something that always fascinates me is the synchronicity between folk practices. like how indigenous american practice egg clense and in the balkans too. how its part of hoodoo to sweep twoards the door to get negative energies out and in the balkans too. how all traditional practices use rhythm and dance to fall into trance. how in culture after culture you see the same archetypes of spirits or deities under different names; different names for clearlt sinilar energies. from east to west people find in different tongues and in different styles ways to do the same things. is it because humans are one species which has migrated. yes. is it because there is truth to it? as far as im concerned yes

both of the ladies that were on hospice have passed away. one on thursday and one this morning before i got into work

SLAUGHTER HOUSE

Traditional clothing for the ritual of lazaruvane, performed on Lazarus Saturday/ Sliven region, Bulgaria; early XX century

Source: National Museum of History - Bulgaria

Four primroses blooming in containers right now: the red ones, first and fourth, are Primula eliator ‘Gold Lace’ aka bumblebee primrose and the other two which I grew from seed started in 2020 are Primula auricula, an alpine species. I feel like I could so easily become completely obsessed with growing as many kinds of these as possible. They are, as I’ve heard said of some kinds of food, more-ish!

anatomically impossible

Konstantin Lomykin (Ukrainian, 1924–1993) - Reflections of Spring

Wayne Thiebaud, Pancake Breakfast, 2008, Oil on canvas

Hello, you.

Students of the Turkmen State University in Ashgabat, Turkmenia. Photo by Semyon Fridlyand (1950s).

Cempasúchil: Keeping Tradition With Color and Aroma 

Cempasúchil (also spelled cempazúchil) comes from the Nahuatl “cempōhualxōchitl,” literally meaning “twenty flower.” The twenty referring to the Aztec calendar's twenty-day week cycle, making the term “twenty flower,” a metaphor for flowers used in weekly ceremonies and festivities.  

Aside from its binomial name, Tagetes erecta, cempasúchil is also known as the Mexican marigold and Aztec marigold. Since the days before contact with the Spanish, the cempasúchil flower has been known as “miccāxōchitl,” literally “flower of the dead.” Today, it is still known and referred to as “flor de muerto” (flower of the dead). 

As Mexicans, this flower connects us to our ancestors. Its sight, smell, and name evokes thousand year old traditions and customs. As the photos above demonstrate, the spirit of our ancestors is alive and well in our marketplaces, altars, and smiles. 

Photo: Getty/Notimex

african peach moth (egybolis vaillantina) | coppensb on ig

meow

February in Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. Commerce City, Colorado. Photos by Amber Maitrejean

Ukrainian Cossacks in the steppe

by Serhii Vasylkivskyi (Сергій І. Васильківський, 1854-1917)

stickwork - patrick dougherty (2010)