Ancient magicks osrs
the roots of the rpg hobby
2011.09.13 22:32 amp108 the roots of the rpg hobby
news and discussion of Old School Renaissance topics. It will primarily focus on Dungeons and Dragons (LBB, 1st ed. AD&D, etc.) and the retroclones. Other Old School games (Traveller, Runequest, Tunnels & Trolls, et al) are of course welcome. OSR - your best choice for fun in gaming.
2023.06.01 19:58 PriestessOfSpiders There is a door in my apartment which only appears after midnight.
The apartment was cheap, but not suspiciously so, especially given the relatively decrepit state of it. It was a 1 bedroom affair, the building itself constructed at some point before the Great Depression, and it certainly showed its age. The bathroom was prone to mold, the windows let in a draft even when closed, and the fact that it was up 6 flights of stairs in a building where the elevator seemed perpetually out of order certainly didn't help. However, beyond these usual allowances made for an affordable apartment in a city such as mine, there were no outward signs that anything wrong with the place. There were never any strange noises, unusual cold spots in the center of rooms, no eerie lights. For all intents and purposes, the apartment appeared utterly mundane.
It took me a frankly embarrassing amount of time to notice the door. 7 months in fact. I've never been much of a night owl, and on the rare occasions when I did have reason to be up in the wee hours my time was generally spent in someone else's bedroom.
At first, when I noticed the door, I assumed that I was hallucinating. I was, after all, in a fairly inebriated state, having just returned from a rather pleasant evening of laughter and debauchery. I already had experienced considerable difficulty in extricating my key from my apartment's lock, so I figured it was more likely that something had gone wrong with my perception rather than the unlikely scenario that a wood paneled door had suddenly materialized in my living room where previously there had only been wall.
It was old fashioned looking, with a shiny brass knob and wood the color of old leather. I shook my head for a moment and blinked, squinting at the object. The door was still there. I rubbed my eyes and closed them, counting down from 10. When I'd finished, I opened my eyes again. The door was still there. I'm not exactly sure what I thought counting down from 10 was supposed to accomplish. Beyond one mercifully brief experience with salvia at a very bad party, I'd never experienced hallucinations before, so I was sort of going off of what I'd seen in movies and TV shows.
There was something intensely unnerving about the door. It emanated a feeling of primal wrongness, I instinctually knew that I was gazing at something totally in violation of the natural order. It took a lot of willpower to do what I did next.
Having exhausted all other apparent options to my disorganized mind, I moved on to the next logical stage of inquiry; I tried to open it. The doorknob was cold to the touch, arctic even. It felt like touching the inside of a freezer. A shiver ran down my back, though I can't be sure in retrospect if it was entirely from the temperature. I tried to turn the knob. It didn't budge.
An immense sigh of relief escaped my lungs, releasing a breath that I didn't know I was holding in. Trying to think of what else I could do, I pulled out my phone and snapped a quick photo of the thing, sending it to my landlord, with a caption somewhere along the lines of "wtf is this dude, y is there a new door???"
Nodding sagely to myself, as if I had succeeded in doing anything of note, I stumbled my way into my bedroom and locked the door before falling into blissful slumber.
I awoke to the incessant screeching of my alarm clock loudly informing me that it was 7 o' clock, about 6 hours from when I had fallen asleep. I slammed my fist against "off" button and rubbed the sleep from my eyes with my other hand. In following with my usual morning routine, I then pulled out my phone and checked through my notifications.
Alongside the usual torrent of internet pseudo-acquaintances posting pictures of their brunches and whatnot was a text message from my landlord. "What are you talking about Christina", it read, "is this photoshop or something?"
At first, I didn't understand what he was referring to, but when the rusted gears of my sleepy (and hungover) brain finally started turning, I immediately jumped out of bed and scuttled over to the spot where the door had been just 6 hours prior. I did so with the intent of recording a video to further prove its existence to my skeptical landlord... but I was greeted with nothing but wall.
I texted my landlord an apology, lying and saying it was just a poorly thought out prank. Then I popped into my car and drove down to the local electronics store to purchase a camera from the grumpy underpaid college student behind the register.
Making my way over to the photography section, I searched a long while for the option that simultaneously fit my budget and the requirements for my investigation. Eventually, I found just the item.
It was a trailcam, the sort of thing hunters and geriatrics with too many acres of land and not enough hobbies use to observe wildlife. It had an SD card with enough space for several hours of blurry, black and white nightvision video, and most importantly it was cheap. I paid for my prize with the surly cashier and made my way happily back to my apartment.
I set it up securely in front of where the door had previously appeared, and, feeling like a genius, went about the rest of my day. I fell asleep that night secure in the knowledge that by morning I would have proof of what I had seen the night before.
The next morning, I rushed over excitedly to my living room, feeling like a child on Christmas morning. My giddy excitement died as I stepped into the living room, noticing the complete lack of the trailcam. Old Saint Nick appeared to have shit in my stocking.
I made my way back to the electronics store, forced once again into interacting with the student behind the register for whom my very existence seemed to be an inconvenience. Upon noticing my arrival, he sighed heavily. "Can I help you ma'am?" he said, emphasizing the last word with the same inflection one might say intestinal parasite.
"I'm looking for a cheap camera that will stream video directly to my computer." I said, trying my best to avoid mimicking the man's petulant tone.
Shrugging his shoulders and releasing another drawn out sigh, the cashier shuffled his way over to the photography section and picked out a small camera, rather similar to the last one I purchased, but approximately twice as much in terms of cost. "Do you have anything cheaper?" I asked, trying my best to sound polite.
"No." declared the cashier, with all the compassion of an exterminator crushing a cockroach beneath a steel toed boot.
I ended up paying the exorbitant price on my already abused credit card, and grumpily stalked back to the apartment to set up the new equipment, knowing I wouldn't get to see it after the night was over.
Nevertheless, I had to know how the door got there, and I needed to have irrefutable evidence.
The process to set up the new camera was a bit more involved than the last. There was all manner of fiddling about with connecting the device to my WiFi network and installing some new software to my computer, but by the time it was over it successfully uploaded footage directly to my hard drive where I could watch it at my leisure.
I went to bed that night wondering what I would do with the footage after I acquired it. After all, I couldn't really go to the police with it, could I? Excuse me officer, I imagined myself saying, but a mysterious door appears in my apartment at night, and I was wondering if you could send someone around to take a look? I'd end up institutionalized. Similarly, it's not like I could go to the newspapers either. I live in a big city, and the reporters have more important fish to fry than transient doors.
At some point while I pondered my options, I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew I was awakened by the banshee cries of my alarm clock, angrily informing me that it was once again 7 o' clock.
I jumped out of bed, excitedly moving over to my computer to check the footage, finding that there was about 5 hours of video. I had turned on the camera at around 10 o' clock PM, so that meant whatever happened to the camera occurred at about 3 AM.
I set the video to fast forward and watched it carefully. The first 2 hours or so showed nothing, just the regular blank wall. At exactly 12 o' clock, however, static engulfed the screen, and suddenly the old wooden door simply appeared, as if it had always been there. I rewound the footage and played it at normal speed, trying to discern anything that would show how the door suddenly manifested in the wall of my apartment, but the static was far too heavy to tell. The video simply got incredibly distorted for around 10 seconds, and suddenly the static dissipated and there was the door.
Even on video, just looking at it gave me the chills. That sense of complete and utter wrongness came through even from the screen. I shivered slightly and set the video on fast forward yet again. There was no change in the door for nearly 3 hours, but as the video crept closer and closer to the end, I switched it back to normal speed with about a minute to spare.
As I watched, the door began to slowly open. There was no microphone built into the camera, but I could imagine the ancient hinges creaking. I could feel my palms begin to sweat as I stared, transfixed. I glanced at the time remaining on the video, it was only around 30 seconds.
As the video progressed onwards, the door eventually swung fully open, revealing a black, yawning void beyond it. Static began to gather at the corners of the screen, increasing in intensity as I vaguely discerned something moving in the darkness. The quality was rapidly degrading, and I couldn't tell any specifics, but it moved in an almost spider-like manner, skittery and deeply unnerving. It seemed just about to come into view when the footage fully dissolved into static and the video ended abruptly.
I leaned back in my chair, contemplating my next move. While the video had certainly convinced me that I wasn't just going crazy, I knew that it wouldn't exactly convince the average person. I could easily have added in the static with editing, and the vague movement behind the door could just be computer generated effects or some sort of puppet. After a few minutes of pondering, I came up with an idea.
---
"I'm sorry, what?" exclaimed Lilith, who was trying hard not to choke on her iced coffee.
"A door. It appears in my apartment at exactly midnight. I have it on video", I replied, sliding my phone across the table of the coffee shop.
I first met Lilith in college, where we shared a course on the history of Gothic literature. She was a perfect picture of the stereotypical goth, with pierced septum, dyed black hair, pentacle earrings, and a wardrobe whose diversity of color could charitably be compared to that of a raven. We hadn't spoken in a long time, but I figured if there was anyone I should contact about this sort of thing, it would be her.
I'd condensed the 5 hours of footage down to a few minutes with the help of a free online video editor, and watched in slight amusement as Lilith's brow furrowed, her eyes glued to the screen. After the video ended, she seemed utterly amazed.
"Any thoughts?" I asked, pulling back my phone.
"This is some sort of joke, right? You're screwing with me?" she asked, utterly bewildered by what I had just shown her.
"No joke. No screwing around. I figured you'd be the one to ask about this, because of the whole, you know..." I said, gesturing at the leviathan cross emblazoned on her black t-shirt.
Lilith rolled her eyes at me and fidgeted nervously with one of her bracelets. "I'm not sure Christina, this seems a little bit outside of my pay grade. I don't really know what you expect me to do."
"I just need a witness of some kind. What I've got here isn't really enough to prove anything on its own, but if someone else sees it that might lend me a bit of credibility. If some random chick goes to the news complaining about a mysterious door appearing in her living room at midnight that's nothing, but if I get a witness then they might have to listen to me. Plus, I figured maybe you could, I don't know, set up some form of protective circle or sigil or something." As soon as the last words left my lips, I felt like a moron, but Lilith actually seemed to perk up a little bit.
"I mean, I guess that makes sense. How about tonight? I can come over at about 11 o' clock so we have a little bit of time to get ready", she said, a tinge of excitement in her voice.
"Sound's like a plan then, I'll text you my address. I really appreciate you doing this for me." We got up from the booth, exchanged hugs, and went our separate ways. I was skeptical about how much good Lilith's "magickal" expertise would do with regard to the unearthly door, but I had mainly mentioned it to get her interested.
I wish I hadn't.
---
About 12 hours later, I heard a knock at the door (my front door, in this case, not the impossible one). I peeked through the peephole, saw it was Lilith, and I ushered her inside. She had brought with her a black leather bag, bulging with various books, candles, jars, and other occult accoutrements.
"That's a lot of stuff", I commented, gesturing towards the bag, "are you sure you'll need all of it?"
She shrugged. "I figured it's better to be safe than sorry. I'd rather be overprepared than come up short."
"Seems reasonable."
I showed her the spot of the blank wall where the door appears and she began setting up candles and incense, drawing strange signs with chalk, and pouring salt in a semi-circle in front of where the door would be. As she worked, she occasionally read out loud from some cheap paperbacks with titles like "The Witch's Bible" and "The Unquiet Dead: A Field Guide to the Afterlife".
To be entirely honest it was incredibly underwhelming. I didn't feel any "mystical energies" or unseen vistas of space and time yawning before me. There was just a goth screwing around with some candles while reciting mangled Latin out of books she got for 4.99 apiece at a charity shop.
Nevertheless, I let Lilith get on with her business and sat back drinking some cheap beer. After about 45 minutes she seemed satisfied. The floor and walls were covered with crude sigils done in white chalk, and the whole room smelt of incense and scented candles. I checked my watch, seeing it was 11:48.
I offered Lilith a drink but she declined, instead just taking a seat and fidgeting a bit with her jewelry. We talked for a while about what the door could be, where it came from, that sort of thing. Lilith seemed convinced it was must be the restless spirit of a former tenant, but I was a bit skeptical. While at this point I could no longer honestly say I didn't believe in the supernatural, this didn't necessarily strike me as some sort of haunting.
"I don't think it's a ghost", I said, taking a sip from my near empty can, "it strikes me as something further beyond our realm of experience than that. Something, I don't know, alien somehow. I mean it changes reality itself doesn't it? It transmutes a wall to a door, and let me tell you that door was real wood and the knob was real metal. Aren't ghosts supposed to be intangible or something?"
Lilith seemed like she was about to say something before she paused, a weird look crossing her face. "Christina, what time is it?" she whispered.
I checked my watch, the digital face reading out 12:07. I turned to see the door. It had been there for 7 minutes and we hadn't even noticed its arrival. Something about us not having realized it was there bothered me far more than its materialization. Was it possible that I'd passed by it in the apartment before and just never noticed it? I'd previously assumed that I'd simply always been asleep or out of the apartment when it materialized, but now I wasn't so sure.
Lilith had turned to look at it too, after a moment saying "It's like it's always been there."
The next 3 hours passed slowly, painfully. We snapped plenty of pictures of the door at every conceivable angle on our respective phones, videos too, and decided that after it disappeared again we should take footage of the bare wall for contrast. Lilith and I chatted a bit, but it was hard to continue conversations for long. Now that we had noticed it, we could feel the wrongness emanating out from the door, as if we were being watched by something just out of sight.
I don't know if there is such a thing as true evil, some sort of absolute moral right and wrong on a spiritual level. But being near that door, I felt like I was bearing witness to an atrocity against reality itself. We spent the last 2 hours of observation in nearly complete silence. It seemed like the longer we were cognizant of the door, the worse the feeling of discomfort got. If you've ever been on a roller coaster, you'll be familiar with the feeling of going up the track towards a long drop, the tension in your very blood as you brace yourself for the fall to come. As we sat there, I felt something similar.
I almost wanted to call the whole thing off, just have Lilith and I go to a 24 hour fast food place or something and call it a night. But I had to know.
Unlike with the door's appearance, we noticed when it started to open. We sat there, paralyzed with fear and excitement as it slowly started to creak open, the worn hinges squealing just as I thought they would. The room grew significantly colder, until we were both shivering intensely. Behind the door was void, absolutely void. It was black as the depths of the ocean and emanated pure dread. The smell of incense and scented candles seemed to dissipate, replaced with a vague stench like rotting seaweed.
Finally, the entrance was swung fully open, and we sat there, staring blankly into it. We didn't even try to pull out our phones to record what we saw. The thought to do so didn't cross my mind until well after.
I could see something start to move in the darkness beyond, some sort of motion, spidery, skittering. It was coming towards us. I caught a vague glimpse of a long, thin limb reaching out from the door, coming towards us, grasping blindly from out of the dark, and then-
I felt the sun shining on my face, my entire body sore.
I opened my eyes to find myself lying on the ground, outside. There were trees overhead, but the foliage wasn't dense enough to block out the light which had awoken me. All things being equal, I would have preferred my alarm clock.
I stood up, painfully, taking stock of my surroundings. I was in a park, one which I had been to before, located a couple miles from my apartment. I looked for my phone, but couldn't find it. I began to stumble my way back home, trying my best to ignore my aching muscles. I called out for Lilith a couple times, but was met only with silence. She was gone.
As I limped my way along, a passing jogger called out "Nice tattoo". Confused, I looked down at my arm.
Burned into my flesh in white letters, as if through frostbite, were the words "BRING MORE".
submitted by PriestessOfSpiders to nosleep [link] [comments]
It took me a frankly embarrassing amount of time to notice the door. 7 months in fact. I've never been much of a night owl, and on the rare occasions when I did have reason to be up in the wee hours my time was generally spent in someone else's bedroom.
At first, when I noticed the door, I assumed that I was hallucinating. I was, after all, in a fairly inebriated state, having just returned from a rather pleasant evening of laughter and debauchery. I already had experienced considerable difficulty in extricating my key from my apartment's lock, so I figured it was more likely that something had gone wrong with my perception rather than the unlikely scenario that a wood paneled door had suddenly materialized in my living room where previously there had only been wall.
It was old fashioned looking, with a shiny brass knob and wood the color of old leather. I shook my head for a moment and blinked, squinting at the object. The door was still there. I rubbed my eyes and closed them, counting down from 10. When I'd finished, I opened my eyes again. The door was still there. I'm not exactly sure what I thought counting down from 10 was supposed to accomplish. Beyond one mercifully brief experience with salvia at a very bad party, I'd never experienced hallucinations before, so I was sort of going off of what I'd seen in movies and TV shows.
There was something intensely unnerving about the door. It emanated a feeling of primal wrongness, I instinctually knew that I was gazing at something totally in violation of the natural order. It took a lot of willpower to do what I did next.
Having exhausted all other apparent options to my disorganized mind, I moved on to the next logical stage of inquiry; I tried to open it. The doorknob was cold to the touch, arctic even. It felt like touching the inside of a freezer. A shiver ran down my back, though I can't be sure in retrospect if it was entirely from the temperature. I tried to turn the knob. It didn't budge.
An immense sigh of relief escaped my lungs, releasing a breath that I didn't know I was holding in. Trying to think of what else I could do, I pulled out my phone and snapped a quick photo of the thing, sending it to my landlord, with a caption somewhere along the lines of "wtf is this dude, y is there a new door???"
Nodding sagely to myself, as if I had succeeded in doing anything of note, I stumbled my way into my bedroom and locked the door before falling into blissful slumber.
I awoke to the incessant screeching of my alarm clock loudly informing me that it was 7 o' clock, about 6 hours from when I had fallen asleep. I slammed my fist against "off" button and rubbed the sleep from my eyes with my other hand. In following with my usual morning routine, I then pulled out my phone and checked through my notifications.
Alongside the usual torrent of internet pseudo-acquaintances posting pictures of their brunches and whatnot was a text message from my landlord. "What are you talking about Christina", it read, "is this photoshop or something?"
At first, I didn't understand what he was referring to, but when the rusted gears of my sleepy (and hungover) brain finally started turning, I immediately jumped out of bed and scuttled over to the spot where the door had been just 6 hours prior. I did so with the intent of recording a video to further prove its existence to my skeptical landlord... but I was greeted with nothing but wall.
I texted my landlord an apology, lying and saying it was just a poorly thought out prank. Then I popped into my car and drove down to the local electronics store to purchase a camera from the grumpy underpaid college student behind the register.
Making my way over to the photography section, I searched a long while for the option that simultaneously fit my budget and the requirements for my investigation. Eventually, I found just the item.
It was a trailcam, the sort of thing hunters and geriatrics with too many acres of land and not enough hobbies use to observe wildlife. It had an SD card with enough space for several hours of blurry, black and white nightvision video, and most importantly it was cheap. I paid for my prize with the surly cashier and made my way happily back to my apartment.
I set it up securely in front of where the door had previously appeared, and, feeling like a genius, went about the rest of my day. I fell asleep that night secure in the knowledge that by morning I would have proof of what I had seen the night before.
The next morning, I rushed over excitedly to my living room, feeling like a child on Christmas morning. My giddy excitement died as I stepped into the living room, noticing the complete lack of the trailcam. Old Saint Nick appeared to have shit in my stocking.
I made my way back to the electronics store, forced once again into interacting with the student behind the register for whom my very existence seemed to be an inconvenience. Upon noticing my arrival, he sighed heavily. "Can I help you ma'am?" he said, emphasizing the last word with the same inflection one might say intestinal parasite.
"I'm looking for a cheap camera that will stream video directly to my computer." I said, trying my best to avoid mimicking the man's petulant tone.
Shrugging his shoulders and releasing another drawn out sigh, the cashier shuffled his way over to the photography section and picked out a small camera, rather similar to the last one I purchased, but approximately twice as much in terms of cost. "Do you have anything cheaper?" I asked, trying my best to sound polite.
"No." declared the cashier, with all the compassion of an exterminator crushing a cockroach beneath a steel toed boot.
I ended up paying the exorbitant price on my already abused credit card, and grumpily stalked back to the apartment to set up the new equipment, knowing I wouldn't get to see it after the night was over.
Nevertheless, I had to know how the door got there, and I needed to have irrefutable evidence.
The process to set up the new camera was a bit more involved than the last. There was all manner of fiddling about with connecting the device to my WiFi network and installing some new software to my computer, but by the time it was over it successfully uploaded footage directly to my hard drive where I could watch it at my leisure.
I went to bed that night wondering what I would do with the footage after I acquired it. After all, I couldn't really go to the police with it, could I? Excuse me officer, I imagined myself saying, but a mysterious door appears in my apartment at night, and I was wondering if you could send someone around to take a look? I'd end up institutionalized. Similarly, it's not like I could go to the newspapers either. I live in a big city, and the reporters have more important fish to fry than transient doors.
