Myths, folklore & symbolism

"The fourpointed star, or sun star, denotes, according to Koch...a serious and solemn warning."

Get the full story at symbols.com.

Baladachin

Myths, folklore & symbolism
Baladachin: A fabric or structure representing a canopy that is fixed or carried over an important person or sacred object. Particularly in the Orient, it symbolizes the dignity of the ruler (thus it was usually made of silk). In Christian architecture it is typically placed over the altar, chancel, tombs, and statues; symbolically it increases the spiritual significance or power of whomever sits or stands beneath it. (Herder)

Author Interview: Paul Liadis

The soundtrack by Paul Liadis (AKA The Struggling Writer) is now live over at the Writers and Soundtracks blog. Check it out!

Over at Quid Plura?, Jeff Sypek brings us...Medieval Shark Week! Hilarious!


Also, ran across an interesting journal - Third Order Magazine. According to the site, "Third Order is a literary webzine created to engage with issues of faith and religion through mainstream, traditional, experimental and speculative short fiction." Right up my alley. The quality is a bit uneven across the three issues, but there are some real gems in there and the concept is fantastic. Looking forward to seeing more there.

The Word Hoard: ensorcell, gelt, awped

This week's word-hoard feature: ensorcell, gelt, and awped.

I invite you to listen in and leave me a comment with your creative use of each week's word-hoard featured words! You can subscribe to this podcast (and this whole blog for that matter) by clicking on the RSS icon in the right-sidebar. Or, you can add the feed to your LiveJournal Friends page.

If you'd like to subscribe to the podcast via iTunes, you can do it one of two ways:

1. Search for "Julie K. Rose" or "Word-Hoard" in the iTunes store; the podcast will show up in the search results, and you can simply click the "subscribe button"; or

2. Choose the Advanced menu, and then Subscribe to Podcast. This will bring up a dialog box, where you can paste this URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/YULh.

Clever Contest from Weird Tales

From the Weird Tales team:

You've seen the latest wave of spam -- you know, the faux outrageous news headlines: "Osama trains goats for tactical bombing." "Laika the Russian space dog returns to Earth." "Children admit to being little shits: Video." Isn't it a shame the headline is all we get? So here at Weird Tales we're inviting YOU to turn this spam into... um... spam-ade!

Write a flash-fiction story -- under 500 words -- based on a spam you've received. Send it to *contest@weirdtales.net* before 9 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 4. The Weird Tales editorial team will judge them, and three winners will be announced at the Weird Tales reception on Friday, Aug. 8 at the World Science Fiction Convention in Denver!

The first-, second-, and third-place winners will all be published
online at WeirdTalesMagazine.com the week of August 11. The first- and second-place winners will also receive three free issues of Weird Tales; and the first-place winner will also receive an autographed copy of Ekaterina Sedia's new novel The Alchemy of Stone.

Sapphire

Myths, folklore & symbolism
Sapphire: It is a gem regarded in antiquity and the Middle Ages as having healing properties (it was equated with the lapis lazuli). Because of its (usually) blue color, it is a symbol of heaven, heavenly protection, or - for the alchemists - air. In the Apocalypse the sapphire is one of the four foundation stones of the Heavenly Jerusalem. Like all blue stones, the sapphire is regarded in the Orient as a protection against the evil eye. (Herder)

Myths, folklore & symbolism

"An adinkira print on garments worn in Ghana and meaning jealousy."

Get the full story at symbols.com.

Vervain

Myths, folklore, and symbolism
Vervain: Pieces of vervain root, or a sachet of its dried leaves, were hung round the neck to cure scrofula, prevent nightmares, and make one immune to snakebite; it was also said to staunch blood, because it grew at the foot of Christ's cross. One Jacobean poet says it 'hindreth witches of their will'...this probably alludes to hag-riding, since it is nowhere mentioned as a house protection. (Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore)

Do you know of vervain folklore from other countries?

Las Habladoras

Have y'all been checking out the Las Habladoras blog? There's been a ton of good stuff over there - Jenn Racek providing some great tips on writing tools; Yolanda Joosten giving some great peeks into the unintentionally amusing criminal justice system; Catherine Schaff-Stump serializing her story Blood Is Thicker Than Water; and Catrina Horsfield posting samples of her beautiful artwork!

Check it out!

