Lets Agree On Me Loving You From A Distance, And You Being Closer To My Heart Than My Veins. And Me Being

تتلاشى الاكتاف من حولك تدريجيا كلما ازدادت حاجتك للاستناد

The shoulders around you gradually disappear as your need for support increases

Granada

At the entrance of Alhambra was our meeting, How sweet is a rendezvous not thought of before. Two soft black eyes in perfect frames enticing, Generating after-effects from the past ages afore. Are you a Spaniard? I asked her enquiring, She said: Granada is the city where I was born. Granada! Seven centuries awoke from slumbering, In her eyes, after the clothing of sleep they wore. And Umayyad, with flags lifted high, flying, Their horses streaming by, unnumbered they pour. How strange is history, how is it to me returning? A beautiful granddaughter, from my pedigree of yore. With a Damascene face, through it I was seeing, The eyelids of Sheba and the neck of Suad once more. I saw a room in our old house with a clearing, Where mother used to spread my cushions on the floor. And the Jasmine inlaid in its stars were shining, With the golden singing pool, a picture of splendor. Damascus, where is it? I said: you will be seeing It in your flowing hair, a river of golden black ore. In your Arab face, in your mouth still storing The suns of my country from the days of Arab lore. In the perfume of Generalife with waters gleaming, Its Arabian Jasmine, its sweet basil and citron odour. She came with me and her hair behind her flowing, Like luscious ears of grain in an unharvested meadow. The long earrings on her neck were glittering, Like Christmas Eve candles that sparkle and glow. Behind her like a child I walked, she was guiding, And behind me, history, piles of ashes row after row. The decoration of Alhambra I almost hear pulsing, And the ornaments on the roof, I hear their call grow. She said: Alhambra! Pride of my ancestors glowing, Read on its walls my glories that shine and show. Her glory! I anointed an open wound festering, And in my heart anointed another that refused to go. If only my lovely granddaughter had a way of knowing, The ones she meant were my ancestors of long, long ago. When I bid her adieu, when I knew I was going, I embraced in her Ṭāriq ibn Ziyād, that Arab hero.

-Nizar Qabbani

“And if happiness visits you again, do not remember its previous betrayal..Let that happiness in, and burst!”

-Mahmoud Darwish

Painting by : Jana Brike

beni yorgunluktan ayır,

Çünkü ağlamak için ağrıyan bir göğüse ihtiyacım var Bende senin gibi camdan bir şey var ve rahat olanların göğüsleri mermerdendir Dünyama dön ki dinlenebileyim Çünkü seni seviyorum yorgun olduğumda bile

Desteğe olan ihtiyacınız arttıkça etrafınızdaki omuzlar yavaş yavaş kaybolur

Libya: From Sands of Time to Storms of Change

Beneath the blazing sun of North Africa, bordered by the ancient tides of the Mediterranean and the vast breath of the Sahara, lies a land whose story has danced with gods, kings, conquerors, and revolutionaries. This is Libya: a nation born from the dust of myth, forged in the fires of empire, and reshaped in the hands of her people.

Origins in the Whispering Sands

Long before cities rose and borders were drawn, the land we now call Libya was home to prehistoric peoples who left their mark in the rock art of the Tadrart Acacus, carvings of giraffes and hunters that tell of a greener Sahara, long vanished. By the Bronze Age, Libya was not one land, but many tribes. Chief among them were the Meshwesh and the Libu—nomadic Berber peoples who grazed their herds along the Nile’s western flanks. Egyptian scribes would scrawl their names in hieroglyphs, sometimes as foes, other times as mercenaries or neighbors. Though they lacked pyramids or written chronicles of their own, the Libyans lived rich oral traditions, passed from elder to youth beside desert fires. Their tongues were early Berber, ancestors to the Amazigh languages spoken to this day.

The Libyan Pharaohs of Egypt

In one of history’s great ironies, these wandering tribes—once dismissed as desert raiders—would wear the crowns of Pharaohs. Around 945 BCE, a chieftain of the Meshwesh named Shoshenq I seized power in a divided Egypt. He founded the 22nd Dynasty, becoming the first Libyan Pharaoh. He was no usurper in chains, but a ruler accepted by Egypt’s priests and people, a man who walked the sacred halls of Karnak and marched his armies as far as Jerusalem. For over two centuries, Libyan dynasties ruled parts of Egypt. They wove themselves into Egyptian culture, marrying daughters into temple lineages and honoring the gods of old, while maintaining their tribal roots in the Delta’s tangled marshes.

