Butterfly

Borne upon the wind
I circle
Antennae wide, lifted towards her
The brilliant one
unfurling her great shining mantle
dizzying in her omniscient heat

Scents and sounds overwhelm me
prevalent in their orgasmic wholeness
nurturing every breath,
every spasm of my floating body
Titillating

I tremble and swell
revelling in the spicy smell of poppies
bathed by the gentle sound of trees
singing with the great storm of petals
One with it all

Slowly, softly
Alighting on a blood-red posy,
I snooze, licking its soporific charm
Fluttering delicate wings
in the fluorescent warm rays

Finally – Imbolc is Coming!!

Pronounced: EE-Molc
Incense: Rosemary, Frankincense, Myrrh, Cinnamon
Decorations: Corn Dolly, Besom, Spring Flowers
Colours: White, Orange, Red

While for many people, next weekend is a normal weekend like any other, for Pagans and Wiccans the world over the 1st and 2nd of February are very important, as the Wheel of the Year turns once again, and the festival of Imbolc is celebrated and enjoyed.

Imbolc, found between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox, marks the beginning of Spring, and is also called Brigid’s Day. Historically it was mostly observed in Wales, Ireland and Scotland and the Isle of Man, where this aspect of the Goddess was most predominant, and it is one of the four Celtic fire festivals.

This is yet another Pagan tradition which the Romans, and through them the Christian sect, warped and appropriated, turning Brigid, Goddess of the Spring and New Life, into their Christianised representation – Saint Brigid – lol surprise, surprise. When Ireland converted to Christianity, it was hard to convince people to get rid of their old gods, so the church allowed them to worship the Goddess Brigid as a saint — thus the creation of St. Brigid’s Day. Today, there are many churches around the world which bear her name. The Christian version of Imbolc is also called Candlemas.

This is a festival of hearth and home, involving hearthfires, divination through fire, as well as the joyous celebration of the coming Spring. It commemorates the changing aspect of the Goddess from Crone to Maiden, the successful passing of Winter, and the emergence of new leaves and greenery.

It is Feile Brighde, the ‘quickening of the year’. The original word Imbolg means ‘in the belly’, and therein you have the underlying energy. All is pregnant and expectant – and only just visible if at all, like the gentle curve of a ‘just-showing’ pregnancy. It is the promise of renewal, of hidden potential, of earth awakening and life-force stirring.

Like Persephone coming out of the Underworld, Brigid represents the light and bright half of the year.

Celebrants prepare a special meal on this day, as well as weave rushes or stalks of wheat or barley, into what is known as a Brigid’s Cross, symbolising not just the human figure, but also the seasons and the elements. Brigid’s symbol is often hung on doors and windows, in order to symbolise the household’s welcoming of Brigid into their home.

It is traditional upon Imbolc, at sunset or just after ritual, to light every lamp in the house – if only for a few moments, or light candles in each room in honor of the Sun’s rebirth.

Traditionally, some covens also have their ritual Maiden wear a ‘Brigid’s Crown’, a wreath made of fresh flowers and green grass, and sporting 12 small candles around, as representation of the fiery Goddess.

Foods appropriate to eat on this day include those from the dairy, since Imbolc marks the festival of calving. Sour cream dishes are fine. Spicy and full-bodied foods in honour of the Sun are equally attuned. Curries and all dishes made with peppers, onions, leeks, shallots, garlic or chives are appropriate. Spiced wines and dishes containing raisins – all foods symbolic of the Sun – are also traditional.

MERRY IMBOLC!! 😀

Ennui and Boredom – Today’s Stream of Consciousness

Today is one of those days when I have absolutely no energy or interest in doing ANYTHING.

I woke up, I got dressed, I came to work. I had coffee, I wrote two articles for my magazine, I sent a proposal to the Polish editor who’s compiling the tourist website about castles, and I researched a bit. I also proof-read some working documents and glowered at a couple of colleagues whom I don’t like. I got groped by the usual guy (don’t ask) and had a semi-serious shouting match with a Director about the issue of Spring hunting (which I’M TOTALLY SET AGAINST).

But… still… I kinda feel jaded. I don’t know why. Like a blank canvas or a yellowed leaf – totally uninterested in anything and everything.

WTF seriously – is it because I totally loathe the narrator of the book I’m currently reading or what? Talking about Margaret Beaufort from Philippa Gregory’s ‘The Red Queen’ here. Now that’s a hateful bitch. What’s more I keep asking myself, how can a writer really capture the unreliable and irritating narration of someone so obviously misguided and twisted, while at the same time presenting a plausible and entertaining novel? Yesterday I watched the last Narnia movie ‘Voyage of the Dawn Trader’. For those of you who have read, and remember, the book – it is narrated by Eustace Pevensie, the damnably smart-ass and totally obtuse cousin of the four boys and girls we love and miss. Of course, half-way or so through the book, Eustace starts becoming a reasonably ok bloke, but up until that point, I’m sure every one of the novel’s readers absolutely hated the brat. And yet, the story-line and characters came through perfectly, even though it was obvious that the narrator was an unreliable one.