Latest Issue of Serendipity

The latest issue of Serendipity is posted, and it looks like a good one. I read "The Minotaur in Pamplona" and quite liked it. Saving the rest for this evening...

Author Soundtrack: Paul Liadis

The soundtrack by Paul Liadis (AKA The Struggling Writer) is now live over at the Writers and Soundtracks blog. Check it out!

The Word Hoard: cumsloosh, dortiness, persiflage

This week's word-hoard feature: cumsloosh, dortiness, and persiflage.

I invite you to listen in and leave me a comment with your creative use of each week's word-hoard featured words! You can subscribe to this podcast (and this whole blog for that matter) by clicking on the RSS icon in the right-sidebar. Or, you can add the feed to your LiveJournal Friends page.

If you'd like to subscribe to the podcast via iTunes, you can do it one of two ways:

1. Search for "Julie K. Rose" or "Word-Hoard" in the iTunes store; the podcast will show up in the search results, and you can simply click the "subscribe button"; or

2. Choose the Advanced menu, and then Subscribe to Podcast. This will bring up a dialog box, where you can paste this URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/YULh.

Very cool link, thanks to Unlocked Wordhoard: The Medieval Garden Enclosed, the blog of the Met's Cloisters Museums & Galleries. This brand-new blog seeks to "explore the role of plants and gardens in medieval life and art, learn how to find and grow medieval herbs and flowers, discuss the long histories of many familiar garden plants, discover which roadside weeds were once valued medicinals, and encounter legendary plants like the mandrake".

This will be VERY helpful as I revise novel #3 (which is set partially in a medieval monastery) and will be incredibly interesting to compare medieval herbal use with the Roman we learn about in In Hortum.

A cornucopia of goodness!

King's Way

Myths, symbols, & folklore
King's Way: "In contrast to crooked, indirect paths the King's way is the correct, straight way; it symbolizes the continued development of the imperturbable soul toward its inner goal. In the Middle Ages, for example, it was the usual designation for the monastic and meditative path to God." (Herder)

The new In Hortum is up. Today we learn about how Romans and moderns use calendula and catnip!

Myths, folklore & symbolism

"This sign was a common structure in the antiquity in both Greece and Byzantium. It is a common design in Nordic and other countries' peasant art from the Middle Ages..."

Get the full story at symbols.com.

Coffins

Myths, folklore, and symbolism
Coffins: One of the pardoxes of folk medicine is that objects connected with death are deemed curative. In several parts of England, from the late 18th century to the end of the 19th, there are references to rings made out of 'the handles of decayed coffins', or their hinges, or their lead lining, worn to prevent cramp, fits, or rheumatism. In Shropshire, the ring was 'made of three rings taken from three coffins out of three several churchyards.' (Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore)

Do you know any tales of coffin (and other death-related items) as curative from other countries?

In Hortum

The latest In Hortum is posted - this time on bay and borage. Check it out!

Author Interview: Mandy Roth

The full text of my interview with author Mandy Roth is now live over at the Writers and Soundtracks blog. Check it out!

School of the Seasons

Waverly Fitzgerald's School of the Seasons website and newsletter always have fascinating tidbits of information. According to her site, "The School of the Seasons is open to anyone who is weary of the frantic pace of modern life, who wants to slow down, connect with the natural world, and live a life filled with heart and meaning. Each season has its own flavor, captured in the folklore of seasonal holidays, preserved in rituals and recipes, ceremonies and songs."

Here's the calendar for July.

For example, today is Norwegian midsummer day. "...according to an ancient calendar stick, this was the midpoint of the summer season in Norway."

Interesting stuff. Check it out!

The Word Hoard: queachy, pratal, nemophilous

This week's word-hoard feature: queachy, pratal, and nemophilous.

I invite you to listen in and leave me a comment with your creative use of each week's word-hoard featured words! You can subscribe to this podcast (and this whole blog for that matter) by clicking on the RSS icon in the right-sidebar. Or, you can add the feed to your LiveJournal Friends page.

If you'd like to subscribe to the podcast via iTunes, you can do it one of two ways:

1. Search for "Julie K. Rose" or "Word-Hoard" in the iTunes store; the podcast will show up in the search results, and you can simply click the "subscribe button"; or

2. Choose the Advanced menu, and then Subscribe to Podcast. This will bring up a dialog box, where you can paste this URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/YULh.

