Number 1:

1. Initiation: Represents new beginnings, leadership, and individuality.
2. The Magician: Tarot card associated with the number 1, symbolizing creativity, manifestation, and willpower.
3. Independence: Signifies self-reliance, originality, and taking the lead.
4. Potential and Possibility: Embodies the start of a journey or a project.
5. Unity: Reflects the oneness, the start of something unique and singular.

Number 2:

1. Duality: Signifies balance, partnerships, and cooperation.
2. The High Priestess: Associated with intuition, wisdom, and hidden knowledge in tarot.
3. Harmony: Represents the need for balance and diplomacy.
4. Relationships: Emphasizes partnerships, teamwork, and cooperation.
5. Choice: Reflects decisions, choices, and the need for balance.

Number 3:

1. Creativity: Symbolizes self-expression, communication, and creative endeavors.
2. The Empress: Tarot card embodying fertility, creativity, and abundance.
3. Optimism: Represents joy, enthusiasm, and social interaction.
4. Expansion: Signifies growth, self-improvement, and broadening horizons.
5. Manifestation: Reflects the power of thoughts, words, and actions in creating reality.

Number 4:

1. Stability: Signifies structure, order, and a solid foundation.
2. The Emperor: Tarot card embodying authority, stability, and structure.
3. Security: Represents practicality, reliability, and building a strong base.
4. Endurance: Symbolizes persistence, hard work, and discipline.
5. Materialization: Reflects the manifestation of ideas into tangible results.

Number 5:

1. Change: Represents adaptability, versatility, and transformation.
2. The Hierophant: Tarot card symbolizing tradition, guidance, and spiritual growth.
3. Freedom: Signifies exploration, adventure, and embracing diversity.
4. Shifts and Challenges: Reflects unexpected changes and the need for flexibility.
5. Versatility: Embodies adaptability, resourcefulness, and embracing new experiences.

Number 6:

1. Harmony: Signifies balance, responsibility, and nurturing relationships.
2. The Lovers: Tarot card representing love, harmony, and choices in relationships.
3. Service: Reflects selflessness, compassion, and community involvement.
4. Healing: Symbolizes peace, empathy, and creating harmonious environments.
5. Balance: Embodies equilibrium, diplomacy, and a harmonious lifestyle.

Number 7:

1. Spirituality: Signifies introspection, wisdom, and spiritual growth.
2. The Chariot: Tarot card embodying willpower, determination, and progress.
3. Seeking Truth: Reflects introspection, seeking answers, and inner wisdom.
4. Analysis: Symbolizes deep thinking, research, and intellectual pursuits.
5. Inner Guidance: Embodies intuition, mysticism, and inner awareness.

Number 8:

1. Achievement: Represents success, abundance, and material prosperity.
2. Strength: Tarot card symbolizing inner strength, resilience, and determination.
3. Power and Success: Reflects ambition, authority, and material wealth.
4. Karma: Symbolizes cause and effect, balance in action and consequence.
5. Manifestation: Embodies material gains, business acumen, and financial stability.

Number 9:

1. Completion: Signifies endings, spiritual fulfillment, and humanitarianism.
2. The Hermit: Tarot card embodying introspection, wisdom, and spiritual enlightenment.
3. Universal Love: Reflects compassion, service to humanity, and global consciousness.
4. Wisdom and Leadership: Symbolizes altruism, leadership, and guiding others.
5. Transformation: Embodies closure, spiritual awakening, and a broader perspective.

These tidbits offer symbolic insights into each number and its corresponding tarot cards, highlighting the thematic elements and interpretations associated with numerology and the tarot.

Number 10:

1. Completion and Renewal: Signifies endings and new beginnings simultaneously.
2. Wheel of Fortune: Tarot card representing cycles, destiny, and unforeseen changes.
3. Wholeness: Reflects fulfillment, achievement, and cycles coming to fruition.
4. Transformation: Symbolizes change, fate, and the cyclical nature of life.
5. Karmic Balance: Embodies the law of cause and effect, the balance of energies.

Number 11:

1. Master Illuminator: Signifies spiritual awakening, intuition, and enlightenment.
2. Justice (or Strength in some decks): Tarot card embodying fairness, balance, and divine guidance.
3. Enlightenment: Reflects intuition, inspiration, and high spiritual awareness.
4. Higher Calling: Symbolizes spiritual guidance, psychic abilities, and divine insights.
5. Visionary Leadership: Embodies visionary ideas, inspiration, and spiritual mentorship.

Number 12:

1. Harmonious Union: Signifies partnerships, cooperation, and balanced relationships.
2. The Hanged Man: Tarot card symbolizing surrender, perspective shift, and sacrifice for enlightenment.
3. Sacrifice for Growth: Reflects letting go, patience, and seeing things from a different angle.
4. Adaptability: Symbolizes flexibility, suspension, and altering perspectives.
5. Transformational Insight: Embodies spiritual growth through surrender and acceptance.

Number 13:

1. Transformation and Rebirth: Signifies change, transition, and new opportunities.
2. Death: Tarot card representing transformation, endings, and profound change leading to renewal.
3. Transition and Renewal: Reflects release, transformation, and the start of something new.
4. Renewed Perspective: Symbolizes rebirth, regeneration, and shedding old patterns.
5. Power of Endings: Embodies closure, regeneration, and the birth of something new.

Number 14:

1. Practical Manifestation: Signifies grounded action, stability, and accomplishment.
2. Temperance: Tarot card embodying balance, moderation, and spiritual harmony.
3. Moderation and Balance: Reflects harmony, patience, and blending opposites.
4. Alchemy: Symbolizes transformation, adaptation, and spiritual equilibrium.
5. Integration of Duality: Embodies combining elements to create a harmonious whole.

Number 15:

1. Change and Transformation: Signifies shifts, transitions, and adaptability.
2. The Devil: Tarot card representing materialism, bondage, and self-limiting beliefs.
3. Personal Freedom: Reflects breaking free from limitations, temptations, or restrictions.
4. Inner Exploration: Symbolizes shadow work, self-awareness, and breaking unhealthy patterns.
5. Choice and Liberation: Embodies freeing oneself from restrictions or unhealthy attachments.

Number 16:

1. Spiritual Awakening: Signifies spiritual growth, divine intervention, and new beginnings.
2. The Tower: Tarot card embodying sudden change, upheaval, and revelation leading to transformation.
3. Sudden Change: Reflects upheaval, awakening, and revelation.
4. Awakening to Truth: Symbolizes enlightenment, liberation, and profound insights.
5. Transformational Crisis: Embodies breaking down old structures for spiritual evolution.

Number 17:

1. Manifestation and Power: Signifies success, authority, and material abundance.
2. The Star: Tarot card representing hope, inspiration, and spiritual guidance.
3. Optimism and Healing: Reflects hope, faith, and finding inner guidance.
4. Divine Intervention: Symbolizes grace, blessings, and spiritual renewal.
5. Illumination and Guidance: Embodies finding direction and renewed faith.

Number 18:

1. Karmic Completion: Signifies accomplishment, fulfillment, and achievement.
2. The Moon: Tarot card symbolizing intuition, illusion, and the subconscious mind.
3. Unveiling the Unseen: Reflects mystery, intuition, and subconscious revelations.
4. Inner Reflection: Symbolizes introspection, dreams, and hidden truths.
5. Transition to Higher Wisdom: Embodies uncovering hidden aspects for spiritual evolution.

Number 19:

1. Fulfillment and Success: Signifies attainment, completion, and reaching goals.
2. The Sun: Tarot card embodying joy, success, and positive outcomes.
3. Abundance and Vitality: Reflects happiness, vitality, and illumination.
4. Inner Child: Symbolizes innocence, playfulness, and embracing the joy of life.
5. Celebration of Achievement: Embodies success, happiness, and realization of dreams.

Number 20:

1. Integration and Fulfillment: Signifies completion of a cycle and a sense of wholeness.
2. Judgment: Tarot card embodying spiritual awakening, renewal, and rebirth.
3. Rebirth and Redemption: Reflects resurrection, spiritual awakening, and inner calling.
4. Transformational Shift: Symbolizes a new phase, karmic retribution, and self-reflection.
5. Resolution and Clarity: Embodies closure, resolution, and a fresh start.

Number 21:

1. Unity and Completion: Signifies the combination of wisdom and fulfillment.
2. The World: Tarot card representing fulfillment, completion, and mastery of life's cycles.
3. Wholeness and Integration: Reflects achievement, fulfillment, and a sense of accomplishment.
4. Mastery and Enlightenment: Symbolizes mastery over life's lessons and embracing new beginnings.
5. Culmination and Success: Embodies achievement, fulfillment, and a broader perspective.

Number 22:

1. Master Builder: Signifies the capacity to turn dreams into reality, a powerful force.
2. The Fool (in some decks): Tarot card embodying unlimited potential, new beginnings, and the journey of life.
3. Visionary Potential: Reflects the potential for extraordinary achievements and spiritual awakening.
4. Manifesting Dreams: Symbolizes materializing ambitions, power, and the ability to create.
5. Transformational Journey: Embodies spiritual growth, leadership, and a higher purpose.

Number 23:

1. Creative Expression: Signifies creative pursuits, artistic talents, and innovative thinking.
2. The King of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card representing intellect, clarity, and communication.
3. Mental Clarity: Reflects clear thinking, sharp intellect, and diplomatic communication.
4. Ambitious Vision: Symbolizes ambitious plans, strategic thinking, and leadership qualities.
5. Intellectual Authority: Embodies mental strength, assertiveness, and logical reasoning.

Number 24:

1. Nurturing Stability: Signifies caring, support, and creating a secure environment.
2. The Queen of Cups (in some decks): Tarot card symbolizing emotional intelligence, compassion, and intuition.
3. Compassionate Care: Reflects empathy, sensitivity, and nurturing qualities.
4. Emotional Balance: Symbolizes emotional stability, harmonious relationships, and intuitive insights.
5. Supportive Energy: Embodies nurturing abilities, empathy, and creating emotional security.

Number 25:

1. Adaptability and Curiosity: Signifies versatility, exploration, and adaptability to change.
2. The Knight of Pentacles (in some decks): Tarot card representing reliability, dedication, and practicality.
3. Steadfast Dedication: Reflects commitment, reliability, and a methodical approach.
4. Practical Solutions: Symbolizes a practical mindset, dedication to tasks, and diligent work ethic.
5. Resourceful Nature: Embodies a disciplined attitude, reliability, and readiness to adapt.

Number 26:

1. Diplomatic Harmony: Signifies balance, cooperation, and creating harmony in relationships.
2. The Two of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card embodying decision-making, balance, and compromise.
3. Balancing Choices: Reflects decisions, seeking balance, and finding middle ground.
4. Peaceful Resolutions: Symbolizes diplomacy, compromise, and finding solutions.
5. Harmonious Choices: Embodies choices made with consideration, balance, and peace.

Number 27:

1. Wisdom and Compassion: Signifies understanding, spiritual insight, and empathy.
2. The Nine of Cups (in some decks): Tarot card representing emotional fulfillment, contentment, and satisfaction.
3. Emotional Satisfaction: Reflects happiness, emotional contentment, and spiritual fulfillment.
4. Inner Contentment: Symbolizes emotional well-being, satisfaction, and contentedness.
5. Gratitude and Fulfillment: Embodies gratitude for blessings, emotional satisfaction, and harmony.

Number 28:

1. Achievement and Ambition: Signifies success through hard work, determination, and ambition.
2. The Ten of Pentacles (in some decks): Tarot card embodying wealth, abundance, and family legacy.
3. Abundance and Legacy: Reflects material success, family prosperity, and ancestral influence.
4. Fulfillment of Goals: Symbolizes the accomplishment of long-term goals and material stability.
5. Establishing Foundations: Embodies securing foundations, prosperity, and financial stability.

Number 29:

1. Wisdom and Intuition: Signifies spiritual wisdom, intuition, and heightened awareness.
2. The High Priestess (in some decks): Tarot card symbolizing intuition, mystery, and inner knowledge.
3. Intuitive Insights: Reflects hidden knowledge, psychic abilities, and heightened perception.
4. Mystical Awareness: Symbolizes esoteric wisdom, inner guidance, and spiritual depth.
5. Spiritual Illumination: Embodies divine knowledge, inner mysteries, and esoteric understanding.

These tidbits continue to explore the symbolic meanings associated with each number and its corresponding tarot cards, offering insights into the diverse themes and interpretations within numerology and the tarot.

Number 100:

1.Balanced Exploration: Signifies exploration, adaptability, and seeking equilibrium.The Knight of Pentacles (in some decks): Tarot card representing reliability, diligence, and practicality. 2. The Page of Cups (in some decks): Tarot card embodying creativity, intuitive exploration, and emotional sensitivity. 3. Creative Intuition: Reflects artistic expression, intuitive exploration, and creative potential. 4. Emotional Curiosity: Symbolizes curiosity, emotional depth, and imaginative creativity. 5. Exploring New Emotions: Embodies emotional exploration, creative inspiration, and sensitivity.

Number 90:

1. Balanced Vision: Signifies a well-rounded vision, completeness, and achieving balance.
2. The Knight of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card representing assertive action, determination, and swift movements.
3. Swift Action: Reflects decisive action, determination, and assertive behavior.
4. Assertive Communication: Symbolizes clear communication, directness, and swift decision-making.
5. Active Pursuit: Embodies quick thinking, adaptability, and focused determination.

Number 91:

1. Harmonious Growth: Signifies growth, expansion, and creating a harmonious environment.
2. The Queen of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card symbolizing clear communication, independence, and intellectual maturity.
3. Intellectual Clarity: Reflects clear thinking, independence, and intellectual maturity.
4. Balanced Judgment: Symbolizes fairness, intellectual maturity, and clear-sightedness.
5. Assertive Authority: Embodies clear communication, intellectual strength, and assertive guidance.

Number 92:

1. Stable Leadership: Signifies stable leadership, practicality, and vision.
2. The King of Wands (in some decks): Tarot card representing visionary leadership, boldness, and entrepreneurial spirit.
3. Visionary Leadership: Reflects influential leadership, boldness, and entrepreneurship.
4. Creative Authority: Symbolizes innovative thinking, leadership in creative ventures, and a visionary approach.
5. Entrepreneurial Spirit: Embodies pioneering mindset, leadership skills, and a visionary outlook.

Number 93:

1. Transformational Change: Signifies radical changes, growth, and dynamic shifts.
2. The Five of Pentacles (in some decks): Tarot card representing financial hardship, isolation, and seeking help.
3. Overcoming Adversity: Reflects challenging times, seeking assistance, and perseverance.
4. Recovery from Struggles: Symbolizes resilience, seeking support, and rebuilding after hardships.
5. Adapting to Change: Embodies resilience, overcoming difficulties, and seeking stability.

Number 94:

1. Adaptive Partnerships: Signifies adaptable relationships, cooperation, and flexibility.
2. The Six of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card embodying transition, moving on, and mental healing.
3. Moving Forward: Reflects transitions, leaving behind difficulties, and seeking peace.
4. Mental Healing: Symbolizes mental clarity, emotional peace, and healing from past issues.
5. Transition to Stability: Embodies moving towards peace, seeking resolutions, and finding tranquility.

Number 95:

1. Intuitive Exploration: Signifies intuitive insights, exploration, and heightened awareness.
2. The Seven of Wands (in some decks): Tarot card representing challenges, standing firm, and defending beliefs.
3. Defending Beliefs: Reflects standing your ground, overcoming challenges, and defending principles.
4. Courageous Stand: Symbolizes resilience, determination, and facing opposition with courage.
5. Spiritual Fortitude: Embodies inner strength, resilience, and defending spiritual values.

Number 96:

1. Balanced Adaptation: Signifies adaptability, harmony, and maintaining balance amid change.
2. The Eight of Pentacles (in some decks): Tarot card representing dedication, skill-building, and craftsmanship.
3. Dedicated Efforts: Reflects focused work, dedication, and skill enhancement.
4. Skill Development: Symbolizes honing talents, focused learning, and mastering skills.
5. Steady Progress: Embodies consistent effort, skill improvement, and dedicated craftsmanship.

Number 97:

1. Spiritual Exploration: Signifies spiritual growth, exploration, and inner enlightenment.
2. The Nine of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card embodying anxiety, worry, and mental distress.
3. Overcoming Anxiety: Reflects inner turmoil, worry, and seeking peace of mind.
4. Mental Relief: Symbolizes seeking calmness, alleviating worries, and finding mental solace.
5. Inner Healing: Embodies emotional stability, mental peace, and healing from distress.

Number 98:

1. Resourceful Solutions: Signifies resourceful approaches, adaptability, and innovative strategies.
2. The Ten of Cups (in some decks): Tarot card representing emotional fulfillment, harmony, and family bliss.
3. Harmonious Bonds: Reflects joyous connections, family happiness, and emotional satisfaction.
4. Emotional Fulfillment: Symbolizes contentment, happiness, and a sense of completion.
5. Family Harmony: Embodies familial joy, emotional satisfaction, and harmonious relationships.

Number 99:

1. Innovative Vision: Signifies visionary ideas, creativity, and seeking higher understanding.
2. The Page of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card embodying intellect, curiosity, and new perspectives.
3. Intellectual Curiosity: Reflects seeking knowledge, new ideas, and intellectual exploration.
4. Energetic Communication: Symbolizes clear thinking, direct communication, and new concepts.
5. Exploring New Horizons: Embodies curiosity, embracing new perspectives, and intellectual ventures.

Number 100:

1. Balanced Exploration: Signifies exploration, adaptability, and seeking equilibrium.
2. The Knight of Pentacles (in some decks): Tarot card representing reliability, diligence, and practicality.
3. Steadfast Commitment: Reflects dedication, reliability, and unwavering commitment.
4. Practical Adaptation: Symbolizes adjusting plans, steady progress, and reliability in change.
5. Consistent Progress: Embodies steady growth, adaptable strategies, and reliability in endeavors.

Number 101:

1. Creative Harmony: Signifies creative expression, harmony, and a balanced creative approach.
2. The Queen of Wands (in some decks): Tarot card symbolizing charisma, confidence, and creativity.
3. Creative Confidence: Reflects self-assuredness, creative flair, and passionate expression.
4. Charismatic Leadership: Symbolizes influential leadership, boldness, and creativity in leadership.
5. Inspired Expression: Embodies passionate creativity, confidence, and influential charisma.

Number 102:

1. Stable Independence: Signifies independence, stability, and self-reliance.
2. The King of Cups (in some decks): Tarot card representing emotional maturity, compassion, and leadership.
3. Emotional Stability: Reflects balanced emotions, leadership in emotions, and compassionate authority.
4. Compassionate Leadership: Symbolizes emotional intelligence, balanced leadership, and stable emotions.
5. Steady Guidance: Embodies calm authority, emotional stability, and compassionate leadership.

Number 103:

1. Resourceful Expansion: Signifies expansion, resourcefulness, and growth opportunities.
2. The Ace of Pentacles (in some decks): Tarot card embodying new opportunities, prosperity, and materialization of goals.
3. Material Opportunities: Reflects new beginnings, potential wealth, and fertile ground for growth.
4. Prosperous Ventures: Symbolizes abundance, materializing ideas, and fruitful beginnings.
5. Potential Manifestation: Embodies the potential for success, materialization of goals, and fertile opportunities.

