Hidden Within the Norse Gods - Part IV
Freyr, or Frey, is like "lord". The masculine god of fertility, the earth, nature and calm skies. He appears in Norse myth riding a large boar named Gullinbursti. His name Yngvi-Frey was associated with the some Scandinavian royal families. He rules Alfheimr (Realm of the light elves) and he owns a magnificent sailing ship. Owner of powerful sword, that he sold in purchase of a giantess' love. He fell in love with the beautiful giantess named Gord or Gerd. Freyr used basic weapons such as bone, antlers and spears to kill monsters after having gone without his sword. Freyr's "Yngvi" name is a title similar to Ing, Inguz, Ingui, Yngling. These kings and queens are descendants of Freyr. He is often associated with war and nature, perhaps even hunter and gatherer. In Sweden he was called Fricco. His original name was Yngvi and this means, lord, master, king, warrior (all into one). I conclude that Freyr was a man, from a recent enough time as the Bronze Age! He had a legacy that told a story far that he was immortalised, recast as Freyr and made into the brother of prehistoric goddess Freya.
Loki is the "Trickster god" according to legends as well as modern media. He's a very complex god whose name doesn't seem to have an origin but could mean "luka" for air. He's often depicted in art, stone, poems and sculpture as a god with references to snakes and fire. He's the father of monstrous children and they are Fenrir the giant wolf, Jormungandr the world serpent, and Hel, the goddess of the dead. All of them are deadly enemies of the gods and they threaten to destroy the world. At the time of Ragnarok, those three monstrous children are unleashed. Although said to be a god, Loki is also another kind of immortal. He's been considered "companion of the gods" then an "enemy of the gods." Is he a giant? It makes sense that he's a giant who, for some reason, had deformities, or appeared quite elemental as he could shape shift, spawn out monsters and create magic. Is he a symbol of evil? chaos? or a breakdown of perfection? His name sounds like Lucifer (if pronounced in the proper Roman dialect as "C" was pronounced as ck and not s). Loki is almost similar to Hermes (of the Greeks), Gwydion (Celtic myth) and Veles (Slavic myth). Yet Hermes (or Mercury the Roman version) is a counterpart of Odin!!!
That is all. I've completed the four parts of this series. I plan to do another series about monsters, trolls, elves, ect. Wait and see.
Image "Ragnarok" by Harry Buddhapalm
The Most Powerful Rune
The esoteric story of O. This is not about what you think, erotic literature. It's about the meaning of a powerful symbol: O
This O is not only a letter "O" or zerO but a point of continual being. O is the only rune that can't be reversed. Not used in the Futhark as it's message is clearly protection, not divination, writing or alphabet. O is a universal runic sign of protection. It shields you from outside forces like unwanted feedback, magic (black and white) and against ill health. Now it's said that people draw circles around themselves to protect them from evil, as nothing bad can get in.
This is because the shape of the O circle as a perfect circle, not elliptic or oval, bounces away oncoming energies. It may even put off airborne bacteria such as flu epidemics. Well I have no absolute proof of that but this is legend. I guess that the O could be a shape of medicine (the regular tablets) and circulation of a healthy body.
The O shape is immortal and invincible. It's like time itself. It goes on and on without end. There are no twists or sharp corners, no broken places, no bends, no obstacles. It goes round and round like a carousel. This O circle is the shape of a natural bubble. It's the shape of cycles and orbits. It's the shape of planets, moons and heavy stars. It's the shape of our energy field. It's a form of shell, and armour.
The O is also a sound too. Wind makes a perpetual hoooooOOl. Wolves hOOwl. The MoOn is symbolised by the circle shape, as well as the sun (or Sol/SOUL) shaped with a movement of O and a sound of O. A woman's ovum is O and eggs are almost O (the oval shape is sightly narrowed at the tip on one end to make it easier for delivery).
O is used in magic to block, protect and hide.
The meaning of O is found in many cultural things. The powerful symbol of the ring (for instance in Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings") was misused because of the hole in the centre was filled with a magical poison that contaminated it's wearer. Now the O symbol in it's purest form is a solid circle or a disk. A ring shape is a thick band with a centre, so it's two tiered, or double, perhaps mirror imaged upon itself. Rings are used for weddings. A solid O is one and the same.
O is an orgasm and a round object like a creation of a little fiery sphere, born of passion. O is the shape of a woman's breasts and a man's testicles. O is the shape of eyes, the shape of hill bases, the shape of islands (without it's damaged cragginess) and the dance of air currents, even though they spiral up and downwards. The O shape is a relative of the spiral. Spirals don't meet at the end but keep moving on and on in different directions. These spirals twist and turn.Spirals are symbols of chaos and discord. It's like the naughty twin of the circle O, which is ordered and solid. Tornadoes are spiral shaped. They move in mad twists and they howl with twisted screaming sounds. Spirals are defined as wavy patterns or loops, sometimes knotwork. The Celtic and Viking knots are pretty and yet the ends are tied together, so they form a twisted shaped circle! The O has bounded the spiral. The human DNA are double twists with both ends grasped together, so they can't run away.
Mandalas are decorated O circles. Wheels and sun disks all turn in perfect form. There can be other shapes within the O circle because they're controlled by this force. Spirals and curves like the swastika are moving/turning inside the circle disk. The "O" shape is also that of an eye, a mouth, vagina and a doorway. O is a life symbol and a shield symbol.
I wrote this after having a meditation inspiration.
The picture is "A Child of Promise" by artist Briar.
Golden Girl Project: Wang Zhaojun
The fourth and last of the Four Beauties of China is about Wang Zhaojun. She was a musician who played the kind of music to attract animals, especially birds. When birds flew towards her just to listen to her music, they lost the ability to fly. Wang's music influenced creatures that made them lose their vital senses. It's part of Chinese legend but not known if this actually happened or not, and if it did what the scientific reason for that would be.
She was a beautiful child from a rich family background, growing up in a village of South China, then part of the affluent Han empire. Not only was she talented in music but in academics and painting. She became famous for both her beauty and for her intelligence. She attracted more than birds, and Emperor Yuan wanted her as his concubine after having heard about her. The emperor's palace court had an artist, named Mao Shouyan, who painted portraits of women. As the emperor was looking for a wife, the women often bribed the artist into making them appear very flattering. However, Wang Zhaojun didn't, so the artist punished her by painting her ugly. The emperor saw the portrait and wasn't interested in meeting her, so Wang Zhaojun remained in court as a maid servant for a while.
Then one day she was summoned to meet the emperor. It wasn't because he had an interest in her but believed that she was ugly as depicted in the portrait. The decision was to send her away to northern China as the fake daughter of the emperor, to complete a tradition between the alliance of Han and Xiongnu, and make an official visitor named Huhanye Chanyu the imperial son-in-law. At this time, the only princess was the daughter of Lu, and she was reluctant to be apart from her child. The other concubines refused to journey to the chilly north and this meant Wang Zhaojun was left. When she DID arrive at court, she revealed her truest beauty to everyone, including the emperor himself. He realised his mistake, and blamed the artist for lying to him. The artist was arrested and the emperor reluctantly gave Wang Zhaojun away to a happy Huhanye.
Wang Zhaojun had three children, a daughter and two sons with Huhanye. One of the boys died. The daughter grew to become a prominent figure in ancient politics. Wang influenced her husband into spreading peace amongst the different peoples of China. But after Wang Zhaojun was widowed, she was given a second husband, and bore two children. She became a powerful, political symbol of friendship, love, compassion and the arts. Since her time, poems and plays have been written about her, not to mention many production companies. This woman is a symbol of civilised progress.
Picture of Wang Zhaojun by Thammasak Aueragsakul.
Red Wolf Medicine
Red Wolf Medicine - During these times, going through cancer treatment, I discovered help from spiritual feedback. While meditating I encountered a wolf who assured me that I needed to go on a proper regime. On a low iodine diet at this time now, but I've eaten things I shouldn't have done, thinking it was okay. This wolf's presence made me see the foods I've been eating at the start of the diet, that I had to drop. I admit to have eaten biscuits and bread containing salt! Bad. The Red Wolf showed me what food is better, which the Macmillan list didn't put on the Avoid list.
Foods you can eat when on a low iodine diet are: soya milk, soya produce, meat, vegetables, fruit, spices, garlic, onions, nuts, almonds, rice, pasta, tomatoes, salt free biscuits and cake, fat, sunflower oil, salt free bread, anything with low/free of salt and non-dairy. There is chocolate soya mousse and biscuits.
