Early Impressions on BlueSky

Follow me: https://bsky.app/profile/surenity.bsky.social

I’ve been on BlueSky since about January, after becoming fed up with Facebook’s new AI direction and its new commitment towards forcing users to doom scroll and get into arguments with AI bots. I still can’t afford to just up and leave but I’ve been on it a lot less. I felt like just voicing some of my opinions on BlueSky for anyone else thinking of jumping over there. I had never been on Twitter so it was like a foreign country to me for a while but I think I’m finally getting the hang of it. 

The Good Aspects

One thing I like is how customizable the feed is. While it’s perfectly possible to doom scroll on BlueSky too, you aren’t forced to. There’s a general feed where very sad democrats and leftists bemoan the state of American politics, but there are other feeds dedicated to whatever interests you are into. So the doom-scrolling isn’t inevitable on BlueSky like it is on pretty much every other social media site. When I don’t feel like seeing the Orange Ogre or the Elongated Muskrat’s punchable faces I can go to the art feeds or the astronomy feeds, where you can (usually) avoid the news. In fact you can mute certain words in your feed so that they’re censored. I have “Trump”, “Musk”, “Republicans”, and other words muted; it doesn’t stop me from seeing them in shared screenshots but I see them maybe 75% less (you can’t even bury your head in the sand if you want to these days it seems). You also don’t have advertisements stabbing your eyes every other post either. I haven’t seen a single ad on BlueSky and I hope I never do. You also use hashtags on this site, which you can click on and see who else made posts on a particular topic. Facebook had that too I think but no one really used them much. 

The rules are more lax than on Facebook so you might see nudity in the art feed unless you specifically tailor your preferences not to see it, just to forewarn. I don’t usually care, but if you’re scrolling in public it can potentially be embarrassing, and you might see things you don’t want to see as well. You’re as likely to see a tasteful nude as you are a morbidly obese furry. 

The crowd on BlueSky are more my type of people really. A lot of artists, leftists, scientists, pagans, goths, and my good friends in the LGBT+ community (I may be straight but I get along well with them, maybe because most of us have autism in common). Conservatives tend to get blocked and shamed on BlueSky. Politicians and corporations have begun to weasel their way onto the site but I just block them. I’m probably on the older side of the user base, but I don’t feel too old for it.

The Negative Aspects

BlueSky isn’t a complete utopia, unfortunately. Most of my problems come from just how it’s built as a Twitter clone, and most of the things I disliked about Twitter are present here too, just without the toxic community. For instance, the character limit on posts. I like to post essays on Facebook, you see, but here I am limited. I have to link to this blog if I have something I want to say that’s more than three sentences or so. Why does it have to be this way? Do they not have the technology? I don’t know. Another thing is that it doesn’t let you edit a post once you post it. If you notice a typo afterwards, or if you forgot to add hashtags because you never used Twitter, you either have to just tolerate it or delete the post and rewrite it. 

On Facebook, and on MySpace before it, when someone adds you (or follows you as is the case on BlueSky), it’s normal to drop them a message and say hello. But if you do that in BlueSky it seems like people treat you like some creepy online predator, a scammer, or an AI bot or something. At least that’s been my experience thus far; might have to do with the fact that my profile picture is me standing in front of a Neighborhood Watch sign wearing the same kind of coat and hat depicted on the sign, and my name is written in Armenian letters, but I digress. It might also be because there are a lot of people who follow you only in hopes of getting something out of you, either just for you to follow them back, or worse, to rope you into some kind of scam or pyramid scheme. These profiles will usually disappear after a couple days, probably for being bots or violating some kind of terms of service. I had someone offer me money to make artwork out of my aforementioned profile picture only for them to vanish, and had someone choose me at “random” to receive an exclusive free tarot card reading, again only to disappear later. Facebook is full of AI bots and scammers too but at least they stay on the feed and don’t usually try to message you. A lot of people on the site will write on their profile not to message them unless you know them in real life. So even though the crowd might seem friendly, you still can’t let your guard down. 

Another thing I miss from Facebook is groups. You can comment on people’s posts and they have feeds for different interests but they aren’t really as interactive, so it is more difficult to make actual friends on the site, especially when people treat you like a weirdo for private messaging them. I can’t really meet and share thoughts with other goths, Armenians, pagans, fans of the Oz books, etc. That’s one thing I don’t see another social media site having a viable alternative to. The closest is Reddit but even then that’s more anonymous so it’s harder to build an actual community. 

