Saturday, March 5, 2022

Sometimes a wild god comes to the table.

 


See ART below


Sometimes a wild god comes to the table
by Tom Hirons


Sometimes a wild god comes to the table
He is awkward and does not know the ways
Of porcelain, of fork and mustard and silver.
His voice makes vinegar from wine.
When the wild god arrives at the door,
You will probably fear him.
He reminds you of something dark
That you might have dreamt,
Or the secret you do not wish to be shared.
He will not ring the doorbell;
Instead he scrapes with his fingers
Leaving blood on the paintwork,
Though primroses grow
In circles round his feet.
You do not want to let him in.
You are very busy.
It is late, or early, and besides…
You cannot look at him straight
Because he makes you want to cry.
The dog barks.
The wild god smiles,
Holds out his hand.
The dog licks his wounds
And leads him inside.
The wild god stands in your kitchen.
Ivy is taking over your sideboard;
Mistletoe has moved into the lampshades
And wrens have begun to sing
An old song in the mouth of your kettle.
‘I haven’t much,’ you say
And give him the worst of your food.
He sits at the table, bleeding.
He coughs up foxes.
There are otters in his eyes.
When your wife calls down,
You close the door and
Tell her it’s fine.
You will not let her see
The strange guest at your table.
The wild god asks for whiskey
And you pour a glass for him,
Then a glass for yourself.
Three snakes are beginning to nest
In your voicebox. You cough.
Oh, limitless space.
Oh, eternal mystery.
Oh, endless cycles of death and birth.
Oh, miracle of life.
Oh, the wondrous dance of it all.
You cough again,
Expectorate the snakes and
Water down the whiskey,
Wondering how you got so old
And where your passion went.
The wild god reaches into a bag
Made of moles and nightingale-skin.
He pulls out a two-reeded pipe,
Raises an eyebrow
And all the birds begin to sing.
The fox leaps into your eyes.
Otters rush from the darkness.
The snakes pour through your body.
Your dog howls and upstairs
Your wife both exults and weeps at once.
The wild god dances with your dog.
You dance with the sparrows.
A white stag pulls up a stool
And bellows hymns to enchantments.
A pelican leaps from chair to chair.
In the distance, warriors pour from their tombs.
Ancient gold grows like grass in the fields.
Everyone dreams the words to long-forgotten songs.
The hills echo and the grey stones ring
With laughter and madness and pain.
In the middle of the dance,
The house takes off from the ground.
Clouds climb through the windows;
Lightning pounds its fists on the table.
The moon leans in through the window.
The wild god points to your side.
You are bleeding heavily.
You have been bleeding for a long time,
Possibly since you were born.
There is a bear in the wound.
‘Why did you leave me to die?’
Asks the wild god and you say:
‘I was busy surviving.
The shops were all closed;
I didn’t know how. I’m sorry.’
Listen to them:
The fox in your neck and
The snakes in your arms and
The wren and the sparrow and the deer…
The great un-nameable beasts
In your liver and your kidneys and your heart…
There is a symphony of howling.
A cacophony of dissent.
The wild god nods his head and
You wake on the floor holding a knife,
A bottle and a handful of black fur.
Your dog is asleep on the table.
Your wife is stirring, far above.
Your cheeks are wet with tears;
Your mouth aches from laughter or shouting.
A black bear is sitting by the fire.
Sometimes a wild god comes to the table.
He is awkward and does not know the ways
Of porcelain, of fork and mustard and silver.
His voice makes vinegar from wine
And brings the dead to life.

–– Tom Hirons at Coyopa - Tom's book, Sometimes a Wild God, which contains this and many other FINE examples of his wordsmithing is available via this link ---> http://shop.hedgespoken.org/products/sometimes-a-wild-god Please support artists & their work!

–– ––ART: Illustration by Janne Pitkanen & concept & photography by Harri Halme. 
From the album cover The Spirit of Ukko by Finnish metal band Kiuas.
–– Title track –  "The Spirit of Ukko."  
Lyrics ––
Greetings, we are here tonight
To bring the flames of Ukko to your hearts
On this black night the stars are aligned
These ancient fireworks play their parts
Born from the dark to light a flame
What once had died shall rise again
Winds sweep the snow, resurrecting songs of darkness
Born from the cold to light a flame within our hearts
Winds sweep the snow, resurrecting songs of darkness
Born from the cold, now it's celebration time...
... The spirit of Ukko will burn with us tonight!
Let's bring back the good old times
When the true gods used to reign the northern skies
For centuries they've been away
But the memory and spirit still remains

Videos –



Kiuas - The Spirit of Ukko (live)

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

The promise of a shaman




The promise of a shaman

If you come to me as a victim I will not support you.

But I will have the courage to walk with you through the pain that you are suffering. 

I will put you in the fire, I will undress you, and I will sit you on the earth.

I will bathe you with herbs, I will purge you, and you will vomit the rage and the darkness inside you.

I'll bang your body with good herbs, and I'll put you to lay in the grass, face up to the sky.

Then I will blow your crown to clean the old memories that make you repeat the same behavior. 

I will blow your forehead to scare away the thoughts that cloud your vision. 

