The Crafts: Wixes, Spells, and the Weaponized Placebo Effect

This is basically what I'm trying to do to myself... I guess consider how comfortable you are taking on the Weatherwax role and the effect it tends to have, and be aware of the potential to backfire.

 

I made Manannán proud last night. I need to keep working and keep striving. But I made him proud.

 

GUESS WHO'S FINALLY GOT MONEY TO BUY THINGS TO SET UP AN ALTARRRRRRRRRR

 

YOU SET THAT ALTAR UP. HELL YES.

 

I'M SO EXCITED I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR SO GOSHDANG LONG
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING

 

TAKE PICTURES AND SHOW US YOUR SWEET ALTAR BLING

(@Aondeug, what did you do to make Manannan proud?)

 

Getting better at realizing the ocean in everything. In this case my thoughts and feelings. While I suppose the ocean is not literally either of those things they are very ocean-like in terms of how they work and thus need to be treated like the ocean. And I have again reaffirmed that what appears to be my biggest flaws are going to be my greatest boons. Yes, OCD might suck and so on but I am going to use them to my advantage in dealing with my thoughts and feelings.

And now I am thinking about how it is not just that I am the rider of the ocean of my thought and feeling. But that I myself might also be that very ocean itself, along with the rider. The positions flow neatly into one another and I have to pick out the right tools to deal with things based on an ever shifting ruleset. And that's just fine.

 

What do you guys think of the idea of having a secret name?

Basically, there's a name my mother's told me they almost named me, but went with something more "classic" because she was sure it would get mispronounced. I don't necessarily feel like it's more "right" for me than the one I have, but when I was fooling around with sigil making, I didn't get a personal one that seemed right until I tossed it in alongside my other names. So now I kinda feel like it's a "magic name"? But not one I want to spread around or start going by on my baby witchblr or anything? I'm not sure.

 

I've never thought about it really. The closest I've thought about it are like initiatory names, which in Buddhism only apply to monks. They get Dhamma names we call them. Never come across the idea with recon Gaelpol stuff. That is initiation names. Though secret names I've also not come across? But then I'm not even sure what I would use a secret name for with what I do.

What makes it feel like a magic name? Just curious. I don't really do sigil making so I'm not really sure how it would work with magic things. Names never really come up for me. Let not my personal name anyway.

 

Partly it's just that I get a thrill from using it in this context? Which could just be the fact that I like the idea of secret knowledge, I guess.

 

Ahhhh. All right. That makes sense.

Also does explain part of why I don't do things with that sort of stuff, I suppose. I'm not really a secret knowledge sort of person with these things. Esotericism just isn't my bag. Though if like Lugh was all THIS IS YOUR SECRET NAME JUST BETWEEN US OK I would be entirely fine with using just that and not sharing it with anyone but him. Because well. He gave it to me and asked for it to be secret so who the hell am I to share it? An asshole that's who. That's just an if though.

 

I'm not the type of person to easily keep secrets that might help someone else out! This one is kind of perfect, since it's only applicable to me anyway.

And the other part is that it just... seems to work. When I retry previously recalcitrant designs with it in mind, I get nice simple images that feel right.

 

That is good. Things feeling right.

 

I've seen a lot of "true name" stuff related to fair folk and demons and whatnot. Like, if you know someone/thing's true name you can control them.

Useful to have a secret name as an extra layer of security, I s'pose.

 

Makes sense, yes. Thank you for sharing. Don't think I can control them that way myself because they'd probably be more like "Lol, look at the human being cute and dumb. let's set her house on fire and write her name in the ashes". Very neat to hear that that is a thing people use true name stuff for though.

Though now I am thinking about people doing that in an effort to try and control the Morrígan and I do not see that working out well for the person involved. Like even remotely. Hell, her methods of helping often look distinctly not like helping. That might make for a fun thing to write I suppose.

In unrelated news I have finished off a tin of altoids which I bought for one purpose. The one purpose being to make a portable shrine to Manannán to carry about with me. I am going to put stuff in this tin, yo. GONNA DO IT.

