August 30

Covid 19: A German Perspektive (Part 1)

Covid 19 better known and often referred to in Germany as Corona seemingly came out of nowhere and started to mess with all of our lives around 2 years ago. I can vividly remember how I got my first tattoo in Hamburg, only weeks before we got into our first lockdown, how I was running around unphased and driving in busses, even though the virus was already spreading. It’s very strange to think back at it now to be honest. It was the last time I saw my friends and the fellow students of my university for a long time. And since it’s been so long, I thought that I could maybe write about how if effected me personally and give all of my non-german viewers an idea of what it was like in my country. I will touch on topics of fear, protest, vaccination and postive change, so if any of that might trigger you in some way, I suggest on maybe skipping this post and enjoy one of my others. If you are still here, then let me take you back to march 2020.

I can’t remember anymore, but I don’t think we were the first country to take measures against Corona. In the beginning, we only had some news covarge about what happend in China, but I would say only a few people actually knew what happend. I was so clueless actually, that I got a tattoo of a bat, which has nothing to do with Corona and never will, but people like to joke about it, when I tell them about the time I got it. Everything was actually so new to us back then, that we did not even had a german word for the concept of a lockdown, which is why we just used the english term and never came up with a german one after. It was actually something that I personally had never experienced before. The only “lockdown”-esuq situation I was in, was when it snowed so heavly in winter, that I did not get to go to school, because the busses were not driving.

Because it was such a new phanomenon, nobody knew how long a lockdown needed to be to be effective. But since my new semester at university startet in april already, I soon got to think about what it might look like if I was not allowed to step foot inside of my faculty. I actually thought that I might have to stop studing for a while, because I really did not believe that online classes would be a thing in Germany. Not because I did not believe learning online would be possible, but because I highly doubted that classes being online in general could be a possibility in Germany. When I told my penpals about it back then, they did not understand my worries at first, because they thought: Germany is such a modern and rich country, why should that be a problem? I don’t want to go into politics deeply here, but from what I can tell, the government really was the problem when it comes to technological development. The Internet and it’s possibilities in general just did not seem to intrest the people in charge as much, maybe it even scared them.

“The Internet is new land for all of us” was a quote of our Chancelor Angela Merkel that went viral in 2013, because it was so funny. Back then of course Facebook already exsited, mostly all of the plattforms and apps that we know today, were already present back then. But as funny as that might have been, it really displayed how unfit our government was to tackle issues like digitalization, because to them the Internet really way a new place. They just had not payed much attention to it, because they felt like they would’nt need to. So 7 years before the pandamic hit Germany, our politicans began to think about stuff like tablets in classes and online seminars for the first time. And in 2020 it just did not feel like much had changed since then, which is why most people thought online classes would fail at first. But suprisingly they did not.

When I speak about what happend, I can only talk about my personal experiences, about what happend at my university, at my work and my envoiroment. I do not want to say I know how everyone felt or how every state acted and just wanted to make they clear once again. I don’t know how but Hamburg and my university actually managed to buy a zoom lisence and get almost all classes online in less then a month. They were able to show the teachers and professors how to use it and even though it might have been a bit cringy at first, everyone did really try their best to make it work. The only thing they did not do was actually handing out equipment, so only people with a stable internet connection and a PC, phone or tablet that support the zoom software were actually able to take part in it. That might have been the only thing I would have critisied back then, but since I was one of the lucky few to get a borrowed PC, I really could not complain.

I only got a PC because before the lockdown and everything, I actually applied for my first job ever. As some of you may know from my old posts I actually work as a student assitant in a project of my university that aims at creating a digital dictonary for german sign language(DGS). My work requires me to be able to use a certain software that people at the university itself have developed, which is why I was not able to use any PC, but a certain type and it had to be hooked up to the universities servers somehow. They actually used the fact that the computers in my faculty were not used and got them for us, to work with them at home. And thus I also had them when the new semester started, which I was and still am very grateful for, because it made working in zoom classes so much easier, than it would have been with my normal laptop. But I know how many other people had problem with their home office set up, so maybe don’t take me as the best example. Many people struggled and even though things were working, they were far from perfect.