At some point while I pondered my options, I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew I was awakened by the banshee cries of my alarm clock, angrily informing me that it was once again 7 o' clock.
I jumped out of bed, excitedly moving over to my computer to check the footage, finding that there was about 5 hours of video. I had turned on the camera at around 10 o' clock PM, so that meant whatever happened to the camera occurred at about 3 AM.
I set the video to fast forward and watched it carefully. The first 2 hours or so showed nothing, just the regular blank wall. At exactly 12 o' clock, however, static engulfed the screen, and suddenly the old wooden door simply appeared, as if it had always been there. I rewound the footage and played it at normal speed, trying to discern anything that would show how the door suddenly manifested in the wall of my apartment, but the static was far too heavy to tell. The video simply got incredibly distorted for around 10 seconds, and suddenly the static dissipated and there was the door.
Even on video, just looking at it gave me the chills. That sense of complete and utter wrongness came through even from the screen. I shivered slightly and set the video on fast forward yet again. There was no change in the door for nearly 3 hours, but as the video crept closer and closer to the end, I switched it back to normal speed with about a minute to spare.
As I watched, the door began to slowly open. There was no microphone built into the camera, but I could imagine the ancient hinges creaking. I could feel my palms begin to sweat as I stared, transfixed. I glanced at the time remaining on the video, it was only around 30 seconds.
As the video progressed onwards, the door eventually swung fully open, revealing a black, yawning void beyond it. Static began to gather at the corners of the screen, increasing in intensity as I vaguely discerned something moving in the darkness. The quality was rapidly degrading, and I couldn't tell any specifics, but it moved in an almost spider-like manner, skittery and deeply unnerving. It seemed just about to come into view when the footage fully dissolved into static and the video ended abruptly.
I leaned back in my chair, contemplating my next move. While the video had certainly convinced me that I wasn't just going crazy, I knew that it wouldn't exactly convince the average person. I could easily have added in the static with editing, and the vague movement behind the door could just be computer generated effects or some sort of puppet. After a few minutes of pondering, I came up with an idea.
---
"I'm sorry, what?" exclaimed Lilith, who was trying hard not to choke on her iced coffee.
"A door. It appears in my apartment at exactly midnight. I have it on video", I replied, sliding my phone across the table of the coffee shop.
I first met Lilith in college, where we shared a course on the history of Gothic literature. She was a perfect picture of the stereotypical goth, with pierced septum, dyed black hair, pentacle earrings, and a wardrobe whose diversity of color could charitably be compared to that of a raven. We hadn't spoken in a long time, but I figured if there was anyone I should contact about this sort of thing, it would be her.
I'd condensed the 5 hours of footage down to a few minutes with the help of a free online video editor, and watched in slight amusement as Lilith's brow furrowed, her eyes glued to the screen. After the video ended, she seemed utterly amazed.
"Any thoughts?" I asked, pulling back my phone.
"This is some sort of joke, right? You're screwing with me?" she asked, utterly bewildered by what I had just shown her.
"No joke. No screwing around. I figured you'd be the one to ask about this, because of the whole, you know..." I said, gesturing at the leviathan cross emblazoned on her black t-shirt.
Lilith rolled her eyes at me and fidgeted nervously with one of her bracelets. "I'm not sure Christina, this seems a little bit outside of my pay grade. I don't really know what you expect me to do."
"I just need a witness of some kind. What I've got here isn't really enough to prove anything on its own, but if someone else sees it that might lend me a bit of credibility. If some random chick goes to the news complaining about a mysterious door appearing in her living room at midnight that's nothing, but if I get a witness then they might have to listen to me. Plus, I figured maybe you could, I don't know, set up some form of protective circle or sigil or something." As soon as the last words left my lips, I felt like a moron, but Lilith actually seemed to perk up a little bit.
"I mean, I guess that makes sense. How about tonight? I can come over at about 11 o' clock so we have a little bit of time to get ready", she said, a tinge of excitement in her voice.
"Sound's like a plan then, I'll text you my address. I really appreciate you doing this for me." We got up from the booth, exchanged hugs, and went our separate ways. I was skeptical about how much good Lilith's "magickal" expertise would do with regard to the unearthly door, but I had mainly mentioned it to get her interested.
I wish I hadn't.
---
About 12 hours later, I heard a knock at the door (my front door, in this case, not the impossible one). I peeked through the peephole, saw it was Lilith, and I ushered her inside. She had brought with her a black leather bag, bulging with various books, candles, jars, and other occult accoutrements.
"That's a lot of stuff", I commented, gesturing towards the bag, "are you sure you'll need all of it?"
She shrugged. "I figured it's better to be safe than sorry. I'd rather be overprepared than come up short."
"Seems reasonable."
I showed her the spot of the blank wall where the door appears and she began setting up candles and incense, drawing strange signs with chalk, and pouring salt in a semi-circle in front of where the door would be. As she worked, she occasionally read out loud from some cheap paperbacks with titles like "The Witch's Bible" and "The Unquiet Dead: A Field Guide to the Afterlife".
To be entirely honest it was incredibly underwhelming. I didn't feel any "mystical energies" or unseen vistas of space and time yawning before me. There was just a goth screwing around with some candles while reciting mangled Latin out of books she got for 4.99 apiece at a charity shop.
Nevertheless, I let Lilith get on with her business and sat back drinking some cheap beer. After about 45 minutes she seemed satisfied. The floor and walls were covered with crude sigils done in white chalk, and the whole room smelt of incense and scented candles. I checked my watch, seeing it was 11:48.
I offered Lilith a drink but she declined, instead just taking a seat and fidgeting a bit with her jewelry. We talked for a while about what the door could be, where it came from, that sort of thing. Lilith seemed convinced it was must be the restless spirit of a former tenant, but I was a bit skeptical. While at this point I could no longer honestly say I didn't believe in the supernatural, this didn't necessarily strike me as some sort of haunting.
"I don't think it's a ghost", I said, taking a sip from my near empty can, "it strikes me as something further beyond our realm of experience than that. Something, I don't know, alien somehow. I mean it changes reality itself doesn't it? It transmutes a wall to a door, and let me tell you that door was real wood and the knob was real metal. Aren't ghosts supposed to be intangible or something?"
Lilith seemed like she was about to say something before she paused, a weird look crossing her face. "Christina, what time is it?" she whispered.
I checked my watch, the digital face reading out 12:07. I turned to see the door. It had been there for 7 minutes and we hadn't even noticed its arrival. Something about us not having realized it was there bothered me far more than its materialization. Was it possible that I'd passed by it in the apartment before and just never noticed it? I'd previously assumed that I'd simply always been asleep or out of the apartment when it materialized, but now I wasn't so sure.
Lilith had turned to look at it too, after a moment saying "It's like it's always been there."
The next 3 hours passed slowly, painfully. We snapped plenty of pictures of the door at every conceivable angle on our respective phones, videos too, and decided that after it disappeared again we should take footage of the bare wall for contrast. Lilith and I chatted a bit, but it was hard to continue conversations for long. Now that we had noticed it, we could feel the wrongness emanating out from the door, as if we were being watched by something just out of sight.
I don't know if there is such a thing as true evil, some sort of absolute moral right and wrong on a spiritual level. But being near that door, I felt like I was bearing witness to an atrocity against reality itself. We spent the last 2 hours of observation in nearly complete silence. It seemed like the longer we were cognizant of the door, the worse the feeling of discomfort got. If you've ever been on a roller coaster, you'll be familiar with the feeling of going up the track towards a long drop, the tension in your very blood as you brace yourself for the fall to come. As we sat there, I felt something similar.
I almost wanted to call the whole thing off, just have Lilith and I go to a 24 hour fast food place or something and call it a night. But I had to know.
Unlike with the door's appearance, we noticed when it started to open. We sat there, paralyzed with fear and excitement as it slowly started to creak open, the worn hinges squealing just as I thought they would. The room grew significantly colder, until we were both shivering intensely. Behind the door was void, absolutely void. It was black as the depths of the ocean and emanated pure dread. The smell of incense and scented candles seemed to dissipate, replaced with a vague stench like rotting seaweed.
Finally, the entrance was swung fully open, and we sat there, staring blankly into it. We didn't even try to pull out our phones to record what we saw. The thought to do so didn't cross my mind until well after.
I could see something start to move in the darkness beyond, some sort of motion, spidery, skittering. It was coming towards us. I caught a vague glimpse of a long, thin limb reaching out from the door, coming towards us, grasping blindly from out of the dark, and then-
I felt the sun shining on my face, my entire body sore.
I opened my eyes to find myself lying on the ground, outside. There were trees overhead, but the foliage wasn't dense enough to block out the light which had awoken me. All things being equal, I would have preferred my alarm clock.
I stood up, painfully, taking stock of my surroundings. I was in a park, one which I had been to before, located a couple miles from my apartment. I looked for my phone, but couldn't find it. I began to stumble my way back home, trying my best to ignore my aching muscles. I called out for Lilith a couple times, but was met only with silence. She was gone.
As I limped my way along, a passing jogger called out "Nice tattoo". Confused, I looked down at my arm.
Burned into my flesh in white letters, as if through frostbite, were the words "BRING MORE".
2023.06.01 15:33 BreadfruitNo7576 Zoom in glitch.
Having this strange glitch on OG SE, when I hold LT on my controller to zoom in with a bow the game speeds up, everything starts flying everywhere and everyone moves at almost double speeds, here's my load order if anyone can help I would love to hear from you.
# Automatically generated by Vortex
Skyrim.esm
Update.esm
Dawnguard.esm
HearthFires.esm
Dragonborn.esm
Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch.esp
Lanterns Of Skyrim II.esm
JK's College of Winterhold.esp
ClefJ's Morthal.esp
GKBWavesReborn.esp
RealisticWaterTwo - Resources.esm
DwemerGatesNoRelock.esl
Ryn's Snazzy Last Vigil.esp
1Mazken.esl
1Markynaz.esl
FestusKrexSpell.esl
TrueHUD.esl
skymojibase.esl
tdgsseSimpleAutoSaveMod.esl
BlackreachSporesSE.esl
Legendary Elder Scrolls Loading Screen.esl
TESLoadingScreen1.esl
Experience.esl
LCR.esp
Expressive Facegen Morphs.esl
Beards of Power.esp
Temple of the Divines Frescoes (Lanterns).esl
Kanjs - Blackfyre.esl
dD - Enhanced Blood Main LITE.esp
SkyUI_SE.esp
Obsidian Weathers.esp
Laundry.esp
SMIM-SE-Merged-All.esp
Gildergreen Regrown.esp
Mortal Enemies.esp
EnhancedLightsandFX.esp
Guard Dialogue Overhaul.esp
Weapons Armor Clothing & Clutter Fixes.esp
Distinct Interiors.esp
ELFX - Exteriors.esp
Eli_Skaal Village Overhaul.esp
Sanctuary Reborn.esp
SoundsofSkyrimComplete.esp
RealisticNordShips2.0.esp
Themarshlands.esp
The Great City of Falkreath.esp
CREATURES.esp
Undriel_QuaintRavenRock.esp
Cidhna Mine Expanded.esp
SeranaDialogAddon.esp
Immersive Encounters.esp
Embers XD.esp
OpulentThievesGuild.esp
JK's Windhelm's Outskirts.esp
JK's Jorrvaskr.esp
Ryn's Dragon Mounds AIO.esp
Point The Way.esp
NewBosmerHouse.esp
AncientLand2.esp
SoS_ELFX_Patch.esp
Immersive Weapons.esp
NW_Sons_of_Skyrim.esp
ogCannibalDraugr.esp
SOTFollowMeAndSwimToo.esp
OldBlood.esp
DudelWerewolfNarrativeExpansion.esp
Windhelm Bridge Revived.esp
CFTO.esp
ThiefEyes_SSE.esp
Natura.esp
OpulentThievesGuildPatch.esp
man_DaedricShrines.esp
Run For Your Lives.esp
Natura - Spriggans.esp
The Blackest Reaches.esp
FCO - Follower Commentary Overhaul.esp
Inigo.esp
Unlimited Charge for Unique Items.esp
ArteFake.esp
GoldenglowIsYours.esp
SaveTheIcerunner.esp
FlyingCrowsSSE.esp
konahrik_accoutrements.esp
Afterlife.esp
mihailvampirelordsandbeasts.esp
LoS II - ELFX patch.esp
Spaghetti's Cities - AIO.esp
Spaghetti's Towns - AIO.esp
mihailhandicappedcitizens.esp
ODDS AND ENDS.esp
CWRepairs.esp
mihailwatcheronly.esp
PaarthurnaxQuestExpansion.esp
College Of Winterhold - Quest Expansion.esp
mihailhousecat.esp
ARMOR OF MODS TEST.esp
Crimson Blood Armor.esp
Embers XD - Fire Magick Add-On.esp
Embers XD - Patch - ClefJ's Morthal.esp
VisualAnimatedEnchants.esp
RecolorBoundWeapons.esp
Embers XD - Patch - ELFX.esp
armored-horses.esp
mihailundeadsnowelf.esp
mihailsnowwhales.esp
mihaildeadlandsxivilais.esp
mihailgiantfamily.esp
Treeman.esp
TsunDalBoss.esp
Sneak Tools.esp
JKs Windhelm Outskirts - Windhelm Bridge Revived patch.esp
AV1Jills.esp
NWS_Karliah.esp
mihaildraugrcavalry.esp
MarkarthSideRefine.esp
DIS_Heavy_Legion.esp
ScopedBows.esp
Bijin Warmaidens.esp
Ryn's Snazzy Last Vigil - Embers XD Patch.esp
NWS_Eola.esp
Falkreath Graveyard.esp
LoS II - SMIM patch.esp
Delphine's Map Reveals Dragon Mounds.esp
JKs Windhelm Outskirts - Immersive Laundry patch.esp
FSA_FindingSusannaAlive.esp
Embers XD - Patch - Lanterns of Skyrim II.esp
StormLord.esp
Take A Peek - New Stealth Mechanic.esp
CBBE.esp
RaceMenu.esp
RaceMenuPlugin.esp
RaceMenuMorphsCBBE.esp
Dynamic Impact - Slash Effects X.esp
Dynamic Impact - Slash Effects X-01EBTLite.esp
[immyneedscake] RyanReos Elf Paladin.esp
[immyneedscake] Morningstar Wings SMP.esp
Meridia Paladin Wings.esp
BetterThirdPersonSelection.esp
Disable Turn Animation.esp
Spaghetti's Palaces - Blue Palace.esp
UnholyBodyTattoo.esp
AudsGothGirls.esp
mihailhircinicaspects.esp
Undriel_Gems_in_Skyrim_SE.esp
mihailcrystalgolem.esp
mihailesocenturion.esp
AK- Boethiah Alternate.esp
LoS II - USSEP patch.esp
WearTheJaggedCrown.esp
My Home Is Your Home.esp
ToneyCraftingResource2.esp
QwibLantern.esp
Eris.esp
DiverseDragonsCollectionSE.esp
LoS II - Sounds of Skyrim patch.esp
JKs Windhelm Outskirts - USSEP patch.esp
Serana Re-Imagined.esp
UD_Serana.esp
Use Those Blankets.esp
BW Eola.esp
EolaReplacer.esp
AstridReborn.esp
bloodbond.esp
bloodbond - alternative player dialogue.esp
Durnehviir God of Death - Remastered.esp
DurnehviirResurrected.esp
Spaghetti's Solstheim - Tel Mithryn.esp
ALT - The Snow Elves Throne - BOS.esp
Sharpen Other Swords II.esp
MaximumCarnage.esp
Opulent Thieves Guild - Sneak Tools Patch.esp
TG Door Never Closes.esp
man_DaedricShrines - OpulentThievesGuild patch by Xtudo.esp
Tainted_Blood.esp
BB's Solstheim NPC Overhaul - Men.esp
BB's Solstheim NPC Overhaul - Women.esp
NITHI NPCs - The Thieves Guild - Men.esp
NITHI NPCs - The Thieves Guild - Women.esp
Durnehviir Resurrected Normal - God Of Death Remastered Patch.esp
UnreadBooksGlow.esp
Gems in Gold Purses.esp
WEAPONS OF MODS.esp
Kanjs - Gangrvegr.esp
BBD Skimpy Assassin Outfit.esp
dD-No Spinning Death Animation Merged.esp
Rings2Hands.esp
MarkynazArmorPatch.esp
InigoPerkPointGiver.esp
BOOBIES_ImmersiveIcons.esp
CommunityOverlays2_31T50.esp
AThiefsCreed.esp
AThiefsLuck.esp
McmRecorder.esp
LokiHorses.esp
Missing Follower Dialogue Fix.esp
GuardianShieldSLN.esp
FastTravelSpeedMultiplier.esp
k101Daegon.esp
USMP - Generic Mannequin patch.esp
USMP - Oblivion Icon patch.esp
USMP - WACCF - GDO patch.esp
skymoji.esp
AHZmoreHUD.esp
FurnitureConditionSpell.esp
Project Cougar - Idgrod Ravencrone.esp
Armor of Intrigue.esp
ElenwenReplacer.esp
BretonNPCsHaveElvenEars.esp
Project Cougar - LillithMaidenLoom.esp
CourierReplacer.esp
DB_OnTheGo.esp
NoUndetectedThievesGuildDarkBrotherhoodDialogue.esp
EVGConditionalIdles.esp
Andromeda - Unique Standing Stones of Skyrim.esp
Chapter II - Soundtrack mod by Dreyma Music.esp
ImprovedAlternateConversationCamera.esp
Simple Outfit System.esp
CommunityOverlays1_0T30.esp
Companions Radiant Quests Requirement.esp
MOA Seeker Spells.esp
DVS - Summonable Shadowmere.esp
NPCs React To Necromancy.esp
NPCs React To Necromancy - No Consequences.esp
BlendedRoads.esp
Sneak Tools Vanilla Hoods.esp
Sneak Tools Vanilla Masks.esp
JumpAttack.esp
MorePainfulNPCDeathSounds.esp
I4IconAddon.esp
Quests Award Perk Points.esp
No follow while talking.esp
Precision.esp
SoS_TrueStorms_Patch.esp
SoS_Obsidian_Patch.esp
Project Cougars - Olava.esp
BB's Dark Brotherhood NPC Overhaul Revisited - Men.esp
BB's Dark Brotherhood NPC Overhaul Revisited - Women.esp
ExtendedStay.esp
JS Emissive Eyes SE - Johnskyrim.esp
DokPatch - Housecarls.esp
MVC Meridia Replacer.esp
PositiveUndressedReactions.esp
LuminousAtronachs.esp
PAN_Valerica.esp
MLQ_ForswornSkinchangers.esp
Elder Souls - sweep attack standalone.esp
HeelsFix.esp
Heartbeat.esp
Ryn's Snazzy Last Vigil - Ebony Warrior Overhaul.esp
PF_Underforge.esp
Companions Bloodritual Scene Tweak.esp
ReadTheRoom.esp
mihailtalkativedragonpriests.esp
Ebonblade Waraxe SE - Johnskyrim.esp
GuidingLight.esp
BraithNoMoreBullying.esp
BodyRefinement.esp
CaptivatingCompanionFollowers.esp
Airgetlam.esp
ShowPlayerInMenus.esp
SensibleBribes.esp
fastlifeplus1.2SE.esp
RichMerchantsSkyrim_x10.esp
DragonCombatDialogue.esp
VWA_VanillaWarpaintsAbsolution.esp
Cinematic Sprint.esp
PickpocketEveryone.esp
ScopedBows_ArrowTweaks.esp
ScopedBows_EagleEyeTweak.esp
UIExtensions.esp
Pronouns.esp
Pickpocket100Chance.esp
PickpocketReset.esp
NoBSAIProjectileDodge.esp
RaceMenuHH.esp
KarstaagReborn.esp
DG-NoAttacks.esp
ThiefEyes_SSE - Book Chance 100.esp
Cow_EasyEditionPatch.esp
ImmersiveInteractions.esp
ImGladYoureHere.esp
Rayg_NoBYOHAttacks.esp
MCMHelper.esp
FEC.esp
HagravenSkinShaders.esp
FleshFX.esp
KSHairdosSMP.esp
Unique Uniques.esp
3BBB.esp
SOSPhysicsManager.esp
Sleeping Expanded.esp
Civil War Lines Expansion.esp
Bandit Lines Expansion.esp
SmoothCam.esp
