Made for class

Some sketches for some ghost stories I’m covering for class!

The shrieking monk of St. Benets- 1,3

The Lantern man of the Norfolk Broads- 4,6,7

The Ludham Dragon- 2

The Ghost Carriage of Potter Heighm- 5,8

“Moon Lore”
Rev Timothy Harley

Black Letter Press have been making a name for themselves by releasing exquisite editions of older out of print books so that one might add a wonderfully bound modern volume to one’s library at a reasonable rate.

In this series they have released a fantastic collection of tales surrounding the mythology of the moon. Originally released in 1885 the book “Moon-Lore” by a “Rev. Timothy Harley F.R.A.S.” is a fascinating collection of the folk tales, myths, and legends that surround the moon.

“Rev Timothy Harley” was, as indicated by his F.R.A.S. suffix, a member of the Royal Astronomical Society in London. Records do indicate a Timothy Harley born in 1845, in St. Giles in Fields, London, but no record of his education exists and no biographical information is to be found.

The tone of the volume, written at the height of Victorian London, is a tongue-in-cheek presentation of “facts and fictions” about the moon. Given it’s rather specific content and the tone of it’s delivery I suspect the “Timothy Harley” was in fact another author using a pseudonym and that the volume is as much a personal piss-take to some Victorian astronomer as it is a wonderful collection of folklore.

Never the less it is a rather entertaining collection of stories and tales for those curious to know about the moon and it’s place in literature and myth. A Victorian parlour mood hangs over the work, giving the reader plenty of conversation pieces at the next salon they attend.

The book is divided into four sections, the first dealing with legends of the “Man in the Moon” phenomena in various cultures. The second section addresses more of the role of the moon in worship and deification. The third portion of the book is dedicated to superstitions held about the moon and moon lunacy, and the final portion of the book is about the concept of moon inhabitation.

The Black Letter Press edition of Moon Lore is, in the main, a faithful reproduction of the original edition, with minor changes to flourishes and spacing. Comparing it to my first edition copy it appears to have been re typeset to reflect the original design throughout the book, with the exception of the cover of the binding.

The binding is hardbound with dark blue covers and black endpapers with a lovely “wood free” paper stock, as well as a golden ribbon and headbands. It has the extensive index of the original and makes two footnote numbering corrections.

The cover is entirely different than the floral pattern of the first, while the blue and gold motif remain the same the Black Letter Press edition has been redesigned by Sarah B Bolen in a style more art deco than Victorian. It adds to the beauty of the volume and makes it a handsome edition for one’s bookshelf.

Get yourself a copy from Black Letter Press:

“Moon Lore”
Rev Timothy Harley

The Nature of Cats & Magic

As I sit in my new garden, overwhelmed by the years of abandonment it has suffered and the work that needs doing to put it in order, I spy the occasional cat poking around the edges of the space. Though one or two seem to be domesticated there is a certain feral cat that comes to observe the changes I have been making to this long overgrown space.

Cats are creatures that move easily back and forth across the Veil. Their existence is one that lends itself to mystery and imagination. Where do they go when we are not looking, where have they been when they return covered in dust in the evening of a sweltering hot day?

In cultures across the earth the cat is seen as a creature related to magic. The feline is in many ways a form of fae, existing in a land of myth making and bedevilment as much as it exists here in our world.

The cat seems to have no problem moving back and forth across the transitory boundary between our perceived reality and the broader space that makes up what is called the beyond. Its nimble feet give it the necessary subtleness to cross that threshold, and it does so often.

But much like the fairy creatures that inhabit this world the cat is more than a cute companion, fluffy ears poking out from behind the hedges. It is a dangerous and sometimes spiteful creature that kills as is its nature. Taking lives both swiftly and torturously slow, the cat is the feared predator of many of the small things that scurry about our forests and gardens.

I do not mind these intrusions into my garden, after all these cats have been coming here much longer than I have. They may in fact have a thing or two to teach me about this space and its relationship to the boundaries I myself often cross. The feral one in particular seems to be aware of such activity on my part, having been caught spying from the shrubs as I performed a bit of ‘clearing out’ some nights ago.

Cats will often see that which we can only imagine. Stare directly at those things manifesting just beyond our own vision and call attention to presences we may otherwise not be aware of.

It is said in certain cultures that like the sidhe the cat hold a court and have a king. That they themselves come and go freely from an other realm of their own making. A cat land in which they are the rulers and peasants of a feudal kingdom of felines.

I harbour a common dream in which I visit such a place, but alas my human feet are not nimble enough to cross such a threshold. Instead I watch them as I drink my morning coffee and consider their intentions.