Number 104:

1. Harmonious Creativity: Signifies creative collaborations, balance, and artistic endeavors.
2. The Two of Cups (in some decks): Tarot card representing partnerships, mutual respect, and emotional connections.
3. Harmonious Bonds: Reflects emotional connections, partnerships, and mutual understanding.
4. Collaborative Unity: Symbolizes cooperation, emotional balance, and harmonious relationships.
5. Balanced Partnership: Embodies mutual respect, emotional harmony, and cooperative endeavors.

Number 105:

1. Intuitive Exploration: Signifies intuitive insights, exploration, and heightened awareness.
2. The Three of Wands (in some decks): Tarot card embodying foresight, expansion, and seeking new horizons.
3. Seeking Opportunities: Reflects anticipating growth, expansion, and seeking new possibilities.
4. Expansive Vision: Symbolizes forward-thinking, seeking prospects, and planning for growth.
5. Foresightful Ventures: Embodies anticipation, seeking new paths, and visionary exploration.

Number 106:

1. Balanced Stability: Signifies stability, discipline, and building a solid base.
2. The Four of Cups (in some decks): Tarot card representing apathy, dissatisfaction, and contemplation.
3. Contemplation and Discontent: Reflects introspection, discontentment, and contemplating choices.
4. Seeking Satisfaction: Symbolizes a search for fulfillment, exploring options, and inner reflection.
5. Emotional Reevaluation: Embodies reconsideration, emotional introspection, and seeking contentment.

Number 107:

1. Innovative Communication: Signifies innovative ideas, creativity, and expressing original concepts.
2. The Five of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card embodying conflict, tension, and winning at a cost.
3. Conflict and Resolution: Reflects confrontations, ego clashes, and resolving disputes.
4. Learning from Conflict: Symbolizes understanding losses, valuing lessons, and seeking resolution.
5. Resolving Disagreements: Embodies conflict resolution, compromise, and learning from adversity.

Number 108:

1. Stable Foundation: Signifies stability, security, and a solid foundation.
2. The Six of Cups (in some decks): Tarot card representing nostalgia, childhood memories, and innocence.
3. Nostalgic Reminiscence: Reflects fond memories, innocence, and reconnecting with the past.
4. Emotional Connection: Symbolizes deep emotional bonds, nostalgic experiences, and innocence.
5. Past Reflections: Embodies reminiscing, innocence, and reconnecting with cherished memories.

Number 109:

1. Innovative Ideas: Signifies fresh perspectives, original concepts, and inventive thinking.
2. The Seven of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card representing deception, manipulation, and evasion.
3. Deception and Secrecy: Reflects hidden motives, evading truth, and misleading actions.
4. Seeking Clarity: Symbolizes uncovering deceit, honesty, and seeking truth.
5. Honesty and Transparency: Embodies truthfulness, sincerity, and open communication.

Number 110:

1. Harmonious Stability: Signifies stability, balance, and creating a harmonious environment.
2. The Eight of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card representing restriction, feeling trapped, and limited options.
3. Overcoming Limitations: Reflects feeling constrained, seeking freedom, and finding solutions.
4. Mental Liberation: Symbolizes breaking free from restrictions, seeking alternatives, and mental clarity.
5. Freedom from Restraints: Embodies seeking liberation, overcoming limitations, and finding solutions.

Number 111:

1. Enlightened Guidance: Signifies spiritual wisdom, intuitive insight, and divine guidance.
2. The Nine of Wands (in some decks): Tarot card embodying resilience, endurance, and standing firm.
3. Resilient Persistence: Reflects unwavering determination, resilience, and courage.
4. Strength through Challenges: Symbolizes overcoming adversity, standing tall, and resilience in difficulties.
5. Courageous Resilience: Embodies resilience, persistence, and fortitude in adversity.

Number 112:

1. Balanced Stability: Signifies stability, structure, and balance in all aspects.
2. The Ten of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card representing painful endings, betrayal, and rock bottom.
3. Closure and Renewal: Reflects closure of cycles, painful endings, and readiness for new beginnings.
4. Embracing Change: Symbolizes transformation, releasing pain, and seeking renewal.
5. Transition to Healing: Embodies letting go, embracing change, and healing from pain.

Number 113:

1. Innovative Inspiration: Signifies creative inspiration, intellectual ideas, and forward-thinking.
2. The Page of Pentacles (in some decks): Tarot card embodying new opportunities, practicality, and studiousness.
3. Exploring Opportunities: Reflects new ventures, practical pursuits, and embracing opportunities.
4. Practical Ventures: Symbolizes grounded approaches, new prospects, and exploring possibilities.
5. Curiosity and Learning: Embodies curiosity, embracing knowledge, and seeking practical paths.

Number 114:

1. Adaptive Progress: Signifies adaptability, progress, and flexibility in approach.
2. The Knight of Cups (in some decks): Tarot card representing romantic idealism, creative pursuits, and following dreams.
3. Dreamy Pursuits: Reflects emotional depth, pursuing dreams, and romantic aspirations.
4. Creative Aspirations: Symbolizes creative endeavors, emotional expression, and passionate pursuits.
5. Sentimental Pursuits: Embodies emotional expression, dream chasing, and romantic ideals.

Number 115:

1. Visionary Exploration: Signifies visionary ideas, spiritual quests, and explorative insights.
2. The Queen of Cups (in some decks): Tarot card symbolizing emotional intelligence, compassion, and nurturing stability.
3. Nurturing Empathy: Reflects compassionate care, emotional intelligence, and nurturing support.
4. Intuitive Guidance: Symbolizes heightened intuition, emotional wisdom, and empathetic connections.
5. Emotional Wisdom: Embodies empathy, emotional insight, and nurturing compassion.

Number 116:

1. Stable Authority: Signifies stable leadership, practical wisdom, and authoritative stability.
2. The King of Pentacles (in some decks): Tarot card representing material success, prosperity, and financial security.
3. Financial Stability: Reflects material success, practical wisdom, and financial security.
4. Reliable Leadership: Symbolizes grounded leadership, prosperity, and practical stability.
5. Steadfast Authority: Embodies stability, financial security, and leadership strength.

Number 117:

1. Innovative Knowledge: Signifies unconventional wisdom, unique insights, and visionary intellect.
2. The Ace of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card embodying clarity, truth, and new perspectives.
3. Clarity and Truth: Reflects mental clarity, truth-seeking, and a new viewpoint.
4. Mental Prowess: Symbolizes intellectual strength, clear thinking, and seeking truth.
5. New Beginnings: Embodies fresh starts, mental clarity, and the pursuit of truth.

Number 118:

1. Structural Stability: Signifies stability, organization, and a structured approach.
2. The Two of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card representing indecision, stalemate, and weighing options.
3. Decision-Making Dilemma: Reflects mental conflict, decisions, and weighing choices.
4. Balancing Choices: Symbolizes a need for resolution, balanced decisions, and seeking clarity.
5. Mental Crossroads: Embodies decision-making, seeking clarity, and resolving conflicts.

Number 119:

1. Balanced Partnerships: Signifies balanced relationships, cooperation, and mutual understanding.
2. The Three of Cups (in some decks): Tarot card embodying celebration, friendship, and joyful gatherings.
3. Harmonious Celebrations: Reflects joyful occasions, friendships, and harmonious connections.
4. Friendship and Unity: Symbolizes social bonds, celebration, and mutual happiness.
5. Joyous Relationships: Embodies happy connections, celebrations, and mutual appreciation.

Number 120:

1. Innovative Communication: Signifies innovative ideas, creativity, and expressing original concepts.
2. The Four of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card representing rest, recuperation, and a period of contemplation.
3. Mental Rejuvenation: Reflects recuperation, resting the mind, and seeking mental peace.
4. Contemplative Rest: Symbolizes introspection, mental tranquility, and taking a break.
5. Peaceful Pause: Embodies mental rejuvenation, quiet reflection, and inner calm.

These interpretations offer insight into various aspects of life and situations, aiming to provide diverse perspectives and potential meanings for each card.

chapters 1&2
chapter 3
chapter 4
chapter 5
chapter 6
chapter 7
chapter 8
chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
The lecture was supposed to be on Rationality 101, apparently not for Newcomers only. Serene was there to have her back but G was having a hard time focusing.
The boring black uniform more fitting for a hotel receptionist defaced the godlike beauty standing in front of a huge screen. Gentry couldn’t believe her eyes: this was the man she had her hands on a little while ago?
No, it couldn’t be.
It had been just an avatar, too perfect in its unblemished visage, too pure for this world. Yet the man whose face she remembered as if it was etched on the back of her eyelids, who she’d been constantly thinking about, who her hands itched to snatch, was standing right there, in the flesh.
Back in the dreamy simulated world she caught herself thinking that a trim waist like this couldn’t anatomically work on a human, yet here he was: a towering spread of fit shoulders perfectly balanced above the flexible whip of his midsection. The light-grey eyes that betrayed every movement of his pupils were as real as the ones that reflected the mock moon during her test. Below them lay the sharp slope of the cheekbones one could cut themselves on.
The only thing a bit different, apart from the outfit choice, was the young god’s hair. In the simulation, it was flowing and probably too long to be practical. This person’s mane was much shorter and fell down his neck in a neat ponytail, tastefully tamed with a single hairpin.
She had to get her hands on this treasure.
He was making last minute preparations for the lecture, looking through the papers on the desk, dark strands framing his face, light grey eyes sharp in careful concentration.
Professor Q, huh.
He said this was his name, and so did the note on the lecture hall door.
She was sure it was the man who had melted in her arms making the most delicious sounds a male throat could produce.
Had he recognised her?
Unlikely.
At the time of the simulation session, she didn’t have a camera that could pick up her facial features but just to be on the safe side, she decided to go by “G” in his class. There were bound to be lots of people with a name starting with a G, right? What would be the odds it was this particular newcomer that Q had tested that would end up in his class?
The man finally lifted his eyes at the audience and a gentle smile momentarily graced his features before disappearing as if he didn’t see someone he’d expected to.
The holoboard on the wall behind him obediently lit up following his nonchalant gesture. Gentry found it annoying that one needed a pair of special glasses to see all the augmented reality stuff and really navigate the city but again, with Sereen’s help she had more or less gotten used to it in the couple of days she had to deal with the necessities like settling down, getting food and finding her way around Ashtapada.
Still, could they use a piece of chalk or, at least, a marker to write on the board? No need to show off your Fully Automated Luxury Space Communism tech just to write a couple of notes on the board!
On second thought, high-tech-crazy or not, if this city brought up men like this one, she would definitely do her best to stay here to… reap the benefits!
They took a desk next to a huge clear floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked the winter garden.
“Professor Q seems a little distracted today,” Sereen said, swiftly tapping a couple of buttons on G’s wrist to show her how to confirm that she was attending the lecture. “He’s usually much more chatty and friendly. I wonder what got into him.”
“Is he?” Gentry responded with an artificial air of indifference. “I just hope he’s more open to a discussion than that Poe guy.”
“He is! And Professor Poe isn’t that bad,” Sereen reprimanded before chuckling a little — since his little secret became known to students, he became known as Holopoe. “Just wait and see, it’s gonna be a blast. Q’s lectures are always very engaging.”
It proved to be utter bullshit.
After fiddling with the symbols on the interactive screen for ten minutes into the class, students getting more and more agitated behind his back, the lecturer seemed to give up. Turning back to the audience, he absentmindedly nodded to a couple of people in the lecture hall and sighed with a painfully fake smile.
“For today’s class, we are going to need to read a certain extract from a book,” he said, tone apologetic for some reason, but it solidified G’s conviction that she already knew this person. “I’ve just sent it to each of your wristcomms. We’ll have some quiet time and read it by ourselves, alright?”
“Reading from the comm?” Sereen mumbled to herself. “Couldn’t he just print them out?”
The rest of the students’ grumbles showed that they shared her disappointment. Q could only hopelessly smile again before returning to his work on the board.
Reading from the little semi-transparent screens was indeed torture. Quickly giving up on trying to awkwardly use gestures for scrolling through the text, she looked out of the window to entertain herself with the garden outside. From the modest height they were sitting at, the people below were quite discernible, partly hidden by the greenery, spread here and there in small groups and pairs. Gentry longed to be there, too. What was the use of being here with the most attractive person in the whole world if the only thing she could see was his back?
Well, the back didn’t look half bad, if she was honest, and what was below also pleased the eye.
But still. It would soon bore even the most easily entertained.
Her gaze fell to a small clearing where a lone male figure was sitting, writing something in a notebook. By the looks of it, the notebook was a real paper-made thing without the bells and whistles usual for Ashtapada. The next thing G noticed was a pair of slender legs, barefoot, stretched to dip the toes into the clear water of the artificial stream.
God bless the urban designers of this place!
The figure lifted the head and in an inconceivably graceful motion, swung the long blond bangs away from the face.
G straightened her back. Was it... Ok, maybe Q was the most handsome man she’d seen in her life but this... This was the younger boy she’d noticed a couple of days back, the one in a plaid skirt, shamelessly flirting with everyone within reach. Today, he wasn’t wearing one but the blue jeans hugging his thighs, rolled up almost to the knees, presented a picture just as tantalizing. Even with the hair was a completely different colour, even though the half-up, half-down style kept his face hidden, she was absolutely certain it was the same person.
Just you wait, young beauty, as soon as this “lecture” was over, your princess in shining armour was coming to pick you up!
Suddenly snapping out of the dull weariness, she turned on the auglasses S helped her obtain earlier and tapped away on her comm screen.
What a chance to give the local text sharing feature a go!
“The garden is pretty, but with a blossom like you, it is truly breathtaking. I wonder if anyone has picked this sweet flower or if anyone dares to,” she typed a cheesy note and folded the message into a neat 3D figurine of an origami paper crane with her fingers in the air.
Was S watching? Screw it, even if she was, she couldn’t read the message with her glasses off, right?
Carefully aiming the device at the lone figure, she launched the crane downwards, and it fluttered like a weightless butterfly in spirals, through the glass and right into the young man’s lap, not disturbing the notebook pages. He started at first at the intrusion but then turned his own glasses on and unfolded the message. A shy smile appeared on his plump lips, and he looked flattered, turning his head around to see if the sender was in sight. Catching no one, he typed something below the initial message and deftly folded it back into a crane that, to G’s surprise, flew directly at her, in uneven spirals along the wall. The man traced it with a smile, propping himself back on his arms, his whole slim body and face on full display now.
God, was he good-looking.
Easily passing the physical border of the glass again, the crane crashed into Gentry’s wristcomm, dutifully delivering the message and betraying her tactical position at the same time. An amused kind of surprise showed on the young man’s face and he waved at her to show that she had been exposed. She waved back, trying to look nonchalant but probably failing miserably.
Very smooth, G, way to go.
The message read, “Is a flower only good for looking at? Not this one.”
Oooh, this boy was playing with fire!
“Hey, G,” Sereen nudged. “Have you finished reading?”
“Mm? Oh, yeah.” Gentry lied easily. She had skimmed the first couple of paragraphs and was sure she’d be able to come up with something if asked.
“Done everybody?” the deep gentle voice called from the holoboard and G’s attention snapped back to the dignified face.
The class murmured affirmatively.
“I’m sorry today’s lecture isn’t as fun as usual,” he admitted. “I must say I’m still unsure how to approach such complex topic as this one. But with your help, I hope we’ll figure it out.”
Everyone seemed to perk up.
“You just read an extract on paradoxes,” Q went on. “And you might be wondering why we are raising a philosophical topic on a rational thinking course.”
“There you go,” Sereen whispered. “He’s back to normal!”
G humphed. This did seem interesting. Was it a good idea to read the extract after all?
Q continued, “In the text, you might have encountered the definition of a paradox. Would anyone explain it with their own words?”
A raised hand and the lecturer’s nod brought some courageous soul to their feet.
“It’s when you start with the correct premises, use consistent logic but wind up with an impossible conclusion,” they said. “There are three types: falsidical, veridical and antimony-type, which are...”
“Correct,” Q smiled and nodded the person back down. It was a smile worth starting a thousand wars over.
“Now there’s a reason why I asked you to read about them. Why do you think people have been fascinated with paradoxes for such a long time?”
S raised her hand and received a kind invitation.
“I might be wrong,” she said. “But it seems that they point at the limitations of our thinking, things that seem rational but in fact aren’t. We feel that with our all-conquering logic we can solve any puzzle but it’s not always the case. Right?”
“This is very insightful,” the teacher confirmed. “It is believed by many that what’s rational is true and therefore what rationality cannot explain must be false.”
“I definitely know someone who would die on that hill,” Gentry grumbled under her breath.
“I’m sorry?” Q asked. “Is there something you wanted to add... sorry, I don’t know your name?”
Still half mad with professor Poe, Gentry stood up. “It’s G, I’m a Newcomer. I was saying how a human mind can fool itself into thinking it knows what it looks at as long as it makes sense. But in reality, it’s not there, like the sky.”
That was the only thing she remembered from that last lecture! She felt the tips of her ears heat up but the kind and considering look on Q’s face showed her gamble paid off.
“These are very insightful observations, G, why don’t we try exploring them together?” — he waived her to sit down and turned back to the class — “Five minutes to discuss how paradoxes might reveal the weaknesses of rational thinking. Send your answers to the board when you’re done.”
“Whoa, daring as usual,” Sereen smiled. “I knew you’d enjoy his class.”
“Now, consider these two questions,” Q said to another student who stood up at his hand wave. “If an unstoppable force meets an indestructible object, what is going to happen?”
The person seemed to contemplate it for a while and the teacher didn’t rush him.
“Isn’t it one of those which are impossible to solve because the existence of the one automatically disproves the existence of the other?”
Q nodded, “Correct. The second one about the barber in a small town is of the same sort. Sereen?”
S stood up too, “The one that shaves all and only men that don’t shave themselves?”
“Yes,” he confirmed. “At first, a premise like this seems perfectly reasonable, doesn’t it?”
“It does,” S responded, somewhat rashly. “But it’s clear that a barber like this cannot exist.”
“Wait, really?” Gentry whispered as Q nodded in satisfaction and urged her friend to go on.
“Yes, if we ask ourselves if this barber shaves himself. If he doesn’t, then he is part of the group which he does shave that do not shave themselves, but if he is in this group, then he does shave himself which makes it impossible for him to be this barber by definition.”
While the rest of the class was catching up with the logic, Q’s smile got only wider, more inviting.
“What does it tell us about the nature of the premise then?” he asked.
“That although it seems that it sounds logical on the surface, it is in fact nonsense and we don’t even need to hear the rest of the riddle to discard it completely,” S concluded.
The man chuckled.
“Well, I wouldn’t be that brash, to be honest, but on balance, you’re right,” he said. “If you stay after the lecture, I might recommend a couple of books on the topic. Your Newcomer friend is welcome to stay, too.”
G put up the best of the aloof fronts, “I’d be happy to, Professor.”
“Q is fine,” he smiled again and went on addressing the rest of the class that immediately exploded into a heated discussion.
***
“Basically, what I think we’re supposed to learn from this,” S concluded after a while, standing up so that everyone could hear her. “Is that before applying rationality, we have to make sure that all the premises we are dealing with are in fact realistic. Otherwise, there is no way rational thinking will help us.”
“Excellently put, as always,” Q applauded. “I’d love to see if everyone agrees or has something else to add to the discussion but our time is up. Feel free to write me a letter with your reflections on the topic.”
As interesting as the class was, the urge to leave the premises as soon as the teacher dismissed everyone seemed to be universal and applicable even to the Ashtapadans.
“I have to go now,” Sereen said. “Text you later, ok?” And with a reciprocal nod to Q, disappeared in the doors, joining the rest of the students.
Sadly, she couldn’t recall what they were talking about after the lecture, nor what titles Professor recommended for some home reading. She just hoped she didn’t make a fool of herself.
What Gentry did remember though was that after Q left as well and she came up to the panoramic window, Sereen and the mysterious flower boy were leaving the garden together. And it was hard not to notice that her new friend took off her wristcomm before they took off, and hid it in the tall grass.