There are many things I could tell you about the one and a half years of digital university. For example, I could tell you about how easy it seemed to be for my deaf professors to adapt to the situation, because they were using videochat for a long time already and they had no problem signing within the frame of the camera, but we students sure did. Or about how I met a student who tried to set up a digital room for meet and greets where he could try and recreate the feeling of meeting new people at the campus, talking with friends and just not only using the technological possibilities for learning porpouses. Or this one professor who cared more about how much work he would have when checking the digital test, then about the saftey of his students when having to take this text in person when we were at some of the highest corona case numbers in winter! All in all I would say everything has worked out much better than anyone might have expected, but there is still stuff to improve upon.

Improvement is the last point I want to talk about, connected to university. But since the post is already so long, I guess I will have to make a part 2 or 3 to tell you about the other thoughts and topics I had teased xD Hope that is okay for you and that you are still intrested in the rest 😉 Back to the topic: Improvement seems to be a big problem, because noone wants to invest in it. Why? Because they think a situation like this will never come again and “hopefully”(for some people) everything will go back to normal. In my eyes, that’s a very problematic way of thinking, because I don’t think the situation before was perfect and everything we would improve on now, would also benefit people later. Stuff like Home Office accsessability, online learning and so on. But I fear that most people in Germany who are in charge, still have not understood how important things like that can be. To say it with the words of one of the students I had a class with: “I really hope we don’t go back to stone age, after the pandamic is over”.

In my next post about the topic, I want to talk about why there were and still are so many protests about the lockdowns and vaccinations. But keep in mind, all of this is out of my experience and following my opinion. I do not talk for all german people or students in general. Thanks for understanding.

Greetings and good wishes
The Mad Hattress

Category: Personal Life | LEAVE A COMMENT
August 25

Over half a year of Papergang boxes!

When you are following my blog for at least a month, you might have seen that I am doing a monthly review of a subscription box called Papergang by OhDeer. It’s a box that gets a new design and content every time and I have had a one-year subscription for a little over half a year now. So I thought I might give you my first thoughts about what I liked and what I did not like so far. Keep in mind there are still 5 boxes coming(while I am writing this review), so they still have time to improve upon some things. But let’s start with the impressing stuff!

Impressing stuff
This monthly subscription box was the first one of its kind that I ever got. Even though I really love the concept of it, I think they might not be as popular in Germany, which is why many have never heard of them before. I can’t even remember how I got to know about this box in particular, but I am very glad that I did! I do love stationery and art and this box combines them both and it feels like the people behind it are very passionate about what they do and with whom they work together.

I love that the box is designed in a way, that it fits into a regular mailbox with no problem. Especially since the pandamic hit, I really hate taking on parcels personally, so I love to send them to special package stations in Germany. The only problem is, that these package stations can only be open by the customer and the workers of DHL, the biggest german mail company. Meaning that if I get something from outside the country, which is not shipped with DHL, I can’t let it be delivered to one of those stations. So having it fit into my mailbox is almost as good, if not even better, because I only have to go check my mail, to get it out 😉

I had some troubles with getting the boxes shipped to me in the first place, which might sound like a bad thing, but it’s actually nothing the people over at OhDeer can be blamed for. It often was a customs problem, in the time where the UK was leaving the EU and some parcels just got missing. But the customer service at the Papergangs HQ, has never let me down. They answered emails fairly quickly and always tried to either explain to me what happened and calm me down, or got to work on a solution right away. And as of now, all the missing parcels were replaced without a problem.

Things to improve upon
Sadly I have to say that not everything worked out as expected. What got me into wanting a year-long subscription of the Papergang boxes for 2021, were the pictures I saw of the boxes from 2020. Mainly the October and November boxes got me hyped up and very sad about not getting one of them! They were not only beautifully designed but also packed with great stuff, on some pictures I was even surprised to see how many things fit into such a small box. And I know, there should not be quantity over quality, but I feel like both of these things have gone somewhat down.