Being on a low iodine diet is tough when the paperwork is negative, mainly telling patients what food to avoid, and not really what recipes to have. At present, I've been on a strict diet set out by the doctors because I'm due to have radioactive iodine treatment soon. I have to avoid eating any salt, dairy products, seafood and processed food. At first I was confused because cutting out most other food not listed because they contain traces of milk and salt. I got in the habit of reading the ingredients. I'm allowed to eat fresh fruit, other fresh meat, vegetables, water, soya and that's about it. I surfed for information about what else people on low iodine diets can eat.
People who've had thyroid cancer have been too scared to eat a slice of bread because it's got salt in it. No one wants to enter the radioiodine treatment full of too much iodine and risk whatever. The word "radiation" sounds scary enough. So for anyone interested in food for thyroid cancer patients, or people about to go on radioiodine treatment, here is what I can post. A list of food for low iodine treatment.
Breakfasts:
A bowl of cereal with soya milk. The cereal can be made of bran or oats.
Tomatoes, bacon, sausages, toast.
Porridge or if you don't like it have stoat bars (porridge bars).
Chopped fruit, or add soya yoghurt or milk.
Lunches:
A carton of 5 a Day (minus cheese)
Soya mousse
Health bars
Soup and bread
Sesame seed bars
Seeded bread with salad, meat such as chicken.
Freshly baked bread
Garlic bread and soya spread.
Dinners:
Rice, chicken and peppers.
Pasta and minced beef with onions and tomatoes.
Sausages and mashed potatoes
Lamb, roast veg, jacket potatoes.
Mint potatoes, onions, beans and bacon.
Unsalted curry
Supper:
Iodine free pancakes
Other links of low iodine food:
Low iodine recipes
Low Iodine Diet
Ash dilemna
"Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust" ~ A familiar funeral rite.
"Ring o ring o roses, a pocketful of posies...
(the American version).. ashes ashes...
we all fall down" ~ A centuries old nursery rhyme.
No not the ashes from burnt remains of a fire. Ashes to mean certain types of trees, the Ash tree. It's been in the news lately that the disease upon the native British ash species is "here to stay". There's no cure, apparantly but some other foreign trees are immune to the disease inflicted upon the UK trees. This disease is called "ash dieback" or Chalara Fraxinea. It's a fungal disease, attacking parts of the tree that makes trees look ill with spots and eventually stripping away its shoots and leaves. The disease itself has been killing ash trees in other European countries.
In 2012 the disease appeared in the United Kingdom and spread to different parts of the country. A ban was put in place recently to stop anymore imports of ash, to prevent more contamination. It seems as though the ash tree has it's own cancer that needs treating. Scientists are working on finding any solution to cure this outbreak.
It's so sad really. The ash tree has, not only always been part of the landscape, but features in common traditional herb lore, folklore, myth and legend. There are magical qualities of the ash tree from music to medicine to magic.
The true scientific name of the ash tree is Fraxinus. That name, as well as the English word "ash" (from aes to mean spear) and Ask (Old Norse name for the ash tree god). Not to mention the most powerful house of all, Yggdrasil, the World Tree. This was a super ash tree that was so huge it reached across the stars. It held nine worlds (some say planets, some say dimensional planes), including our own, Midgard. Also the All Father god Odin hung from an ash tree where he discovered the runes. In Greek myth, were groups of nymphs called Melia who were specifically female guardians of the ash tree.
Ash trees were often said to help people gain insight, increase their sixth sense, and to see into the future. Ash twigs aided in strengthening the spirit against malicious entities.
Regards to Yggdrasil, at the time of Ragnarok, this giant tree gets destroyed, starting with disease and decay. It's all symbolic or prophetic told in certain weird ancient cryptic codes. That tree does represent the common wild ash tree found in Europe, maybe it talks of global species of ash trees. The time of Ragnarok itself is symbol of death or renewal, but destruction before. Leading up to the present times, we've just had serious fimbul winters, natures fury, strange weather patterns, now ash dieback, and the unsettled World Serpent Jormungandr (2012, Year of the (water) Dragon, according to the Chinese calender).
End of the Wolf Age? I see it as a global picture of events tied in with prophecy, oracle and the fact humanity has fucked up the planet.
Image "The Ash" by Mike Nash
This is dark stuff, not kindness
Certain prayers, healing energy and helpful tools like the pendulum can harm someone. It's not something I've come across in books but from my own personal experience, I feel like posting about what I've discovered.
Pendulums are keys to Pandora's Box
Most stuff I've come across in books and magazines about pendulums is that it's "only a tool". It locates water, ley lines and answers. It has been said to connect people to their higher selves and make people feel comforted. Most people I know of have one. I did have one, made of silver and crystal. Then it was destroyed AFTER I used it. Why? Because I was simply following instructions in the booklet it came with, and soon opened a door that I was unaware of. I experienced a series of very nasty entities that appeared right after using the pendulum. I was in contact with the dead, that first imitated dead relatives. These things became unfriendly and dangerous. A friend took away that pendulum and broke it. Nothing and no one advised me to shield myself from using that. A pendulum is exactly the same as a Ouija board. I posted about this online on a message forum a couple of years ago, to warn people using pendulums. That was in reply to someone saying they too were getting weird feedback after using a pendulum. The moderators and admin refused to believe me, saying I was "scaring people". In their opinion, pendulums are tools of "light". An article in a magazine written by a "wise" person, talking about pendulums as if they are friendly and helpful in spiritual development. No warning sticker. There is no warning against this piece of equipment. Pendulums are keys that unlock doors bringing in sinister entities.
The cost of "healing"thoughts
This is well-meaning and often done by more than one person, who cares about another. What they're sending, depends on how they're doing it. For instance, a person who's sick or unhappy may get a reaction from loads of people making prayers, healing energy or "get well" thoughts to them. It's often said that it works. However it doesn't do what it's meant to do. These "prayers" and healing energies, are removing healthy energies from another person, often themselves who are sending it. People who've sent a lot of healing to somebody else often becomes poorly at any time. Coincidence? I don't know. I've sent healing to people myself over the years, including to a friend in America who had cancer. He recovered very well. Soon after that I had several illnesses, pneumonia and bronchitis, now cancer. My immunity was down 99%. I simply willed it away to another. If you send healing energy to a person, always make sure you proceed to heal yourself afterwards, for giving away your spiritual and physical immunity strength. It's like donating all of your vital organs whilst you're alive, it will guarantee you ill health and death. Although sending healing is a nice gesture, it has a price to pay (your health), and healing prayers can backfire upon those sending it out.
Dangers of sending out "healing" entities
Another thing that people do out of compassion for another going through a tough time. They send them entities! In the past, someone sent me a "healing angel" without my permission, and although she meant well, such an act was dangerous and this resulted in me getting nightmares. Another sent me a "healing water deity" but he didn't know its name when I asked who it was. He didn't really know wtf he was doing playing with magic like that. It depends on the person sending a "healing being", what that particular being is and what it could mean for the target (person who receives it), and the receiver's personality and beliefs also. How do you know it's a healing spirit? It could be something else. How do you know that this healer was sent to that person? Sending it to someone leaves that person in a gullible position, they've got a channel opened by you the "healer" so any darker thing can enter. When someone you know is sick, shield them with protective energy using iron sources (stones, objects, talismans, pendants). Guard them against mass prayer, healing and angelic stuff sent by others. Bounce off mass healing prayers and "healing" spirits for this is unwelcome baggage and tainted with paranormal activity. Don't use "power of prayer" magic. Send flowers, cards and physical hugs.
Before anyone does it...
Ask the person's permission first if they would like to receive healing in the way of generated thoughts, candle magic or wishes. Ask them if it's okay to send them a being of whatever. If the person agrees, make sure you shield yourself. Then ask permission of the earth to send healing instead. Usually, this is granted but you have to pay, depending on how much healing you want sent. Picture that person getting healing from the earth, medicines and plants, and not from you or some big spirit, or angelic form. Thank the earth for proving healing but expect to pay your fee, and it could be a bump along the way.
The picture is "Pandora's Box" by Marta Dahlig.
Golden Girl Project - Yang Guifei
So far I've been focusing on The Four Beauties of ancient China in this "Golden Girl Project" series. I've done posts on Diao Chan and Xi Shi. I have two more of those Four Beauties to post about. This third post on that subject will be on the legendary Yang Guifei.
Yang Guifei lived during the Tang dynasty. Her life was during the years 719 and 756. A princess and nun whose lovely "face put flowers to shame".