A lot of the issues BlueSky has were inherent to Twitter too, which is why I was never on that website, but if they’re going to be a Twitter clone they could at least fix some of the issues Twitter had. It’s at least less of a toxic cesspool than Twitter, and their CEO doesn’t seem to be a Nazi billionaire piece of shit, so there’s that at least. 

St. Petersburg, Florida’s ‘Lady of the Nile’

The St. Petersburg Museum of History is a strange place. An exhibit on baseball history featuring signed baseballs from past athletes and celebrities is situated alongside an exhibit on the histories of wars involving the US, while in the next room there is an exhibit on early feminists in St. Petersburg, and elsewhere an exhibit on early airplanes. Wedged between these disparate exhibits that have little to nothing to do with one another, is Our Lady of the Nile; the actual mummified remains of a 3,000 Egyptian woman and accompanying wooden sarcophagus. 

As the exhibit explains up above, the remains of this woman were stolen out of Egypt and paraded around as part of some circus sideshow, aboard a boat on the Mississippi River. The boat came to be docked in St. Petersburg at some point in 1922, and was in need of repairs. When the captain was unable to pay his debts for the repairs, he gave this mummy and sarcophagus to the dockmaster, and after changing hands a few times someone donated it to the museum in 1925. It’s been in this random museum ever since. I wonder if anyone in Egypt even knows about this mummy. I am of the opinion that she should be returned to her homeland. 

She has been partly unwrapped but still looking very good for her age. They found a heart scarab in her chest during an x-ray among some other amulets. What I find particularly sad is that her name is apparently not known. In the Egyptian religion, the name or Ren is part of the soul, and to speak the name of the dead is to make them live again. The last time anyone ever speaks your name is known as the second death. ‘Our Lady of the Nile’ is what they call her at the museum. Elsewhere in the small exhibit is a replica of a statue of the scorpion Goddess Serket from King Tutankhamun’s tomb, watching over her. Perhaps a name for her could be Meri-Serket, ‘Beloved of Serket’. Just an idea I suppose. It would be nice if she had been a Serket devotee in life but we have no way of knowing.

The wooden sarcophagus is the only other authentic ancient Egyptian artifact present at the museum, rather masculine-looking, and unfortunately without any writing on it to tell us who she was. The sarcophagus might have originally belonged to someone else for all anyone knows, in fact. 

 

As stated, everything else present is a replica, but they were interesting to look at, at least. You can kind of tell they must have been like “okay we have this mummy, now we need some other ancient Egyptian stuff to go with it”, but it was easier said than done.

The throne is very famous. Not a bad replication of the real thing, not that I have ever had the opportunity to see the original. And the Anubis mask was nicely done as well. On the wall are some framed replica papyri. 

First, an excerpt from the Book of the Dead, belonging to Hu-Nefer. One thing I find particularly interesting here is that Nephthys is standing in front of Her sister Isis, which is almost never the case. 

One of these days I’ll learn to read those hieroglyphs and find out what’s going on in this picture. But somehow I felt like it was more obvious that it was a modern replica than the other papyrus. Looked a bit too new. I might have been fooled by the other one if it claimed to be genuine. 

That’s more or less the whole exhibit. Feel free to drop by for a visit to St. Petersburg’s “oldest resident” if you’re ever in the area and pay her some respect, which I get the feeling is something she rarely gets enough of. I visited her once when I lived in St. Petersburg, but during my most recent trip back I made it a point to see her again knowing what I know now about ancient Egypt. I hope that she makes her way home someday. I wonder what she would think when she was alive if someone told her that in 3,000 years her body would be on display to be gawked at in some part of the world she never even heard of, in a country that wouldn’t exist for millennia. Still a kinder fate than being ground up and made into ink, or burned up to power a steam engine. 

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/1/4/1329507/-Our-Lady-of-the-Nile-Florida-s-Egyptian-Mummy

Making a Homemade Sistrum

 

Above: A historic sistrum, art from the tomb of Nefertari

My wife and I have been hard at work over the past few weeks making a homemade sistrum, an ancient Egyptian rattle-like percussion instrument used often in rituals. I’m quite pleased with how it turned out. You can get historically-accurate ones with Hathor’s face on the front online but they typically cost quite a lot. We followed a guide to making a homemade sistrum in the book “Ancient Egyptian Magic for Modern Witches” by Ellen Cannon Reed. 

