Le Graduel d’Aliénor de Bretagne (Circa 13th Cent.)- Sung by Ensemble Organum
One of my favorite forms of choral music: medieval organum- what we may call the beginning of polyphony.
In the Middle Ages, almond milk was known in both the Islamic world and Christendom, where its vegetable composition—being a nut that is the seed of a fruit of a plant—made it suitable for consumption during Lent. Almond milk was also a staple of medieval kitchens because cow’s milk could not keep for long without spoiling and would instead usually be turned into butter or cheese immediately.
Historically, almond milk was also called amygdalate. It was consumed over a region stretching from the Iberian Peninsula to East Asia.
The Viandier, a 14th-century recipe collection, contains a recipe for almond milk and recommends its use as a substitute for animal milk during fast days.
Anonymous asked: question 13
13 Have you been betrayed in the past? How?
Yes, indeed I have been betrayed on several occasions; some to a lesser extent than others. Only one event truly sticks out in my mind though that seems to suit as an answer to the question.
As some background, I began developing a mild case of depression at the start of August 2011. I won’t go into all the details; I’ll simply say it was the culmination of many stressors (both external and internal) that became overwhelming when I began to face them all at once. By mid-October I was moderately depressed, with a prevailing feeling of being completely worthless and hopelessly chained to the reality I then found myself in at that point. By late November I thought of suicide everyday and spent a lot of my time crying; sometimes for seemingly no reason at all. I reached a point sometime during the last week of November and first week of December when I had a nervous breakdown while at work. I found myself at my wit’s end, because the beast of depression lay within me; an inner demon with a fatal hold on my heart and mind. I burst into tears at least every ten minutes and became so overwhelmed that I began having panic attacks; the sort that would leave me physically numb in my face and extremities (and a condition I had once before in the past and thought I had conquered).
Where does betrayal fit into this? Well, what I found most terrible to handle was that while some people I reached out to gave me some advice, I found that the people I loved that promised to be there for me in times like these, simply weren’t. People like my own mother, “good friends”, and even my girlfriend of 5 1/2 years, just didn’t seem to care that I would literally get on my knees and pray to God for death. Even now as I look back, I myself honestly cannot put into words just how badly I yearned for that final rest; to fall asleep to that liberating world of dreams to escape once and for all. That burning desire I had for the end still haunts me. And yet throughout it all, those that said they would be there for me in times of need like this, shunned me, ridiculed me, and just tried making light of the situation. After all, It’s perfectly normal to be suicidal; isn’t it? And so, this is what I consider my ultimate betrayal. That time when these people who feigned support did nothing aside from leaving me behind twisting in the shadow. Surely I can forgive them, but I can NEVER forget this.
danceswithfaeriesunderthemoon:
Ya Zineb Ya Zanouba - Jalal El Hamdaoui
I haven’t posted any Moroccan music for a long time, so..
Ah, yes. Tonight we have a Full Moon in Libra opposing the Sun in Aries. The Aries Sun feeds our warrior aspect and helps us to be self-assertive and strive for what we want. Meanwhile, the Libra Moon urges us to maintain a level head and not make rash decisions while we are influenced by this fiery drive.
For all you Gemini’s out there, like myself, Mercury has ended its Retrograde period as of April 4th so our sense of communication with others should be moving back up to par. Also, Venus has moved into our sign as of April 3rd and will remain there until August 7th so this period would be good for any and all Venusian arts ;) Be mindful, though. Since we Gemini’s have this special influence from Venus, the Full Moon will illuminate things about our love-life and/or creative-expressive self that we may have suppressed or simply have not been seeing.
