Tag: nature

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Slavic Folklore: The Likho

Art – Marek Hapon

The likho is part of Eastern Slavic fairy tales. Although not as frequently mentioned as the witch Baba Yaga, the likho assumes many guises from an old woman clad in black or a male goblin-like being. The common feature in both is the likho has only one eye.

In the pre-Christian era, the likho was associated with death and villages conducted rituals during epidemics. An idol with only one eye was burned to banish the servant of Death and the epidemic. Over time, the likho became a being of bad luck and malevolence.

The lihko is often associated with Slavic water spirits like the rusalka and vodyanoy who deliberately drown their victims. But unlike these water spirits, the likho leaps onto its victims to strangle them. Desperate to dislodge the likho, the mortal wades into waterways trying to drown the likho but its grip can’t be broken and the victim inadvertently drowns. In Slavic folklore, death by mysterious drowning was attributed to many of these different supernatural beings.

Caution against calling unnecessary attention to the likho and its misfortune is clear in the Russian proverb: “Don’t wake the likho up when it is quiet.”

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Slavic Folklore: Rusalka

The Rusalka is related to water-dwelling nymphs and appears in the form of a beautiful woman. Water nymphs, unlike mermaids, have legs and can walk on land.

Rusalki are found in rivers or lakes they come out of the streams at certain times a year to dance and walk in the woods especially in summer months. In prehistory, they’ve been associated with fertility, but by the 19th century, they represented aggressive water sprites who would seduce young men to a watery deaths.

The origin folklore of the rusalka is unclear, but they are always women and usually virgins who had an untimely death near water. The restless soul became a rusalka because they were un-sanctified or they’d had a violent and untimely deaths. Rusalki are almost always associated with women betrayed by their lovers. They remain in the region to haunt the area of water where they died.

Rusalki often come out of the water and climb into a tree or sit on a rock, singing or combing their hair. Rusalki have green or golden hair which is always wet and their pale skin may take on a greenish hue.

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Celtic Myth: Danu

Danu is one of the oldest Celtic goddess. She is represented by the earth and its abundance. Many place names in Ireland are associated with her, most notable the Paps of Anu in Kerry, which resemble the breasts of a large supine female, part of the land.

Danu is known as the ‘beantuathach’ (farmer) associating her with fertility. Rivers are also associated with her and in general, the fertility and abundance of the land.

Not many stories involving the Danu survive, but she appears is one story about Bile, the god of light and healing. Bile was represented as a sacred oak tree that was fed and nurtured by Danu resulting in the birth of Daghdha.

Danu is associated with the Tuatha Dé Danaan, the people of the goddess Danu. These were a group of people, descended from Nemed, who had been exiled from Ireland and scattered. Danu offered them her patronage allowing them to reunite, learning new magical skills and return to Ireland in a magical mist. The mist is Danu’s symbolic embrace. The Tuatha Dé Danaan are the clearest representatives in Irish myth of the powers of light and knowledge. The Tuatha Dé Danaan were associated with Craftsmanship, music, poetry and magic, as was Danu herself.

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Norse Mythology: Freyr

Freyr (Old Norse Freyr, “Lord”) is one of the Vanir gods and is also counted among the Aesir gods as a hostage after the Aesir-Vanir War.

Fryer’s father is the Vanir god Njord. Freyr has been the lover of numerous goddesses and giantesses and rumoured to include his own sister, Freya. Incest seems a common practice among the Vanir deities but not the Aesir.

Freyr was one of the most widely venerated divinities amongst the pagan Norse and other Germanic peoples. The reasons are easy to understand with the well-being and prosperity dependent on his benevolence which manifested in sexual and ecological fertility, bountiful harvests, wealth, and peace. His role governing fertility is symbolised in his golden-bristled boar Gullinborsti and its enormous, erect phallus.

It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that Freyr was a frequent recipient of sacrifices at the blessing of a wedding or the celebration of a harvest. During harvest festivals, the sacrifice traditionally took the form of his favored animal, the boar.

His prominence even among the Aesir is clear in being included among the receiptients of prized dwarf-made gifts like Skíðblaðnir, a ship which always has a favorable wind and can be folded up and carried in a small bag.