What I mostly miss in the boxes is a theme, a thought behind why exactly these stationaries were chosen for a particular box. Are they part of a kind of letter set, that I can use to write my penpals? Or are they part of a note-taking set, an office supply set, and so on. Because oftentimes, especially with the last 3 boxes, it felt as if they would have just randomly put together some stationary, put a unique design over it and call it a day. As I said in my reviews, stationery is never too much, I will always find a use for a pen, or a notepad, or something similar. But the boxes just don’t get me as excited anymore, if it just feels like I am getting random supplies. I really hope they can improve upon that with their last 5 boxes of the year because that will really be the tipping point for me to decide if I want to get another subscription of them or not.

This last point might be a bit contradictory to the last point I spoke about in the “impressive things” category because it’s again about shipping and customers service. As I am writing this review, my august box has still not arrived and it’s less than a week till the next month(as of me writing the review, might post it later :P). But I knew that would happen because I got an email saying that some shipping errors arose again and my parcel will only be shipped at the end of august or the beginning o September. Someone took responsibility for it this time and promised some “extra gifts” to compensate for the inconvenience. Now I have not received these gifts, but I really hope they will be there in the first place. Because even though I can understand why the shipping errors happened at the time of the Brexit, it does kinda get annoying when it happens over and over again. And before this email, I got nothing to compensate for it. So I guess if they really will be following up on this email, it will an improvement, if not, I know what to talk about in my full years’ review of the boxes 😉

Final Thoughts
The Papergang got me into subscriptions in general, which I am super happy about and grateful for. But I have to say at this point, I am already thinking about if it would make sense to keep up my subscription or to use my money on another one next year. Just because the excitement I got in the beginning, did not really last until now. And like I said, I think that’s because of the “randomness” that I get with many of the boxes. When the next 5 will be better, I will change my mind and I would gladly do so. Because I still really love the idea behind the boxes, not only just repackaging some products and shipping them, but designing them, working with artists, making it a very unique experience. That’s what I bought my subscription for, that’s what I loved seeing the old boxes. So please Papergang, fill me with this excitement again!

Greetings and good wishes
The Mad Hattress

Category: Mystery Box, Papergang, Review, Subscription Box | LEAVE A COMMENT
August 13

Exhibition “Broken” by Reiinku

Hello, people of Wonderland! Recently I took part in a very special exhibition and I wanted to tell you about it 🙂 The exhibition took place in an art studio called Resdient Creative, where you can get tattooed but also chill and just be surrounded by creativity and maybe be creative yourself. It was made by Daria Reiin aka Reiinku and thoughtfully set up in a cellar under the studio. The exhibition is up until the end of the month and I would highly recommend you going there if you would happen to be in Hamburg, Germany^^ But keep in mind that you have to make an appointment first, stay safe and healthy!

Official poster of the exhibition with a close up of the mai piece: a girl and her oni mask falling. Text says: 31 July. 31 August 2021, Broken(in japanse and english)" on the left side: "Exhibition by Reeinku" on the right: "of masks and inner demons".

The room you see in the photo was actually hidden behind a curtain and filled up with smoke, so the lighting would really come to play. It was really cool to see the art being framed by the room, which kinda looked like a piece of art itself with the shibari-styled ropes and other decorations. You could really say going in there was an experience, it was not only about viewing the art itself but feeling the eeriness and the exhibition as a whole. It was really interesting and I can’t say that I have experienced anything like that ever before. Of course, it’s never the same in the pictures, it’s something to really be felt in real-time.

Picture shows a cella with white walls and many ropes in shibari style tying everything together. At the end of the room there is a jean jacket with the main art piece on it, with two ringlights shining at it. Infront of it are diffrent other art pieces haning.

The concept behind the exhibition referring to its name “broken” was the social concept of wearing masks. Maybe to adjust to a certain environment or to hide something, we don’t want others to see, many people wear a kind of mask on a daily basis. And some people might be wearing their masks for so long, that they can’t even imagine life without them anymore. So what would happen if some of those masks begin to crack, break, and shatter, revealing what has been sheltered underneath. And what would we see then? Would it be the same person that put the mask on in the first place or would they have been changed?

