#Zinnia's snake cult

[zinniajones]

Lithuanian and broadly Baltic symbols for the sacred žaltys snake, compared to the "cool S" or "stussy" that was somehow ubiquitously drawn by bored middle schoolers. We are just drawn to honor the snake :3~

#judgment snake #snake cult #Zinnia's snake cult #cool S #stussy #Lithuania #Lithuanian mythology #Baltic mythology #Lithuanian folk religion #žaltys #snakes #tw snakes #grass snake #Natrix natrix

[adelaidedrubman]

Basil & Apple Blossom (Jenna), Daisy & Holly (Lela), Nasturtium & Zinnia (Jestiny)?

tysm amanda 💕💕 i loved these

basil :   does your muse have a love - hate relationship with anyone or anything ?

not really in present circumstances, she's definitely the most emotionally balanced of my ocs and tends to view things more even handedly than running hot and cold, taking things in stride. but prior to eden's gate, i would say they had a love/hate relationship with academia (perhaps why she dropped out of grad school to join a cult). she loved learning new things, making discoveries, and exploring ideas, but hated the red tape and jumping  through hoops (hey jenna hey jenna they're called ethcis boards and they exist for a reason), the funding crunches, and the publish or perish cycle.

apple blossom :   how does your muse go about expressing or not expressing their sexuality ?  

they're fairly reserved personality wise, so not very overtly sexual, but she definitely doesn't shy away from discussing sexuality if it comes up. she's very open about being a lesbian, and if interested in someone sexually doesn't hesitate to ask. sexual intimacy is important to her, a very valuable part of the human experience. (she plays along with a lot of eden's gate customs she doesn't really believe in, but not the celibacy ones.) potential partners should expect a lot of subtle, gentle flirting and understated flattery preceeding a very blunt proposition.

daisy :   did your muse ever feel as though their innocence had been lost ?   what moment in their life could be described as the end of their innocence ?  

hmmm, lela has an "i'm no longer the naive girl i was before" moment like, every day. she considers the onset of some of her medical conditions to be a turning point in which she was no longer living a charmed life. her indoctrination into eden's gate was also a turning point in which she considered herself becoming strong and giving up her past cushy life. learning about some of the less mystical aspects of the cult is probably her closest to a true loss of innocence moment.

holly :   how strong is your muse’s sense of intuition ?  are they aware of it ?   do they ever fear that it is only paranoia ?  

horrid, she joined a cult and fell for a lot of snake oil before that. she's gullible, beneath all the gruffness and intimidation she's ultimately far too trusting, she has terrible instincts in devoting herself to leaders and she will make the same mistake over and over again, thank you!

nasturtium :   describe your muse’s relationship with their birthplace ,   or homeland .  

jestiny spent very early adulthood being a little ashamed of her appalachian roots — it may seem very out of step with the jessie as we see her in her main canon, but when she first went to university she hid her accent, mannerisms, and background. the "J.E. Rook" thing was something she started when doing college applications because she thought her full name sounded "too yeehaw". probably hard to tell as written, but her accent now is actually fairly faded, she just chooses to use the speech patterns she uses. jessie still has a complicated relationship with her hometown (she misses the place, but not always the people), but she's no longer ashamed of it. one of the very few things she's grown up about.

zinnia :   how has the loss of fallen comrades and/or loved ones affected your muse ?   has it taught them anything or given them any new perspectives ?

so, in terms of comrades, during the reaping jessie feels very guilty about the fact she's considered important and a priority to be protected by both sides, and losing allies really spikes that guilt and probably leads her into more risky situations. for loved ones, well. losing her mother on night one certainly made her go full batshit a little more quickly. (although as im sure y'all can tell, she's kinda using that as an excuse to be unhinged.)

[zinniajones]

Lithuanian pre-Christian mythology and snake worship (part 2)

(copied from Twitter)

There were plenty of Lithuanian religious practices before Christianity and they sound amazing, the snake worship, the eternal fire, the oak groves, the "sun-hammer cult" ("the sun was liberated by a hammer"), a whole 1200s pantheon (etalpykla.lituanistikadb.lt/fedora/objects…)

A Baltic folk song about snakes as protectors of the home and its stove and fire, hanging out in the house, Lithuanians keeping the snakes warm by their stoves; also, snakes appeared as "protectors of the cows" and "the mother of bees" (degruyter.com/document/doi/1…)

"Where are you creeping, black adder, In the darkness in the evening? - I bring a message to the mother of the son, The son is on the bottom of the sea."

