#occultism — Public Fediverse posts

Virgin Sophia (ca. 1735), from Gemma Sapientiae et Prudentiae: W MS.2492.

Source: Wellcome Collection / Internet Archive

https://pdimagearchive.org/images/4cb1a87e-c119-4338-83fe-24e577957787

#chemistry #geometrical #astronomy #occultism #alchemy #celestial #mythology #manuscript #painting #drawing #art #publicdomain

Austin Osman Spare
A Book of Satyrs

#Drawing #Illustration
#Zos #Kia #AOS #AustinOsmanSpare #Occultism #ChaosMagic #sexuality

This is how I feel sometimes (if it isn't clear, I'm the purple figure).

#meme #comics #atheism #christianism #occultism #occultmeme

Damn, that's the kind of mind-expanding, disorienting film review I like:
https://letterboxd.com/pd187/film/k-pax

»freedom is multi-dimensional, freedom is awareness of outside control & conditioning, not just the means to ›self-express‹ online & acquire different products & experiences thru a system of celltower tracking, 5G surveillance, home A.I. wiretapping/data-mining, etc. everyone i know has what they want but nothing they need!«

#movies #occultism #review #letterboxd #essay #aliens

Not sure if I can take watching tonight's news right now but maybe stuffing this information about the original thought crime into my eyeballs will be educational and escapist and useful in the future somehow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZAQxtInv2g #Philosophy #Religion #Occultism #Control #OldTimeyFascism

“Life-animules, fragments of Od in movement.” (1913) by Hippolyte Baraduc, from The Human Soul.

Source: Boston Public Library / Internet Archive

https://pdimagearchive.org/images/1809cb9f-3b12-4eac-8460-66f361d19991

#abstract #electricity #spirituality #soul #spirits #occultism #electromagnetism #auras #art #publicdomain

From Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae sistematisatae per celeberrimos Artis hujus Magistros (ca. 1775).

Source: Wellcome Collection

https://pdimagearchive.org/images/f9a8810f-4a1d-4204-89f4-2cef10e25a07

#beelzebub #dogs #cabbalistic #snakes #demons #occultism #torches #rituals #personification #demonology #magic #art #publicdomain

Series of illustration for a new sticker pack I'm preparing! Theme is #occultism and #witchcraft! #illustration #skull #art #luxembourg

Series of illustration for a new sticker pack I'm preparing! Theme is #occultism and #witchcraft! #illustration #skull #art #luxembourg

Series of illustration for a new sticker pack I'm preparing! Theme is #occultism and #witchcraft! #illustration #skull #art #luxembourg

From Kitāb-i ʻAjāʾib-i makhlūqāt (1921).

Source: Princeton University Library

https://pdimagearchive.org/images/8d23af4c-8f8a-4727-af7a-3663bb0eab42

#crabs #astrology #persia #zodiac #iran #devils #ghosts #cancer #demons #occultism #magic #art #publicdomain

“Photograph of the Od attracted by the state of soul of a child lamenting over a recently killed pheasant.” (1913) by Hippolyte Baraduc, from The Human Soul.

Source: Boston Public Library / Internet Archive

https://pdimagearchive.org/images/14fc5a8b-ea24-40fb-9078-f826f68f582b

#electricity #spirituality #soul #spirits #occultism #death #electromagnetism #auras #windows #sadness #grieving #art #publicdomain

“Iconography produced in April 1894 in the dark, both hands stretched towards the plate.” (1913) by Hippolyte Baraduc, from The Human Soul.

Source: Boston Public Library / Internet Archive

https://pdimagearchive.org/images/d26b84c7-e483-4353-8b5c-84ce8c5bb807

#abstract #electricity #spirituality #soul #spirits #occultism #electromagnetism #auras #art #publicdomain

Illustration by Cyprianus, from Clavis Inferni (null).

Source: Wellcome Collection

https://pdimagearchive.org/images/ce373801-4b76-4127-b6b1-d14f054ff28d

#astrology #cyprianus #sorcery #manuscripts #mysticism #magicians #occultism #alchemy #geometry #magic #art #publicdomain

Series of illustration for a new sticker pack I'm preparing! Theme is #occultism and #witchcraft! #illustration #skull #art #luxembourg

Josef Vachal: 'The Cult Of Ahriman'. #weird #weirdart #arhriman #Zoroastrianism #Occult #Occultism #evilgod

From Kitāb-i ʻAjāʾib-i makhlūqāt (1921).

Source: Princeton University Library

https://pdimagearchive.org/images/79c9b86c-7cff-4652-9757-629830dc48ea

#astrology #persia #iran #devils #ghosts #angels #demons #occultism #magic #art #publicdomain

Most of my life when I heard of #hypnosis, #meditation, #LucidDreaming and basically any altered mind state, it was always in context of some occult/witchcraft practices. It shaped my expectations about these phenomena and for many years I thought I should develop some supernatural powers or else it would be shameful failure.
(Of course it destroyed my already poor self-esteem :/)

Some time after I recovered from this "I have to gain psychic powers" mindset I noticed one thing. In that magic context meditation training is often described as something forced, fighting agains own mind, hard effort. In contrast, when meditation (and any relaxation/mental exercises) is mentioned in more health of wellnes-related topics it's something calm, peaceful, pleasant. More like letting things go, not make them by force.

And it's really big difference. When my perception of it shifted, I started noticing any progress in meditation and "keeping my mind quiet and calm".

#occultism #mind #supernatural

Real people. Real results. High Magick changed their lives — and they said it out loud. 🔥 Watch now 👉https://youtube.com/shorts/1tbk4FXH-rE #highmagick #occultism #patreon

#satanism #occultism #laveyansatanism #Satanicphilosophy

The world is a jungle.
Some survive by praying.
Others thrive by choosing power.

I don’t wait.
I don’t kneel.
I decide.

Strength is clarity.
Will is law.
I choose to rule.

“Major Darget, placing his fingers together, projected his will on a sensitive plate.” (1913) by Hippolyte Baraduc, from The Human Soul.

Source: Boston Public Library / Internet Archive

https://pdimagearchive.org/images/65b2de8e-f9ac-4b7e-8ae5-169f4cba3111

#abstract #electricity #spirituality #soul #spirits #occultism #electromagnetism #auras #art #publicdomain

I‘m convinced that my cat defended me from a demon or ghost or some other inter dimensional being tonight. When I got to bed shortly after 1 am I turned off the lights and he jumped onto my bed and after a while I felt his body shifting or he let himself fall over and suddenly hissed at something in the dark and was immediately quiet after and lied down beside me. Thanks Rune.

#CatsOfMastodon #occultism #ghostsigns #demons #BlackCat

It's been such a long time since I've been on Mastodon! What have y'all been up to while I was away? 😄

I actually have some pretty exciting news! A dear friend of mine used to run a podcast years ago, and she recently decided to reboot it! And guess what? She was kind enough to invite me along for the ride!

So, I co-host a podcast now! It's called The Eternal Void, But With Jazz. Each week, we bring a new guest on to discuss some topic relating to magick, spirituality, occultism, and more. So far, we've featured folks like Maevius Lynn, Amy Blackthorn, AP Strange, and tons of other cool folks!

You can find us on YouTube, PodBean, Apple Podcasts, and all your other favorite platforms!

Here's a link to the show, where you can watch our first 9 episodes! 🥰 New episodes drop every Sunday!

🎙 https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNKMoeCx69iJG-Q9EN10PEo41QXx5AaHj&si=IqYy8rwi4waaicqy

#Witchcraft #Magick #Spirituality #Occult #Occultism #Podcast #YouTube

No Injury to the Willing (ca. 1790) by Marcus Eugenius Bonacina, from Compendiolum de praeparatione auri potabilis veri.

Source: Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

https://pdimagearchive.org/images/577d8478-e396-433f-bb5b-d5ea7ebab92b

#chemistry #nudes #occultism #alchemy #serpents #shields #owls #art #publicdomain

@cloudskater wrote:

Some instances are run by bad people. Hell, a few projects like Lemmy and Matrix are DEVELOPED by assholes, but the FLOSS and federated nature of these platforms allows us to bypass/fork them and create healthy spaces outside their reach.

Nope, that is actually what is killing the fediverse. I just explained here:

The issue is the divergence in semantic interpretation that emerges at the interpretation layer. ActivityPub standardizes message delivery and defines common activity types. However, it leaves extension semantics and application-layer policy decisions to individual implementations. Servers may introduce custom JSON-LD namespaces and enforce local behaviors, such as reply restrictions, while remaining protocol-compliant. But, the noise created by divergences are problematic, because it creates unexpected, unintended, and unpredictable behavior.

Divergence appears when implementations rely on non-normative metadata and assume reciprocal handling to preserve a consistent user experience. Behavioral alignment then varies. Syntactic exchange succeeds, but behavioral consistency is not guaranteed. Though instances continue to federate at the transport level, policy semantics and processing logic differ across deployments. Those differences produce inconsistent experiences and results between implementations.

That leads to fragmentation, specifically semantic or behavioral fragmentation and an inconsistent user experiences. ActivityPub ensures syntactic interoperability, but semantic interoperability (everyone interprets and enforces rules the same way) varies. This creates a system that is federated at the transport level yet fragmented in behavior and expectations across implementations. It is funny how the thing that the fediverse touted has made the entire thing very brittle. ActivityPub technically federates correctly, but semantically falls apart once servers start adding their own behavioral rules.

https://neon-blue-demon-wyrm.x10.network/archives/16932

FYI, I’m not doing culture wars or political debates. I’m just saying this idea of “forking away” from them is literally breaking the fediverse’s distributed network and creating all kinds of issues with semantic interoperability. Yes, federation is still happening at the delivery level, but the semantic issues are out of fucking control. You are a federation by the very sheer skin of your teeth.

The reason why developers are leaving the fediverse is because you folks don’t take criticism. You respond to criticism with — I’m being so serious right now — political manifestos and harassing developers. ActivityPub developers and authors oversold you folks on the capabilities of ActivityStreams. They flat-out lied to y’all.

↬bark.lgbt/@cloudskater/116080965694723006

ActivityPub Server’s Custom Reply‑Control Extensions Undermine Federation

It seems like Activitbypub developers are extending ActivityPub with optional metadata to fix a lot of its issues, but that is still problematic. Trying to add moderation tools and user control to threads seems to be the ongoing battle. I am fascinated by dumpster fires, so I’ve started looking at the ActivityPub protocol in detail. I tend to become fascinated with things that are going down in flames.

As a brief recap of the problem:

So, one of the very popular features on Bluesky—also popular on Twitter—is the ability to select who can reply to a post. A major issue in the Fediverse is the inability to decide who can reply, and once you block someone, their harassing reply is still there. I honestly thought it was simply a case of them choosing not to add or address it for cultural reasons. What is clear from that thread is that they were always aware that the ActivityPub protocol and most Fediverse implementations don’t provide a universal way to control reply visibility or enforce blocks across instances.

An ActivityPub server that has reply control is GoToSocial. ActivityPub, as defined by the W3C specification, standardizes how servers federate activities. It defines actors, inboxes, outboxes, and activity types (Create, Follow, Like, Announce, etc.) expressed using ActivityStreams 2.0. It also specifies delivery mechanics (including how a Create activity reaches another server’s inbox) and how collections behave.

The specification does not include interaction policy semantics such as “only followers may reply” or “replies require manual approval.” There is no field in the normative vocabulary requiring conforming servers to enforce reply permissions. That category of rule is outside the protocol’s defined contract.

GoToSocial implements reply controls through what it calls interaction policies. These appear as additional properties on ActivityStreams objects using a custom JSON-LD namespace controlled by the GoToSocial project.

JSON-LD permits additional namespaced terms. This means the document remains structurally valid ActivityStreams and federates normally. The meaning of those custom fields, however, comes from GoToSocial’s own documentation and implementation. Other servers can ignore them without violating ActivityPub because they are not part of the interoperable core vocabulary.

Enforcement occurs locally. When a remote server sends a reply—a Create activity whose object references another via inReplyTo—ActivityPub governs delivery, not acceptance criteria. Whether the receiving server checks a reply policy, rejects the activity, queues it, or displays it is determined in the server’s inbox-processing code. The decision to accept, display, or require approval happens after successful protocol-level delivery. This behavior belongs to the application layer.

These are server-side features layered on top of ActivityPub’s transport and data model that are not actually part of ActivityPub. The protocol ensures standardized delivery of activities; however, the server implementation defines additional constraints and user-facing behavior. Two GoToSocial instances may both recognize and act on the same extension fields. However, a different implementation, such as Mastodon, has no obligation under the specification to interpret or enforce GoToSocial’s interactionPolicy properties. These fields function as extension metadata rather than protocol requirements.

The semantics of GoToSocial are not part of the specification’s defined vocabulary and processing rules for ActivityPub. They no longer operate purely at the protocol layer; it has become an application-layer contract implemented by specific servers.

Let’s use the AT Protocol as an example. Bluesky’s direct messages (DMs) are not currently part of the AT Protocol (ATProto). The AT Protocol has nothing that specifies anything for DMs, so DMs are not part of the AT Protocol. The AT Protocol was designed to handle public social interactions, but it does not define private or encrypted messaging. Bluesky implemented DMs at the application level, outside of the core protocol. DMs are centralized and stored on Bluesky’s servers. What is happening with servers like GoToSocial is sort of like that. The difference is that the AT Protocol was designed for different app views; ActivityPub was not.

The issue is the divergence in semantic interpretation that emerges at the interpretation layer. ActivityPub standardizes message delivery and defines common activity types. However, it leaves extension semantics and application-layer policy decisions to individual implementations. Servers may introduce custom JSON-LD namespaces and enforce local behaviors, such as reply restrictions, while remaining protocol-compliant. But, the noise created by divergences are problematic, because it creates unexpected, unintended, and unpredictable behavior.

Divergence appears when implementations rely on non-normative metadata and assume reciprocal handling to preserve a consistent user experience. Behavioral alignment then varies. Syntactic exchange succeeds, but behavioral consistency is not guaranteed. Though instances continue to federate at the transport level, policy semantics and processing logic differ across deployments. Those differences produce inconsistent experiences and results between implementations.

That leads to fragmentation, specifically semantic or behavioral fragmentation and an inconsistent user experiences. ActivityPub ensures syntactic interoperability, but semantic interoperability (everyone interprets and enforces rules the same way) varies. This creates a system that is federated at the transport level yet fragmented in behavior and expectations across implementations. It is funny how the thing that the fediverse touted has made the entire thing very brittle. ActivityPub technically federates correctly, but semantically falls apart once servers start adding their own behavioral rules.

From Kitāb-i ʻAjāʾib-i makhlūqāt (1921).

Source: Princeton University Library

https://pdimagearchive.org/images/e3f01737-592b-421a-ac2f-4a89539af2b4

#astrology #persia #iran #devils #ghosts #demons #occultism #magic #art #publicdomain