 

I use my almostname as a regular psuedonym for a couple of writing related things, so, shrugs??? Secret/true names I tend to identify more with the descriptive-of-you flavor.

 

So out of interest I've decided to put some effort into thinking about how to use the various bullshit from Homestuck. Which will be posted here whenever because reasons. It is the most appropriate place for pcp bullshit. First thing I guess will be to go over what my general methodology will be? Things are going to be done with all of the various symbols that I can think of in this series that repeat. Shirt symbols? Yeah. Fraymotif circles? Also yeah. The Aspect symbols? Hell fucking yes. They'll basically be assigned symbolisms and functions. Kind of like how mudras work. Though instead of making hand signs outside of a few (such as the cancer sign) most will be more in the form of yantras usagewise I suppose. Drawn things. I'll be working off what we've seen in the comic. Possibly also making use of my one AU's bullshit for some things because MEH. Fucking bite me.

Some ideas I have right now. Aspect symbols represent specific "elements" essentially. Similar to the Mahabhuta thing I've described before. So each aspect would have its own properties and series of functions that lead to it being associated with particular things. The kids' and trolls' shirt symbols meanwhile will act more like shorthand symbols for those particular individuals. Like how Manjusri is represented by a specific letter, I suppose? Or how I use spears for Lugh and waves for Manannán. So basically the kids would be treated in a sort of hero worshippy manner. While they're not perfect they do have a variety of traits that are positive or admirable. So usage of those symbols would call up those specific traits and tales. Acting almost as a sort of substitute for them. Fraymotifs I am not really sure about. Save that I feel they really need to involve the whole combined manner of what was seen in the flash. I also feel that they need to be used for something a bit more serious and aggressive. They are fraymotifs after all. So while you can casually just draw Space symbols fucking everywhere drawing the Space fraymotif circle in a similar manner would be fucking weird. Also hard. Look at how much more involved the thing is than the Space symbol.

Next I guess I will just run through brief lists of things I associate with at least some of these various things.

• 
  
  Spoiler: Aspects

  [*]Space - creation, birth, creativity and art, physics, form, matter, mass, frogs
  [*]Time - death, time, heat, clocks, fatalism, impermanence, change
  
  [*]Light - fortune, knowledge, light, drive, meaning, pride
  [*]Breath - freedom, wind, purpose, action, breath
  [*]Heart - soul, identity, acting, lying
  [*]Life - life, healing, harming, sovereignty (particularly of queens)
  [*]Hope - hope, idealism, belief, faith
  [*]Void - nothingness, void, no-self, lack
  [*]Blood - bonds, drive, passion
  [*]Mind - causality, decisions, balance, karma (as in actual buddhist karma along with fakey fake karma)
  [*]Doom - predictions, fate
  [*]Rage - anger, unpredictability, hate, destruction, death of faith, dogmatism

• 
  
  Spoiler: Kids

  [*]Green Slime Ghost - jokes, easy-goingness, flow, bluntness, obliviousness, leadership, hammers
  
  [*]Angry Squiddle - detail, research, words, motivation, meaning, obsession, revenge, magic, cats, horses, sarcasm
  
  [*]Broken Record - poetry, swords, music, comics, horses, crows, death, photos, heroism, obligation, fatalism
  [*]Atom - science, physics, engineering, furries, dogs, cheeriness, extreme frustration, guns
  
  [*]Orange Hat - horses, robotics, swords, programming, deception, poetry, planning, cunning
  [*]Cyan Beast - cooking, cleaning, sovereignty, investigation, need for freedom, jokes
  [*]Pink Cat - cats, magic, programming, games, alcohol, mothers, horses, whimsy, loyalty, science
  
  [*]Green Skull - movies, guns, damsels, adventure, mustaches, grit, wrestling
  
  
  There will be more. Eventually. Yes.

 

Oh my formatting went weird. OH WELL.

Also pinging @chaoticArbiter

 

yessssssssssssssss this is wonderful

 

How does one find/choose/however-it-works a patron? I don't even know if I can sincerely work with one, dabbling skeptic that I am, but trying to do everything under my own steam is... a little tiring.