Freyr dwells is Alfheim – the homeland of the elves. Freyr is never stated as a ruler of the elves and the relationship between the gods and the elves is ambiguous in many cases.

On land, Freyr travels in a chariot drawn by boars. This is another mythological feature that was reflected in historical ritual. From medieval Icelandic sources, priestesses and/or priests of Freyr traveled throughout the country on a chariot which contained a statue of the god. A similar practice occurred with the early Germanic goddess Nerthus – a Proto-Germanic form of Freyr’s father’s name, Njord.

During Ragnarok at the doom of the gods, it is Freyr and the fire giant Surt who are fated to destroy each other.

Also known as: Frey; Fro; Frothi; Frodi; Yngvi; Ing

Classification: Vanir god

Favoured people: Seafarers; lovers; brewers

Iconography: In his shrine at Uppsala, Freyr was represented as a virile man with a large, erect penis. An alternative image portrayed him as a young boy traveling across the sea. His image was often featured on armor and weapons.

Attributes: A sword that is removed independently from its scabbard and creates carnage wherever it is directed at. A ship whose sails always attract favourable winds but could be folded up and carried.

Associates Colours: Brown, gold, green.

Mounts: A chariot drawn by two boars. A massive, golden-bristled boar. A horse named Bloody Hooves.

Place of Veneration: Shrine in Uppsala, Sweden, where it continued to be a place of veneration to Freyr long after most of Scandinavia had converted to Christianity.

Associated Runes: Ehwaz, Fehu, and Ingwaz.

Offerings to Freyr: The Yule boar, or a male pig, is the annual sacrificial boar offered to Freyr in winter. Libations of fresh water, barley wine, ale, or mead.

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Freyja: Norse Mythology

Freya (Old Norse Freyja, “Lady”) is one of the preeminent goddesses in Norse mythology. She’s a member of the Vanir tribe of deities, but became a member of the Aesir gods after the Aesir-Vanir War. Her brother Freyr also became a member of the Aesir.

Freyja is the Norse goddess of love, fertility, beauty and fine material possessions. She is passionate and thrill-seeking and is often a “wild spirit” among the Aesir. Contrastingly, Freyja is also the archetype of the völva, a practitioner of seidr, a form of Norse magic and divination. It was Freyja who first taught the sedir to Odin, and eventually human witches learned the practice to. Her power over desire and prosperity, her knowledge and power are almost without equal – except Odin.

Freyja presides over the afterlife realm Folkvangr where she chooses half of the warriors slain in battle who dwell in her Hall, while Odin takes the first half of fallen warriors to dwell in Valhalla with him. Her role as battle leader and followed by the band of Valkyries who help decide the fates of men in battle.

Seidr is a form of pre-Christian Norse magic and shamanism that involves discerning the course of fate and working to bring about change – often by symbolically weaving new events into being. This power is incredibly useful in bringing about changes in human life.

In the Viking Age, the völva was an itinerant seeress and sorceress who traveled from town to town performing commissioned acts of seidr in exchange for lodging, food, and often other forms of compensation including clothing or anything she might need. Like other northern Eurasian shamans, her social status was highly ambiguous – she was exalted, needed, feared and scorned.

Freyja’s role amongst the gods is stated in the Ynglinga Saga with indirect hints elsewhere in the Eddas and sagas. In one tale, Freyja possesses falcon plumed cloak that allows the wearer to shift their shape into that of a falcon.

In the Germanic “politico-theological conception” based on the mythological model provided by the divine pair Frija and Woðanaz – deities who later became linked as Freyja/Frigg and Odin. In this Germanic concept, Woðanaz is the warband’s chieftain and Frija is its veleda (völva).

While late Old Norse literary sources form the basis of current knowledge of pre-Christian Germanic religions portray Freya and Frigg as being -at least nominally- distinct goddesses but the similarities between them run deep. Their differences are superficial and can potentially be explained by the Norse and Germanic tribes sharing close trade and marriage ties with Freya and Frigg split sometime before the conversion of Iceland to Christianity (around the year 1000 CE).