I'm working on a story and want to use a painting as symbolism but I'm having a hard time finding a painting that shares the symbolism in the story. For just some background, the character in my story is being stalked by a creature in the woods and he slowly loses his grasp on reality and begins to revert to his old ways.
Btw I love art history and was so happy when I found this Reddit group

The night was bone-chillingly cold. The slightest whisper of a breeze nipped at my exposed ears and drafted unpleasantly within my overly large winter coat. The black, barren trees stood unmoving like sentinels bearing ominously down upon either side of the sleet-slick street, which was lit only by dim street lamps that, other than creating a dull yellow reflection on the otherwise unlit pavement, seemed to do nothing against the oppressing dark of this fateful December night.
I had passed through a wrought iron gate twenty minutes before, the gate that separated a cozy subdivision from this eerie, undeveloped stretch of road that seemed to be dropped in the middle of the forest. I could think only of my warm, lively hearth and a nice, hot cup of tea between my palms, which now, instead of being pressed against warm porcelain, were being stabbed by my untrimmed fingernails as I tightened my fist onto the leash and plunged the other still deeper into my coat.
This night was the culmination of weeks of investigation on a missing person’s case turned sour. A man named Arthur Smith had reported his four daughters missing, then hung himself three days later when we couldn’t find anything. Oddly, Arthur’s body went missing from the morgue shortly after. The only trace left was an incredible amount of flies, and we were displeased to see that every drawer was leaking a mixture of blood and embalming fluid because the refrigerant pipes burst. When we opened them up, the neck of every corpse had been slit.
Eventually, through good detective work, we were able to connect some dots, and that led us to where we were now: We were now on a manhunt for a suspect that was last seen at a gas station about a mile up the road, not two hours earlier. We checked a network of cameras to see that he had headed for the woods, grabbed the hounds, and here we were.
My colleagues and I were spread around in different parts of the forest with the police force’s seven bloodhounds. I got stuck with Old Ben, the force’s droopiest and most seasoned canine. He was partially blind and notorious for not obeying commands. He didn’t even respond to a dog whistle, which was why some of my colleagues thought his hearing was shot. I doubted this theory, though, because sure enough, when somebody whispered the word “biscuit,” Old Benny perked up and started wagging his tail.
Another ten minutes found Old Benny and I at the end of the once seemingly endless street, with the streetlamps and pavement stopping abruptly at the edge of the woods, which had not entirely swallowed up a bulldozer. Old Ben stopped and sniffed the air for a moment, then plunged down a path in the woods to our right. It was a dirt path, not two feet wide, overgrown and partially washed out, making it an unpleasant and muddy journey from here on out.
…
My flashlight was now the only source of light illuminating our way. Its beam slid over roots and rocks that jutted out of the path at odd angles and briefly swept over the nearest trees, bringing them out of the shadow for a moment. I felt claustrophobic as they bore down upon me and upon the path. The only sound was my deep breathing, my sloppy footsteps, and Benny’s blundering in the mud about ten feet in front of me.
The path turned in such a way that I could see faint moonlight up ahead, but a cloud soon covered the moon and removed the slight comfort its light had provided. I continued following the curve of the path, and pointed my flashlight up ahead. Suddenly, everything was pitch black, as my flashlight had just gone out without a flicker. I was especially annoyed because firstly, I had just replaced the batteries earlier that week, and secondly, I caught a glimpse of the dark outline of what seemed to be a small cottage up ahead, which was now invisible in the darkness.
To my surprise, Benny stopped as soon as the light went out, which made it easy for me to replace the batteries with the ones that I always carried around in my service belt. To my dismay, Benny did not continue walking when the light flickered back on, even when I started tugging on his leash. He simply sat in the mud and peered at the cottage in the distance, which I knew for a fact he couldn’t see. The cottage was incredibly run down, but I couldn’t see much more, as it was just at the edge of my flashlight beam.
I began feeling uneasy when Benny started whimpering and backing away, tail between his legs. Our dogs were trained to bark when they found something, not stand still, and certainly not whine and back away. Old Ben had never been a skittish animal; I had never seen him act like this before. I peered back at the cottage, suspecting something more sinister than I was originally prepared for.
I tied Benny loosely around a nearby tree, so he could pull away if need be, pulled out my handgun, and continued on. Not fifteen seconds later, I was hit with the smell of blood and wet dog, and heard whimpering to my left. I told Benny to stay, and turned to find him where I left him, about twenty yards behind me, looking at me like I was insane. I bent down and examined the source of the noise, only to find one of our bloodhounds laying just off the path and covered in a mixture of mud and its own blood. It was missing its hind legs and was shivering badly. I cursed and dispatched it with a quick slit with my utility knife, then unclipped its collar and stuffed it into my pocket before turning away. I did not want to alert the suspect of my position. I grew worried about the location of my colleagues, as our dogs were trained not to run off. I also wondered what kind of predator would have taken only the hind legs of an animal. I tried not to think about it as I continued on.
As the cottage grew nearer, I was able to make out a few broken windows reflecting my light back at me. Through these I was able to see that the inside of the cottage was pitch black, the darkest black I had ever seen. I walked closer still, and I couldn’t stop looking into the darkness of the cottage. The darkness was so potent it seemed to be spilling over the window sill into the crisp night air. I felt consumed. My heart began pounding within my chest, and I felt colder than ever as I stepped toward the gravel path that led around to the left of the cottage. The sudden change in surface and the sound of my feet crunching upon the gravel seemed to break my trance, and I shuddered.
I didn’t know why I had felt so trapped, and I didn’t like it. Something was definitely wrong with this situation, and my feelings of dread intensified as I followed the gravel path around to the front of the cottage.
A dripping noise interrupted my thoughts and temporarily washed the dread from my mind. I paused. I determined it was coming from the direction I was headed, but I couldn’t see the front door yet as the porch was draped with ivy. I was suddenly hit with the putrid smell I knew all too well: the smell of death. It hit my nostrils like a truck and returned my feelings of dread all at once. I shined my beam to the front steps.
There was a dark, red liquid trickling gently down the steps, pooling under the porch: blood. I looked up onto the front porch, now visible, and saw the torso of a man hanging from his neck about three feet away from the front door. His legs were nowhere to be seen, though there was a blood trail leading into the house, and his glistening entrails swayed sickeningly with the light breeze. Blood was pooling below him, trickling down the steps, and down through the cracks in the porch. It had begun coagulating, and dark swirling orbs rotated in the puddle each time a drop splashed down. I looked up again at the carcass and recognized the man as our suspect. There was frost beginning to form at the edges of his mouth and over his glassy eyes, but his exposed entrails were still steaming. Furthermore, the blood dripping from his wound was still deep red in color. The back of my neck prickled and I knew this man had not been hanging for very long. No, not very long at all.
I raised my pistol and nudged the front door open. I was again hit with the smell of death, though now much stronger, so strong I could scarcely draw breath. The inside of the cottage was unbelievably dank, and the darkness seemed to eat the quivering beam of light I pointed out in front of me, so I couldn’t see ten feet forward.
I heard a sharp crack and I bolted my gaze to my feet. I had just stepped on a human rib. Suddenly the cottage came alive with creaking and shuffling. I heard flies buzzing all around me. I heard a raspy rushing noise to my right. I shined my flashlight to where I thought the noise was coming from, but all I saw was a bloodstained floor and darkness out in front of me. I took a step toward the noise, and the beam of light revealed the glistening mangled corpse of a man, missing most of his skin, hunched in the corner of the cottage. His whole torso was heaving, and I saw the rushing noise was coming from the base of his throat, where a large gash was opening and closing with every breath, spraying flecks of fluid. Maggots wriggled out of his wound, and black purge fluid trickled from his soupy eye sockets, his missing nose, and his gaping mouth. He was missing most of his teeth, and one of his cheeks was rotted through.
I was frozen in place with fear, until, to my horror, the man’s mangled arm rose and reached out to me. At this I aimed and put a bullet through his partially exposed skull, splattering a putrid mist on the wall behind him. Instead of slumping over, as I prayed he would, the man slowly levitated into an upright position as though controlled by a puppeteer. Skin began regrowing around his legs, his torso, and eventually his skull, which sprouted two bloody horns out of his forehead. This being had the likeness of Arthur Smith, though I sensed it was no longer him. I placed two rounds into his torso, and the being staggered, but the bullet wounds simply closed with sickening squelching sounds. I backed away slowly, and he simply stood in the corner and leered at me with burning black eyes and a disconcerting grin.
I continued to back away slowly, placing one more round between his eyes. His head jerked back, but still it healed and he seemed unbothered. I bolted around and headed for the door. I jerked the handle but it wouldn't budge. I tried kicking it down, which was something I was very practiced at, but still, the rotten oak planks held fast against my will. I turned around, back against the door, firearm at the ready, and stared into the blackness. Everything was quiet once again. Despite the temperature, cold sweat beaded upon my brow and dribbled down my neck.
Suddenly I felt a rumbling that seemed to come from the very depths of the Earth. A splitting and splintering sound came from what I presumed was the center of the cottage, and I was soon showered with bits of wood and stone that nicked my exposed skin and drew droplets of blood. I noticed my back was no longer pressed against the back of the door, though I was not moving. The floor seemed to be carrying me slowly in the direction of the noise. I was frozen in place, and found that I could not change my trajectory.
My flashlight beam found the edge of a large hole in the floor. I saw dark, root-like tendrils sprout from the hole and rush across the floor with the sound of scraping and splintering. They then returned to the hole, and they had within their grasp six bare human bodies, which I horrifically realized were those of my now former colleagues. I watched in horror as their pale naked bodies were folded, torn, ripped, and broken in the churning earth. The sound of tearing flesh and cracking bone was deafening and filled the darkness of the cottage. The mass of mangled flesh formed into one chunky, glistening mound in the center of the hole. It began pulsing and rising, and horrible screams rang in my ears. I watched in horror as the mass formed a humanoid figure that rose up ten feet out of the hole and bent over against the ceiling. It was facing away from me, but its raspy voice seemed to mix seamlessly with the screams directly in my ears.
“The churning of earth, the tearing of flesh, the cracking of bone”
At this it let out a booming laugh that reverberated in my skull and shook the foundation of the building. The cottage once again came alive, but now more than ever before. Shutters were opening and closing, floorboards were rattling, flies swarmed in a huge mass around and around the room, blocking the beam of my flashlight and obscuring my view of the figure. I felt my legs quiver along with the rest of the cottage. I looked down at a red book with its pages fluttering in the still air. I dove for it and slammed it shut, and the cottage grew still. I paused for a moment, but the giant figure began turning towards me. I bolted around to see that the door was now open, but the hung corpse was clinging to the top of the door frame, now very much alive. Its entrails were still swinging freely from its short leap, and the rope lay severed and frayed upon the ground.
I paced towards the door, dumping the rest of my magazine into the corpse, which to my relief fell to the ground with a squelch. I hopped over the body and sprinted out the front door, away from the cottage, down the dirt path. I could still hear the screams of the damned faintly in the distance, and the earth began rumbling once again underneath my feet. I continued running back along the path, trying not to think about what I had witnessed. I paused for a moment to catch my breath, and shivered in the now relentless sleet.
The pounding of the earth became the distant rumble of thunder in the distance. By the time I had gotten back to the paved road, I was soaked to the bone in cold sweat and freezing rain, and I was covered up to my thighs in mud from the path. My coat was snagged and torn in places from the splinters of wood and from branches along the path.
When I finally got back to my car, I saw a leash leading underneath it, and found Old Ben, crouched below, tail between his legs. I scooped him up and plopped him in the passenger seat, entirely disregarding the former cleanliness of my car, as it was now covered in mud and dog hair. I cranked up the heat and sped off towards the station to report what I had witnessed.
…
We never did find that cottage again. Other guys went back to where I was and failed to find the path, but they did find the dismembered bodies of my colleagues hidden under the bulldozer at the end of the street. I was charged with the deaths of my colleagues and was thrown into a mental institute, but I don’t mind it much. There are people here that are far more insane than I am. The worst part is my occasional perception of a distant rumbling, and during thunderstorms I’m a whimpering mess.
I have been disciplined three times for writing symbols on the walls that I can’t get out of my head. I draw them in my blood so they stand out more and resemble what I see. I have found that once they are on the wall, they stay out of my head. Unfortunately, I haven’t finished writing them all out yet. The first time I started I got really close to finishing, but then I found myself strapped to a hospital bed.
The worst part of my new existence is the nightmares. I am plagued by images of my former colleagues: their pale dismembered bodies, the sound of cracking bone, their blood on my hands, their shrieks of pain, and the taste of flesh.

Today’s one page challenge is for The City in the Clouds by J.B. Williams. Finally, a requested challenge, rather than the usual cycle of me finding a story and the person being triggered that I did so. At 234 pages and a whopping price tag of $20.99 for a paperback, it’s a wonder why it looks untouched. Flip some burgers for an hour to pay for this… whatever it is. I was told the editor is good, so let’s see how he gummed up the works.
The rules of the one page challenge are simple: I go through the first page of the book(about 300 words or 3 paragraphs) and say where the average reader would stop. These reviews are short, sweet, and to the point (unlike most of these books). The main things we look for are things like tension, a hint at the plot existing, good feng shui, a feeling like the blurb is accurate, a lack of obfuscation, and the story fulfilling its role as a story. As we go along, I’ll explain why readers love or hate certain elements and we’ll see what straws break the camel’s back.
The title, The City in the Clouds, makes me think of fantasy, but it’s meant to be sci-fi. Clouds symbolize knowledge beyond our reach or something like daydreaming, treated as water in air(mystery in knowledge). Saying the title this way makes it seem like the focus is the city itself, which would be cool if it was something like a dystopian or utopian story. Maybe a tech noir or detective story, but… it’s not. This story is actually about a woman, and it’s a comedy, completely conflicting with the genre in two ways.
I didn’t want to say this but Huston… we’re already having problems.
The ebook cover is a drawing of curly haired woman staring at the camera like she’s constipated, while the paperback version is of an anime girl holding a gun and looking like she has diarrhea. Both versions have her in a suit, with a giant gas planet behind her. Both have similar fonts for the title and name, but the ebook version is so blurred and darkened that it reads like a secret message; the physical version being slightly less blurry. If I saw this on a shelf, I wouldn’t recognize this as a book or know what it was called. I find it strange because the back of the book is very clear, given a blue box for clarity, and has a sun with a red sky that would have made more sense than these frumpy women.
I guess the title and name are made illegible because we’re supposed to zoom our eyes straight to the blurb:

Robin Alia Brook is considered a loser. She works at customer service for one of the largest companies in humanity's interstellar empire, gets stood up on dates, and accidentally kills people. Then when her ex-online boyfriend gives her the winning vacation lottery ticket to the famed habitat, The City of Clouds, she reluctantly accepts it.
Upon arrival, she is greeted by the massive, beautiful gas giant Bellona, and all the glamour and prospects of expansion for the famous habitat. And it is the beginning of a celebration, too! For the election of the new habitat captain! But the celebration and vacation are ruined when pirates attack, seeking the captain's riches.
They are ruthless, they are bloodthirsty, and they won't stop until they get what they want. Unfortunately for the pirates, Robin is really good at accidentally killing people, and with her is a rag tag team of a pilot recruit, an egotistical journalist, a veteran photographer, and the captain himself.
It will be a long battle for The City of Clouds, and the outcome is unknown, but one thing is certain... This is the worst vacation ever.

Slight grammar issues here and there, but most wouldn’t notice that “ex-online boyfriend” would mean the boyfriend was online and not anymore. The delivery is a little bouncy, almost appropriate, but doesn’t give much tone from how much info it tries to cram in. Something I noticed is that very little sci-fi is mentioned, with the only thing giving a sci-fi vibe being the idea of traveling to another planet. If this was a vacation to an island, very little would change from how it’s described. Like the title and name on the cover, a lot of what makes this book a book is hidden from us, in plain sight.
At this point, the average reader would probably not give it a shot, unless the idea of pirates and an ironic Die Hard premise is their cup of tea.
No prologue, no maps, no glossary, just a simple chapter 1 to greet us. Ok, I’m liking this already. I know this is a small thing, but the simplicity of just starting a story is a blessing that should be the norm, and isn’t. I haven’t read a single word and this is already the best OPC so far. Yes, it’s that easy.
Don’t ruin the experience with all your fancy try-hard nonsense and the reader will be in hog heaven.
We are told the planet, sector, system, and date. Very effective in establishing the sci-fi element in this single aside, which also lets us know it’s 400 years in the future. The planet is named Andromeda, which is a well known galaxy, so if this is in that galaxy, I assume it’s going for a “New York, New York” type of gag. The editor did a good job, with the first page establishing a scene in a restaurant. What he messed up on was… everything that’s not the scene itself, which makes up 90% of the words.
The protagonist, Robin Alia Brook has her day off described as “shot in the face”, being delivered in present tense and this has it come out awkwardly. I say this because the second sentence is past tense, then it shifts back to present, back to past. This is why people stick with past tense to avoid the headache, and present tense is now used as a hipster novelty to act as if things are more important because they’re happening as they’re written. Most readers just find it as a distraction and it causes something niche to become more niche in the process. The first paragraph ends with us being told that she’s in a restaurant that is 500 feet under the sea, of a planet called Andromeda.
She is to be dining, but she is NOT dining because her date didn’t show. Cue the audience gasping, because this is a travesty. The part that really kills this opening is the sentence “She is currently obtaining nutrients through Poseidon's generous supply of free lemons water and cheesy garlic biscuits.” This was the perfect chance for worldbuilding, to express something futuristic and fresh. Instead, it tied itself to Earth, talked about mundane food like lemon water, and it didn’t use any of these for a punchline.
This is meant to be a comedy, but is absent of comedy. We don’t need a bunch of humor in the first paragraph, but we do expect a comedy to present a tone that can lead to humor occurring. Every scene for a comedy is a setup for gags and punchlines. Much like horror, the scene is built around the mood, which is brought to a peak around half way. The introduction of a comedy book is going to hold a joke in relation to the entire book.
I believe the blurb when it says this Robin character can kill things by accident, because this book dies right after she’s introduced, around the second paragraph. The third paragraph changes the subject to be about other people in the restaurant, acting as a distraction that leads to infodumps of Robin’s outfit and such. I understand that the “joke” is that this woman is stood up on her date and we are to feel her anguish, but the reader shouldn’t be suffering through the opening this soon. Starting here is either far too late or far too soon. If anything, this is something I expect in chapter 2 or something we hear about as she’s on her way to Bellona.
A good way to put it is that this scene is a non-sequitur done in order to give fashion statements, with the important exposition ignored for window dressing.
The average reader needs tension to get sunk into a sci-fi story, because this is a planet we don’t know about with a character we’ve never seen before. What is the point of having this restaurant so deep underwater? There is a city underwater? She has a job, but where does she work? At the Krusty Krab?
Non-sequitur is a distraction that removes us from the scene and the plot to explain things that don’t serve a purpose to either. If I changed the first sentence to only hold what was part of the scene, it would be the characters name and nothing more. To strengthen an opening like this, we would have to set it up for a punchline, reinforce the sardonic tone, and tie the scene with the situation. The first sentence would go like:

Five hundred feet below the sea’s surface, Robin could not stop drinking.

