julie

—if you had to mature too early. if you prioritize the right and the rule. if you have a softspot, nonetheless, for the vulnerable. samuel

—if you have strong morals, if you are sharp and steadfast. if your relatives strain you. nathan

—if you self harm. ahiyah

—if you are fatigued and much is asked of you. if you keep sacrificing regardless. if you are an old soul. elijah

—if you spit in heaven's face. if you love others more than yourself. if you have bad hair days. elisha

—if you feel that you have many parts. if you shift endlessly from feeling safe, to feeling hopeful, to feeling fear. if you know hoy and pain more than anything else. isaiah

—if you know righteousness. if your voice precedes you. if your heart is heavy and you know the reason for it. jeremiah

—if your visions haze. if harm is removed from hurt. if you're into that. into shibari. ezekiel

—if you are into smut and self-effacement. if you regret how you present yourself. hosea

—if something is pouring out of you. if this is a new hole. if you remember the repayment you're owed. joel

—if heaven has to feel righteous. amos

—if you are part of the resistance. ovadiah

—if it is right for you to feel angry. if you know your needs. if there's a fetal position you find yourself in. jonah

—if you see how this ends. micah

—if you are reliable. if you are in your room often. if you read and read and read. if you are residing and postured, stylish and formal in rhetoric. huldah

—if you are a poet. if you offer solace to others. if you solace yourself. nahum

—if you are the result of hate. if you rave and repeat yourself. if your visions mean something. havvaukuk

—if the pain feels natal. zephaniah

—if the return feels familiar. if you find homes in many settings. haggai

—if you need to restore something, or, restore yourself. if you know the shape that needs to take. zechariah

—if your voice is not your own. if something feels off. if your memory is strong. malachi

—if you feel the heat. if there is a finality to you. if these visions are not visions anymore. daniyyel

Once a day, shadows briefly bring back to life the beautiful ‘Ghost of Ungru Manor’ Estonia...

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Shown: saving Peter, falsely accused woman, inviting Peter and Andrew, feeding the multitude, refugee flight, baptism of Jesus, the Nativity, the adoration of the Magi.

Ambilux by Marlou is the ultimate arrow pierced flesh scent, vividly alive and yet dying all at once with its sweaty-musky cumin base note. Anatolia Anatolia by Prissana has a wounds-and-tears kind of smell, Sebastian being bandaged up by Irene, and I'm even leaning towards Mitsouko by Guerlain, the chypre of all chypres, because it smells like hopeless love, like the devotion of Sebastian to Diocletian, despite his cruelty - or maybe because of it?

I know - Rien Intense Incense by Etat Libre d'Orange. A leathery masterclass is contrasts between clean aldehydes and dirty, musky labdanum-oakmoss-patchouli accord simmering in the base. It's all there - looking up to heaven as you're being tortured on earth - the flesh and the divine. A little perfumed tragedy in three acts, top and heart and drydown....

A History of Celibacy by Elizabeth Abbott

The Chastity Plot by Lisabeth During

Chastity in Ancient Indian Texts by Oly Roy

Gendered Memories: An Imaginary Museum for Ding Ling and Chinese Female Revolutionary Martyrs by Xian Wang

Celibacy in the Ancient World: It's Ideal and Practice in Pre-Hellenistic Israel, Mesopotamia, and Greece by Dale Launderville

The Making of Fornication: Eros, Ethics, and Political Reform in Greek Philosophy and Early Christianity by Kathy Gaca

Spiritual Marriage: Sexual Abstinence in Medieval Wedlock by Dyan Elliott

Chaste Liberation: Celibacy and Female Cultural Status by Sally L. Kitch

The last couple of books don't cover pre-christian time periods, but I thought you might find them of interest, all the same.

Additionally, here's a cool article on the Balkan Sworn Virgins:

There's also a documentary about Lule Bib Luka, one of the last Sworn Virgins of Albania. It's called Wild Flower, and it was directed by Fathia Bazi. You can find it on amazon and youtube, and most likely for free elsewhere online. Here's the trailer: