View allAll Photos Tagged practical
Here's my new fake leather trousers that go quite well with my long boots. New top too. The top and trousers were both a practical steal! Love these trousers with the boots. Works well with a new crop top I got too. Hope you're all well on this last day of the year. Have a great one!
Photo By: Chrissy Sparrowtree
Location: Sapphire Retreat
Allison Grace & Chrissy Sparrowtree
Halloween 2023
I captured this image at my local camera club's practical session. The lighting was provided by a large softbox about 1 m away from the sitter's face. I asked Ian to turn toward the light but to maintain his gaze at the camera. The result required no post processing.
I just got a new Canon 50D today. I was choosing between 5D Mk II and 50D but eventually decided to choose the latter for practical reasons and I'm happy with it. :)
An inconspicuous headcode and movement appeared on RTT this morning 5Z98 13:19 Allerton Depot to Sheffield (Northern Service). Closer inspection suggested a 319 EMU - obviously not practical, but possibly a 319 hybrid unit. Anyway in the end the first 195 to enter Sheffield as part of gauge testing 195107 rolled in bang on time. It didn't leave on time opting for a very quick turn around before heading off to Worksop. It looks like the future is on its way.
The Look:
From the SALEM Event;
Hair: Foxy - Maeve
Shirt: TORI TORRICELLI - Ophelia Turtleneck
Jacket: TORI TORRICELLI - Minerva Bolero Jacket
Glasses: BONDI - The Oscuro
Rings: RE - Beast RIngs
Skirt: Emily C - Skirt Tulle
Stockings: Blueberry - FLF-7/17
Bree always goes a little too far with her April Fool's pranks. Watch out, June!
Bree is a Lena Elena Middie Blythe doll; her unsuspecting sister is Francoise Ananassa. They are wearing outfits made for Lottie dolls, which fit them well.
For the theme "Practical Jokes" in the Blythe a Day group.
A nearlyunbroken carpet of colorful autumn trees in New Hampshire.
As I have shared New England fall color photographs you may nave noticed that I often contrast that spectacle with my more familiar western aspen groves. One of the main reasons I made this photograph was practical — I wanted to illustrate just how significant that difference is. Aspens in California tend to cluster in relatively small and separate groves. Even the larger ones are typically surrounded by conifers, scrub, or rocky terrain. In autumn, the effect is often to produce star areas of color set off against areas with little or no fall color.
This photograph shows the difference. I made it near a high point on New Hampshire’s “Kancamagus Scenic Byway, ” among the most popular places for viewing the East Coast autumn color. You are looking down at a hardwood forest full of different trees with different colors. And the trees shown here are a tiny fraction of the forest that was spread out before me, rising from valleys toward the high ridges — with almost everywhere the same wild blanket of colors.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.
Cinematic toy photography, with practical lighting effects and captured with a 2x anamorphic lens combined with an 85mm,
Prints available via my website, www.tommilton.co.uk
Practical Evanescence
I was feeling as though my day to day life lacked meaning.
As was often the case at such times I decided to go for a drink alone to think things over. I was not alone for long. I met a man in the bar. He told me that he had met another man in the same bar under similar circumstances. He told me that the man had passed on valuable knowledge. That this knowledge had helped him when he needed to evaluate his life. That the stranger had done this for the price of a drink and then disappeared.
I pride myself on not easily being taken for a fool. I had a good feeling about this man. He had a sincere look in his eyes, like one who had gained wisdom, perhaps at some cost to his peace of mind.
I bought him a beer.
We talked for what seemed like a long time but immediately he had gone I consulted my watch to find that time had barely moved on. As we talked he told me what he had learned from the man he had met in this very same bar. As we talked I became aware of music playing quietly in the background, Bach's suite for unaccompanied cello. The recording sounded old and distant but quite beautiful. I recall no other sound but that of my acquaintances voice. He spoke in the form of a series of instructions. What he told me was a revelation. My humdrum life changed from that moment.
When he finished speaking he disappeared.
If we, you and I, should ever meet in a bar I will be willing to pass on that knowledge imparted to me by the stranger. For the price of a beer.
Offer a Song of Praise to God | A Cappella | Gospel Music "Love the Practical God With All Our Heart"
www.holyspiritspeaks.org/videos/mv-love-the-practical-god...
La … la la la … la la la….
La … la la la … la la la … la….
The sun of righteousness is rising from the East.
O God! Your glory fills the heaven and earth.
Beautiful darling, Your love surrounds my heart.
People who pursue the truth all love God.
Though I rise alone in the early morning, I feel enjoyment when meditating on God’s word.
The tender words are like a loving mother, the words of judgment like a severe father. (Hey….)
I love nothing in the world; with all my heart I only love my God.
Ah hey … ah hey … ah hey … ah hey….
I love nothing in the world; with all my heart I only love my God.
Ah hey … ah hey … ah hey … ah hey….
I love nothing in the world; with all my heart I only love my God.
La la la … la la la….
La la la … la la la … la….
God’s will has been revealed—to perfect the true lovers of God.
Lively and innocent people all offer up praises to God,
and dance beautiful dances around the true God together.
People are called back by God’s voice from different places.
Words of life are bestowed upon us. We are purified by the judgment of God’s words.
Our love is strengthened through refinement. We feel sweet to enjoy God’s love. (Hey….)
Who would not love the lovely God? With all my heart I only love the practical God.
Ah hey … ah hey … ah hey … ah hey….
Who would not love the lovely God? With all my heart I only love my God.
Ah hey … ah hey … ah hey … ah hey….
Who would not love the lovely God? With all my heart I only love my God.
