Frida Kahlo, from a letter wr. c. November 1933, featured in The Letters of Frida Kahlo: Cartas Apasionadas

I talk into the abyss of loneliness and stupidity.

The more silence I hold, the less I exist.

But the more I talk,

The larger the abyss grows.

— Frank Bidart, from “Half-light: Collected Poems 1965-2016; ‘The First Hour of the Night’."

Mona Saudi, tr. by Kamal Boullata, from Women of the Fertile Crescent: An Anthology of Modern Arabic Poetry by Arab Women

The Coffeyville Daily Journal, Kansas, April 6, 1897

..takes off her head and tosses it unconcernedly about.

Art Objects: Essays on Ecstasy and Effrontery; ‘A Gift of Wings (with reference to Orlando)’ Jeanette Winterson

Men In Wolf Skin

Úlfhéðinn (plural Úlfhéðnar and derived from ‘úlf’ meaning wolf, ‘héð’ meaning skin to give “Men In Wolf Skin”) is an Old Norse term for a warrior with attributes parallel to those of a Berserkr, but with a lupine aspect rather than ursine; both terms refer to a special type of warrior capable of performing feats far beyond the abilities of normal people. It is a practice that is dying out as it no longer has real military value in our current society. Contrary to what I’ve read elsewhere, I do not consider it possession from the spirit of the animal but rather a self-induced trance state which connects the user to a more primal state of consciousness, facilitated by none other than Fenrisúlfr himself. The process (which I will not describe here) is coded into the story of Fenrisúlfr found in the Prose Edda where he is bound by Gleipnir.

The process involves galdr, breathing exercises, ritual movements and direct communication with Fenrisúlfr so that he might lend the warrior his wild, ferocious power, which the Úlfhéðinn must fetter using methods as described in the creation of Gleipnir, his fettering and his tethering to Gjoll (“Scream Rock”), which are again coded (for example, Gjoll refers to the screams the Úlfhéðinn issues towards the end of the process). The threat that Ragnarök will occur if the fetter is broken is a very real warning to the Úlfhéðinn. The cost to use this power is also expressed in the lore and represented in the sacrifice of Tyr. It should be clear that this is a practice of war and, of course, Tyr is the god of war. It’s also worth noting that in stanza 40 of Völuspá when referring to the brood (a brood of warriors) of Fenrisúlfr there will come “a moon-snatcher in troll’s skin.”, where being “in troll’s skin” is also found as a reference to Úlfhéðnar in other lore such as Egil’s Saga and again shows the real connection between the Úlfhéðnar and Fenrisúlfr, rather than a totem animal.

“Far to the north

Through the ice and snow

There’s a realm in the dark of the underground

Hidden deep below

Where we all must go

Is the land of the dead and the frozen

Master of the underworld, the queen of twilight

Sovereign of the mortals, she will claim your soul

The mistress of the void

With your death in her mighty grasp

When your path is at its’ end

Goddess of the underground

Who’s to blame

For the pain of the wicked

Helbound in her lonely crown

And only the one eyed knows why”

(“Hel” - Brothers of Metal)

— Friedrich Nietzsche

— Kanae Minato

vampires: *can turn into animals, very strong and fast, incredibly beautiful, intelligent and deadly*

also vampires: how do i preheat the oven

Babylonian and Canaanite epics/texts are THE most influential stories of all time and no one really says that out loud. But I am now saying it out loud.

Words are easy, like the wind; Faithful friends are hard to find. - William Shakespeare

Sean Kernan（American, b.1942）

Eclipse Book

from “The Secret Book”

Photographs by Sean Kernan

Text by Jorge Luis Borges

“As Dante was watching me search the sky through the lens of a telescope, he whispered, “Someday, I’m going to discover all the secrets of the universe.”

Muriel Rukeyser (via thoughtkick)

Unknown (via thoughtkick)