We started by finding a sturdy forked branch on the ground. We sawed it down to size and used sandpaper on the outside to make it nice and smooth. Then I used a soldering iron to burn in the hieroglyphs, accidentally burning myself in the process (not fun). After this, we painted it gold and applied a coat of mod podge to seal the paint job and help so that the paint won’t start to flake off through use. Next, we drilled six holes to fit some wire through which we got from a coat hanger. We adorned the wires with a few small discs with heart-shaped holes, and some soda can tops. 

Adorned on the sistrum itself is a small image of Hathor, the words “Dua Hathor” and “Dua Ihy” on each side, nd my son’s name in hieroglyphs on front. I also noticed one part of the wood had an eye-shape on it so we turned it into an Eye of Horus. There is also the name of the Urartian Goddess of Art and Creativity Arubani written on it in Armenian, an Armenian eternity symbol, and an Incan cross from my wife’s heritage. 

It has a lot character to it, I’m hoping it pleases the Gods. The next step is to use it in a rutual. I would like to perform the Rite of Blessing a Child next, working out of the same book. This is an open-ended ritual unlike a baptism, and the participant can decide to follow whichever Gods he wants when he’s older.

𓋹֍֎𓋹

~ Siamanto the Foreigner

 𓋷𓅁𓈖𓏏𓍯𓀭𓈖𓐎𓏺𓈉𓏏𓅂𓌙𓀀

Սիամանթօ Օտարը

Ash Wednesday - A Holiday Re-Dedicated to the God Ash

 

Prayers and Spells to Ash 𓄿𓈙𓁣, Աշ

Holidays:

Ash Wednesday: A pagan hijacking of a Christian holiday, because why not. On this day we venerate Ash, and give offerings of wine. Different date every year.

Epithets:

Lord of the Oasis

Refreshment in the Desert

Nubty (He of Nubt, a center of His worship)

Meri Sutekh (Beloved of Set)

Ash of the Many Faces

Lord of the Land of the Olive Tree

Lord of Tenehu (Libyan tribe)

The Desert Sha (one of mine for Him)

Offerings:

Wine

Purified Water

Pistachios

Cinnamon 

Lettuce

Chocolate 

Beer

Red candles 

Incense, especially cinnamon 

Consorts:

Set

Prayers:

End offerings of wine with: “I am refreshed by this Ash.”

Hymn to Ash

Dua Ash of the Many Faces,

Neb Wakhat, Lord of the Oasis.

You who quenches the thirst of the 

lost souls in the desheret. 

Meri Sutekh, The Desert Sha, 

beloved in Nubt and Dakhla.

He of Libya, the original foreigner

among the Netjeru.

He who refreshes Ra on his Solar Barque.

He who offers his support to Sutekh

in his constant struggle against A𓌜p𓌜e𓌜p𓌜.

May Ash cool the temperament of my opponents,

Grant me strength and refresh my soul

as I wander the desert of life, and 

after death, may I come home to your Oasis

beyond the Seven Stars of Sutekh’s Khepesh,

wherein I will say, “I am refreshed by this Ash”.

Dua Ash, ίânŭn mä'ą

Truly it is so....

~ Siamanto the Foreigner

____

(JEA 14 (1928) pp. 211-225). CT spell 107, “Recitation for going out into the day,” states on behalf of the deceased that “Sha guards me in company with the Lords of Upper Egypt.” In BD spell 95, for “being beside Thoth,” the operator states that “Ash cools off opponents for me,” in which it seems that Ash is to share in the characteristic function of Thoth of calming wrathful deities, perhaps because of Ash’s association with wine.

Book of the Dead

Spell in order to open beside Thoth, to speak by the Osiris NN, justified:

I am the lord of the terror in the storm, protected by Wereret (the great crown of Upper Egypt) in the battle. I strike the violent Ash and refresh Ash. I have prepared a place for Weret (the Uraeus) in the battle.I have hardened the knife with the knife which is in Khepri’s hand in the storm.

pTurin Museo Egizio 1791, Tb 095

https://henadology.wordpress.com/theology/netjeru/ash/

Armeno-Kemetic Holidays for March (Մեհեկի-Արեգի, 𓂋𓎡𓄑𓊮𓅫 - 𓂋𓈖𓈖𓆗)

 

I wrote about the upcoming holiday Vahagni Tsnunet/ Birth of Vagan in 2020

We have made it to March, congratulations, it’s been a difficult year so far for a lot of people. With the Spring equinox approaching, this is the time in many Indo-European traditions in which the fighter against the Chaoskampf emerges victorious against the agents of destructive chaos, or isfet as the Egyptians knew it. This is a good time of the year to try to harness that energy to help yourself conquer your inner darkness, or the isfet around you, and reach Ma’at, as the lengths of the days and nights become equal and balanced. The birth of Horus is this month, but Sutekh also has a holiday on the Ides of March, a day historically known to bring change with those in power, called The Going Forth of Set, Son of Nut, to Disturb the Great Ones.