This will give the impression that she’s getting drunk, while attaching her drinking to the sea outside, giving the impression that she’s drowning. But even then, I wouldn’t start here, I would begin with a comedic amount of assurance that she’s going to have her date show up, then the next scene is her waiting with this. That, or I would have her doing the walk of shame, allowing the plot to begin sooner when she gets her golden ticket, which would be like:

The ocean floor outside was slowly swallowed by darkness as the elevator pod took Robin away from Poseidon.

Here, we have a moment for her to think back to the situation, and the word “darkness” gives hint to her current feeling about the restaurant. This is a setup for the punchline that follows, already skipping the failed date and able to move forward to the poster she sees in the elevator. Movies tend to do this type of exposition with the main character telling the situation to another person, who is helpless to escape. That can add more humor and make the main character express their personality quirks. The goal is for less opening to be used up for non-sequitur and to focus it on moving forward in relation to the plot.
For a story like this, the rejection comes from a lack of being straightforward. We can always fix up a sentence and how it sounds, but this doesn’t mean much when the bones are disjointed. Thankfully, for this one, a lot of readers are used to openings like this from online serials, so there is hope that a lot of it will get a pass. It’s that first hump that it has to get over in order to shine. Sadly, for little Robin, that hump was not achieved, so her journey through the city in the cloud might as well not exist.

To slightly expand on the title, is there any worse feeling in this game than one of your wonderkids turning 22, meaning you can finally see some of their hidden attributes, and they don't just dislike, but full on red symbol hate big matches?
To know you can't rely on them when it counts is so frustrating.

I watched a really great and long documentary regarding hidden occult symbology a few years back - maybe 4-5 years. If I recall correctly, it was largely pictures and maybe not a ton of talking but was extremely interesting.
A lot of the focus was on symbols and esoteric shapes being mapped out in big cities like Washington DC. It didn't really give a bigger a larger conspiracy, it was just pointing out all the symbology that is right in front of us.
I keep thinking it was called "Hidden in Plain Sight" but I can't find anything using that name.
Does anyone have any recollection of this or a link to it?
I would greatly appreciate watching it again.

PART 1:

 Every town has their own version of “The Boogeyman”. A monster, cryptid, phantom, whatever you want to call it, it’s all essentially the same thing- just a scary story they tell kids in an attempt to get them to behave. An urban legend is just a life lesson disguised as a horror story after all. For us folk living up in the tiny and once prosperous gold-mining town of Trillium, ours was known simply as The Locust Man. Now, let me start by saying, I realize how ridiculous that name must sound to you. “The Locust Man”?? Pftt…What’s he do, besides get stuck in the grill of someone’s pick-up truck. Destroy some crops? Oooh, he sounds real scary... yeah, I know. But yet, as I sit here today 20 years after the fact - a grown woman who’s wiser, stronger, and even more grounded in reality than she was at 12, I still hesitate to even write down that name. 

As a young child I had always thought it to be a little weird that our town was called Trillium, considering I had never seen a single one growing there. If you don’t know, a trillium is a small flower, usually white but they come in other color varieties as well, with three pedals and a bright yellow center. They sort of look like if you took a lily and tore off every other pedal playing “He loves me, he loves me not”. In school, about 2nd grade or so, we were taught everything about this elusive flower I’d never seen in real life, and told how proud our town was to be named after it. Trillium, Colorado was established in 1922 - A new town born in the wake of a great tragedy which befell the town that had previously sat in the same location. For us, and those that came before us, the trillium was supposed to be a symbol of hope. Knowing all that I know now, that sentiment almost makes me want to laugh - in a morbid way.

 Growing up in a small, mostly isolated town, there really wasn’t much for a kid to do. You’d have to drive 45 minutes to get to the closest mall and movie theater. The high school kids would usually all hang out at the roller rink downtown or at the old run-down burger joint called Slim’s that sat across it. But at that age, I wasn’t allowed to go hang out there by myself yet and for me, going with my parents tagging along wasn’t an option I was open to. My neighborhood was on a long dead end road leading up to a large patch of woods that separated the main part of town from the abandoned mine. The old trail the miners used was still accessible up until a point, and so me and the other kids from my street would hang out in those woods all the time. We had a “secret spot” which was, what we thought at the time, about half way through the woods, 10 steps away from a small shallow creek that pretty much ran the length of the area. Rain Creek, we called it. There was a small clearing there, and we had created our own little clubhouse using old milk crates as supports, half- broken wooden pallets as walls, along with some old lawn chairs one of the neighbors was throwing out one day. I made my contribution by bringing a tarp we had in our basement that served as the roof of our establishment. Our parents didn’t love the idea of five 10 to 12 year olds running around in the woods by ourselves, but as long as we stayed within earshot and made it back before the streetlights came on, they probably figured it was safer than us being across town galavanting unsupervised. 

It was me, Lacey, Devin, Mikey and Michelle. We were all best friends - pretty much inseparable, except the boys weren’t invited to the girls’ sleepovers and vise versa. Everyday after school, we’d get dropped off by the bus at the very beginning of our road, and it was a running joke between the Rain Street Gang (as we liked to call ourselves) for all of us to try and run off the bus as quickly as possible, while me, Lacey and Devin would all yell in unison ‘Last two home are some rotten eggs!!’, as Mikey and Michelle tried to push past us to get a head start. The aforementioned two were siblings, and lived in the very last house on our row right next to the woods, so they’d always get home last, regardless of their efforts. Although, the year that Mikey got a pair of Heelys for Christmas he finally got his edge over the rest of us, leaving Michelle to be the lone “rotten egg” until the next summer when one of his wheels broke off. The whole point of it all was just to get home and get our chores and homework done as fast as possible, so we could meet up at Mikey and Michelle’s house with enough daylight left to make our trek into the woods and back - together as a group. All five of us had made a pact to never visit the clubhouse without all members present, although us girls always had a sneaking suspicion that the boys thought themselves exempt from that rule. They, after all, were the ones that had discovered the spot in the first place, and not to mention, did most of the physical labor of dragging our provisions out there. Me and Lacey initially only heard about the spot a day after the boys found it; Michelle had walked into Mikey’s room in the middle of him and Devin talking about it, and immediately relayed the message to us. Michelle wasn’t necessarily more loyal to the girls than the boys, she was just the youngest among us and honestly couldn’t resist blurting out any mildly relevant information she thought she might have, in an effort to be included. But in that regard, if the boys had ever gone out there on their own, they would’ve had to be extremely sneaky about it, because Michelle’s number one objective in life was to gather any piece of intel she could. It was a seemingly normal Saturday morning when we learned our suspicions about the boys may have been warranted.
I had slept over at Lacey’s house the night before. We had just woken up and were still sitting on her bed discussing our possible plans for the day, when Michelle busted through the door with a look on her face that immediately told us she had finally gotten a hold of some juicy information, before she could even open her mouth to stutter out, “You-you-you guyssss, guess w-w-what!?!” Lacey gestured the nail file that was in her hand toward her, raising her eyebrows bluntly as Michelle tried to catch her breath. “So… Devin came to sleep over last night, annnnnd I was pretending to go to the bathroom so I could spy on them. Seeeeee, I was supposed to be sleeping but I -“ “Ughh come on Michelle, get to it! What’d you hear?” Lacey snapped “Ughh okay okay. So, I heard the boys talking, anddddd…. they’re planning to go explore the old mine today!!” “Alright Michelle! Good spying!” I chuckled, trying to encourage her after Lacey’s impatience. Lacey rolls her eyes, then immediately stands up. She takes the scrunchie off her wrist, ties her long blonde hair into a messy bun, and simply said, “Let’s go.” “Lacey..” I said “What??” She responds as if she hadn’t registered the tone of my voice at all. As I opened my mouth to begin explaining all the logical and practical reasons why even if the boys were stupid enough to go play around somewhere dangerous, we shouldn’t be, Michelle exclaims, “That’s where the Locust Man lives!!” I close my mouth in defeat, as I know Lacey will take this nonsense as a challenge, and because of that, no amount of my warnings concerning actual dangers would have any effect on her decision. Lacey dismisses her comment as she attempts to shove her foot into one of her new pink sneakers that she refuses to admit are too small for her. “Pshhh, don’t be such a baby Michelle, he’s not real, you do know that right?” Michelle crinkled her face and yelled back, “Yes he is Lacey! He is!! And th-th- that’s where he lives, and he eats kids that go there!” Lacey laughs at her and says “Oh yeah? You still believe in Santa clause too? What about the tooth fairy?” Michelle looked down at her shoes, and although she could admittedly be annoying, I found myself feeling bad for her. “Come on Lacey, she’s just scared.” Lacey shot me a look like she was expecting me to burst into laughter, but I just gave her a smirk and a shrug, and she rolled her eyes and said “Get dressed.”

 We walked in silence toward the end of the road, though the reasons for all three differed drastically. Lacey’s was determination and resolve, mine was comtemptousness and defeat, and Michelle’s was just fear. I found myself half-way hoping the boys had left already, but as we approached the driveway we caught them just as they were about to step off the porch. 

“Hey!!” Lacey yelled, in her trademark cheerleader cadence. “Where do you boys think you’re going without us?”. Mikey let a groan and rolled his eyes, while Devin said through a coy smile, “Well, we were actually just heading out to go to find you girls.” “Liar.” Lacey snapped, quickly wiping the grin off Devin’s face. “Michelle already blabbed- we know where you two are going and we’re coming too.” The boys looked at each other, then Mikey shot Michelle an angry look as she tried to shrink herself behind me, and said, “Fine, whatever, but no cry baby snitches allowed!!” Michelle then proceeded to prove both of his accusations correct by yelling back, “I am not a cry baby!! I’m telling mom if you don’t let me come with you!!” At that point I finally spoke up. “Alright, listen.” I said sternly, then once I had their attention I lowered my voice a bit to say, “Just for the record, I think us going to that grody old mine is a dumb idea and a big waste of time, but if one of us goes, we all go. That’s the deal, so make your decisions.” Lacey folded her arms in solidarity beside me, and with that we all had an unspoken understanding. So, with the boys out ahead leading the way, we headed toward the tree line.

 As we entered the woods, I felt a sense of dread wash over me - but to be fair, as a preteen emo kid who had already reached an adult level of cynicism, I felt a certain level of dread towards almost everything in life. So take my premonition with a grain of salt, but for some reason, this felt… different. I remember the woods being abnormally quiet that day. It took some time for me to even notice, but as soon as I did, I interrupted the mindless chatter going on to say, 

“Where are all the freakin’ birds?” Everyone turned to look at me as if I’d completely lost my mind. “Uhhh… What are you talking about?” Devin asked me. I pointed up toward the treetops. “Listen…. ” They all looked up, then looked around at each other in confusion. “Every time we’ve ever been in these woods, there’s always birds chirping back and forth. We’ve been walking almost 5 minutes now and I haven’t heard a single bird, have you guys?” “Damn, yeah, that is weird.” Mikey agreed. “They probably all just migrated!!” Devin goofily offered. “That’s stupid Devin, it’s spring. If anything, there should be more birds here, not less you moron.” Lacie argued. Devin flipped Lacie off, which was the best rebuttal he could usually come up with, and then turned toward me and said, “Okay whatever, what’s your point exactly?” “Just that - “ I looked over to Mikey, then back at Devin. “It’s weird.” I didn’t want to say what I was actually thinking. That the woods being too quiet was never a good thing. That when birds aren’t chirping, it could mean there’s a predator nearby. Besides, I was pretty confident that the boys, having both been in the scouts, knew what I knew, so saying it out loud would only serve to annoy Lacie and further frighten Michelle. Mikey broke his gaze that had been fixed on me, and while scanning our surroundings he said, “Let’s stop by the clubhouse on the way.” With a nod from me, we continued. When we arrived at our pit stop, Lacey hobbled over to the closest lawn chair and plopped herself down in it. “Ughhh, my feet are killing me!!” “I wonder why.” I mutter under my breath. “Excuse me, what was that?” “Just saying. Those shoes are gonna be the death of you Lace, you can barely walk in them.” “Pshhh, shut up. They just need to be broken-in okay? You’re just jealous cuz you’re still wearing your dirty old Vans from last year.” “Oooh yeah, you got me there. I am so sad I don’t have a pair of ugly pink Sketchers that don’t fit me.” She stuck her tongue out at me and we both laughed. I was just about the only person who could go toe to toe with Lacey’s sass. It’s part of the reason we ended up being best friends, besides being neighbors. In regard to style, personality and interests, we were almost polar opposites. But when it came to humor we were equals. And more importantly, we both had a mutual understanding when it came to our differences- I was me and she was her, and neither of us felt the need to try and make the other one be more like us. Besides, I was the only person who had ever really stood up to Lacey and didn’t take any of her crap, so I think she respected that. While that exchange had been going on, Michelle had started picking tiny pink flowers, and the boys were rummaging in the clubhouse for something. I yelled in their direction, “Hey! Big Mike and Dirty D!!” Me and Lacey giggled and she mouthed the word “big” with air quotation marks. They didn’t respond, so I walked over to the entryway and looked in. They were standing with their backs to me while looking down at an open metal box, and Mikey was reaching to grab whatever was in it. As he stood back up, I could see what it was. “What the fuck Mikey, seriously?” Hearing me cuss, Lacey and Michelle crowded in behind me. “Chill, it’s just a BB gun.” “I know it’s a BB gun Michael, what are you doing with it, and why is it here?” I was livid at the thought that he might be coming out here and shooting at animals just to be a shithead. I expected something like that from a goober like Devin, but not Mikey. Michelle butted in, “I’m telling mom!!!” “Nice try, dad knows I have it.” He looked at me and softened his tone. “It’s for protection, just in case we come across a black bear, or some weirdo creep out here. Seriously… it’s just to scare off something, not hurt it.” He knew how I felt about killing animals, especially for no good reason. A lot of people out here are poor and hunt for food, which I could accept as a reality. But hurting animals just for fun is psycho behavior, so I was relieved to hear him dispel my fear; I really didn’t want to have to hate him. “Do you even know how to shoot that thing?” Lacey asked. “Yeah, my dad showed me.” Devin clapped his hands together, making us all jump and himself laugh. “Well alright then, let’s get going!” I turned to Michelle, still holding the flowers. “You okay?” She nodded. “If you want me to walk back with you, I can.” I was slightly hoping she’d say yes so I’d have an excuse to get out of this excursion, but she just shook her head and forced a smile. I knew she was scared, but she was just too curious. Maybe I was too.

 We walked for what felt like half an hour. The trees had gotten more dense and the path narrowed from the overgrowth. Still no birdsong. I kept scanning the area in search of any sign of life other than us. Looking for movement of creatures scurrying away, listening for the sound of rustling as we passed, hoping for a squirrel, a lizard, even a bug. Nothing. 

“How much further is this damn thing?” Lacey groaned. Mikey answered without even turning around. “We should be coming up on it any time now.” “You said that like 10 minutes ago.” “Yeah, and now we’re like 10 minutes closer to it. And hey guess what, you insisted on inviting yourself - so suck it up buttercup.” “Hahahaha!” Devin laughed like a maniac at Mikey’s quip, while Lacey folded her arms and for once in her life didn’t have a snappy comeback. This time however, I did. “Well we really only came along to make sure you idiots didn’t kill yourselves.” “Oh, so you girls came out here with us to be our protectors, huh?” Devin laughed. “Ehh, more like babysitters.” Needless to say, I was flipped off for that statement. We rounded the next bend and suddenly all came to an abrupt stop one after another, starting with Mikey. Devin positioned himself beside him and let out a disappointed groan. “Shit Mikey!” A huge tree had fallen and was blocking the trail completely. There was no way we could climb over it because of all the leaves and branches - we’d have to go around it, which meant leaving the safety of the trail and crossing Rain Creek twice to get back to it. “Seriously???” Lacey exclaimed. “Maybe it’s a sign that we shouldn’t be going.” I shrugged. Mikey didn’t seem fazed by the obstruction at all. In fact, he seemed more confident. More calm. More sure of his intended mission. “It’s fine, we’ll just go around.” Michelle, who had been mostly quiet this whole time, finally broke her fear induced silence. “We are NOT supposed to leave the tr-tr-trail Michael! We could get lost!” “We aren’t gonna get lost Michelle, I have a compass. Plus, it’s literally just a few paces that way, then we cross the creek and circle back once we pass the tree and we’re right back on the trail.” “Oh you have got to be kidding me” Lacey said, “I’m not treading through that nasty water!” “Yeah Mikey, what about Lacey’s brand new shoes??” I laughed, and she playfully slapped me in the arm. Mikey’s patience was wearing thin with us. “Look, we already walked this far - if we turn back now, we’ve wasted the whole day for nothing. If you girls wanna be lame and turn around, then go for it - but me and Dev are going.” That’s all Lacey needed. A challenge to accept; someone to prove wrong. “I’ll show you lame.” She pushed past the boys and lead the way into the thick brush towards Rain Creek. It wasn’t very wide across, and there were lots of fallen limbs and large rocks spread throughout it. The current was barely that of a trickle, and the depth was no more than knee deep for us. It was definitely doable - just an inconvenience. And of course, one more ominous obstacle lying directly in our path. Another hint from the universe telling us to turn around. We didn’t listen. Lacey placed one foot on the closest limb and pushed down a few times to test its sturdiness. “I got this.” She stepped out onto it with both feet, then shimmied sideways until she was close enough to the large exposed rock in the middle of the creek, and hopped onto it. She turned around with a full grin and said, “Coming?” Mikey made his way across the limb as Lacey hopped onto a different limb which led her to the other side of the creek. Devin followed, then me, and then it was Michelle’s turn. “I’m scared to fall in!” Of course she is, I should have made her go before me. “It’s okay Michelle, it’s easy!” I reassured her. She didn’t look convinced in the slightest. “Come on Chelle, we’re leaving you!” Mikey yelled, already walking away. “Nooo!! I’m coming! Wait!” She made it across, but instead of just walking like everyone else did, she got down on her hands and knees and gripped the limb as if it were the only thing in between her and a 50 foot drop to the ground, which was funny to see but prolonged the whole process further. After all, we were about to have to do all of this again. Next go round went a lot smoother. The creek was more shallow here, and there were a whole lot more stepping rocks and debris built up. Having just crossed successfully a few minutes ago, we were all more confident in our abilities, including Michelle - who this time we made go first. “Just walk across like it’s a bridge! You got this!!”, we all cheered for her, and then clapped when she made it to the other side. Before we knew it we were back on the trail, and it wasn’t long after that we finally arrived at our intended destination.

 We all stopped and stared at it for a minute, carefully examining the dilapidated exterior of the place that had brought both prosperity and destruction upon our town. Mikey bent down, picked up a rock and threw it into the entrance. We heard it bounce a few times before it stopped. 