TrueDirectionalMovement.esp
SkyHUD.esp
VolumeticMistsSolstheim.esp
VolumeticMists.esp
DragonbornAscendant.esp
Dragon Claws Auto-Unlock.esp
BarenziahQuestMarkers.esp
Wolfpaint_Face.esp
TheEyesOfBeauty.esp
NB-Scars.esp
KS Hairdo's.esp
Brows.esp
StrangeRunes.esp
sanctuarycleanup.esp
Cinematic Dragon Soul Absorbtion.esp
AllThievesGuildJobsConcurrently.esp
AMatterOfTime.esp
FNIS.esp
XPMSE.esp
CompanionsTweaks.esp
ORI - HarkonSword.esp
Real Feeding V3.esp
GenderingGuards.esp
QuickLootEE.esp
[full_inu] Mjolnir.esp
_Fuse00_ArmorCountess.esp
icepenguinworldmapclassic.esp
Player Size Adjuster.esp
Alternate Start - Live Another Life.esp
ELFXEnhancer.esp
RealisticWaterTwo.esp
Modern Brawl Bug Fix.esp
submitted by BreadfruitNo7576 to skyrimmods [link] [comments]
# Automatically generated by Vortex
Skyrim.esm
Update.esm
Dawnguard.esm
HearthFires.esm
Dragonborn.esm
Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch.esp
Lanterns Of Skyrim II.esm
JK's College of Winterhold.esp
ClefJ's Morthal.esp
GKBWavesReborn.esp
RealisticWaterTwo - Resources.esm
DwemerGatesNoRelock.esl
Ryn's Snazzy Last Vigil.esp
1Mazken.esl
1Markynaz.esl
FestusKrexSpell.esl
TrueHUD.esl
skymojibase.esl
tdgsseSimpleAutoSaveMod.esl
BlackreachSporesSE.esl
Legendary Elder Scrolls Loading Screen.esl
TESLoadingScreen1.esl
Experience.esl
LCR.esp
Expressive Facegen Morphs.esl
Beards of Power.esp
Temple of the Divines Frescoes (Lanterns).esl
Kanjs - Blackfyre.esl
dD - Enhanced Blood Main LITE.esp
SkyUI_SE.esp
Obsidian Weathers.esp
Laundry.esp
SMIM-SE-Merged-All.esp
Gildergreen Regrown.esp
Mortal Enemies.esp
EnhancedLightsandFX.esp
Guard Dialogue Overhaul.esp
Weapons Armor Clothing & Clutter Fixes.esp
Distinct Interiors.esp
ELFX - Exteriors.esp
Eli_Skaal Village Overhaul.esp
Sanctuary Reborn.esp
SoundsofSkyrimComplete.esp
RealisticNordShips2.0.esp
Themarshlands.esp
The Great City of Falkreath.esp
CREATURES.esp
Undriel_QuaintRavenRock.esp
Cidhna Mine Expanded.esp
SeranaDialogAddon.esp
Immersive Encounters.esp
Embers XD.esp
OpulentThievesGuild.esp
JK's Windhelm's Outskirts.esp
JK's Jorrvaskr.esp
Ryn's Dragon Mounds AIO.esp
Point The Way.esp
NewBosmerHouse.esp
AncientLand2.esp
SoS_ELFX_Patch.esp
Immersive Weapons.esp
NW_Sons_of_Skyrim.esp
ogCannibalDraugr.esp
SOTFollowMeAndSwimToo.esp
OldBlood.esp
DudelWerewolfNarrativeExpansion.esp
Windhelm Bridge Revived.esp
CFTO.esp
ThiefEyes_SSE.esp
Natura.esp
OpulentThievesGuildPatch.esp
man_DaedricShrines.esp
Run For Your Lives.esp
Natura - Spriggans.esp
The Blackest Reaches.esp
FCO - Follower Commentary Overhaul.esp
Inigo.esp
Unlimited Charge for Unique Items.esp
ArteFake.esp
GoldenglowIsYours.esp
SaveTheIcerunner.esp
FlyingCrowsSSE.esp
konahrik_accoutrements.esp
Afterlife.esp
mihailvampirelordsandbeasts.esp
LoS II - ELFX patch.esp
Spaghetti's Cities - AIO.esp
Spaghetti's Towns - AIO.esp
mihailhandicappedcitizens.esp
ODDS AND ENDS.esp
CWRepairs.esp
mihailwatcheronly.esp
PaarthurnaxQuestExpansion.esp
College Of Winterhold - Quest Expansion.esp
mihailhousecat.esp
ARMOR OF MODS TEST.esp
Crimson Blood Armor.esp
Embers XD - Fire Magick Add-On.esp
Embers XD - Patch - ClefJ's Morthal.esp
VisualAnimatedEnchants.esp
RecolorBoundWeapons.esp
Embers XD - Patch - ELFX.esp
armored-horses.esp
mihailundeadsnowelf.esp
mihailsnowwhales.esp
mihaildeadlandsxivilais.esp
mihailgiantfamily.esp
Treeman.esp
TsunDalBoss.esp
Sneak Tools.esp
JKs Windhelm Outskirts - Windhelm Bridge Revived patch.esp
AV1Jills.esp
NWS_Karliah.esp
mihaildraugrcavalry.esp
MarkarthSideRefine.esp
DIS_Heavy_Legion.esp
ScopedBows.esp
Bijin Warmaidens.esp
Ryn's Snazzy Last Vigil - Embers XD Patch.esp
NWS_Eola.esp
Falkreath Graveyard.esp
LoS II - SMIM patch.esp
Delphine's Map Reveals Dragon Mounds.esp
JKs Windhelm Outskirts - Immersive Laundry patch.esp
FSA_FindingSusannaAlive.esp
Embers XD - Patch - Lanterns of Skyrim II.esp
StormLord.esp
Take A Peek - New Stealth Mechanic.esp
CBBE.esp
RaceMenu.esp
RaceMenuPlugin.esp
RaceMenuMorphsCBBE.esp
Dynamic Impact - Slash Effects X.esp
Dynamic Impact - Slash Effects X-01EBTLite.esp
[immyneedscake] RyanReos Elf Paladin.esp
[immyneedscake] Morningstar Wings SMP.esp
Meridia Paladin Wings.esp
BetterThirdPersonSelection.esp
Disable Turn Animation.esp
Spaghetti's Palaces - Blue Palace.esp
UnholyBodyTattoo.esp
AudsGothGirls.esp
mihailhircinicaspects.esp
Undriel_Gems_in_Skyrim_SE.esp
mihailcrystalgolem.esp
mihailesocenturion.esp
AK- Boethiah Alternate.esp
LoS II - USSEP patch.esp
WearTheJaggedCrown.esp
My Home Is Your Home.esp
ToneyCraftingResource2.esp
QwibLantern.esp
Eris.esp
DiverseDragonsCollectionSE.esp
LoS II - Sounds of Skyrim patch.esp
JKs Windhelm Outskirts - USSEP patch.esp
Serana Re-Imagined.esp
UD_Serana.esp
Use Those Blankets.esp
BW Eola.esp
EolaReplacer.esp
AstridReborn.esp
bloodbond.esp
bloodbond - alternative player dialogue.esp
Durnehviir God of Death - Remastered.esp
DurnehviirResurrected.esp
Spaghetti's Solstheim - Tel Mithryn.esp
ALT - The Snow Elves Throne - BOS.esp
Sharpen Other Swords II.esp
MaximumCarnage.esp
Opulent Thieves Guild - Sneak Tools Patch.esp
TG Door Never Closes.esp
man_DaedricShrines - OpulentThievesGuild patch by Xtudo.esp
Tainted_Blood.esp
BB's Solstheim NPC Overhaul - Men.esp
BB's Solstheim NPC Overhaul - Women.esp
NITHI NPCs - The Thieves Guild - Men.esp
NITHI NPCs - The Thieves Guild - Women.esp
Durnehviir Resurrected Normal - God Of Death Remastered Patch.esp
UnreadBooksGlow.esp
Gems in Gold Purses.esp
WEAPONS OF MODS.esp
Kanjs - Gangrvegr.esp
BBD Skimpy Assassin Outfit.esp
dD-No Spinning Death Animation Merged.esp
Rings2Hands.esp
MarkynazArmorPatch.esp
InigoPerkPointGiver.esp
BOOBIES_ImmersiveIcons.esp
CommunityOverlays2_31T50.esp
AThiefsCreed.esp
AThiefsLuck.esp
McmRecorder.esp
LokiHorses.esp
Missing Follower Dialogue Fix.esp
GuardianShieldSLN.esp
FastTravelSpeedMultiplier.esp
k101Daegon.esp
USMP - Generic Mannequin patch.esp
USMP - Oblivion Icon patch.esp
USMP - WACCF - GDO patch.esp
skymoji.esp
AHZmoreHUD.esp
FurnitureConditionSpell.esp
Project Cougar - Idgrod Ravencrone.esp
Armor of Intrigue.esp
ElenwenReplacer.esp
BretonNPCsHaveElvenEars.esp
Project Cougar - LillithMaidenLoom.esp
CourierReplacer.esp
DB_OnTheGo.esp
NoUndetectedThievesGuildDarkBrotherhoodDialogue.esp
EVGConditionalIdles.esp
Andromeda - Unique Standing Stones of Skyrim.esp
Chapter II - Soundtrack mod by Dreyma Music.esp
ImprovedAlternateConversationCamera.esp
Simple Outfit System.esp
CommunityOverlays1_0T30.esp
Companions Radiant Quests Requirement.esp
MOA Seeker Spells.esp
DVS - Summonable Shadowmere.esp
NPCs React To Necromancy.esp
NPCs React To Necromancy - No Consequences.esp
BlendedRoads.esp
Sneak Tools Vanilla Hoods.esp
Sneak Tools Vanilla Masks.esp
JumpAttack.esp
MorePainfulNPCDeathSounds.esp
I4IconAddon.esp
Quests Award Perk Points.esp
No follow while talking.esp
Precision.esp
SoS_TrueStorms_Patch.esp
SoS_Obsidian_Patch.esp
Project Cougars - Olava.esp
BB's Dark Brotherhood NPC Overhaul Revisited - Men.esp
BB's Dark Brotherhood NPC Overhaul Revisited - Women.esp
ExtendedStay.esp
JS Emissive Eyes SE - Johnskyrim.esp
DokPatch - Housecarls.esp
MVC Meridia Replacer.esp
PositiveUndressedReactions.esp
LuminousAtronachs.esp
PAN_Valerica.esp
MLQ_ForswornSkinchangers.esp
Elder Souls - sweep attack standalone.esp
HeelsFix.esp
Heartbeat.esp
Ryn's Snazzy Last Vigil - Ebony Warrior Overhaul.esp
PF_Underforge.esp
Companions Bloodritual Scene Tweak.esp
ReadTheRoom.esp
mihailtalkativedragonpriests.esp
Ebonblade Waraxe SE - Johnskyrim.esp
GuidingLight.esp
BraithNoMoreBullying.esp
BodyRefinement.esp
CaptivatingCompanionFollowers.esp
Airgetlam.esp
ShowPlayerInMenus.esp
SensibleBribes.esp
fastlifeplus1.2SE.esp
RichMerchantsSkyrim_x10.esp
DragonCombatDialogue.esp
VWA_VanillaWarpaintsAbsolution.esp
Cinematic Sprint.esp
PickpocketEveryone.esp
ScopedBows_ArrowTweaks.esp
ScopedBows_EagleEyeTweak.esp
UIExtensions.esp
Pronouns.esp
Pickpocket100Chance.esp
PickpocketReset.esp
NoBSAIProjectileDodge.esp
RaceMenuHH.esp
KarstaagReborn.esp
DG-NoAttacks.esp
ThiefEyes_SSE - Book Chance 100.esp
Cow_EasyEditionPatch.esp
ImmersiveInteractions.esp
ImGladYoureHere.esp
Rayg_NoBYOHAttacks.esp
MCMHelper.esp
FEC.esp
HagravenSkinShaders.esp
FleshFX.esp
KSHairdosSMP.esp
Unique Uniques.esp
3BBB.esp
SOSPhysicsManager.esp
Sleeping Expanded.esp
Civil War Lines Expansion.esp
Bandit Lines Expansion.esp
SmoothCam.esp
TrueDirectionalMovement.esp
SkyHUD.esp
VolumeticMistsSolstheim.esp
VolumeticMists.esp
DragonbornAscendant.esp
Dragon Claws Auto-Unlock.esp
BarenziahQuestMarkers.esp
Wolfpaint_Face.esp
TheEyesOfBeauty.esp
NB-Scars.esp
KS Hairdo's.esp
Brows.esp
StrangeRunes.esp
sanctuarycleanup.esp
Cinematic Dragon Soul Absorbtion.esp
AllThievesGuildJobsConcurrently.esp
AMatterOfTime.esp
FNIS.esp
XPMSE.esp
CompanionsTweaks.esp
ORI - HarkonSword.esp
Real Feeding V3.esp
GenderingGuards.esp
QuickLootEE.esp
[full_inu] Mjolnir.esp
_Fuse00_ArmorCountess.esp
icepenguinworldmapclassic.esp
Player Size Adjuster.esp
Alternate Start - Live Another Life.esp
ELFXEnhancer.esp
RealisticWaterTwo.esp
Modern Brawl Bug Fix.esp
2023.06.01 15:22 Kyrike Barrage Mitigation Suggestion
 | submitted by Kyrike to 2007scape [link] [comments] |
2023.06.01 14:46 Gael_L Any point in using Ancients or Arceuus in Bounty Hunter ?
As I understand it, most people in Bounty Hunter are using the Lunar Spellbook for Vengeance, with a few using the Normal Spellbook for Fire Surge instead. But I wonder : despite the absence of Ice Barrage, is there any point in using Ancient Magicks in BH (maybe for well-placed Blood Heals) ? Same thought goes for Arceuus spellbook (dunno if thralls are worth it, or maybe there’s some funky stuff to do with Corruption and Marks of Darkness, I dunno).
submitted by Gael_L to 2007scape [link] [comments]
2023.05.31 22:52 kaworo0 Basic Rotes for the Traditions - Sample of Akashayana Cleanup and Critics
Ok, I am thinking about slowly putting these rotes on the vault one tradition at a time. I would love some critics if anyone care to share them. This is what I am thinking about publishing for the Correspondence Sphere for the Akashayana:
-----
Correspondence
Under Moonless Light (Correspondence O)
Senses are the most devious chains of conditioning. They fool the mind into separating things as this or that, me or other. For humans, sight is specially intoxicating being our main crutch to stand in the world. It creates the highest boundary between what is perceived as internal or external, the inner world behind one’s eyes and the rest of the universe parading in front of them. Taking vision away from apprentices is one of the first steps of their training. Letting they trip and fall, get accustomed to the fear of not knowing and, eventually, learning to make friends with the darkness.
The Moonless light is that which shows mages a world beyond images or thresholds. The raw awareness of immediate presences, without form or color. It arises as the mage learns to be at peace with the darkness, to calm their breath and find their center. To rest in this indistinct place where things simply are. With their eyes closed or veiled, the mage can fight, run and climb just by trusting their instincts. They know who comes and goes by familiarity alone and, when threading dangerous roads are never caught unaware by enemies’ assaults.
System: This effect negates perception penalties by having senses blocked or being under poor sight conditions. The mage can also perceive the very nature of people and things they know, recognizing people under disguises or forgeries in the place of objects they know. All successes beyond the first actually reduce difficulties of all perception and dodge rolls against physical assaults and sudden movements.
Oceanic Presence (Correspondence O, optional Mind O)
The self is just a habit. It is a compulsive attachment to the sensations of a single body and the ego of a single mind. Meditation for the akashayana is not a path inward, but liberation from the illusion consciousness emanates from any one particular thing. The apprentice quiets the chattering thoughts and the knots of perception loosen enough so a better vantage point can be achieved. Identity decompresses and the akashayana returns to being equally the body that sits and dojo that shelters it, the whispering winds and the grass they caress, the endless clouds and the falling snow.
System: Successes increase an area of effect centered on the character's position: 1 success for a room (or area of X square yards/meters), 2 successes for a house or open field, 3 successes for a large building or mansion, 4 successes for a city block or entire monastery. The movement of large objects and creatures can be sensed without much effort, but anything more subtle or minute may require perception checks.
Due to the dissolute nature of this effect, things happening just beside the mage or on the edge of the area are equally vibrant. Without Mind O it can become so overwhelming the akashayana may lose track of their own body, incapable of any action but equanimous contemplation.
Visions of Dharma (Correspondence OO, Entropy O, optionals Time OO / Mind OOO)
Life is ten thousand stories sharing actors and stages. Events whose rhyme and reason are the gifts of Dharma, the force which threads existence into beautiful tapestries showing the path of transcendence. The akashayana know everything is participating in this universal flow and by abandoning themselves to spontaneity they allow themselves to be guided by its currents. Calligraphy reveals the shapes of the distant lands between characters’ lines and their meaning, Poetry captures emerging emotional context of events and mantras remind of transcendent truth and the cyclical process of their realization. In the mind's eye, history being inscribed right at this moment rises as collages of thoughts, powerful artistic inspirations or half-forgotten conversations whose topics suddenly take prophetic undertones. Through art and contemplation, mages see the world as an extension of themselves, like breath or heartbeats, daydreams or memories.
System: At its basic form, this effect reveals what is going on in a distant place. Instead of painting a precise picture of a specific area, it covers large regions giving a general sense of whether things are going according to the experiences or expectations of the mage or if unexpected developments are at hand. Every success allows one clarifying question to be asked.
If Time OO is employed, questions can also involve crucial events leading up to that situation or the most likely outcomes or consequences in the immediate future.
If Mind OOO is used, additional successes can share the effect with different partners appreciating the performance at hand, this allows them to get their own impressions about events taking place based on their expectations and experiences and ask their own separate questions.
Maneuver: Palm of Peace (Correspondence OO, Matter O)
While sleepers perceive very little outside the main subject of their physical senses, the akashayana train to be mindful of a variety of tangential impressions. The subtext of thoughts, their emotional responses, the way their body reacts to the environment, these are all extra windows to apprehend reality. Disregarding prejudices about where things end and others begin gives them insights on how we flow into the things we hold and how our actions become us. A warrior and their weapons reconstructed as a menacing drop of ink expanding in tranquil waters of consciousness.
The palm of peace aims to disperse those violent clouds. It expands the equanimity inside the heart of the mage as gale. A physical strike, a release of breath and a twist of the Dao. In a flash of speed, a warrior is somehow separated from their weapons and taken by surprise by the sound of them landing impossibly far across the battlefield. Instruments of war scattered before violence can manifest. A potential source of delusion removed from samsara.
System: A successful strike is the focus of this effect, allowing an immediate roll of arete. One success removes drawn or visible weapons from the target’s grasp, two successes remove concealed weapons and three successes disarm the target completely, including ammo, armor and, in the case of technocrats, even technological trinkets and equipment they may use for their magick.
Retreats of Discipline (Correspondence OOO, optional Time OOOO)
The disciple strikes. In the motions of the kata they loses themselves. A hundred mirrors unfold at the edges of perception. Each reflecting the same motions, none repeating similar landscapes.
Another strike, another spín. The feet that rise from the temple's floor land on wet sand. The chirping of birds replaced by crashing waves. One familiar ground exchanged for another as illusions are cut and bent. The kata, though, remains unbroken.
The akasha is the timeless and spaceless primordial element. The void which holds all forms and records all experiences. Monks learned to access it through diligent exercises like katas, meditation, the folding of origami or the creating sand mandalas. Chasing perfection, awareness contracts making the rest of the world vanish. Different practices overlap as memories synchronize, multiple training grounds merging into one at the periphery of perception. Regardless of where the mage began, memory leads them to finish anywhere they vividly remember to have stood before.
System: This effect works in two moments. In the first, the mage builds up sympathy with a given place by constantly engaging in repetitive exercises. Successes dictate how long this sympathetic connection lasts: One successes lasts for a day or the next sunrise/sundown, Two for a week or lunar phase, three for a few months or a season, four for whole year and five makes it a permanent “waypoint” for the duration of the chronicle. Later on the mage can teleport back to that place with a single success no matter where they are provided they can perform the ritual action.
If Time OOOO is added to this effect, the mage can do the teleportation as a reflex action without a roll, but will have to endure a permanent point of paradox that will downgrade to temporary only once the effect is finally spent. Additional successes can be devoted to create more “charges” for the effect but also incur in extra permanent paradox points.
Maneuver: Formless Fluidity (Correspondence OOO, optional Life OO)
The body is but a vehicle for awareness. It is an illusory vessel composed of memories and energy woven together by expectation, trauma and karma. Wherever the ego believes itself, there will be a projected body providing samsara with a mobile prison of form. During their training, the akashayana are confronted with impossible movements. Sequences of jumps, dodges and rolls that shouldn’t be possible, trajectories and contortions that defy comprehension, and yet, they are masterfully demonstrated by their Sifus. Countless hours of training allow the akashayana to forge those experiences into temporary shortcuts out of the limits of form. They visualize their martial forms so strongly that they remake their arms and legs to fit their patterns and learn to perform transitions and strikes that ignore geometry.