Her family came from a background of wealthy officials to the Tang Emperor. They were from a place called Shu Prefecture, which is now Chengdu, Sichuan. Yang Guifei was married off to a prince, son of emperor Xuanzong. The emperor wanted to make her his mistress but to avoid any backlash, sent her away to become a Taoist nun. Then the emperor gave his son another wife, and made Yang Guifei his consort.
It's said that over 700 people were made to sew garments for Yang. Her favourite fruit was lychee, or genus of soapberry. This was only found in south Asia and the emperor had employed men with horses to deliver the fruits to Yang. She was allowed use of the Huaquing Pool (hot spring).
This poem called "Song of Everlasting Regret"by Bai Juyi covers it:
On a cold spring day, he bestowed upon her the honor of bathing with him at the Huaqing pools,
According to legend, this is the pool that was used by Yang Guifei and the emperor.
The waters of the hot springs were smooth, and washed over her pale white skin.
The palace maids helped her to leave the pool, because she was too delicate and lacked strength.
This was when she began to receive the emperor's advances.
There is a voluptuous statue of Yang Guifei standing there, immortalising her beauty in stone at this location today. Figure of Yang Guifei's statue
She's almost a fairytale like princess to modern kids in China and Japan. In Japan she's called Yokihi. The Japanese novel "The Tale of Genji" bases the story on Yang Guifei. Many operas and plays are performed of Yang's life and death.
Sadly the possession of this woman and obsession even by the emperor caused him to forget his duties, making the society deteriorate. Many blamed Yang Guifei for the collapse of the once glittering realm, causing anger. She was executed by strangling to death in a temple. The Tang dynasty was never the same again.
Links on Yang Guifei:
Yang Guifei
Yang Guifei - Bittanica
Tale of Genji - Yang Guifei
Autumn is traditionally in colours of reds and oranges. Sometimes brown, gold and yellowish red. Autumn can also be defined as purple. The Ash tree turns purple in autumn. Beech trees also have purple leaves. Many flowers that bloom in autumn are purple. Berries that appear are purple, or reddish purple and purple black. The evening sky can turn a bright purple in autumn. Friends and stylists dye their hair burgundy (a deep reddish purple). Jacaranda is a pretty purple tree found growing in the southern equator.
Purple is also my favourite colour.
In colour psychology, purple is about spirituality and imagination.
Taken from Empower Yourself":
"In the meaning of colors, purple and violet represent the future, the imagination and dreams, while spiritually calming the emotions. They inspire and enhance psychic ability and spiritual enlightenment, while, at the same time, keeping us grounded.
From a color psychology perspective, purple and violet promote harmony of the mind and the emotions, contributing to mental balance and stability, peace of mind, a link between the spiritual and the physical worlds, between thought and activity. Violet and purple support the practice of meditation.
The color purple is specifically associated with royalty and the nobility, creating an impression of luxury, wealth and extravagance.
Purple has power. It has a richness and quality to it that demands respect. Purple is ambitious and self-assured, the leader.
Too much of the color purple can promote or aggravate depression in some. It is one color that should be used extremely carefully and in small amounts by those who are vulnerable to these depressed states."
For more on this go to their page -Purple and Violet
Crystals for my little battle
I'm presently on a fighting path. It's a tough one for me. My path has entered unknown territory and I need a special crystal for power, both of strength and healing. I use Wolf as a special companion and guide.
I don't often post about disease and personal info. At this point in time I may not post very much because of many future treatments and hospital visits I'll be on. I plan to finish the series based on Norse gods, and will continue Golden Girl Project when I can do it. There's going to be a lot of other stuff I will post about when I can. I've been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and so now I'm on a fighting journey.
By the way, since having surgery five days ago, I look like Frankie Stein from "Monster High". There are metal clips in my neck! There's more to come.
Not sure if this will be helpful but I found some interesting healing stones.
This is healing gems and crystals for thyroid cancer:
Important and useful links:
Thyroid cancer - Wikipedia
(The picture of wolf and warrior woman is from Cris Ortega)
Hidden Within the Norse Gods - Part II
This is the second part of "Hidden Within the Norse Gods" series. This subject will be divided into four parts. I will write about the gods and goddesses of Germanic/Norse myth and what lies within their names, similarities with gods of other Indo-European cultures and how they could be linked.
Tyr: This is the war god of law and order, son of Odin in the Eddic version. He lost his hand during a conflict with Fenris the wolf. Unusual as it seems, Tyr was also considered to be an earlier type of god, who was a prehistoric All Father. His other names are Tiwaz, Tio, Tiw and Cyo. Tuesday, day of the week, took his name, as in Tyr's Day or Tiw's Day upon dies Martis or Mars' Day. The name Tyr is Old Norse for Tivar or "the gods". The PIE version of Tyr becomes "Tiwos" then "Deiwoz" further back in time. This meant "Celestial man" or "celestial god", otherwise "Man of the sky". The Welsh cousin name of Tyr is "Dwy" meaning Day in English. Sanskrit is "Deva" or deity. Here the words Day and Deity have a close connection through the god Tyr. All this creates the modern English word divine. Tyr is basically a Deva (male deity of day) and part of an earlier establishment of gods from PIE words that say "Father Sky". "Man of the Sky", "Father of the sky", "God of the sky", "The day god", "One of the sky devas" = Tyr.
Heimdall: The golden child of the gods, who had nine mothers, owner of a magical horn named Gjallerhorn, and a gold horse. He's considered one who illuminates. He has three other names, Gullintanni (gold toothed) and "Vindler" (protects against the wind) and "Rig" (ruler). He's the Watcher and guardian at Bifrost the rainbow bridge between Midgard and Asgard. He's a difficult god to research because there is much unknown origins about his name Heimdall or Heimdallr. He is simply the guard, watcher and sentinel. However this brings me to discuss the next divinity. It's also believed that Heimdall is the Norse counterpart of the Roman god Janus. Janus or Lanus is the god of gates, the guardian of doors and entrances to other worlds, the past as well as the future. His name is rooted in the PIE word Yana or ya (wheel).Heimdall also represents the beginning, the past and the future. "Guard of Valhalla", "god of light", "he who waits," "master of the worlds" = Heimdall.
Bifrost: A rainbow bridge? Why would I include that for, you may ask. Well the word Bifrost means "bow", "shine", "shimmer", "glow" and "lights". Bifrost is a popular name for girls in Norway. It comes from the Icelandic name "Bifa" meaning to "shake" and "Rost" meaning "pathway". Some people in academia theorise that Bifrost is not actually a rainbow but the Milky Way. Bifrost is a spiritual connection between the physical and astral. The word Rainbow itself is Regbogi in Icelandic, with regn (rain) added before older words bogo and bogi (bow). It's therefore quite a different meaning as the latter suggests an object while the word Bifrost suggests something else. I also found that the Greek Goddess of the rainbow named Iris because her name means "rainbow". Is it possible that Bifrost was itself not just a bridge or pathway but a goddess like the goddess Iris also? Was Heimdall her guardian? The Norse myths that we know of have a lot of missing pieces because certain elements don't add up and have lost tales, unknown meanings and confused names. I think there are missing gods and goddesses also. They were not all written down and the myths were once passed around orally. Bifrost itself, or she and maybe they also, a group of goddesses that might be the same as The Northern Lights, the Valkyries. "Rainbow bridge and spiritual quest", "a journey of life", "destiny", "the sparkling bridge of magic", "passage from here to there" = Bifrost.
The Valkyries: Female elemental beings or goddesses that collected souls of dead warriors. Plural Valkyries and singular Valkyrie. Also spelt walkyr, valkyr and valkyria. It's original is Old Norse valkyrja. Val, means "war dead" or to have slain in warfare. Kyrja means Chooser. It's the root Kjosa and PIE Guese or Gus. It's the same as the meaning for taste. Gust and gusto, to choose and taste or eat. To devour. The Celtic is Cosen and German is kusten. A sense of taste is guste in Old English. Val-kyrja is chooser of the war dead AND devourers of the dead!
The Valkyries are considered the Northern Lights in poetry, and earlier as choosers of the slain. Earlier oral traditions of the Valkyries made them out to be like sinister female ghosts. Later on Valkyries were portrayed as friendly and angelic with romances written about them. They've been called various titles from battle maids, choosers of the slain, girls of Odin, swan maidens and crow maidens.