I will blow your throat to release the knot that won't let you talk.

I will blow your heart to scare fear, so that it goes far away where it cannot find you.

I will blow your solar plexus to extinguish the fire of the hell you carry inside, and you will know peace.

I will blow with fire your belly to burn the attachments, and the love that was not.

I will blow away the lovers that left you, the children that never came.

I will blow your heart to make you warm, to rekindle your desire to feel, create and start again.

I will blow with force your vagina or your penis, to clean the sexual door to your soul.

I will blow away the garbage that you collected trying to love what did not wanted to be loved.

I will use the broom, and the sponge, and the rag, and safely clean all the bitterness inside you.

I will blow your hands to destroy the ties that prevent you from creating.

I will blow your feet to dust and erase the footprints memories, so you can never return to that bad place. 

I will turn your body, so your face will kiss the earth.

I'll blow your spine from the root to the neck to increase your strength and help you walk upright.

And I will let you rest.

After this you will cry, and after crying you will sleep, 

And you will dream beautiful and meaningful dreams, 

and when you wake up I'll be waiting for you.

I will smile at you, and you will smile back

I will offer you food that you will eat with pleasure, tasting life, and I will thank you.

Because what I’m offering today, was offered to me before when darkness lived within me.

And after I was healed, I felt the darkness leaving, and I cried.

Then we will walk together, and I will show you my garden, and my plants, and I will take you to the fire again.

And will talk together in a single voice with the blessing of the earth.

And we will shout to the forest the desires of your heart.

And the fire will listen and whisper the echo, and we will create hope together.

And the mountains will listen and whisper the echo, and we will create hope together.

And the rivers will listen and whisper the echo, and we will create hope together.

And the wind will listen and whisper the echo, and we will create hope together.

And then we will bow before the fire, and we will call upon all the visible and invisible guardians.

And you will say thank you to all of them.

And you will say thank you to yourself.

And you will say thank you to yourself.

And you will say thank you to yourself.


~ author unknown

Saturday, March 17, 2018

"Why Do We Love Music? Tales of Music and the Brain" plus: "The Oceans of the Past" | KPFA




 Dr. Michio Kaku interviews Dr. Oliver Sachs – why do we love music? – talks on his book "Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain" (2nd half of the show) 

ALSO ::: This show begins with an interview of Dr. Callum Roberts – "OCEANS ARE NOT THEY WAY THEY WERE" – only our ancestors would know. Book is "The Unnatural History of the Seas"

PODCAST – Why Do We Love Music? And The Oceans of the Past | KPFA

Musicophilia

Tales of Music and the Brain

Publication date: 2007 (Revised & expanded 2008)
In this book — now revised and expanded for the paperback edition — Dr. Sacks investigates the power of music to move us, to heal and to haunt us.
Musicophilia, a New York Times bestseller, has been named one of the Best Books of 2007 by the Washington Post and the editors of Amazon.com

Buy this book:



Thursday, January 25, 2018

"Walking in Dream" from "The Last Wave"




Two movies are the top of my must have list: "The Wicker Man" (1973); and, Peter Weir's "The Last Wave" (1977) with Richard Chamberlin, David Gulpilil, and Nandjiwarra Amagula. – bought them this week! 

• "The Last Wave" – a 1977 Australian mystery drama film directed by Peter Weir. It is about a white solicitor in Sydney whose seemingly normal life is disrupted after he takes on a murder case and discovers that he shares a strange, mystical connection with the small group of local Australian Aborigines accused of the crime.
… Plagued by bizarre dreams, Burton begins to sense an otherworldly connection to one of the accused (David Gulpilil). He also feels connected to the increasingly strange weather phenomena besetting the city. His dreams intensify along with his obsession with the murder case, which he comes to believe is an Aboriginal tribal killing by curse, in which the victim believed. Learning more about Aboriginal practices and the concept of Dreamtime as a parallel world of existence, Burton comes to believe the strange weather bodes of a coming apocalypse.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Wave

#TheLastWave #LastWave #movie #Australia #aboriginie #aboriginal #magic #nativerights #mystical #didgeridoo #music #dreams #dreaming #Dreamtime


Thursday, January 18, 2018

"The Wicker Man" and "The Last Wave" – favorite movies from the 1970s | pagan, masks, ritual, aboriginal magic

bought a couple of things online last week – a book, and 2 DVDs – 


– i really want to get the book that the movie The Wicker Man was inspired by (Ritual, by British actor and author David Pinner), but this time i got one based on the movie, just curious/ i hope its a good read anyway; and, will still be getting Ritual!


– Two movies are the top of my must have list: "The Wicker Man" – this is the original (1973), not the newer one with Nicolas Cage!; and, Peter Weir's "The Last Wave" (1977) with Richard Chamberlin.


