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dedicated to nan,sid rip,,also dedicated to the staff at chrome an black,,,, rate, 2cold,olivia,cemo(paris),,,,,,sur,dis1,soma,dicer,colour,drift27,astec, and the rest of yds,cms,rfk familys,
Shot with my dedicated IR camera.
Many thanks to all those who take the time to view add them as favourites and comment on my photographs. It is very much appreciated.
© All rights reserved David Attenborough. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
Dedicated to all my flickr friends!
This is the leaf of the Greek cyclamen (Cyclamen graecum).
It feels and looks like velvet and has wonderful patterns, don't you think?
This shot is dedicated to my dear friend Alan (lightbox 2008) who is feeling under the weather and since returning to England from his visit has gotten a bad cold. Hope the memories of this visit and this moment put a smile on your face. Feel better soon dear friend!
We would both like to thank Doris (d.lily) for taking us to this amazing place in Vacaville where there were many burrowing owls just flying around and landing on different perches and just sitting by the side of the road.Doris I cant wait till next year for the babies!
It was an amazing day spent with Doris, Marty and Alan! We had a blast! Always a pleasure shooting and hanging out with all of you!
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Athens Photo Inspiration 2011 ~ An International Photo Event in which i went 2 weeks ago. For information about this Cultural Museum read below ! This place used to produce gas many years ago !
Technopolis (Gazi) is an industrial museum and a major cultural venue of the City of Athens, Greece, in the neighborhood of Gazi, next to Keramikos and very close to the Acropolis. It is dedicated to the memory of the great Greek composer Manos Hatzidakis, which is why it is also known as "Gazi Technopolis Manos Hatzidakis".[1] It has been in operation since 1999 and is situated in the city's former gasworks which were founded in 1857, occupying an area of about 30.000 m2. Numerous exhibitions, seminars, music concerts and other cultural activities take place in the grounds. Eight of the buildings of the compound bear the names of famous Greek poets: Andreas Embirikos, Angelos Sikelianos, Yannis Ritsos, Kostis Palamas, Takis Papatsonis, Constantine Cavafis and Kostas Varnalis. On the second floor of the Angelos Sikelianos building is a museum dedicated to the renowned opera singer Maria Callas.
Dedicated to all you, my friends and contacts of Flickr. Very grateful for your friendship and for all the visits to my Gallery.
I wish you a Happy and Healthy 2012.
With a lot of "Photo pleasures". Big hugs.
This photo was nominated in a photocontest in 2009 of National Geographic.
Copyright by Marion Olde Scheper.
Dedicated to Ventura County Sheriff’s Deputy Eugene Kostiuchenko who was tragically killed by a drunk driver. Kostiuchenko, 41, was killed on Oct. 28, 2014 when he was struck by a car on the 101 Freeway near Lewis Road in Camarillo, CA. Deputy Kostiuchenko had just finished a traffic stop and was returning to his vehicle when he was hit by the car.
Under the leadership of Police Chief Jeri Williams, the Oxnard Police Department employs 254 sworn officers and 158 civilian support personnel. The crime rate today is at its lowest level in decades. The Department promotes a community-based policing philosophy, and has embraced prevention and intervention strategies in policing the city.
Dedicated to "C" with heartfelt thanks for many inspirations for a great and growing project ....
[Text and image copyright Caren (©all rights reserved)]
please respect my copyright : Do not use any image without my previous written authorization, NOT even in social networks. If you want to use a photograph, please contact me!
Bitte mein Copyright (©Alle Rechte vorbehalten) beachten!
Meine Fotos und Texte dürfen ohne meine vorherige und schriftliche Zustimmung NICHT von Dritten verwendet werden, auch nicht in sozialen Netzwerken. Falls Interesse an einem Foto besteht, bitte ich um Kontaktaufnahme!]
This image is dedicated to the multi-talented artist Sigi Kolbe... for writing and sending me the most amazing testimonial today! Thanks Sigi... this one is for you!!
Yes... I know... it's yet another Vertorama of some sunset clouds over Table Mountain from one of Cape Town's west-coast beaches... yawn! But this was actually quite a magic moment that I almost managed to miss. I was so intent on capturing the setting sun with the waves breaking over the rocks in front of me... that I really only noticed this by chance... when I happened to look over my left shoulder. This was definitely an "Oh Wow" moment for me... I didn't stop to appreciate it though... I immediately turned my camera around on the tripod... and shot off a dozen or so frames. I know that this is a subject that I've photographed to death already... but hey... this looked so good that I just couldn't resist!! :)
Nikon D300, Sigma 10-20mm at 14mm, aperture of f11, with a 1/60th second exposure.
Click here to check out my Vertorama tutorial.