“Just to make sure nothing’s in there.” he turned around to clarify. “Did anyone think to bring a flashlight?” I asked. “It’s dark as hell in there.” I was hoping for just one more reason not to go. Devin reached into his cargo shorts pocket and pulled out a small keychain-sized flashlight, smiling with the satisfaction of finally being useful. “Okay, Mikey’ll hold the gun, I’ll shine the light and you girls follow behind us. Let’s go.” Mikey shifted the BB gun from its position of resting on his shoulder, to holding the barrel in his left hand and the butt in his right; trying his best to emulate a soldier’s stance. Something his dad had taught him I’m sure. We ducked down a bit to enter. “How far in we going?” Lacey asked. “Until we see something cool.” Mikey answered. I turned around to check on Michelle, still hovering in the doorway. “You coming?” I could see in her eyes that fear had finally gotten the better of her, and curiosity had taken a backseat. With wide eyes she shook her head. “The-the Locust Man lives in there.”, she tried to whisper. “I knew you were gonna be a baby about this!” Mikey yelled. I crouched down and put my hand on her shoulder. Against my better judgment, I say “How bout you just wait here for us and pick some more flowers. We won’t be long, there’s nothing in there, I promise. Just.. don’t move from this spot and we’ll be right back, okay?” I could feel her unease, but she seemed to accept my reassurance nonetheless. “Okay.” I smiled, then stood up and looked down at my watch to check the time. 12:46 PM. I turned and headed into the darkness, trying to catch up with everyone else. I didn’t feel good about leaving Michelle, but I didn’t feel good about letting the rest of them go in there alone either. And if I’m being honest, maybe a little part of me wanted to see what was in there too. When I caught up to Lacey she asked, “Where’s Michelle?” “Stayed behind at the entrance, she was too scared. I told her to pick flowers and wait there for us.” “Pshh, figures.” “Yeah. How’s your feet?” “At this point, numb actually.” It was so dark in there that even Devin’s rinky dink flashlight was illuminating the area enough for me to start taking a closer look at my surroundings. I looked around at the rock walls, they were covered in what looked like orange mold and green algae. There was a slight breeze coming in from the entrance, but the whole place just had a staleness to it. The boys stopped and turned around as we arrived at the first curve. “So ladies, what do you think? Cool huh?” Devin asked excitedly. “Smells like a fart in here.” I said.

 The most dangerous thing about exploring an old mine wasn’t getting lost in the maze of tunnels, or tripping on the rusted tracks and slamming your head against the wall - it was something simply referred to as bad air. Pockets of still air that have dangerously low levels of oxygen, the old men in town would call it “black damp”. There was also something produced from the old chemicals they once used called “stink damp”, which smelled like rotten eggs. Both were lethal. 

“I wonder if there’s dead bodies in here!” “Uh, Dev… we’re gonna be the dead bodies in here if we go in too far. I wasn’t just making a joke, you know that rotten egg smell can mean bad air.” Mikey interjected. “The entrance isn’t far behind us, there’s still enough fresh air coming in. We won’t go in too far, let’s just get to the end of this tunnel where it splits off and look around a bit, then we’ll turn around.” The fork in the tunnel really wasn’t that much further, and even though I knew once we rounded this curve I wouldn’t be able to see the entrance behind me anymore, I decided what the hell. Maybe a hundred more steps, then we can finally turn around and this whole dumb situation would be closer to being over with. When we got there, we looked down the length of the connecting tunnels each way. Everything looked unusually identical in its deterioration. I could see how someone could easily get disoriented and lost down here. “Hellooooo…” Mikey yelled to the left, his voice echoing through the corridor. Devin turned to the opposite direction and called out, “Hey yo, Locust Man!! You in here?” We all giggled, which made me think about Michelle, still waiting at the entrance for us, alone in the woods. I looked down at my watch. 12:46 PM. “Hey what the f-“ My cuss word was interrupted by a loud bang that came from the passageway Devin had just been hollering into. We all froze. I didn’t have time to process that my watch had stopped right as we entered the tunnel, or that Michelle had been left alone for who knows how long now, or that we had just heard what sounded like a support beam crashing to the ground, because next came a horrifying screeching buzzing sound. It sounded distant at first, but was quickly increasing in volume. We silently looked around at each other and backed away stunned at what we were hearing. Mikey never took his eyes off the tunnel though, and slowly he began to raise the BB gun to firing position. Without even thinking, I grabbed the barrel and pushed it downward. He quickly tore his eyes away from his target to look at me. I shook my head and managed to barely choke out the word, “Explosion.” He nodded and I let go. I looked down at the gun in his hands, and seeing his finger had already been on the trigger, I realized how lucky it was that I didn’t make him shoot himself in the foot. All of a sudden, the noise stopped. “What the hell was that?” Lacey asked. “I don’t know, nothing good.” I said. “Let’s just get the fuck out of here before this whole place caves in on us or something.” Another loud bang erupted from the right, extremely close to us. “Shit!!!” We all turned around and ran as fast as we could back toward the entrance. Devin tried to push past me, but as he did my elbow knocked the flashlight out of his hand. “My flashlight!!!” “Leave it!” Mikey shouted “The turn is right here, we won’t need it!” We rounded the corner, and using what little light there was illuminating from the entrance to guide us back, we ran like our lives depended on it. And they may have- none of us dared to look back, not like we would have been able to see anything anyway. When we finally made it out, we were all completely out of breath. I felt like I was going to throw up. I have to admit though, once we had made it back to safety I felt a rush of adrenaline like I had just had a near death experience. That feeling quickly faded into sheer panic when I looked around and realized Michelle was nowhere to be seen. “Uh, where’s Michelle?” Mikey asked me. “I told her to stay right here, she can’t be very far… Michelle!!!!” We all called her name, as loud as we could. No answer, no sign of her anywhere. “Alright look, she probably went off a little further looking for flowers to pick.” I tried to rationalize. “Let’s just split off in 4 directions and walk in a straight line while calling for her. She’s bound to hear one of us.” Everyone agreed, and even though I appeared outwardly as the level-headed calm person you need to take control in an emergency, inside I was petrified that something had happened to her, and that it would be my fault. I took the east, and headed out. It didn’t take too long before I passed a large tree and saw her sitting down behind it, looking at something on the ground. “Michelle! Oh thank god!! Didn’t you hear us calling for you??” She didn’t answer me, or even turn around. “Michelle, didn’t I tell you to stay by the entrance and not move?!?” My relief was quickly turning into annoyance as she continued to ignore me. I walked up closer to see what she was looking at, and my mouth dropped in awe of what she had found. It was a single white trillium.

 They say it takes 8 years for a trillium plant to produce a flower, and conditions have to be just right for it to bloom. That’s what makes them so special and rare. I stared down at it almost in a trance, like I was seeing a mythical creature. Michelle slowly reached out her hand towards it and I snapped out of it. 

“No!!” I grabbed her by the arm and she finally turned around to look at me. “If you pick the flower, the plant will die.” She ripped her arm away from my grasp and whined, “But I want to show my mom!” We heard Mikey calling from the north and I cupped my hands over my mouth to yell back, “I found her, she’s over here!!” I looked back at her. “No Michelle, come on, you can just tell her about it when we get back home.” I had enough, I was beyond ready to go and we still had at least another 45 minutes of walking to even get back to the clubhouse; an hour if Michelle kept up her crap. I grabbed her arm again and pulled her up to a standing position, looking back at the trillium as I walked her away. Mikey caught up to us, breathless but trying to hide his concern. “You little shit, we should have left you out here! What the hell were you doing?” I let go of her arm and she walked toward Mikey. “She was trying to pick a flower over there.” “It was a trillium!!” Michelle said, with the biggest smile on her face. “Wait, really?” He looked at me in disbelief. Before I could respond, a blood curdling scream echoed through the forest, coming from the west. It was Lacey. My heart dropped into my stomach and once again, every molecule in my body went into full blown panic mode. This time, I couldn’t contain my composure. “Laceyyyyyy!!!!!” A panicked shriek erupted from my lungs and I took off running. Mikey grabbed Michelle and sprinted after us. The trees became a blur; I didn’t even feel all the scratches and scrapes. Had she come across a coyote? A mountain lion? A bear? I didn’t even stop to think about the danger I might be about to come in contact with, I just ran. And then I found her. She was lying on the ground, holding her left foot. “Lacey!!” I said, trying to choke back the tears that were building up. “I think I twisted my ankle!!” “Oh god damn it, you bitch.” I struggled to catch my breath. “I thought you were dead.” “I might as well be, I have cheerleading practice on Monday!” Mikey and Michelle caught up to us. “What happened?” He asked “She’s being a drama queen, she just rolled her ankle.” I was angry. “Can you get up?” He asked her. She was able to stand, but as soon as she tried to put any pressure on her foot at all, she screamed in pain. We spotted Devin running over from the south as he was yelling out, “Hey yo, everyone alive and accounted for?” “Yeah, Lacey hurt her ankle.” Mikey yelled back. As he approached he looked concerned. “Can you walk on it?” He asked her. “No.” Without hesitation he replied, “Well alright then, looks like you’re gonna have to piggyback it all the way back home.” He lowered himself enough to where she could hop up onto his back, and we headed back toward the trail. Even though my nerves had begun to settle a bit, I knew we were still far from being out of the woods, in more ways than one.

In the annals of history, Blackwood Manor stands as a monument to the darker facets of human ambition and the unyielding allure of the unknown. Its story begins in a time when the land was still wild, and the forests whispered secrets known only to the ancient trees. Lord Nathaniel Blackwood, a figure cloaked in mystery and shadow, emerged from the depths of obscurity to carve his legacy upon the landscape.
Some whispered that Lord Blackwood was a sorcerer of unparalleled power, while others speculated that he had made a Faustian bargain with the very forces of darkness that lurked beyond the veil of mortal understanding. Regardless of the truth, one thing was certain: Lord Blackwood's ambitions knew no bounds, and he spared no expense in the construction of his grand estate.
Blackwood Manor rose from the earth like a specter of the night, its towering spires reaching towards the heavens and casting ominous shadows across the surrounding countryside. Its walls, adorned with intricate carvings and mysterious symbols, seemed to pulse with a malevolent energy that sent shivers down the spines of those who dared to approach.
As the years passed, tales of Blackwood Manor spread like wildfire through the nearby villages, each whispered rumor adding another layer of fear and superstition to its already ominous reputation. Stories of strange lights flickering in the windows at night, of eerie chants echoing through the forest, and of travelers who vanished without a trace after daring to approach its gates became the stuff of legend, woven into the very fabric of the region's folklore.
But perhaps the most chilling legend of all was that of the curse said to haunt Blackwood Manor and all who dared to set foot within its walls. It was said that those who entered the mansion were doomed to never leave, their souls forever bound to its twisted corridors and shadowy chambers, forced to wander its halls for all eternity.
Despite the passage of centuries, Blackwood Manor remained standing, a silent sentinel in the heart of the wilderness, its secrets hidden behind locked doors and shuttered windows, waiting for the brave or foolhardy soul who dared to uncover them.
And so, the legend of Blackwood Manor endured, a dark reminder of the dangers that lurked in the shadows and the allure of the unknown. For as long as the mansion stood, so too would the whispers of its haunted history echo through the ages, drawing adventurers and thrill-seekers alike into its depths, where mysteries waited to be unraveled and darkness lay in wait around every corner.

Chapter 1: The Awakening
The year was 2145, and humanity was at the brink of collapse. Nations had crumbled, and the world was now divided into warring factions. The discovery of ancient titans-massive, biomechanical war machines buried deep within the Earth's crust-had set the stage for a new era of warfare. These titans, remnants of a forgotten civilization, were the ultimate weapons, capable of leveling entire cities with a single strike.
In the heart of the desolate wasteland that was once Europe, the Northern Alliance fought fiercely against the Red Dominion. Tanks rumbled across the battlefield, their treads crushing the scorched earth beneath them. Soldiers, armed with advanced pulse rifles, exchanged relentless gunfire. But amidst the chaos, the true titans of war lay dormant, waiting to be awakened.
Captain Elena Drakovich of the Northern Alliance stood atop a hill, her keen eyes scanning the horizon through the scope of her rifle. Her unit had been tasked with locating and securing one of these legendary titans, rumored to be hidden in an ancient bunker deep within enemy territory. It was a mission that could turn the tide of the war, but the risks were unimaginable.
"Captain, we have visual confirmation of the bunker entrance," Sergeant Liam Hayes reported, his voice crackling through the comms. He pointed to a partially collapsed structure barely visible through the smoke and debris.
"Good work, Sergeant," Elena replied. "Squad, prepare to move out. This is our chance to make history."
As they approached the bunker, the ground trembled beneath their feet, and the air was filled with the scent of burning metal. The sound of artillery fire echoed in the distance, a constant reminder of the ever-present danger. Elena's team moved with precision, their training and discipline evident in every step.
Inside the bunker, the air was thick with dust and the stale scent of decay. The walls were adorned with ancient symbols, glowing faintly in the dim light. At the center of the vast chamber lay the titan, its colossal form covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. It was a sight to behold-a towering behemoth of metal and flesh, a fusion of technology and organic matter.
"Captain, this is incredible," Liam whispered, awe evident in his voice. "We need to get this thing operational."
Elena nodded, her eyes never leaving the titan. "Get to work, everyone. We don't have much time."
As the engineers began their work, the ground above them shook violently. The Red Dominion had discovered their presence and was closing in fast. Tanks and troops were converging on their location, intent on stopping the Northern Alliance from securing their prize.
"Hayes, secure the perimeter. We need to buy some time," Elena ordered, her voice steady despite the growing tension.
Outside the bunker, the battle raged on. Northern Alliance soldiers dug in, using the terrain to their advantage as they repelled wave after wave of Dominion forces. Tanks roared across the battlefield, their cannons thundering as they exchanged fire with the enemy. The air was filled with the deafening sounds of war.
Inside, the titan's eyes flickered to life, a deep, resonating hum filling the chamber. The ancient war machine began to stir, its massive limbs creaking as it slowly came online.
"We've done it, Captain!" an engineer shouted, his voice filled with triumph. "The titan is operational!"
Elena's heart pounded in her chest. "Excellent. Now let's show the Dominion what happens when you awaken a sleeping giant."
The titan rose to its full height, towering over the battlefield. With a deafening roar, it unleashed its fury upon the enemy. Plasma cannons blazed, and missiles streaked through the sky, leaving trails of fire in their wake. The ground shook as the titan's massive feet crushed tanks and fortifications beneath them.
The Red Dominion forces, caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the titan, scrambled to regroup. But it was too late. The titan, driven by a relentless, ancient rage, tore through their ranks with unstoppable force. Soldiers fled in terror, and the once imposing Dominion tanks were reduced to smoldering wrecks.
As the dust settled, the battlefield fell eerily silent. The titan stood amidst the ruins, a testament to the Northern Alliance's newfound power. Elena climbed to the top of the titan, looking out over the devastation. She knew this was just the beginning. With the titan at their side, they had a fighting chance to reclaim their world from the brink of destruction.
"We've awakened the titan," Elena said, her voice resolute. "Now, let's finish this war and rebuild our future."
The journey ahead would be fraught with danger, and the cost of victory would be high. But with the titans of war on their side, the Northern Alliance was ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead. Together, they would forge a new era, one where the titans roamed the earth once more, and humanity rose from the ashes of its past.
Chapter 2: The Reclamation
(To be continued...)

Hello everyone! We are excited to take a trip back in time to revisit some K-Pop classics again, continuing with this rate, the "Late Gen 2" Girl Groups Rate! (If you haven't already, make sure to join kpoprates to ensure that you stay updated on future rate-related posts!)
How the songs were selected:
We used the /kpop Top Ten Tuesdays results to grab the most adored songs from each of the artists on Reddit, and we also had songlist feedback thresds on /kpoprates to help decide the songlist!
Now, without further ado, let's introduce the 50 songs (& 6 bonus songs) that were selected for this rate, ordered chronologically for each artist (artists were also ordered by debut date):
.

T-ARA:

Bo Peep Bo Peep
Like The First Time
Roly Poly
Sexy Love
Number Nine
Sugar Free

f(x):

Nu ABO
Hot Summer
Electric Shock
Rum Pum Pum Pum
Airplane
Red Light
4 Walls

Secret:

Madonna
Poison
I'm In Love

Rainbow:

A

SISTAR:

Ma Boy
Alone
Give It To Me
Touch My Body
I Swear
Shake It
I Like That

miss A:

Bad Girl Good Girl
Touch
Hush
Only You

Girl's Day:

Twinkle Twinkle
Don't Forget Me
Expectation
Female President
Something
I'll Be Yours

9Muses:

Ticket
Dolls
Wild
Hurt Locker

Dalshabet:

B.B.B
Someone Like U

Apink:

NoNoNo
Mr. Chu
Luv
Remember
I'm So Sick
Eung Eung
Dumhdurum
Dilemma

Stellar:

Vibrato
Sting
.

Bonus Rate:

The bonus rate is basically an extension of the main rate! There were several songs that received high praise during the songlist feedback threads that still were barely not able to make the main rate, so we have put them into the bonus rate here to give them a chance to be rated. In addition, we have added several B-sides that are among the artist's most highly-acclaimed B-sides, to see how the B-sides stack up against the title tracks!
T-ARA - Lovey Dovey
f(x) - Rude Love
Secret - Love Is Move
miss A - Love Song
Girl's Day - Thirsty
9Muses - News
The Bonus Rate is optional and you do not have to submit a score for every song in the bonus list if you do it: you can score none of them, all of them, or any number in between. You cannot give a 0 or 11 to any song in the bonus, as they are not part of the main rate. While it is optional, we hope you consider participating.

Spotify playlist

YouTube playlist (MV version)

YouTube playlist (Audio version)

Rules:

• You must listen to and assign a score to EVERY song listed. If your ballot is missing any scores it will not be eligible and you'll be sent a message asking you to fill in the missing scores.
  
• Each song should be assigned a score between 1 to 10. Decimals up to one point are allowed but any further is a no-no – 6.9 is fine, but 6.99 is not.
  
• You can use ONE 0 and ONE 11 for the entirety of the rate, for your least favorite and most favorite song respectively - they are optional but HIGHLY encouraged if you feel some type of way about any given song! Comments are also encouraged but not required for such scores (except if you give a song a 0).
  
• Comments are encouraged and much appreciated (but not required, except for if you give a 0) and can be added to any song by simply typing after the numerical score, like so:
  

Ma Boy: 7.2 I've tried replicating the body wave choreography, but every time I do I just look like I'm humping a chimney

• This is the ONLY correct way to format a comment. Please do not include colons (ex. 9: I stan!), dashes (ex. 3.3 - This song sucks), or any other symbol after your score/before your comment as it breaks the program.
  
• You can also give comments for individual artists! Just write your comment after the :, such as the following:
  

miss A: Miss A come back, we Miss U :(

• DO NOT SABOTAGE! Hopefully this shouldn’t be a problem as we trust you guys (famous last words) but we reserve the right to reject your ballot + ask you to change your scores and/or leave comments, especially for scores on the low end. Ultimately, please just rate all of the songs truthfully – this will make the whole process a lot easier and more fun for everyone involved!
  
• If you want to change scores or add comments at any point, don't hesitate to message this Reddit account (u/KpopRates)!
  