Under Greek, Roman, and Islamic Rule

Time, ever the patient sculptor, wore down Libya’s independent spirit. By the time of Herodotus in the 5th century BCE, Libya had become a vague term for "all lands west of Egypt." The Greeks founded Cyrene in eastern Libya, a shining jewel of Hellenistic culture. Later came the Romans, who tamed the coast and named it Tripolitania and Cyrenaica. Great cities bloomed, like Leptis Magna, where Emperor Septimius Severus—a Libyan by birth—would rise to rule the Roman world. With the coming of Islam in the 7th century CE, Libya joined the rising tide of Arab civilization. Arabic took root, and Berber tribes embraced the faith, blending it with ancient customs in a uniquely North African tapestry.

From Ottoman Sands to Italian Chains

From the 16th to 19th centuries, Libya was ruled by the Ottomans, often in name more than presence. Local rulers like the Karamanlis in Tripoli built their own dynasties, their corsairs feared across the Mediterranean. But in 1911, the old world shifted once more—Italy invaded, snatching Libya from Ottoman control. The Libyans resisted fiercely under leaders like Omar Mukhtar, the "Lion of the Desert," whose guerilla war against Mussolini’s fascists became legend. Though captured and executed in 1931, Mukhtar’s spirit ignited a flame that would not die.

A Brief Bloom: The Kingdom of Libya

After World War II, Libya was stitched together from three provinces and granted independence in 1951 under King Idris I. For the first time in centuries, Libya was sovereign. But beneath the crown, discontent stirred. Oil wealth enriched a few, while many remained poor. In 1969, a young officer named Muammar Gaddafi led a bloodless coup, ending the monarchy and beginning one of the most controversial reigns in modern Arab history.

Gaddafi's Rule and the Gathering Storm

For 42 years, Gaddafi ruled with a blend of charisma, brutality, and eccentric philosophy. He styled himself as the "Brother Leader", preached his Green Book, and funded revolutions abroad. At times a pariah, at times an ally, he kept Libya's oil flowing and dissent smothered. But the winds of change were rising. When the Arab Spring swept across the region in 2011, Libyans—long repressed—rose in revolt. The uprising turned into a brutal civil war, drawing NATO intervention. In October 2011, Gaddafi was captured and killed. His fall was cheered, but peace did not follow.

"I deliberately read the writings of the miserable, the missing, and those whose hearts are broken, I read their cries to make me cry with them. My alphabet no longer accommodates this huge amount of sadness, so I started looking for someone to share it with me. It is a disaster to search for yourself in the writings of others, a disaster to lose yourself to this extent."

-unknown

Pirates and Astrology

🧭 1. Navigation as Proto-Astrology

Example: Using the North Star (Polaris) and constellations such as Ursa Major (The Big Dipper) to chart position at sea.

Details: Though strictly astronomical, pirates used the stars not just to know where they were, but when to move, and how to read the mood of the sea. To many, these movements weren’t just physics—they were omens.

If a particular constellation rose bright and sharp, it was seen as a sign of clear skies.

If the stars were dim or flickering, they might interpret this as an upcoming storm—an astrological forecast of sorts.

Many pirates would also sail under particular moon phases, believing a full moon offered better luck, visibility, and even heightened intuition.

🌒 2. Lunar Superstitions and Astrology

Example: Planning a raid according to the Moon’s phase—especially avoiding New Moons for fear of misfortune.

Details:

Waxing Moon (growing): considered a time of gain and success—raids were often launched in this phase.

Full Moon: excellent for visibility at night and thought to be blessed by Selene, the ancient Moon goddess in European lore. Pirates believed the full moon brought clarity and truth, so betrayals were often uncovered under her light.

Waning Moon (shrinking): a time of loss, retreat, or banishment. Bad time to begin new ventures.

Some pirates would carve moon symbols into their ships or keep silver coins under their bunks to honor the Moon’s power (silver being the Moon’s metal in traditional astrology).

