Sunday, May 27, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Researching Aboriginal Canadian Myths and Legends
Tourism Victoria--with info on the Sasquatch, the Cadborosaurus, and a mermaid.
CanTeach.ca--a webportal to many sites
Native American Mythology--at Encyclopeadia Mythica
Turtle Island Native Network
CanTeach.ca--a webportal to many sites
Native American Mythology--at Encyclopeadia Mythica
Turtle Island Native Network
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Importance of the Wild Hunt
"[...]a phantasmal group of huntsmen with the accoutrements of hunting, horses, hounds, etc., in mad pursuit across the skies or along the ground, or just above it.[1] The hunters may be the dead, or the fairies (often in folklore connected with the dead).[2]"
- Wikipedia
"[...]the Hunt was placed in the Tapestry to be wild in the truest sense, to lay down an uncontrolled thread for the freedom of the Children who came after. And so did the Weaver lay a constraint upon himself, that not even he, shuttling at the Loom of the Worlds, may preordain the shape exactly what is to be. [...] we have such choices as we have, some freedom to shape our own destinies, because of that wild thread of Owin and the Hunt slipping across the Loom, warp and then weft, in turn and at times."
- The Darkest Road, 102
This is why The Wild Hunt is so important to the world in the Fionavar Tapestry. I would also compare it to the pomegranate tree in the Book of Genesis. Both of them make it possible for humans to make our own choices. The pomegranate tree, however, is bad for us. The Wild Hunt could be both good and bad.
- Wikipedia
"[...]the Hunt was placed in the Tapestry to be wild in the truest sense, to lay down an uncontrolled thread for the freedom of the Children who came after. And so did the Weaver lay a constraint upon himself, that not even he, shuttling at the Loom of the Worlds, may preordain the shape exactly what is to be. [...] we have such choices as we have, some freedom to shape our own destinies, because of that wild thread of Owin and the Hunt slipping across the Loom, warp and then weft, in turn and at times."
- The Darkest Road, 102
This is why The Wild Hunt is so important to the world in the Fionavar Tapestry. I would also compare it to the pomegranate tree in the Book of Genesis. Both of them make it possible for humans to make our own choices. The pomegranate tree, however, is bad for us. The Wild Hunt could be both good and bad.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Understanding the World of Fionavar
"And on the north wind there came then the triumphant laughter of the first and falledn god, who was coming down on them like a hammer bringing fire, bringing war" (The Summer Tree, 166)
I never caught this part of the story on the previous readings, and I always wondered why Rakoth Maugrim was so powerful? Why did vanquishing his forces meant that he would be beaten down and incapacitated? Here was my answer this whole time.
Rakoth Maugrim wasn't just one of the gods who turned evil and corrupt, but he was the first god of all the gods. That's why he's so powerful, such that he has the power to create and to unravel. That's why he's called the unraveller.
When the Bael Rangat war ended, the humans and lios alfar had a lot of help from the other gods. It was Mornir, the god of Thunder, who gave power to the magi to helm their own magic, independent from the wild magic of Mother Earth, Dana. From that release Amairgen Whitebranch was able to bind himself to a human source, Lisen of the Wood. From the magic that they created, the humans had a chance. And in the end, they won the war. They were able to bind Rakoth Maugrim to the mountain, Rangat.
Rakoth Maugrim is invisible until he regained so much of his strength that he was able to materialize as flames and smoke. Otherwise, we can only see him through the people and creatures who work his will and carry out the heinous atrocities under his direction. When all of his carnal subjects were destroyed at the end of The Darkest Road, that stripped Rakoth Maugrim of his powers.
I never caught this part of the story on the previous readings, and I always wondered why Rakoth Maugrim was so powerful? Why did vanquishing his forces meant that he would be beaten down and incapacitated? Here was my answer this whole time.
Rakoth Maugrim wasn't just one of the gods who turned evil and corrupt, but he was the first god of all the gods. That's why he's so powerful, such that he has the power to create and to unravel. That's why he's called the unraveller.
When the Bael Rangat war ended, the humans and lios alfar had a lot of help from the other gods. It was Mornir, the god of Thunder, who gave power to the magi to helm their own magic, independent from the wild magic of Mother Earth, Dana. From that release Amairgen Whitebranch was able to bind himself to a human source, Lisen of the Wood. From the magic that they created, the humans had a chance. And in the end, they won the war. They were able to bind Rakoth Maugrim to the mountain, Rangat.
Rakoth Maugrim is invisible until he regained so much of his strength that he was able to materialize as flames and smoke. Otherwise, we can only see him through the people and creatures who work his will and carry out the heinous atrocities under his direction. When all of his carnal subjects were destroyed at the end of The Darkest Road, that stripped Rakoth Maugrim of his powers.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
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