Cursing With Eggs In Irish Folklore:

IMPORTANT!!!!

What is happening as of now is not war, this is genocide, and we must act for those in power who will not.

If you can, please donate to the following causes, if you can't donate, please signalboost!!! Come on folks!!

From river to sea, Palestine will be free.

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rb to have a super gay 2023

My redesign hot take is that if you’re aiming to “desexualize” a female character, don’t make her boobs smaller. You’re implying a lot here.

Whelp, I’m progressing backwards folks

It’s that time of year where I go back into my Tolkien coma, and only consume LotR and Hobbit content for an undetermined length of time. If you need me, I’ll be in the void.

Y’know what. Screw it, random Harvey headcannon time:

This man is my personal little skrimblo, my grunkle if you will, so I have decided to compile my personal headcannons for him here for you folks!

His personal comfort show is Over the Garden Wall, I can imagine him listening to the soundtrack while he builds :]

He struggles with C-PTSD and RSD, which is possibly canon? Hinted at HEAVILY in his higher friendship/marriage dialogues. I just need him to know it’s gonna be okay ;-;

He enjoys antiquing and thrifting! I feel like he would heavily enjoy the pre-loved items, however making sure to properly cleaning them before he puts them away!

There is absolutely no evidence to prove this, but I feel like he would, or has collected coins. Really not sure why, I just feel like this fits him quite well.

Mentioned this in my last Harvey appreciation post, but I feel like he would be asexual or possibly demisexual! This might also be your local ace wanting more rep, but I get a strong vibe from this man.

He has a fear of getting tattoos. Both the commitment of having something on his body for so long, the risk of infection, and the fear of the actual process worry him, however he hopes to get one to represent Farmer soon :3

Harvey loves bugs. Another one I don’t have any evidence for, but I can just imagine him sitting on a bench outside with a little guy on his hand while he reads, or flipping over stones to make sure the pill bugs are doing well. (Also, he seems like the kind of person who had a bug hyperfixation, coming from someone with one)

He doesn’t know any instruments fluently per say, but he finds the mandolin to be a fun, and good instrument to play around with, especially learning songs for farmer!

He has a complex understanding of the International Phonetic Alphabet, and will go on happy rambles about etymology if farmer inquires! He is a doctor after all, and lots of medical terminology is based in latin, which has a deep connection with the IPA so this would make sense!

He is terrified of dogs, specifically small dogs. They just seem too evil and ill-intended, he cannot understand why these little goblins must be so aggressive, which is honestly valid

Anyways, that’s all i’ve got for now, but more coming soon possibly?? If folks want, I can do my headcannons for other characters as well!! Enjoy my friends :3

I'm thinking about making a bugs and other arthropods iceberg, just for funsies

here are the ideas I have so far!

LEVEL 1: isopod cultures, difference between butterflies and moths, springtails are not insects, true bugs, fireflies are beetles, harvestmen aren't spiders, funky treehoppers, carcinisation

LEVEL 2: importance of mosquitoes, larviform females, venezuelan poodle moth is a hoax, barnacles are upside down crustaceans, fly diversity, horshoe crabs are related to arachnids, mysid shrimps and krill are not related to true shrimp, crustacean zoea, insects are crustaceans, terrestrial amphipods, ant trophobiosis, funny weevils, whip spiders, playful behaviour in bees, assassin bugs that cover themselves in their prey's corpses, honeybees are invasive, 'spider with wings' hoax, hotwheels sisyphus, scorpions are great mothers

LEVEL 3: cockroaches do not spread diseases, gladiators, tongue eating lice aren't that bad, tongue worms, flightless flies and moths, hangingflies, spider that feeds on human blood*, hematophagous moths, polymorphic butterflies, myrmecophil insects, ant mimicking spiders, sawflies, twig spiders, snout mites, rove beetle tongues, kermesidae, parasitic copepods, there's no point in killing spotted lanternflies, buoy barnacles, tar flies, protecting native bees, antarctic midges, butterflies are moths

LEVEL 4: ice crawlers, fleas are actually scorpionflies, mantises are related to cockroaches, ichthyurus, insane isopod diversity, flies are not the only insects with halteres, phytalmia, owlflies, cockroach trophobiosis, termites are cockroaches, ancyra, longhorn beetle that stings with antennae, saltwater skating flies, coatonachthodes, bioluminescent fairy shrimp, mr. arthrobalanus, primarily herbivorous spider, forcepflies, lake baikal giant amphipods, fruit fly covered in eyes, even weirder fly diversity, the other myriapods, spider mimicry in flies and moths

LEVEL 5: terrestrial ostracods, serolidae, ascodipteron

so what do you think? anything I should add or change?? should I just scrap this concept altogether???? I don't know much about bugs when it comes to facts or how well known said facts are so I'd really appreciate some help with this!

*it doesn't exactly feed on human blood like mosquitoes or bed bugs, it just eats blood from mosquitoes that are full of blood

HEYA FOLKS!!! This isn’t a stardew post, but pride is coming up, so I want to reiterate some important things before we start celebrating

- if you can, stay away from corporate pride collaborations, unless they directly donate or support queer organizations!! (Ie trevorproject, transhealth, etc.)

- If you attend protests or marches, and are worried about self defense, do not bring pepper spray, bring a bright flashlight!! Don’t bring anything that can be turned into a weapon against you.

- Pride is, and always has been a month of rebellion, protest, and queer rage, and it’s important to remember the roots of pride, including the more hard to face parts, not just the celebration. we carry the message of our mothers, our fathers, our parents, and all those who have supported us in the past.