Aircraft: Boeing CH-47 Chinook (87-00070)
Unit: Company B, 2nd Battalion-135th Aviation Regiment (GSAB)
Airport: Buckley AFB, CO
CW5 David R. Carter, from the Colorado Army National Guard, was killed on 6 Aug 2011 in Afghanistan while piloting a CH-47 under the callsign of Extortion 17
Website: One Mile High Photography
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My way to thank her for her so kind comments. A long story though! Grandma Eleanor carries the name of a great figure in English history, that of Eleanor of Aquitaine, spouse to King Henry II of the House of Plantagenet. Please refer to the specifics in the comment box...
-Dédiée à grandmaman Eleanor.
Ma façon de la remercier pour ses commentaires si aimables. Une bien longue histoire! Grand-mère Eleanor porte le nom d'une grande figure de l'histoire Anglaise, celui d'Aliénor d'Aquitaine, épouse du roi Henri II de la famille des Plantagenêt. S'il vous plaît se référer aux détails dans la boîte de commentaire ...
DEDICATED TO MY WIFE THERESA JANE BROWN WHO IS IN SPAIN ON BEHALF OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF DANCE AS A CLASSICAL BALLET EXAMINER (from May 5 until June 9, 2019).
Down town Athens.
Photo of me taken on May 24, 2019.
Thanassis Fournarakos - Θανάσης Φουρναράκος
Professional Photographer, Athens, Greece
(retired in 2011, born in 1946).
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
None of my images may be downloaded, copied, reproduced, manipulated or used on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit written permission. THANK YOU!
My instagram is dedicated to dolls and OOAK: www.instagram.com/ksenija_fairytale/
Instagram dedicated to my ordinary life:
A golden idol
flushed away
by bloody tears.
But it was the blood,
that brought healing
to the wounded heart.
Drops of the soul
caught and saved
by loving hands.
(Ines Langs, June 3rd, 2007)
Highest position in Explore on Monday, June 11, 2007: # 116
OH MY GOSH ! itsGuGu'ti's burthday . .
sweet 14 5m***i :$ ! Omwa7 :$
Adore youh ya a7la 5m5m ! :O w miss
youh wayed :( ! enjoy ur day (K)!
Dedicated to The best Photographer and teacher bohamdan999, and to my flickr friends...
© All Rights Reserved
please DON'T COPY any of my images or use them for any reason without permission ..
I hope you have a wonderful holiday and enjoy the New Year!! And thank you so much for all of your kind comments, invites and your inspiring photography. But most of all, thank you for your friendship! :)
Dedicated to that person who says I cannot take a happy picture to save my life.
Bear Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. View large on black
Dedicated to respect the initiative, resourcefulness and persistence of the cowhands of the open range era, and to honor the ranchers of those early days
Sculpture by Rich Roenisch
Bar U Ranch
The Grade I Listed Norwich Cathedral which is dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity, it is the cathedral church for the Church of England Diocese of Norwich and is one of the Norwich 12 heritage sites. The cathedral close is one of the largest in England and one of the largest in Europe and has more people living within it than any other close. The cathedral spire, measuring at 315 ft or 96 m, is the second tallest in England despite being partly rebuilt after being struck by lightning in 1169, just 23 months after its completion. In Norwich Norfolk.
In 672 the Archbishop of Canterbury, Theodore of Tarsus divided East Anglia into two dioceses, one covering Norfolk, with its see at Elmham, the other, covering Suffolk with its see at Dunwich. During much of the 9th century, because of the Danish incursions, there was no bishop at Elmham; in addition the see of Dunwich was extinguished and East Anglia became a single diocese once more. Following the Norman Conquest many sees were moved to more secure urban centres, that of Elmham being transferred to Thetford in 1072, and finally to Norwich in 1094.
The structure of the cathedral is primarily in the Norman style, having been constructed at the behest of Bishop Herbert de Losinga who had bought the bishopric for £1,900 before its transfer from Thetford. Building started in 1096 and the cathedral was completed in 1145. It was built from flint and mortar and faced with cream coloured Caen limestone. It still retains the greater part of its original stone structure. An Anglo-Saxon settlement and two churches were demolished to make room for the buildings and a canal cut to allow access for the boats bringing the stone and building materials which were taken up the Wensum and unloaded at Pulls Ferry, Norwich.
The ground plan remains almost entirely as it was in Norman times, except for that of the easternmost chapel. The cathedral has an unusually long nave of fourteen bays. The transepts are without aisles and the east end terminates in an apse with an ambulatory.
The crossing tower was the last piece of the Norman cathedral to be completed, in around 1140. It is boldly decorated with circles, lozenges and interlaced arcading. The present spire was added in the late fifteenth century.
