WEIRD WEDNESDAY

This car is for sale--instead of tires, it has skis for snow. Would you buy it?

Supernatural Friday-Werewolf-Part 2

 

Time for Supernatural Friday-Werewolf, Part 2.

The word werewolf is thought to derive from the Old English wer (or were)-pronounced as wear, wiar, war, and wulf. Wer translates as "man." The second half, wulf, is the ancestor of modern English "wolf." in some cases, it also has the general meaning, "beast." An alternate etymology also derives the first part from Old English, weri, meaning to wear or wearer of wolf skin. related to this is the Old Norse ulfhedar, which denoted lupine equivalents of the berserker, said to wear a bearskin in battle. There are other sources that claim that it came from warg-wolf. Warg is cognate with Old Norse vargr, meaning "rogue," "outlaw," or "wolf." No doubt, in Norse society, an outlaw was called vargr, or wolf, as hje might have slaughtered sheep or even human members of a "herd."

Werewolves in European folklore had tell-tale signs in their human forms that they were werewolves. Traits like meeting of both eyebrows over the bridge of the nose. curved fingernails, low set ears, and a swinging stride. One way to tell a werewolf in its human guise, was to cut the flesh when it is a human and you would see fur in the wound. A Russian superstition says that you can tell a werewolf by the bristles under his or her tongue.

Appearance of a werewolf varied from culture to culture, though they are distinguished from real wolves as having no tail (a trait thought characteristic of witches in animal forms), are often larger, and retain human eyes and voice. After returning to human form, they are weak, debilitated, and undergo painful, nervous depression. Many historical werewolves are writen that they suffered severe melancholia and manic depression, being conscious of their crimes. One universally reviled trait in medieval Europe had the werewolf devouring recently buried corpses, documented extensively, particularly in the Annales Medico-psychologiques in the 19th century.

Fennoscandian werewolves were old women whompossessed poisen coated claws and could paralyzed catle and chilodren with their gaze. Serbian vulkodlaks had the habit of congrgating annually in the winter months to strip off their wolf skins and hang from limbs of trees. They would take another's skin and burn it, releasing it from the curse. Haitian je-rouges try to trick mothers into giving away their childrenbyn waking them at night and askig their permission to take the child. This way the disoriented mother might say yes or no.

The werewolf can not be harmed by crucifixes or holy water, like vampires can be. But in many countries, it is thought rye and mistletoe are considered effective safeguards against a werewolf. Also mountain ash is believe to work. One Belgian legend states that no house is safe from an werwolf unless beneath the shade of a mountain ash tree. Werewolves have an aversion to wolfsbane, too. Werewolves can transformed during the winter solstice, Easter, and the full moon. And in Hungary, werewolves and vampires were closely related.

Various methods have existed for removing the werewolf form. In antiquity, the Greeks and Romans believed in the power of exhaustion to cure people from being lycantropes. The said werewolf would be subjected to long periods of physical activity to purged them of the malady. In medieval Europe, there were three ways to cure a person of being a werewolf. Medicinally (usually by use of wolfsbane), surgically, or by exorcism. Unfortunately, many of these cures proved fatal to the patients. Another came from a Silcian belief of Arabic origin: cure the monster by striking it on the forehead or scalp with a knife. Another way involved the piercing of a werewolf's hands with nails. In the German lowland of Schleswig-Holstein, a werewolf could be cured by addressing it three times by its Christian name. A Danish belief calims to simply scold it will cure the werewolf. Converting to Christianity was a common method of removing werewolfism in medieval times. A devotion to St. Hubert has also been cited as both cure for and protection from lycanthropes.

Some werewolves could not change back to human form if an article of clothing is taken from them. In Bisclavret by Marie de France, the nobleman, Bizunch, for reasons not described in the poem, had to transform into a wolf every week. His wife stole his clothing needed to restore his human shape, as she was cheating on him. He escapes the king's wolf hunt by imploring the king for m,ercy and accompanies the king thereafter. His behavior at court was considered very gentle, that his hateful attack on his wife and her lover was deemed justifiable, and the truth revealed.

