which not only keeps you from indignity, it makes sure that they're rewarded by laughter and attention for looking like they're cooperating with the staff, encouraging that in the future and bringing them in from the outside of the social-reward structure you're trying to set up, where it's cool too be wacky but responsible.

That preparation effort paid off maybe four times across three years, but it was completely worth it.

And the safety briefing included the question “So if you’re pregnant, do you want to know or not?”

Turns out there had been a bit of an awkward situation once where the keepers had casually mentioned a woman’s pregnancy in a group, and she herself didn’t even know yet. Turns out the wolves are excellent at telling if you’re pregnant and the keepers can tell based on their body language.  They get all odd and careful around pregnancy. (Even wolves knows that you have to take care of pregnant people.)

So they definitely knew she was pregnant.

And if I remember my BBC documentaries right, a wolf will leave the pack to give birth and introduce the cubs to the pack once she feels ready for it. And maternity leave is flexible but often around 6 months so they’re going “YOU WERE GONE FOREVER! WE WERE SO WORRIED! WHERE ARE THE CUBS?? WE HAVE TO GREET THE CUBS!!“ 

annas-archive [.] org

I just saw a 'mutual aid' post going around where instead of asking for donations, the person was asking someone to be a "guarantor" - also known as a "co-signer" - for their rent.

DO NOT DO THIS.

I am all for mutual aid. I think credit scores are a scam designed to fuck poor people. I get it. I do. BUT. Being a guarantor/co-signer for someone basically means that if they don't pay what they owe, for whatever reason, their landlord, bank, creditors, etc. can and will come after you for the full amount.

It seems like such an easy way to help someone. You don't need to pay any money, just lend them your name and good reputation so they can get permission to borrow and spend their own money. It feels like you're getting one over on the shitty capitalist system and using your privilege of good credit/income to help someone else.

But it is a HUGE risk. Do not do this. All it does is give that shitty system more ways to get their hooks into you and create tons of problems for you down the line.

You can really fuck yourself over in the long run by getting tangled up in a financial situation like this. Even co-signing for someone in your life who you trust, like a sibling or a parent, can be really risky. No matter how much you trust someone not to purposefully leave you holding the bag, now you're on the hook if they end up with financial problems neither of you anticipated.

Do not co-sign for another person's loan, car, rent, etc. unless you are able and prepared to pay the full amount or subject yourself to the mercy of whatever that person gets themselves into.

ESPECIALLY do not do this for someone on the internet, where scams are rife. Do not share your personal information with people online and NEVER allow someone else to use your personal information for their finances.

Hey! I hope you don’t mind me answering publicly, I think this could be a resource for others. I just wrote this but I was mobile and the whole post got deleted so; round 2. The rosary is a great place to start! There are some great rosaries out there made of various stones and such (I’ve found some really cool ones made from amethyst that would be great for protection.) The rosary itself is a powerful talisman. As for praying the rosary, there are spiritual applications for each. I have a friend that prescribes the Sorrowful Mystery for uncrossing/unhexing. The Joyful Mystery for manifesting good things in your life. Etc.  You should also grab a bible. They sell them at The Dollar Store. I use the Bible app for iOS a lot because you can highlight verses, color code them, and make notes about what you use them for in your practice (just be sure that notes are set to private). I’d say most witches should have a copy. The reason is because when you practice a craft it’s beneficial to know the book that people will try to use against you. Further, the bible is a big ass spell book. There’s curses (Jesus and the fig tree; the miscarriage potion in Numbers), things you can use for love spells (The Song of Songs/Solomon), incense recipes (Exodus 30:34) and more. The book of Psalms is used in folk practices for all sorts of spellwork.  I’d recommend reading “The Magic of Catholicism” by Brother ADA. He was a man of the cloth that decided to become a Catholic Magician. The book breaks down church rituals, teaches you how to bless salt and oil, create holy water, how to exorcise things, lists saints and how they’re petitioned, and other things that will help you form some bases for a Catholic-centric practice. If you’d like more books just let me know. Remember that the most important part of your practice is your personal connection to it. Books and things are good for starting off but explore and try new things. For homework pick out a few saints, read about their lifes/deaths and what their patronage is. Then pay attention, you’ll likely find your own personal patron saint to work with. I hope this helps!

