How would Valentine’s Day (historically a Christian holiday, and also having roots from the Roman celebration Lupercalia) be celebrated by you if it were a magimystic holiday?
How would you change/or improve it?
What would you dislike about it?
What themes would you alter?
Also, how do you think each guild would specifically celebrate Valentine’s Day, or a version of it?
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Personally, the magiq I would add to Valentine’s Day would be in the form of some kind of warmth/comforting spell to accompany valentines and general gifts of appreciation/affection for others. Valentine’s day wouldn’t just be about celebrating love for others but also the love we share for magiq itself. The red hearts usually present during the holiday would represent the fire of magiq each of us has in our hearts.
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Mundane St. Valentine’s Day is sort of a bizarre holiday, if you think about it: Initially the Roman festival of Lupercalia, where young noble men would run nude though the streets, hitting young women on the wrists with strips of wolf fur to bestow fertility, it was then appropriated by the early Church in honor of St. Valentine, a martyr. Over time, it’s become a secular holiday celebrating romantic and familial love.
If it were a magiq holiday, I would bring back the blessing-bestowing properties (plus or minus the streaking) in terms of performing a late-winter ritual recognizing the coming spring and enchanting (plus or minus fertility) those celebrating!
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For me, I’d like to make a holiday celebrating Platonic Love, which is the love of not just the external, but the beauty, virtue, and good within a person. A love that supersedes the “vulgar” (Plato’s words, not mine) love of the surface. Who they are, not how they can satisfy your carnal cravings. (I’m feeling very Symposium today.)
Queen Henrietta Maria used to have parties and pageants that celebrated the intimate and platonic love of another person. I’d like to bring that back because I think these relationships can be some of the deepest and more meaningful relationships people can have.
It’s a more Gossmere take on the holiday, and it’s basically how (I think) The Mountaineers feel about each other. And maybe how they always have. I don’t have my memories of my Mountaineers, but I like to believe I still have some of the feelings, whether it’s true or not.
Affection, kinship, and the love of another human being in a deep and meaningful sense. A kindling. A bond.
I’d call it Saint Augernon’s Day.
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How far does the ability to use overgrowth reach? Cause id use overgrowth to completely cover my girlfriends yard in roses. Horribly cliche, i know, but… i think itd be a cute gesture.
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I can really vividly picture Saint Aurgernon Day, celebrating in New York city.
A well somewhere, perhaps The Sunken Hall of Kelfar or The Throne Room of The Butterfly King… Somewhere with history, somewhere that is no stranger to love or sacrifice. I imagine everyone walking in, wearing masks they each have put a lot of effort into… And chatting, drinking malt wine or something. Dancing and singing, friends brought together after not seeing each other for years, as well as complete strangers meeting and forging new bonds. Perhaps they recite a song similar to The Minnying of Ojarad, to honor Augie… This is my image, at least.
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Ooo, those masks sound awesome!
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My idea for the holiday would be that everyone holds an unlit candle and one person has a lot candle that person would then start lighting other peoples candles. When your candle is lit you can start light other peoples candles. It would symbolise that light that each of us carries and how we pass it on to others we meet.
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So, fun fact: a sort of “dream vision” poem by Chaucer is the first known piece of literature we have (at least in the Book of Kings) that places Valentine’s Day in a romantic context. (Okay it’s technically about mating birds but whatever, close enough.) But that makes me think of the whole Courtly Love tradition in Medieval literature, which starts with desire and adoration of another and peaks as the lover, typically a knight, performs deeds of valor to make himself worthy of the noble lady he desires.
I see magiqal Valentine’s Day as something like that. Find someone you believe is beautiful, not just outside but inside. Praise their beauty, their kindness, their joy. Recognize the everyday magic they reveal to you in the world, and let that inspire you to better yourself. Passionate and disciplined, humbling and exalting, ordinary and extraordinary.
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I don’t know about celebrating, but maybe there’s something that’s quite common on the day. Like weddings!
Edit: Or better yet a type of flower blooms, like cherryblossoms in Japan! Like the fraylillies!
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straight up, i see the Ebenguard leading this. as we’re Augie’s Guild. starts with a single flame at the Great Scale in Ebenrest, and spreads from there.
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Bump!!
Things have been quiet on the AGP office front while @CJB is still resting and recovering, but we still wanted to wish you all a happy St. Augernon’s Day again this year!! We treasure your friendship and support more than you know, and we are so grateful that we get to do this with you all. Hope you’re all treating yourself and your loved ones today! 
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Bringing back the Platonic Love idea from last year, I believe that platonic love is just as strong and important as romantic love. I’ve never experienced romance, but the platonic feelings I have for my fellow Mounties and friends are real and strong. I just want to say thank you, all of you, for creating this environment of acceptance and wonder.
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I have a small gift to you, my mountie friends.
Thoughts of warmth and love and life borne on the wings of paper birds.
Along with a small poem to enchant and send your own as well.
"To those nearby and those afar, find them safely by the stars. With notes of love and warmth and light, may this paper bird take flight. "
Happy St. Augernon’s Day Everyone. love you all, and always remember, we’re here waiting for you should you ever need us.
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I can’t shake off the feeling that in this case, it would rather be focused on sending good thoughts and cast spells that support people we know.
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