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Do you know anything about Romanian witchcraft and folklore? I’m looking to find as many resources on it as I can.

Ok let’s start! 

.:: Romanian Witchcraft and Folklore ::.

In Romania an important character is the zîna (< dziana, plural zîne), meaning “fairy”, which according to Mircea Eliade comes from the Goddess Diana. “It is safer not to pronounce their name. One refers to them as “The Holy Ones”, “The Magnificent Ones”, “The Rosalia”, or simply “They” (iele).”

- Source: Mircea Eliade’s “Occultism, Witchcraft, and Cultural Fashions: Essays in Comparative Religion”

Thereare many names for the fairies in Romania, for example: Iele, Dânse, Dăgaie, Vâlve, Iezme, Izme, Iodiţe (connected to Herodias), Rusalii, Nagode, Vântoase, Doiţe, Măieste, Frumoase, Muşate, Fetele Codrului, Îpăătesele Văzduhului, Zânioare, Sfinte de noapte, Şoiae, Mândre, Fecioare, Albe, Hale, and many others. For proper names of single famous Fairies, instead, there are: Ana, Bugiana, Dumernica, Foiofia, Lacargia, Magdalina, Ruxanda, Tiranda, Trandafira, Rudeana, Ruja, Păscuţa, Orgisceana, Lemnica, Roşia, Todosia, Sandalina, Margalina, Savatina, Rujalina, and manyothers .Thesenames should not be used randomly, they are often in fact the basis ofdangerous spells: it is believed that every witch knows nine of thesepseudonyms, which creates combinations, which are the basis of spells thatlaunches. 

- Source: Vito Keah’s “Dicţionar de mitologie generală"

The offerings made to treat Fairies’ diseasesin countries with an Orthodox majority (Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece) areusually carried out at crossroads, under trees, near sources, orin places linked to the Fairies, often in specific moments likemidday, and are composed of bread; milk, bread and salt; or honey, other typesof desserts and milk, while sometimes only bread and water. In Romania the specific offerings to the iele are put on a white tablecloth laid on the ground and they are composed of some white meals (and therefore linked to death): eggs, milk, cheese, a whitehen killed (please don’t kill hens if you want to replicate this ritual, choose non-animal offerings! Thank you!).These offerings were shared with anyone who walked through the surroundings. These white and cleansacrifices (eggs, white hen, flour, salt) can be offered to fairies even at the home of sick people, but in this case they are done on wednesday or friday after sunset by ninewomen, who have to walk nine times around the house and cast a spell nine timeson the patient.

- Source: Éva Pócs’s “Fairies and Witches at the Boundary of South-Eastern and Central Europe”

A female Winter Goddess in the Romania is Brezaia, a femaleChristmas mask, played by a man wearing a long cloak and covered withmulticolored rags, whose head is covered by a zoomorphic mask: goat, wolf,rooster, stork or peacock and whose beak or jaw is moved by a man at the rhythmof a violin.

- Source: Claudia & Luigi Manciocco’s “L'incanto e l'arcano”

InRomania there are women who regularly fall into ecstasy at Pentecost,asserting, once they have resumed, that they have spoken with the saints, thedead and the Christian god, and that sometimes they prescribe medicationswithout being paid. Theseladies are called Rusalii, a name that also indicates the spirits of the deadand some Slavic female deities in the Slavic area, therefore it’s possible that it’s a christianization of a previous pagan character.   

- Source: Carlo Ginzburg’s “Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches’ Sabbath”

In Romania semi-ecstatic rituals arepracticed (dances, pantomimes, healings, swords and flags parades) by the “căluşari”under the protection of a mythical empress, Doamna Zînelor (“the Queen ofthe Fairies”), also called Irodeasa, Irodiada or Arada, i.e. Herodias. The căluşariare ecstatic dancers specialized in caring for those who have been  “affected”or possessed by the fairies (the “iele”). Differentmelodies are used to diagnose the type of possession, and the victim is healedduring a ritual dance. The patrons of both the ieleand the căluşari are the same, or the aforementioned Arada, Irodeasa and DoamnaZînelor, which are confused with each other.

