Paths like this one are freaking awesome, and so Washington State. The Western Red Cedar and Douglas Fir on the left are at least 400 years old, and the tops are way tf up there
When I was in London in 2019 for a magickal conference, I had the opportunity to photograph Pamela Coleman Smith’s hearth, which was saved and is installed in the basement room they use for classes and events at Treadwell’s Bookshop.
Middle finger is known around the world as an offensive gesture and is considered indecent. As it turns out, this gesture was also known in ancient Rome.
The middle finger was referred to in Latin digitus impudicus, meaning “shameless, indecent or offensive finger”. Why such an understanding? Mainly due to the shape of the hand, which resembles a phallus from the front (middle finger) with testicles on the sides (curled fingers).
But the penis was an apotropaic symbols for the Romans, used to instantly counter any negative activity. In ancient Roman religion and magic, the fascinus or fascinum was the embodiment of the divine phallus. The word can refer to phallus effigies and amulets, and to the spells used to invoke his divine protection. Pliny calls it a medicus invidiae, a “doctor” or remedy for envy (invidia, a “looking upon”) or the evil eye.Therefore, by giving the middle finger, to the receiver we actually attempt to bind their power against us.
Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai died on this day in 1849.
These are three stunning woodblock prints from his famous Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series.
Hokusai (1769-1849) was the first great designer of landscape prints. Before him, most print designers created images of beautiful women or kabuki actors. Then, in the 1820s and 1830s, Hokusai produced his Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series which showed the sacred mountain from different viewpoints, during different seasons and at different times of day.
With its simple colour schemes and bold compositions it was stylistically ground-breaking, combining elements of Japanese, Chinese and Western painting.
Many 19th-century European artists collected Hokusai’s prints – including Monet, Degas, Gauguin, Klimt, Manet and van Gogh – and without him Impressionism may never have happened.