The cathedral was damaged after riots in 1272, which resulted in the city paying heavy fines levied by Henry III, Rebuilding was completed in 1278 and the cathedral was reconsecrated in the presence of Edward I on Advent Sunday of that year.
A large two-storey cloister, the only such in England, with over 1,000 ceiling bosses was begun in 1297 and finally finished in 1430 after the Black Death had plagued the city.
The Norman spire was blown down in 1362. Its fall caused considerable damage to the east end, as a result of which the clerestory of the choir was rebuilt in the Perpendicular style. In the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, the cathedrals flat timber ceilings were replaced with stone vaults: the nave was vaulted under Bishop Lyhart (1446–72), the choir under Bishop Goldwell (1472–99) and the transepts after 1520.
In 1463 the spire was struck by lightning, causing a fire to rage through the nave which was so intense it turned some of the creamy Caen limestone a pink colour. In 1480 the bishop, James Goldwell, ordered the building of a new spire which is still in place today. It is of brick faced with stone, supported on brick squinches built into the Norman tower. At 315 feet (96 metres) high, the spire is the second tallest in England. Only that of Salisbury Cathedral is taller at 404 feet (123 metres).
The cathedral was partially in ruins when John Cosin was at the grammar school in the early 17th century and the former bishop was an absentee figure. In 1643 during the reign of Charles I, an angry Puritan mob invaded the cathedral and destroyed all Roman Catholic symbols. The building, abandoned the following year, lay in ruins for two decades. The mob also fired their muskets. At least one musket ball remains lodged in the stonework. Only at the Restoration in 1660 would the cathedral be restored under Charles II.
Dedicated to Imran Khan
Last night imran helped me to make my first photoshop creation...it was quite difficult for me coz i am not a regular user of PS but with the help of imran i did it finally...
Dedicated to all the "Amateurs du P'tit Beurre LU" !!!
The only vestige of the LU factory. View from the Castle des Ducs de Bretagne !!!
Shot in Nantes - Loire Atlantique - France -
Lefèvre Utile, better known worldwide by the initials LU, is a manufacturer brand of French biscuits, emblematic of the city of Nantes. The brand is now part of Mondelēz International since 2007, after its acquisition from the group Danone. The Petit-Beurre biscuit remains the flagship product alongside the Boudoir, Champagne, Petit four, Prince, Pim's, Paille d'Or, etc.
Lefèvre-Utile was founded in Nantes, France, in 1846 by Jean-Romain Lefèvre. Originally he sold biscuits from the English factory Huntley & Palmers and then he began his own production. The name LU comes from Lefèvre and his business partner and wife, Pauline-Isabelle Utile. Their initials were first utilized by Alfons Mucha for an 1897 calendar ad for the Lefèvre-Utile Biscuit Co. That same year the company hired Firmin Bouisset to create a poster ad. Bouisset, already noted for his work for the Menier Chocolate company, created Petit Écolier ("the Little Schoolboy") which incorporated the LU initials. Bouisset's poster was used extensively and the image was embossed on the company's Petit Beurre line of biscuits. Within a few years, the success of the logo resulted in the company becoming known as LU.
The founder's son, Louis Lefèvre-Utile, took over the company and eventually it was acquired by Générale Biscuit S.A., which in turn was sold to Groupe Danone in 1986. Although an international brand today, LU products are primarily distributed in Western Europe, and in 2005 represented nearly half of the sales for Danone's biscuits and cereal division.
In November 2007, LU was sold to Kraft Foods.
Rare Aromatic Plants and Incense Resins from the Mediterranean by Daniel Arrhakis (2026)
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Rare Aromatic Plants and Incense Resins of the Mediterranean
Following the ritual and practical framing of herbal sticks, it is important to know some of the most significant Mediterranean aromatic plants and resins. Although the incense market is often dominated by exotic resins such as frankincense and myrrh, the Mediterranean has its own precious and rare resins, deeply linked to the history, spirituality, and traditional practices of the region.
Among the main ones are Chios mastic (Pistacia lentiscus), rockrose labdanum (Cistus ladanifer), lavender (Lavandula stoechas and Lavandula angustifolia), juniper (Juniperus communis), terebinth (Pistacia terebinthus), juniper (Juniperus thurifera), and sandarac (Tetraclinis articulata).
1. Mastic of Chios or Lentisk (Pistacia lentiscus)
Mastic of Chios, also known as mastic tree, comes from a dioecious plant, with separate male and female individuals.
Associated with the island of Chios in Greece, it is known as the "tears of Chios". It exists in various areas of the Mediterranean, including Portugal and Spain, and is one of the most valued resins in the world, used since antiquity for its fresh, resinous, and slightly citrusy aroma.
In ancient Greece and Rome, it was used for oral hygiene, being considered one of the ancestors of chewing gum and certain traditional tooth preparations.
