dukeofbookingham:

You know what? Part of what makes Lord of the Rings so great is that Tolkien knows how to end a story. You’ve been on this massive 1,200-page adventure and it has been sometimes joyous and funny and sometimes dark and hopeless, but crucially the story doesn’t end with everything just going back to the way things were before–because the world can’t come through a story like that unscathed and neither can the people who took part in it. It’s a good ending because it’s not a completely happy one. Momentous events should have consequences, and if you don’t let the reader have those along with the happiness and hope you’ve done them a sort of injustice. So take that lesson on storytelling from Tolkien. Write good endings. Write whole endings. Write real endings. Happiness is only part of that.

therianomalocaris:

Being death positive is defined by The Order of the Good Death as :

1. I believe that by hiding death and dying behind closed doors we do more harm than good to our society.
2. I believe that the culture of silence around death should be broken
   through discussion, gatherings, art, innovation, and scholarship.
3. I believe that talking about and engaging with my inevitable death
   is not morbid, but displays a natural curiosity about the human
   condition.
4. I believe that the dead body is not dangerous, and that everyone
   should be empowered (should they wish to be) to be involved in care for
   their own dead.
5. I believe that the laws that govern death, dying and end-of-life
   care should ensure that a person’s wishes are honored, regardless of
   sexual, gender, racial or religious identity.
6. I believe that my death should be handled in a way that does not do great harm to the environment.
7. I believe that my family and friends should know my end-of-life
   wishes, and that I should have the necessary paperwork to back-up those
   wishes.
8. I believe that my open, honest advocacy around death can make a difference, and can change culture.

tl;dr : death is only a part of life and we shouldn’t see it as a big scary thing. Talking about death and what you want to do with your body after you die is important, and respecting the dead’s wishes is even more important.

If you want to find more info on death positivity and The Order of the Good Death, here are the links to their main website and their youtube channel.

morgauseoforkney:

Look we all love knights with shining banners and castles and gothic cathedrals, but to be honest the true mediaeval aesthetic is just alewives telling dirty jokes, long-suffering scribes bitching in the margins of illuminated manuscripts, and the moldboard plough

owlkeyme:

“Hold fast. Kiss the earth with your feet. Flow and surge with the tides. Breath out the winds of change. Ignite the fire of inspiration with your words and actions.”

– Laura Tempest Zakroff

mahigxn:

Altars and places of power play a large part in lots of witches’ craft. Such places include the caves of Cornwall, the seaside, ley lines, cemeteries, and many, many more. These allow access to higher powers, visionary experiences, hidden knowledge, healing, just to name a few.

Some create altars to honor spirits, ancestors, gods, angels, saints, any and all spirits. Some use them to create their own place of power, where they can focus their power and energy. I tend to fall into the second category.

When creating a focus for power in your own home, it is practically necessary to detach yourself from the ideal of the altar of worship. No important place setting, no specific order or required items. Instead, include things gifted to you by the spirits. Feathers, stones, worts, natural fetishes, bones, diverse barks and flowers, etc… The Altar of Land should reflect the land and its Genii.

To begin, walk through the land. Collect clay from a river bend. Shape it into a pot and a lid.Fire it in a pit. Once done, coat it with resins of the balsams. Pine, Fir, Locust, Yew, whatever is available. Peach trees, Sweet Gum, latex from Corn Poppies, Dandelion and Wild Lettuce. Add to it then the common flowers you can find. The root of those chtonic plants willing to share. Dirt from the land should then be added. This forms the basis of the Altar of Land.

Bring back your vessel now, and place it upon the space you dedicate. Connect to it, build a link to the Land. Wake its spirit and communicate to it through the vessel. Let it be known for what reason you are creating this space. Soothe it with offerings of Honey, Tobacco, Mead, Wine, Milk, Blood and Fat. Seal the deal with a drop of your own blood, before using yarn or cord to seal the vessel. Keep this upon the altar constantly. Any preparation of herbs, roots, barks, etc… coming from the Land should be prepared before this vessel, and a little added to it at the end of the preparation.

As time goes on, you will be given more and more curios, which should be kept on the altar. To this may be added any and all bones given to you, who once reddened may serve you for different tasks, and will protect the Altar of Land. Feathers of birds may also be made into fans or mobiles, such as witch ladders, hung above the Altar. A plant taken from the land itself may be watered using rain, storm, or any sort of water naturally found to connect to the aqueous aspect of the Land Genii.

Once the main Altar has been completed, the addition of the Sky by presence of the feathers and of Water by presence of the waters used to feed the plants and the vessel itself will triple its impact. Items may be brought to the Altar to be blessed, empowered and consecrated to the Land.