• For this rate and most future rates, we have a ballot average minimum of 4.00. In addition, if your ballot average is between 4.00-5.50, you must leave comments on your lower scores (which we define as any score that's a 3 or lower). {Do not worry about having to calculate your ballot average, once you submit your ballot, we will tell you if you need to make changes to your ballot for it to be accepted.}
  
• For this rate, if you use a 0, you are required to leave a comment next to the song you gave a 0. Since a 0 is a powerful score/statement to give, we want to see why people gave songs 0s.
  

SUBMITTING A BALLOT:

Link to Private Message to send in scores

Google Docs ballot template

Pastebin ballot template

• If the private message link is not working (or your private message exceeds the character count), please use the Google Doc template (make a copy of it to your Google Drive) for your ballot and DM it to u/KpopRates. If you message us a link to your Google Doc, PLEASE double check your permissions so that "anyone who has the link can view the document" (since the default is otherwise).

DUE DATE:

Tuesday, June 25th, by 11:59 PM Pacific - This will be the FINAL deadline, no extensions will be given this time! (Here is a link to a time zone converter for the deadline.)

REVEAL DATES (Reveals will take place on /kpoprates as well as the kpoprates Discord: https://discord.gg/4YY2ksBbT6)

Day 1 - June 29th (Saturday), 9 AM Pacific (Time zone converter here)
Day 2 - June 30th (Sunday), 9 AM Pacific (Time zone converter here)

We also encourage you to participate in the ongoing "2021 in K-Pop" Rate! Thanks!

Hello everyone! We are excited to take a trip back in time to revisit some K-Pop classics again, continuing with this rate, the "Late Gen 2" Girl Groups Rate! (If you haven't already, make sure to join kpoprates to ensure that you stay updated on future rate-related posts!)
How the songs were selected:
We used the /kpop Top Ten Tuesdays results to grab the most adored songs from each of the artists on Reddit, and we also had songlist feedback thresds on /kpoprates to help decide the songlist!
Now, without further ado, let's introduce the 50 songs (& 6 bonus songs) that were selected for this rate, ordered chronologically for each artist (artists were also ordered by debut date):
.

T-ARA:

Bo Peep Bo Peep
Like The First Time
Roly Poly
Sexy Love
Number Nine
Sugar Free

f(x):

Nu ABO
Hot Summer
Electric Shock
Rum Pum Pum Pum
Airplane
Red Light
4 Walls

Secret:

Madonna
Poison
I'm In Love

Rainbow:

A

SISTAR:

Ma Boy
Alone
Give It To Me
Touch My Body
I Swear
Shake It
I Like That

miss A:

Bad Girl Good Girl
Touch
Hush
Only You

Girl's Day:

Twinkle Twinkle
Don't Forget Me
Expectation
Female President
Something
I'll Be Yours

9Muses:

Ticket
Dolls
Wild
Hurt Locker

Dalshabet:

B.B.B
Someone Like U

Apink:

NoNoNo
Mr. Chu
Luv
Remember
I'm So Sick
Eung Eung
Dumhdurum
Dilemma

Stellar:

Vibrato
Sting
.

Bonus Rate:

The bonus rate is basically an extension of the main rate! There were several songs that received high praise during the songlist feedback threads that still were barely not able to make the main rate, so we have put them into the bonus rate here to give them a chance to be rated. In addition, we have added several B-sides that are among the artist's most highly-acclaimed B-sides, to see how the B-sides stack up against the title tracks!
T-ARA - Lovey Dovey
f(x) - Rude Love
Secret - Love Is Move
miss A - Love Song
Girl's Day - Thirsty
9Muses - News
The Bonus Rate is optional and you do not have to submit a score for every song in the bonus list if you do it: you can score none of them, all of them, or any number in between. You cannot give a 0 or 11 to any song in the bonus, as they are not part of the main rate. While it is optional, we hope you consider participating.

Spotify playlist

YouTube playlist (MV version)

YouTube playlist (Audio version)

Rules:

• You must listen to and assign a score to EVERY song listed. If your ballot is missing any scores it will not be eligible and you'll be sent a message asking you to fill in the missing scores.
  
• Each song should be assigned a score between 1 to 10. Decimals up to one point are allowed but any further is a no-no – 6.9 is fine, but 6.99 is not.
  
• You can use ONE 0 and ONE 11 for the entirety of the rate, for your least favorite and most favorite song respectively - they are optional but HIGHLY encouraged if you feel some type of way about any given song! Comments are also encouraged but not required for such scores (except if you give a song a 0).
  
• Comments are encouraged and much appreciated (but not required, except for if you give a 0) and can be added to any song by simply typing after the numerical score, like so:
  

Ma Boy: 7.2 I've tried replicating the body wave choreography, but every time I do I just look like I'm humping a chimney

• This is the ONLY correct way to format a comment. Please do not include colons (ex. 9: I stan!), dashes (ex. 3.3 - This song sucks), or any other symbol after your score/before your comment as it breaks the program.
  
• You can also give comments for individual artists! Just write your comment after the :, such as the following:
  

miss A: Miss A come back, we Miss U :(

• DO NOT SABOTAGE! Hopefully this shouldn’t be a problem as we trust you guys (famous last words) but we reserve the right to reject your ballot + ask you to change your scores and/or leave comments, especially for scores on the low end. Ultimately, please just rate all of the songs truthfully – this will make the whole process a lot easier and more fun for everyone involved!
  
• If you want to change scores or add comments at any point, don't hesitate to message this Reddit account (u/KpopRates)!
  
• For this rate and most future rates, we have a ballot average minimum of 4.00. In addition, if your ballot average is between 4.00-5.50, you must leave comments on your lower scores (which we define as any score that's a 3 or lower). {Do not worry about having to calculate your ballot average, once you submit your ballot, we will tell you if you need to make changes to your ballot for it to be accepted.}
  
• For this rate, if you use a 0, you are required to leave a comment next to the song you gave a 0. Since a 0 is a powerful score/statement to give, we want to see why people gave songs 0s.
  

SUBMITTING A BALLOT:

Link to Private Message to send in scores

Google Docs ballot template

Pastebin ballot template

• If the private message link is not working (or your private message exceeds the character count), please use the Google Doc template (make a copy of it to your Google Drive) for your ballot and DM it to u/KpopRates. If you message us a link to your Google Doc, PLEASE double check your permissions so that "anyone who has the link can view the document" (since the default is otherwise).

DUE DATE:

Tuesday, June 25th, by 11:59 PM Pacific - This will be the FINAL deadline, no extensions will be given this time! (Here is a link to a time zone converter for the deadline.)

REVEAL DATES (Reveals will take place on /kpoprates as well as the kpoprates Discord: https://discord.gg/4YY2ksBbT6)

Day 1 - June 29th (Saturday), 9 AM Pacific (Time zone converter here)
Day 2 - June 30th (Sunday), 9 AM Pacific (Time zone converter here)

We also encourage you to participate in the ongoing "2021 in K-Pop" Rate! Thanks!

Hello everyone! We are excited to take a trip back in time to revisit some K-Pop classics again, continuing with this rate, the "Late Gen 2" Girl Groups Rate! (If you haven't already, make sure to join kpoprates to ensure that you stay updated on future rate-related posts!)
How the songs were selected:
We used the /kpop Top Ten Tuesdays results to grab the most adored songs from each of the artists on Reddit, and we also had songlist feedback thresds on /kpoprates to help decide the songlist!
Now, without further ado, let's introduce the 50 songs (& 6 bonus songs) that were selected for this rate, ordered chronologically for each artist (artists were also ordered by debut date):
.

T-ARA:

Bo Peep Bo Peep
Like The First Time
Roly Poly
Sexy Love
Number Nine
Sugar Free

f(x):

Nu ABO
Hot Summer
Electric Shock
Rum Pum Pum Pum
Airplane
Red Light
4 Walls

Secret:

Madonna
Poison
I'm In Love

Rainbow:

A

SISTAR:

Ma Boy
Alone
Give It To Me
Touch My Body
I Swear
Shake It
I Like That

miss A:

Bad Girl Good Girl
Touch
Hush
Only You

Girl's Day:

Twinkle Twinkle
Don't Forget Me
Expectation
Female President
Something
I'll Be Yours

9Muses:

Ticket
Dolls
Wild
Hurt Locker

Dalshabet:

B.B.B
Someone Like U

Apink:

NoNoNo
Mr. Chu
Luv
Remember
I'm So Sick
Eung Eung
Dumhdurum
Dilemma

Stellar:

Vibrato
Sting
.

Bonus Rate:

The bonus rate is basically an extension of the main rate! There were several songs that received high praise during the songlist feedback threads that still were barely not able to make the main rate, so we have put them into the bonus rate here to give them a chance to be rated. In addition, we have added several B-sides that are among the artist's most highly-acclaimed B-sides, to see how the B-sides stack up against the title tracks!
T-ARA - Lovey Dovey
f(x) - Rude Love
Secret - Love Is Move
miss A - Love Song
Girl's Day - Thirsty
9Muses - News
The Bonus Rate is optional and you do not have to submit a score for every song in the bonus list if you do it: you can score none of them, all of them, or any number in between. You cannot give a 0 or 11 to any song in the bonus, as they are not part of the main rate. While it is optional, we hope you consider participating.

Spotify playlist

YouTube playlist (MV version)

YouTube playlist (Audio version)

Rules:

• You must listen to and assign a score to EVERY song listed. If your ballot is missing any scores it will not be eligible and you'll be sent a message asking you to fill in the missing scores.
  
• Each song should be assigned a score between 1 to 10. Decimals up to one point are allowed but any further is a no-no – 6.9 is fine, but 6.99 is not.
  
• You can use ONE 0 and ONE 11 for the entirety of the rate, for your least favorite and most favorite song respectively - they are optional but HIGHLY encouraged if you feel some type of way about any given song! Comments are also encouraged but not required for such scores (except if you give a song a 0).
  
• Comments are encouraged and much appreciated (but not required, except for if you give a 0) and can be added to any song by simply typing after the numerical score, like so:
  

Ma Boy: 7.2 I've tried replicating the body wave choreography, but every time I do I just look like I'm humping a chimney

• This is the ONLY correct way to format a comment. Please do not include colons (ex. 9: I stan!), dashes (ex. 3.3 - This song sucks), or any other symbol after your score/before your comment as it breaks the program.
  
• You can also give comments for individual artists! Just write your comment after the :, such as the following:
  

miss A: Miss A come back, we Miss U :(

• DO NOT SABOTAGE! Hopefully this shouldn’t be a problem as we trust you guys (famous last words) but we reserve the right to reject your ballot + ask you to change your scores and/or leave comments, especially for scores on the low end. Ultimately, please just rate all of the songs truthfully – this will make the whole process a lot easier and more fun for everyone involved!
  
• If you want to change scores or add comments at any point, don't hesitate to message this Reddit account (u/KpopRates)!
  
• For this rate and most future rates, we have a ballot average minimum of 4.00. In addition, if your ballot average is between 4.00-5.50, you must leave comments on your lower scores (which we define as any score that's a 3 or lower). {Do not worry about having to calculate your ballot average, once you submit your ballot, we will tell you if you need to make changes to your ballot for it to be accepted.}
  
• For this rate, if you use a 0, you are required to leave a comment next to the song you gave a 0. Since a 0 is a powerful score/statement to give, we want to see why people gave songs 0s.
  

SUBMITTING A BALLOT:

Link to Private Message to send in scores

Google Docs ballot template

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• If the private message link is not working (or your private message exceeds the character count), please use the Google Doc template (make a copy of it to your Google Drive) for your ballot and DM it to u/KpopRates. If you message us a link to your Google Doc, PLEASE double check your permissions so that "anyone who has the link can view the document" (since the default is otherwise).

DUE DATE:

Tuesday, June 25th, by 11:59 PM Pacific - This will be the FINAL deadline, no extensions will be given this time! (Here is a link to a time zone converter for the deadline.)

REVEAL DATES (Reveals will take place on /kpoprates as well as the kpoprates Discord: https://discord.gg/4YY2ksBbT6)

Day 1 - June 29th (Saturday), 9 AM Pacific (Time zone converter here)
Day 2 - June 30th (Sunday), 9 AM Pacific (Time zone converter here)

We also encourage you to participate in the ongoing "2021 in K-Pop" Rate! Thanks!

Hello everyone! We are excited to take a trip back in time to revisit some K-Pop classics once again, continuining with this rate, the "Late Gen 2" Girl Groups Rate! (If you haven't already, make sure to join kpoprates to ensure that you stay updated on future rate-related posts!)
How the songs were selected:
We used the /kpop Top Ten Tuesdays results to grab the most adored songs from each of the artists on Reddit, and we also had songlist feedback thresds on /kpoprates to help decide the songlist!
Now, without further ado, let's introduce the 50 songs (& 6 bonus songs) that were selected for this rate, ordered chronologically for each artist (artists were also ordered by debut date):
.

T-ARA:

Bo Peep Bo Peep
Like The First Time
Roly Poly
Sexy Love
Number Nine
Sugar Free

f(x):

Nu ABO
Hot Summer
Electric Shock
Rum Pum Pum Pum
Airplane
Red Light
4 Walls

Secret:

Madonna
Poison
I'm In Love

Rainbow:

A

SISTAR:

Ma Boy
Alone
Give It To Me
Touch My Body
I Swear
Shake It
I Like That

miss A:

Bad Girl Good Girl
Touch
Hush
Only You

Girl's Day:

Twinkle Twinkle
Don't Forget Me
Expectation
Female President
Something
I'll Be Yours

9Muses:

Ticket
Dolls
Wild
Hurt Locker

Dalshabet:

B.B.B
Someone Like U

Apink:

NoNoNo
Mr. Chu
Luv
Remember
I'm So Sick
Eung Eung
Dumhdurum
Dilemma

Stellar:

Vibrato
Sting
.

Bonus Rate:

The bonus rate is basically an extension of the main rate! There were several songs that received high praise during the songlist feedback threads that still were barely not able to make the main rate, so we have put them into the bonus rate here to give them a chance to be rated. In addition, we have added several B-sides that are among the artist's most highly-acclaimed B-sides, to see how the B-sides stack up against the title tracks!
T-ARA - Lovey Dovey
f(x) - Rude Love
Secret - Love Is Move
miss A - Love Song
Girl's Day - Thirsty
9Muses - News
The Bonus Rate is optional and you do not have to submit a score for every song in the bonus list if you do it: you can score none of them, all of them, or any number in between. You cannot give a 0 or 11 to any song in the bonus, as they are not part of the main rate. While it is optional, we hope you consider participating.

Spotify playlist

YouTube playlist (MV version)

YouTube playlist (Audio version)

Rules:

• You must listen to and assign a score to EVERY song listed. If your ballot is missing any scores it will not be eligible and you'll be sent a message asking you to fill in the missing scores.
  
• Each song should be assigned a score between 1 to 10. Decimals up to one point are allowed but any further is a no-no – 6.9 is fine, but 6.99 is not.
  
• You can use ONE 0 and ONE 11 for the entirety of the rate, for your least favorite and most favorite song respectively - they are optional but HIGHLY encouraged if you feel some type of way about any given song! Comments are also encouraged but not required for such scores (except if you give a song a 0).
  
• Comments are encouraged and much appreciated (but not required, except for if you give a 0) and can be added to any song by simply typing after the numerical score, like so:
  

Ma Boy: 7.2 I've tried replicating the body wave choreography, but every time I do I just look like I'm humping a chimney

• This is the ONLY correct way to format a comment. Please do not include colons (ex. 9: I stan!), dashes (ex. 3.3 - This song sucks), or any other symbol after your score/before your comment as it breaks the program.
  
• You can also give comments for individual artists! Just write your comment after the :, such as the following:
  

miss A: Miss A come back, we Miss U :(

• DO NOT SABOTAGE! Hopefully this shouldn’t be a problem as we trust you guys (famous last words) but we reserve the right to reject your ballot + ask you to change your scores and/or leave comments, especially for scores on the low end. Ultimately, please just rate all of the songs truthfully – this will make the whole process a lot easier and more fun for everyone involved!
  
• If you want to change scores or add comments at any point, don't hesitate to message this Reddit account (u/KpopRates)!
  
• For this rate and most future rates, we have a ballot average minimum of 4.00. In addition, if your ballot average is between 4.00-5.50, you must leave comments on your lower scores (which we define as any score that's a 3 or lower). {Do not worry about having to calculate your ballot average, once you submit your ballot, we will tell you if you need to make changes to your ballot for it to be accepted.}
  
• For this rate, if you use a 0, you are required to leave a comment next to the song you gave a 0. Since a 0 is a powerful score/statement to give, we want to see why people gave songs 0s.
  

SUBMITTING A BALLOT:

Link to Private Message to send in scores

Google Docs ballot template

Pastebin ballot template

• If the private message link is not working (or your private message exceeds the character count), please use the Google Doc template (make a copy of it to your Google Drive) for your ballot and DM it to u/KpopRates. If you message us a link to your Google Doc, PLEASE double check your permissions so that "anyone who has the link can view the document" (since the default is otherwise).

DUE DATE:

Tuesday, June 25th, by 11:59 PM Pacific - This will be the FINAL deadline, no extensions will be given this time! (Here is a link to a time zone converter for the deadline.)

REVEAL DATES (Reveals will take place on /kpoprates as well as the kpoprates Discord: https://discord.gg/4YY2ksBbT6)

Day 1 - June 29th (Saturday), 9 AM Pacific (Time zone converter here)
Day 2 - June 30th (Sunday), 9 AM Pacific (Time zone converter here)

We also encourage you to participate in the ongoing "2021 in K-Pop" Rate! Thanks!

"Why Did Jesus Die on the Cross?"