In spiritual and ritualistic contexts, mastic is valued for the following symbolic properties:
Purification and clarity: burned as incense, it helps to cleanse sacred spaces and purify the mind, promoting concentration and meditation.
Solar and psychic connection: traditionally associated with the Sun, it symbolizes vitality, optimism, and spiritual enlightenment.
Resilience and healing: being a resin produced by the tree to protect its wounds, it represents regeneration, energetic protection, and recovery.
Elemental attributes: linked to the element Air, it is used in rituals of lightness, mental liberation, and renewal of purpose.
Practical Applications in Rituals
Meditation incense: creates an atmosphere of peace and helps to calm mental noise.
Base for compositions: can function as a fixative or base in complex incense mixtures, such as Egyptian kyphi, and in symbolic preparations described in ancient grimoires.
Healing rituals: in some Greek and Arabic traditions, fumigations with mastic accompany prayers and practices dedicated to physical and emotional recovery.
Note: Grimoires, from the French *grimoire*, are medieval collections or books of symbols, rituals, incantations, and magical instructions for invocations and the creation of amulets.
2. Rockrose and Labdanum (Cistus ladanifer)
The rockrose, an emblematic plant of Mediterranean landscapes, has a profound symbolism linked to purification, resilience, and protection. Its ritual importance derives both from its ability to survive in poor soils and regenerate after fire, and from the aromatic resin it exudes: labdanum.
This dark and sticky resin, historically collected even from the wool of goats grazing among the rockroses, became an important base for the amber aroma in classic perfumery and an incense with a strong symbolic presence.
Purification and energetic cleansing: rockrose is used in fumigations to remove dense energies and prepare the space for sacred practices.
Resilience and rebirth: due to its ability to sprout again after fires, it symbolizes overcoming, new beginnings, and inner strength.
Protection and sealing: its leaves and resin are associated with creating a protective layer against harmful influences.
Mediterranean ancestry: in Iberian traditions, the rockrose appears as a plant connecting to the earth, the sun, and the local spirits of the landscape.
3. Lavender (Lavandula stoechas and Lavandula angustifolia)
Lavender, also known as lavender or rosemary, is valued for its relaxing aroma and its spiritual and therapeutic properties. It acts as a plant of balance, emotional soothing, and subtle purification.
Energetic purification and cleansing: it helps to cleanse dense vibrations from environments and the auric field.
Spiritual protection: it is used to ward off heavy energies and promote inner peace.
Calm and mental balance: it favors meditation, introspection, and emotional serenity. Emotional Harmony: In rituals, it is associated with peace, tenderness, happiness, and family harmony.
Ritual Use: It appears in baths, fumigations, blessings, and aromatic cleansing preparations.
Active Principles and Common Uses
Lavender essential oil is rich in bioactive compounds, such as linalool and linalyl acetate, frequently associated with calming, sedative, anxiolytic, and anti-inflammatory effects.
Its aroma acts on the nervous system, potentially helping to reduce anxiety, improve sleep quality, and relieve headaches.
4. Juniper (Juniperus communis)
Lavender baths: used for physical relaxation and energetic cleansing.
Infusions and localized baths: can be traditionally used for calming and soothing effects.
Air fresheners and colognes: perfume the environment and contribute to a more serene atmosphere.
Juniper (Juniperus communis)
Juniper resin and berries have an ancient symbolism centered on protection, purification, and courage. Historically, this plant was seen as an aromatic shield against negative energies and as a facilitator of dialogue with the sacred.
Among its main spiritual meanings are:
Protection and shield: used to ward off negative energies, purify environments, and protect people and objects.
Courage and strength: associated with resilience, it symbolically helps to overcome fears and discouragement.
Purification and healing: its intense aroma is linked to physical, spiritual, and emotional cleansing.
... Renewal and hope: in biblical traditions, it appears as shelter and a symbol of refuge in moments of fragility.
Tree of life: in some traditions, it represents the connection between the earthly and spiritual worlds.
5. Terebinth (Pistacia terebinthus)
The resin of the terebinth tree has a spiritual and ethnocultural symbolism linked to purification, protection, and rites of passage, especially in funerary and devotional contexts.
Its main symbolic uses include:
Funerary rites and protection: the resin was burned in tombs in antiquity, which gave it symbolism of transition, protection of the soul, and respect for the dead.
Connection with the sacred: the terebinth appears in biblical and traditional contexts as a tree associated with places of worship, prayer, and memory.
Cleansing and elevation: its aromatic resin symbolizes the purification of environments and spiritual elevation.
Resistance and longevity: being a rustic and resistant plant, it represents strength, permanence, and grounding.
Although it can be confused with the mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus) in the production of fragrant resins, the terebinth is distinguished by its valuable turpentine, known since Ancient Greece.
