Magic Monday

Sep. 28th, 2025 09:57 pm
ecosophia: (Default)
[personal profile] ecosophia
do something smallIt's a little past midnight, and so it's time to launch a new Magic Monday. Ask me anything about occultism, and with certain exceptions noted below, any question received by midnight Monday Eastern time will get an answer. Please note:  Any question or comment received after that point will not get an answer, and in fact will not be put through.  If you're in a hurry, or suspect you may be the 341,928th person to ask a question, please check out the very rough version 1.3 of The Magic Monday FAQ here

Also:
 I will not be putting through or answering any more questions about practicing magic around children. I've answered those in simple declarative sentences in the FAQ. If you read the FAQ and don't think your question has been answered, read it again. If that doesn't help, consider remedial reading classes; yes, it really is as simple and straightforward as the FAQ says.  And further:  I've decided that questions about getting goodies from spirits are also permanently off topic here. The point of occultism is to develop your own capacities, not to try to bully or wheedle other beings into doing things for you. I've discussed this in a post on my blog.

(The image? I've finished the sequence of my published books; while I decide what I want to do next, I have some memes to share.)

Buy Me A Coffee

Ko-Fi

I've had several people ask about tipping me for answers here, and though I certainly don't require that I won't turn it down. You can use either of the links above to access my online tip jar; Buymeacoffee is good for small tips, Ko-Fi is better for larger ones. (I used to use PayPal but they developed an allergy to free speech, so I've developed an allergy to them.) If you're interested in political and economic astrology, or simply prefer to use a subscription service to support your favorite authors, you can find my Patreon page here and my SubscribeStar page here
 
Bookshop logoI've also had quite a few people over the years ask me where they should buy my books, and here's the answer. Bookshop.org is an alternative online bookstore that supports local bookstores and authors, which a certain gargantuan corporation doesn't, and I have a shop there, which you can check out here. Please consider patronizing it if you'd like to purchase any of my books online.

And don't forget to look up your Pangalactic New Age Soul Signature at CosmicOom.com.

With that said, have at it!

supply & demand, a short story

Sep. 28th, 2025 12:37 am
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[personal profile] f0rrest

I've spent the last couple of days writing a short story. This story had been bouncing around in my brain for a few months, and originally I was going to include it somewhere in this novel I'm working on called The Contrarian, but I decided against it because, although this short story ties into some of the themes of that unfinished novel, it wouldn't fit from a timeline slash narrative perspective. And frankly, my attention span is terrible, so I'm fickle as hell artistically, meaning what really happened was that I just randomly felt the strong urge to finally write this story and succumbed to that urge, putting all other free-time-related activities in my life on the back burner. At this point, I could keep going back and forth proofreading and changing things, but that has to stop somewhere, and right now at this exact moment in time and space is when and where I chose to stop and just publish the damn thing.

So, here's my short story titled Supply & Demand. If you happen to read it, I hope you find something to like about it.

 

Supply & Demand (full text) )

blah blah

Sep. 28th, 2025 08:18 am
chefxh: (avatar)
[personal profile] chefxh
Blah.
fox_in_me: fox.in.me (Default)
[personal profile] fox_in_me


📝 Оригинальный текст записи
Приветствую тех, кто читает меня.
Наконец-то появилась возможность оставить запись и хотя бы на время погрузиться в мир текстов и историй.

В первую очередь хочу рассказать о фото — это тот самый рассвет на берегу Чёрного моря под звуки фортепиано. Да, удалось осуществить эту задумку — пусть не летом, а уже осенью, но всё же с теплыми лучами солнца.

Честно говоря, ожидания разошлись с реальностью: слишком много людей собирается на это действо. Некоторые даже пропускают сам момент рассвета, стоя в очереди за горячими напитками — а возле воды в это время действительно очень холодно. Сам музыкант приходит не один, а вместе с супругой, которая по-своему колоритна и прекрасно дополняет атмосферу.

В тот день людей было невероятно много. Уже на подходах к пирсу стояли очереди — сначала те, кто хотел согреться чаем или кофе, а дальше — те, кто стремился заснять игру пианиста или запустить трансляцию в соцсети. Из-за шума толпы красочность момента немного терялась: вместо того чтобы слушать и смотреть, многие смотрели на экран телефона. Я сам стал относиться к подобному проще — лучше пережить мгновение и описать его в тексте или на одном снимке, чем наблюдать особенный рассвет сквозь камеру и упускать тепло первых лучей солнца.