Some of these questions might get answered, through the paintings we see hanging in the room. They are of two different people. One wearing a mask to look like a pretty girl, maybe the white represents being pure. But when it crumbles, the mask reveals that there is something dark underneath, something dangerous also being represented by the flower wilting away. On the other side, we have a person wearing a mask to look angry, hideous even, but the cracks reveal a beautiful and loving face, emphasized by the flower in its full glory. So you could see it that way: Some people try to look pretty, but they are ugly on the inside, whether as people who seem angry on the outside, might be loving in reality.

A Collage of the other art pieces, on the left side: the first picture show hald of a face wearing an oni demon marsk with shar theeth and horns, the secound one show a flower blooming, the third one shows the other half of the face with the same mask, but crombeling around the eye, reavealing a much nicer face behind the mask. On the right side: there is hald of a face looking lighe a beautiful face but with a big crack, the secound picture is a flower wilting away and the thirs one is the other half of the face again crumbeling around the eyes reavailng a dark, dangerous looking monster underneeth.

The main piece of the exhibition was a jean jacket, entangled in ropes with the drawing of a girl losing her mask entirely. I especially like how the jacket itself is held up, it looks very dynamic, almost as if you could imagine the girl wearing the jacket while being shocked about the loss of her mask and possibly a big part of her identity. The mask is of a japanese demon called Oni being portrait with his horns, yellow glowing eyes, and sharp teeth. The girl behind the mask wears a little make-up, she almost looks innocent in comparison. But she too has horns, so maybe she did not lose everything with the broken mask. Maybe a part of her already identifies with the demon she wore. I like to interpret that as a girl who is shy and maybe scared but wearing a mask of confidence to protect herself. So when the mask falls down, some of this confidence still remains, meaning that she is now able to protect herself without the mask too or it could mean the demon is still inside her, even if it seems like she might have lost it.

A photo of the main piece, a jean jacket with flowers on the arms and a innocent looking girl on the back, a mask he wore broke in half and is falling down. The mask is of a japanese demon called oni and it has horns, same as the girl has.

All in all, it was a very special and intriguing experience, I am very happy to have taken part in it! What was especially interesting and might not be possible in every exhibition, is that the artist herself led us through and talked with us about her intentions for every piece. I might not have done justice writing about it here and now, but like I said in the beginning: if you get the chance to experience it yourself, do it 😉 If there are any other exhibitions done by Reiinku, I will be definitely sure to check them out! And if you want to check the amazing artist behind this exhibition out, you can do so here:

Reiinku’s Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/reiinku/?hl=de
Reiinku’s website: https://reiinku.com/

Greetings and good wishes
The Mad Hattress

Category: Art, Personal Life | LEAVE A COMMENT
August 4

About Crystals and Magic

Hello, people of Wonderland, and welcome back to a story post of mine^^ With this post I don’t want to be informative since I am no expert on the field, but I want to tell you about the experiences I made. So keep that in mind when reading it, I am a mere beginner, if so at all xD But I am very interested in all of that, so I wanted to tell you about my research and findings!

Collage of the diffrent Itemas I got and will talk about in this post: a purple amathyst cluster, a white/tranparent selenite heart, a turmaline, a rose quarz pendelum and a glas wand filled with cleary crystals.
I got these pictures from the Etsy Shop and I will use them again and put a link to the shops below! So all right go to the Etsy shop owners 😛

Since I was a child I had an affinity with stones. I liked to collect them especially when they were shiny or smooth, take them with me as souvenirs from trips, or just keep them around to fiddle with them in my hands. They always seemed to make me calmer or happier for no reason or at least no apparent reason that I could think of. Lately, I have been down because of many stressful things happening in my life and my mother bought me a stone necklace, which is completely unrelated, she did not do it because I was sad, but because she likes to gift me pretty things. Anyways this stone necklace sparked my interest in stones again because while wearing it, I actually felt better and I loved playing around with the pendant above my chest.