6. Sabina-albar (Juniperus thurifera)
The resin of the sabina-albar has strong mystical and traditional symbolism, especially for its use as incense. The gum resin extracted from this tree is often known as "male incense." The smoke from its burning is associated with the elevation of prayers, purification, and the presence of the sacred.
Male incense: resin traditionally valued in liturgical and spiritual practices.
Elevation of prayers: the smoke symbolizes the ascension of prayers to heaven.
Purification: used as an aromatic resin in spiritual cleansing practices.
Origin and form: It often appears in tears or grains of varying sizes, with a strong connection to North African traditions.
7. Sandaraca (Tetraclinis articulata)
Sandarac is a pale yellow resin from a cypress tree native to North Africa and parts of Spain. It has a balsamic, slightly fruity aroma and is valued in practices of mental clarity, protection, and purification.
Its use in animistic and spiritual rituals reflects the connection of North African and Mediterranean cultures to natural elements, understood as bearers of their own essence and spiritual presence.
These are the central aspects of its ritual and animistic use:
Animistic Practices and Rituals
Clarity and focus: burning the resin helps to dissipate "mental fog," being used before meditations or divination practices.
Warding off spirits (jinn): in North African folklore, the smoke of sandaraca purifies spaces against negative entities.
Weddings and births: it is burned in rites of passage to bless new beginnings and protect vulnerable people.
Transition and sleep: the balsamic aroma promotes deep relaxation and can accompany symbolic work with dreams and astral travel.
Properties of the Smoke
Aroma: releases warm and balsamic notes, with a very fresh citrus and resinous touch.
Combustion: melts very quickly when placed on charcoal, producing a dense and purifying smoke.
Conclusion
Smudging with Mediterranean herbs and resins reveals itself, throughout this journey, as a practice that goes beyond the simple aromatization of spaces. It brings together traditional knowledge, attention to the plant world, ritual intention, and a deep relationship with the Mediterranean landscape, where each plant carries its own memory, presence, and meaning.
When harvesting, preparing, and burning a herbal stick, the practitioner works not only with plant matter, but with a network of relationships: the earth that nourishes the plant, the fire that releases its smoke, the air that carries it, and the human intention that directs it. From this perspective, the ritual becomes a gesture of reciprocity, listening, and care.
The plants and resins presented—from rosemary to laurel, from rockrose to mastic, from juniper to sandaraca—show the symbolic and sensory richness of
Mediterranean. Each offers a distinct form of protection, purification, clarity, serenity, or spiritual connection, allowing the smudging ritual to be adapted to the intention, space, and moment.
Thus, recovering these practices is also recovering a more conscious way of inhabiting the world: a way that recognizes nature as a living presence, respects its cycles, and transforms simple acts—harvesting, tying, drying, lighting, and giving thanks—into rituals of connection, balance, and memory.
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Plantas Aromáticas e Resinas de Incenso Raras do Mediterrâneo
Após o enquadramento ritual e prático dos bastões de ervas, importa conhecer algumas das plantas aromáticas e resinas mediterrânicas mais significativas. Embora o mercado dos incensos seja frequentemente dominado por resinas exóticas, como o olíbano e a mirra, o Mediterrâneo possui resinas próprias, preciosas e raras, profundamente ligadas à história, à espiritualidade e às práticas tradicionais da região.
Entre as principais encontram-se o mástique de Quios (Pistacia lentiscus), o ládano da esteva (Cistus ladanifer), a alfazema ou lavanda (Lavandula stoechas e Lavandula angustifolia), o zimbro (Juniperus communis), o terebinto ou cornalheira (Pistacia terebinthus), a sabina-albar (Juniperus thurifera) e a sandaraca (Tetraclinis articulata).
1. Mástique de Quios ou Lentisco (Pistacia lentiscus)
O mástique de Quios, também conhecido como lentisco, árvore-do-mástique ou aroeira em Portugal, provém de uma planta dioica, com indivíduos masculinos e femininos separados.
Associado à ilha de Quios, na Grécia, é conhecido como as “lágrimas de Quios”. Existe em várias zonas do Mediterrâneo, incluindo Portugal e Espanha, e é uma das resinas mais valorizadas do mundo, usada desde a Antiguidade pelo seu aroma fresco, resinoso e ligeiramente cítrico.
Na Grécia e em Roma antigas, era utilizado na higiene oral, sendo considerado um dos antepassados da goma de mascar e de certas preparações dentífricas tradicionais.
Em contextos espirituais e ritualísticos, o mástique é valorizado pelas seguintes propriedades simbólicas:
Purificação e clareza: queimado como incenso, ajuda a limpar espaços sagrados e a purificar a mente, favorecendo a concentração e a meditação.