Freyja and Frigg are similarly accused of infidelity to their (similar) husbands. Alongside several mentions of free Freyja’s sexual practices in the Lokasenna and the Ynglinga Saga, Odin was once exiled from Asgard with his brothers Vili and Ve left in command. The two brothers apparently slept regularly with Frigg until Odin’s return. Many scholars have tried to differentiate between Freyja and Frigg by asserting that the former is more promiscuous and less steadfast than the latter.

Frigg is depicted as a völva herself. Once again in Lokasenna, after Loki slanders Frigg for her infidelity, Freyja warns him that Frigg knows the fate of all beings – a threat to perform seidr. Frigg’s weaving activities are likely an allusion to this role as well as the Norns are known to weave the fate of gods and men.

The name Freyja translates to “Lady” which is a title rather than a true name. In the Viking Age, Scandinavian and Icelandic wealthy women were sometimes called freyjur, the plural of freyja. The name “Frigg” means “beloved.” Frigg’s name therefore links her to love and desire which are areas that Freyja presides. Both goddesses fulfil the roles of the other: Frigg’s name is similar to the Freyja’s attributes.

Freyja’s most famous possession is her necklace the Brisingr forged by the dwarfs. While in the underground kingdom of the dwarfs, Freyja saw them create a necklace and she asked the dwarfs to give it to her. They refused at first but eventually gave it to her and the influence of her sexuality. Brisingr was once stolen by Loki but recovered by the god Heimdallr.

Freyja also has two large grey cats assumed to be lynxes which pull her chariot. Her role as the goddess of fertility is also shared with her brother Freyr and their shared close connection to the earth and the prosperity of crops. Her seemingly dual role as a battle goddess places her at the axes of life and death.

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The Roggenmuhme

German folklore

Seeing parts of a rye crop suddenly move is according to old German folklore, not caused by the wind or animals, but by the Roggenmuhme, a witch-like monster who resides within rye fields. Literally translated, the name means ‘rye mother’.

Like many folklore and fairytales, it originated as a cautionary tale to discourage children from doing something they should not. In this case, playing often damaged the crops which affected the farmer’s harvest and livelihood).

According to folklore, the Roggenmuhme snatches kids and takes them away – never seen again. These monsters are also known to grab strands of rye and curse it, turning it black and poisonous (in reality, this is due to infection of the Claviceps purpurea parasitic fungus).

The Roggenmuhume wasn’t all bad: her blessing increased the fertility of the crops and improved the harvest. As such, some farmers would leave a section of the rye unharvested as a gift or offering to the her – a way to increase the harvest of the next year by pleasing her. She is also associated in some parts with rainfall (Regenmuhume – ‘rain mother’) and in pleasing her with offerings, a farmer could increase the chance of rainfall on his farm.

When those individuals did fight off the Roggenmuhume it was difficult. Her physical touch can inflict death or disease in her victims. In the Netherlands, she is also known as the ‘korenmoeder’ or ‘roggemoeder’. Dutch and Flemish folklore appear to have a male variant of the story, too. This creature is called the ‘korenpater’ or ‘rye priest’ and would take naughty children with him if they wandered through rye fields – never to be seen again.

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New Release! Dark Christmas

An updated and quality full-colour paperback of the second edition of my illustrated chapbook and ebook Dark Christmas were released on February 15, 2023.

Dark Christmas marks the first in my new chapbook series Quick Bites Chapbooks published under my imprint Quill Lore. These chapbooks are a combination of short stories or microfiction on a theme. And, each reimagining, retelling or story inspired by a specific aspect of the chapbook theme has quality colour illustrations related to the story.

More details on how to purchase Dark Christmas here. You can also buy SIGNED COPIES directly from Shop.

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Dark Beira: Queen of Winter

In Scottish mythology, Beira or Dark Beira is the great mother of the gods and goddesses. She’s also known as the Cailleach, or the Cailleach Bheur in the Gaelic traditions of Ireland and the Isle of Man.

Donald Alexander Mackenzie usually described her as being very tall and very old but could be terribly fierce when provoked. Her anger was be as strong and bitter as the cold north wind and as wild and unforgiving as a stormy sea.

Every winter Beira reigned on Earth but as spring approached her subjects grew restless and rebellious against her harsh rule. They looked forward instead to the pending return of Summer King and Queen.