I started thinking about rock tumbling, which is the craft of making smooth rocks for jewelry or decoration purposes. But that’s a bit complicated because you need several fairly expensive things and at best have a cella or porch where you can let your rocks tumble so they don’t disturb yourself or your neighbors. Unfortunately, I don’t have both at the moment so I discarded the thought of taking it on as a hobby for now. But I still couldn’t get rocks out of my head and I started researching about the properties many nature-based believes such as Wicca and Pagan ascribe to them. They say they can be used for healing, cleansing an area, or protecting it. Even though when they talk about it, they refer to them as crystals, which sound so better much better than rocks, so that’s what I will be calling them mostly too from here on 😛

Of course, it’s totally normal to be skeptical at first and think: “How can some rocks or crystals or whatever you want to call them, aid me in my daily life?” and I think it’s totally valid to be asking questions like this. I consider myself a rational atheist person, so I normally don’t believe in stuff that isn’t proven, but I always had this spiritual side to me too and this thought of: “Why shouldn’t there be some magic in this world?”. Maybe that’s why I like to write about it in my stories too xD And since I am an open person in general, I thought I should at least try it out and see if some crystals can bring a positive change to my life, no matter how small it might be.

On this topic, I also want to talk about a psychological effect called a self-fulfilling prophecy. I am sure you have heard of it before since it’s also used in books and movies sometimes 😉 Basically, the effect describes that when a person thinks something will happen hard and long enough, it actually can happen. Of course, you can’t wish for a puppy and magically get it, but some thoughts can trigger actual physical or mental reactions from your body. Most of them are sadly bad reactions like panic attacks, becoming sick, or having a false pregnancy just to name a few. But they can have positive reactions too, for example, the same way they can trigger a panic attack they can also stop it or you can literally talk some positivity or bravery into yourself if you need it. So coming back to the topic of crystals even though they might not have a positive effect on people’s lives which could be proven scientifically, it is very well possible that it still has that effect on some people.

So with all of that said, the best-case scenario would be that these stones actually help me feel better or more balanced in life, either because of an actual nature-based energy effect or because of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Worst case scenario would be, that those crystals would really just be shiny stones, but then I could still use them for a cool decoration of my home or even as references when I am drawing! So basically I can’t really go wrong here, that’s why I looked for some stones and their meaning on the internet and bought some to try them out! If you stuck with me till this part of the post, I guess you are at least somewhat interested in the topic, so I will tell you now which stones I bought and what effects they are supposed to have, enjoy! And a quick note: As I am writing this article non of the crystals have arrived yet, which is why I am using the pictures from the Etsy shops(all rights go to them!) and tell you about the stuff I have researched. I can’t tell you about the actual effects yet, but I might write a second post after some time 😉 Let me know if you would be interested in it!

Picture of the wand: a glas vile filled with clear crytsals(unpolished) with a polished clear crytsal ball at the end and a polished clear crystal tip, The ends are connected to the vile with a metal strip.
Magic wand made with clear crystals by KristallundKessel on Etsy


The first thing I got was actually not even “just a crystal” it’s actually a magic wand made out of glass and clear crystals 😛 Now I know what you might think, but hear me out first xD A magic wand is actually used in some wiccan and pagan practices, but not in the way you would think from seeing movies and reading books 😛 So there are no flames or light supposed to come out of it, when you use the right spell, they are more used in rituals to focus your own energy and lead them to objects you do your rituals with, kinda like a conductor. There are also supposed to help with sending negative energy away from your body. And they can come in many different shapes and sizes such as full carving out of a crystal or being made out of a tree twig. Some can be bought in shops, but technically you could also make your own out of things you find in nature that you are somewhat intrigued by. Now I am not crafty when it comes to woodcarving and stuff and as I mentioned before, I am intrigued by crystals, so when I saw this wand, I really wanted to get it and try it out 😛 If you want to know more about the topic of wands, I can recommend one of the videos I have watched on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLKA9ECQ-vc (Enchanted Endeavours Ep. 14 by Harmony Nice).