- Source: Carlo Ginzburg’s “Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches’ Sabbath”

Similarly to the Mazzeri of Corsica and other Night Battlers in Europe,but in physical life and not in an altered state of consciousness, if a groupof Căluşari meets another group on the road, they must fight each other.   While, in the world of dreams and not in the physicalrealm, the Strigoi in particular nights (especially those of the feasts of St.George and St. Andrew) astrally ride horses, brooms or barrels to arrive incertain clearings to fight against another group of Strigoi for the fertility.They use for the combat sticks, axes, scythes and other tools: the battles startwhen one of them pronounces a certain formula (such as “red garlic!”)and end when another strigoi shouts another one (“white garlic!”), orwhen the roosters sing at midnight. It is believed that the Strigoirepresent the various villages, and that the victorious group will bringabundance and wellbeing to their village to the detriment of neighboring villages. Accordingto folklore the battles last for the entire night, at the end of which thecombatants reconcile themselves, grieving for having attacked each other. Thislast detail reconnects them again to the Căluşari, since they too, following theclash with their fellow men, restore peace according to the customs.Similarly, still in Romania, some members of the groupof girls who accompany the girl who personifies the Drăgaică (female spiritassociated to Diana and Herodias) in the homonymous ritual performed on the st.John’s day, they collide at the crossroads (even with a certain violence,beating energetically and sometimes injuring the opponents) with other equallyarmed groups coming from neighboring villages. It isbelieved that thanks to such battles, and thanks too tothe dances that precede them, the fruits ripen first and their ripening is freefrom damage. This aspect links the maidensof Drăgaică to the Căluşari, of which they would constitute a female equivalent.  

- Source: Sonia Maura Barillari’s “Acqua, Fuoco, Terra, Sale. Pratiche curative della tradizione romena”

Drăgaică is probably Herodias, who is remained in Romanian folklore also with the name of the Jerodiecele or Iroditele: they are the nine daughters of Herod emperor and Irodeasa empress, who is also called Irodia, Irodita or Irodiada, “the great one”.

- Source: Alessandro Wesselofsky’s “Alichino e Aredodesa”

Romanians also offered corn and oats to sântoaderi, horses or centaurs connected to the procession of unbaptized spirits (i.e. the local version of the Wild Hunt) which have taboos linked to the spinning. They can be considered the male version of the fairies because, according to the Romanian beliefs, on the day of Todorusale, the sântoaderi dance with the zîne.

- Source: Éva Pócs’s “Fairies and Witches at the Boundary of South-Eastern and Central Europe”

InRomanian stories, Ileana Cosânzeana (also called Ileana Sânziana, Ileana Simziana, Chira Chiralina and Inia Dinia) is both a Fairy and the Moon and the sister of the Sun,while Făt-Frumos is the Sun himself, which saves her from the monster Zmeu tolive happily with him. According to Adela Ileana Drăucean, in fact, Făt-Frumos and Ileana Cosânzeana, are “two mythical characters welled from the Romanian people’s conceptions and grafted on the archaic elements of the cult dedicated to the Sun and the Moon”.

- Source: Adela Ileana Drăucean’s “The Names of Romanian Fairy-Tale Characters in the Works of the Junimist Classics"

Sânziana gives her name to the Midsummer Festival, Sânzienelor, where the fairies, the sânzienele, come together to dance in the forest.

A fairy character connected to the World Treein the Romanian beliefs is Zîna Magdalina, who, together with Ileana Cosîzeana - who in the tradition wakes up at night and brings the new day -and at the Fairy of the Dawn, appears once a year in period of the Summer Solstice. The anthropologistHans Peter Duerr associates Zîna Magdalina who sits on the tree with Artemisworshiped in the trees.

- Source: Hans Peter Duerr’s “Dreamtime: Concerning the Boundary between Wilderness and Civilization”

Baba Dochia is a famous character from an old pagan myth (probably an old Goddess of spring) related to the arrival of spring and the end of winter. She is honored during a celebration called “martisor” on March 1. 