So that's pretty chilling

"O you grass snake, dear snake, Bearer of gods, Lead me to the hill, To dear God." (The grave is on the hill) "In the open field by the blue sea stands an oak-tree with broad leaves, under this oak are old sheep, no lambs, (with) black wool. On this wool lies the snake."

So there was a popular 1500s Lithuanian snake cult version of Running Up That Hill

Big ups to pre-Christian medieval Lithuanians, absolutely understood the assignment

When Christianity showed up, the snakes were replaced by witches lol typical

Just immediately turns into something fucked up about blaming women

"Euphemism for the snake constitute the largest group of animal euphemisms in Lithuanian .... The ancient cult of the snake in Lithuania was abolished with the advent of Christianity and then a negative attitude to snakes was imposed." (epublications.vu.lt/object/elaba:2…)

A large Lithuanian vocabulary for talking about snakes:

(to be continued!!)

#judgment snake #Lithuanian folk religion #tw snakes #cw snakes #snakes #snake tw #Lithuania #Zinnia's snake cult #Zinnia's autism #snake cult #Baltic serpents thread #snakies #Lithuanian mythology #Baltic mythology #Lithuanian pantheon #Lithuanian folklore #Lithuanian folk music

[zinniajones]

Heather took a picture of me cuddling the snake while I was asleep, I’ve never really had things like this to hold but it actually really helped me fall asleep, I love it

#snake #tw snakes #judgment snake #photo #Zinnia's snake cult #snake cult

[zinniajones]

The eternal fire (a Judgment Snake story)

#judgment snake #ai art #dall e art #Zinnia's snake cult #tw snakes #snakes #the woman is me #the woman is you #tatri zr #snake be with you

[zinniajones]

A snake to comfort you in times of despair (a Judgment Snake story)

Tatri Zr 💚

#judgment snake #tw snakes #snakes #ai art #dall e art #Zinnia's snake cult #snake cult

[zinniajones]

SNAKEMAS SNAKE 🐍

#judgment snake #holiday snake #Zinnia's snake cult #snake cult #snakes #tw snakes

[zinniajones]

Happy snake solstice, it’s time for a new year of deeds to bring before the judgment snake 🐍🌞

#photo #snakes #tw snakes #judgment snake #solstice #winter solstice #altar #Zinnia's snake cult #Lithuania

[zinniajones]

Lithuanian pre-Christian mythology and snake worship (part 3)

(copied from Twitter)

Many of the adjectives in Lithuanian for snakes are "related to the names for the devil"; there is also a "queen of all snakes" and "Even wizards try to avoid it as they cannot hope to overpower it"

Which is great because I hate wizards. Hogwarts wizards, exorcist wizards, all of you get bit by the snake queen

Raudonoji, "the red one", "a lethal venomous creature that dwells deep underground and only emerges once in seven years to strike people dead"

"Naming the snake after its 'missing' body part - horns" "They say there is a snake with some sort of horns. That's the leader. Its bite takes twelve enchanters to cure. One just will not cut it."

Naming snakes after metals: copper snake, brass snake, silver snake, gold snake, iron snake Rascally feather snake

"a culprit responsible for a plethora of sins", "The iron snake only strikes once in seven years, and it does not choose its target, and its strike is incurable"

"In fairy tales, the snake bestows the treasure to those who have its favour: 'And that snake would emerge from its hole, and bring all sorts of precious stones and golden toys to the kid'" Judgment snake, judgment snake! 

A large vocabulary for glittering or sparkling snakes. The sheeny one, little light, the glittering one, "sparkles like a grass snake"

Days when snakes go into hiding and reappear

"Rural people believed that the malice of the snake was down to its diabolical descent. One incantation goes: Užgemant velnias tave sutv˙er˙e (“The devil made you”)"

"If you hurt a snake, it will call darting snakes who will catch up with the man and strike him dead" "[The grass snake] rears up and flies so quickly you can barely escape" Lol go snakes go!

Snakes don't just hiss, they whisper

(Until next time! Judgment Snake! Tatri Zr! ~)

#judgment snake #Lithuanian folk religion #tw snakes #cw snakes #snakes #snake tw #Lithuania #Zinnia's snake cult #Zinnia's autism #snake cult #Baltic serpents thread #snakies #Lithuanian mythology #Baltic mythology #Lithuanian folklore

[zinniajones]

New jewels for the snake 🐍 💎

#judgment snake #snakes #tw snakes #Zinnia's snake cult #snake cult #photo