In many cultures there is a folkloric relationship between the cat and the witch. In fact the witch was often said to be able to transform into a cat to go prowling in the night. But I wonder if it was that the cat could transform into the witch to meddle more directly in the affairs of common men?

The kindred spirit of independence and curiosity that practitioners and felines share is one of common understanding. They know we know, and we know they know we know.

A cat familiar is one who has been ritually altered via the binding of a spirit to the form of a young kitten, but it is that physical container that informs the perception of the spirit residing in the cat and the familiar is as much a cat as it is something else. It sees like a cat, hears like a cat and ultimately comes to think like a cat.

Cats were in some cultures actually thought of as a type of fairy, with folktales of cat fairy beings being caught out by unwitting passers by and drawn into a narrative of courtly formalities that bewilder the fateful mundane who has trespassed into matters best left alone.

As I write the feral cat is in the bramble at the end of the walled garden. He seems impervious to thorns that left their claw marks on my arms and legs even with appropriate clothing. I was there looking for berries difficult to reach, he seems more interested in the voles that are also there for the berries. Plump and slow they make a likely lunch.

In the legends of our ancestors, from all around the world, it is made clear that one must never trifle with a cat. To cross a cat is to bring bad luck or a curse upon the heads of those who would do harm. The prophecy of impending death to those who would harm a cat is often brought by another cat as messenger. No good comes of gaining the ill will of a feline.

As we walk our paths through the world we encounter cats of all sizes and respects that seem aware of who we are and the things we get up to. They stare at us with decided intent, and our secrets are common knowledge to their people. How like the fairy who extort us with the deeds of our own doing that they have witnessed.

It is best to respect a cat in all matters, and to take guidance by observing its habits and routines. The witch would do well to pay more attention to the magic of the cat, as it often goes about a similar business to our own, with less effort in the bargain.

Polianitsa(Russian: поленица, поляни́ца, паленица, паляница) in Russian folklore and epic poems is a female warrior (bogatyrsha) akin to the Amazons. Many of the more well-known polianitsas are wives to the famous male bogatyrs, such as Nastasya Mikulishna, the wife of Dobrynya Nikitich.

The female bogatyrs match the men in strength and bravery with stories detailing instances where they save their husbands and outwit the enemies. If a man wanted to marry polianitsa he should have defeated her in a honorable fight to deserve her respect. Some polianitsas beat the most famous bogatyrs.

They are often seen working with the heroes in tales that mention their presence or riding free with their sisters-in-arms.

bobemajses:

The golden peacock in Yiddish folklore

We first hear of the mythical goldene pave (golden peacock) in three yiddish folk songs about an unhappy bride, banished from her parents’ home and sequestered in her mother-in-law’s domain. In Beregovsky’s collection of Jewish Folksongs (1938), the girl turns herself into a golden peacock and flies to her parents’ home; this is reminiscent of European ballads on the theme of the cruel mother-in-law. In Ginzburg & Marek’s anthology, Jewish Folksongs in Russia, 1901, the golden peacock, able to fly the impossible distance between the young bride and her parental home, functions as a messenger between the girl and her family. Russian folklorist Zinoviy Kiselgof (1878-1939) interpreted the folksong. According to Itsik Manger (1901-1969), “The golden peacock is a rare bird. You can travel around the world and you will not encounter it. You’ll find it only if you make yourselves familiar with Yiddish folksong. There she is born.” For Manger, not only was the peacock was like Pegasus, capable of travelling to distant, imaginary places; it also expressed the breadth and depth of longing for a world lost for ever.

Hey my fellow cryptid fans

Stop calling indigenous religious figures/mythology or racist depictions of native/indeginous peoples cryptids. They are not cryptids and they aren’t ours to search for or depict in our media.

The Maricoxi isn’t just a sasquatch. It’s how a colonizer depicted natives of the amazon jungle; as monstrous monkey men. Since then the term “Maricoxi” has been used by other racist folks to refer to tribal peoples as “savages”, I don’t think we can use it anymore as a variety of hominid/sasquatch.

Spirit animals, the skinwalkers, thunderbirds, bashees, and windigos are all appropriations of figures of indigenous folklore, story telling, or religion. If you aren’t from a native people who used these figures in your culture; stop depicting them as monstrous cryptids with no nuance and recognition of the stories and cultures they come from.

Those are only a few I know about. DO YOUR RESEARCH CRYPTID LOVERS! It’s far harder to be racist as a white American when depicting American cryptids than ones of other cultures because bigfoot doesn’t have a cultural background or religious meaning to butcher.

illicit affairs - taylor swift