In Greek myth, are the Harpies or Keres who were female demons. These winged women appeared to those who were brutally killed in battle. They ate dead bodies. Originally the Norse Valkyries were considered quite demonic but these were full of influences. According to Hesiod though, the harpies were beautiful blonde maidens with wings who took souls to the afterlife. In my personal view, which is possibly how the actual myths of the valkyries appeared, they were a magical type of goddess. The valkyries were benign celestial nymphs, such as the Aurai and Pleiades girls, instead of demonic creatures. They are associated with stars and the Aurora Borealis. The Pleiades were also called the Seven Sisters. Among them is the famous star nymph Electra. They were either daughters of titans or daughters of gods and Amazon queens. Also the Greek goddess of victory Nike was winged and had certain battle traits with valkyries. So the "choosers of the slain", "battle maidens", "northern lights", "girls of Odin", "celestial girls" and "nymphs of the north" = Valkyries.
More will continue in part three.
Golden Girl Project - Xi Shi
The "Golden Girl Project" is my research and topics about the various women in history and stories, who were both powerful and beautiful. So far I've been focusing this project on the Four Beauties of China.
Xi Shi, as she is known, although her name was Shi Yiguang. It's said Xi Shi was so beautiful that even the fish in the pond swam to look at her but soon they forgot how to swim. She lived in the Spring and Autumn period at the city of Zhuji, belonging to State of Yue, now Zhejiang province in China.
She lived during 770 - 497 B.C.E. Now of her beauty, this quote from this page:
She has been described as "equally charming in both heavy and light makeup", "as appealing when she frowns as when she smiles". Of her figure it has been said that "were she plump, you would admire her plumpness, were she thin you would admire her for being slender". She is celebrated as a woman of extraordinary natural beauty with a universal appeal.
Also there is a temple dedicated to her, the Xishi Temple. In poems she is associated with lakes and ponds. Another quote from here:
Many famous poems are made for her and buildings set for her memorization. Even the stream where she once washed silks enjoys a fine name as Huan Sha Xi (Silk Washing Stream), which has become a reminder of the great woman and her moving stories.
Her father was a tea trader who was from the Ninglou Mountain of the Zhejiang Province. This region had been part of the earlier State of Yue that was overtaken by the State of Wu. The king of Yue, Gou Jian, was overthrown, imprisoned, released, humilated and ruled by the victors and monarch of Wu, Prince Fuchai. Reduced to poverty and treated as a slave, Gou Jian wanted revenge. He sought out his advisor Wen Zhong, and told him to locate beautiful women, for the purpose of deceit. They would become a "gift" to Prince Fechai who had a softness for women.
Fan Li, the minister of Gou Jian, discovered the beautiful Xi Shi. Shi and another maiden, Zheng Dan, were sent to Prince Fuchai as presents. The prince was enchanted by both women and he lost interest in everything else, including running the state!
He built a palace dedicated to beautiful women, Guanwa Palace, on the Lingyan Mountain. After a time, besotted by Xi Shi, the country turned defenseless and chaotic. Here is where Gou Jian was able to attack the new state. The public lost faith in the prince, and Gou Jian invaded. Prince Fuchai took his own life. The State of Wu collapsed.
The power of this woman's beauty was so stunning that she captured the heart of a conqueror, making him forget about his royal duties. This weakened him and the State of Wu, followed by the failure, his death and a change in the country again. The former monarch got his revenge by using the most powerful weapon: A woman. This woman helped to bring about the collapse of Wu.
Afterwards, nothing else is really recorded about Xi Shi. Some say that she went into obscurity and lived a quiet life. Other sources hint that she died aged forty four, possibly by drowning. She is one of the Four Beauties of ancient China.
Xi Shi along with Diao Chan, Wang Zhaojun and Yang Guifei.
Xishi
Location of the Guanwa Palace or "Palace of Beautiful Women".
Xishi Temple
Xi Shi
Secrets of Autumn
Autumn is popular for it's vivid fiery colours. Changes from warm to cold. Gather of crops, fruits and vegetation. And a season of gathering wood. It's also a time to hunt and fish. Bringing in plenty of food and wood to keep warm for the coming chill ahead. It's when light turns darker. Yet Autumn (also called "Fall"), is much better known as a period of death. There are many celebrations such as found throughout the globe during Autumn, when it comes to honouring, or proection against the dead. The war dead. Dead ancestors. Even the threshold of seeing the dead, or sinister spirits. It's better called Festival of the Dead.
In the UK, Halloween (All Hallow's Eve) coincides with the rituals of burning effigies of the Guy (on Guy Fawkes Night), mischief night, Samhain (Summer's End) and Remembrance Sunday. Anyway Samhain is much celebrated by Wiccans and modern neopagan Celtic religions.
There is also an ancient form of Thanksgiving in Autumn, around the time of the autumnal equinox, or later in the season, with harvest festivals, Harvest End, Mabon. This is to honour the glories and life force of the Earth and thank the gods for providing us with a bounty of food.
The Norse version of Samhain is "Winternights". This is to recognise the period of the fallen, souls of the dead, warrior dead, ancestral dead, ghosts, and the start of the Wild Hunt. All this really continues and ebbs off until the following wheel of the year, at the other equinox. The Anglo-Saxons adopted Samhain, due to the All Saints Day of the church, that tried replacing this time. The celebration became a darker play and was renamed All Hallow's Eve, or Halloween. That bulk of supernatural celebration, like the witches and ghosts, was a part of the Spring time season. In most Germanic countries in Europe, Walpurgis continues it's tradition of witches and spooks.
Apart from the supernatural element, Autumn has been associated with particular themes and creatures. Wolves, bats, domestic cats (especially black cats), spiders, mice, squirrels, dragonflies, moths, ravens, stag, boar and bison. Mist and fog is associated with Autumn, such as the dew on cobwebs, rain, snails, bonfires and fallen leaves. Smells like cinnamon, pumpkins, wood and berries are Autumny scents. Pumpkins, long time held as a typical Autumn foodstuff, is also a replica of a lantern. It has been carved into different shapes, and eaten in various ways from a soup to a biscuit. The colour orange is a soft, dark reminder of a setting, fading summer.
Picture if "Autumn Witch" by Shadow Brooke
Breathing and dreaming
It's easy to consider your own land element. Some people describe themselves simply as "townies" or "country bumpkins". My friend and his family are, as he said, "Mountain People". He mentioned that generations of his ancestors all lived in the mountains of Germany. It's why he prefers cool weather, winter and snow. I guess it is because those mountains made up his personality. It's like romance of human genes and landscape.
What type of person are you? Consider the landscape of your family of origin. I knew another who described herself as a "City Girl" because she was born, raised and lived all her life in cities. Another person I know said they're a "farm girl" because she's always lived in a rural community surrounded by farms. I'm a "beach girl". I was born in a naval town, I regularly visited the beach growing up, I love boats and don't get seasick. My relatives have owned boats, worked on them and live beside the sea. A few of my family members like to surf. I get a thrill of butterflies whenever I get near the coastline. I love it. My heart pounds by the sea. There's been times when I haven't gone to a beach for ages but I often dream of being there. I've gone to places like in the picture above with palms, warm sea and sand. I guess it's in my blood to enjoy beaches.
It isn't just about DNA. The landscape also makes us who we are. It is because our ancestors are also part of the same place. Buried there and ingrained features with the past. Nature is important. To deny us our natural landscape is to deny who we are. Our souls are linked to nature. If anyone tries to remove this connection we have with land then it's no different to cutting off the food supply. We're not separate from nature or the animals.
The land and sea nurtures us, feeds us, helps us breath and dream. The land and sea contains magic, memories, healing properties, power and spirits. If you're from the town or city, the concrete, stone, metals, glass and people (animals) you'll get fragments and broken puzzle works. So when people visit nature, free from urban places, they feel a sense of oneness. Some people can't describe what it is as they're transfixed.
Spending time in nature makes us feel alive, study shows
Psychological benefits of Nature
Why nature if therapeutic
Hidden Within the Norse Gods - Part I
There is a lot of meaning within one single name. For instance, the name of a Norse god tells a lot. I will examine some names and reveal their hidden messages. I can't do all of them on a single entry. This will be broken up into four parts.
Odin: First of all it starts as the letter "O" and finishes as "din". Din is also another name for "loud" and rooted in other Indo-European languages with "don". Don means lord. Like the Greek Adonis it also means "man" and "lord" or strong and handsome man!. The letter "O" at front, is also fronted by "W" for Woden or Wotan in different Germanic languages. The "Wo" and "O" front is wood. So Odin is "Wood Lord" and "Lord of the Woods". Taken with it's other letters to mean "din" and "Wednesday" (Woden's Day) means King of the Woods, King of the Forest, Lord of the Forest and Woods Man. His Greek counterpart is Hermes, and that is from the Mycenaean word for "Hermeneus", meaning interpreter of secret messages in stone! There is the myth of Odin understanding the secret of the runes. Wednesday is "Day of the Woods King" or "Day of the Forest King". The man of the wood. The lord and king of the forest. Strong Man (master) of the Wood. Handsome Lord of the Forest. Handsome Strong Man of the Woods . Master of the Forest = Odin.
