|
St. Patrick wasn't Irish, he wore blue, not green and there were no snakes.
But there were vampires and leprechauns and witches. Oh my! 
In celebration of St. Patrick's Day, I'm using my alphabet prompts to learn more about all things Irish. I'm only doing one or two topics per letter, even though I can think of many more for some.. Even so, be warned. This will be a long post. Happy St. Patrick's Day!
A - Abhartach - the Irish Vampire
Let's start with something light and fun! Ha!
A is for Abhartach, the Irish Vampire. Even though Dracula, the character created by Bram Stoker, is most often associated with Transylvania, in reality he may have been based on an Irish king, Abhartach. He was said to be a dwarf and considered to be evil and feared by all who knew him. He was a very jealous man and was suspicious of his wife, convinced that she was having an affair. While spying on her from a high castle window, he fell to his death. The entire kingdom was relieved.. They buried him upright, apparently the correct burial position for royalty, and enjoyed a peaceful night's sleep. One. Just one. Because the next day, he rose from the dead, and demanded that all of his subjects slit their wrists and drain their blood into bowls. Well, you can imagine they were upset, so they traveled to the next village seeking help from another king, Cathan, who came, killed him and buried him once more. You guessed it. Up he came, ready for yet another snack. This continued until Cathan decided to seek help from a saint who explained there was no way to kill someone who was already dead! His suggestion was to bury him upside down, cover him with thorns and ash branches, and top it off with a huge boulder. As far as we know it worked, and peace returned to the kingdom. He served as inspiration for Stoker's Dracula, and all lived happily ever after! B - Banshee
A banshee is a terrifying, wispy, floating specter with a piercing scream who warns of a coming death in the family. First reports were in Ireland in the 8th century. This alarming figure, usually female, varies in age from a young maiden to an old woman. Some families were reported to have their very own banshee, possibly having been a family member who had passed. They were known for their keening, mournful singing and wailing, as they lamented the death of loved ones.
C - Children of Lir
,King Lir, Bobd Derg, was left with four motherless children, one daughter and three sons, when his wife Aoibh, the queen, unexpectedly passed away. The king decided to marry Aoife, his wife's sister,
0 Comments
“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the whole world revolves. |
 |  |  |
The first collage layer was made by ripping papers I painted and textured, and glueing them to the base.
Next I chose 12 of the herbs associated with Taurus. I added the common name and Latin name, the gender, deity and element associated with each herb, and a painted image of the herb. The final step was the power or powers of each herb.
 |  |
This fall I'll be teaching my Enhancing Your Life with Herbs course, a six week session, for the Renaissance Institute at Notre Dame University of Maryland for the fourth time. I painted 200 herbs to illustrate the course. I'm hoping to update it with these layered herbs for the zodiac session.
 |  |
Words are so powerful.
Last night I found this note from one of my participants. It warmed my heart and reminded of how fortunate we are to be able to lift up ourselves, and each other, using 26 little marks!
Last night I found this note from one of my participants. It warmed my heart and reminded of how fortunate we are to be able to lift up ourselves, and each other, using 26 little marks!
"As always, you and your work are my highlight of the day! Thank you so much for reinforcing affirmations and words/thoughts I say about myself. I need to be reminded repeatedly. You are truly a gift. I am so grateful for the gifts you are sharing with me!"
As I consider the power of words, I'm reminded of one of my favorite insights on resources - a quote taken from an advertisement to promote local libraries.
Roger von Oech, author of A Kick in the Seat of the Pants and A Whack on the Side of the Head, shared his perspective from an advertisement for a library
Roger von Oech, author of A Kick in the Seat of the Pants and A Whack on the Side of the Head, shared his perspective from an advertisement for a library
Miracles at Your Local Library!
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
“At your local library they have these arranged in ways that can make you cry, giggle, love, hate, wonder, ponder, and understand.
It’s astonishing to see what these twenty-six little marks can do. In Shakespeare’s hands they becameHamlet. Mark Twain wound them into Huckleberry Finn. James Joyce twisted them into Ulysses. Gibbon pounded them into The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. John Milton shaped them into Paradise Lost.”
What can you do with these 26 letters to honor yourself? I challenge you to arrange them in a way that will inspire and delight!! Make a gratitude list, write a thank you note to yourself, capture your treasured memories in a journal, write a poem or a song! Be kind with your self talk! Use affirmations.
If we use our words to inspire and nurture ourselves in the same way we use them to honor others, our entire perspective about who we are and what we can accomplish will change. We will step into a whole new world of miraculous possibilities!
What can you do with 26 little marks?
When people are born they are gentle and soft.
At death they are hard and stiff.
When plants are alive they are soft and delicate.
When they die, they wither and dry up.
Therefore the hard and stiff are followers of death.
The gentle and soft are the followers of life.
Thus, if you are aggressive and stiff, you can't win.
When a tree is hard enough, it is cut. Therefore
The hard and big are lesser,
The gentle and soft are greater.
- Yi-Ping Ong, from the introduction, Tao Te Ching
Ivy is another herb frequently associated with Christmas. It is most often mentioned in association with holly, its male counterpart. Ivy is the feminine, a plant of the planet Saturn.
The three points of ivy remind us of the Holy Trinity. She is an herb of protection and healing, often seen in bridal bouquets, providing good luck, fidelity and health.
