Some people were puzzled when I included the 1000 Nights, or Arabian Nights, in my list of pre-Islamic readings for this year, but being a source of folklore wisdom from the Arabic world I knew I had to. It has given me a glimpse of many things, but I was surprised last night when I was reading one of the tales and discovered that the way I cleanse my house every full moon is actually a water spell, a form... Read more
If you’ve paid attention to my most recent entries, you noticed for sure that there’s a topic I keep touching when writing: reading. I have always been a bookworm, and I get my hands in every and any book that catches my attention, and I try to learn as much as possible from each of my readings. However, does this count as part of my ancestral veneration practice? In short, the answer is yes. Everyone knows I’m already reading The... Read more
There have been so many posts about Beltane these days everywhere in the blogosphere that it seemed madness not to write something about this date. It is one I like a lot because of its symbolism as a festivity about abundance, freedom, and pleasure, topics I like to explore in different things as a way to know myself better. However, this year felt different because now I know Beltane will occur during Ramadan. How do you celebrate excess and pleasure... Read more
On April 12 of this year, Muslims started to fast from sunrise to sunset, abstaining from drinking and eating, allowed only to break their fasting with a meal at the end of the day with family and friends. They will keep doing it for 30 days, until a three-day festival known as Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, the month during which they believe that the prophet Muhammad received the Quran, the Islamic holy book, from the angel Gabriel. (Baines, n.d.)... Read more
While I felt it possible to command him to do my bidding, the jinn wasn't happy with the idea of leaving my side, and I even felt a bit strange when I thought about it. Read more
I was just reading John Beckett’s Must We Speak No Ill of the Dead? And it made me remember several things about this topic. As Beckett clearly says in his post, people get the courage they need now and then to say many things by being behind a keyboard and protected by a screen. It’s true that hiding behind a curtain helps in some regard, as it does for me to speak about pre-Islamic beliefs and witchcraft inspired by it, but... Read more
Recently we’ve had a lot of death around my family. We are not strangers to it, we’ve already lost many people close to us, both in the family and around us, but with so much of it happening at the same time, with just a few days between one and the other, has left us all really affected. Many in my family have a lot of rage, hate, they are angry at so many things, their words can add more... Read more
I was recently reading an interview with Bruce Fudge, Professor of Arabic at the University of Geneva, which could raise a lot of interesting questions and debates regarding Arabic literature, and discovered that, although The 1001 Nights is a fundamental folklore reading regarding the Arabic world, there are two other books that should be kept in mind, and I would say they’re also of interest if you want to know more about the pre-Islamic world. A few weeks ago I discovered... Read more
I recently started reading The 1001 Nights, one of my pre-Islamic readings for this year, and one of the questions that often arise when I search for this book is whether it is a misogynist narrative or not. The short answer, if you want to know, is not for me, but that it reflects the fears of insecure men. Before anyone asks which version I refer to, because there are many and there may be a few differences here and... Read more
For me, the hamsa is a special symbol and carries a meaning of strength, passion, love, and courage. Read more
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