Ostara: Also the name begins "O" then "stara". O-stara. O is the au sound. Aus-tara and "Aus" means "to shine" and "star" to shine. Star and shine like the stars. Star shine, and the feminine sounding "Ostara" with Eostre. The name is linked to Easter. Ostara also has further messages in the name. The name doesn't just mean "shine" but also it says "Aura" and "East". Star of the East, but the word Star also means stellar, and celestial. Not just a star but sun and moon that appear from the east. It's like the Phoenician Goddess Astarte and the Assyrian Goddess Ishtar. Now the Greek sound "Aster" and Proto-Aryan or Proto-Indo European (PIE) is the word "ster" (later Star). Ster is linked to the word "Dyue" to mean "shining" and "starry" or star shine. The st and d were the same sounds in PIE languages. This is where the name dwi-yo is from, pronounced Div-yana. This is an earlier form of the sound Diana. Diana is the Roman Goddess of the moon and Her Greek counterpart is Artemis. So basically Ostara is "Star of the East", "Star shining", with female meaning "Star Maiden of the East", "Bright maiden" "Star Maiden", "Star Woman" "Lady of Stars" = Ostara.
Idunn: The name Idunn or Idunna is pronounced this way because the English sound and alphabet creates the "d". Originally it is "th" sounding. It's pronounced i-thun-na or e-thu-na. Elsewhere in ancient Greece is a name of a goddess that sounds ai-thi-na, which is how Athena is pronounced. The Greek Goddess Athena is a Goddess of art and wisdom. She is also a guardian and protectress, as Idunn or Idunna is a protectress of golden apples. Apples of eternal youth and apples of knowledge or wisdom. Idunna is the Norse equivalent of Athena. Here we have Idunna whose name means the feminine "eternal", "female guard" and "woman who guards". She is the "woman who guards eternity", "woman who guards youth" and "woman who guards wisdom". Female guardian of eternity = Idunn.
Skadi: It's easy to say that the name "Skadi" reminds us of ski for skiing. But the word ski comes from Skadi. It also links to the region "Scandinavia" in words. Skadi has been name related to the Gothic "scato" meaning shadow. The Old Norse word Skadi means "harmful". What about it's older and wider roots in PIE languages? Skadi is, in Norse mythology, an ice giantess of beauty. The name "Skadi" also relates to darkness and the underworld. Skadi is pronounced "Sh-ka-di" and related to the Eastern Indo-European and Hindu "Shakti". This is "prime feminine power" and "female force of energy". Shakti power is Sanskrit for "female ability" and "primordial". This name might be rooted to the Vedic "Sachi" who was a powerful queen. Shakti is possibly a variant and alternative to the powerful Goddess Kali. Both names Skadi and Kali are identical and both link to the Finnish Goddess Kalma. Now the giantess Skadi is not just an "ice giantess of beauty" but also a queen and feminine force, a goddess. She is "Goddess of the Cosmos", "Dark Goddess", "Queen of the Cosmos" = Skadi.
Freya: There are different ways of spelling Freya in modern times but the earliest Old Norse version is "Freyja". It means "lady" and "woman" and related to the Low German "Fro" and "Frau". The Indo European languages spell the "f" as a ph. The ph sounds like "f" as in the ancient Etruscan "phro" to mean the lady. A-phro-dite is within the name Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess counterpart of Freya. The name Aphrodite broke up sounds like "Lady of Day" as "dite" is day. The breakdown of A-phro-dite relates to foam, shining, evening star and daylight. The meaning is drawn from different sources with various words added. "Freya" also relates to the Roman word "Veneres" meaning the Goddess of love and beauty Venus. The Avestan word Vanaiti, Sanskrit Vanis and Vanati mean "desire" and possibly modern English "vanity" linked to it also. The ancient Scandinavian name of Freya is "Vanadis" and this means "Van daughter" or "daughter of the Vanir". The Vanir are another race of gods. The word Vanir linked to the name Venus to mean "shining" "lady" and "desire". The PIE root word of Venus and Vanir is "Wen" and it means love. So does the Norse tales of the Vanir mean "the gods of love"? Or "gods of the day"? This word "Wen" gave birth to other Aryan words such as "wan", "wench", "win", "wish", "venari", "venus", "veria", "vanadis". Freya has the following suggestions in Her name, and that is "The Lady", "Lady of Day", "Lady of Evening Star", "Lady of Love and Beauty" and "Lovely Lady of Day" = Freya.
Frigg: This goddess is also known as Frigga. The queen and wife of Odin and a goddess of marriage and motherhood. Her name comes from PIE "fri" and "frijj" to mean wife. She's one of the Aesir, a race of gods different to the Vanir. Aesir means "god" and "life force". However, the word Aesir is masculine but the female equivalent is Asynjur. The goddesses like Frigg are one of the Asynjur. This all relates to the Ansuz rune. Asatru is "faith of the Aesir". Now Frigg is also like the Celtic Goddess of land and the home, called Brigit. The Goddess is also called Brighid, "The Exalted One". The English word "bride" comes from the name of the Goddess Brigit. In Welsh myth Her name is Fraid. The Greek counterpart of Brigit and Frigg is Hestia. Brigantia is another form of Brigit and a Goddess of the British Isles, otherwise called Britannia. Frigg is a hearth goddess like Brigit and Hestia. A domestic Goddess of the home as well as queenly duties of land and energy. Frigg is "Goddess of Women", "Goddess of the Home", "Goddess of Motherhood", "Mother Goddess of Women" and "Goddess of Hearth" = Frigg.
Thor: Everyone knows that the name Thor is cognate to Thunar, Thurisaz, Thunraz and Thonoraz. The day of the week "Thursday" uses His name and Thor means Thunder. Thor is a thunder gods. Thor the thunderer. The other Indo-European thunder gods are Taran (Gaulish), Tuireann (Irish), Tunder (Persian) and Donar (German), Peron (Slavic), Indra (Hindu) and Verethragna (Zoroastrian). The name "Thor" is exactly what thunder is. Thunder is from an Indo European word to say "Tene" meaning to echo loud and resounding noise. The Sanskrit word Tanayitnuh is to thunder, or thundering. The earliest form of word for thunder had no "d" pronouncing letter. It was "Thunrian" and "Thunor". That means to be very loud. A branch of this name Thuner/Thunor and Thunder was a PIE root word Dyue to mean "lightening" and "sky" in the masculine form. Later on the earliest Greeks used the "d" and "t" letters to sound a "z" because "z" was pronounced like "ts" and "ds". That word Dyue then turned into "Zeus". The Roman counterpart of Thor and Zeus is Jupiter and this means "Sky" and "Father". Ju, Dyeu, Zeus and Thor all come to mean the same. Also the name means great conqueror and king. "The Thunderer", "Thunder bolt wielder", "Thundering King", "King of the sky", "King of thunder" and "King of Storms" = Thor.
Hel: She is the goddess of the underworld but is also referenced as a ghastly giantess. She lives and rules a region named Helheim. She is also called Hella. There is Another lighter form of her is Holda and Holle, who are motherly figures. It's a name linked to light and fire. Hell is described as a fiery domain. She's linked to the afterlife, fire and caves or underground places. The PIE root word where Hel is from Kel, to mean hidden. It's also where the name "Helen" comes from. Helen of Troy is the torch bearer, the bright one and fire. The Greek word "Hel" means fire. By contrast, Helen of Troy is beautiful while Hel the goddess of the underworld is frightening. This is because of language, vowel and letters interfering. The earlier Helen of Troy wasn't a mortal woman but a goddess, connected with torches, underground and fire. "Helen's Fire" was what is now called "St Elmo's Fire". She was once considered to be quite scary. In Norse myth, Hel is one of three children. She has two "brothers" Fenrir and Jormungand, who were in monstrous form. In Greek myth, Helen's two brothers are the handsome "Dioscouri". That isn't to say these brothers are counterparts. Just that She too has twin brothers as part of a trio. All are related to secret chambers, torches, underground fires and fire. "Lady of Fire", "Goddess of the underworld", "Fire Goddess", "Fire bearing sorceress" and "Shining woman" = Hel.
(More in Part 2).