In a second the monk being firmly held on a choke appears behind their opponent, grappling them; The fighter under the crosshair of a distant sniper kicks the guns out of their hands and the assassin suddenly stabs a victim is observed jumping across a window on the other side of the room by dumbfound bodyguards. Sleepers think they are observing feats of speed, awakened senses know better.
System: A basic success allows the akasha to reappear in a different position already performing an acrobatic maneuver or martial move on a 1 meter radius of their initial location. Every extra success triple the radios the character can cross. The Akasha must undergo a martial strike or acrobatic maneuver in the end point, as this is integral part of the focus (and, thankfully, doesn’t require an extra action, split dice pool or combat turn.)
If life OO is added, the mage reforms themselves ignoring wounds or impairments that have been inflicted in the previous turn. Only extra successes beyond the first can be used for healing and they cannot heal wounds that weren’t just inflicted.
Maneuver: The Merciful Fall (Correspondence OOOO, optional Spirit OOOO)
Reality is a product of perception. Wherever the mind imagines itself, it constantly projects a vehicle for its self-image. We become what we identify with and all akashayana eventually learn that conflicts are games of deception: Combatants trying to convince each other they’ve fallen into losing positions, defeated by their own illusions.
Through exhaustive martial training, the mage learns to make attacks not only with fists but with all of themselves. They push not only with muscles and technique, but with the experiences that shaped them. Their memories of sparring and being bested by much more skilled fighters are wielded as weapons of vertigo and confusion. Trips and tumbles gain metaphysical weight. Sweeps and throws become instruments not only to derail physical balance but to twist the samsara itself. Victims vanish on thin air dropping elsewhere in the vicinity confused and out of commission.
System: This effect can be used whenever the Akasha successfully takes an opponent out of balance with a martial strike. Successes define how far the opponent falls from the mage: One success means the target falls nearby but far enough they need to put effort to re engage. Two successes means the target finds themselves blocked by a significant physical barrier, behind a wall, on a different floor or inside a large trash can. Three successes means the target is effectively out of the fight, dropped in a place so far removed that it will be hard to even find their way back to the fight. If the mage is able to throw an opponent against others, success can be split to increase the number of targets making each vanish to a different place.
If Spirit OOOO is employed, on three or more successes the mage can send targets across the gauntlet.(In which case this is hardly considered a merciful technique anymore)
Maneuver: Form of a Thousand ( Correspondence OOOO, Life OOO, Mind O, Optional Matter OO / Life OOOO)
As the akashayana pursue enlightenment they start getting used to the illusory nature of physical boundaries. They learn to let go of fixed forms recognizing that mind is what supports the body, not the other way around. Meeting the demands of a fight becomes not only a challenge tackled by muscle but a puzzle solved through contortions of perception. They welcome multiple opponents as their forms blurs protruding half dozen of arms to party strikes, vanishing like ghosts out of the way of incoming blades and striking different directions as stacked reflections of a single person. One enemy receives a round kicking to the face, while another is grappled and thrown away. Close enemies are held at bay by a swirling spear while distant targets are hit by bow and arrow. Feet, heads, arms and legs rippling in and out from a central figure in the likeness of the ancient gods depicted in stone and tapestries.
System: Every success after the first allows the mage to concentrate and face a different opponent or wield a different weapon. The mage looks like superimposed versions of themselves sharing the same position for the duration of the fight. As new opponents come along or the mage finds new weapons to wield they can keep instantly creating more instances of themselves as each strike, dodge and party doubles as a ritual for the effect.
If Matter OO is used, the same weapon can be wielded against different opponents as they also unfold in multiple mirages.
if Life OOOO is used instead, the reflections of the mage can disentangle from each other becoming completely independent fighters only sharing a single health pool.
Mantra of Distant Tranquility (Correspondence OOOOO, Optionals Matter OO / Spirit OOOO / Time OO + Entropy OOOO)
The enlightened mind becomes one with the Tao. Its meditations are the reflections of the world itself and it bends samsara not to conceal but to express the ultimate truth. The mantra of distant tranquility is a secret used to protect monasteries of the tradition in times of war. It begins with the venerable master assuming the lotus position and leading a tune to which all other monks and apprentices will join. Its lines tell about the peace which is solely reserved for those that achieve complete detachment. A promised moksha that is always an inch away from our grasp.
As long as these mages keep chanting, all beings who have not joined the tradition and are not part of the akasha dharma see their attempts to approach frustrated. Vandals see the akashic temples retreat in proportion to their advances. If they ever take their eyes out of their destination, they find themselves back at the beginning of their journey, as if they never took a single step. Onlookers see forms rippling into a multitudes as trespassers fight to gain terrain, all being continuously pushed back as the ominous chant repeats itself from across space.
System: This effect makes approaching an area a matter of sympathetic connection instead of physical travel. Successes both to delimit the area covered as well as the pool potential trespasser must beat. One success covers the size of a room, two successes protects a house or floor of a building, three successes a large building or football field, four successes an entire monastery or city block and five successes an entire geographic region like a small forest or mountain top.
The effect prevents traveling in the specific direction of the mage, and those affected must roll willpower at difficulty proportional to their sympathetic connection. (Blood Related / lives in the area - Dif 6; Intimate friend / Visits often Dif 7; Social Acquaintance / has visited once Dif 8, Never physically interacted Dif 9). Critical failures reset all progress, as well as losing focus on fighting against the repulsion waves of the effect.
The mage feels opponents pushing against the effect and can always reinforce it with more successes, each extra arete roll inflicts one extra point of paradox. This rote is usually enacted as a group ritual that takes effect as soon as it begins and lasts for as long as the ritual persists.While similar effects can have their duration extended with extra successes this rote cannot due to how fast it starts acting and the inbuilt feedback mechanisms. If the mage stops concentrating or is interrupted the effect ends.
if Matter OO is added, this effect also distorts the trajectory of physical projectiles trying to breach the protected area and hit the mage. Threshold affects all rolls for aiming in that particular direction.
if Spirit OOOO is added, the threshold is also applied to attempts of intruding from beyond the gauntlet.
If Time OO and Entropy OOOO are added, this effect passes unnoticed by anyone that is not actively attempting to get into the area.Only those who plan to find the mage or the place they are protecting gets affected.
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link for the original project:
Basic Rotes for the Traditions
submitted by kaworo0 to WhiteWolfRPG [link] [comments]
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Correspondence
Under Moonless Light (Correspondence O)
Senses are the most devious chains of conditioning. They fool the mind into separating things as this or that, me or other. For humans, sight is specially intoxicating being our main crutch to stand in the world. It creates the highest boundary between what is perceived as internal or external, the inner world behind one’s eyes and the rest of the universe parading in front of them. Taking vision away from apprentices is one of the first steps of their training. Letting they trip and fall, get accustomed to the fear of not knowing and, eventually, learning to make friends with the darkness.
The Moonless light is that which shows mages a world beyond images or thresholds. The raw awareness of immediate presences, without form or color. It arises as the mage learns to be at peace with the darkness, to calm their breath and find their center. To rest in this indistinct place where things simply are. With their eyes closed or veiled, the mage can fight, run and climb just by trusting their instincts. They know who comes and goes by familiarity alone and, when threading dangerous roads are never caught unaware by enemies’ assaults.
System: This effect negates perception penalties by having senses blocked or being under poor sight conditions. The mage can also perceive the very nature of people and things they know, recognizing people under disguises or forgeries in the place of objects they know. All successes beyond the first actually reduce difficulties of all perception and dodge rolls against physical assaults and sudden movements.
Oceanic Presence (Correspondence O, optional Mind O)
The self is just a habit. It is a compulsive attachment to the sensations of a single body and the ego of a single mind. Meditation for the akashayana is not a path inward, but liberation from the illusion consciousness emanates from any one particular thing. The apprentice quiets the chattering thoughts and the knots of perception loosen enough so a better vantage point can be achieved. Identity decompresses and the akashayana returns to being equally the body that sits and dojo that shelters it, the whispering winds and the grass they caress, the endless clouds and the falling snow.
System: Successes increase an area of effect centered on the character's position: 1 success for a room (or area of X square yards/meters), 2 successes for a house or open field, 3 successes for a large building or mansion, 4 successes for a city block or entire monastery. The movement of large objects and creatures can be sensed without much effort, but anything more subtle or minute may require perception checks.
Due to the dissolute nature of this effect, things happening just beside the mage or on the edge of the area are equally vibrant. Without Mind O it can become so overwhelming the akashayana may lose track of their own body, incapable of any action but equanimous contemplation.
Visions of Dharma (Correspondence OO, Entropy O, optionals Time OO / Mind OOO)
Life is ten thousand stories sharing actors and stages. Events whose rhyme and reason are the gifts of Dharma, the force which threads existence into beautiful tapestries showing the path of transcendence. The akashayana know everything is participating in this universal flow and by abandoning themselves to spontaneity they allow themselves to be guided by its currents. Calligraphy reveals the shapes of the distant lands between characters’ lines and their meaning, Poetry captures emerging emotional context of events and mantras remind of transcendent truth and the cyclical process of their realization. In the mind's eye, history being inscribed right at this moment rises as collages of thoughts, powerful artistic inspirations or half-forgotten conversations whose topics suddenly take prophetic undertones. Through art and contemplation, mages see the world as an extension of themselves, like breath or heartbeats, daydreams or memories.
System: At its basic form, this effect reveals what is going on in a distant place. Instead of painting a precise picture of a specific area, it covers large regions giving a general sense of whether things are going according to the experiences or expectations of the mage or if unexpected developments are at hand. Every success allows one clarifying question to be asked.
If Time OO is employed, questions can also involve crucial events leading up to that situation or the most likely outcomes or consequences in the immediate future.
If Mind OOO is used, additional successes can share the effect with different partners appreciating the performance at hand, this allows them to get their own impressions about events taking place based on their expectations and experiences and ask their own separate questions.
Maneuver: Palm of Peace (Correspondence OO, Matter O)
While sleepers perceive very little outside the main subject of their physical senses, the akashayana train to be mindful of a variety of tangential impressions. The subtext of thoughts, their emotional responses, the way their body reacts to the environment, these are all extra windows to apprehend reality. Disregarding prejudices about where things end and others begin gives them insights on how we flow into the things we hold and how our actions become us. A warrior and their weapons reconstructed as a menacing drop of ink expanding in tranquil waters of consciousness.
The palm of peace aims to disperse those violent clouds. It expands the equanimity inside the heart of the mage as gale. A physical strike, a release of breath and a twist of the Dao. In a flash of speed, a warrior is somehow separated from their weapons and taken by surprise by the sound of them landing impossibly far across the battlefield. Instruments of war scattered before violence can manifest. A potential source of delusion removed from samsara.
System: A successful strike is the focus of this effect, allowing an immediate roll of arete. One success removes drawn or visible weapons from the target’s grasp, two successes remove concealed weapons and three successes disarm the target completely, including ammo, armor and, in the case of technocrats, even technological trinkets and equipment they may use for their magick.
Retreats of Discipline (Correspondence OOO, optional Time OOOO)
The disciple strikes. In the motions of the kata they loses themselves. A hundred mirrors unfold at the edges of perception. Each reflecting the same motions, none repeating similar landscapes.
Another strike, another spín. The feet that rise from the temple's floor land on wet sand. The chirping of birds replaced by crashing waves. One familiar ground exchanged for another as illusions are cut and bent. The kata, though, remains unbroken.
The akasha is the timeless and spaceless primordial element. The void which holds all forms and records all experiences. Monks learned to access it through diligent exercises like katas, meditation, the folding of origami or the creating sand mandalas. Chasing perfection, awareness contracts making the rest of the world vanish. Different practices overlap as memories synchronize, multiple training grounds merging into one at the periphery of perception. Regardless of where the mage began, memory leads them to finish anywhere they vividly remember to have stood before.
System: This effect works in two moments. In the first, the mage builds up sympathy with a given place by constantly engaging in repetitive exercises. Successes dictate how long this sympathetic connection lasts: One successes lasts for a day or the next sunrise/sundown, Two for a week or lunar phase, three for a few months or a season, four for whole year and five makes it a permanent “waypoint” for the duration of the chronicle. Later on the mage can teleport back to that place with a single success no matter where they are provided they can perform the ritual action.
If Time OOOO is added to this effect, the mage can do the teleportation as a reflex action without a roll, but will have to endure a permanent point of paradox that will downgrade to temporary only once the effect is finally spent. Additional successes can be devoted to create more “charges” for the effect but also incur in extra permanent paradox points.
Maneuver: Formless Fluidity (Correspondence OOO, optional Life OO)
The body is but a vehicle for awareness. It is an illusory vessel composed of memories and energy woven together by expectation, trauma and karma. Wherever the ego believes itself, there will be a projected body providing samsara with a mobile prison of form. During their training, the akashayana are confronted with impossible movements. Sequences of jumps, dodges and rolls that shouldn’t be possible, trajectories and contortions that defy comprehension, and yet, they are masterfully demonstrated by their Sifus. Countless hours of training allow the akashayana to forge those experiences into temporary shortcuts out of the limits of form. They visualize their martial forms so strongly that they remake their arms and legs to fit their patterns and learn to perform transitions and strikes that ignore geometry.
In a second the monk being firmly held on a choke appears behind their opponent, grappling them; The fighter under the crosshair of a distant sniper kicks the guns out of their hands and the assassin suddenly stabs a victim is observed jumping across a window on the other side of the room by dumbfound bodyguards. Sleepers think they are observing feats of speed, awakened senses know better.
System: A basic success allows the akasha to reappear in a different position already performing an acrobatic maneuver or martial move on a 1 meter radius of their initial location. Every extra success triple the radios the character can cross. The Akasha must undergo a martial strike or acrobatic maneuver in the end point, as this is integral part of the focus (and, thankfully, doesn’t require an extra action, split dice pool or combat turn.)
If life OO is added, the mage reforms themselves ignoring wounds or impairments that have been inflicted in the previous turn. Only extra successes beyond the first can be used for healing and they cannot heal wounds that weren’t just inflicted.
Maneuver: The Merciful Fall (Correspondence OOOO, optional Spirit OOOO)
Reality is a product of perception. Wherever the mind imagines itself, it constantly projects a vehicle for its self-image. We become what we identify with and all akashayana eventually learn that conflicts are games of deception: Combatants trying to convince each other they’ve fallen into losing positions, defeated by their own illusions.
Through exhaustive martial training, the mage learns to make attacks not only with fists but with all of themselves. They push not only with muscles and technique, but with the experiences that shaped them. Their memories of sparring and being bested by much more skilled fighters are wielded as weapons of vertigo and confusion. Trips and tumbles gain metaphysical weight. Sweeps and throws become instruments not only to derail physical balance but to twist the samsara itself. Victims vanish on thin air dropping elsewhere in the vicinity confused and out of commission.
System: This effect can be used whenever the Akasha successfully takes an opponent out of balance with a martial strike. Successes define how far the opponent falls from the mage: One success means the target falls nearby but far enough they need to put effort to re engage. Two successes means the target finds themselves blocked by a significant physical barrier, behind a wall, on a different floor or inside a large trash can. Three successes means the target is effectively out of the fight, dropped in a place so far removed that it will be hard to even find their way back to the fight. If the mage is able to throw an opponent against others, success can be split to increase the number of targets making each vanish to a different place.
If Spirit OOOO is employed, on three or more successes the mage can send targets across the gauntlet.(In which case this is hardly considered a merciful technique anymore)
Maneuver: Form of a Thousand ( Correspondence OOOO, Life OOO, Mind O, Optional Matter OO / Life OOOO)
As the akashayana pursue enlightenment they start getting used to the illusory nature of physical boundaries. They learn to let go of fixed forms recognizing that mind is what supports the body, not the other way around. Meeting the demands of a fight becomes not only a challenge tackled by muscle but a puzzle solved through contortions of perception. They welcome multiple opponents as their forms blurs protruding half dozen of arms to party strikes, vanishing like ghosts out of the way of incoming blades and striking different directions as stacked reflections of a single person. One enemy receives a round kicking to the face, while another is grappled and thrown away. Close enemies are held at bay by a swirling spear while distant targets are hit by bow and arrow. Feet, heads, arms and legs rippling in and out from a central figure in the likeness of the ancient gods depicted in stone and tapestries.
System: Every success after the first allows the mage to concentrate and face a different opponent or wield a different weapon. The mage looks like superimposed versions of themselves sharing the same position for the duration of the fight. As new opponents come along or the mage finds new weapons to wield they can keep instantly creating more instances of themselves as each strike, dodge and party doubles as a ritual for the effect.
If Matter OO is used, the same weapon can be wielded against different opponents as they also unfold in multiple mirages.
if Life OOOO is used instead, the reflections of the mage can disentangle from each other becoming completely independent fighters only sharing a single health pool.
Mantra of Distant Tranquility (Correspondence OOOOO, Optionals Matter OO / Spirit OOOO / Time OO + Entropy OOOO)
The enlightened mind becomes one with the Tao. Its meditations are the reflections of the world itself and it bends samsara not to conceal but to express the ultimate truth. The mantra of distant tranquility is a secret used to protect monasteries of the tradition in times of war. It begins with the venerable master assuming the lotus position and leading a tune to which all other monks and apprentices will join. Its lines tell about the peace which is solely reserved for those that achieve complete detachment. A promised moksha that is always an inch away from our grasp.
As long as these mages keep chanting, all beings who have not joined the tradition and are not part of the akasha dharma see their attempts to approach frustrated. Vandals see the akashic temples retreat in proportion to their advances. If they ever take their eyes out of their destination, they find themselves back at the beginning of their journey, as if they never took a single step. Onlookers see forms rippling into a multitudes as trespassers fight to gain terrain, all being continuously pushed back as the ominous chant repeats itself from across space.
System: This effect makes approaching an area a matter of sympathetic connection instead of physical travel. Successes both to delimit the area covered as well as the pool potential trespasser must beat. One success covers the size of a room, two successes protects a house or floor of a building, three successes a large building or football field, four successes an entire monastery or city block and five successes an entire geographic region like a small forest or mountain top.
The effect prevents traveling in the specific direction of the mage, and those affected must roll willpower at difficulty proportional to their sympathetic connection. (Blood Related / lives in the area - Dif 6; Intimate friend / Visits often Dif 7; Social Acquaintance / has visited once Dif 8, Never physically interacted Dif 9). Critical failures reset all progress, as well as losing focus on fighting against the repulsion waves of the effect.
The mage feels opponents pushing against the effect and can always reinforce it with more successes, each extra arete roll inflicts one extra point of paradox. This rote is usually enacted as a group ritual that takes effect as soon as it begins and lasts for as long as the ritual persists.While similar effects can have their duration extended with extra successes this rote cannot due to how fast it starts acting and the inbuilt feedback mechanisms. If the mage stops concentrating or is interrupted the effect ends.
if Matter OO is added, this effect also distorts the trajectory of physical projectiles trying to breach the protected area and hit the mage. Threshold affects all rolls for aiming in that particular direction.
if Spirit OOOO is added, the threshold is also applied to attempts of intruding from beyond the gauntlet.
If Time OO and Entropy OOOO are added, this effect passes unnoticed by anyone that is not actively attempting to get into the area.Only those who plan to find the mage or the place they are protecting gets affected.