The traditional English Christmas carol (carol translates to "a dance of celebration"), The Holly and the Ivy, dates back to 15 or 16th century. It was re-introduced by Cecil J. Sharp (1859-1924) in his collection of hymns and carols, in 1911.
There was a contest between the holly and the ivy to determine which should be the 'best in the hall.' I'll let you decide who took the prize!
The Holly and the Ivy
The holly and the ivy,
when they are both full grown,
Of all the trees that are in the wood,
the holly bears the crown.
Chorus:Oh, the rising of the sun and the running of the deer,The playing of the merry organ, sweet singing in the choir.
The holly bears a blossom as white as lily flower
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ to be our sweet savior.
Chorus
The holly bears a berry as red as any blood,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ to do poor sinners good.
Chorus
The holly bears a prickle as sharp as any thorn,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ on Christmas Day in the morn.
Chorus
The holly bears a bark as bitter as any gall,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ for to redeem us all.
The three points of ivy remind us of the Holy Trinity. She is an herb of protection and healing, often seen in bridal bouquets, providing good luck, fidelity and health.
The traditional English Christmas carol (carol translates to "a dance of celebration"), The Holly and the Ivy, dates back to 15 or 16th century. It was re-introduced by Cecil J. Sharp (1859-1924) in his collection of hymns and carols, in 1911.
There was a contest between the holly and the ivy to determine which should be the 'best in the hall.' I'll let you decide who took the prize!
The Holly and the Ivy
The holly and the ivy,
when they are both full grown,
Of all the trees that are in the wood,
the holly bears the crown.
Chorus:Oh, the rising of the sun and the running of the deer,The playing of the merry organ, sweet singing in the choir.
The holly bears a blossom as white as lily flower
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ to be our sweet savior.
Chorus
The holly bears a berry as red as any blood,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ to do poor sinners good.
Chorus
The holly bears a prickle as sharp as any thorn,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ on Christmas Day in the morn.
Chorus
The holly bears a bark as bitter as any gall,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ for to redeem us all.
"Light cannot be seen without shade.
Shade cannot be seen without light."
By moonlight, we see in black and white. We cannot see colors. There is something fascinating and valuable about seeing the world that way. We see only what is essential.
We see form emerging from a sea of blackness. . . . We can look at the world so familiar by daylight and see it anew in the black and white of moonlight.
You see yin and yang. . . The day warms, the night cools.
The sun moves over a hill, changing the face from brightness to shadow.
Stand in the middle of a forest and watch all the shadows and sunlight shift second by second. You see yin and yang.
- Deng Ming-Dao, The Lunar Tao (edited)
Prosperity is not in what you have attained,
but rather in what you give away...
for it is only when you become empty
that you can be filled with something greater.
but rather in what you give away...
for it is only when you become empty
that you can be filled with something greater.
If waters are placid, the moon will be mirrored perfectly. If we still ourselves, we can mirror the divine perfectly. But if we engage solely in the frenetic activities of our daily involvements, if we seek to impose our own schemes on the natural order, and if we allow ourselves to become absorbed in self-centered views, the surface of our waters becomes turbulent. Then we cannot be receptive to Tao.
There is no effort that we can make to still ourselves. True stillness comes naturally from moments of solitude where we allow our minds to settle. Just as water seeks its own level, the mind will gravitate toward the holy. Muddy water will become clear if allowed to stand undisturbed, and so too will the mind become clear if it is allowed to be still.
- Deng Ming-Dao, from 365 Tao, Daily Meditations
There is no effort that we can make to still ourselves. True stillness comes naturally from moments of solitude where we allow our minds to settle. Just as water seeks its own level, the mind will gravitate toward the holy. Muddy water will become clear if allowed to stand undisturbed, and so too will the mind become clear if it is allowed to be still.
- Deng Ming-Dao, from 365 Tao, Daily Meditations
It's unsettling that there are such contrasting perceptions about Baltimore, a city I've grown to love. Yesterday I read a disturbing article detailing the police corruption through the Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF). The article ended by saying "Baltimore can't run a school, a police department or even a zoo".
Admittedly, there is truth in that statement, and yet it disturbs me to see only one side of multifaceted city, so rich with warm and wonderful people, history, inventions, gardens and parks music and the arts . . . . It reminds me of a fable I read years ago.
Admittedly, there is truth in that statement, and yet it disturbs me to see only one side of multifaceted city, so rich with warm and wonderful people, history, inventions, gardens and parks music and the arts . . . . It reminds me of a fable I read years ago.
The Blind Men and the Elephant
~ John G. Sake
It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all six of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.
The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
God bless me, but the Elephant
Is very like a wall.
The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, "Ho! What have we here?
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all six of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.
The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
God bless me, but the Elephant
Is very like a wall.
The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, "Ho! What have we here?
Welcome!! I’m Mikell (pronounced Michael). If you love spicing up your life with herbs, recipes, decorating and crafts, symbolism and rituals like I do, I hope you’ll sign up for my newsletter and free Enhancing Your Life with Herbs e-book!
Categories
All
Art
Collecting Firsts
Fashion And Fabrics
Herbs
Holidays
Inspiration
Legends
Lessons From Nature
Maps
Quotes
Recipes
Vintage
Mikell
Mikell is a writer, artist and professional treasure hunter, finding the greatest treasures in the wonderful people who enter her life!
RSS Feed