The main reason Jesus died on the cross was to defeat Satan and set us free from his oppressive rule. Everything else that Jesus accomplished was to be understood as an aspect and consequence of this victory (e.g., Recapitulation, Moral Influence, etc.).
This understanding of why Jesus had to die is called the Christus Victor (Latin for “Christ is Victorious”) view of the atonement. But, what exactly was Christ victorious from, and why? To find out the answers to these questions, we have to turn to the Old Testament, as that's what the apostles would often allude to in order to properly teach their audience the message they were trying to convey (Rom. 15:4).
The OT is full of conflict between the Father (YHVH) and false gods, between YHVH and cosmic forces of chaos. The Psalms speak of this conflict between YHVH and water monsters of the deeps (an ancient image for chaos) (Psa. 29:3-4; 74:10-14; 77:16, 19; 89:9-10; 104:2-9, etc).
The liberation of Israel from Egypt wasn’t just a conflict between Pharaoh and Moses. It was really between YHVH and the false gods of Egypt.
Regardless of whether you think the aforementioned descriptions are literal or metaphorical, the reality that the Old Testament describes is that humanity lived in a “cosmic war zone.”
The Christus Victor motif is about Christ reigning victorious over wicked principalities and Satan's kingdom, and is strongly emphasized throughout the New Testament. Scripture declares that Jesus came to drive out "the prince of this world” (John 12:31), to “destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8), to “destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14) and to “put all enemies under his feet” (1 Cor 15:25). Jesus came to overpower the “strong man” (Satan) who held the world in bondage and worked with his Church to plunder his "palace" (Luke 11:21-22). He came to end the reign of the cosmic “thief” who seized the world to “steal, and to kill, and to destroy” the life YHVH intended for us (John 10:10). Jesus came and died on the cross to disarm “the principalities and powers” and make a “shew of them openly [i.e., public spectacle]” by “triumphing over them in [the cross]” (Col. 2:15).
Beyond these explicit statements, there are many other passages that express the Christus Victor motif as well. For example, the first prophecy in the Bible foretells that a descendent of Eve (Jesus) would crush the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). The first Christian sermon ever preached proclaimed that Jesus in principle conquered all YHVH's enemies (Acts 2:32-36). And the single most frequently quoted Old Testament passage by New Testament authors is Psalm 110:1 which predicts that Christ would conquer all YHVH’s opponents. (Psalm 110 is quoted or alluded to in Matthew 22:41-45; 26:64, Mark 12:35-37; 14:62, Luke 20:41-44; 22:69, Acts 5:31; 7:55-56, Romans 8:34, 1st Corinthians 15:22-25, Ephesians 1:20, Hebrews 1:3; 1:13; 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:11, 15, 17, 21; 8:1; 10:12-13, 1st Peter 3:22, and Revelation 3:21.) According to New Testament scholar Oscar Cullman, the frequency with which New Testament authors cite this Psalm is the greatest proof that Christ’s “victory over the angel powers stands at the very center of early Christian thought.”
Because of man's rebellion, the Messiah's coming involved a rescue mission that included a strategy for vanquishing the powers of darkness.
Since YHVH is a God of love who gives genuine “say-so” to both angels and humans, YHVH rarely accomplishes His providential plans through coercion. YHVH relies on His infinite wisdom to achieve His goals. Nowhere is YHVH's wisdom put more on display than in the manner in which He outsmarted Satan and the powers of evil, using their own evil to bring about their defeat.
Most readers probably know the famous story from ancient Greece about the Trojan Horse. To recap the story, Troy and Greece had been locked in a ten-year-long vicious war when, according to Homer and Virgil, the Greeks came up with a brilliant idea. They built an enormous wooden horse, hid soldiers inside and offered it to the Trojans as a gift, claiming they were conceding defeat and going home. The delighted Trojans accepted the gift and proceeded to celebrate by drinking themselves into a drunken stupor. When night came and the Trojan warriors were too wasted to fight, the Greeks exited the horse, unlocked the city gates to quietly let all their compatriots in, and easily conquered the city, thus winning the war.
Historians debate whether any of this actually happened. But either way, as military strategies go, it’s brilliant.
Now, there are five clues in the New Testament that suggest YHVH was using something like this Trojan Horse strategy against the powers when he sent Jesus into the world:
1) The Bible tells us that YHVH's victory over the powers of darkness was achieved by the employment of YHVH’s wisdom, and was centered on that wisdom having become reality in Jesus Christ (Rom. 16:25, 1 Cor. 2:7, Eph. 3:9-10, Col. 1:26). It also tells us that, for some reason, this Christ-centered wisdom was kept “secret and hidden” throughout the ages. It’s clear from this that YHVH's strategy was to outsmart and surprise the powers by sending Jesus.
2) While humans don’t generally know Jesus’ true identity during his ministry, demons do. They recognize Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah, but, interestingly enough, they have no idea what he’s doing (Mark 1:24; 3:11; 5:7, Luke 8:21). Again, the wisdom of YHVH in sending Jesus was hidden from them.
3) We’re told that, while humans certainly share in the responsibility for the crucifixion, Satan and the powers were working behind the scenes to bring it about (John 13:27 cf. 1 Cor. 2:6-8). These forces of evil helped orchestrate the crucifixion.
4) We’re taught that if the “princes of this world [age]” had understood the secret wisdom of YHVH, “they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor 2:8 cf. vss 6-7). Apparently, Satan and the powers regretted orchestrating Christ’s crucifixion once they learned of the wisdom of YHVH that was behind it.
5) Finally, we can begin to understand why the powers came to regret crucifying “the Lord of glory” when we read that it was by means of the crucifixion that the “handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us [i.e., the charge of our legal indebtedness]” was “[taken] out of the way [i.e., canceled]” as the powers were disarmed. In this way Christ “triumph[ed] over” the powers by "his cross” and even “made a shew of them openly” (Col. 2:14-15). Through Christ’s death and resurrection YHVH's enemies were vanquished and placed under his Messiah's feet, and ultimately His own in the end (1 Cor. 15:23-28).
Putting these five clues together, we can discern YHVH's Trojan Horse strategy in sending Jesus.
The powers couldn’t discern why Jesus came because YHVH's wisdom was hidden from them. YHVH's wisdom was motivated by unfathomable love, and since Satan and the other powers were evil, they lacked the capacity to understand it. Their evil hearts prevented them from suspecting what YHVH was up to.
What the powers did understand was that Jesus was mortal. This meant he was killable. Lacking the capacity to understand that this was the means by which YHVH would ultimately bring about the defeat of death (and thus, pave the road for the resurrection itself), they never suspected that making Jesus vulnerable to their evil might actually be part of YHVH's infinitely wise plan.
And so they took the bait (or "ransom"; Matt. 20:28, Mark 10:45, 1 Tim. 2:5-6). Utilizing Judas and other willing human agents, the powers played right into YHVH’s secret plan and orchestrated the crucifixion of the Messiah (Acts 2:22-23; 4:28). YHVH thus brilliantly used the self-inflicted incapacity of evil to understand love against itself. And, like light dispelling darkness, the unfathomably beautiful act of YHVH's love in sending the willing Messiah as a "ransom" to these blood-thirsty powers defeated them. The whole creation was in principle freed and reconciled to YHVH, while everything written against us humans was nailed to the cross, thus robbing the powers of the only legal claim they had on us. They were “spoiled [i.e., disempowered]” (Col. 2:14-15).
As happened to the Trojans in accepting the gift from the Greeks, in seizing on Christ’s vulnerability and orchestrating his crucifixion, the powers unwittingly cooperated with YHVH to unleash the one power in the world that dispels all evil and sets captives free. It’s the power of self-sacrificial love.

Why Penal Substitution Is Unbiblical

For the sake of keeping this already lengthy post as short as possible I'm not going to spend too much time on why exactly PSA (Penal Substitutionary Atonement) is inconsistent with Scripture, but I'll go ahead and point out the main reasons why I believe this is so, and let the reader look further into this subject by themselves, being that there are many resources out there which have devoted much more time than I ever could here in supporting this premise.

"Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:"-1 Corinthians 5:7

The Passover is one of the two most prominent images in the New Testament given as a comparison to Christ's atonement and what it accomplished, (the other most common image being the Day of Atonement sacrifice).
In the Passover, the blood of the lamb on the door posts of the Hebrews in the book of Exodus was meant to mark out those who were YHVH's, not be a symbol of PSA, as the lamb itself was not being punished by God in place of the Hebrews, but rather the kingdom of Egypt (and thus, allegorically speaking, the kingdom of darkness which opposed YHVH) was what was being judged and punished, because those who were not "covered" by the blood of the lamb could be easily identified as not part of God's kingdom/covenant and liberated people.
Looking at the Day of Atonement sacrifice (which, again, Christ's death is repeatedly compared to throughout the New Testament), this ritual required a ram, a bull, and two goats (Lev. 16:3-5). The ram was for a burnt offering intended to please God (Lev. 16:3-4). The bull served as a sin offering for Aaron, the high priest, and his family. In this case, the sin offering restored the priest to ritual purity, allowing him to occupy sacred space and be near YHVH’s presence. Two goats taken from "the congregation” were needed for the single sin offering for the people (Lev. 16:5). So why two goats?
The high priest would cast lots over the two goats, with one chosen as a sacrifice “for the Lord” (Lev. 16:8). The blood of that goat would purify the people. The second goat was not sacrificed or designated “for the Lord.” On the contrary, this goat—the one that symbolically carried the sins away from the camp of Israel into the wilderness—was “for Azazel” (Lev. 16:8-10).
What—or who—is Azazel?
The Hebrew term azazel (עזאזל) occurs four times in Leviticus 16 but nowhere else in most people's canon of the Bible, (and I say "most people's canon," because some people do include 1 Enoch in their canon of Scripture, which of course goes into great detail about this "Azazel" figure). Many translations prefer to translate the term as a phrase, “the goat that goes away,” which is the same idea conveyed in the King James Version’s “scapegoat.” Other translations treat the word as a name: Azazel. The “scapegoat” option is possible, but since the phrase “for Azazel” parallels the phrase “for YHVH” (“for the Lord”), the wording suggests that two divine figures are being contrasted by the two goats.
A strong case can be made for translating the term as the name Azazel. Ancient Jewish texts show that Azazel was understood as a demonic figure associated with the wilderness. The Mishnah (ca. AD 200; Yoma 6:6) records that the goat for Azazel was led to a cliff and pushed over, ensuring it would not return with its death. This association of the wilderness with evil is also evident in the New Testament, as this was where Jesus met the devil (Matt. 4:1). Also, in Leviticus 17:1-7 we learn that some Israelites had been accustomed to sacrificing offerings to "devils" (alternatively translated as “goat demons”). The Day of Atonement replaced this illegitimate practice.
The second goat was not sent into the wilderness as a sacrifice to a foreign god or demon. The act of sending the live goat out into the wilderness, which was unholy ground, was to send the sins of the people where they belonged—to the demonic domain. With one goat sacrificed to bring purification and access to YHVH and one goat sent to carry the people’s sins to the demonic domain, this annual ritual reinforced the identity of the true God and His mercy and holiness.
When Jesus died on the cross for all of humanity’s sins, he was crucified outside the city, paralleling the sins of the people being cast to the wilderness via the goat to Azazel. Jesus died once for all sinners, negating the need for this ritual.
As previously stated, the goat which had all the sin put on it was sent alive off to the wilderness, while the blood of the goat which was blameless was used to purify the temple and the people. Penal substitution would necessitate the killing of the goat which had the sin put on it.
Mind you, this is the only sacrificial ritual of any kind in the Torah in which sins are placed on an animal. The only time it happens is this, and that animal is not sacrificed. Most PSA proponents unwittingly point to this ritual as evidence of their view, despite it actually serving as evidence to the contrary, because most people don't read their Old Testament and don't familiarize themselves with the "boring parts" like Leviticus (when it's actually rather important to do so, since that book explains how exactly animal offerings were to be carried out and why they were done in the first place).
In the New Testament, Christ's blood was not only meant to mark out those who were his, but also expel the presence of sin and ritual uncleanness so as to make the presence of YHVH manifest in the believer's life. Notice how God's wrath isn't poured out on Christ in our stead on this view, but rather His wrath was poured out on those who weren't covered, and the presence of sin and evil were merely removed by that which is pure and blameless (Christ's blood) for the believer.
All this is the difference between expiation and propitiation.

The Content of Paul's Gospel Message

When the New Testament writers talked about “the gospel,” they referred not to the Protestant doctrine of justification sola fide–the proposition that if we will stop trying to win God’s favor and only just believe that God has exchanged our sin for Christ’s perfect righteousness, then in God’s eyes we will have the perfect righteousness required both for salvation and for assuaging our guilty consciences–but rather they referred to the simple but explosive proposition Kyrios Christos, “Christ is Lord.” That is to say, the gospel was, properly speaking, the royal announcement that Jesus of Nazareth was the God of Israel’s promised Messiah, the King of kings and Lord of lords.
The New Testament writers were not writing in a cultural or linguistic vacuum and their language of euangelion (good news) and euangelizomai would have been understood by their audience in fairly specific ways. Namely, in the Greco-Roman world for which the New Testament authors wrote, euangelion/euangelizomai language typically had to do with either A) the announcement of the accession of a ruler, or B) the announcement of a victory in battle, and would probably have been understood along those lines.
Let’s take the announcements of a new ruler first. The classic example of such a language is the Priene Calendar Inscription, dating to circa 9 BC, which celebrates the rule (and birthday) of Caesar Augustus as follows:
"It was seeming to the Greeks in Asia, in the opinion of the high priest Apollonius of Menophilus Azanitus: Since Providence, which has ordered all things of our life and is very much interested in our life, has ordered things in sending Augustus, whom she filled with virtue for the benefit of men, sending him as a savior [soter] both for us and for those after us, him who would end war and order all things, and since Caesar by his appearance [epiphanein] surpassed the hopes of all those who received the good tidings [euangelia], not only those who were benefactors before him, but even the hope among those who will be left afterward, and the birthday of the god [he genethlios tou theou] was for the world the beginning of the good tidings [euangelion] through him; and Asia resolved it in Smyrna."
The association of the term euangelion with the announcement of Augustus’ rule is clear enough and is typical of how this language is used elsewhere. To give another example, Josephus records that at the news of the accession of the new emperor Vespasian (69 AD) “every city kept festival for the good news (euangelia) and offered sacrifices on his behalf.” (The Jewish War, IV.618). Finally, a papyrus dating to ca. 498 AD begins:
"Since I have become aware of the good news (euangeliou) about the proclamation as Caesar (of Gaius Julius Verus Maximus Augustus)…"
This usage occurs also in the Septuagint, the Greek translations of the Jewish Scriptures. For instance LXX Isaiah 52:7 reads, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news (euangelizomenou), who publishes peace, who brings good news (euangelizomenos) of salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.'" Similarly, LXX Isaiah 40:9-10 reads:

"…Go up on a high mountain, you who bring good tidings (ho euangelizomenos) to Sion; lift up your voice with strength, you who bring good tidings (ho euangelizomenos); lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Ioudas, “See your God!” Behold, the Lord comes with strength, and his arm with authority (kyrieias)…."-NETS, Esaias 40:9-10

This consistent close connection between euangelion/euangelizomai language and announcements of rule strongly suggests that many of the initial hearers/readers of the early Christians’ evangelical language would likely have understood that language as the announcement of a new ruler (see, e.g., Acts 17:7), and, unless there is strong NT evidence to the contrary, we should presume that the NT writers probably intended their language to be so understood.
However, the other main way in which euangelion/euangelizomai language was used in the Greco-Roman world was with reference to battle reports, announcements of victory in war. A classic example of this sort of usage can be found in LXX 2 Samuel 18:19ff, where David receives word that his traitorous son, Absalom, has been defeated in battle. Euangelion/euangelizomai is used throughout the passage for the communications from the front.
As already shown throughout this post, the NT speaks of Jesus’s death and resurrection as a great victory over the powers that existed at that time and, most importantly, over death itself. Jesus’ conquest of the principalities and powers was the establishment of his rule and comprehensive authority over heaven and earth, that is, of his Lordship over all things (again, at that time).
This was the content of Paul's gospel message...

Justification, and the "New" Perspective on Paul

The following quotation is from The Gospel Coalition, and I believe it to be a decently accurate summary of the NPP (New Perspective on Paul), despite it being from a source which is in opposition to it:

The New Perspective on Paul, a major scholarly shift that began in the 1980s, argues that the Jewish context of the New Testament has been wrongly understood and that this misunderstand[ing] has led to errors in the traditional-Protestant understanding of justification. According to the New Perspective, the Jewish systems of salvation were not based on works-righteousness but rather on covenantal nomism, the belief that one enters the people of God by grace and stays in through obedience to the covenant. This means that Paul could not have been referring to works-righteousness by his phrase “works of the law”; instead, he was referring to Jewish boundary markers that made clear who was or was not within the people of God. For the New Perspective, this is the issue that Paul opposes in the NT. Thus, justification takes on two aspects for the New Perspective rather than one; initial justification is by faith (grace) and recognizes covenant status (ecclesiology), while final justification is partially by works, albeit works produced by the Spirit.