The hand of the seller holding some random Turmaline crystals, which are black and look like they are cut right out of a mountain, very rough.
Raw Turmanline crystal by KristallundKessel on Etsy


The second item I got is one of these raw turmaline crystals, you might have seen them used in jewelry before, but in the refined version where they can actually shine in different colors. I have to say from the picture they remind me of coal a bit, but I am mesmerized but the deep black color of them too. Like most black crystals those are said to be very good at getting rid of negative energy, protect you from new negative energy, and thus are one of the most powerful protection stones out there. Some of the people I came across on my research actually advise having one of them by your side at all times(if you believe in that of course, no pressure). They are also said to make the user be more aware of certain developments and processes in their lives, which makes them able to control them better, which actually sounds perfect for a little control freak like me xD

The seller holding a rose quarz pendelum on a short metal chain.
Rosequarz Pendlum crystal by KristallundKessel on Etsy

The third item I got is a rose quartz pendulum, again something which has a second practical purpose aside from the energy effects. Of course, you have seen or heard about pendulums before too, they are mostly used for deviation and radiesthesia. Now we have another one of these beliefs VS science dilemmas because of course, actually predicting the future is highly unlikely. But you can see this pendulum more as a way to understand what you want subconsciously instead.
There are kinda two ways I have learned about how to do that, one easy and one a bit more complicated way xD The easy way is basically just to asking the pendulum a question and then thinking about what you want the answer to be. Of course, technically you would not need a pendulum for that, but I guess it can help some people. The other way has to do with meditating. Basically, you try to let your subconsciousness send small waves through your nerves that get the pendulum to swing a certain way. The goal here is not to just swing it consciously yourself, but to let your subconscious mind take over a bit. I have not tried it yet, so I don’t know if it will work, but maybe I can tell you in the future 😉
The crystal used to make the pendulum is rose quartz, maybe the most popular one of these crystals to be used in Jewelry, so I am sure you have seen it before! It’s said to be the most popular healing stone too, which is also why it’s used often in these face rollers to make a headache go away for example. It’s also said to be the stone of love and might connect you or be of help in love rituals 😉

The seller holding a heart shaped selenite crystal in her hand, very polished and about half the size of her hand.
Selenite Heart by Adelaidespath on Etsy

Next up is a selenite heart, which I want to use as a palm stone. A palm stone is basically a smooth crystal specifically used for fiddling around with. Selenite seems to be perfect for that since it’s said to calm the mind and help with hyperactivity such as heighten the concentration level and give vitality. I really like how big it is and I already kinda know I will love touching it xD It’s also very popular, maybe because of its ascribed properties or maybe because it’s a very soft stone that can be carved a bit more easily, so you can see many selenite stones with engraving on them. I specifically decided against that, because I wanted to keep it as smooth as possible^^

The seller holding the amathyst crystal cluster, which also looks very rough and natural.
Amethyst Cluster crystal by KristallundKessel on Etsy

Last but not least I will be getting an amethyst cluster^^ I got really interested in it because amethyst is actually my birthstone and these stones should connect very well with the user, thus working even better. Also, my favorite color is purple and I always wanted to have a raw stone cluster like this anyways xD They not only look very stunning but they can also be used to recharge other crystals with energy again. So what I gathered from my research is it’s always a good idea to have one of them around 😉 Amethysts themselves are said to be is said to have very calming energy as well, which is why many people sleep with it near their beds and it’s also said to reduce anxiety.

Those are all the crystals I will be getting hopefully soon and I am looking forward to them very much. Even though I am not really sure if they will really help me mentally or physically in any way, I try to keep an open mind. And to be honest, knowing that I will be having them in my apartment soon and being able to look at them and fiddle around with some already makes me happy. So I think I really can’t lose here 😉 If you are interested to know if they actually have worked or not, let me know and I might make a part two^^ Also tell me about your experiences with stones and crystals or questions that you might have about the topic. So feel free to leave a comment!

Greetings and good wishes
The Mad Hattress

Category: Personal Life, Witchy Things | LEAVE A COMMENT