Also on March 15 I give thanks to the Greek Goddess Nemesis. I don’t often venerate Greek deities, but it is because it was on this day that Operation Nemesis was successful. Nemesis, Goddess of Divine Retribution, lent Her name to a group of Armenians who had the goal of avenging the Armenian Genocide and assassinating its orchestrators that had escaped justice. Armenian hero Soghomon Tehlirian assassinated Talaat Pasha, one of the orchestrators of the Armenian Genocide, on this day in 1921. With the Armenians being a majority Christian people, I don’t think Nemesis has ever been properly thanked for Her help. The Goddess Nemesis has done far more to help Armenia than Yahweh ever has. 

Important past dates:

Մեհեկի Արեգ/February 7 ~ Armenian Month of Meheki begins; sacred to the God Mihr.

Մեհեկի Կորդուիք/February 28 ~ Kemetic month of Little Fire begins (𓂋𓎡𓄑𓊮𓅫 , Rkḥ-nḏs), Rekh-Neds. 

——

Մեհեկի Լուսնակ / March 2 ~ Feast of Chewing Onions for Bast 𓎯𓏏𓏏𓁐. 

Արեգի Արեգ/March 9 ~ Month of Aregi begins; sacred to Ra-Aramazd (Ar-Ra), the Armeno-Kemetic Sun God. 

Today is also the Feast of the Moon. Make offerings to Djehuti and Selardi of Urartu.

Արեգի Մարգար/March 12 ~ Feast of the Providing Moon; the Neteru hosting this holiday are Wepwawet and Anpu.

Արեգի Աստղիկ/March 15 ~ The Going Forth of Set, Son of Nut, to Disturb the Great Ones

Feast of Nemesis, in gratitude for Her aid in avenging the Armenians

Արեգի Միհր/March 16 ~ Feast of the Moonlight Rays; the Netjer hosting this holiday is Nebet-Het. 

Արեգի Ձոպաբեր/March 17 ~ Feast of the Moon; Sacred to Ihy

Արեգի Երեզկան - Վանատ/March 19-22 ~ The Days of Ostara, Wiccan Spring Equinox Festival (I observe it through the following two holidys:)

Արեգի Պարխար/March 21 ~ Վահագնի Ծնունդ, the Birth of Vahagn, when he emerged from a reed with a fiery beard and eyes like suns; and the day of his triumph over the Vishap (dragon) of Winter every year. Spring Equinox. 

Արեգի Վանատ/March 22 ~ Birth of Horus, the Kemetic Spring Equinox holiday. (Vahagn and Horus have many parallels. For one thing, Horus was born in the reeds, Vaghagn emerged from a reed. )

Արեգի Արագած/March 28 ~ Kemetic month of Ermouthi (𓂋𓈖𓈖𓆗 , Rnnwtt) Begins. 

Արեգի Կորդուիք/March 30 ~ Festival of Renenutet 

Favorable/Adverse Days

𓄤𓄤𓄤/𓊢𓊢𓊢

March

1.𓊢𓊢𓊢

2.𓄤𓄤𓄤

3.𓊢𓊢𓊢

4.𓊢𓊢𓊢

5.𓄤𓄤𓄤

6.𓄤𓄤𓄤

7.𓊢𓊢𓊢

8.𓊢𓊢𓊢

9.𓊢𓊢𓊢

10. 𓊢𓊢𓊢

11.𓊢𓊢𓊢

12.𓊢𓊢𓊢

13.𓄤𓄤𓄤

14.𓄤𓄤𓄤

15.𓊢𓊢𓊢

16.𓊢𓊢𓊢 

17.𓄤𓄤𓄤

18.𓊢𓊢𓊢

19.𓊢𓊢𓊢

20.𓊢𓊢𓊢

21.𓊢𓊢𓄤

22. 𓊢𓊢𓊢

23.𓊢𓊢𓊢

24.𓄤𓄤𓄤

25.𓊢𓊢𓊢

26.𓄤𓄤𓄤

27.𓄤𓄤𓄤

28.𓄤𓄤𓄤

29.𓄤𓄤𓄤

30.𓊢𓊢𓊢

31.𓄤𓄤𓄤