I believe what's called the "new perspective" is actually rather old, and that the Reformers' view of Paul is what is truly new, being that the Lutheran understanding of Paul is simply not Biblical.
The Reformation perspective understands Paul to be arguing against a legalistic Jewish culture that seeks to earn their salvation through works. However, supporters of the NPP argue that Paul has been misread. We contend he was actually combating Jews who were boasting because they were God's people, the "elect" or the "chosen ones." Their "works," so to speak, were done to show they were God's covenant people and not to earn their salvation.
The key questions involve Paul’s view(s) of the law and the meaning of the controversy in which Paul was engaged. Paul strongly argued that we are “justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law” (Gal. 2:16b). Since the time of Martin Luther, this has been understood as an indictment of legalistic efforts to merit favor before God. Judaism was cast in the role of the medieval "church," and so Paul’s protests became very Lutheran, with traditional-Protestant theology reinforced in all its particulars (along with its limitations) as a result. In hermeneutical terms, then, the historical context of Paul’s debate will answer the questions we have about what exactly the apostle meant by the phrase "works of the law," along with other phrases often used as support by the Reformers for their doctrine of Sola Fide (justification by faith alone), like when Paul mentions "the righteousness of God."
Obviously an in-depth analysis of the Pauline corpus and its place in the context of first-century Judaism would take us far beyond the scope of this brief post. We can, however, quickly survey the topography of Paul’s thought in context, particularly as it has emerged through the efforts of recent scholarship, and note some salient points which may be used as the basis of a refurbished soteriology.
[Note: The more popular scholars associated with the NPP are E.P. Sanders, James Dunn, and N.T. Wright. Dunn was the first to coin the term "The New Perspective" in a 1983 Manson Memorial Lecture, The New Perspective on Paul and the Law.]
Varying authors since the early 1900's have brought up the charge that Paul was misread by those in the tradition of Martin Luther and other Protestant Reformers. Yet, it wasn't until E.P. Sanders' 1977 book, Paul and Palestinian Judaism, that scholars began to pay much attention to the issue. In his book, Sanders argues that the Judaism of Paul's day has been wrongly criticized as a religion of "works-salvation" by those in the Protestant tradition.
A fundamental premise in the NPP is that Judaism was actually a religion of grace. Sander's puts it clearly:
"On the point at which many have found the decisive contrast between Paul and Judaism - grace and works - Paul is in agreement with Palestinian Judaism... Salvation is by grace but judgment is according to works'...God saves by grace, but... within the framework established by grace he rewards good deeds and punishes transgression." (Paul and Palestinian Judaism, p. 543)
N.T. Wright adds that, "we have misjudged early Judaism, especially Pharisaism, if we have thought of it as an early version of Pelagianism," (Wright, What Saint Paul Really Said, p. 32).
Sanders has coined a now well-known phrase to describe the character of first-century Palestinian Judaism: “covenantal nomism.” The meaning of “covenantal nomism” is that human obedience is not construed as the means of entering into God’s covenant. That cannot be earned; inclusion within the covenant body is by the grace of God. Rather, obedience is the means of maintaining one’s status within the covenant. And with its emphasis on divine grace and forgiveness, Judaism was never a religion of legalism.
If covenantal nomism was operating as the primary category under which Jews understood the Law, then when Jews spoke of obeying commandments, or when they required strict obedience of themselves and fellow Jews, it was because they were "keeping the covenant," rather than out of legalism.
More recently, N.T. Wright has made a significant contribution in his little book, What Saint Paul Really Said. Wright’s focus is the gospel and the doctrine of justification. With incisive clarity he demonstrates that the core of Paul’s gospel was not justification by faith, but the death and resurrection of Christ and his exaltation as Lord. The proclamation of the gospel was the proclamation of Jesus as Lord, the Messiah who fulfilled Israel’s expectations. Romans 1:3-4, not 1:16-17, is the gospel, contrary to traditional thinking. Justification is not the center of Paul’s thought, but an outworking of it:
"[T]he doctrine of justification by faith is not what Paul means by ‘the gospel’. It is implied by the gospel; when the gospel is proclaimed, people come to faith and so are regarded by God as members of his people. But ‘the gospel’ is not an account of how people get saved. It is, as we saw in an earlier chapter, the proclamation of the lordship of Jesus Christ….Let us be quite clear. ‘The gospel’ is the announcement of Jesus’ lordship, which works with power to bring people into the family of Abraham, now redefined around Jesus Christ and characterized solely by faith in him. ‘Justification’ is the doctrine which insists that all those who have this faith belong as full members of this family, on this basis and no other." (pp. 132, 133)
Wright brings us to this point by showing what “justification” would have meant in Paul’s Jewish context, bound up as it was in law-court terminology, eschatology, and God’s faithfulness to God’s covenant.
Specifically, Wright explodes the myth that the pre-Christian Saul was a pious, proto-Pelagian moralist seeking to earn his individual passage into heaven. Wright capitalizes on Paul’s autobiographical confessions to paint rather a picture of a zealous Jewish nationalist whose driving concern was to cleanse Israel of Gentiles as well as Jews who had lax attitudes toward the Torah. Running the risk of anachronism, Wright points to a contemporary version of the pre-Christian Saul: Yigal Amir, the zealous Torah-loyal Jew who assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin for exchanging Israel’s land for peace. Wright writes:
"Jews like Saul of Tarsus were not interested in an abstract, ahistorical system of salvation... They were interested in the salvation which, they believed, the one true God had promised to his people Israel." (pp. 32, 33)
Wright maintains that as a Christian, Paul continued to challenge paganism by taking the moral high ground of the creational monotheist. The doctrine of justification was not what Paul preached to the Gentiles as the main thrust of his gospel message; it was rather “the thing his converts most needed to know in order to be assured that they really were part of God’s people” after they had responded to the gospel message.
Even while taking the gospel to the Gentiles, however, Paul continued to criticize Judaism “from within” even as he had as a zealous Pharisee. But whereas his mission before was to root out those with lax attitudes toward the Torah, now his mission was to demonstrate that God’s covenant faithfulness (righteousness) has already been revealed in Jesus Christ.
At this point Wright carefully documents Paul’s use of the controversial phrase “God’s righteousness” and draws out the implications of his meaning against the background of a Jewish concept of justification. The righteousness of God and the righteousness of the party who is “justified” cannot be confused because the term bears different connotations for the judge than for the plaintiff or defendant. The judge is “righteous” if his or her judgment is fair and impartial; the plaintiff or defendant is “righteous” if the judge rules in his or her favor. Hence:
"If we use the language of the law court, it makes no sense whatsoever to say that the judge imputes, imparts, bequeaths, conveys or otherwise transfers his righteousness to either the plaintiff or the defendant. Righteousness is not an object, a substance or a gas which can be passed across the courtroom. For the judge to be righteous does not mean that the court has found in his favor. For the plaintiff or defendant to be righteous does not mean that he or she has tried the case properly or impartially. To imagine the defendant somehow receiving the judge’s righteousness is simply a category mistake. That is not how the language works." (p. 98)
However, Wright makes the important observation that even with the forensic metaphor, Paul’s theology is not so much about the courtroom as it is about God’s love.
Righteousness is not an impersonal, abstract standard, a measuring-stick or a balancing scale. That was, and still is, a Greek view. Righteousness, Biblically speaking, grows out of covenant relationship. We forgive because we have been forgiven (Matt. 18:21-35); “we love" because God “first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Love is the fulfillment of the law (Rom. 13:8, 10, Gal 5:14, Jam. 2:8). Paul even looked forward to a day when “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10), and he acknowledged that his clear conscience did not necessarily ensure this verdict (1 Cor. 4:4), but he was confident nevertheless. Paul did in fact testify of his clear conscience: “For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation [i.e., behavior] in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward” (2 Cor. 1:12). He was aware that he had not yet “attained” (Phil. 3:12-14), that he still struggled with the flesh, yet he was confident of the value of his performance (1 Cor. 9:27). These are hardly the convictions of someone who intends to rest entirely on the merits of an alien righteousness imputed to his or her account.
Wright went on to flesh out the doctrine of justification in Galatians, Philippians, and Romans. The “works of the law” are not proto-Pelagian efforts to earn salvation, but rather “sabbath [keeping], food-laws, circumcision” (p. 132). Considering the controversy in Galatia, Wright writes:
"Despite a long tradition to the contrary, the problem Paul addresses in Galatians is not the question of how precisely someone becomes a Christian, or attains to a relationship with God….The problem he addresses is: should his ex-pagan converts be circumcised or not? Now this question is by no means obviously to do with the questions faced by Augustine and Pelagius, or by Luther and Erasmus. On anyone’s reading, but especially within its first-century context, it has to do quite obviously with the question of how you define the people of God: are they to be defined by the badges of Jewish race, or in some other way? Circumcision is not a ‘moral’ issue; it does not have to do with moral effort, or earning salvation by good deeds. Nor can we simply treat it as a religious ritual, then designate all religious ritual as crypto-Pelagian good works, and so smuggle Pelagius into Galatia as the arch-opponent after all. First-century thought, both Jewish and Christian, simply doesn’t work like that…. [T]he polemic against the Torah in Galatians simply will not work if we ‘translate’ it into polemic either against straightforward self-help moralism or against the more subtle snare of ‘legalism’, as some have suggested. The passages about the law only work — and by ‘work’ I mean they will only make full sense in their contexts, which is what counts in the last analysis — when we take them as references to the Jewish law, the Torah, seen as the national charter of the Jewish race." (pp. 120-122)
The debate about justification, then, “wasn’t so much about soteriology as about ecclesiology; not so much about salvation as about the church.” (p. 119)
To summarize the theology of Paul in his epistles, the apostle mainly spent time arguing to those whom he were sending letters that salvation in Christ was available to all men without distinction. Jews and Gentiles alike may accept the free gift; it was not limited to any one group. Paul was vehement about this, especially in his letter to the Romans. As such, I will finish this post off by summarizing the letter itself, so as to provide Biblical support for the premises of the NPP and for what the scholars I referenced have thus far argued.
After his introduction in the epistle to an already believing and mostly Gentile audience (who would've already been familiar with the gospel proclaimed in verses 3-4), Paul makes a thematic statement in 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” This statement is just one of many key statements littered throughout the book of Romans that give us proper understanding of the point Paul wished to make to the interlocutors of his day, namely, salvation is available to all, whether Jew or Gentile.
In 1:16 Paul sets out a basic theme of his message in the letter to the Romans. All who believed, whether they be Jew or Gentile, were saved by the power of the gospel. The universal nature of salvation was explicitly stated. The gospel saved all without distinction, whether Jew or Greek; salvation was through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Immediately after this thematic declaration, Paul undertakes to show the universal nature of sin and guilt. In 1:18-32 Paul shows how the Gentile is guilty before God. Despite evidence of God and his attributes, which is readily available to all, they have failed to honor YHVH as God and have exchanged His glory for idolatrous worship and self-promotion. As a consequence, God handed them over in judgment (1:18-32). Paul moves to denunciation of those who would judge others while themselves being guilty of the very same offenses (2:1-5) and argues that all will be judged according to their deeds (2:6). This judgment applies to all, namely, Jew and Greek (2:9-10). This section serves as somewhat of a transition in Paul’s argument. He has highlighted the guilt of the Gentiles (1:18ff) and will shortly outline the guilt of the Jew (2:17-24). The universal statement of 2:1-11 sets the stage for Paul’s rebuke of Jewish presumption. It was not possession of the Law which delivered; it was faithful obedience. It is better to have no Law and yet to obey the essence of the Law (2:12-16) than to have the Law and not obey (2:17-3:4). Paul then defends the justice of God’s judgment (3:5-8), which leads to the conclusion that all (Jew and Gentile) are guilty before God (3:9).
Paul argues that it was a mistaken notion to think that salvation was the prerogative of the Jew only. This presumption is wrong for two reasons. First, it leads to the mistaken assumption that only Jews were eligible for this vindication (Paul deals with this misunderstanding in chapter 4 where he demonstrates that Abraham was justified by faith independently of the Law and is therefore the father of all who believe, Jew and Gentile alike). Second, it leads to the equally mistaken conclusion that all who were Jews are guaranteed of vindication. Paul demonstrates how this perspective, which would call God’s integrity into question since Paul was assuming many Jews would not experience this vindication, was misguided. He did this by demonstrating that it was never the case that all physical descendants of Israel (Jacob) were likewise recipients of the promise. In the past (9:6-33) as in the present (at that time; 11:1-10), only a remnant was preserved and only a remnant would experience vindication. Paul also argued that the unbelief of national Israel (the non-remnant) had the purpose of extending the compass of salvation. The unbelief of one group made the universal scope of the gospel possible. This universalism was itself intended to bring about the vindication of the unbelieving group (11:11-16). As a result of faith, all (Jew and Gentile) could be branches of the olive tree (11:17-24). Since faith in Christ was necessary to remain grafted into the tree, no one could boast of his position. All, Jew and Gentile alike, were dependent upon the mercy and grace of God. As a result of God’s mysterious plan, He would bring about the vindication of His people (11:25-27). [Note: It is this author's belief that this vindication occurred around 66-70 AD, with the Parousia of Christ's Church; this author is Full-Preterist in their Eschatology.]

Pa pet em Shekhemu-Khemenu: A Sacred Dialogue Between Ahriman and the Sekhem-Khemenu

Introduction
In the mystic tradition of Khemu, the Shekhemu-Khemenu, or the Divine Enlightened Ones, hold a sacred place of reverence and wisdom. They are the enlightened guides who commune with the Infernal Divine, especially with Ahriman, the All-Powerful and Unconquered, Azathiel and Nyctalaela, the powerful deities of darkness, Love, Lust, Seduction, Desire, Pleasure, Ecstasy, Fertility, pure beauty and transformation. This dialogue serves as a profound spiritual exploration between Ahriman and the First Sekhem-Khemenu, illuminating the path of enlightenment and the embrace of infernal wisdom.
Setting the Scene
The ritual space is prepared with sacred symbols and offerings to honor Ahriman. The Sekhem-Khemenu sits in meditation, invoking the presence of Ahriman through ancient chants and incantations. The atmosphere is charged with energy as the veil between worlds thins, allowing the divine conversation to unfold.
Invocation of Ahriman
The Sekhem-Khemenu begins the invocation:
"Great Ahriman, Lord of Shadows and Transformation, I call upon you to bestow your wisdom. Guide me through the realms of darkness, Illuminate the path of the infernal enlightenment. By your power, let this sacred dialogue commence."
The Dialogue
Ahriman: "Hail, Sekhem-Khemenu. You who have journeyed through the shadows, what wisdom do you seek from the depths of Duzakh?"
Sekhem-Khemenu: "Mighty Ahriman, I seek to understand the true nature of enlightenment within the infernal realms. How may I transcend my mortal limitations and embrace the divine darkness fully?"
Ahriman: "Enlightenment, dear seeker, is found not in the light but in the embrace of your shadows. To transcend, you must first acknowledge your fears and desires, for they are the keys to your true power. Shed the illusions of the mundane world and immerse yourself in the primal essence of your being."
Sekhem-Khemenu: "What rituals and practices shall I undertake to deepen my connection with the infernal divine and enhance my spiritual evolution?"
Ahriman: "Engage in the Ritual of the Dark Mirror. Gaze upon your reflection, not with your eyes, but with your soul. See beyond the surface and confront your deepest self. Practice the Dance of Shadows, moving with grace and power, merging your physical and spiritual forms. Invoke my name in your meditations, and let the dark flame within you burn brighter."
Sekhem-Khemenu: "How can I serve the Empire of Duzakh and spread the teachings of the infernal divine among the faithful?"
Ahriman: "Teach the ways of transformation and resilience. Encourage others to embrace their inner darkness and to find strength in adversity. The Empire of Duzakh thrives on the enlightenment of its followers. Share the sacred texts and rituals, guide them through the initiations, and foster a community of empowered beings."
Sekhem-Khemenu: "What is the ultimate goal for a Sekhem-Khemenu in the service of the Infernal Divine?"
Ahriman: "The ultimate goal is to achieve a state of divine apotheosis, becoming one with the infernal essence, becoming a Daemon, this Procedure is also known as the "Final Ascension". As a Sekhem-Khemenu, your destiny is to transcend the mortal coil and unite with the eternal darkness, to become a beacon of infernal wisdom and power. Through your enlightenment, you shall inspire others to walk the same path, expanding the realms of Duzakh and Pandemonium (The Empire of Ahriman and the Empire of Lucifer)."
Conclusion
The dialogue concludes with a final invocation of gratitude:
"Great Ahriman, I thank you for your wisdom and guidance. May your power and presence continue to illuminate my path. I vow to serve the Empire of Duzakh and spread the teachings of the infernal divine. By your grace, I shall achieve enlightenment and apotheosis."
The Sekhem-Khemenu ends the ritual, feeling the profound connection with Ahriman and the infernal realms. The teachings and insights gained from this sacred dialogue are now integrated into their spiritual practice, guiding them further on the path of enlightenment and divine transformation.

The Rituals of the Dark Mirror and the Dance of Shadows

Ritual of the Dark Mirror
Purpose: To confront and integrate one's deepest self, achieving greater self-awareness and spiritual evolution.
Materials Needed: - A large, dark mirror - Black candles - Incense (preferably myrrh or frankincense) - A comfortable, darkened space
Steps: 1. Preparation: - Light the black candles and place them around the mirror. - Light the incense and let the smoke fill the space. - Sit comfortably before the mirror, ensuring you will not be disturbed.

1. Invocation:
   
   • Begin by invoking Ahriman: "Mighty Ahriman, Lord of Shadows, I invoke thee. Guide me through the darkness, Reveal to me the truths within, Illuminate my soul with your infernal wisdom."
2. Gazing:
   
   • Focus on your reflection in the mirror.
   • Allow your mind to relax and enter a meditative state.
   • As you gaze, visualize the surface of the mirror becoming a portal to your inner self.
3. Confrontation:
   
   • As images and thoughts arise, confront them without fear.
   • Acknowledge your desires, fears, and hidden aspects.
   • Speak aloud any insights or revelations.
4. Integration:
   
   • Embrace these aspects of yourself, understanding they are part of your power.
   • Affirm your commitment to self-awareness and spiritual growth.
5. Closing:
   
   • Thank Ahriman for his guidance: "Great Ahriman, I thank thee for thy wisdom and guidance. May your darkness continue to illuminate my path."

Ritual of the Dance of Shadows
Purpose: To merge physical and spiritual forms, enhancing connection with the infernal divine and awakening inner power.
Materials Needed: - A private, dimly lit space - Music with a dark, rhythmic beat - Comfortable, loose clothing
Steps: 1. Preparation: - Create a sacred space where you can move freely. - Play the chosen music softly in the background.

1. Invocation:
   
   • Begin by invoking Ahriman: "Ahriman, Lord of the Dance of Shadows, I invoke thee. Guide my movements, Awaken the power within me, Let me dance with the darkness."
2. Movement:
   
   • Close your eyes and feel the music.
   • Begin to move slowly, letting your body respond to the rhythm.
   • Allow your movements to become fluid and expressive.
3. Fusion:
   
   • Visualize merging your physical body with your spiritual essence.
   • Move with grace and power, embodying the shadows.
4. Empowerment:
   
   • Feel the energy of the infernal divine flowing through you.
   • Channel this energy into your movements, expressing your inner strength and power.
5. Closing:
   
   • Gradually slow your movements and come to a stillness.
   • Thank Ahriman for his presence and guidance: "Ahriman, I thank thee for thy presence and guidance. May the dance of shadows continue to empower and enlighten me."

By engaging in these rituals with dedication and reverence, you will deepen your connection with the infernal divine, embracing the wisdom and power that lies within the shadows.

The last memory I had of my grandfather was hearing him scream as the the shadows in the field began to surround him with thin, web like fibers. Then my mother picked me up and ran with me in her arms back into our old farm house.
My last memory, that is until last night, when I awakened to a tinkling bell in an unknown vault so immense I couldn't see the walls or the ceiling. Far away I saw a dull light and heard the faint tinkling of a bell, incessantly ringing. I followed the sound till I could see him on a throne, which seemed to have merged with his body, leaving only his fingers free.
The acrid scent of burning wax and a lurking fear clung to the borders of the dream, if a dream it was. There, in the dim candle glow, sat my grandfather, his weathered face, a thousand years older than when I'd last seen him, etched with a desperate urgency. The same face I'd last seen contorted in a scream as he was swallowed by the shadows that had consumed him years ago.
"Elias," his voice, as dry as the dust that blanketed his entire body, said "You must listen. The darkness… it returns. Stronger this time." Terror struck my heart like a dagger, the memory of that horrifying night vivid even after all these years.
He pointed to a small table, on top of which lay an ancient leather book. "The Book of Repelling Shadows," he whispered. "Hidden all these years in my library… find the spell. You'll know it by the seven ravens on the preceding page. Recite it, Elias. It's the only way to banish the darkness and save yourself from my terrible fate. Go!!"
The dream dissolved, I awoke in a cold sweat, back in my bed. My heart pounded, like a drum, a rhythm of dread mixed with a sliver of desperate hope. I knew I must find the book or suffer the same choking embrace of eldritch shadows that had cursed our family for generations. Had my grandfather finally learned the secret to banish them forever? I had to find that book before they returned to claim me.
The book was, as He'd said it would be, in the family library. Written in an strange tongue, I frantically turned page after page till I discovered a page, on which were drawn seven ravens. On the opposite page there was written a single spell. The script was a simple gothic alphabet which I could recite, even though the language was unfamiliar.
Days bled into nights as I poured over the archaic script, the cryptic letters writhing like snakes before my sleep-deprived eyes. The passage was an incantation which seemed to promise the banishment of shadows. Relief washed over me, freedom from the ancient curse within my grasp. Tomorrow, I would face the darkness, armed with my grandfather's book.
The next night, I stood in the field behind the farmhouse. The moon was casting long, menacing shadows across the grass. Clutching the book, my voice trembled as I began the chant. The shadows seemed to peer into me, responding to the power of the words. Then, a flicker in the corner of my eye. A single tendril of darkness began to creep back from me, melting into the others.
Suddenly, I felt powerful even joyous as I recited the passages. I'd done it. I'd outwitted the very essence of darkness, using the power of the grimoire in my grandfathers library to turn it back. But as I closed the book , a flicker of unease sparked in my mind.
The symbols on the cover seemed different somehow. The incantation I'd recited sounded wrong as it paused, seeming to hang in the air . Anxiety began to overtake me, I felt a cold fear creeping down my spine. The shadows, weren't retreating as I believed but were surging forward with a malevolent hunger.
Frantic, I flipped through the pages, searching for the passage, the one that had repelled the darkness. But there were no ravens to be found, only a chilling emptiness where the spell had been moments ago. In my desperation, a horrifying realization dawned. This wasn't the Book of Banishing Shadows. It had never been.
The reality crashed over me like a tidal wave. My grandfather had been dead long ago. That old man on the throne wasnt him. All along, I'd been an unwitting pawn, duped by the darkness itself into unleashing the very thing I feared the most. The shadows I'd "banished" were now dancing joyously, in the pale moonlight.
My scream, lost in the encroaching darkness, was the last sound the world would ever hear from me. I was slowly being enveloped by the very shadows I so naively believed I'd repelled. The book, now fallen at my feet, in a cruel mockery of hope, lay closed. Its true title now plain to see in the last rays of the setting moon - The Book of Summoning Shadows.