И всё же рассвет был прекрасен. Солнце вставало прямо у борта теплохода, стоявшего на якоре, ветер стихал, и только море бушевало в унисон звукам фортепиано. Теплые лучи дарили надежду на начало чего-то нового, светлого и приятного. Брызги волн и запах моря добавляли красок, создавая целую палитру ощущений. Если абстрагироваться от толпы — можно поймать сам момент восхода, начало нового дня. И всё это — в то время, когда всего в нескольких сотнях километров продолжаются обмены артиллерийскими снарядами и другим вооружением.

Честно говоря, есть ещё одно место, где по утрам играет пианист и встречают рассвет. Там людей куда меньше, атмосфера интимнее. Правда, музыкант появляется не всегда, да и инструмент часто расстроен. Но именно поэтому особенно хочется повторить этот опыт в другой день.

Сейчас у меня получилось выкроить время только благодаря командировке. Болезнь всё ещё не отпускает: одно состояние сменилось другим. Попасть к врачу за границей оказалось непросто — ожидание консультации занимает больше недели. Хорошо, что лекарства я подобрал относительно удачно, но по большому счёту медицинская помощь должна быть доступнее. Как бы ни было у нас в Украине, с медициной и многими другими вещами там всё же проще, чем в ЕС и других «развитых» странах.

Тем не менее я стараюсь наслаждаться возможностью быть за пределами своей страны: лёгкостью перемещений, самолётами в небе, простотой пребывания в общественных местах, отсутствием того груза, который постоянно давит дома.

Хочется сильнее прочувствовать краски осени здесь и сейчас, меньше отвлекаться на рабочие вопросы. И в меру возможностей я всё-таки это делаю. Надеюсь, что удастся увидеть и родную осень — как Одесса будет покрываться золотом. Для себя отметил золотое время прогулок по Приморскому бульвару за пару часов до комендантского часа — ощущения там особенные.

Возможно, скоро поделюсь одной давней историей или опишу забавные моменты из командировки. А пока рад, что могу оставить здесь несколько строк и продолжать пить лекарства.

И всё же, даже среди болезней, толп и командировочных забот, остаётся это простое счастье — видеть, как солнце поднимается над морем, слышать музыку и ловить дыхание осени. Ради таких мгновений стоит беречь силы и жить дальше.

И добавлю от себя важное: пока я за границей, в моей стране продолжается война. Этой ночью снова была комбинированная воздушная атака по столице, множество разрушений — и промышленных, и гражданских. На данный момент нет даже намёка на дипломатическое решение. Больше всего страдает мирное население — и морально, и физически. Боевой дух армии падает, ведь при этом уровень зарплат остаётся крайне низким, а цены растут до европейских. Гражданская жизнь для людей превращается в выживание, как и для военных, которые не получают дополнительных боевых выплат.
И всё же, даже среди болезней, толп и командировочных забот, остаётся это простое счастье — видеть, как солнце поднимается над морем, слышать музыку и ловить дыхание осени. Такие моменты напоминают о том, что жизнь продолжается, и есть что беречь — тепло, свет, звуки, запахи и ощущения, которые невозможно передать словами полностью.

Особенно ценны они сейчас, когда в мире происходят трудные события, и когда заботы, тревоги и болезни окружают нас со всех сторон. Эти тихие уголки спокойствия и красоты словно дают нам паузу, чтобы вдохнуть, подумать и почувствовать, что несмотря на хаос, есть вещи, ради которых стоит жить и сохранять душевное тепло.

И, возможно, именно такие моменты — рассвет над морем, музыка, первые лучи солнца, краски осени — становятся теми маленькими маяками, которые направляют нас вперёд. Я надеюсь, что впереди будет ещё много таких дней, когда можно просто быть, наблюдать, слушать и наслаждаться простыми радостями, не думая о заботах. И кто знает, возможно, в скором времени я смогу поделиться ещё одной историей, маленькой или большой, которая откроет новые грани этих мгновений и позволит взглянуть на них ещё глубже…

Note translated in assistance with AI.

Greetings to everyone who reads me.
At last, I’ve found a moment to write something down and briefly immerse myself in the world of words and stories.

First of all, I want to tell you about the photo — it’s that very sunrise on the shore of the Black Sea, accompanied by the sound of a piano. Yes, I managed to bring this idea to life — not in summer, but already in autumn, yet still with warm rays of sunlight.

Honestly, expectations didn’t quite match reality: far too many people gather for this event. Some even miss the very moment of sunrise, standing in line for hot drinks — and it is truly cold by the water at that hour. The pianist doesn’t come alone but with his wife, who is just as colorful and adds to the atmosphere.