- Support queer owned businesses especially!!! (Don’t think this one needs explanation, this isn’t also pride specific, but especially during june :])

- if you live in a place in which it isn’t as safe to be queer, stay safe. it’s always important to prioritize your safety and the safety of others, and i can assure you, even if it’s not tomorrow, things will get better.

- We have a lot of eyes on us during pride, especially in protests, so take this opportunity to share other messages. it isn’t solely a month of just queer protest, but uplifting the voices of those less heard. If you feel the need to, with your pride pin, wear a palestinian or ukrainian as well!!

As always, stay safe, stay healthy, and make this world just a little bit gayer my friend :D

from Alexis Nikole’s instagram

Important Facts about Samhain from an Irish Celtic Reconstructionist

Pronunciation

SOW-in or SOW-een ~NOT~ Sam-han, Sam-win etc.

Dates

Most reconstructionists celebrate Samhain on Oct 31-Nov 1, however some may choose to celebrate on Gregorian Nov 13-14 as this would match the Julian dates of Oct 31-Nov 1. Some also believe that it was a three day festival spanning Oct 31- Nov 2 on which Nov 2 is specifically devoted to ancestral veneration, but there is no specific evidence of this, only possible extrapolation from more modern practices.

Following the Celtic method of days beginning at sunset, regardless of the specific dates you choose to celebrate on your festivities should begin at sunset and end at sunset.

Importance in the Mythos

Ná Morrighan has a strong connection to this time of year thanks to the story of Cath Dédenach Maige Tuired (The Last Battle of Mag Tuired) in which she is found depicted as the ‘Washing Woman’ (sometimes washing herself in the river and other times washing the bloodied armor of the soldiers that would die that day), on the eve of the battle which is also Samhain. The Dagda approaches her and couples with her (creating the ‘Bed of the Couples’ along the bank of river and granting Dagda her blessing in the battle to come). This encounter seems to over emphasize the liminality of the encounter by taking place during the changing of the year and with the couple each standing with ‘one foot on either bank’ of the river.

She and her sisters (Badb and Macha) then use various forms of magic to rain destruction on their enemies (in the form of fire and blood). After the day is won Morrighan speaks a prophecy that describes what is taken by some to be the end of days and others to be the events which will later lead to the Ulster Cycle.

Beneath the peaceful heavens lies the land. It rests beneath the bowl of the bright sky. The land lies, itself a dish, a cup of honeyed strength, there, for the taking, offering strength to each There it lies, the splendour of the land. The land is like a mead worth the brewing, worth the drinking. It stores for us the gifts of summer even in winter. It protects and armours us, a spear upon a shield Here we can make for ourselves strong places, the fist holding the shield Here we can build safe places, our spear-bristling enclosures. This is where we will turn the earth. This is where we will stay. And here will our children live to the third of three generations Here there will be a forest point of field fences The horn counting of many cows And the encircling of many fields There will be sheltering trees So fodderful of beech mast that the trees themselves will be weary with the weight. In this land will come abundance bringing: Wealth for our children Every boy a warrior, Every watch dog, warrior-fierce The wood of every tree, spear-worthy The fire from every stone a molten spear-stream Every stone a firm foundation Every field full of cows Every cow calf-fertile Our land shall be rich with banks in birdsong Grey deer before Spring And fruitful Autumns The plain shall be thronged from the hills to the shore. Full and fertile. And as time runs its sharp and shadowy journey, this shall be true. This shall be the story of the land and its people We shall have peace beneath the heavens. Forever

(based on the translation by Isolde Carmody)

It is also mentioned in Echtra Cormaic that on this festival every seven years the high king would host a feast, it was at this time new laws could be enacted. (but it seems that individual Tuathas or possibly kings of the individual providence may have done this for their territories at Lughnasadh).

It seems to be a time considered especially susceptible to (or of) great change as it is the time which the Tuatha de Danann win victory over the Formorians and take control of Ireland, the invasion of Ulster takes place at this time in Táin bo Cúailnge, in Aislinge Óengusa Óengus and his bride-to-be are changed from bird to human and eventually he claims kingship of Brú na Bóinne at this time of year.

Celebration Traditions

Samhain is the beginning of the “dark half” of the year and is widely regarded as the Insular Celtic equivalent of the New Year. The “dark half” of the year was a time for story telling, in fact in this half of the year after dark is considered the only acceptable time to tell stories from the mythological and Ulster cycle (the Fenian cycle being assumed to be no older than the 12th century based on linguistic dating). Traditionally anything that had not been harvested or gathered by the time of this festival was to be left, as it now belonged to the Fae (in some areas specifically the Púca).

This was also an important time for warding off ill luck in the coming year. Large bonfires would be built and as the cattle were driven back into the community from the pastures they would be walked between these bonfires as a method of purification (the reverse custom of Bealtaine where the livestock were walked between the fires on their way out to the summer pastures). Assumed ritualistic slaughter of some of the herd would follow (though this perhaps had the more practical purpose of thinning the herd before the winter and creating enough food for the feasting). In some areas the ashes from these fires would be worn, thrown or spread as a further way to ward off evil.

Homes would be ritualistically protected from the Aos Sí (Fae or ‘Spirits’) through methods such as offerings of food (generally leaving some of the feasting outside for them), carving turnips with scary faces to warn them off (we now tend to do this with gourds), and smoke cleansing the home (in Scottish saining) traditionally with juniper, but perhaps rowan or birch might be an acceptable alternative. It is likely these would be part of the components used in Samhain bonfires as well, for the same reason.

Lastly based on later traditions as well as links in the mythology this is a time where divination practices or those with the ‘second sight’ were regarded to be especially potent.

Art Credit @morpheus-ravenna

My Kofi