What’s the trick? Will I ever be able to do that?

*sigh*

Is there a way to UNFOLLOW one of your followers on WordPress?

Seriously, think Facebook here. One can unfriend someone who has been bugging you or whom you think is using a fake account or is just sending you spam. Can one do that on WordPress and if so, how please?

Comments and directions are much appreciated. Thanks.

Mystery Solved! Of Fairytales and Castles…

In 2013, my bf and I went for a holiday week in Kent, England. While we were there, we visited many beautiful castles and other places, including Dover Castle.

At the time, we were kind of angry and disappointed. The main entrance, which is quite awesome and beautiful, was blocked and full of scaffolding, and we were barred from entering parts of the main castle, because, we were told, there were works in progress. Again and again we asked what was happening, and they told us that Walt Disney was preparing the castle as a set for some scenes, for a future movie. At this point we were as curious as beavers and could not help but beg for news about this movie, but we were only told two things. That it was going to be a fairytale, and that one of the main stars was none other than Johnny Depp.

Two years passed and I forgot all about it… though the fact that wherever we go seems to be full of scaffolding has remained an inside joke between me and my other half.

Yesterday, we went to watch ‘Into the Woods’ at the cinema – and suddenly BANG – there was Dover Castle!! There was the fairytale and there was Johnny Depp! Mystery solved! I was so excited! It was like I had been part of a fairytale, without even being aware of it. And truly, Kent is really fairytale country – it’s just so beautiful.

The movie, although being very promising, ended up being nothing more than a disappointing mess. Still, apart from seeing my beloved Dover Castle in all its glory, I also got to see Annette Crosbie – Mrs Meldrew from ‘One Foot in the Grave’. She is so much older! And yet her face is still so sweet! She played the part of Red Riding Hood’s granny, and even though she appears only very briefly, I recognized her immediately 🙂

She was a real looker in her time too – just look at this!

Christians afraid of others’ beliefs

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-30919259

Lol seriously? Get a life!

If one is sure of one’s own beliefs, one does not need to destroy others’!! This sort of behavior just shows the thieves’ weakness and their own uncertainity, since they obviously need to deface other people’s creeds in order to feel secure with their own.

How utterly stupid and futile.

2014 Good Movies – What have I missed?

This morning I had the idea of looking around youtube trailers for good 2014 movies, to check up if I had missed watching any. While I was at it, I also viewed a couple of trailers for good movies coming out in 2015, and made a very short (for now) list. Here goes:

2014 – To Watch

1. Mr Turner – Released Oct 2014 – Biographical drama about the life of the notorious landscape painter J.M.W Turner

2. Effie Gray – Released Oct 2014 – Biographical drama about the life of art critic John Turner’s wife and their strange relationship. Also about the Pre-Raphaelite artistic movement.

3. Wish I was Here – Released July 2014 – I don’t usually like comedies, but I’m curious since Zach Braff (‘Scrubs’) is not only the main character but also the writer, producer and director.

Any other movies you think might be worth watching? I love horror, psychological thrillers, historical dramas and anything to do with fairytales. Not the ‘Frozen’ kind, but the ‘Into the Woods’ and ‘Maleficent’ kind.

2015 – To Watch

1. Pan – Release July 2015 – Yes another Peter Pan remake, so what? ;p

2. Ex Machina – – Released April 2015 – An experiment which makes one reflect on the actual origins of life. Sounds interesting.

3. Unfriended – Released April 2015 – Psychological horror – How powerful are social media?

4. The DUFF – Released February 2015 – Yet another movie about the school ugly duckling who turns into a swan. Yes these things do happen, because I was such a case, so I have a soft spot for these kind of movies. So there ;p

Again, any other movies you might want to suggest are more than welcome.

BOOBS, BOOBS and more BOOBS in Anime. And Mirai Nikki! ;p

It is so hard to find good psychologically-deep animes these days! Most of them seem to focus on fan-service – boobs, boobs and more boobs. Nonsensical scenes where the protagonist, surrounded by good looking willing females, always seems to end up tripping on something and falling on someone’s BOOBS, grabbing a BOOB by mistake or inadvertently catching sight of one of the female characters in a changing room, and obviously seeing her BOOBS in all their glory.

And what about all those lesbically-oriented all-female scenes in bath together? Washing each other’s backs and massaging each others BOOBS and what-not. Does that actually happen in Japan??