🔥 3. Zodiacal Beliefs and Personality

Example: Some captains kept crew logs where they noted birthdays (or baptism dates) of their crew—not for celebration, but for interpreting temperament.

Details:

A crewman born under Aries might be prized for bravery but watched for recklessness.

A Pisces might be considered a good lookout due to intuition, but perhaps too soft for hand-to-hand combat.

A Leo captain was believed to have natural command—some would even be referred to by their sign, like “Leo Jack” or “Scorpio Jim.”

This personalization mimicked what we today know as sun-sign astrology. It wasn't formalized but rooted in folk understanding.

🪐 4. Planetary Days and Hours

Example: Choosing days for launching voyages based on planetary influences—Tuesdays (Mars) for attack, Fridays (Venus) for negotiation or division of spoils.

Details:

Monday (Moon): moody, not ideal for business.

Tuesday (Mars): aggression, war, great for raids.

Wednesday (Mercury): speed and trickery; ideal for escaping or deceptive maneuvers.

Friday (Venus): gifts, wealth, pleasure—some pirates used this day to share treasure or engage in carousing.

Saturday (Saturn): many avoided sailing on this day due to its association with misfortune and restriction.

This system mirrored planetary hour magic found in grimoires like Picatrix or the Key of Solomon, which pirates could have encountered through contact with Moors, Spanish monks, or Arabic manuscripts.

💀 5. Tattoos and Talismans as Astral Wards

Example: Star tattoos, crescent moons, and astrological glyphs etched on skin and tools.

Details:

Tattoos of stars weren’t always decorative—they were often meant to ward off drowning. Sailors believed the stars would "guide them home" even in death.

Some pirates wore pendants engraved with zodiac signs, or planetary sigils (like Jupiter’s glyph for luck).

Charms and talismans blessed under certain skies were worn to invoke planetary aid—a nod to astrological talismanic magic.

Certain captains were rumored to possess amulets enchanted under rare conjunctions (like Mars-Jupiter) to ensure victory or dominance.

👻 6. Jinn, Spirits, and Celestial Entities

Example: In regions influenced by Islam (like the Barbary Coast), pirates often invoked jinn or star-spirits through whispered prayers and rituals.

Details:

The Barbary Corsairs, based in North Africa, often followed Islamic astrology (ilm al-nujūm). They may have timed attacks based on astrological signs, particularly Leo or Scorpio for war.

Some pirate captains consulted astrologers in Tunis, Algiers, or Tripoli before embarking on long campaigns.

Spirit invocations were carried out during specific celestial alignments. A pirate might even bury treasure on a day when Saturn (the planet of delay and secrecy) was in the 12th house—believing it would remain hidden for centuries.

🧙‍♀️ 7. Witches, Sea-Wives, and Star-Seers

Example: Caribbean pirates often visited local seer women—called “mothers of the moon” or Obeah women—to get astrological blessings.

Details:

These women combined folk astrology, African spirituality, and European grimoires.

A captain might request a reading of the stars before battle, or a charm made while Venus was rising, to win over rival crews.

Some pirates swore by their seers more than any map—believing the stars whispered fates only women with “the second sight” could interpret.

⚓ Conclusion: Pirates and the Astrology of the Sea

Though they sailed with rum in one hand and cutlasses in the other, pirates often leaned on celestial intuition and cosmic signs to steady their course. Their superstitions were not childish—they were a system of belief, a salty astrology born from life-and-death choices made beneath the moon and stars.

The pirate, after all, lived between worlds: land and sea, life and death, chance and fate. Astrology, in all its mystical forms, gave them a language to understand that liminal space—and to dare the waves with the stars in their favor.

⚔️ 1. Barbarossa Brothers (Oruç and Hayreddin) — The Corsairs of the Maghreb

Region: Ottoman Algeria / Mediterranean

Era: Early 1500s

Astrological Influence: Operated under the Ottoman Empire, which deeply respected astrology. They were known to consult court astrologers in Algiers and Istanbul for timing sea raids and negotiations.

Example: Oruç Reis allegedly waited for favorable lunar phases before launching attacks on European ships. Ottoman naval campaigns often coordinated with astrologers, and as naval commanders under Ottoman rule, the Barbarossa brothers likely used astrological calendars.