Conexão solar e psíquica: tradicionalmente associado ao Sol, simboliza vitalidade, otimismo e iluminação espiritual.
Resiliência e cura: por ser uma resina produzida pela árvore para proteger as suas feridas, representa regeneração, proteção energética e recuperação.
Atributos elementais: ligado ao elemento Ar, é usado em rituais de leveza, libertação mental e renovação de propósitos.
Aplicações Práticas em Rituais
Incenso de meditação: cria uma atmosfera de paz e ajuda a aquietar o ruído mental.
Base para composições: pode funcionar como fixador ou base em misturas complexas de incenso, como o kyphi egípcio, e em preparações simbólicas descritas em grimórios antigos.
Rituais de cura: em algumas tradições gregas e árabes, as fumigações com mástique acompanham preces e práticas dedicadas à recuperação física e emocional.
Nota: grimórios, do francês grimoire, são coleções ou livros medievais de símbolos, rituais, encantamentos e instruções mágicas para invocações e criação de amuletos.
2. Esteva e Ládano (Cistus ladanifer)
A esteva, planta emblemática das paisagens mediterrânicas, possui um simbolismo profundo ligado à purificação, à resiliência e à proteção. A sua importância ritual deriva tanto da sua capacidade de sobreviver em solos pobres e regenerar-se após o fogo como da resina aromática que exala: o ládano ou lábdano.
Esta resina escura e pegajosa, historicamente recolhida até da lã das cabras que pastavam entre estevas, tornou-se uma base importante do aroma âmbar na perfumaria clássica e um incenso de forte presença simbólica.
Purificação e limpeza energética: a esteva é usada em defumações para remover energias densas e preparar o espaço para práticas sagradas.
Resiliência e renascimento: pela sua capacidade de rebrotar depois dos incêndios, simboliza superação, novos começos e força interior.
Proteção e selagem: as suas folhas e a sua resina são associadas à criação de uma camada protetora contra influências nocivas.
Ancestralidade mediterrânica: em tradições ibéricas, a esteva surge como planta de ligação à terra, ao sol e aos espíritos locais da paisagem.
3. Alfazema, Lavanda ou Rosmaninho (Lavandula stoechas e Lavandula angustifolia)
A alfazema, também conhecida como lavanda ou rosmaninho, é valorizada pelo seu aroma relaxante e pelas suas propriedades espirituais e terapêuticas. Atua como planta de equilíbrio, suavização emocional e purificação subtil.
Purificação e limpeza energética: ajuda a limpar vibrações densas de ambientes e do campo áurico.
Proteção espiritual: é usada para afastar energias pesadas e promover paz interior.
Calma e equilíbrio mental: favorece a meditação, a introspeção e a serenidade emocional.
Harmonia afetiva: em rituais, é associada à paz, à ternura, à felicidade e à harmonia familiar.
Uso ritual: aparece em banhos, defumações, benzimentos e preparações aromáticas de limpeza.
Princípios Ativos e Usos Comuns
O óleo essencial de alfazema é rico em compostos bioativos, como o linalol e o acetato de linalila, frequentemente associados a efeitos calmantes, sedativos, ansiolíticos e anti-inflamatórios.
O seu aroma atua sobre o sistema nervoso, podendo ajudar a reduzir a ansiedade, melhorar a qualidade do sono e aliviar dores de cabeça ligeiras.
Banhos de alfazema: usados para relaxamento físico e limpeza energética.
Infusões e banhos localizados: podem ser usados tradicionalmente para efeitos calmantes e suavizantes.
Aromatizadores e colónias: perfumam o ambiente e contribuem para uma atmosfera mais serena.
4. Zimbro (Juniperus communis)
A resina e as bagas de zimbro possuem um simbolismo antigo centrado na proteção, na purificação e na coragem. Historicamente, esta planta foi vista como escudo aromático contra energias negativas e como facilitadora do diálogo com o sagrado.
Entre os seus principais significados espirituais destacam-se:
Proteção e escudo: usado para afastar energias negativas, purificar ambientes e proteger pessoas e objetos.
Coragem e força: associado à resiliência, ajuda simbolicamente a superar medos e desânimo.
Purificação e cura: o seu aroma intenso é ligado à limpeza física, espiritual e emocional.
Renovação e esperança: em tradições bíblicas, surge como abrigo e símbolo de refúgio em momentos de fragilidade.
Árvore da vida: em algumas tradições, representa a ligação entre o mundo terreno e o espiritual.
5. Terebinto ou Cornalheira (Pistacia terebinthus)
A resina da cornalheira, ou terebinto, possui um simbolismo espiritual e etnocultural ligado à purificação, à proteção e aos rituais de passagem, especialmente em contextos funerários e devocionais.