-----
link for the original project:
Basic Rotes for the Traditions
2023.05.31 21:00 Spellcaster110 Remove Veng from lms and 3 game mode lobby rotation ft fixes & improvements
 | https://preview.redd.it/zotg9sfz593b1.png?width=332&format=png&auto=webp&s=9656ce439916765245926a1770b3b16af78b4719 submitted by Spellcaster110 to 2007scape [link] [comments] Lunar Spellbook Vengeance has no place in last man standing it's a tribrid minigame mainly it's just players bolt ragging/ballista camping, newbie players & ironmen brute forcing bolt rag while using it in conjunction with said items/spellbook. Remove. Lobby Rotation Scrap the 3 game mode lobby rotation and add the two game modes (pure & zerk) to the two floors above. The high stakes 3rd floor doesn't get used at all and the casual 2nd floor is only used for people who want to lose their skull by entering the portal then hopping wolds. The ground floor is the most active as it's the competitive game mode where you recieve lms points/hiscore ranking. with a reduced size of participants an example would be 12 players to start a game (12/12) which is half of competitive player lobby also you will only receive lms points and hiscore ranking in competitive as it's the most populated with players. Zerk & Pure is more niche with tribridding hence why casual should be for those two. 3rd floor: Casual: Pure (12/12) 2nd floor: Casual: Zerk (12/12) 1st floor: Competitive: Max/Med (24/24) Current and suggested in image below. https://preview.redd.it/a1nvkz97793b1.png?width=574&format=png&auto=webp&s=6f0ca03e8d6ffdd8fe14e0100f11f8e6a2bac28c Competitive mode Default (Main) preset ⦁ Aimed for players who want to sweat & fight betters players and bots. You'll receive HiScore ranking & LMS Points Casual Game mode Random (Zerk/Pure) preset ⦁ Aimed for players that are of the 'Casual Newbie' type looking fun fights and practice You won't be eligible for points and no HiScores ranking Zerker Zerker game mode has far too many random items that aren't even used in actual pk setups some examples are Inquisitor and 3rd age range armour etc this all looks to be very experimental don't think much thought has been put through with this and just put there for the sake of doing so. Also the setups doesn't reflect how you would actually Tribrid on a zerker the items in this preset is more of a fun option for the casual mode and not competitive. Pure Nhing Dragon knifes in the pure game mode are easily abused as these are a faster hitting weapon so paired with DDing & who ever has PID advantage you can get free extra hits and are also camped hitting through protection prayer constantly which is a nuisance these have no place in pure nhing in my opinion as this isn't edge pker style 1v1 range/melee. Remove. Loadout has no Ava's accumulator for pure nhing the default for switches since the birth of Pure nhing in 2009 and throughout Pre Eoc the standard layout was known to be: 3 way switching ⦁ Crossbow - Ava's accumulator - Black D'hide Chaps ⦁ Ancient Staff - God cape - Ghostly Robe Bottom In current OSRS the Ava's is dropped from switches and a god cape is worn in place in the cape slot as it has higher magic defense and in many instances I've seen the glory not even being equipped when ranging and the occult is worn over it. So now many players will rather 2 way switch between 2 items -> Crossbow with Chaps to range (without Ava's accumulator) as it's much favoured for bottom switchers, many of the original nhers were top switchers and are used to equipping an ava's with built up muscle memory when cycling back and forth between switches. Problem is many players who actually have truly experienced pure nhing have built muscle memory for a Ava's Accumulator switch so switching without it feels alien as although something is missing so allow us to choose to put an ava's accumulator in our pure/zerk load outs as this fits with the basic 3 way switching of equipment
The format is subject to change since this was a message not for reddit however it does highlight the issues with lms, thank you. |
2023.05.31 18:14 ddosen413 [Online][PF2e][Wednesday][Bi-Weekly][EST] Experienced DM looking to a new system
Hello! I have been a DM for over 10 years, and have bounced around a few systems (5e mostly, but also CoC, then a lot of different OSR games). Been a while since I have tried a crunchy game, and wanted to give PF2e a try! So experienced or new players welcome!
We would be playing in a homebrew world, that is closer to low magic (no player restrictions, but magic is rare in the world). Here is my little pitch for my campaign world :
The Undying King was found dead. After 300 years of ruling the empire, siting on his throne, the King is dead with no one poised to take the throne. The the borders of the past quickly return, and new kingdoms rise in the power vacuum. Will the PCs help an old power to return to glory? Start something new? Find the ancient secrets to the Undying King? They will have to survive in the new more dangerous world and find out.
If this sounds like a good time, shoot me a message! We will be playing over discord and maybe Fantasy Grounds, still working that out. Feel free to comment any questions you got and I hope to get playing soon!
submitted by ddosen413 to lfg [link] [comments]
We would be playing in a homebrew world, that is closer to low magic (no player restrictions, but magic is rare in the world). Here is my little pitch for my campaign world :
The Undying King was found dead. After 300 years of ruling the empire, siting on his throne, the King is dead with no one poised to take the throne. The the borders of the past quickly return, and new kingdoms rise in the power vacuum. Will the PCs help an old power to return to glory? Start something new? Find the ancient secrets to the Undying King? They will have to survive in the new more dangerous world and find out.
If this sounds like a good time, shoot me a message! We will be playing over discord and maybe Fantasy Grounds, still working that out. Feel free to comment any questions you got and I hope to get playing soon!
2023.05.31 16:33 beltane_may Zoom Lecture: Goetia & ‘Unclean’ Spiritwork in English Folk Magic - Al Cummins
Another lecture series from the Viktor Wynd Museum in the UK
Here is the link to the zoom lecture page
I think this lecture would be highly useful to anyone in this subreddit looking for more information on this practice that seems to be picking up in popularity.
It gives a description of the lecture as follows:
"
Cunning Nigromancy: Goetia & ‘Unclean’ Spiritwork in English Folk Magic
In the pre-modern European mindset, there were two main ways one could work with demonic or dangerous spirits: by compelling them with the holy names of God; or bribing them with offerings and devotion, including entering into formal bargains or pacts. Such work was considered highly dangerous to one’s body, mind, and soul – but was also one of the main sources of earthly power outside of elite institutions that was available to the desperate and the needy. The Devil at the crossroads welcomes all.
So it was that the folk magicians, village sorcerers, and “white witches” collectively referred to as cunning-folk – especially those who frequently derived their knowledge and power from questionable spirits – were regarded with both respect and suspicion, if not outright fear. Spirits don’t work for free after all, and who knows what exactly she’s summoning out there…
In this class, contemporary cunning man and historian of magic Dr Alexander Cummins will lead us on an exploration of early modern goetia: from its roots in antiquity and ancient Greek funerary ritual, necromancy, and thaumaturgy; through its denigration as a Black Art of both dodgy nigromancers and fraudulent hucksters in later classical centuries; all the way to the formation of the spirit-list/s of the Goetia of Solomon in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, which catalogue various ‘unclean’ entities of an assortment of European traditions of spiritwork.
Along the way we will discuss fallen angels, infernal devils, bogeymen, elementals, tricksters, nymphs, thieving bird people, chimeras, and demonized pagan deities as well as those murder spirits who have just always been murder spirits. We will also consider various historical reports of the conjurations of these unclean spirits. Finally, we will go over some fundamental advice for making wise decisions in proceeding with such dark crafts in one’s own sorcerous work.
Bio
Dr Alexander Cummins is a contemporary cunning man and historian. His magical specialities are the dead (folk necromancy), divination (geomancy) and the grimoires. He received his doctorate on early modern magical approaches to the passions. Dr Cummins is the co-editor of the Folk Necromancy in Transmission series for Revelore Press and co-host of Radio Free Golgotha.
His published works include An Excellent Booke of the Arte of Magicke with Phil Legard (Scarlet Imprint, 2020), A Book of the Magi: Lore, Prayers, and Spellcraft of the Three Holy Kings (Revelore Press, 2018) and The Starry Rubric (Hadean Press, 2012) as well as contributions to collections by both academic and occult publishers on topics including talismanic objects, geomancy, planetary sorcery, cunning-craft, and nigromancy.
Dr Cummins gives classes and workshops online and in person. The Good Doctor’s work and services can be found at www.alexandercummins.com"
submitted by beltane_may to occult [link] [comments]
Here is the link to the zoom lecture page
I think this lecture would be highly useful to anyone in this subreddit looking for more information on this practice that seems to be picking up in popularity.
It gives a description of the lecture as follows:
"
Cunning Nigromancy: Goetia & ‘Unclean’ Spiritwork in English Folk Magic
In the pre-modern European mindset, there were two main ways one could work with demonic or dangerous spirits: by compelling them with the holy names of God; or bribing them with offerings and devotion, including entering into formal bargains or pacts. Such work was considered highly dangerous to one’s body, mind, and soul – but was also one of the main sources of earthly power outside of elite institutions that was available to the desperate and the needy. The Devil at the crossroads welcomes all.
So it was that the folk magicians, village sorcerers, and “white witches” collectively referred to as cunning-folk – especially those who frequently derived their knowledge and power from questionable spirits – were regarded with both respect and suspicion, if not outright fear. Spirits don’t work for free after all, and who knows what exactly she’s summoning out there…
In this class, contemporary cunning man and historian of magic Dr Alexander Cummins will lead us on an exploration of early modern goetia: from its roots in antiquity and ancient Greek funerary ritual, necromancy, and thaumaturgy; through its denigration as a Black Art of both dodgy nigromancers and fraudulent hucksters in later classical centuries; all the way to the formation of the spirit-list/s of the Goetia of Solomon in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, which catalogue various ‘unclean’ entities of an assortment of European traditions of spiritwork.
Along the way we will discuss fallen angels, infernal devils, bogeymen, elementals, tricksters, nymphs, thieving bird people, chimeras, and demonized pagan deities as well as those murder spirits who have just always been murder spirits. We will also consider various historical reports of the conjurations of these unclean spirits. Finally, we will go over some fundamental advice for making wise decisions in proceeding with such dark crafts in one’s own sorcerous work.
Bio
Dr Alexander Cummins is a contemporary cunning man and historian. His magical specialities are the dead (folk necromancy), divination (geomancy) and the grimoires. He received his doctorate on early modern magical approaches to the passions. Dr Cummins is the co-editor of the Folk Necromancy in Transmission series for Revelore Press and co-host of Radio Free Golgotha.
His published works include An Excellent Booke of the Arte of Magicke with Phil Legard (Scarlet Imprint, 2020), A Book of the Magi: Lore, Prayers, and Spellcraft of the Three Holy Kings (Revelore Press, 2018) and The Starry Rubric (Hadean Press, 2012) as well as contributions to collections by both academic and occult publishers on topics including talismanic objects, geomancy, planetary sorcery, cunning-craft, and nigromancy.
Dr Cummins gives classes and workshops online and in person. The Good Doctor’s work and services can be found at www.alexandercummins.com"
2023.05.31 12:53 ConfidentLaw9575 Book recommendations pt.2
On my last post I realized how vast occultism is as a term and I understood that I have to be more specific. Do you have recommendations on literature about norse, finnish, shamanism/paganism or something about spirits and astral planes etc? Other ancient beliefs are more than welcome too, I love reading and learning about ancient ways of magick and rituals.
submitted by ConfidentLaw9575 to occult [link] [comments]
2023.05.30 21:12 MjolnirPants Jerry and the Goddesses: Part 33
Part 32 on HFY
"I think I found it," I said, knowing that Inanna and Sarisa could hear me. A second later, Sarisa popped into existence next to me. "Huh," she said.
The map she'd shared with the rest of us showed a single row of houses fronting the natural area, but I could clearly see the roof of a building, set far back from the homes amid the trees. A wide driveway with the single white line they used here to differentiate traffic lanes emerged from between two properties with a gate closed over it.
A sign hung from the gate, unreadable with all the bullet holes in it, but the operating hours at the bottom were unmistakable. This wasn't another home, but some sort of public-fronting establishment. "I definitely have no knowledge of this building. I think you've got it."
"Will you get the others?" I asked. Sarisa smiled and vanished again. A few minutes later, Gary and Kathy emerged from around a corner with Sarisa.
"Where's Ana?" Gary asked as they approached.
"She peed herself," I said.
"What?" Gary face scrunched up and I laughed. "You heard me."
"Well, how the hell did that happen?"
I shrugged. "The usual way, I guess. She's been telling me about getting tired and feeling confused on a repeating schedule and having to make an effort to return to her usual health. I suggested she try staying hydrated, because it sounded like dehydration that she was describing. So she started hydrating and..."
"And she forgot to go tinkle," Gary grinned. I winked at him, and then noticed Sarisa giving me a look. I responded with a "what do you expect?" gesture, and she sighed and shook her head. Sarisa never liked it when I told little white lies, even though it turns out she's told a few, herself.
Inanna emerged from the closest home, then. She was still in the same khakis and unbuttoned-most-of-the-way outfit she'd worn in, but she was dry now. "It wasn't pee," she announced.
Gary looked back and forth between us, eyebrows raised. "Okay...."
Kathy suddenly smirked and turned away. Well, damn, that was quick. I had to remember not to underestimate her.
"It doesn't matter," I said, "Look." I pointed to the gate. "That has to be the museum."
"Well, whatta we waitin fer?" Gary asked and walked over to check the padlock on the gate. He gave it a quick look, then took off his pack and dug around for a second, producing a pair of smallish bolt-cutters. He lined them up on the lock's hook and, with a quick jerk, brought the jaws down on it. The padlock fell to the ground with a clatter and Gary opened the gate wide enough to walk in.
We all followed him in through the gate and he pulled it shut and used a rock to wedge it in place. Up the long drive, we found a small parking lot and another shot-up sign. But this one had the words "museum" and "north" still readable in Armenian printed on it, so if we'd had any doubts during the walk up, they were gone.
Inanna simply magicked open the locked front door and we walked in. We split up, wandering the halls and searching the various rooms an exhibits. I moved down a hall with prints of medieval paintings of vikings and little placards describing the circumstances of the original painting as well as the events portrayed. The first three doors I found were bathrooms and a closet. The last entrance had no door in the frame, and it led to a room full of weapons.
A few actual viking-age and earlier weapons sat in glass cases in the middle, with reproductions bolted to the walls. Apparently, the museum was family-friendly, because foam versions of the weapons were stacked in an umbrella stand in one corner.
As I was returning to check another hall, I heard Kathy's voice "I think I got it!"
I followed the sound through a few rooms and found her and the others gathered around a small glass display case on a pedestal in the middle of a room whose walls were bedecked with paintings, both ancient and modern, of Norse Pagan religious subjects. Squeezing between Inanna and Gary, I saw it.
It was just like the last one, except the teeth were arranged slightly differently.
"So can we just, like, take it?" Kathy asked Sarisa. Sarisa shook her head, "Not without interfering with the magic. We have to share secrets again."
We all looked around at each other. This was actually getting more difficult, as we were a pretty tight group. We simply didn't have a lot of secrets. I broke the ice.
"When I was in my junior year, I stole three books from the college library, because they wouldn't let me check them out."
Kathy snickered. "I bet that's the worst thing you've ever done, too."
I turned towards her. "They were three volumes of a history of video games. The nineteen eighties through the two-thousands. I still have them in my closet." Kathy laughed and held out a hand for a fist bump. I gave it to her, unsure of why that would be fist-bump-worthy until she said "I figured they'd be dense academic works on some obscure aspect of history. Or maybe porn."
"The second volume covered erotic games," I admitted, "but there weren't a lot of titillating images, unless a screenshot from Custer's Last Stand is the sort of thing you find sexy."
I felt an easing in the tension of the room which I hadn't recognized until that moment. It had worked. Inanna spoke up next. "I'm keeping the baby," she said.
Everyone looked at her. Sarisa spoke first, "Sister, that is possibly the least-secret secret I've ever heard of. I don't think any of have had any doubt that you would keep the child you made with the man you love."
Inanna turned to me, "Did you know?" I shrugged. "I never really considered that you'd end the pregnancy. It would be very out of character for you."
"And you're okay with that?" she asked me? "Of course," I replied immediately. "Why wouldn't I be?"
She wrapped her arms around me and leaned her head against my chest. I smiled. This was nice, Inanna showing affection without being all grabby.
"I'm going to have to think about it for a minute, then."
Gary took a deep breath. His face clouded for a moment, and then he cleared his throat.
"I killed two civilian boys in Rukha, in Afghanistan back in 2001 to stop them from alerting Taliban in the region. We were moving through some fields, coming down into the valley from the north. We needed to get to a high point that sort of split the valley, to call in some JDAMs on a couple Taliban positions down in the valley. We didn't see the boys at first, they were hiding in some bushes or something. But as we got close, they broke cover and ran. I didn't even hesitate. I knew if they made it into town or to someone with a phone, the locals would fill the streets to gawk and the Taliban would abandon their positions.
"I saw them running, had just enough time to recognize the threat, and then I shot them both in the back. Neither one was armed. Neither one was older than about twelve." His voice was rough and raw. It was obvious he was digging deep for this.
"I still sometimes have nightmares about it," he added, and then he closed his mouth and stared at the ground. I felt the tension ease a bit more.
Kathy put her hand on his shoulder and he reached up to pat it. "I abandoned my best friend throughout middle school, Maryann, because she wasn't popular enough to suit me when we got to high school," she said.
"When we started as freshmen, we both made a bunch of new friends. She had a harder time of it, just because she wasn't as sociable as I was, but she was my friend, so she kinda tagged along as we became the 'in-group'. But some of the other girls didn't like her. Maryann listened to different music than most of us, and liked different actors and dressed different. It was super petty, I know, but at the time, those things seemed important." She laughed ruefully, "Like listening to Shinedown somehow made her a bad person. Anyways, it got worse over our freshman year. When we started sophomore year, I decided to cut her loose. So I told my mom a boy was harassing me, and she changed my number. A couple of the other girls did the same. We gave each other our new numbers, but not Maryann."
Kathy sniffed and I could see moisture in her eyes.
"She just seemed so confused at first. None of us were willing to just tell her that we didn't want to be friends, so we made excuses. I told her my phone was turned off, and said that I had plans every time she wanted to hang out. When she finally figured it out, she didn't even get angry. She just, like, vanished. She stopped coming to school, and stopped eating at the diner where we always used to get burgers after school.
"After a couple of months, I started to get worried about her. So I went to her house and knocked on the door. Her mom answered and told me that Maryann didn't want to talk to me and that I should go. And that was the last I ever heard from her."
Sarisa put her arm around Kathy's shoulder and squeezed her. "It's not too late," she said, then Kathy turned into the hug and they embraced. I heard Kathy take a few shuddering breaths, and then she pulled back. "I know. And I plan to go to her, as soon as this is done. I won't take no for an answer, this time."
The tension eased further. Only the goddesses remained. Inanna had, predictably enough, managed to sneak a hand down my pants while Gary was talking, but her fondling was subdued, more of an idle fidgeting than her usual concerted attempts to arouse me. The thrill of being touched by a goddess remained, however, which is why I was keeping my mouth shut.
Sarisa broke the silence. "I slept with Astoram, once."
"What?" I choked out in unison with Inanna. Inanna jerked her hand free and spun to face Sarisa.
"I thought you said that night with Jerry was your first time."
"It was... Listen, it wasn't actually me who slept with him, but an avatar of mine who lived in my temple in Mohenjo-daro. I was experiencing everything she did, but I wasn't in control of her actions. The truth is, I wasn't even paying her much attention, and she had long since grown into her own being, making choices that sometimes surprised me. Astoram came to her in a manifestation. He pretended to be distraught after Loki had foiled one of his schemes, and he seemed to think the avatar was me in a manifestation. He played at humility, confessed that he was always jealous of how smart I am and just generally seemed remorseful, and possibly not such a bad god, once you got past his public facade.
"The avatar had been quite lonely, and had grown quite human, having lived among them for so long. So she was moved by his words and..."
"And threw him a pity fuck," Inanna said.
Sarissa nodded, "And she threw him a pity fuck, yes. Of course, that was his plan, all along. He impregnated her. He was so livid when he found out she wasn't me that I had to have Krast pin him down until he swore not to hurt the avatar. Even then, I was still so concerned for her safety that I sent her to Scandinavia to bear her son in peace."
"The avatar, that was Aelfrida?" Inanna asked. Sarisa nodded, and Inanna turned to me. "Jerry, now you three are the only people alive who knows the name of Grendel's mother."
"The baby was Grendel?" I asked, surprised. Sarisa nodded again. "Yes, and he was a lovely creature for a very long time, until that drunkard, Hrothgar built his little party shack and drove the poor thing insane with all the noise." She shook her head sadly.
The tension eased more. It was barely there. All eyes were on Inanna now. She gave us all an askance look, as if she didn't like being the center of attention.
Yeah, right.
After a moment's silence, she turned back to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. She leaned her head against my chest again and spoke, not looking at anyone.
"I've thought a lot about what we're doing and what it might entail, from a practical perspective. I've communed with Ixy on it, as well, as he's the oldest of all of us. As best I can guess, the actual method which we're trying to learn is not to kill Astoram, or even to put him back to sleep. It's to cut off his manifestation from his divinity. It would open his domain for grabs by the rest of us. I'm sure Ixy plans to seize as much of it as he can, the moment we succeed.
"I can't think of any other method of defeating him that's even remotely possible. Sarisa, you know we've discussed this." Sarisa nodded. I knew, too. I'd heard them talking about it a few times, and had a general idea of their logic. It was complex and sometimes irrational, but if you squinted just right, it sort of made sense.
The gods' divinity wasn't who they were, but a natural product of living beings interacting with the universe and each other, that occasionally grew into something so coherent and powerful that it took on a life of its own. As best I understood, Ixy was the first god. He came into being when human ancestors began really differentiating themselves from the other animals with their cleverness, a sort of reflexive kickback against said cleverness. Every time an animal did anything, a trickle of energy was added to Ixy's domain, but every time an especially smart animal followed its instincts, he got a huge jolt of power.
Eventually, all that energy coalesced into the nightmarish entity that Ixy can be if you don't know him. Because those ancestors were smart and they contributed so much, Ixy developed a literal mind of his own. A simple mind, about as intelligent as your typical chimpanzee, but with the social bonds of a dog.
As time passed and humanity evolved into its modern state, that growing intelligence that it brought flowed towards Ixy. But Ixy didn't want it. Ixy liked being Ixy. So he sequestered these little disembodied minds off from the rest of himself. And things continued like that for a very long time.