Hi! Yes I do utilize my practice in my workouts. Some things I’ve been doing lately:

Having a really fire+Mars/Sun heavy tea with ginger, cinnamon, and ginseng. This really helps with energy, circulation, and motivation. I also keep ginger chews with me for heavy lifts.

For cardio I’ll bring mints or peppermint gum because they’re airy and help with breathing.

When I’m about to lift heavy I say a prayer and dedicate it to a spirit I work with so I don’t fail.

On heavy weight days I paint my nails. I have a nail polish that’s made from iron ore (ruled by Mars). And sometimes I’ll wear an iron pendant a friend made me.

Sometimes I’ll wear pearl earrings when doing cardio because pearl calms thoughts and helps me with the intrusive thoughts/thoughts about how I’m tired.

I blessed my inhaler.

I have protection sticker sigils (the ones I was selling on Etsy) on my water bottle to help me feel safe and protect me from negative interactions at the gym/evil eye.

I carry a sigil I made for strength and form that I wrote on an ace of clubs (which is a fire energy card and sometimes used as the Strength). It also has a strengthening Bible verse.

As thanks for Her help on some personal matters, i'll be sharing some UPG on Our Lady of Sorrows, our weeping mother covered by a black veil. I hope to pass on Her kindness, and that at least some of you will find this interesting and helpful.

Our Lady of Sorrows is one of the many faces of our Holy Mother, this is specifically Her pain, Her agony, Her anger, the many times She felt hurt, forsaken, helpless, humiliated... but also Her unmatched Faith, Her unparalleled strength and most fierce will to go through it all until the last consequences, knowing Her Son and Her would be crowned, victorious in the end. She acknowledges and heals pain and gives strength and aid in hardships. She is also very protective of Her children.

Her feast is traditionally in September 15th but She's also honored during the Friday of Sorrows, the friday before Good Friday.

Some symbols and misc. I've come to associate with Her are: a black veil, three nails, the new moon, white lilies, nocturnal birds, white feathers, lavender, myrrh, the stinging nettle and the weeping willow.

She's the patroness of mothers, of the abused, oppressed and persecuted, of the souls of the dead and specially those in purgatory, but also of exorcists, folk healers, morticians, death workers and spirit workers.

For offerings, really your presence and open heart is all She asks for, but if you want to you can make an altar for Her with an image of your choosing, some purple candles, a glass of water and roses (I recommend each of the offerings and the overall count to be in numbers of 1, 3 or 7). You may also give donations or do charity work in Her honor, offer prayers for the dead or for the souls in purgatory, and particularly, I've found prayer or meditation on others' pain, regardless of whether you had caused it or not, and say, lending forgiveness to those who have wronged you, are also much pleasing to Her.

She aids anyone who calls onto Her at times of difficulties and suffering, but specially those who offer Her company in Her own Sorrows. My best advice to connect to Her is to simply open yourself up to listen to Her. Recite Her rosary or chaplet, and while meditating on each of the seven sorrows, listen carefully. If you don't have a gift for hearing, light a purple or black candle and pay attention to the flame, it may show you figures and tell you a story. You'll know when She's present with you, when your heart and Hers feel like one, when you feel a soft veil covering you, or the warmth of a mother's embrace... or when you suddenly burst into tears. Know that She feels deeply, hope, anger, sadness, any emotion will come multiplied.

Through St. Bridget, She has offered the following graces to those who meditate on her Sorrows:

“I will grant peace to their families.”

“They will be enlightened concerning divine mysteries.”

“I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work.”

“I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my divine Son or the sanctification of their souls.”

“I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every moment of their lives.”

“I will visibly assist them at the moment of their death and they will see the face of their Mother."

“I have obtained from my divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and sorrows, will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son and I will be their eternal consolation and joy.”

To anyone interested in this devotion, I recommend this page for more information on Her Sorrows, also reading The Way of the Rose, and listening to the episode "Our Lady of Sorrows: Patroness of Protection, Mother of Mercy" from the St. Anthony's Tongue podcast.

and also heres the link to YouTube Enhancer (has really cool features like filters and the rewatch statistics bar): https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/enhancer-for-youtube/

and they had this lovingly made totally not taunting message to leave about their virtual console legacy they’re destroying

Sigil surroundings are shapes, designs, and/or glyphs you put around your sigil in order to enhance its kna. Sigils released their kna outward allowing it to connect with the kna of things around it allowing those things to influence its power. By placing shapes or other things around a sigil you are able to affect its kna. The simplest of these would be the circle, the triangle, and the square.