The image is "Idun and the apples" by J. Doyle Penrose
Pretty and Punk
Punk, in it's truest form, is a movement that is anti-establishment. In the early stages of punk, starting in the late 1970's and dominant throughout the youth culture and pop world of the 1980's, Punk was a statement. It said "Fuck you" in music. Fuck you in fashion. Fuck you society. It's pretty much a "fuck you" and "fuck off" aim, poking fingers up at the rigid centuries old regime / civilization. The Sex Pistols were very much anti- this and that. When you think of Punk, you think of Mohican hairdos and ripped jeans with chains. This is because the young of the 70's and 80's were the first of a kind: Barbarians of the Nuclear Age. So with that, a different style happened within this sub culture: within punk. Even today, this subculture has been through a transformation, and awoken from slumber. Today punk has metamorphised into Emo and Scene.
Women in punk. Unlike the men, who were into politics and being anti-social, certain women in punk had a different take on it. Female punk has it's own form. Female punk has established it's own genre, perfumed with mysticism, magic and beauty. Punk males are the social misfits and the rebels. Female punks, who haven't been properly looked at deep enough, have a fairy tale streak. Let's take a look at female punk.
Siouxsie Sioux of the band Siouxsie and the Banshees made punk music about prettier subjects. Magical titled tracks such as "Playground Twist", "Spellbound", "Arabian Knights" and "Swimming Horses" remind me of stories by Angela Carter.
Poly Styrene of X-Ray Specs was considered quite an exotic punk frontgirl but she had made much more spiritualist music as a solo artiste. She did "Generation Indigo", "Gods and Goddesses" and "Flower Aeroplane" of an esoteric nature.
Other early punkettes like Cyndi Lauper, who looked like a cross between a punk and a ballerina, made hit records and albums. Of one "Sisters of Avalon" she said: "This one has a little bit of a story in it too because it's kind of the rites of passage of women. It has women symbols. I wanted to show the force of nature and the energy of the song. It's really wonderful... It's like you're making paintings and when you're the artist, as opposed to when I direct someone else, it's like performance art." Source.
Toyah Willcox, who used to looke like a fire demoness punk, made tracks "It's A Mystery" and "Thunder in the Mountains". Okay there's loads of female punk bands and superstars. I won't bore you by mentioning all of them. I'll get straight to the point. Female punk was very raw, angry and DIY. Today there are Punk Princesses such as Avril Lavigne and Audrey Kitching.
Most of all, what drew me to doing this post was because of a very significant event. Madonna (who was a punkess earlier on in her career, before she became the The Regina of pop), has been in the news again. She stuck up for a female punk band, called Pussy Riot, who were arrested by the Russian authorities for hooliganism but many feel they're political prisoners.
This is the changing face of punk. Female punk has evolved from being rough to beautiful. Punk is the new era. The punk movement is an evolutionary stage of human development, to destabilise the old system and establish a new civilisation, culture and spiritual awareness. This is how things all begin. Most people, certainly older generations, really hate punk. Why else? Punk is anti-establishment, that's why. What is anti-establishment? A movement to create a new world. When new civilisations begin, there's a period of Dark Ages first.The Romans feared the barbarians, who were inevitably the cause of their downfall.
The general look of punk girls in the 70's and 80's:
Today's punk girls of the 21st Century:
So what are Punk Girls about? What separates them from the hardcore "Fuck you" attitude of male punks? Well, female punks have always had their own style, and their own way of looking at the world. They see the world as a place to exploit and cherish, anarchy loves life. In a way girl punks are like the untamed. And also the leaderless, unstructured priestesses of the rebellious movement. Amid the chaos and aggression of punk men, is the calm, mysterious and spiritual punk girls. Females gather to form a sisterhood and there is a strong ferocious sisterhood within Punk.
This is girl punk: Girl punks are the Caryatids of the movement. Women in any movement serve to upholster the entire thing like stone and marble. Those beautiful female statues encircling the ruins at the Acropolis remind me of the women in subcultures, whether it be punk, metal, goth, whatever. Not sidekicks or groupies, punk women are just as much the movement. Punk women are the soul carriers of fire and water.
Useful links of characters and names mentioned here:
Siouxsie Sioux
Toyah Willcox
Pussy Riot (a site dedicated to their freedom)
Women in Punk
Punk subculture
Golden Girl Project - Diao Chan
Diao Chan is a famous woman from ancient China. Considered one of the most beautiful women in ancient Chinese history. She's one of the historical and legendary Four Beauties of China. The other Four Great Beauties of ancient China are:
Wang Zhaojun.
(I shall mention these other three 4 beauties of China in my future "Golden Girl Project" posts.)
Her name was Diao Chan, or Diaochan. She was possibly born in the year 161 CE (or Third Century, Late Eastern Han Dynesty). She lived in the Muzhi Village of the Shaanxi Province. This village is 3 km south-east of Xinzhou City.
Now first of all, this village has peach trees and apricot trees that don't blossom very much. This problem has been occuring since the birth of Diaochan. Few flowers grow as much as they used to. Yet once upon a time this region was pretty much fertile with natural garlands and hanging flowers decourating walls, arches and pillars. The trees there always used to give forth tons of fruit in ancient times. There is said to have been a link to Diao Chan with the sterility of plants.
The beauty of Diaochan was so incredible that she "eclipsed the moon" and "shamed the flowers". The moon and flowers seem to be overwhelmed by this woman's luminous beauty. Her presence seemed to have this impact on the earth even after her death. Her grave site (named Diao Chan Cemetery) was also of recent interest too:
"the burial mound of Diaochan has been razed in catastrophes. Some ancient bricks, stone structural components, copper coins are often excavated from the site. It is said that they have relations with Diaochan." source
Taken from Cultural China - "Legend has it that when Diao Chan paid offerings to the moon at midnight, Chang'e (the Chinese Moon Goddess) hurried to hide in clouds, for this beautiful lady made her feel inferior. The phrase "outshines the moon" in the beauty-describing idiom "Beauty which outshines the moon and shames the flowers" has Diao Chan as the very subject. This legend embodies in an exaggerated way Diao Chan's beautiful appearance in the eyes of the Chinese people."
Out of the Four Great Beauties of China, Diaochan has few records about her life. She's become an almost legendary goddesslike woman who featured in a lot of action dramas and epics about ancient China. It's as if this woman had such remarkable power. Everyone respects her and loves her even to this day as she played a major role in Chinese history as well as inspired many over the centuries. A woman who was like a goddess, who effects the Earth near her presence, and continues to show her love, strength and beauty to generations. The woman Diao Chan has reached the West, as she comes as a quartet of four other beautiful historical women.
The Four Beauties of China
More on Diao Chan
Cultural China
Meng Fan Ren -"Diaochan's Biography"
Luo Guanzhong - "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"
The picture is of "Daio Chan" as she is portrayed in "Dynasty Warriors".
Tree of Thunder
This oak tree is found at my nearest park.
Not far from my house is a park with a big oak tree, with braches outstretched both left and right. In the centre is a diagonal streak caused by lightning. That event of being struck by a lightning bolt happened shortly after I moved into this part of England. Some of the tree collapsed and was taken away. It looks more slender than it was originally since getting thunder struck. The lightning made a deep incision and charred off the tree's bark layer. This happened several years ago and today the tree still wears that lighting scar. So because of this, I've named this very tree Thor's Oak.
Trees struck by lightning happen. The storms are full of electricity and the bolts are attracted to the highest object. Lighting aims for tall metal points but even organic objects standing out alone in a clear area. So please avoid standing under trees when a thunder storm occurs.
When you look up "lightning oak trees" you should get images of trees covered in scratched and burn stripes.
In Norse myth, the god of thunder is Thor. Oak trees are sacred to Him. That is why I called the local tree this because it was struck by a thunderbolt.
What happens when a tree is hit by lightning? Obviously trees catch fire when lightning hits them but some survive and remain standing for years, despite what happened. Oak trees holding lightning signatures are blessed with energy and retain enough moisture to prevent total combustion.
These stricken trees hold energy formula from the sky. The lightning passed down through them and sent electric particals downwards into the ground, through their roots and at the heart of them. They carry potent magic because of this. The lightning continues to do something to those trees for trees contain a "memory" and record within it's wood. Rings will tell the signs in the distant future about it being hit by lightning. Lighting bolts shake trees as well as set them on fire but also they change other trees, full of atmospheric quality.
Photo by me and find me @ she-wolf-night.blogspot.com
Whirlwinds and Life balance
Tornadoes have been hitting the headlines a lot this year, and last year. Their violence rages across landscapes. They uproot trees, blow off rooftops, destroy houses, and worse: they kill. These violent breed of winds are tightly condensed forces of nature that consist of different elements. In the northern hemisphere, tornadoes spin counterclockwise but they spin clockwise in the southern hemisphere. Apart from the severe storm it is also vital to the planet we breathe.