Os seus principais usos simbólicos incluem:
Rituais funerários e proteção: a resina era queimada em sepulcros na Antiguidade, o que lhe conferiu simbolismos de transição, proteção da alma e respeito pelos mortos.
Conexão com o sagrado: o terebinto surge em contextos bíblicos e tradicionais como árvore associada a locais de culto, oração e memória.
Limpeza e elevação: a sua resina aromática simboliza a purificação de ambientes e a elevação espiritual.
Resistência e longevidade: por ser uma planta rústica e resistente, representa força, permanência e ligação à terra.
Embora possa ser confundido com a aroeira (Pistacia lentiscus) na produção de resinas perfumadas, o terebinto distingue-se pela sua trementina valiosa, conhecida desde a Grécia Antiga.
6. Sabina-albar (Juniperus thurifera)
A resina da sabina-albar possui forte simbolismo místico e tradicional, sobretudo pelo seu uso como incenso. A goma-resina extraída desta árvore é muitas vezes conhecida como “incenso macho”. O fumo da sua queima é associado à elevação das preces, à purificação e à presença do sagrado.
Incenso macho: resina tradicionalmente valorizada em práticas litúrgicas e espirituais.
Elevação das preces: o fumo simboliza a ascensão das orações ao céu.
Purificação: usada como resina aromática em práticas de limpeza espiritual.
Origem e forma: surge frequentemente em lágrimas ou grãos de tamanhos variados, com forte ligação a tradições do norte de África.
7. Sandaraca (Tetraclinis articulata)
A sandaraca é uma resina amarelo-pálida proveniente de um cipreste nativo do Norte de África e de algumas zonas de Espanha. Tem aroma balsâmico, ligeiramente frutado, e é valorizada em práticas de clareza mental, proteção e purificação.
O seu uso em rituais animistas e espirituais reflete a ligação das culturas do Norte de África e da bacia mediterrânica aos elementos naturais, entendidos como portadores de essência e presença espiritual próprias.
Estes são os aspetos centrais do seu uso ritual e animista:
Práticas Animistas e Rituais
Clareza e foco: a queima da resina ajuda a dissipar o “nevoeiro mental”, sendo usada antes de meditações ou práticas divinatórias.
Afugentar espíritos (jinn): no folclore do Norte de África, o fumo da sandaraca purifica espaços contra entidades negativas.
Casamentos e nascimentos: é queimada em rituais de passagem para abençoar novos começos e proteger pessoas vulneráveis.
Transição e sono: o aroma balsâmico favorece o relaxamento profundo e pode acompanhar trabalhos simbólicos com sonhos e viagens astrais.
Propriedades do Fumo
Aroma: liberta notas quentes e balsâmicas, com um toque cítrico e resinoso muito fresco.
Combustão: derrete muito rapidamente quando colocada sobre carvão, produzindo um fumo denso e purificador.
Conclusão
A defumação com ervas e resinas mediterrânicas revela-se, ao longo deste percurso, como uma prática que ultrapassa a simples aromatização de espaços. Ela reúne conhecimento tradicional, atenção ao mundo vegetal, intenção ritual e uma relação profunda com a paisagem mediterrânica, onde cada planta transporta memória, presença e significado próprio.
Ao colher, preparar e queimar um bastão de ervas, o praticante não trabalha apenas com matéria vegetal, mas com uma rede de relações: a terra que alimenta a planta, o fogo que liberta o seu fumo, o ar que o conduz e a intenção humana que lhe dá direção. Nesta perspetiva, o ritual torna-se um gesto de reciprocidade, escuta e cuidado.
As plantas e resinas apresentadas — do alecrim ao loureiro, da esteva ao mástique, do zimbro à sandaraca — mostram a riqueza simbólica e sensorial do Mediterrâneo. Cada uma oferece uma forma distinta de proteção, purificação, clareza, serenidade ou ligação espiritual, permitindo que a defumação seja adaptada à intenção, ao espaço e ao momento.
Assim, recuperar estas práticas é também recuperar uma forma mais consciente de habitar o mundo: uma forma que reconhece a natureza como presença viva, respeita os seus ciclos e transforma atos simples — colher, atar, secar, acender e agradecer — em rituais de ligação, equilíbrio e memória.
Dedicated as the Diamond Jubilee Gardens, 1952-2012.
"Berwick's town walls are a sequence of defensive structures built around the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed in England.
Berwick's town walls were built in the early 14th century under Edward I, following his capture of the city from the Scots. When complete they stretched 2 miles (3.2 km) in length and were 3 feet 4 inches thick and up to 22 feet (6.7 m) high, protected by a number of smaller towers, up to 60 feet (18 m) tall. They were funded by a murage grant in 1313, a tax on particular goods imported into the town. By 1405, however, the walls had fallen into considerable disrepair and were incapable of preventing Henry IV from taking the town with relative ease.