Eleven

Myths, symbols & folklore:
Eleven: In Christian symbolism it sometimes represents the number of the since, since they exceeded ten, the number of the Decalogue. (Herder)

Today's In Hortum is fascinating, as usual. I love how Heather shows us how the Romans used herbs, and how it's not so different today. Did you know that the Romans named basil for the basilisk?

Myths, folklore & symbolism

"An alchemic sign for tartar, tartrate, i.e. tartaric acid salts..."

Get the full story at symbols.com.

Raphael

Myths, folklore, and symbolism
Raphael: Archangel, the ideal of the angel as guardian spirit, especially the protector of the young, and of pilgrims and other travelers. In art he is represented above all as the traveling companion of the young Tobias. It was not uncommon in Renaissance Italy for the departure of the son of a family to a distant city or land to be commemorated by a picture of Tobias and the angel in which Tobias was portrayed in the likeness of the son. Raphael, the painter, depicted his guardian namesake presenting Tobias, who holds a fish, to the Virgin and Child enthroned, the 'Madonna del Pesce'. Like nearly all angels Raphael has wings and is dressed as a traveler, wearing sandals and holding the pilgrim's staf, sometimes with a wallet or water-gourd. He may hold a small casket or pyx. Because his name means 'God heals', Raphael was by tradition identified with the angel who stirred the waters of the Pool of Bethesda. (Dictionary of Subjects & Symbols in Art)

Did you know the Romans believed rosemary improved memory? That thyme was the equivalent of listerine?

Check out even more awesome Roman horticultural facts in today's In hortum.

Author Soundtrack: Mandy Roth

My podcast interview with author Mandy Roth is now live over at the Writers and Soundtracks blog. Check it out!

The Word Hoard: caliginous, benegroe, abditive

This week's word-hoard feature: caliginous, benegroe, and abditive.

I invite you to listen in and leave me a comment with your creative use of each week's word-hoard featured words! You can subscribe to this podcast (and this whole blog for that matter) by clicking on the RSS icon in the right-sidebar. Or, you can add the feed to your LiveJournal Friends page.

If you'd like to subscribe to the podcast via iTunes, you can do it one of two ways:

1. Search for "Julie K. Rose" or "Word-Hoard" in the iTunes store; the podcast will show up in the search results, and you can simply click the "subscribe button"; or

2. Choose the Advanced menu, and then Subscribe to Podcast. This will bring up a dialog box, where you can paste this URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/YULh.

Galatea

Myths, folklore, and symbolism
Galatea: A Nereid, or sea-nymph, of Sicilian origin. Ovid tells how she loved a handsome youth Acis and was herself loved by Polyphemus, a monstrous one-eyed giant, one of the race of Cyclopes. The giant sat on a promontory overlooking the sea and played a love song to Galatea on his pipes. Afterwards, wandering disconsolately among the rocks, he discovered her lying in the arms of Acis. The couple fled and Polyphemus in a rage flung a great boulder which killed Acis. There are two scenes: (1) Polyphemus, his shepherd's crook laid aside, plays a syrinx - the pipes of Pan, which like the flute are a symbol of lust. Sheep graze nearby on the hillside. On a rock across the water the lovers dally, Tritons and Nereids playing around them in the waves. Above the head of Galatea may be an arch of drapery, somewhat like a sail in the wind, the attribute of the Roman spirit of the air, Aura. She rides in her cockle-shell car drawn by dolphins; Acis is then probably absent. The Cyclops has one large eye in the center of the forehead and vestigial eye-sockets in the place of normal eyes. (2) The lovers flee from Polyphemus who stands poised with a rock in his hands about to hurl it. (Dictionary of Subjects & Symbols in Art)


Also, tomorrow is a holiday here in the U.S. Additionally, my husband got assigned to a strike team to photograph one of the big fires up near Chico. So, I'll either be MIA until Monday, or I will spam you all mercilessly. Only time will tell. :)

Lapis Lazuli

Myths, folklore, and symbolism
Lapis Lazuli Because of its blue color and the numerous golden flecks embedded in it, lapis lazuli is a symbol of the firmament. In the Orient it is prized as protection against the evil eye. (Herder)

Roman Gardens

Author Heather Domin has started a fascinating series of posts in her blog about plants and the Romans. Check out the first post here.

Author Interview: Mark Teppo

The full text of my interview with author Mark Teppo is now live over at the Writers and Soundtracks blog. Check it out!