Tornadic spirits
The Navajo Indians traditionally believed that whirlwinds and tornadoes are angry ghosts called "Chindi". Australian Aborigines also believed that tornadoes are unpleasant spirits of the dead called "whirly whirly". In the Middle East, such whirlwinds, especially dust devils, are considered demonic entites and genies. In ancient Greek mythology, the god Aeolus was a guardian, or keeper, of winds. Aura, Goddess of the breeze, was a beautiful but furious Titaness that slayed men and swallowed one of her sons. In Roman mythology, Tempestas is the goddess of violent wind and bad weather.
There are so many important advantages for having wind turbines. They're effective, clean, natural and provide lots of free energy. These are good for developing countries and they don't use recourses. There are no reasons against using wind turbines. The only problem with them is that people complain too much about them because of their appearance and noise. The turbines look like windmills and people have coexisted with mills for centuries. (Imho they look better than factories!). These windmills (turbines is what they all basically are) resemble the little plastic toy windmills that people have in their gardens or buy for their kids on the beach. I love the idea of wind power using wind turbines. I don't care if there's a few of them on my field. They look better than electric pylons, chimneys and phone masts out there now!
Spinning wheel vortex
The system of the vortex occurs in nature, when something is going underway. A vortex is like the channelling of air through an opened door or a window. A vortex is like a rotation of life passing across and moving elsewhere. The vast Milky Way is a vortext. The solar system moves on a wheel vortex. The universe spins. The sun always spins. Debris spins. Only gravity holds things down like glue. The vortex isn't bound by rules of gravity. Vortex is part of the supernatural, life, things that flow like air, water, light and sound. The symbol of the sun wheel turns clockwise. Wheels on cars and bikes turn counterclockwise as the motion is going forward and opposite.
The Air Temple
Music and dance uses a controlled method of air. It's the same method for the development of whirlwinds except there aren't any clouds to stir up. It's from within. Creating a song and dance is the brewing excitement of energy. Then the release of burst energy through songs, music and performance comes. That is also an expression of the inner magic when you become part of the elements. The dancers play in unison while singers wail and call along a string of notes. This is a harmonious organic chime of spiritual winds that are made by people who put order from chas. Tornadoes are chaotic and violent. Singers and dancers are organised as well as gentle. The hardest and grubbiest genres of music is always part of the gentle whirlwind magic. However, some intoxicated rock star may clash in violence during a set!
Tapestries, like music and play, is a visual use of the same energy. Creativity made on a surface is the result of a whirlwind idea. Windchimes are a symbol of air made with Earth. Such light weight objects hang suspended and pick up a breeze, that plays them together and creates a music. Some can be made of wood, bamboo or metal. Musical instruments combine wind and air with mathematics. Tornadoes, hurricanes, sound, and even the arts all belong to the Air Temple.
White Witchcraft
For those who work with white witchcraft, the power is a clockwise and harmonious show of affection and love is part of the glowing wind/air. They consist of spells for enchantments, health, medicine, healing, friendship, personal development and peaceful dreaming too. The understanding of magic is to view it as a small vortex. If you picture it as riding a bike, it will slow and stop of you give up peddling.
Everyone has a physical vortex, called Chakra, or "wheel", found on many parts of our bodies. The "wind wheel" Chakra is situated on the forehead. Fairies, angels, light eleves, goblins and other creatures of the air (including UFO's) are often spinning and dancing in their own play. Rules of their own to defy nature's law. Law is governed by gravity and this includes balance of nature in the cosmos. Too much wind is dense and forms a path channel. Chaos is ruled by non-gravity and a disperse of release. It's where new life is born and connects again with order and balance.
Where tornadoes are concerned, these destructive weather storms, a result of an imblanace and chaos in the air. The tornado is like a release of tension and anger. The tornado could be Mother Nature's fury at us for damaging the Earth. It may also be angry spirits and demons. The tornado also has a strange, uncanny positive side that certain Native American tribes believe in. They consider a tornadic force as a vacuum "cleanser" of the land.
Tornadoes of 2012
European Severe Weather Database
Element of wind/air
Wind Gods
White Magic Way
Daughters of wolves?
... A return to nature.
Raised by wolves. This isn't about feral children but those who were living with wolves. The closeness of animals and humans with the loving/touching emotional bond between people and wild wolves. This is a spiritual quest for a lost age. In the mists of time, primitive people were much closer to the Earth and animals. People are a domestic breed who domesticated wild animals. The idea of anyone being raised by wolves is MYTH and it has no widespread fact to it. On the other hand some children in history have been living with these creatures of the forest. Sometimes we come across stories about kids being raised by wild animals, wolves, ect. This is not a post about that but about the mindset of people and why this idea grips.
The 1997 Japanese animated film, "Princess Mononoke", tells a story of a young woman, San, who'd been raised by "Moro", a mother goddess in the form of a huge wolf. This film focuses on animal gods and the exploitation of the natural world by humans. The corrupted animal gods turned into demonic giants that raged through villages. The theme of this film is humans Vs nature. Humans are looked upon as vermin and evil, who pollute and destroy life with a quest for making machines (Iron Town). The powerful Lady Eboshi, the owner of Iron Town, sets out to kill the forest god and keep its head as a trophy. It's a nice film and full of magic, including the little Kodama, or forest spirits (that look like cute ghosts in this animation).
Other feral child stories play with the idea of (bad) humanity versus (good) nature.
I've just finished reading the autobiography of Misha Defonseca called "Surviving with Wolves". This tells the epic journey of a Jewish girl wandering across Europe during World War Two, in search of her missing parents. She was suffering starvation and wandered forests, excaping Nazis and stealing food and clothes. She encountered death everywhere. She escaped a concentration camp (after walking right into one!). She witnessed horrible executions of many innocent people. She even killed a German soldier who would've killed her... Sometimes she found herself in a forest living with wolves. They looked after her in these hard times. One maternal shewolf became her foster mother for a while, until a tragic ending for this animal. The death of her second mother she-wolf made her filled with pain. She'd lost her mother again. This book was made into a 2007 French film called "Survivre avec les loups". It was a powerful story but a few things didn't quite add up.
It turns out the bestselling book was a load of BS! This woman author wasn't Jewish and her parents were part of a Belgian resistance who got arrested by the Nazis. She'd lived with her grandfather in Brussels and schooled there, not struggling over war ravaged Europe. She's really called Monique de Wael and said:
"Ever since I can remember, I felt Jewish. . . . There are times when I find it difficult to differentiate between reality and my inner world. The story in the book is mine. It is not the actual reality - it was my reality, my way of surviving. "
She apologised. What kind of a woman would do such a thing? There is a lot of anger towards her because of this exposure. The book was first published in 1997 and it wasn't revealed until over 10 years later. Yet knowing this\is fake, I continued reading until the end. If it was all made up, why were there such vivid details about living rough, going hungry, meeting various people and animals across her imagined journey? I don't think all of it could've been made up. She obviously has a close affinity with nature, animals and wolves especially. She also lost her pet dog that might've brought on grief. Then I only imagine that here was a girl in the war who lost her parents, lived in fear and experienced loneliness, almost aversion to humanity. She felt at one with nature instead. She prefered animals. The company of wolves. Is she a real wolf woman? YES she probably is.
Is this not the real "Princess Mononoke"? She too despised human society and defended nature. I don't think so but she might've felt the true spirits of gods and goddess, not being aware of that. Spirits and gods do call to people via the animals in some way. She presented her wolf/war story wrong though for making up events that were misleading. If she'd written the story and said it was fiction based on some historical fact to begin with, this would've been far better. I think this fairy tale should be republished under the genre of FICTION and not told as a true story.
Film "Survivre avec les loups"
Film "Princess Mononoke"
Feral children - wikipedia
The above art is "Sisters of the Moon" by Lindsay Archer
Golden Girl Project: Cinderella
This is not only referring to the fairy tale princess "Cinderella", who we've grown to adore. This isn't really about the Disney princess Cinderella although I might touch on it. This is about the real Cinderella or (plural) Cinderellas. I can identify four Cinderellas in our history, but you might see others.
There's four types of Cinderella.
1. Rags to riches
2. Beauty transformed
3. Magic and enchantment
4. Moon goddess symbolism
The first is about the story of a poor girl, treated badly by her ugly sisters and step-mother. She becomes a beautiful dancer at the palace ball, wearing a magical stunning gown with glass slippers. Then the prince loses her and goes in search of her at midnight. The only thing he finds is a glass slipper that Cinderlla lost in her flight. Now the prince searches the land by getting women to put on the slipper. It doesn't fit anyone except the girl in rags. Then she becomes this transformed princess. There is a lot of transformation going on. This occurs a lot in fairy tales. It's usually the men who shapeshift from bears, beasts and frogs into princes.