In the weakening of her power and the inevitable arrival of the King and Queen of Summer, Beira grew greatly enraged. She did what she could to prolong winter by raising spring storms and sending blights of frost but winter had to give way to spring and summer as her power weakened.

Beira had lived for thousand of years. She kept herself alive by drinking from the Well of Youth that has its wellspring on the Green Island in the West. The Green Island was a place where there was always only summer. The trees were always laden with blossoms and fruit and the days were sunny and clear.

Although many bold sailors have tried to find the island few if any have ever succeeded as it is hidden by mists.

Beira reaches the Green Island when the waters of the Well of Youth are at their most potent after the winter solstice. Then she drinks from the waters of the Well of Youth the night before the first lengthening day which was the last night of her reign as Queen of Winter.

It was important she drink the water at precisely the right time so she would arrive early and sit in darkness waiting for the very first glimmer of light in the east. At this signal, she would drink the pure water of the Well of Youth as it bubbled forth from a crevice in a rock. She must drink in silence and alone, before any bird or animal. If she should fail in this she would die, shrivelling and crumbling to dust.

As soon as the water passes her lips she begins to grow young again. When she had que chef her thirst and regained her strength, she leaves for Scotland where she falls into a long, magical sleep.

When she wakes, she’s a beautiful girl with long blond hair, blue eyes and rosy cheeks to find herself in sunshine. Having rejuvenated herself now, with the exception of Bride the Summer Queen, she’s the fairest goddess in the land. She wanders through the land dressed in a robe of green and crowned with different colored flowers.

As the months pass so the year ages Beira. By midsummer she reaches full womanhood at midsummer and by autumn the first wrinkles appear on her brow and her beauty fades.

The return of winter has Beira aged back into the old withered hag and she becomes Queen of Winter once more. She’s often heard on stormy nights, wandering alone through the bitter wind and singing a strange and sorrowful song.

The young Beira of the summer is a joy to look upon but aging and dark Beira of the winter is horrific. She has only had one large eye but her vision is sharp and clear, while her complexion iS of dark blue giving her a dull and dank appearance. She had rust colored teeth and long, lank, white hair that covers her shoulders like frost. Her clothes are grey and she’s wrapped in a dun coloured shawl which pulled tightly around herself.

Beira was beloved by all wild animals especially in her younger form. Foxes would bark out a welcome and wolves would howl greetings from the mountains, while eagles soaring above shrieked in delight at her presence. She gave her protection to the fleet-footed deer and wide horned shaggy cattle, the black pigs and other creatures that roamed the earth in those days.

She kept goats and cattle on the mountains so that they could graze the sweet mountain grass and these she milked. As soon as the wind began to blow milky froth from the milking pails she knew it was time to lead them down to the shelter of the valleys below. The froth from the pails covered the hills and lay glimmering in the sunshine. When the rain hit the mountains in torrents and ran down the sides in streams people would look up and say claim Beira is milking today.

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Celtic Dark Fantasy

I am in the final stages of editing my draft dark fantasy novel inspired by Celtic mythology and literature (Arthurian, Welsh and Irish Cycles) and LGBTQI themes.

In a portal fantasy where the gods, mortals and legendary Fae courts battle for dominance, the last of the sorceress and Fae bloodlines is lost. A struggle between the Fae Courts threatens to once again spill into the mortal realms where a crumbling stone wall bound by iron, blood and magic will collapse when the last of the witch bloodlines fades. Caught between the Fae Courts are two unlikely champions of the mortal realm – one is stolen into the Otherworld by deception, the other follows to save him.

The following images are inspirational only and don’t represent any specific character but inspire my writing concept.

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Dark Fantasy & Climate Change

I am in the final stages of editing my draft dark fantasy novel inspired by North American and Canadian First Nations legends and environment and the influence of developing climate change.

In a fantasy world where the gods, mortals and paranormal beings are dependent on the environment for stability and existence, the threat of a dark shaman destroying the land as his power grows is too much for the gods to remain omnipotent. In the involvement with the mortal realms, the balance of the Land shifts dangerously and the environment begins to suffer, fade and die.

The following images are inspirational only and are not intended to represent any specific character but inspire an internal concept.