The Beast of Gevaudan, a loup-garou, terrorized the genreal area of the former province of gevaudan, now called Lozere, in south-central France, from 1764 to 1767. This monster killed upwards of eighty men, women, and children. It was described as a giant wolf by a sole survivor of the attacks. The murders ceased after several wolves in the area had been hunted and killed. Strangely enough, a TV show was done to prove what this "werewolf" was. It was determined that it might have actually been a hyena, maybe even trained to kill. Was this the sole survivor, or one of the hunters, who owned this creature?

Thye 1th Century Belarusian Prince Usiaslau of Polatak was considered to have been a werewolf, capable of moving at superhuman speeds. This was recounted in The Tale of Igor's Campaign.

Clinical lycanthropy (where a human considers themselves a wolf) is a mental disorder--due to psychological causes as opposed to supernatural means in myths and folklore. This is a deep depression that becomes aviolent form of insanity. Many werewolf cases in history were works of Lycanthropic Disorder victims. The Book of daniel describes King Nebuchanezzar as suffering from depression that deterioted over a sever-year period into a frank psychosis at which he imagined himself to be a wolf. Robert burton referred in Anatomy of Melancholy, that those suffering an advanced form of melancholy and believing to be werewolves, hid during the day time but at night, would go abroad, barking, howling, and they would have unusually hollow eyes, plus scabbed legs and thighs, very dry and pale.

Werewolves are a frequent subject of modern fictional books, movies and TV shows. Though these werewolves are distinct in their attributed traits from those of original folklore, like vulnerability from silver weapons. This feature did not appear in stories about werewolves, not until the 19th century. The claim that the Beast of Gevaudan was slain by a silver bullet, did not appeared in the origianl accounts, but later by novelists retelling the tale from 1935 onwards.

Two American werewolves talked about today in nonfiction books and even movies or TV shows are the Beast of Bray Road and the Werewolf of Henrico (in my books, plus online).

A good website to check up on some good werewolf movies (even where the werewolf is not the main character--some are good, some are terrible, and some I had never seen myself, but a good way to enjoy a Saturday night viewing): http://www.werewolf.com/vb/showthread.php?t=897 . There is currently a werewolf movie out in theaters: Red Riding Hood.

WEIRD WEDNESDAY

Just looking at this house makes me dizzy!

Henricus Day of Remembrance-March 22, 1622

(Sorry about the post being so far down from the photos above, but Blogger is not liking me today)

I found out about today being the anniversary of March 22, 1622, when the Opechancanough Military Offensive killed over sixty people in Henrico and Coxendale. This included the Citie of Henricus, or Henrico island ( http://www.henricus.org).

I drove out to Henricus Historical Park, just in time for Staff and Site Ceremony at the Henricus gate. A wreath had been hung on the Henricus Gate. John Pagano, the Historical Interpretation Supervisor, dressed in Colonial garb, gave a reading and mentioned that five died at Henricus during this offensive by the Powhatans. These five people were Adkins, Weston, Philip Shatford, William Perigo and Owca Jones. Others that perished in the Henrico and Coxendale area were from Falling Creek Iron Works, Sheffield's Plantation , Pierce's Plantation, and College Lands. After John and four others fired off a musket in tribute to the five who died at Henricus, we had a moment of silence in memory, and then a reading of the fifty-five who died in the attackof Henrico and Coxendale. This was not just about the English colonists, but also the native Amercians that also were killed that day.

I would advised anyone who can or lives in the Richmond area or nearby, to visit henricus this week or next. even this weekend, and learn about this event in the lives of the colonists. Besides learning a bit of history, the place is beautiful and a great place to enjoy now that spring is here. You even might see a bald eagle flying overhead--I did today! Just check the website link for further information, directions, and prices for touring the park.

Women's History Month Event & Book Signing This Upcoming Saturday, March 26 in Ashland Virginia

I'll be doing this upcoming Saturday, March 26th from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. an author's Roundtable with four other local area women authors. We will discuss women authors who have had an impact on our lives and work. This will be held at Ashland Coffee and Tea 100 N. Railroad Avenue Ashland, Va. You can rsvp Simple Pleasures who's putting this on by emailing at we4@simplepleasuresbooksandgifts.com

Rountable Members:

Ruth Doumlele - http://randolphwomen.com/author/

Joanne Liggan - http://www.liggan.net/Author.html

Pamela K. Kinney- http://fantasticdreams.50megs.com/

Sylvia Wright- http://www.thewrightscoop.com/

Mary Montague Sikes- http://www.marymontaguesikes.com/

The above listed authors' books will be available for purchase at the event as well as Simple Pleasures Book Retailer's Picks related to the theme of the event. Plus there will be books giveaway--all have to do is make minimum of $5 donation to Writers for Red Cross to be able to pick a free book to keep, too. More on this at http://is.gd/HRZ9nb .

For map and directions to Ashland Coffee and Tea: http://is.gd/LdDJcI

Supernatural Friday-Werewolf-Part 1

 

Today for Supernatural Friday, we're going to talk about that shapeshifter, the werewolf.

The belief in humans that turn into wild predatory animals exists in all major world cultures. So werewolves are just one way to shift into the shape of an animal. Modern science believes that the stories may have come about as a result of the physical or mental characteristics of humans under the influence of real-life illnesses that made them look or act like wolves.

For the supernatural version, there is several ways to make the change, according to the myths. One is, of course, the full moon. Another way is by being cursed or bitten—like those criminals cursed by priests then became werewolves. Though the bitten part is very rare, unlike the movies or fiction books.. A third way (and I read a book that had something found on a medieval manuscript) is by taking a belt made of wolf fur and chanting some words during the full moon to shift into the wolf form. Another way said they were possessed by demons. Some lycanthropes (according to tales from the 17th century) assured people that they really were wolves and that their fur grew inside their body. Also to drink rainwater of the paw print of a wolf or drink from enchanted streams also affected metamorphosis. There is a tale of a baroness who drank from a spring in Germany that caused her to become a werewolf and that her husband when hunting one night, cut off her paw and found her wife back in their home, her hand missing. This is the same spring legend says that Hitler urged his “little werewolves”, or Gestapo, to drink from. In Italy, France and Germany, it was said that a man could turn into a werewolf if he, on a certain Wednesday or Friday, slept outside on a summer night with the full moon shining directly on his face. In other cultures, individuals born during a new moon or suffering from epilepsy were considered likely to be werewolves.

The Navajo, Hopi, Ute, and many other tribes believe in the existence of skinwalkers - malevolent witches capable of transforming into wolves, coyotes, bears, birds, or any other animals. The witch might wear the hide or skin of the animal identity it wants to assume, and when the transformation is complete, the human witch inherits the speed, strength, or cunning of the animal whose shape it has taken.

Skinwalkers are considered evil. They do many horrible things—make people ill and even commit murders. They are grave robbers and necrophilics. Often a greedy person kills a sibling or other relative so they can be initiated as a skinwalker. Practitioners of witchcraft are believed to be real in the Navajo community. Few Navajo want to cross paths with naagloshii, otherwise known as skinwalkers. They will not speak of these beings, especially with strangers, so not to attract the attention of one.
Lycanthropy is often confused with transmigration; but the essential feature of the were-animal is that it is the alternative form or the double of a living human being, while the soul-animal is the vehicle, temporary or permanent, of the spirit a dead human being. Still, humans reborn as wolves are often classed with lycanthropy, as well as these instances labelled in local folklore.

There are also tales of humans descending from animals. This is common reasons for tribal and clan origins. One story has the animal assuming human shape so their human descendents retained their human shapes, while another one has a human marrying a normal animal. North American indigenous traditions mingle the idea of bear ancestors and ursine shifters. Bears would shed their skin and mate with human women in this guise. The resulting offspring might be monsters and yet again, may be born as beautiful children with uncanny strength, even become shapeshifters themselves.

One being, Pan Hu from various Chinese legends, is depicted as a supernatural dog, or a canine shapeshifter. Supposedly, he married an emperor’s daughter and founded at least one race. He can become human in shape in all parts of him, except for his head. The Chinese stories write that the race descended from him are monsters with combined human and canine anatomy.

The shamanic Turkic peoples believed they are descendants of wolves. The Turkic myth of Asena tells how in Northern Chinese village Chinese soldiers raided it, but left a baby behind. An old she-wolf with a sky-blue mane, Asena, discovered the child and nursed him. Afterwards, the wolf gave birth to half wolf, half human cubs. These were the start of the Turkic people.

In Middle Ages of Europe, not only were those accused of being witches prosecuted and burned at the stake, but those accused of being werewolves done the same. It was thought that lycanthropy was practiced by witches too. The stories were told that the witches morphed into wolves and roamed the countryside to frighten people, killing and devouring them, too, besides livestock of the humans. Lycanthropes were even believed to be minor demons, and some whose killer instincts were considered exceptionally strong, were thought to be the Devil himself. Even if the werewolf was not a morphed witch, it was still related to witchcraft: tales were told about witches who arrived at Sabbats mounting these creatures. The evil and wicked acquired, according to Paracelsus, a 16th century alchemist, the shape of a wolf upon death, or could become such creatures if they were cursed by a priest, remaining morphed for seven years.

There is so much more to go into werewolves, and I may do so next week, continue on werewolves. So, tune in next week for Supernatural Friday.

A note: if werewolves did exist, a good time to catch one might be this Saturday night, March 19th. It seems that the moon will be closer to earth that it has been since 1993—the moon’s orbit will bring it so close to earth, that it will appear larger, and fuller, than it has been in almost two decades. People say that the change in the moon’s orbit may have caused the earthquake in Japan—or worse—another natural disaster of even more epic proportions is brewing.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Today is St. Patrick's Day. What do you know about it?

You say I'm wearin' o' the green today because that is right. Buit once upon a time, did you know blue was the color to wear? Because blue was the color of Ireland's flag. It was changed to green due to the color of Ireland's shamrock, no doubt.

St. Patrick chased the snakes out of Ireland. Except thaty would be hard, as there never been snakes in Ireland. Spearated from England and the Continent thousands of years ago, Ireland emerged from the Ice Age snake-free.

And forget that cute little guy on the Lucky Charms cereal box. Leprechauns are not cute or nice. Like many fairies, They were brutish and nasty, besdies being short too. They were the grumpy, insufferable , alcoholic elves in employ of other fairies. They made shows for the fairies (why they're called cobblers) and guarded their treasure vigorously. Unfortunately to their eternal frustration, their treasure was revealed by rainbows. Next time you watch that horror film, Leprechaun, the actor plays the true fey being.

No matter if myth or truth, enjoy the day and dance a jig. Just don't overdo the green beer and Irish food.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY. ERIN Go BRAGH!

WEIRD WEDNESDAY

Cthulhu drunk? Guess he is celebrating St. Patrick's a day early.

EPICon 2011

Above are photos from EPICon 2011, held at the Colonial Williamsburg Woodlands Hotel and Conference Center March 12 and 13th. It was nice to see face-to-face old friends, and Helen Madden is always wonderful to share a room with. Enjoy the photos--mainly from a lunch that Debra Dixon of Bell Bridge Books spoke at and the EPIC Awards dinner.

SUPERNATURAL FRIDAY-Ghosts!

Since I will be out of town for EPICon 2011 in Williamsburg, Virginia, I am posting my entry for thios Supwernatural Friday early. I hope to get online here and there, to approve comments, so do leave them. If not, I will on Sunday when home. Enjoy this little ditty I wrote.

GHOSTS!

Ghosts here, ghosts there,

Are apparitions everywhere?

Tall ones, small ones, even those that whisper in your ear

Dark shadows forming in corners,

Captured in your photographs.

Mist that shouldn't be there on starlit night,

Bright balls of light following you as you walk past train tracks

Then there's the face of someone in the window

Of that abandoned house you know.

No, it's not a homeless person,

But the spirit of a woman murdered there a hundred years ago!

What can you do but accept them,

After all, they're people too--

Well, sorta, kinda--just DEAD!

( Copyrighted to Pamela K. Kinney--don't take without permission the poem off here, but do share the link so all may come and read it--thank you!)

Weird Wednesday

I think it's time for eyelash plucking!

SUPERNATURAL FRIDAY-Monsters Don't Exist

Today is a poem in wrote. Enjoy it. But beware of monsters. . .

MONSTERS DON"T EXIST

Mother said that monsters don't exist,

That they're the result of fast food or scary movies.

She lied!

And kept lying when the monster came that night

He instructed Daddy to change and attack,

To rip her throat out and tear out her heart.

She screamed at me,

"Run! Don't let the monsters catch you!"

But I didn't run.

Why would I?

The monster held out its clawed paw,

I took it, asking, "Can we play?"

He called me his dear child, the promised one,

Then he led me away as Daddy began to feast on Mother.

"I'll teach you all I know, how to do what I do," he remarked,

"Just as the one before me taught me."

And so among the fires and slaughter we went,

I skipped beside him, only stopping

To play catch with bodiless heads.

When we left near to morning

Neither of us looked back at the desolate town;

Inhuman wolves leaving for greener patures.

(Copyrighted to Pamela K. Kinney--please don't take this and post elsewhere. Just share the link so that all may )

Emotional Freedom Blog Tour Stop

Today, Judith Orloff is stoppng by to talk about the paperback release of her book, Emotional Freedom. Please welcome her here, and do leave comments and questions, plus check out the excerpt read by her on the book video.





“Emotional Freedom is a must-read for anyone who's tired of feeling frustrated, lonely, or stopped by fear." -Deepak Chopra


I'd like to tell you about my friend and colleague Judith Orloff MD - a UCLA psychiatrist and a pioneer who bridges mainstream medicine with intuition, energy medicine, and spirituality. She invites you on a remarkable journey where you can embrace more happiness and mastery over negativity than you may have ever known. Our world is in the midst of a meltdown. She describes how to stay intuitively and spiritually centered in our times.

Dr. Orloff celebrates the exciting paperback launch of her New York Times bestseller Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself from Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life. She is treating you to an incredible one-time book-launch offer with special gifts from herself and friends such as Dr. Daniel Amen, Dr. Joan Borysenko, Dr. Michael Beckwith, and more!

To purchase the book and receive your "Celebrate Joy" special gift collection go to:
http://www.drjudithorloff.com/emotional-freedom-paperback/

In Emotional Freedom Dr. Orloff states:
“I’m presenting the unique process I use with patients and in my own life to view emotions as a path to spiritual and intuitive awakening (not EFT). I synthesize traditional medicine with energy medicine to offer you new tools to master emotions and become heroes in your own life. Inner peace leads to outer peace in the world.”

Publisher's Weekly’s review of Emotional Freedom says:
“Superbly written..Dr. Orloff regards emotions as a training ground for the soul, and views ‘every victory over fear, anxiety, and resentment as a way to develop your spiritual muscles.’”

Emotional Freedom has rave reviews from USA Today, Dr. Candace Pert, Christiane Northrup, M.D., Caroline Myss, Dean Ornish, M.D., and Mary Oliver, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet. They call it “spectacular,” “a must-read,” “a heartfelt, accessible guide,” and “resolutely compassionate.”

In the book, you will discover:
• Four questions to transform fear with courage
• What your emotional type is
• How to stop absorbing the emotions of others
• How to combat emotional vampires with compassion
• The spiritual meaning of depression and hope

Purchase book and claim your "Celebrate Joy" special gift collection at:
http://www.drjudithorloff.com/emotional-freedom-paperback/

If you'd like to liberate yourself from negative emotions and compassionately own the moment in all situations instead of just reacting when your buttons get pushed go to:

http://www.drjudithorloff.com/emotional-freedom-paperback/

Nelson Mandela said: “As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Help liberate others and please share this announcement with them. Your support makes us happy and grateful!

For more inspiration and to learn about the Emotional Freedom book tour schedule and sign up for our affiliate program visit DrJudithOrloff.com.





Sneak Peek – Audio of Excerpt

WEIRD WEDNESDAY

Check out this strange picture. What do you think it means?