But humanity was only just beginning to get clever. As tribes and clans took hold, complex social behaviors developed, and those behaviors differentiated themselves from the primal energy that defined Ixy. One by one, these energies, these divinities, grew dense enough to power a god on their own. The minds that Ixy had sequestered were not comatose or unaware, and they saw this happening. Eventually, one of them escaped and tied itself to a divinity. They became the first generation of the gods. Hunting, bloodlust, simple lust, hunger, loneliness. Base concepts that all of humanity knew.
This first generation eventually experienced the same fate as Ixy, only without the entirety of the animal kingdom feeding them a steady drip of power, they grew weak as the energies split apart. To offset this, they emanated; breaking off parts of their own minds to take command over the diverging and clumping divinities that had once been entirely theirs. As these emanations seized their own divinities, they became the second generation of gods. Sarisa and Inanna were both second generation gods. The second generation was supposed to serve the first, but after some time, they rebelled.
The first generation was gone; slain somehow in a great war that had been wiped from the minds of all survivors, even the gods themselves. Only Astoram remained of their number. Sarisa and Inanna had discussed how that might have happened, even before Astoram's awakening, and the consensus they had established was that one or more of their 'sibling' gods had learned how to separate a god from their divinity.
Once that was done, then there would be little left but the mind, unless said god had been manifesting. In that case, they would survive not as a disembodied mind, but in whatever form they had taken. And that was what we planned to do to Astoram. What it wasn't, however, was a secret. I looked down at Inanna, who glanced up and caught my eye. When she spoke, I knew she was speaking to me.
"If we succeed. If we find a way to strip Astoram from his divinity, then after we've defeated him, I want to be stripped from my own. I want to live whatever remaining life I have in this body with you, Jerry."
Holy fucking shit.
Part 34 on HFY
----
As a reminder, this whole story is available at JerryandtheGoddesses.
submitted by MjolnirPants to HFY [link] [comments]
"I think I found it," I said, knowing that Inanna and Sarisa could hear me. A second later, Sarisa popped into existence next to me. "Huh," she said.
The map she'd shared with the rest of us showed a single row of houses fronting the natural area, but I could clearly see the roof of a building, set far back from the homes amid the trees. A wide driveway with the single white line they used here to differentiate traffic lanes emerged from between two properties with a gate closed over it.
A sign hung from the gate, unreadable with all the bullet holes in it, but the operating hours at the bottom were unmistakable. This wasn't another home, but some sort of public-fronting establishment. "I definitely have no knowledge of this building. I think you've got it."
"Will you get the others?" I asked. Sarisa smiled and vanished again. A few minutes later, Gary and Kathy emerged from around a corner with Sarisa.
"Where's Ana?" Gary asked as they approached.
"She peed herself," I said.
"What?" Gary face scrunched up and I laughed. "You heard me."
"Well, how the hell did that happen?"
I shrugged. "The usual way, I guess. She's been telling me about getting tired and feeling confused on a repeating schedule and having to make an effort to return to her usual health. I suggested she try staying hydrated, because it sounded like dehydration that she was describing. So she started hydrating and..."
"And she forgot to go tinkle," Gary grinned. I winked at him, and then noticed Sarisa giving me a look. I responded with a "what do you expect?" gesture, and she sighed and shook her head. Sarisa never liked it when I told little white lies, even though it turns out she's told a few, herself.
Inanna emerged from the closest home, then. She was still in the same khakis and unbuttoned-most-of-the-way outfit she'd worn in, but she was dry now. "It wasn't pee," she announced.
Gary looked back and forth between us, eyebrows raised. "Okay...."
Kathy suddenly smirked and turned away. Well, damn, that was quick. I had to remember not to underestimate her.
"It doesn't matter," I said, "Look." I pointed to the gate. "That has to be the museum."
"Well, whatta we waitin fer?" Gary asked and walked over to check the padlock on the gate. He gave it a quick look, then took off his pack and dug around for a second, producing a pair of smallish bolt-cutters. He lined them up on the lock's hook and, with a quick jerk, brought the jaws down on it. The padlock fell to the ground with a clatter and Gary opened the gate wide enough to walk in.
We all followed him in through the gate and he pulled it shut and used a rock to wedge it in place. Up the long drive, we found a small parking lot and another shot-up sign. But this one had the words "museum" and "north" still readable in Armenian printed on it, so if we'd had any doubts during the walk up, they were gone.
Inanna simply magicked open the locked front door and we walked in. We split up, wandering the halls and searching the various rooms an exhibits. I moved down a hall with prints of medieval paintings of vikings and little placards describing the circumstances of the original painting as well as the events portrayed. The first three doors I found were bathrooms and a closet. The last entrance had no door in the frame, and it led to a room full of weapons.
A few actual viking-age and earlier weapons sat in glass cases in the middle, with reproductions bolted to the walls. Apparently, the museum was family-friendly, because foam versions of the weapons were stacked in an umbrella stand in one corner.
As I was returning to check another hall, I heard Kathy's voice "I think I got it!"
I followed the sound through a few rooms and found her and the others gathered around a small glass display case on a pedestal in the middle of a room whose walls were bedecked with paintings, both ancient and modern, of Norse Pagan religious subjects. Squeezing between Inanna and Gary, I saw it.
It was just like the last one, except the teeth were arranged slightly differently.
"So can we just, like, take it?" Kathy asked Sarisa. Sarisa shook her head, "Not without interfering with the magic. We have to share secrets again."
We all looked around at each other. This was actually getting more difficult, as we were a pretty tight group. We simply didn't have a lot of secrets. I broke the ice.
"When I was in my junior year, I stole three books from the college library, because they wouldn't let me check them out."
Kathy snickered. "I bet that's the worst thing you've ever done, too."
I turned towards her. "They were three volumes of a history of video games. The nineteen eighties through the two-thousands. I still have them in my closet." Kathy laughed and held out a hand for a fist bump. I gave it to her, unsure of why that would be fist-bump-worthy until she said "I figured they'd be dense academic works on some obscure aspect of history. Or maybe porn."
"The second volume covered erotic games," I admitted, "but there weren't a lot of titillating images, unless a screenshot from Custer's Last Stand is the sort of thing you find sexy."
I felt an easing in the tension of the room which I hadn't recognized until that moment. It had worked. Inanna spoke up next. "I'm keeping the baby," she said.
Everyone looked at her. Sarisa spoke first, "Sister, that is possibly the least-secret secret I've ever heard of. I don't think any of have had any doubt that you would keep the child you made with the man you love."
Inanna turned to me, "Did you know?" I shrugged. "I never really considered that you'd end the pregnancy. It would be very out of character for you."
"And you're okay with that?" she asked me? "Of course," I replied immediately. "Why wouldn't I be?"
She wrapped her arms around me and leaned her head against my chest. I smiled. This was nice, Inanna showing affection without being all grabby.
"I'm going to have to think about it for a minute, then."
Gary took a deep breath. His face clouded for a moment, and then he cleared his throat.
"I killed two civilian boys in Rukha, in Afghanistan back in 2001 to stop them from alerting Taliban in the region. We were moving through some fields, coming down into the valley from the north. We needed to get to a high point that sort of split the valley, to call in some JDAMs on a couple Taliban positions down in the valley. We didn't see the boys at first, they were hiding in some bushes or something. But as we got close, they broke cover and ran. I didn't even hesitate. I knew if they made it into town or to someone with a phone, the locals would fill the streets to gawk and the Taliban would abandon their positions.
"I saw them running, had just enough time to recognize the threat, and then I shot them both in the back. Neither one was armed. Neither one was older than about twelve." His voice was rough and raw. It was obvious he was digging deep for this.
"I still sometimes have nightmares about it," he added, and then he closed his mouth and stared at the ground. I felt the tension ease a bit more.
Kathy put her hand on his shoulder and he reached up to pat it. "I abandoned my best friend throughout middle school, Maryann, because she wasn't popular enough to suit me when we got to high school," she said.
"When we started as freshmen, we both made a bunch of new friends. She had a harder time of it, just because she wasn't as sociable as I was, but she was my friend, so she kinda tagged along as we became the 'in-group'. But some of the other girls didn't like her. Maryann listened to different music than most of us, and liked different actors and dressed different. It was super petty, I know, but at the time, those things seemed important." She laughed ruefully, "Like listening to Shinedown somehow made her a bad person. Anyways, it got worse over our freshman year. When we started sophomore year, I decided to cut her loose. So I told my mom a boy was harassing me, and she changed my number. A couple of the other girls did the same. We gave each other our new numbers, but not Maryann."
Kathy sniffed and I could see moisture in her eyes.
"She just seemed so confused at first. None of us were willing to just tell her that we didn't want to be friends, so we made excuses. I told her my phone was turned off, and said that I had plans every time she wanted to hang out. When she finally figured it out, she didn't even get angry. She just, like, vanished. She stopped coming to school, and stopped eating at the diner where we always used to get burgers after school.
"After a couple of months, I started to get worried about her. So I went to her house and knocked on the door. Her mom answered and told me that Maryann didn't want to talk to me and that I should go. And that was the last I ever heard from her."
Sarisa put her arm around Kathy's shoulder and squeezed her. "It's not too late," she said, then Kathy turned into the hug and they embraced. I heard Kathy take a few shuddering breaths, and then she pulled back. "I know. And I plan to go to her, as soon as this is done. I won't take no for an answer, this time."
The tension eased further. Only the goddesses remained. Inanna had, predictably enough, managed to sneak a hand down my pants while Gary was talking, but her fondling was subdued, more of an idle fidgeting than her usual concerted attempts to arouse me. The thrill of being touched by a goddess remained, however, which is why I was keeping my mouth shut.
Sarisa broke the silence. "I slept with Astoram, once."
"What?" I choked out in unison with Inanna. Inanna jerked her hand free and spun to face Sarisa.
"I thought you said that night with Jerry was your first time."
"It was... Listen, it wasn't actually me who slept with him, but an avatar of mine who lived in my temple in Mohenjo-daro. I was experiencing everything she did, but I wasn't in control of her actions. The truth is, I wasn't even paying her much attention, and she had long since grown into her own being, making choices that sometimes surprised me. Astoram came to her in a manifestation. He pretended to be distraught after Loki had foiled one of his schemes, and he seemed to think the avatar was me in a manifestation. He played at humility, confessed that he was always jealous of how smart I am and just generally seemed remorseful, and possibly not such a bad god, once you got past his public facade.
"The avatar had been quite lonely, and had grown quite human, having lived among them for so long. So she was moved by his words and..."
"And threw him a pity fuck," Inanna said.
Sarissa nodded, "And she threw him a pity fuck, yes. Of course, that was his plan, all along. He impregnated her. He was so livid when he found out she wasn't me that I had to have Krast pin him down until he swore not to hurt the avatar. Even then, I was still so concerned for her safety that I sent her to Scandinavia to bear her son in peace."
"The avatar, that was Aelfrida?" Inanna asked. Sarisa nodded, and Inanna turned to me. "Jerry, now you three are the only people alive who knows the name of Grendel's mother."
"The baby was Grendel?" I asked, surprised. Sarisa nodded again. "Yes, and he was a lovely creature for a very long time, until that drunkard, Hrothgar built his little party shack and drove the poor thing insane with all the noise." She shook her head sadly.
The tension eased more. It was barely there. All eyes were on Inanna now. She gave us all an askance look, as if she didn't like being the center of attention.
Yeah, right.
After a moment's silence, she turned back to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. She leaned her head against my chest again and spoke, not looking at anyone.
"I've thought a lot about what we're doing and what it might entail, from a practical perspective. I've communed with Ixy on it, as well, as he's the oldest of all of us. As best I can guess, the actual method which we're trying to learn is not to kill Astoram, or even to put him back to sleep. It's to cut off his manifestation from his divinity. It would open his domain for grabs by the rest of us. I'm sure Ixy plans to seize as much of it as he can, the moment we succeed.
"I can't think of any other method of defeating him that's even remotely possible. Sarisa, you know we've discussed this." Sarisa nodded. I knew, too. I'd heard them talking about it a few times, and had a general idea of their logic. It was complex and sometimes irrational, but if you squinted just right, it sort of made sense.
The gods' divinity wasn't who they were, but a natural product of living beings interacting with the universe and each other, that occasionally grew into something so coherent and powerful that it took on a life of its own. As best I understood, Ixy was the first god. He came into being when human ancestors began really differentiating themselves from the other animals with their cleverness, a sort of reflexive kickback against said cleverness. Every time an animal did anything, a trickle of energy was added to Ixy's domain, but every time an especially smart animal followed its instincts, he got a huge jolt of power.
Eventually, all that energy coalesced into the nightmarish entity that Ixy can be if you don't know him. Because those ancestors were smart and they contributed so much, Ixy developed a literal mind of his own. A simple mind, about as intelligent as your typical chimpanzee, but with the social bonds of a dog.
As time passed and humanity evolved into its modern state, that growing intelligence that it brought flowed towards Ixy. But Ixy didn't want it. Ixy liked being Ixy. So he sequestered these little disembodied minds off from the rest of himself. And things continued like that for a very long time.
But humanity was only just beginning to get clever. As tribes and clans took hold, complex social behaviors developed, and those behaviors differentiated themselves from the primal energy that defined Ixy. One by one, these energies, these divinities, grew dense enough to power a god on their own. The minds that Ixy had sequestered were not comatose or unaware, and they saw this happening. Eventually, one of them escaped and tied itself to a divinity. They became the first generation of the gods. Hunting, bloodlust, simple lust, hunger, loneliness. Base concepts that all of humanity knew.
This first generation eventually experienced the same fate as Ixy, only without the entirety of the animal kingdom feeding them a steady drip of power, they grew weak as the energies split apart. To offset this, they emanated; breaking off parts of their own minds to take command over the diverging and clumping divinities that had once been entirely theirs. As these emanations seized their own divinities, they became the second generation of gods. Sarisa and Inanna were both second generation gods. The second generation was supposed to serve the first, but after some time, they rebelled.
The first generation was gone; slain somehow in a great war that had been wiped from the minds of all survivors, even the gods themselves. Only Astoram remained of their number. Sarisa and Inanna had discussed how that might have happened, even before Astoram's awakening, and the consensus they had established was that one or more of their 'sibling' gods had learned how to separate a god from their divinity.
Once that was done, then there would be little left but the mind, unless said god had been manifesting. In that case, they would survive not as a disembodied mind, but in whatever form they had taken. And that was what we planned to do to Astoram. What it wasn't, however, was a secret. I looked down at Inanna, who glanced up and caught my eye. When she spoke, I knew she was speaking to me.
"If we succeed. If we find a way to strip Astoram from his divinity, then after we've defeated him, I want to be stripped from my own. I want to live whatever remaining life I have in this body with you, Jerry."
Holy fucking shit.
Part 34 on HFY
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As a reminder, this whole story is available at JerryandtheGoddesses.