I love nothing in the world; with all my heart I only love my God.
Thank You! (Thank You!) (Thank You!) (Thank You!)
We love You!
from Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs
Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God's work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God's sheep hear God's voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared.
Practical Magic at its Finest!
Model: Rαчlєn Swσrdthαín (raylen.swordthain)
Model: Kσαlчn Swσrdthαín (koalyn)
Model: Maku Reiren Edowazu (makureirenedowazu)
Model: Amвєrlчnn Swσrdthαín (amberpoesy)
Model: ღDæɴɪᴀ DɪғғᴇʀDᴀʀᴋᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ Jᴀɴɪᴄᴋღ (daenia.laloix)
Model: Kαítч Undєrwσσd Swσrdthαín (lil.afterthought)
Model: Dαní Bαdí Swσrdthαín (vampiredrax)
Model: Ryn Fyrebird (littlesansa)
Cinematic toy photography, with practical lighting effects and captured with a 2x anamorphic lens combined with an 85mm,
Prints available via my website, www.tommilton.co.uk
In the British magazine Practical Photoshop July, 2013. Texts translated by Mark Donnelly (mil gracias, Mark)
Had to stop the car and shoot this.....a street in St. Paul..quaint neighborhood shop reminding me of times long ago of 'dry goods' stores that predated department stores in my home town..Our town's store had warped, wavy floors which I loved running up and down when my mother wasn't looking....
Texture by Lenabem-Anna Thanks very much, Anna!
Flickr friends, I'm glad you stopped by...I always am, and I'll be coming your way, see what you're doing...
Thanks to the person who built this perfect sun filter.I got a little preoccupied with this , and took from all angles, seemed in this shot it were saying to me go west young man, and as that is the direction of mine abode, I did, a little later on.
A dress with pockets is a fine thing, but one with practical pockets is a whole different ball game.
The electric streetcar, made practical in 1887 by Frank Sprague, quickly began eclipsing the cable car in San Francisco as state-of-the-art for urban transit except on the steepest hills.
The Market Street Railway Company, created in 1893, began converting its many cable lines which ran all over the city to electric streetcars. After the earthquake in 1906, San Francisco was eager to rebuild and public transit played a crucial role in getting the city back on its feet. By 1940 most public transit in the city was provided by electric streetcars. Following the end of WWII in 1945, streetcar ridership fell significantly and a majority of electric streetcar routes were scrapped and converted to motor bus operation. In busy downtown San Francisco, they were replaced with Light Rail Vehicles (BART-Bay Area Rapid Transit which runs underground.
Today, San Francisco's transit system, known as "MUNI" owns and operates a unique collection of vintage electric streetcars along the city's main thoroughfare on Market Street and its waterfront known as "Embarcadero". The car pictured here is #1059, the "Boston Elevated Railway" built in 1948.
Lights that look like they are lighting the scene. This one is supplying some of the light, but it's cleaned up by a small softbox with grid just off to the left.
Bespoke wedding dress: Varvara Boutique
Model: Lotte Jurjendal
For in Auschwitz, little or nothing was to remain of covenantal practice but those relational structures that had long constituted the spiritual and practical substance of most Jewish women's lives. 9 Women's struggle to keep their promises of practical love to those whom they had committed themselves as mothers, sisters, daughters and friends, became the locus of faith in a future imagined in the form of familial reunion and of having or making a home to return to.
-The Female Face of God in Auschwitz A Jewish feminist theology of the Holocaust, Melissa Raphael
Rare Aromatic Plants and Incense Resins from the Mediterranean by Daniel Arrhakis (2026)
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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.
Je connais quelques personnes qui ont peur des feux, et qui peuvent vérifier plusieurs fois si leurs maison est barré avant de partir de la maison.
I know some people that are very afraid of fire. When they get out of the house they can verify two times if each door is well locked.
Avebury is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles, around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, in southwest England. One of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain, it contains the largest megalithic stone circle in the world. It is both a tourist attraction and a place of religious importance to contemporary pagans.
Constructed over several hundred years in the third millennium BC, during the Neolithic, or New Stone Age, the monument comprises a large henge (a bank and a ditch) with a large outer stone circle and two separate smaller stone circles situated inside the centre of the monument. Its original purpose is unknown, although archaeologists believe that it was most likely used for some form of ritual or ceremony. The Avebury monument is a part of a larger prehistoric landscape containing several older monuments nearby, including West Kennet Long Barrow, Windmill Hill and Silbury Hill.
By the Iron Age, the site had been effectively abandoned, with some evidence of human activity on the site during the Roman period. During the Early Middle Ages, a village first began to be built around the monument, eventually extending into it. In the Late Medieval and Early Modern periods, local people destroyed many of the standing stones around the henge, both for religious and practical reasons. The antiquarians John Aubrey and William Stukeley took an interest in Avebury during the 17th century, and recorded much of the site before its destruction. Archaeological investigation followed in the 20th century, led primarily by Alexander Keiller, who oversaw a project which reconstructed much of the monument.
Avebury is owned and managed by the National Trust. It has been designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument, as well as a World Heritage Site, in the latter capacity being seen as a part of the wider prehistoric landscape of Wiltshire known as Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites.
- Wikipedia
Often dismissed as being too large to be practical outside the studio, the Fuji GX680 III (far right) when compared to other camera that feature movements is not all that much larger. The all metal Toyo 45a, a favorite field camera is only 3 pounds lighter, by the time you add a lens and four or five film holders, then it's a wash. The Arca is much lighter, but the ungainly view camera shape make it difficult to carry without breaking down the camera into it's components, making set-up time more laborious than the pretty much instantly ready Fuji.