Berwick Castle (an earlier structure) lay just outside the medieval wall to the north-west, and was connected to the town by a bridge leading to a gate in the wall.
An additional, short-lived, fort was built in 1552 to supplement the walls. By 1560, however, it was concluded that it was impractical to upgrade the existing walls and a new set of town fortifications in an Italian style were constructed instead, destroying much of the earlier medieval stonework. Sir Richard Lee served as Chief Surveyor for these works; he came up with an innovative design, combining ditches and walls backed by substantial earthworks (designed to absorb the force of an artillery attack). The new walls were much smaller in length, enclosing only two thirds of the medieval area, allowing them to include more artillery emplacements and five large stone bastions. The 16th century walls included four gates. In the 18th century most of the remaining parts of the medieval walls were steadily lost.An additional, short-lived, fort was built in 1552 to supplement the walls. By 1560, however, it was concluded that it was impractical to upgrade the existing walls and a new set of town fortifications in an Italian style were constructed instead, destroying much of the earlier medieval stonework. Sir Richard Lee served as Chief Surveyor for these works; he came up with an innovative design, combining ditches and walls backed by substantial earthworks (designed to absorb the force of an artillery attack). The new walls were much smaller in length, enclosing only two thirds of the medieval area, allowing them to include more artillery emplacements and five large stone bastions. The 16th century walls included four gates. In the 18th century most of the remaining parts of the medieval walls were steadily lost.
Today the walls are, in the view of archaeologists Oliver Creighton and Robert Higham, "by some measure the best-preserved example of town defences in Britain designed for post-medieval warfare". They are protected as a scheduled monument and a grade I listed building.
Berwick-upon-Tweed (/ˌbɛrɪk-/; Scots: Sooth Berwick, Scottish Gaelic: Bearaig a Deas) is a town in the county of Northumberland. It is the northernmost town in England, at the mouth of the River Tweed on the east coast, 2 1⁄2 miles (4 kilometres) south of the Scottish border (the hamlet of Marshall Meadows is the actual northernmost settlement). Berwick is approximately 56 mi (90 km) east-south east of Edinburgh, 65 mi (105 km) north of Newcastle upon Tyne and 345 mi (555 km) north of London.
The 2011 United Kingdom census recorded Berwick's population as 12,043. A civil parish and town council were created in 2008 comprising the communities of Berwick, Spittal and Tweedmouth.
Berwick was founded as an Anglo-Saxon settlement during the time of the Kingdom of Northumbria, which was annexed by England in the 10th century. The area was for more than 400 years central to historic border wars between the Kingdoms of England and Scotland, and several times possession of Berwick changed hands between the two kingdoms. The last time it changed hands was when Richard of Gloucester retook it for England in 1482. To this day many Berwickers feel a close affinity to Scotland.
Berwick remains a traditional market town and also has some notable architectural features, in particular its medieval town walls, its Georgian Town Hall, its Elizabethan ramparts, and Britain's earliest barracks buildings, which Nicholas Hawksmoor built (1717–21) for the Board of Ordnance." - info from Wikipedia.
Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.
Now on Instagram.
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The model of the city is dedicated to the last decades of the knightly era and covers the period from 1511 to 1544. The basis of the project is a model of the castle - fortress of Königsberg and three medieval cities: Altstadt, Kneiphof and Löbenicht, located near the fortress. The model shows the landscape of the area where the medieval city was located.
DEDICATED TO MY WIFE THERESA JANE BROWN WHO IS IN SINGAPORE WHERE SHE WILL BE EXAMINING FOR A MONTH (MARCH 9 - APRIL 7, 2018) ON BEHALF OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF DANCE.
Photo of me taken on April 5, 2018.
Thanassis Fournarakos - Θανάσης Φουρναράκος
Professional Photographer, Athens, Greece
(retired in 2011, born in 1946).
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
None of my images may be downloaded, copied, reproduced, manipulated or used on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit written permission. THANK YOU!
This photograph has achieved the following highest awards:
* GALAXY HALL OF FAME
* THE GALAXY STARS HALL OF FAME
Dedicated to careth@2012 (Carlin - www.flickr.com/photos/c_desouza/) to thank her for her understanding
- Vagues lisses
Dedicated to all Thalassemia patients around the world on the occasion of International Thalassaemia day ( May 08 ).
explored ( thank u all )
Smile my friend we are with you.
Lets be lil sweet and donate some blood.It saves lives of thousands every day.
Dedicated to skagitrenee, Irene & other names (thanks Beth) !!!
Funny purses in a Storedisplay with Reflections of the Street !!!
Shot rue de Tiquetonne - Paris 75002 - France -