The Circle:

The circle is a powerful symbol and it embodies the kna of protection, unity, cycles and focus. The magickal purpose of drawing a circle around a sigil is to give the sigil a its own space to work, that will protect it from outside influences, and to allow it to more effectively build up power from the kna of the circle. Some practitioners will even use two circles around their sigils. Some of these practitioners will also fill the inter space between these two circles with other sigils to enhance the effectiveness of the sigil within.

The Triangle:

The triangle represents the trinities, and embodies the kna of ascension, manifestation, and duality. Sigils surrounded by a right side up triangle will be much more expansive, and active, and sigils surrounded by a right side down triangle will be receptive, and passive.

The Square:

Lately in my grimoire, I’ve been working on stitchcraft, knitting, and fiber magick information. Thought I’d share! I couldn’t find a lot of stuff on this, so lemme know if you have information to fill in the gaps, or if I’ve forgotten something. I most definitely have not used every piece of this post in a single project, that would be overwhelming, I just pick and choose depending on what’s appropriate, realistic, and attainable for the project. 

Tools based on materials and purpose

Knitting/Sewing Needles - fire; the wands tarot suit; manifestation; turning nothing into something

Subcategories - aluminum needles for air, Mercury, communication, mental energy, making gifts for someone else to express something; bamboo needles for earth, prosperity, abundance, growth, attraction, finishing quickly and making lots and lots of lovely knitting; plastic needles for…air?, flexibility, durability, adaptability, and the ability to change and bend without breaking

Scissors - air; the swords tarot suit; judgement; clarity; banishing; “cutting back” on unwanted or excessive energies

Stitch Patterns based on the quality of the fabric it produces or the process of making the fabric

Garter/Stockinette/Ribbing/Moss - earth; strong foundations; grounding 

Cable - binding; protection; flow; cycles; attraction; earth or water *cables draw the fabric in as well as intertwine with other strands of knitting, great for drawing in or tying together energies

Stranded colorwork - protection; security; warmth; earth or fire *stranded knitting makes a very thick and warm fabric, that’s why it’s great for mittens and sweaters

Lace - air; wind; adaptability; flexibility; mental energy; clarity 

Waves/Chevron - water (duh); flow; emotions

Fiber Types based on the qualities the fiber has and the symbolism of the creature or plant it comes from *synthetic fibers also listed, had trouble with those, mostly based on how it behaves once it’s knitted

Wool - warmth; safety; protection; warding; new beginnings; spring; love; probably any element tbh

Mohair - air or fire; freedom; mental energy

Silk - the Moon; water or air; the underworld; shadow work; banishing; protection; binding

Cotton - water, air; strength; durability

Bamboo - earth; abundance; prosperity

Linen - water; flow; slow progress; adaptability; quiet but unyielding strength

Nylon - earth; strength; durability

Acrylic - water; flexible; adaptability, durability, longevity

Knitting Techniques based on what you’re doing with the fiber to make it do what you want

Steeking - banishing

Casting on - new beginnings

Binding off - binding

Weaving in ends - endings

Dropped stitches - dropping an unwanted energy

Intarsia/Shapes/Embedded Images - depends on what you’re putting in there, ex: hearts for love, moon for emotions or shadows, the sun for joy, spirals for progression and growth

Numerology use for pattern or stitch repeats/counts *I’m not great at numerology, this is very beginner

0 - potential, empty space, clean slate, new beginnings. *Represent with a yo/eyelet

1 - BOOM, manifestation, new beginnings, the start of something new

2 - balance, duality, choices, binaries

3 - creation, growth, relationships, looking ahead

4 - foundations, structure, stability

5 - change, challenge

6 - compassion, harmony

7 - magic, spirituality, divine, wisdom, reflection, understanding

8 -  movement, progress, change

9 - completion, fulfilment

10 - cycle ends and begins again, transformation

Other Things to Incorporate just random techniques you can layer

Embellishments - appliques/embroidery/etc can be sigils or spell out messages, make sure your decorations are themed with the project’s intent

Color Magic - for intent

Green Witchcraft - use herbs in the water you use to soak and block your knits once you’re finished, or use oils to dab on your tools