That day, the crowds were incredible. Even on the way to the pier there were lines — first of those who wanted tea or coffee to warm up, and then of those eager to film the pianist or stream it live. The noise of the crowd somewhat dulled the magic of the moment: instead of listening and watching, many were looking at their phone screens. I myself have learned to take such things more lightly — it’s better to live the moment and later put it into words or a single photo than to watch something so special through a camera and miss the warmth of the first rays of the sun.

And still, the sunrise was beautiful. The sun rose right next to the side of an anchored ship, the wind calmed, and only the sea roared in unison with the music of the piano. Warm sunlight brought hope for the beginning of something new, bright, and kind. The spray of the waves and the scent of the sea painted their own colors, creating a whole palette of sensations. If you managed to tune out the crowd, you could truly catch the very moment of sunrise — the beginning of a new day. And all of this was happening while just a few hundred kilometers away, artillery exchanges and other fighting went on.

To be honest, there is another place where the pianist sometimes plays at sunrise. There, the people are far fewer, and the atmosphere is more intimate. True, he doesn’t always show up, and the instrument is often out of tune. But perhaps that’s why I especially want to return and experience it again.

Right now, I managed to carve out this time only thanks to a work trip. The illness still hasn’t let me go: one state has replaced another. Getting to see a doctor abroad turned out to be no simple matter — waiting for a consultation takes more than a week. Luckily, I’ve managed to pick medicines that help more or less, but really, medical care should be more accessible. Whatever one says about Ukraine, in many ways healthcare — and not only healthcare — is simpler there than in the EU and other so-called “developed” countries.

Still, I try to enjoy the opportunity to be outside my own country: the ease of moving around, planes in the sky, the simplicity of being in public places, the absence of that heavy burden that always presses at home.

I want to feel the colors of autumn more deeply here and now, to be less distracted by work matters. And to the extent that I can, I do. I hope I will also be lucky enough to see autumn back home — to watch Odesa turn golden. For myself, I’ve marked that golden hour of walking along Primorsky Boulevard just a couple of hours before curfew — the feeling there is unique.

Perhaps soon I’ll share an old story or write down some amusing moments from this trip. For now, I’m simply glad to leave a few words here and keep on with my medicine.

And still, even among illness, crowds, and business trips, there remains this simple happiness — to watch the sun rise above the sea, to hear the music, to catch the breath of autumn. For such moments it is worth saving strength and moving forward.

And I must add something important: while I am abroad, the war in my country goes on. Last night the capital once again came under a combined air attack, leaving widespread destruction — both industrial and civilian. At this moment there is not even a hint of a diplomatic solution. Civilians suffer most — both morally and physically. The army’s spirit is low as well, while salaries remain extremely small and prices keep rising to European levels. Civilian life becomes a matter of survival, just like for the soldiers, who no longer receive additional combat pay.

And yet, even amidst illness, crowds, and the busyness of work trips, there remains this simple happiness — to watch the sun rise above the sea, hear the music, and catch the breath of autumn. These moments remind us that life goes on, and there are things worth cherishing — warmth, light, sounds, scents, and feelings that cannot be fully captured in words.

They are especially valuable now, when difficult events are unfolding in the world, and when worries, anxieties, and illnesses surround us from all sides. These quiet pockets of calm and beauty seem to give us a pause — a moment to breathe, reflect, and feel that despite the chaos, there are things for which it is worth living and preserving the warmth of the soul.

And perhaps it is precisely these moments — a sunrise over the sea, music, the first rays of sunlight, the colors of autumn — that become small beacons guiding us forward. I hope that many more such days lie ahead, when one can simply be, observe, listen, and enjoy simple joys without worrying. And who knows, perhaps soon I will be able to share another story, big or small, which will reveal new facets of these moments and allow us to see them even more deeply…

Frugal Friday

Sep. 26th, 2025 07:48 am
ecosophia: (Default)
[personal profile] ecosophia
harvestWelcome back to Frugal Friday! This is a weekly forum post to encourage people to share tips on saving money, especially but not only by doing stuff yourself. A new post will be going up every Friday, and will remain active until the next one goes up. Contributions will be moderated, of course, and I have some simple rules to offer, which may change further as we proceed.

Rule #1:  this is a place for polite, friendly conversations about how to save money in difficult times. It's not a place to post news, views, rants, or emotional outbursts about the reasons why the times are difficult and saving money is necessary. Nor is it a place to use a money saving tip to smuggle in news, views, etc.  I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it.

Rule #2:  this is not a place for you to sell goods or services, period. Here again, I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it.