2023.05.29 22:06 JoelSnape An introduction to the Saturn Polar Configuration (for those who may be new to the subject)
 | In his groundbreaking book ‘The Saturn Myth’ (inspired by the work of Immanuel Velikovsky who has correspondence with Albert Einstein about his ideas) researcher David Talbott analyzed myths from ancient cultures around the world and found that they all described the same phenomenon surrounding Saturn. He found that symbolism for Saturn is the same throughout ancient Mesopotamia, India, Greece, the Americas, and Egypt — and as documented by ancient cultures, explains how there was once a celestial alignment involving Saturn that occurred thousands of years ago. Based on ancient accounts throughout the world, Talbott describes a period of “great upheaval” in celestial bodies, when Saturn, Venus, and Mars descended and aligned overhead Earth in a spectacular astronomical event dubbed the “Saturn Polar Configuration”. As Talbott says in ‘The Saturn Myth’: “[The Saturn Polar Configuration is] the idea based on comparative mythology, that the Earth was once in close proximity, or even a satellite of the planet Saturn”. During this celestial upheavel, Mars descended from its position in the sky and formed a connection or stairway to Saturn which became known by the ancients as the heaven-sustaining giant Atlas, Mount Olympus, and the Tower of Babel, inter alia. Various cultures around the world recorded this celestial stairway. For example, the Makirtare Indians of the Amazonian rainforest tell of a time where the hero Ahishama, identified as Mars, climbed a stairway to Heaven. The Mesopotamian god Nergal also climbed a stairway to Heaven and was identified as Mars. Talbott calls this stairway the “Cosmic Mountain”. There are various illustrations of how this alignment would have looked here. submitted by JoelSnape to SaturnStormCube [link] [comments] COSMIC MOUNTAIN TO SATURN During this time of celestial upheaval, Saturn and the other bodies that were aligned with it went through various configurations in the sky (see the documentary series ‘Discourses on an Alien Sky’) and at one point the light emanating from Venus behind Mars formed what appeared to be a pupil inside a triangle that Talbott associates with the All-Seeing-Eye. As Talbott explains in ‘The Saturn Myth’: “It’s impossible to pursue Saturn’s ancient image without encountering the paradise of Eden, the lost Atlantis, or the All-Seeing-Eye of heaven”. The Saturn Polar Configuration was mostly characterized by an 8-pointed star or 8-spoked wheel. Here is an image of Saturn holding an 8-spoked wheel (as shown in ‘Discourses on an Alien Sky’). The crescent under Saturn was morphed and anthropomorphized. The Saturn-crescent was morphed into wings — with the solar disc (Saturn) placed in the centre, such as with the Egyptian winged Kheper. Quote from ‘The Saturn Myth’: “Of the crescent in the primary images and ancient sources present these basic forms: The horns of the bull-god or the uplifted arms of the heaven-sustaining giant [such as Atlas]. The outstretched wings of the mother goddess (or winged god). But these same wings, or arms, constitute the great god’s sailing vessel [Saturn Ship] which in turn is depicted as two shining horns”. As Talbott points out in ‘The Saturn Myth’, the fundamental themes of Saturn imagery include the the Saturn Ship, the All-Seeing-Eye, the two sacred pillars of Heaven (morphed into the Hercules and Masonic pillars) — the two shining horns and uplifted arms of the heaven-sustaining giant which were all based on the same celestial alignment in the sky. https://preview.redd.it/66tfb9crav2b1.png?width=750&format=png&auto=webp&s=c2c9f5dd75b84ca829e00d094d5669d4d3482229 The 8-pointed star (as seen in the Saturn Polar Configuration and as shown above) is a symbol of Freemasonry. The Masonic image below has a circle inside the 8-pointed star (called the circumpunct — an ancient symbol of the Sun). In his book ‘Morals and Dogma’, 33 degree Freemason Albert Pike connects the ancient Sun to the All-Seeing-Eye and the Masonic Blazing Star, saying: “The Blazing Star has been regarded as an emblem of Omniscience, or the All-Seeing-Eye, which to the ancients was the Sun”. This is curious, because we know that the ancients considered Saturn to be the Sun — as explained by Talbott in ‘The Saturn Myth’. The Babylonians associated Saturn with the Sun (as “son of Shamash” and “star of Helios”) and the name for Saturn in Chaldean astronomy was Alap-Shamas, meaning “Star of the Sun”. In the article ‘Saturn as the Sun of Night in Ancient Eastern Tradition’, Peter James says, “attested in Mesopotamia and followed by the Greeks and Hindus, there’s a long-standing association with Saturn as the Sun”. Troy McLachlan, says, in his book ‘The Saturn Death Cult’: “The ancients did indeed see a Sun-like object residing in their skies — and that object was Saturn”. According to political scientist Alfred De Grazia in his book ‘Homo Schizo: Human Nature’, Isaac Vail (who was an amateur scientific theorist) connected the All-Seeing-Eye (which remember was the Masonic Blazing Star) to the Saturn Polar Configuration, saying: “The All-Seeing-Eye is one of the earliest and most nearly universal symbols. Isaac Vail believed that the primordial eye was the boreal opening from which Saturn on his throne looked down upon his domain”. The letter G in the image below takes the place of Venus in the Saturn Polar Configuration. 33 degree Freemason Arthur Waite quotes famous occultist Eliphas Levi telling us that the letter “G” stands for Venus (see his book ‘The Mysteries of Magic: A Digest of the Writings of Eliphas Levi’). https://preview.redd.it/6utnkyytav2b1.png?width=467&format=png&auto=webp&s=bf8ccc7bf37d0ddae3b5b4aa0285d8f2c64f859b Another instance of the 8-pointed star on a Freemason building in Lisbon: https://preview.redd.it/08azng1wav2b1.png?width=639&format=png&auto=webp&s=f512374111edcaf0ef5b48f2689ef9a910b87fd3 During the various configurations of the Saturn Polar Configuration that produced various visual characteristics, the smaller orb of Venus (and also at different times Mars which produced a darker dot as shown here from ‘Discourses on an Alien Sky’) appeared as a circumpunct that passed in front of the larger orb of Saturn. As Talbott explains in ‘The Saturn Myth’: “From one section of the world to another the planet-god’s worshippers drew pictures of the Saturnian Configuration and these pictures become the universal signs and symbols of antiquity. In the global lexicon of symbols, the most common images are the enclosed Sun ⊙ [the ancient Sun corresponding to Saturn according to Talbott] and the enclosed Sun cross ⊕. It appears that every ancient race revered these signs”. Author Dan Brown explains the circumpunct as follows: “In the idiom of symbology, there was one symbol [the circumpunct] that reigned supreme above all others. The oldest and most universal, this symbol fused all the ancient traditions in a single solitary image that represented the illumination of the Egyptian Sun-god, the triumph of alchemical gold, the wisdom of the Philosopher’s Stone, the purity of the Rosicrucian Rose, the moment of Creation, the All, the dominance of the astrological Sun, and the omniscient All-Seeing-Eye that hovered atop the unfinished pyramid”. According to Wikipedia: “Throughout history, the circumpunct has been all things to all people — it’s the Sun-god Ra, alchemical gold, and the All-Seeing-Eye”. In ‘The Saturn Myth’, Talbott identifies Ra as Saturn, saying: “One finds of interest an Egyptian ostrakon (1st century B.C.) cited by Franz Boll: The ostrakon identifies the planet Saturn as the great god Ra”. The circumpunct can be seen in Freemason artwork (as shown below). The image on the bottom right is an illustration of the Saturn Polar Configuration from the documentary ‘Symbols of an Alien Sky’ (with Venus as the luminous dot). https://preview.redd.it/8xsmwgezav2b1.png?width=750&format=png&auto=webp&s=adc33c03e84d3d3f973ccb9ff44d812cb8875516 The luminous U-shape created by the Saturn-crescent became morphed into pillars. Talbott says in ‘The Saturn Myth’ when explaining the twin-pillar or twin-peaked crescent of the Saturn Polar Configuration: “In all ancient myths of the lost paradise, the land of peace and plenty rests upon a cosmic pillar — “Earth’s highest mountain”. One of the peculiarities of the Mount is that it possesses two peaks, rising to the right and left of the central column. The Egyptian Mount of Glory (Khut) reveals two peaks between which rests the Aten or enclosed Sun 𓈌. Depicted by this sign are “the two great mountains on which Re appears”. And what is most interesting about the Egyptian symbol of the cleft peak 𓈋 is that it finds strikingly similar parallels in other lands. The Mesopotamian Sun-god rests upon a twin-peaked world mountain of identical form and the same dual mount occurs also in Mexico — here too revealing the Sun-god between the two peaks. In Hebrew and Muslim thought “the mountain of paradise is a double one” observes Wensinck. To the Hebrews Sinai, Ebol, and Gerezim were all conceived as images of a twin-peaked mountain, states Jeremias. In the primeval Tyre (paradise) according to the description of Nonnus, a “double rock” rises from the ocean. In its centre is an olive (the central Sun) which automatically emits fire, setting it in a perpetual blaze. The Syrian and Hittite great gods stand equally balanced upon two mountains. In the beginning, according to a central Asiatic legend related by Uno Holmberg, “there was only water, from which the two great mountains emerged”. From the central mount of Hindu cosmology rise two secondary peaks. Of course, the twin pillars of Hercules point to the same idea”. In his book ‘Mortal Jigsaw Puzzle’, Grieving Patriot says: “In ancient history, this twin pillar construct is also referred to as the pillars of Hercules, a gateway beyond which lay the path to enlightenment”. https://preview.redd.it/lvcvkrq2bv2b1.png?width=669&format=png&auto=webp&s=dc0fe919e01594a12065de19fe5ef2c278d62ec2 Notice the Saturn-crescent below which appears as two pillars: https://preview.redd.it/6x1zyhb5bv2b1.png?width=231&format=png&auto=webp&s=c2cf5fa59523763971c1545cfa46ee1b9887a9fe This same symbol is seen throughout the ancient world such as the Phoenician Tanit symbol where the Saturn-crescent has become fully morphed into pillars: https://preview.redd.it/6bus33k7bv2b1.png?width=220&format=png&auto=webp&s=c0fe6fd3b9553294d3fabfbb66cbb46885c86e25 The symbols above became the basis for Freemason Tracing Boards showing the Blazing Star placed between two pillars: https://preview.redd.it/478ni6s9bv2b1.png?width=430&format=png&auto=webp&s=096f861563619f6a8a60cd69bc57e87eaced8d8c In ‘The Saturn Myth’, Talbott corresponds the Saturn Polar Configuration to a gateway, saying: “The god “comes out” and “goes in” on the [Saturnian] mountaintop through the “gate”, but he accomplishes this without moving from his fixed abode”. Talbott also cites Coffin Text talking about how the Saturn Polar Configuration was a portal. The text reads: “I did four good deeds within the portal of the Mount of Glory. I made the four winds that every man might breathe”. Talbott explains that the sign 𓈌 is the Mount of Glory. This is the same sign given by Talbott for the Saturn Polar Configuration. Talbott expands on the idea that the Saturn Polar Configuration was a kind of gate in his article here in which he says: “One of the archetypal forms I had discussed involved the global myths and symbols of the “Chain of Arrows”, a theme inseparably connected to another archetype, the “Ladder of Heaven”. As the story was told, a great warrior launches arrows into the sky, each embedding itself in the one above to form a ladder or stairway to the land of the gods”. The Saturn Polar Configuration went through various configurations that produced various visual characteristics, but was mostly characterized by an 8-pointed star. The 8-pointed star was known as the “Cross of Ilu” or “Bab-Ilu” which means “Gate of God”. According to investigative mythologist William Henry, author of over 18 books in alternative science, the 8-pointed star represented a portal or a Gate of God, saying: “Wherever archaeologists discovered remains of the early Sumerian civilizations the symbol of the “Gate of the Gods” was prominently displayed. The Sumerians depicted this gate as an 8-pointed star”. Since the beginning of the written word, countless stories have begun by ripping holes in the fabric of reality and pulling their protagonists through. Portals date back to the oldest written text we have on record — the 4,000-year-old Sumerian tale Epic of Gilgamesh — in which the hero travels through a mountaintop portal to the land of the gods. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the hero travels to the gate of the Sun-god Shamash at the mountain of Mashu. The same 8-pointed star keyhole symbolism as the Saturn Polar Configuration is shown below on a Masonic stained-glass window: https://preview.redd.it/oow7tgmhbv2b1.png?width=445&format=png&auto=webp&s=3fb43f1b14b2c6588e39e2ecd93aa0255508e922 Even though the Saturn Polar Configuration corresponds to the Masonic image above of the Blazing Star between the pillars, it’s generally assumed that the Blazing Star between the Masonic pillars is Sirius — not Saturn or Venus. Masonic historian Henry Coil says: “But whether the Blazing Star refers to Saturn or the Sun or some other heavenly body is not ascertainable”. In his book ‘Myth, Magick, and Masonry’, Jaime Lamb connects the Masonic Blazing Star to Venus, saying: “The Blazing Star’s relationship to Venus (also anciently known as the Morning Star) may best be illustrated by the fact that it’s represented in the form of a pentagram. This significance comes primarily from the fact that Venus traces [a perfect pentagram across the sky every eight years when observed from Earth”]. The fact that the Masonic Blazing Star is also sometimes represented by an 8-pointed star (as shown in the image above) might also point towards it being Venus. The Mesopotamian goddess Inanna was worshipped as the embodiment of Venus and her symbol was the 8-pointed star. In the 1875 of ‘Freemason’s Monthly Volume 6’, we read: “Venus, whose orbit is within but on a level with our own… is the brilliant “Blazing Star” that heralds the rising or attends the setting Sun”. While some argue that the Masonic Blazing Star is Venus, some have suggested that it could be Jupiter. The ancient Greeks knew Jupiter as Phaethon (Φαέθων) meaning “Shining One” or “Blazing Star”. Whether the Masonic Blazing Star is Sirius, Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, Alcyone, Aldebaran, the Moon, or some other heavenly body, it’s acknowledged by some that Freemasons misguide people as to the true meaning of their symbols. For example, the prominent Freemason, Albert Pike, said in his book ‘Morals and Dogma’: “Part of the symbols are displayed there to the initiate, but he is intentionally misled by false interpretations. It’s not intended that he shall understand them; but it’s intended that he shall imagine that he understands them”. Part of the problem is that much of what Freemasons are doing is buried under layers of armour-clad secrecy so many strata deep that only archaeologists of the distant future will have any hope of disinterring any of these things. The Egyptian symbol of the Ankh was based on the Saturn Polar Configuration, as Talbott explains in ‘The Saturn Myth’, saying: “The Ankh (whose origins experts have long debated) is but a conventionalized image of the [Saturn] Polar Configuration”. In his book ‘Secret Societies: Revelations About Freemasons’, Philip Gardiner explains that the Ankh was seen as a gateway or portal into a higher dimension. Quote: “The Ankh is known as the Crux Ansata. It’s a simple T-cross, surmounted by an oval — called the Ru. The Ru is often seen as a gateway or portal to another dimension, such as Heaven. The Ankh therefore becomes the symbol of transition from one place to another. It outlived Egyptian domination and was widely used by the Christians as the [Latin] Cross”. As well as being linked to the Ankh, the Saturn Polar Configuration can be linked to other symbols, such as the symbol of the All-Seeing-Eye. Probably the most recognizable Masonic symbol is the All-Seeing-Eye, included in the architecture of the Great Seal of the U.S. Dollar Bill. Fixed within a triangle, the disembodied eye is surrounded by rays of light and rests upon an unfinished pyramid. The All-Seeing-Eye finds its roots in ancient Egypt as the Eye of Horus (or Ra) and can be traced back to the Saturn Polar Configuration. During the alignment of Saturn, Venus, and Mars, in their different configurations, they formed a triangle and 8-pointed star. Quote from ‘The Saturn Myth’: “Saturn wears the band as a golden girdle, collar or crown. He dwells in it as the pupil of the All-Seeing-Eye”. To see this All-Seeing-Eye alignment explained see ‘Discourses on an Alien Sky#5’. The image below is loosely how this would have looked. In his (co-authored) book ‘The Ark of Millions of Years’, physicist Alexander Agnew, who has published thousands of technical papers, says: “The portal into Heaven is marked by the All-Seeing-Eye”. So, could this be what the Saturn Polar Configuration essentially is, then? Some portal or gateway into Heaven? THE SATURN POLAR CONFIGURATION FROM ‘DISCOURSES ON AN ALIEN SKY’ This is likely the inspiration for the All-Seeing-Eye on the U.S. Dollar Bill. https://preview.redd.it/uwxl1cipbv2b1.png?width=641&format=png&auto=webp&s=f8f880f2d3343a38e88b941370f234ff869c1023 Some have suggested that the symbols on the U.S. Dollar Bill were created by Freemasons. After all, some of the Founding Fathers were apparently Freemasons (such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin) and the All-Seeing-Eye was ostensibly adopted by Freemasonry in 1797 and only 5 years later was adopted on the reverse-side of The Great Seal. Many believe that Freemasons are responsible for the eye-excruciatingly small image of the owl; a Masonic symbol for “knowledge”. So, what’s the goal of Freemasons, then? Assuming the All-Seeing-Eye on the U.S. Dollar Bill is a respresentation of the Saturn Polar Configuration, which Talbott has associated with the Tower of Babel, we then have a connection between Freemasons and the Tower of Babel. Indeed, some have suggested that the pyramid on the U.S. Dollar Bill is a representation of the Tower of Babel. According to researcher Jim Cornwell: “The pyramid on the Great Seal represents the unfinished Tower of Babel”. In his book ‘Antichrist Osiris: The History of the Luciferian Conspiracy’, Chris Relitz writes: “The unfinished [pyramid] seen on the American Dollar Bill may be a reference to the Tower of Babel”. According to Christopher Hodapp in his book ‘Freemason Symbols and Ceremonies For Dummies’: “Freemasonry’s legends claim that the group was descended from the great builders of the Old Testament — Noah’s Ark, the Tower of Babel, and King Solomon’s Temple”. Researcher Alexander Slade describes how Freemasons were possibly responsible for the Tower of Babel. Tentatively then, it would make sense if the goal of Freemasons was to recreate the Tower of Babel and reconnect Heaven with Earth. Below is an old Freemason Tracing Board showing the All-Seeing-Eye over a pillar, with the pillar likely representing the Cosmic Mountain: https://preview.redd.it/lf6u7dxwbv2b1.png?width=476&format=png&auto=webp&s=bfc01b8fd71b15fb116ec32fea46fbf6393fac64 The image below is a comparison between the Masonic Square and Compass (on the left) the Stargate logo (in the centre) and the Cosmic Mountain to Saturn and Venus (on the right) also called the “Saturn Polar Configuration”. The design of the Square and Compass corresponds to the configuration of Saturn, Venus, and the Cosmic Mountain, as seen in ‘Discourses on an Alien Sky’. In this interpretation, the circle at the apex of the Masonic Compass represents the Blazing Star and the triangular appearance of the Compass itself represents the Cosmic Mountain or pathway. https://preview.redd.it/f90wb6wzbv2b1.png?width=645&format=png&auto=webp&s=e26ff16f7d653d84831ce8f7e2af04a0c0d1077e The connection between Freemasonry and the Saturn Polar Configuration becomes more apparent when we compare the stained-glass painting above to the front cover of ‘The Saturn Myth’ book as shown here. |
2023.05.28 20:37 swingerlover THE ANCIENT HISTORY OF LOVE SPELLS #lovespell #lovespells
 | https://preview.redd.it/0apt40ofesj51.jpg?width=935&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8900ff69b29746913f2d020247934d364e36f7e6 submitted by swingerlover to occultspells [link] [comments] The erotic attraction spells also known as love spells, can be traced from the syncretic magic custom of Hellenistic Greece- which included the Hebraic and Egyptian features as recorded in texts like the Greek Magical Papyri and also on amulets as well as other artefacts that date up to late third century A.D. The magical rituals continued to impact on private custom among German society, in Gaul (for Celtic people) and Roman Britain. Erotic magic exhibited gender responsibilities in classical Greece and dropped the contemporary misconceptions on gender lines and sexuality. According to the University of Chicago’s Christopher Faraone- a classical professor, there was a clear distinction between magic practiced by both genders with men practicing Eros and women Philia. Indeed, the two kinds of spells can be linked to gender responsibilities in Ancient Greece. Because women depended on men, they used philia. From ancient times, women weak and utilize any means possible to maintain their spouses. At the time when men had the liberty to leave their wives as they wished, the use of philia was necessary. With that, most women chose to use it as a way to maintain their beauty and as a source of peace of mind. Make Men Faithful Women used philia magic to make their men faithful and stick to them. Elementary beliefs on sexual attitudes in Greece were rejected by the discovery of the philia love spells, rituals, and potions. Rather than applying it as a means of getting sexual pleasure, women used the spells as medicine or therapy. Women used philia spells to try to conserve their beauty and remain appealing. This can be related to general medical usage by women. In ancient Greece, most women used spells as a kind of therapy. Despite the form of spells and whether they worked or not, there was something special about them- they made the users feel more contented with their situations and have the feeling that they have some powers over the prevailing situations. In that case, magic works just like regions. In a nutshell, prayers and spells have a lot of similarities in that both bring the tranquility of mind and they both use something spiritual to command something that is presently unmanageable. https://preview.redd.it/0pk3wcelesj51.jpg?width=918&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9a686da4befcd7a4e5c0a707ab5e83679f576be4 For men and prostitutes, Eros spells were mainly used to serve an entirely different role in ancient Greece. They were mostly applied by men to introduce lust and enthusiasm into women, directing them to accomplish the men’s desires. Without some kind of powers like that exhibited by spells, women felt insecure that is why they would strive to seek the affection producing spells. While men experienced a free life where they chose what they wanted to do, women on the other hand were relatively restricted. For instance, they were required to serve only one husband and home. This prompted women who were not practicing prostitution to apply eros magic to meet their sexual demands. Women in love Magic. Malleus Maleficarum of 1487 best illustrated the view of women in the Renaissance. The introduction part of the text presents the sexuality of women with respect to the devil. In his book, Heinrich Kramer wrote, “All witchcraft originates from sexual desire, which in women is unquenchable.” At this time, men of the Renaissance fretted the sexual capability of the opposite gender. They linked it to the devil and thought of them as sexual associates to demons. The book, Kramer narrates a case where a witch got her powers by summoning the devil to get into sexual relations. By the use of her sexual powers, she acquires power, therefore, viewed as evil and a threat. To confirm this, in most of the witchcraft prosecutions submitted before the Holy Office (in Roman Inquisition), women were accused using their own sexuality to bind their lusts and sexuality. From Ancient experiences and stories, it is evident that Love Spells had a great impact on love matters. Like today, it was respected and feared by people. Also, it was used by others to fulfill their sexual needs where possible. Love spells are deeply rooted to the lives of most people. Therefore, even in the contemporary world, many people can still relate to it. Although there has been a lot of transformations in terms of lifestyle and the view of people on supernatural powers, love spells can’t be underrated. Want Izabael To Cast a Spell For You? Visit My Magick Spell Shop https://preview.redd.it/pdmeclanesj51.jpg?width=308&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=440c776541c27a9e4c6da33da46727710cb344d0 Magic Spells by Izabael DaJinn The World’s Premiere Spell-casting Genie ***Successful Spells Cast since 2007 *** originally posted at, and permission to repost from: https://izabaeldajinn.com/2020/07/the-ancient-history-of-love-spells |
2023.05.28 10:57 RegularOil834 I Made "Ancient Sword of Hate" for running LotFP Modules
This is something I whipped up after I picked up all the Lamentations of the Flame Princess PDFs in their recent sale. I've been doing rigid design work on Trackmarks for the past few months, so I used this project as an excuse to cut loose.
I tried to be as off-the-wall as I could: Explaining rules in footnotes, holistically designing the character sheet, etc. All things considered, I think it came out really good!
This system combines the proposed rules in Eldritch Cock with some of my favorite design elements from Trackmarks and tidbits from other OSR games. These come together to form a system I will be very comfortable churning through Lamentations products with.
It was super fun to go completely bonkers. I hope you find something useful to steal from this!
Download Ancient Sword of Hate from itch.io.
submitted by RegularOil834 to osr [link] [comments]
I tried to be as off-the-wall as I could: Explaining rules in footnotes, holistically designing the character sheet, etc. All things considered, I think it came out really good!
This system combines the proposed rules in Eldritch Cock with some of my favorite design elements from Trackmarks and tidbits from other OSR games. These come together to form a system I will be very comfortable churning through Lamentations products with.
It was super fun to go completely bonkers. I hope you find something useful to steal from this!
Download Ancient Sword of Hate from itch.io.
2023.05.28 04:09 Luna_dusts The Great Awakening Map
 | submitted by Luna_dusts to u/Luna_dusts [link] [comments] |
2023.05.26 20:00 gentlemensblaze The Great Awakening Map
Someone asked to see this full image.
submitted by gentlemensblaze to reptilians [link] [comments]
2023.05.26 14:42 thomaatoes The devil of the witches is not the same as the christian devil
Has anybody read the book of Rojer J. Horne The Witches' Devil: Myth and Lore for modern cunning? I am waiting for my physical copy and my mind is racing of how interesting the topic of the said book.
This witches' devil is the one one who witches meet in the woods where they dance, cast spells, feast and leave when the sun rises during sabbats. Head of a goat, body covered with black ceremonial robes, cloven hooves of a goat.
For me he is misunderstood and bastardized again by christianity like an ancient pagan diety, a god of magick, a chaotic trickster spirit, that initiates, guides, oversees practitioners of the crooked path. the sorcerous artes.
He's like the "Witchy Pope" my intuition says.
what is your opinion about this topic? jump with me into this rabbit hole.
submitted by thomaatoes to DemonolatryPractices [link] [comments]
This witches' devil is the one one who witches meet in the woods where they dance, cast spells, feast and leave when the sun rises during sabbats. Head of a goat, body covered with black ceremonial robes, cloven hooves of a goat.
For me he is misunderstood and bastardized again by christianity like an ancient pagan diety, a god of magick, a chaotic trickster spirit, that initiates, guides, oversees practitioners of the crooked path. the sorcerous artes.
He's like the "Witchy Pope" my intuition says.
what is your opinion about this topic? jump with me into this rabbit hole.
2023.05.26 05:06 Ilovebelfs [Store] Collectors Cache 2020 TI10
I'm not going first. No exceptions
Since I have a very limited collection I will sell to whoever pays in advance first before the 30 day cooldown.