Anyways, as I was saying before, like many animes, I got side-tracked in all the BOOBS, yes finally I found another good anime. After Elfen Lied, after Death Note, after Higurashi: When they Cry, after Another, and Serial Experiments Lain… there came MIRAI NIKKI.

Or Future Diary, as you prefer.

The anime is not overly-long, being made up of 26 episodes and an OVA. *sigh* And that is another thing, some fairly good animes are just TOO LONG. I really TRIED to watch Bleach, and I liked it too. But seriously, 366 episodes?! Please! I hardly made it through Inuyasha, even though I loved it to bits, and that was ‘just’ 167 episodes!

Anyways, Mirai Nikki has a fairly interesting plot. God is dying and he needs a successor. He chooses a number of people and gives them Future Diaries which predict the future. Thrown into an insane game of life and death, the contestants must kill each other, in order to become the new God. The twist in the plot is that each diary is different and unique, so each contestant needs to understand the abilities pertaining to the other diaries, before s/he can combat and defeat its owner.

I don’t wish to give any spoilers, suffice it to say that we not only get to meet many diverse and mostly insane characters, and made to understand their psychology and perspective, but we also get to face some of life’s most difficult choices and problems too. Issues like child abuse, betrayal, love, relationships, friendship, and self-esteem.

A couple of years ago I started to buy those animes which I deemed ‘worthy’ to be in my collection, in blue-ray. Up to now I have Elfen Lied, Full Metal Alchemist, Death Note and Another. I could not buy Higurashi, as its second season was never released in DVD *sob*. I wonder… shall I buy ‘Mirai Nikki’ too? I’m half-way through it right now. I guess I’ll decide when I’ve finished it.

P.S There are a lot of BOOBS in Marai Nikki too anyways ;p

Church Massacres 7,000 in the name of Catholicism

No, it did not happen today. It did not happen yesterday. It happened more than 800 years ago in 1209. Does that make it ok?

While we still bemoan awful events like the 9/11 twin tower bombings and the disappearance of Madeline McCann, society in general seems to have conveniently forgotten the atrocities done in the name of Catholicism, preferring instead to foist all the blame and religious fanaticism on Islamic belief.

In 1209 the then-current Pope declared a ‘crusade’ against a sect of the Catholic church known as Cathars, branding them as heretics because of their differences in practiced creed. Papal knights and delegates were sent to Southern France to exterminate and eradicate all of the Cathars (of which there were thousands), while confiscating their properties, palaces and money.

When they arrived at the outskirts of Beziers, a city in the County of Languedoc, the Papal legate wrote a list of 222 names and sent it to the Mayor, demanding that these people would be sent over to him to be hanged, or else all would die. The city as one refused. After a siege, the ‘Papal knights’ entered the town slaughtering men, women and children right and left. The routiers rampaged through the streets, killing and plundering, while those citizens who could run sought refuge in the churches — the cathedral, the churches of St Mary Magdalene and of St Jude. Yet the churches did not provide safety against the raging mob of invaders. The doors of the churches were broken open, and all inside were massacred. It is estimated that 7,000 people died in the Church of St Mary Magdalene alone.

The building of the church itself was not even respected as sanctuary… which goes to show what the ‘Papal legate’ and his ‘knights’ were really after.

After the massacre it came to the distribution of the city’s spoils. The crusader knights became enraged that the rabble of the army had already taken the plunder. They took control of the situation, chased them from the occupied houses and took their booty away. In turn, the angry and disappointed soldiers responded by burning down the town.

Nice.

Real religious and brave.

The cherry on the cake? The papal legate himself knew that there were many innocents being killed – that is, non-Cathar worshippers. He is known to have told the knights to kill everyone anyway. His famously cited words were:

“Kill them all, God will know His own”

I will be going to the Languedoc region and visiting Cathar castles and other related places next month. Can’t wait to learn more about them.

PANIC – Lovers’ Day!!

So, last week i WOKE UP TO THE REALIZATION THAT IT’S VALENTINE’S SOON!

And I must be honest – I panicked.

After having spent so much time and money over my Xmas presents, and then finally being able to say that they were all distributed and received and that that it was over… I remember THIS.

Does it ever end? Why do we human beings need to give gifts to show someone we care?

Happily for me, in the 21st century there exists that most awesome and fabulously helpful of things – INTERNET, where one can browse and shop at leisure without having to waste a day in order to catch the bus (I don’t have a car) and visit a million and one ‘likely’ shops before actually deciding on something. I spent an hour or two on google, and voila! Problem solved!

Phew!

That being said, at least I had already solved the ‘where to go’ issue since we booked a trip to France for Valentine’s, months ago.

By the way, I wrote an article about this Valentine’s Day issue too 😀

Here it is – http://www.eve.com.mt/2015/01/20/where-to-go-for-valentines-day/

Hope you like it!