Rule #3:  please give your tip a heading that explains briefly what it's about.  Homemade Chicken Soup, Garden Containers, Cheap Attic Insulation, and Vinegar Cleans Windows are good examples of headings. That way people can find the things that are relevant for them. If you don't put a heading on your tip it will be deleted.

Rule #4: don't post anything that would amount to advocating criminal activity. Any such suggestions will not be put through.

Rule #5: don't post LLM ("AI") generated content, and don't bring up the subject unless you're running a homemade LLM program on your own homebuilt, steam-powered server farm. 

With that said, have at it!  
ecosophia: (Default)
[personal profile] ecosophia
tome ...or at least it looks like that. The deluxe limited edition of my new translation of John Dee's Propaedeumata Aphoristica, Dee's first major publication, will be released next month, and there are still copies that haven't been preordered yet. The photo on the left is the riveted leather traycase marked with Dee's hieroglyphic monad. The photo below is the volume itself, with gold leaf and brass corner protectors on the cover, handsewn signatures, ribbed spine, fine Spanish endpapers, and a sewn in satin ribbon bookmark.  Yes, I know it looks like the ultimate Lovecraftian tome! Azoth Press always does a good job with its fine editions, but to my mind this one's exceptional even for them. Yeah, I'm feeling a little giddy about it. 

more tomeThe book itself is probably the best general introduction to the worldview of Renaissance astrological magic ever written, and I've included a commentary to help unpack it. It's also essential if you want to make sense of Dee's cryptic Monas Hieroglyphica

The deluxe edition will set you back $550 and can be purchased here. For those whose quests into eldritch and forbidden lore aren't quite so well financed, there's also a very nice hardback edition, not bound in the skins of beasts better left unnamed, for $69, which can be ordered here

Open (More or Less) Post on Covid 214

Sep. 23rd, 2025 11:46 am
ecosophia: (Default)
[personal profile] ecosophia
rememberWe are now into the fifth year of these open posts. When I first posted a tentative hypothesis on the course of the Covid phenomenon, I had no idea that discussion on the subject would still be necessary all these years later, much less that it would turn into so lively, complex, and troubling a conversation. Still, here we are. Crude death rates and other measures of collapsing public health remain anomalously high in many countries, but nobody in authority wants to talk about the inadequately tested experimental Covid injections that are the most likely cause; public health authorities government shills for the pharmaceutical industry are still trying to push through laws that will allow them to force vaccinations on anyone they want; public trust in science is collapsing; new revelations are leaking out about just how bad the Covid vaccines are for human health; and the story continues to unfold.

So it's time for another open post. The rules have been slightly expanded due to a recent discussion here:

1. If you plan on parroting the party line of the medical industry and its paid shills, please go away. This is a place for people to talk openly, honestly, and freely about their concerns that the party line in question is dangerously flawed and that actions being pushed by the medical industry and its government enablers are causing injury and death on a massive scale. It is not a place for you to dismiss those concerns. Anyone who wants to hear the official story and the arguments in favor of it can find those on hundreds of thousands of websites.

2. If you plan on insisting that the current situation is the result of a deliberate plot by some villainous group of people or other, please go away. There are tens of thousands of websites currently rehashing various conspiracy theories about the Covid-19 outbreak and the vaccines. This is not one of them. What we're exploring is the likelihood that what's going on is the product of the same arrogance, incompetence, and corruption that the medical industry and its wholly owned politicians have displayed so abundantly in recent decades. That possibility deserves a space of its own for discussion, and that's what we're doing here. 
 
3. If you plan on using rent-a-troll derailing or disruption tactics, please go away. I'm quite familiar with the standard tactics used by troll farms to disrupt online forums, and am ready, willing, and able -- and in fact quite eager -- to ban people permanently for engaging in them here. Oh, and I also lurk on other Covid-19 vaccine skeptic blogs, so I'm likely to notice when the same posts are showing up on more than one venue. 

4. If you plan on making off topic comments, please go away. This is an open post for discussion of the Covid epidemic, the vaccines, drugs, policies, and other measures that supposedly treat it, and other topics directly relevant to those things. It is not a place for general discussion of unrelated topics. Nor is it a place to ask for medical advice; giving such advice, unless you're a licensed health care provider, legally counts as practicing medicine without a license and is a crime in the US. Don't even go there.


5. If you don't believe in treating people with common courtesy, please go away. I have, and enforce, a strict courtesy policy on my blogs and online forums, and this is no exception. The sort of schoolyard bullying that takes place on so many other internet forums will get you deleted and banned here. Also, please don't drag in current quarrels about sex, race, religions, etc. No, I don't care if you disagree with that: my journal, my rules. 