[W]: Bitcoin/Keys/OSRS GP
https://steamcommunity.com/id/poopbuttj add me to begin 30 day cooldown
Collectors Cache 2020 1&2
submitted by Ilovebelfs to Dota2Trade [link] [comments]
Since I have a very limited collection I will sell to whoever pays in advance first before the 30 day cooldown.
[W]: Bitcoin/Keys/OSRS GP
https://steamcommunity.com/id/poopbuttj add me to begin 30 day cooldown
Collectors Cache 2020 1&2
2023.05.26 01:54 PolybianPrime Searching for a book
Hi Thelemites,
Recently I read a fantastic book on Thelema. The Aleister Crowley Manual by Marco Visconti. It was very accessible and informing, but focused mostly on (practical) Magick and ritual.
Now I, as a Freemason with a strong appreciation towards Thelema, want to go deeper in a mystical and philosophical sense instead of practical. Speaking of Thelemic concepts of union with the divine, phallic and solar symbology especially, the mysteries of the ancients.
Is anyone of you aware of such a book?
Thanks in advance!
submitted by PolybianPrime to thelema [link] [comments]
Recently I read a fantastic book on Thelema. The Aleister Crowley Manual by Marco Visconti. It was very accessible and informing, but focused mostly on (practical) Magick and ritual.
Now I, as a Freemason with a strong appreciation towards Thelema, want to go deeper in a mystical and philosophical sense instead of practical. Speaking of Thelemic concepts of union with the divine, phallic and solar symbology especially, the mysteries of the ancients.
Is anyone of you aware of such a book?
Thanks in advance!
2023.05.24 06:18 omegacluster Album Anniversary List 2023-05-24
Today's anniversaries are:
2009
2013
2014
2016
submitted by omegacluster to ctebcm [link] [comments]
2009
- Infinien - Infinien (ambient, experimental, fusion, jazz, original music, progressive, psychedelic, rock, world, Philadelphia)
- Zvoyn - Onomatopeous Love Letters, Book Ⅲ: Ioana (metal, avantgarde, bass, electronica, fretless, fusion, oriental, progressive, symphonic, technical, Lyon) Read our review.
2013
2014
- Dark Æon - Nihilism (melodic death metal, metal, progressive thrash, darkaeon nihilism death metal, Montreal) Read our review.
2016
- Anthony Weis - Sound Continuous Singles (experimental, rock, anthony weis, avantgarde, collage, folktronica, instrumental, sc singles, Chicago) Read our review.
- Anwkozik - Objects in Motion (jazz, progressive rock, fusion, math rock, post-rock, Sarrebourg) Read our review.
- Binary Code - Moonsblood (metal, post metal, progressive metal, alternative metal, post progressive metal, prog, progmetal, New York) Read our review.
- Abyssic - A Winter's Tale (Rock, Hard Rock, Metal)
- Foret noir - Certitude (black metal, metal, quebec city, Québec City)
- Mental Architects - Ascend (alternative, rock, sofia, instrumental, instrumental rock, math rock, math-rock, mountain core, mountain rock, post-metal, post-rock, София)
- Chaos Magic - Chaos Magic (experimental, jazz, drone rock, free improv, nu-jazz, San Diego)
- Epiphany from the Abyss - Epiphany from the Abyss (blackened, deathcore, metal, technical, Canada)
- Toluca & Funeral Bloom - Split (atmospheric black metal, blackgaze, metal, post black metal, russia, ambient metal, cover, depressive black metal, killing joke, love like blood, metal, post-metal, post-punk, post-rock, screamo, Москва, Texas)
- Alexi Tuomarila Trio - Sphere (jazz, jazz, jazz piano trio, piano trio, Helsinki)
- Capyac - Baby Make Money (electronic, hip hop, beats, disco, experimental, funk, Austin)
- Chalice Dungeon - Chalice Dungeon (black metal, death metal, metal, Layton)
- Christian Meaas Svendsen, 仲間 (Nakama), and Rinzai Zen Center Oslo - New Rituals (alternative, alternative, ancient, avant-garde, buddhism, contemporary, contemporary classic, experimental, improv, jazz, nakama, recitation, silent, zen, Oslo) Read our review.
- Circé - Circé ()
- Collocutor - The Angry One (jazz, banger, experimental jazz, instrumental, jazz, jazz metal, london jazz, modal, on the corner, spiritual jazz, London)
- Deathspell Omega - The Furnaces of Palingenesia (black metal, deathspell omega, metal, noevdia, France)
- Elliott Sharp - Occam's Razor ()
- Esoctrilihum - The Telluric Ashes of the Ö Vrth Immemorial Gods (metal, avantgarde death metal, black metal, blackened death metal, death metal, doom metal, hallucinatory black death metal, heavy rock, lovecraftian, mystic black death, Italy)
- Fire! Orchestra - Arrival (Jazz)
- G Calvin Weston & the Phoenix Orchestra - Dust and Ash (experimental, james blood ulmer, lounge lizards, ornette, drummer, drums, lounge lizards, ornette coleman, prime time, Philadelphia) Read our review.
- Jean Leloup - L'Étrange Pays (acoustic, alternative, jean leloup, acoustic guitar, folk, indie rock, pop, pop rock, solo, Montréal)
- Karakorum - Fables and Fairytales (avantrock, heavy rock, jazzrock, krautrock, progressive rock, rock, Mühldorf)
- Les Comptes de Korsakoff - Nos Amers (alternative, composition, improvisation, jazz, porn-jazz, rock, France) Read our review.
- Lisathe - Lisathe (experimental, ambient, art rock, cinematic, neo-classical, post rock, post-rock, soundtrack, Sydney)
- Lukas Mantel Sextet - Vardah (Pre-Release #1/4) (jazz, drums, improvisation, instrumental, Zürich)
- Melissa Aldana - Visions (jazz, chile, saxophone, Las Vegas)
- Miles Perkin Quartet - The Point in Question (experimental, jazz, other, Berlin)
- Milk & Bone & Alex Lustig - Dive (electronic, electro, pop, Montreal)
- Misþyrming - Algleymi (black metal, metal, Iceland)
- Mortet - Mortet (black metal, experimental, hudson valley, metal, ambient, experimental, fusion, hudson valley, jazz, new york, new york city, post-metal, sludge metal, New York)
- Neckbeard Deathcamp - So Much for the Tolerant Left (black metal, metal, raw black metal, harsh noise, noise, Bordeaux)
- Odyssey - The Swarm (instrumental progressive metal, metal, progressive rock, heavy, instrumental, progressive, progressive metal, rock, spokane, Spokane)
- Ὄγκος (Onkos) - Ὄγκος (Onkos) (metal, usa, acoustic death metal, avantgarde death, avatngarde metal, black metal, death doom, death metal, doom metal, experimental metal, heavy rock, ritualistic, tribal, Italy)
- Petrol Girls - Cut & Stitch (punk, feminism, feminist, hardcore punk, punk rock, riot grrrl, United Kingdom)
- Rémi Gallego - Hell Is Other Demons (electronic, chiptune, experimental, guitars, post-rock, progressive metal, soundtrack, synthwave, video game music, video game soundtrack, Berlin)
- Vale - Burden of Sight (black metal, crust., death metal, metal, Oakland)
- リビドーと悪魔 (Ribidō to akuma / The Devils & Libido) - Shock! from Devils (alternative, drum & bass, experimental, bass music, hardcore, math rock, noisecore, progressive, Japan)
- リビドーと悪魔 (Ribidō to akuma / The Devils & Libido) - Shock! from Libido (alternative, experimental, hardcore, math rock, noisecore, progressive, Japan)
- שלוש (Šlwš / Shalosh) - Onwards and Upwards (Jazz)
- ግል ያሎ (Gili Yalo) - ከአምሃሪካ የተሰራ (Ke’āmiharīka yetesera / Made in Amharica) (african, ethiopia, ethiopian, middle eastern, persian, world, downtempo, Tel Aviv Yafo)
- Teddy Breihan - October (soundtrack)
- Беркутчи (Berkutči / Berkutchi) - Obscurity, beneath the Demon's Veil (atmospheric black metal)
- Adventurer - Pacifica (post-hardcore)
- Antares - In Sanity (progressive rock)
- E-an-na - Fascinathanatango (folk fusion)
- Fixions - 特異点 (Tokui-ten / Singularity) (darkwave)
- Pilot Voyager - Overheated Man (post-rock)
- We 3 - We 3 (avant-garde jazz)
- 陳陽熙 (Chan Teruki) - Music to Ward Off Centipedes (noise)
2023.05.24 00:03 Intelligent-Cap8651 Thoth and the Emerald Tablet: The Hidden Secrets of Ancient Magick
 | Exploring the hidden meaning of the emerald tablet that has eluded alchemists and magicians for centuries. submitted by Intelligent-Cap8651 to HighStrangeness [link] [comments] |
2023.05.22 15:00 swingerlover QABALAH MYSTICISM OF THE UNSEEN #qabalah #kabbalah
 | https://preview.redd.it/d7ro03dk9di51.png?width=918&format=png&auto=webp&s=1cb986ada0e82c9b6c45402283a6e136508853e0 submitted by swingerlover to occultspells [link] [comments] Nearly every human being solicits communion with some kind of imaginative power in the universe, whether it is known as God or Goddess, Allah, Jehovah, Brahma or Great Spirit. Science is different, seeking the origin of life via the Big Bang theory or the intricacies of quantum mechanics. We all have a concern toward revealing the mystery of life, which is often known as the Great Originating Mystery. Is this a link to the invisible reserved for only monks or nun, priests or priestesses? Are they the chosen few who get to feel the origin of all creation? What if it was the future of every human being to be able to associate with the hidden force in the universe that appears to drive all life? Moreover, what is the purpose of such a spiritual encounter and how can it be addressed? Despite the fact that there is no absolute answer to the above question, our ancestors have given direction through different modalities of mystical assistance with the universe around us. Referred to as the Mystery Traditions, these have been shrouded in symbolism secrecy for millennia. It has just been the ultimate century or so that the different spiritual customs of these traditions from different parts of the world have come to be noticed and surfaced in the world arena. I can now scrutinize, examine, and even participate in mystical customs from a Theravada Buddhist, Cambodia. Thanks to state-of-the-art technology and academia, almost every person has the ability to tap into spiritual disciplines that had been suppressed for ages. Currently, I am a project manager at heart. During the day, I am managing clients, responding to emails and or casting spells as needed for clients who await high quality. To be relevant and give value, sometimes you need to throw away traditional approaches, pull up your sleeves, and simply go for what works in actuality. It appears we are now in a point in our world spiritual experience where we can now perform something comparable. Similarly, in these Magic Traditions, if we can reveal the greatest of what works from these practices, and fulfil them, then we will give a solid structure for the upcoming generations who look for answers to the secrets of life. The first goal then is to allow people to become mystics in their personal right, instead of making the straight attachment to the spiritual domain exclusive. This is the reason I have always been attracted to shamanism. Ideally, shamanism is not a religion, but more so describes a collection of spiritual customs that is active in quite a number of religious traditions. Normally, a shaman helps the community by directly connecting with Spirit (God) using different communications with the natural world. A perfect example of this can be noticed all over Christian history, the Old Testament with Elijah and Moses and post-New Testament through the ancient Christian Gnostics. Again, Siddhartha Gautama’s immediate revelation of wisdom under the tree generated Buddhist philosophy and much more. In basic terms, shamanism is the basis of all spiritual customs, comprising Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, etc. therefore, every religion’s origin is definitely shamanic, since every religion began as a way of facilitating a personal association with God. https://preview.redd.it/v1slrlhm9di51.png?width=918&format=png&auto=webp&s=a352407795a5b4848fe24dc97b6a1ffd7dac3aae My personal commitment and preparation in shamanism has inspired a direct connection with the invisible world. Rather than being obliged to some other person for my religious practice, I am now empowered to take absolute charge for my individual direct mystical discoveries. Shamanism achieves this essentially through its system of engaging non-ordinary elements of awareness. In that state of awareness that is not common, my mind can shift into space where it can then start to experience dreamy imagery and/or message that add to my spiritual purpose. Choosing to mix shamanism with Qabalah could be favorable since they are all the same thing. In fact, the notable difference is that Qabalah has a tried system that can be more easily interpreted in a modern setting than, say, native ideas and symbols. In my individual exercise in curanderismo (the Peruvian shamanism) I discovered many recommendations and associations to Qabalah. Quite a lot, in actual fact, that they could no longer be overlooked. Both Qabalah and shamanism are systems that strive to lift the veil of deception that permeates our senses, to draw into the hidden forces in the world around us. With the naturalistic and ecstatic methods given by shamanism and the exact symbolism of Qabalah, is started opening pathways into my individual knowledge that have now made me convinced of my personal spiritual path and I can confidently say I am a mystic. This comes with something great- I have the ability and opportunity to correlate with the hidden spiritual energies of the world and get the direction I need to maintain my own growth toward freedom and ease. Generally, you might discover that having a satisfactory relationship with the unseen using these techniques might be challenging. As with any method, if it becomes too hard, take a step back and refer to the basics. Make use of what works for your individual practice and be open to fresh ideas as well. Undoubtedly, the Mystery Traditions are full of knowledge. Nevertheless, none of it bothers us if we cannot use it in our daily lives. The whole objective of having a connection with the unseen universe is to have a more solid relationship or connection with the universe that is visible. A mystic assumes responsibility for their spiritual legacy. It requires no authorization. Hopefully, Shamanic Qabalah is a reference and guide to drive individuals to that level of assurance. Mysticism is our heritage and probably, we can all commit one another raising each other up to give the most useful tools and exercises at our disposal. The outstanding work is all about learning and living out our personal spiritual future, all while helping others in their individual way. Want Izabael To Cast a Spell For You? Visit My Magick Spell Shop https://preview.redd.it/oxm4bgncbdi51.jpg?width=314&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=170d82ada7d24d9863918cc326189cc8bc48a886 originally posted at: https://izabaeldajinn.com/2019/09/qabalah-mysticism-of-the-unseen |
2023.05.22 02:13 alfadhir-heitir The Tarot as an Initiatory System - Figures as Degrees of Initiation
Hey there friends :)
I've always struggled a bit with interpreting figure cards. They've always felt somewhat abstract and hard to get a grip on. While the Major Arcana presented itself very clearly and openly, and the Minor Arcana provided an interesting mental challenge, the Figures in particular always felt somewhat veiled, somewhat... out of reach.
This changed a couple months ago when I started considering the Figures to represent Degrees of Initiation. I've always seen the Tarot as a manual and guide regarding magickal practice, alchemy and, ultimately, spiritual initiation. Picking a Suit and laying it down, we can see a clear Journey taken place, which starts with the creative impulse of the Ace, moves on through a series of challenges, realizations and insights, and culminates in the resolution of the Ten. But then there's the Figures. How do they fit this framework? They're surely not independent entities. That wouldn't make much sense, specially considering the deep connections and subtle associations that can be found between the several cards.
It's said that there were four levels of initiation in Ancient Egypts. There was the Neophyte, which was the prospect, the one that was trying to get initiated into the Order. This period usually lasted for a year, but could be shorted or lengthened accordingly. Neophytes were required to perform a bunch of tasks, follow a bunch of precepts and rules, and learn a bunch of things - usually the hard way, since access to the repositories of knowledge wasn't given to them.
There was the Initiate, which had already been accepted into the Order. The Initiate's duty was to mostly study and learn. He'd be given access to the libraries and tomes, although some were still outside his reach. He would have someone to guide him and give him tasks, although the body of the Work was mainly learning about the Mysteries. He'd take part in ritual, although in a more passive role.
There was the Adept. The Adept was an Initiate whose virtue and value was already acknowledged by the Higher Ups. The Adepts would often go on missions, either performing magickal Work or teaching others. They would actively participate in ritual, handle the Neophytes, support the Initiates, and pretty much do their thing. This was the level most people reached. They were deep into the Mysteries, had a deep understanding of them, and had access to all the resources available at the Temple. The Task of the Adept was to perform the Great Work, which can be summed up as his Life's Path. This Great Work would usually be something big and impactful, which would also benefit the Order.
Lastly, there was the Master. A Master was an Adept who had already been successful in completing his Great Work. Masters would still perform quite a bit of magick Work and practice. They'd lead the rituals, initiate others, guide the Adepts and Neophytes, and could even be tasked with taking care of a particular region - i.e. a Master could be sent to a far away place, to build a Temple of his own, so the Mysteries could be taught and advanced in far away places.
Curiously, this model fits perfectly the role of the Figures in the Minor Arcana. The Page, the Neophyte, is trying to achieve his first attainments, to really "get in on it", but still doesn't have much clue about what he's doing. The Knight, the Initiate, is already onto it, but still struggles to figure stuff out, and is mainly in a learning Journey. The Queen, the Adept, already has a deep understanding of the Mysteries, and is focusing on taking care of his duties and accomplishing his Work. The Master, the King, has everything figured out, and is tasked with guiding others so they can too achieve his level of spiritual development.
I'm still working on and developing this concept, but it feels deeply true. It also provides a strong entry point into the Figures - one which I wasn't being able to quite pinpoint. I can relate virtually any card to a lesson in Spiritual Alchemy (seriously, try me) except for the Figures - this whole idea changed that almost instantly.
Am curious to know what everyone thinks about this take. How do you approach the Figures? Does this concept ring any bells or connects any dots? Am I onto something interesting and good, or am I just letting my imagination and pattern recognition neurons run rampant? Any feedback is appreciated.
Much love :)
submitted by alfadhir-heitir to tarot [link] [comments]
I've always struggled a bit with interpreting figure cards. They've always felt somewhat abstract and hard to get a grip on. While the Major Arcana presented itself very clearly and openly, and the Minor Arcana provided an interesting mental challenge, the Figures in particular always felt somewhat veiled, somewhat... out of reach.
This changed a couple months ago when I started considering the Figures to represent Degrees of Initiation. I've always seen the Tarot as a manual and guide regarding magickal practice, alchemy and, ultimately, spiritual initiation. Picking a Suit and laying it down, we can see a clear Journey taken place, which starts with the creative impulse of the Ace, moves on through a series of challenges, realizations and insights, and culminates in the resolution of the Ten. But then there's the Figures. How do they fit this framework? They're surely not independent entities. That wouldn't make much sense, specially considering the deep connections and subtle associations that can be found between the several cards.
It's said that there were four levels of initiation in Ancient Egypts. There was the Neophyte, which was the prospect, the one that was trying to get initiated into the Order. This period usually lasted for a year, but could be shorted or lengthened accordingly. Neophytes were required to perform a bunch of tasks, follow a bunch of precepts and rules, and learn a bunch of things - usually the hard way, since access to the repositories of knowledge wasn't given to them.
There was the Initiate, which had already been accepted into the Order. The Initiate's duty was to mostly study and learn. He'd be given access to the libraries and tomes, although some were still outside his reach. He would have someone to guide him and give him tasks, although the body of the Work was mainly learning about the Mysteries. He'd take part in ritual, although in a more passive role.
There was the Adept. The Adept was an Initiate whose virtue and value was already acknowledged by the Higher Ups. The Adepts would often go on missions, either performing magickal Work or teaching others. They would actively participate in ritual, handle the Neophytes, support the Initiates, and pretty much do their thing. This was the level most people reached. They were deep into the Mysteries, had a deep understanding of them, and had access to all the resources available at the Temple. The Task of the Adept was to perform the Great Work, which can be summed up as his Life's Path. This Great Work would usually be something big and impactful, which would also benefit the Order.
Lastly, there was the Master. A Master was an Adept who had already been successful in completing his Great Work. Masters would still perform quite a bit of magick Work and practice. They'd lead the rituals, initiate others, guide the Adepts and Neophytes, and could even be tasked with taking care of a particular region - i.e. a Master could be sent to a far away place, to build a Temple of his own, so the Mysteries could be taught and advanced in far away places.
Curiously, this model fits perfectly the role of the Figures in the Minor Arcana. The Page, the Neophyte, is trying to achieve his first attainments, to really "get in on it", but still doesn't have much clue about what he's doing. The Knight, the Initiate, is already onto it, but still struggles to figure stuff out, and is mainly in a learning Journey. The Queen, the Adept, already has a deep understanding of the Mysteries, and is focusing on taking care of his duties and accomplishing his Work. The Master, the King, has everything figured out, and is tasked with guiding others so they can too achieve his level of spiritual development.
I'm still working on and developing this concept, but it feels deeply true. It also provides a strong entry point into the Figures - one which I wasn't being able to quite pinpoint. I can relate virtually any card to a lesson in Spiritual Alchemy (seriously, try me) except for the Figures - this whole idea changed that almost instantly.
Am curious to know what everyone thinks about this take. How do you approach the Figures? Does this concept ring any bells or connects any dots? Am I onto something interesting and good, or am I just letting my imagination and pattern recognition neurons run rampant? Any feedback is appreciated.
Much love :)