- Source: Sonia Maura Barillari’s “Acqua, Fuoco, Terra, Sale. Pratiche curative della tradizione romena”

In Romania the belief in the Moirai hassurvived in the characters of Ursitoare, Ursitele, Ursoiare or Ursaie. They are known as determining real characters in the life of the newborn, whose favorable decisions can be obtained throughofferings. Theyalso play a role in marriages, and the third of the Moirai is often seen as the guideof souls or the angel of death. In many places they areidentified with the fairies, given their resemblance to them in featuresand in bringing blessings or diseases to people.

- Source: Gábor Klaniczay & Éva Pócs’s “Demons, Spirits, Witches: Christian Demonology and Popular Mythology”

The Slavic Goddess Mokosh remained in Romanian folklore under the names of Marţi Seară (literally, Tuesday Evening) and of VineriNoapte (literally, Friday Night). Manytimes there were offerings of flour products in honor of these Entities.

- Sources: Éva Pócs’ “Between the Living and the Dead. A Perspective on Witches and Seers in the Early Modern Age” & “Fairies and Witches at the Boundary of South-Eastern and Central Europe”

A remnant of the cult of the pre-Christian fire Goddess inRomania, Oparlia, is held in the celebration of the feast of San Foca, which has increasingly assimilated her attributes, beingassociated with fires. It isthought that those who do not celebrate his festival, July 23, are punished withbodily burns, fires, scorching heat or hail. This character has returned in being female joining with the character of Saint Anna,celebrated on July 25th, being called “Ana-Foca”, whose feast fallson the first of July.

- Source: Sonia Maura Barillari’s “Acqua, Fuoco, Terra, Sale. Pratiche curative della tradizione romena”

Let’s talk now about the Plant Familiar: the “Dictamnus albus” (or “frăsinel”), inRomania assumes the role of a Familiar Spirit, since in the popular traditionit is invoked to oppose the evil spirits and in Oltenia, during s. George’s evefestival, the sick people make offerings of bread, salt (although it should beavoided, in the resumption of this custom, since the salt is herbicide), aplate of vegetables and a bowl full of water to obtain the healing. Anotherritual involves preparing a table with offerings - donuts, liqueurs, clay pots,incense - and with it the healer invokes the “frăsinel” to ask him tochange the fate of the patient decided by his fairy godmother at the time ofbirth. Similarly, the Romaniantradition also applies to other plants, considering them as individuals: forexample, before collecting the “tătăneasa” or “Tatin’sgrass” (ie the “Symphytum officinale”), whose research must happenin Tuesday in spite of the eradication - to be performed with empty stomach andin body and soul purity - on Friday, you have to do 15 reverences in front ofthe plant, and say: “Lady, Tatin’s herb, I do not collect you to throw youaway, but to treat the meat with the meat and the bone with the bone, and tofix them”. In the Romanian tradition, infact, before taking a plant out of the ground, it is necessary to inform themof what you want to do, the uses to which they is destined and the reason why theymust be eradicated. The “Valerianaofficinalis”, called in Romanian “odolean”, was in the pastinvoked almost as a deity, and received the prayers of unmarried girls whowished to meet their future fiancé and of married women  who wished luck and domestic prosperity.

- Source: Sonia Maura Barillari’s “Acqua, Fuoco, Terra, Sale. Pratiche curative della tradizione romena”

this is canon bc I said so 🔥

college AU

i know this might be controversial, but enough is enough.

as someone who grew up in the rigidity—and, at times, oppressive nature—of roman catholicism, i am so tired of the religious!reader trope where they’re portrayed as so innocent they’re practically a child. we were not innocent. we knew the names of our bodies, the weight of shame, and the crushing complexity of guilt. i knew that my vagina was a vagina.

the sheer amount of extremely innocent!religious!reader fics is unsettling. they turn the reader into this caricature—wide-eyed, naive, almost infantilized, complete with pigtails and an oversized cross necklace perfect for a porn video thumbnail.

for me—and for a lot of other lesbians i’ve bonded with over religious trauma—it was never about innocence. it was about guilt. guilt over pleasure, guilt over sin, and all the ways we punished ourselves for being human.

we weren’t these overgrown children teetering around in purity. we were messy, complicated, and burdened by shame in ways that were far more nuanced than these portrayals ever capture. enough, please.

why tf does my drawing look so crooked 💀💀💀

(just re-creating an old drawing from 2020)

when I see those couple tiktoks,I just realise how toxic I am ,like,idk ,I know I need to get it under control for her,and I want to don't get me wrong, but firstly idk where to start or to begin and school doesn't help at all

I agree w everything this person is saying in this post.