6. Please don't just post bare links without explanation. A sentence or two telling readers what's on the other side of the link is a reasonable courtesy, and if you don't include it, your attempted post will be deleted.

7. Please don't post LLM ("AI") generated text. This is a place for human beings to talk to other human beings, not for the regurgitation of machine-generated text. Also, please don't discuss large language models (the technology popularly and inaccurately called "artificial intelligence" these days) except as they bear directly on the Covid phenomenon. Here again, my finger is hovering over the delete button. 

Please also note that nothing posted here should be construed as medical advice, which neither I nor the commentariat (excepting those who are licensed medical providers) are qualified to give. Please take your medical questions to the licensed professional provider of your choice.


With that said, the floor is open for discussion.  

devblog#1: the genesis of Boy's Quest

Sep. 23rd, 2025 12:06 am
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[personal profile] f0rrest
For the past few months, I’ve been toying around with the idea of making a role-playing game with RPG Maker. This is something I’ve tried once or twice in the past, with varying degrees of progress, yet I always ended up getting distracted, moving on to other things. This time will likely be no different, but that’s not going to stop me from trying, again.

The idea came to me months ago when I was watching my son play in the living room. He’s always been fascinated by long, sword-like things, the swiffer-duster thing being a favorite of his. We always kept the swiffer-duster thing on a high rack above the washer and dryer, and my son knew that, so he would push stools and boxes and things up to the washer and dryer, then position himself dangerously on the stack of these wobbly things, then climb up and grab the swiffer-duster thing, then run around with it, smacking anyone he could find, all while making cute little battle noises. And one time, he fell from the perilously stacked boxes and hurt himself pretty bad, so my wife and I found a new place to hide the swiffer-duster thing, deciding on this thin space between the cushions of our big green couch, thinking that surely the boy would never find it there.

But, of course, we were wrong. And one day, as I was walking through the living room, I saw my son digging through the couch cushions, looking for some lost toy or other, and he paused for a second, looked back at me with this mischievous look on his face, then slowly slid the swiffer-duster thing out from between the cushions, as if he were pulling the sword from the stone, and then he held the thing above his head for a moment, like Link after opening a treasure chest, before running all throughout the house smacking everyone with the thing while making cute little battle noises, at which point we had to find a new hiding place for the swiffer-duster thing, a place so hidden I now have no idea where the thing actually is anymore.

Anyway. The whole thing put this idea in my head of like, what if, upon pulling that swiffer-duster thing out of the cushion, instead of a swiffer-duster thing, it was actually a sword, and all of a sudden, upon pulling that sword out of the couch, instead of being in the real world, my son was now in some fantasy, video-game-like world, where the normal everyday stuff he interacted with on a daily basis was now like walking and talking and being all anthropomorphic? And then I thought, what if, hypothetically, a boy who was neglected by his parents, not that I neglect my son or anything, but what if, what if a boy concocted this fantasy world in his head, because he was so starved for attention due to his parents’ neglect, what if he concocted this fantasy world and sort of like dissociated from the real world to live in this fantasy world, all so he wouldn't have to deal with the confusing pain caused by his parents' neglect, and then I started thinking like, how exactly would that all play out?

And that’s when the idea of “Arthur’s Quest” came to me, which eventually I started calling “The Boy’s Quest,” to sort of distance it from my own life and make it more relatable to a potential player, until eventually I changed the name once more, to “Boy’s Quest,” because I didn’t like the “The” in the title, for flow-related reasons, thinking it made the game’s title a little too awkward and unwieldy to say out loud.

So that’s what I’ve been doing for the past few days, using RPG Maker MV, writing and programming “Boy’s Quest,” a game that will likely never manifest into anything more than yet another incomplete project amongst hundreds of other incomplete projects, but hey at least I’m having fun, for the time being. And I do have the general story overview, main character descriptions, and first scene already mapped out, in a “script” document I've been keeping, and I’m going to share that, and future progress, occasionally, in these “devblog” entries, and I’m only calling these entries “devblogs” because it gets the point across, I’m not actually a developer or anything, as I have absolutely zero experience in real-game coding, RPG Maker being sort of like a drag-and-drop, just-fucking-do-it-for-me kind of game-making tool that I suspect real game developers scoff at and look down upon, and I'm using stolen assets to make the beta version of the game, but hey I’m having fun, at least for the time being.

Anyway, that whole ramble up there was really just a preface to share with you some of the progress I've made, so here's a general overview of the game's plot and a description of some of the main characters.

Plot Overview & Character Descriptions )

The next devblog entry will likely be an overview of the first scene, including the script and a short video of said scene playing in-engine, something that is already about 90% of the way done.

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