So I found a book of just symbols at the library near my new place but I couldn't check it out so I took pics of pages I found very interesting and thought I'd share some with yall
Planetary and astronomy symbols
Apparently these are botanical symbols
Elements, the scientific kind not natural
And weather symbols
I got a kick out of these. I'm sure someone else might. I just think they're cool but I forgot the name of the book so I'll have to go back on my next day off 😅
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Some may wander onto the church balcony, barely sparing a glance at the rolling rack of plants. "They're just plants. Who cares? Doesn't Eva grow flowers over there?" Sure, there's a scant number of plants growing there. Nothing seems to support the existence of the flowers she grows. No signs of vegetables from those seed packets we give her, either.
(In all likelihood, the developers probably thought that nobody would pay attention, and didn't flesh out that balcony with more plants.)
What many don't realize, however, is that many plants carry medicinal properties within them. Consider that, the next time you pass by pots of herbs at the grocery store. Common thyme, for example, is antibacterial and can be steeped as a tea for sinus infections. And that's just a small fraction of what it can do.
The central shelf on the rolling rack carries rosemary, and some type of gangly plant I couldn't ID. Just generic, silly nonsense, right? Right??
Wrong. Rosemary is more than just a kitchen spice. It's a great stimulant for the brain!
It acts as a brain stimulant
Aids with memory
Aids blood circulation to the brain
Aids with treating early onset dementia/Alzheimer's
Acts as an antidepressant
Acts as an antiviral
Aids with concentration
Has anti-anxiety properties
Where the revenants are concerned, that's a pretty damn vital herb! With bottles of alcohol able to be scavenged, and properly sterilized jars and lids, there's potential for rosemary tinctures to be crafted and traded! (In the absence of sterilization, possibly even whatever they can use that can store the mixture and prevent oxidization from occuring, which can weaken a tincture pretty badly depending on its severity.)
Of course, whether water is still consumed or not is not mentioned in the game (and if it is, I haven't encountered it yet, and I've played since the game launched). Tinctures can burn the mouth if applied directly under the tongue, and if the revenants can manage a bit of water for this medicine, then that's a little less frustration to deal with. The bottles of blood bead cells scattered around the bar may allow for a couple drops of rosemary tincture, as well... if our favorite revenants can stand to hold the first sip of blood for at least ten seconds.
The uppermost shelf has some seemingly decorative plants. The smallest one is parsley, growing out of a generically-labelled Harney & Sons tea tin. Parsley? Really?
Parsley's got quite the high vitamin content, though. There isn't much I've seen on whether or not revenants require vitamins the same way humans do. But, if you factor in maintaining the preservation of the host body, vitamins likely do serve a much higher purpose. Whether or not the BOR parasite benefits remains to be seen, but for now, we're talking the fun stuff.
What the heck does parsley do, anyways? Well...
It's got stupid amounts of Vitamin K, which is good for your bones, and has a lot of other important vitamins and antioxidants
It acts as a diuretic
Helps with eye health
Probably not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things. But it could help boost regeneration. The game kinda flip-flops on how regeneration works in-universe, and for gameplay purposes it muddies further (for obvious reasons). Could parsley help increase the number of regeneration times, or even the amount it heals? Possibly. It can also be consumed as a tea, and there are some herbs whose effects come out best in teas.
Though I can't quite identify the other plants on the rolling rack, that doesn't mean those don't have benefits, either. There are some flowers that can be eaten, or used in medicine. Calendula, for example, is an edible flower that can be used for wound healing -- and it's such a bright and cheerful flower, why not let a couple flowers remain after processing the other ones? Another one is chrysanthemum, which is another edible flower and can help with eye health. (Do not consume the store-bought ones, as those are treated with poisonous chemicals and can really do a number on your body if you consume them. The best way to get around that is growing it by seed, and ensuring that it's non-neotic, at that.)
And if the parts of the plant above the soil aren't safe for consumption, then the roots can be used. Makes a mess, but even the roots can have medicinal benefits. Dandelion is an example -- somewhat of a poor example, because the entire dandelion is edible and not every plant has that classification. Dandelion root is bitter, but it acts as a potent liver detoxifier. Should it be roasted, it tastes just like coffee.
Even if revenants aren't using these medicines themselves, consider how much it would benefit the humans living in the shelters. If we really gotta split hairs, the medicinal benefits could be carried over through blood donations. Entire categories of enhanced blood could be produced by the shelters and distributed where needed. Even then, encouraging more positive trading habits may be more beneficial in the long run. It isn't just "standard" food being grown, but something with a great deal of potential.
Just a little more that makes living in the Gaol of the Mists more bearable.
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scrambled thoughts on botanical horror :
in The city and the city by china mieville two cities overlap. people can go down the same street as people from the other city and not see them. it underlines how most of our surroundings are invisible to us and we need to make a particular effort to see them. this links to plant blindness and how most of the time we are completely oblivious to the vegetation surrounding us. sure we see it, but we don't actually see it. and most of all we are unaware of its vitality, all the movements and connections and adaptations that are happening. the thing is that it happens on a different time scale.
time lapses can be eery for that reason, they force you to realize the movements and communications of being living on a completely different scale. they force you to acknowledge the relativity of your point of view.
The man whom the trees loved by algernon blackwood is rooted in this discovery of the trees movements. it's about a man who has a forest in his backgarden and every day to him it seems the trees are getting closer. and so he develops this theory that trees used to roam the earth a long time ago and that they've slowed down but are still in movement. and he ends up completely engulfed in the forest.
there is a fast tree migration happening on the planet, they are in motion, this is due to climate change but also to the ability of beings that we don't really pay attention to. in the United States, the migration is already well underway. a 2010 U.S. Forest Service study found that 70 percent of tree species are already showing tree range migration, with maple, beech and birch potentially gone entirely in the Northeast by 2100.
tdlr : when it comes to the natural world there is a connection between beauty and horror.
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