THE WICKER MAN



• "The Wicker Man" – a 1973 British mystery horror film directed by Robin Hardy. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer, inspired by David Pinner's 1967 novel Ritual, centres on the visit of Police Sergeant Neil Howie to the isolated island of Summerisle, in search of a missing girl. Howie, a devout Christian, is appalled to find that the inhabitants of the island have abandoned Christianity and now practise a form of Celtic paganism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wicker_Man








a couple of Wicker Man videos on Youtube –
Wicker Man Highlight Musical Picks - May Pole
Procession The Wicker Man 1973


THE LAST WAVE


• "The Last Wave" – a 1977 Australian mystery drama film directed by Peter Weir. It is about a white solicitor in Sydney whose seemingly normal life is disrupted after he takes on a murder case and discovers that he shares a strange, mystical connection with the small group of local Australian Aborigines accused of the crime.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Wave





see also: whats more: "Walking in Dream" from "The Last Wave" (video)


Sunday, December 3, 2017

... meanwhile, in Austria :: SEIDÄ PASS @ Dun Aengus Rattenberg (Visit Tirol / Austria)

update ::: NEW VIDEOS FOR 2107 NOW ONLINE – Facebook


 5.12.2016 - SEIDÄ PASS @ Dun Aengus Rattenberg (Visit Tirol / Austria) More "Perchten" Videos: facebook.com/seidaepass 👍


SEIDÄ PASS - Facebook

ABOUT
(German below)
☛ SEIDÄ PASS - Tankcore from Tirol – Austria ☚
As one of dozens traditional "Perchten" groups in our region we're on the roads in Brixlegg, Kramsach, Rattenberg and its surroundings to chase the evil "winter ghosts" within the so called "Perchtenlauf" each year on the 5th and 6th of December since 1999!

The name of this tradition most likely derives from the legend figure "Perchta
". Our group consists of 25 people: a "Hex" (=witch), multiple "Läufer" (=runners) and plenty of "Tamperer" (=drummers) who are smashing on old gas canisters of cars.

Tradition, creative rythms, fun and show are important elements of our yearly "Hexentanz" (=dancing witch) events as shown in the video!



GERMAN:
☛ SEIDÄ PASS - Tankcore aus dem Tiroler Unterland ☚
Seit 1999 sind wir als eine von zig Perchtengruppen im Tiroler Unterland (Österreich) am 5. und 6. Dezember auf den Straßen von Brixlegg, Kramsach, Rattenberg und Umgebung unterwegs um im Rahmen eines alten Brauchtums - den sogenannten "Perchtenlauf" - die bösen Wintergeister zu vertreiben.

Der Name leitet sich am ehesten von der Sagengestalt "Perchta" ab. Unsere 25-köpfige Gruppe besteht aus einer "Hexe", mehreren "Läufern" in Fellgewändern und einer Vielzahl von "Tamperern", welche auf alten Autokanistern lautstarke Trommelklänge erzeugen. Tradition, kreative Rythmen, Spaß und ein gewisser Showfaktor werden bei unseren "Hexentänzen" jedes Jahr erneut zum Ausdruck gebracht!



(Facebook) ... meanwhile, in Austria: 5.12.2016 - SEIDÄ PASS @ Dun Aengus Rattenberg (Visit Tirol / Austria)

SEIDÄ PASS - Facebook

crossposted to WHAT NEXT NEWS & RANDOM BLOG

Sunday, November 19, 2017

Medieval music: a quick guide to the middle ages – Early Music Muse



The middle ages covers a period of a thousand years – and yet much of its music-making is a mystery to us. We’re not completely in the dark, though, so the aim of this article is to give a broad beginner’s guide to the principles of secular medieval music. When were the middle ages? How do we know what the music sounded like? What were the earliest surviving songs? What was its dance music like? Why does medieval music sound so different to today’s? How did medieval musicians harmonise?
more: Medieval music: a quick guide to the middle ages – Early Music Muse


Thursday, November 2, 2017

California Gold: Northern California Folk Music from the Thirties Collected by Sidney Robertson Cowell | Library of Congress



This online presentation, California Gold: Northern California Folk Music from the Thirties, comprises 35 hours of folk music recorded in 12 languages representing numerous ethnic groups and 185 musicians. It includes sound recordings, still photographs of the performers, drawings of folk instruments, and written documentation from a variety of European ethnic and English- and Spanish-speaking communities in northern California in the 1930s. This New...

California Gold: Northern California Folk Music from the Thirties Collected by Sidney Robertson Cowell | Library of Congress


Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Samhain... precursor to our "Halloween"




Samhain is believed to have Celtic pagan origins and there is evidence it has been an important date since ancient times. Some Neolithic passage tombs in Ireland are aligned with the sunrise around the time of Samhain. It is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature and many important events in Irish mythology happen or begin on Samhain. It was the time when cattle were brought back down from the summer pastures and when livestock were slaughtered for the winter. As at Bealtaine, special bonfires were lit. These were deemed to have protective and cleansing powers and there were rituals involving them. Like Bealtaine, Samhain was seen as a liminal time, when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld could more easily be crossed. This meant the Aos Sí, the 'spirits' or 'fairies', could more easily come into our world. Most scholars see the Aos Sí as remnants of the pagan gods and nature spirits. At Samhain, it was believed that the Aos Sí needed to be propitiated to ensure that the people and their livestock survived the winter. Offerings of food and drink were left outside for them. The souls of the dead were also thought to revisit their homes seeking hospitality. