Supernatural Friday: Winter Solstice Magic (Original Poem)

Winter Solstice Magic

By

Pamela K. Kinney

(please do not take the poem off as it is my original work, but share the link to the poem here with all your friends)

Chilly air,

Snowing falling,

Evergreen trees,

Sun above-though no warmth though.

Look through the mistletoe,

And see the fairies dancing

Deer are leaping,

Sharing the space with wolves and foxes

Birds are singing,

Snowdrops blooming;

That normally don’t

Winter wonderland.

It is the winter solstice,

Everyone is celebrating

Magic sparkling,

In twirling snowflakes.

Hush! Not a word,

Watch the winter solstice party

For one sound from us,

 And they will scatter,

The magic will dissipate,

With a silent winter solstice

Being all that you will have.

What Ever The Reason for the Season; It's Magic! (Original Christmas Poem)

(Enjoy my original poem--remember it is copyrighted to me, so just share the link with your friends and family, and enjoy. It's my Christmas gift to you.)

 What Ever The Reason for the Season; It's Magic!

by

Pamela K. Kinney

The magic is just around the corner,

Christmas only happens once a year

It glitters with festive red and green,

Gold and silver tossed in with devil may care!

A mixture of pagan, Christianity, Hebrew, and all other religions

It’s all about love and giving and happiness,

If only we could bottle this magic up

And spray it every day,

Maybe, just maybe, there would be no wars,

Or even hatred or evil.

But at least we have this time

So spend it wisely, with family and friends,

No matter the reason for the season

Jesus Christ, as I believe,

Or pagan gods, even Hanukkah or Kwanza

Peace be with you, and a wondrous magic in your heart.

Supernatural Friday: Are Those Kelpies and Water Horses Swimming in Your Pool?

“Riding upon the back of a waterhorse - what mortal had ever stayed in such a seat for so long? On a horse made of cold currents and liquid convergences, jests and trickery - pressed against a hide like the burnished sea of midnight, thing look different to the rider.”
― Cecilia Dart-Thornton, The Battleof Evernight

Kelpie, or water kelpie, is the Scots name given to a water being inhabiting the lochs and pools of Scotland. Sometimes said to appear as a horse, sometimes like a giant snake-like monster with horse’s head, it can also assume human form. Some accounts state that the kelpie retains its hooves when appearing as a human, leading to its association with the Christian idea of Satan. The etymology of the Scots word kelpie is uncertain, but it may be derived from the Gaelic calpa or cailpeach, meaning "heifer" or "colt.”  The term kelpie to a wide variety of mythical creatures. Counterparts in some regions of Scotland include the shoopiltee and nuggle of Shetland and the tangie of Orkney; in other parts of the United Kingdom they include the Welsh ceffyl dŵr and the Manx cabbyl-ushtey.

Many bodies of water in Scotland have kelpie story in connection, but the most famous is that of Loch Ness, and it parallels to the general Germanic neck and the Scandinavian bäckahäst (Shapeshifting water spirits in Germanic mythology and folklore who usually appeared in forms of other creatures.).  More widely, the wihwin (Malevolent water spirit of Central America, particularly associated with the Mosquito tribe. The horse-shaped monster has "jaws fenced round with horrid teeth", which it uses to consume humans and other prey it finds on its nocturnal hunts.) of Central America and the Australian bunyip (A large mythical creature from Aboriginal mythology, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes.) have been seen as counterparts.

The origin of the belief in malevolent water horses has been proposed as originating in human sacrifices once made to appease gods associated with water. The association with horses may have its roots in horse sacrifices performed in ancient Scandinavia There are narratives about the kelpie that served a practical purpose in keeping children away from dangerous stretches of water, and warning young women to be wary of handsome strangers. The kelpie is usually described as a powerful and beautiful black horse inhabiting the deep pools of rivers and streams of Scotland, preying on any humans it encounters. One of the water-kelpie's common identifying characteristics is that its hooves are reversed as compared to those of a normal horse, a trait also shared by the nykur of Iceland. An Aberdeenshire variation portrays the kelpie as a horse with a mane of serpents, whereas the resident equine spirit of the River Spey was white and could entice victims onto its back by singing. Kelpies take their victims into the water, devour them, and throw the entrails to the water's edge. In its equine form the kelpie is able to extend the length of its back to carry many riders together into the depths, a common theme in the tales is of several children clambering onto the creature's back while one remains on the shore. Usually a little boy, he then pets the horse but his hand sticks to its neck. In some variations the lad cuts off his fingers or hand to free himself; he survives but the other children are carried off and drowned, with only some of their entrails being found later.

A tale set at Sunart in the Highlands tells of nine children lost, of whom only the innards of one are recovered. The surviving boy is again saved by cutting off his finger, and additional information is given that he had a Bible in his pocket. Some this creature responsible to have been a water horse rather than a kelpie, and the tale "obviously a pious fraud to keep children from wandering on Sundays.”
When a kelpie appeared in its equine persona without any tack, it could be captured using a halter stamped with the sign of a cross, and its strength could then be harnessed in tasks such as the transportation of heavy mill stones. A bridle taken from a kelpie was endowed with magical properties, and if brandished towards someone, was able to transform that person into a horse or pony.

A kelpie can be killed by being shot with a silver bullet, after which it is seen to consist of nothing more than turf and a soft mass like jelly-fish (I can see this, as like the werewolf or other shapeshifters that can be killed by silver too.). When a blacksmith's family was being frightened by the repeated appearances of a water kelpie at their summer cottage, the blacksmith managed to render it into a "heap of starch, or something like it" by penetrating the spirit's flanks with two sharp iron spears that had been heated in a fire.

There is a folk tale from Barra tells of a lonely kelpie that transforms itself into a handsome young man to woo a pretty young girl it was determined to take for its wife. But the girl recognizes the young man as a kelpie and removes his silver necklace (his bridle) while he sleeps. The kelpie immediately reverts to its equine form, and the girl takes it home to her father's farm, where it is put to work for a year. At the end of that time the girl rides the kelpie to consult a wise man, who tells her to return the silver necklace. Once again transformed into the handsome young man she had first met the wise man asks the kelpie whether if given the choice it would choose to be a kelpie or a mortal. The kelpie in turn asks the girl whether, if he were a man, she would agree to be his wife. She confirms that she would, after which the kelpie chooses to become a mortal man, and the pair is married.

Welcome the Magic of Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice Magic

By

Pamela K. Kinney

(please do not take the poem off as it is my original work, but share the link to the poem here with all your friends)

Chilly air,

Snowing,

Evergreen trees,

Sun above-no warmth though.

Look through the mistletoe,

See fairies dancing

Deer are leaping,

Sharing the space with wolves and foxes

Birds are singing,

Something they normally don’t

Snowdrops blooming,

That normally don’t

Winter wonderland.

It is the winter solstice,

Everyone is celebrating

Magic sparkling,

In snowflakes twirling.

Hush! Not a word,

Watch the winter solstice party

For one sound and they will scatter,

And magic will dissipate,

And a silent winter solstice

Will be all you have.

Supernatural Friday: Moon Phases and the Supernatural

The moon phases affect the tides. Said to affect how people might act. There is stories that maybe lunatics are affected by the full moon. Supposedly during a full moon hospital activity increases greatly, elderly patients become restless & agitated, children seem to act out & become more hyper, patients with mental illness & personality disorders seem to display erratic mood swings. A measurable change in geomagnetic activity at the surface of the Earth’s crust can be directly attributed to the influence of the gravitational field of the moon as it approaches its zenith.  As the moon becomes fuller the gravity field of the moon pulls on the gravitational field of the Earth and  “stretches” its geomagnetic field into an elliptical orbit.  

But does it affect the supernatural too?

Centuries of folklore  from the “old world” lay claim that the moon possesses strange powers and holds sway over all things strange & mystical. Well, there is the werewolf myth, of how a human can change at the full moon into a werewolf.  Among the Norse people, who coined the term werewolf, or “man wolf,” it was once believed that a warrior could improve his ferocity by donning a wolfskin belt and taking on the spirit of the wolf, while people in parts of western Europe said that anyone could transform into a wolf by sleeping out under the full Moon on certain days of the year.   Elsewhere, being a werewolf was seen as an affliction, brought on by a pact with the devil, divine punishment, or just having the misfortune to be born that way. The idea of werewolves creating other werewolves by biting ordinary people isn’t actually part of the old lore, but was a later addition by Hollywood, probably inspired by a similar belief surrounding vampires.

Legends lay claim that casting magic spells during the full moon works better. Had those who believed they were sorcerers and witches done this in times past, or do witch doctors in Africa employ the moon in any of its phases to conduct their practices? 
 

 
There are those who say weather & atmospheric conditions influence paranormal investigating by the amount of lighting, giving the investigator an advantage during full moons. Magnetic fields are said to be strangest around full and new moons. It is popular belief that a good time to ghost hunt is 2-3 days prior; the day of; or 2-3 days after a full moon & new moon. The best times for ghost hunting would also be during peak geomagnetic fields & solar storms. There is also a common theory that "psychic tendencies" increase during new & full moons.


Types of Moon Phases:

New Moon - The “new” Moon orbits between the Earth and the Sun in such a manner that the side which

reflects rays of the Sun faces away from the earth, hence producing the optical illusion that the Moon is invisible. This is also called a “Dark Moon.”

Waxing Crescent  - As the Moon moves along in its 28 day orbit into what is known as the first quarter, an illuminated crescent begins to appear on its right side.

Waxing Gibbous - Continuing to progress in its orbital path the crescent begins to grow until the whole of the first half of the Moon is visible.

Full Moon - As the Moon reaches the final portion of its 2^nd quarter orbit it can then be seen it its entirety                  as the whole of the daylight side is visible and appears as a full circle.

Waning Gibbous  - As the sunlit side of the Moon begins to turn away from the Earth it begins to darken again on the right side as it is now beginning to “wane.”

Last Quarter  - As the Moon passes from the waning gibbous phase of its orbit into the fourth quarter, darkness overtakes a larger portion of the surface of the Moon, moving from right to left.

Waning Crescent - This is the final portion of the Moon that is visible from the Earth before the Moon starts the new Moon phase again.

Whatever one believes if the moon does or doesn't affect the supernatural, still, it makes for good fodder for writing fictional stories. And on paranormal activity investigating teams can always do an experiment at one place during various times to see if it is true or not.