The second "Beauty transformed" is the case of Cinderella's contact with a fairy godmother. This friendly being helps Cinderella to go to the ball. She turns Cinderella's ragged dress into a beautiful ball gown. Cinderella appears at the ball, so lovely that everyone in the palace watches her. The prince falls in love with her. Yet she can't remain beautiful and dressed up for long. Later in the story she again becomes the girl in rags. The prince who searches for the mysterious dancer finds the girl in rags instead. This is a mushier sugar coating of deception.
My third view of Cinderella is about "magic and enchantment". This fairy godmother is like a visiting goddess. She appears when the others have gone. The pumpkin turns into a stage coach. This pumpkin is symbolic of witchcraft and magic. The creatures such as lizards, newts, rats and mice are transformed into footmen and coach driver. This is very typical of fairytales that men turn into animals and animals turn into men. Women turn into princesses or crones.
The moon goddess or goddess of night, is found buried in this traditional story. She's the fairy godmother and Midnight is the key to the plot. Glass slippers are symbolic of wealth. The story of Cinderella has altered over the centuries though. The fairy godmother was the spirit of Cinderella's own mother in different versions. The Brothers Grimm wrote the version of Cinderella that we're fmailiar with. Earlier Perrault wrote Cinderella.
So the four Cinderellas that I've noticed in reality probably don't bare any resemblance to the fairytale. Real life has its tragedies and it's darker plots. The main subject is about the Golden Girl Cinderella, a symbol of this type of woman: Cinderella as a woman can be rags to riches, transformed beauty, magical and enchanting and very flamboyantly dressed up as well. The colours are Red and Gold. Glass slippers are an element or object that resembles mirrors, crystals and diamonds. The pumpkin is a vegetable of harvest as well as a tool to of the supernatural. A carved pumpkin was used originally to keep ghosts away.
Here is my outline on the four Cinderella's from history:
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson
This lady was better known as "Madame de Pompadour". She lived in the 18th century high life from rags to riches (or really just middle class to high class). She's famous for being a courtier and the favourite girlfriend of King Louis XV of France. She was involved in things like planning development, politics and the arts. This was a very clever, career orientated business woman from over 200 years ago. She was a fashion icon for her era and wore the most lavish clothes. Her signature styles reverberate today with "pompadour" hairstyles.
Who was supposed to have said "Let them eat cake". She was born an Austrian in 1755, a daughter of a Holy Roman Emperor and a queen. She married King Louis XV1 and she wasn't very popular in France. She had an extravagant lifestyle with vices and gambling. There was political reasons for others not taking to this queen of France because many disapproved of her being an Austrian. There tends to be, on reading her biograpy, shows her isolation from the French and comes across as an unhappy queen. During the French Revolution, she was imprisoned and beheaded.
Fast forward to the 20th Century, the next Cinderella is both "rags to riches" and "beauty transformed". She's an icon of Hollywood and a blonde bombshell. Her real name was Norma Jean Mortensen. Starting out as a young married model with brown hair and a pretty smile, she became the screen goddess that we know. She turned from a brunette 'girl next door' type to a shining blonde vision on screen. She has a distinctive look that women continue to copy today. It's as if a goddess was reborn in this woman. Her life later on took a down turn and no longer was a fairy tale. She was involved in politics and then ended her life at the age of 36.
I don't believe the British monarchy has ever had such a widely loved member of the family before, until Diana. (To me Princess Diana resembles the Cinderella from Disney). This was a fairy tale princess. The wedding was very beautiful to watch and I was only a small child. The life story of this princess is almost like the fairy tale but without rags, cinders, pumpinks, ugly sisters, shoes or magic. Her life ended in 1997 during a fatal car crash.
This post of the Golden Girl Project with 4 different women instead of one. That is because I can see a pattern with Cinderella and these four women. Maybe others don't agree. Maybe some will see a link of each woman with different characters.
The main theme is definately about transformation to meet her dream lover. This is many girl's wishes come true. What underlines this is the transformed beauty, recognising the inner goddess, finding self esteem and glowing confidence. While she was in a pretty ballgown, all was an illusion. She was actually dressed in rags but no one else noticed. Midnight is when the facade fades, and it has time limits. This says magic is brief and temporary but worth it. For noticing your potential, you can be anything you want to be, even for one moment, so people remember you and love you with that particular time in memory.
The goddess figures here as the fairy godmother, and Cinderella's mother, or a fairy. Fairies have long been associated with goddesses and nymphs. This fairy helped Cinderella and answered her wishes. Magic and enchantment can be real and not just fake. Dressing up and acting up is one way of appealing to those you want. The story appeals to the female populace as it's about a party girl who feels out of place but she does go there. Cinderella might be about the quest for true love and a shift from girlhood to womanhood. The absent father, the cruel step mother and sisters show it's time to leave and be whisked off by a prince. Cinderella reveals the magic of being a woman and how a woman can find her inner princess.
(Edited to include last paragraph at 01:35 on 27/06/12)
Bibliography for Cinderella
(The image at top is from a Ladybird publishing "Cinderella" book cover.
Sprinkle of Summer solstice wishes
Nuke Life
Anyone must be aware that IF there is to be a nightmare situation of a nuclear explosion happening near you, here are some basic tips and info on how to best keep yourself and others safe.
(I'm gathering this from various web sources and personal knowledge that I've read.)
One of the most important things to do is not be anywhere near the detonation site. How would you avoid it if you don't know where it is? Now if this disaster occurs suddenly without warning, you must obviously be far away to survive that. If you are somewhere outside, you would hear either the thunderous explosion, see blinding light and feel a powerful blast. Quickly take cover. Hide in a shelter or underground. At times like that, one of the most safest places to be! If you are a considerable long distance away then you also need to protect yourselves from radiation or fallout. The most harmful and deadliest part of a nuclear attack is "black rain".
Radio and batteries will work but most electricals won't. An attack from a nuclear explosion will cut off and damage most electricals. Heavy objects including stones, rocks, bricks, hard soil even can offer protection against fallout. During fallout period, as the radioactive dust is falling and settling, it's wise to remain hidden and not exposed. Make sure all windows, ventilation systems and central heating is off to avoid any radiation particles entering the vacinity. You can use a HEPA filter that may prevent anything outside getting in.
You would need gear. NBC masks are perfect. Any clothing with debris must be left outside or thrown away. Washing oneself regularly will flush off radiation dust. Taking potassium Iodine will ease the risk of cancer from radiation sickness. Tinned food is preferable. Avoid milk and exposed food and water. Only drink filtered water. For more tips go to Nuclear Survival
Radiation Diet
This is what you need after a nuclear attack during fallout. Food that is clean, well stored and pretected. They must have the following componants:
Calcium / magnesium.
Vitamin A or beta carotene.
Coemzyne Q10.
Vitamin C + bioflavinoids and rutin.
Vitamin E.
Zinc.
Selenium.
Proanthocyanadins (Grape seed extract / Pycnogenol).
DHEA.
Melatonin.
Now these are some of the foods that offer protection:
Chlorophyll food (barley grass and chlorella).
Miso.
Fermented (Lactic Acid) veg and juices.
Cultured (fermented) milk products: yoghurt, buttermilk, cheese.
Cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, ect).
High fibre food.
Natural Vitamin A.
Sesame seeds.
Sea vegetables.
Bee and flower pollen.
Essential fatty acids, GLA and EPA.
(With more details from "Healthy Tips")
Sea vegetables, commonly known as sea weeds, such as kelp, purple dulse, wakame, and sea lettuce are high in iodine. Sea spaghetti, nori, and kombu are other sea vegetables to consider. One quarter teaspoon of kelp provides 3 mg of iodine. Consuming one-half teaspoon, or two grams, of purple dulse on a daily basis is enough to meet the recommended 150 mcg dosage of iodine, according to the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University.
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/032162_superfoods_radiation_exposure.html#ixzz1xTfzWvdU
Another useful link for survival basics: How to survive a nuclear attack
Sea salt and baking soda remedies against radiation.
Volanic eruptions are more deadly than a nuclear explosion.
Nukes are very popular in science fiction. This is called a Post Apocalyptic genre. Check out:
Quiet Earth
Cockroaches are physically able to thrive after nuclear explosions.
Okay that's about it.
Picture of the soldier girl at the top of the page is by the artist Petre Morozov.