Timebomb is literally canon

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁  Why I dislike Timebomb  . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

ok so while we’re here responding to this person, I thought I might as well go ahead and explain why I don’t like timebomb, so everyone doesn’t just think I’m only hating because I headcanon jinx as a lesbian (even though I lowkey am) AND PLEASEE keep in mind that I don't hate ekko at awwllll I love him truly I just don't like time bomb

SO FIRSTLY, in response to this person, just because something is canon doesn’t mean I have to like it, now if you’re saying jinx can’t be a lesbian BECAUSE timebomb is “canon”, there’s something called “Comphet” look it up please!!! and just to be clear me making a HEADcanon that jinx is a lesbian is just my opinion so put y’all pitchforks down please

and  to elaborate on timebomb being “canon” it technically isn’t, that was in the ALTNERATE REALITY, and JINX and ekko weren’t canon POWDER and ekko were, and after ekko went back home nothing was made official, you think just because he saved her that she was just like “omg you my man lets makeout :3” no she wasn’t the only thing that was confirmed was that after he saved her she went with him to the firelights. and also, while I’m sure he did tell her about Vi I don’t think he would’ve told her that they were in a relationship in the AU

WHICH LEADS ME TO WHY I ACTUALLY DON’T LIKE TIMEBOMB

so when it comes to timebomb they give me “sandbox love” or like “childhood sweethearts” because when they were younger they hung out together and spent a lot of time together, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were tinkering and building, and simply bonding over the fact that they were both the youngest in the group, because when you’re the youngest surrounded by older peers it’s nice to have someone close in age by your side, I believe that they had little crushes on each other as kids but THAT’S ALL

as jinx grew up with silco she changed, and she probably stayed away from ekko and turned him away so silco wouldn’t hurt him because she cared about him, but one thing that ekko and even vi had a hard time grasping was the fact that she had changed, like be real its been 6-7 years, she’s been living with the guilt of killing her family and carrying that burden alone for YEARS, OFC SHES CHANGED WTH??? so the whole “she isn’t powder, she’s changed, she isn’t worth it” is so bs like all that changed was her name and a gain of a few mental illnesses, but that’s the same person AND SHE’S ALLOWED TO RESONATE WITH BOTH, LIKE SHE GREW UP IN A TOXIC ENVIORNMENT YOU THINK SHES GONNA BE NORMAL. 

so the point I’m leading up to with this is that I feel like ekko loves POWDER, yes he cares for jinx but he LOVES powder, and people were trying to argue and say “ ohhhh but if he only loved powder he wouldn’t have come back if he didn’t love jinx” EKKO DID NOT COME BACK BECAUSE OF HIS LOVE FOR JINX BE SO FUCKING FOR REAL, HE CAME BACK BECAUSE HE HAD A JOB TO DO, now I will say he went to jinx for help of course and after seeing powder he may have realized the importance of rekindling their friendship, but he didn’t decide to save the world cause of jinx he was doing it because ekko is a noble person. 

but back to the main point he’s convinced himself so much that jinx and powder aren’t the same person or that she’s “gone” to the point where he probably is hoping that he’ll see powder again, which is not fair, if you truly love someone no matter how they’ve changed, you don’t cancel out that change because you can’t handle it, you EMBRACE it, and him holding onto powder hoping she comes back, means that he doesn’t see jinx (in my interpretation) 

basically for me timebomb is as I stated before “sandbox love” there may have been cute little childhood crush feelings (which is also when she was powder) , but as they’ve grown up I don’t see anything romantic being there without it being forced. POWDER and ekko being together in the AU made sense because that’s who he fell in love with, but with arcane’s actual timeline it doesn’t seem right for them to be together

tall n' sweet 💋