Mystical Additions: The brothers also relied on North African marabouts (holy men) who used astrology, dream interpretation, and geomancy to advise warlords and pirates alike.

🌙 2. Sayyida al-Hurra — The Pirate Queen of Morocco

Region: Tetouan, Morocco / Western Mediterranean

Era: 16th century

Astrological Influence: As an educated noblewoman and ally of Barbarossa, she was steeped in Islamic scholarship, including ilm al-nujūm (science of the stars).

Example: Sayyida al-Hurra was said to consult Sufi mystics and court sages before engaging in battle or negotiation. It’s believed her title “al-Hurra” (the free one) was given during a favorable celestial alignment.

Cultural Context: Her court in Tetouan preserved Arabic astrological manuscripts from Andalusia. Her identity as both a leader and spiritual woman suggests she moved through astrological circles as both a patron and believer.

🌊 3. Al-Mustafa bin Jafar — Corsair of Tripoli

Region: Libya (Tripolitania)

Era: Late 17th century

Astrological Influence: A commander in the Barbary States, he allegedly used star signs and planetary hours to time ambushes against Venetian and Spanish galleons.

Example: Oral tradition in Tripoli recounts that bin Jafar would delay voyages based on the Moon’s position, and his personal flag bore a star and crescent—symbolic not just of Islam, but of lunar magic and celestial favor.

🔥 4. Henry the Slave-King (Henri Caesar) — Haitian Pirate with African Roots

Region: Caribbean (Haiti) / African diaspora

Era: Early 1800s

Astrological Influence: Though more of a mythic figure, stories say he blended West African vodun, astrology, and Caribbean obeah to summon protection and curse his enemies.

Example: Legends describe Caesar timing his attacks with eclipses and comets, claiming they were signs from his ancestors. He carried talismans blessed under Jupiter and Mars.

🐍 5. African Mystic Pirates of the Swahili Coast

Region: Zanzibar, Mombasa, Comoros

Era: 15th–18th centuries

Astrological Influence: The Swahili coast was rich with Islamic mysticism, blending Arabic astrology, African animism, and Indian Ocean trading lore.

Example: Pirate dhows in this region often featured celestial symbols etched into the wood, and some captains hired Swahili astrologer-priests who timed sea raids based on planetary hours and rising stars—particularly Sirius and Canopus, stars sacred in East African and Arab star lore.

🌌 The Common Thread

These pirates, though diverse in culture and era, were bound by a shared worldview where the heavens were not far-off mysteries, but maps of fate, just waiting to be interpreted.

Cultural Bridges:

Arabic astrology, descended from Babylonian and Hellenistic traditions, was deeply entrenched in courts, trade routes, and religious life.

African cosmologies, especially in Mali, Yoruba, and Berber traditions, viewed stars and planets as divine beings with personalities—guides or warnings.

When the sword was raised, the stars had already whispered their omen.

Cain

Cain now beats with a bird made of shale He descends to the earth and showers it- with tremendous rains of fire. Towers and houses collapse before its desolation The dead escape from the embrace of the earth upwards Cain is now floating around in his tank The sheep were terrified Cain is tearing down the wall of his barn Since night turns to morning in the village, the barn is not suitable for sleeping. Emitted by the light coming down Like a dragon's tongue Hurricane ravaged the face of the earth

by: Mohammad Al-Buraiki

Have you ever had a crush? Have you ever felt a rush? Makes my heart stop, she didn't even blush And I got a crush Oh man I got a crush Got a psychedelic dagger in my heart, tell the paramedics to rush

I hate crushes, I cover bruises with paintbrushes Pour it all in the music now that my bank's ruptured

She never texts me, she never texts me, she never texts me Never texts me, she never texts me, forgot to text me

Well I guess we accept the ones that neglect us And my moms say that we disrespect the ones that perfect us And try to protect us

I really hope that you get this My thoughts are weighin' me down My neck can't handle the necklace Your father says that I'm reckless, I didn't cause all that wreckage

had to give you this message I wrote it straight from the soul and it didn't make sense to text it So I snuck up in your room, put it on your shoulder and in return You sent me back a restraining order.

Jaden - let it breath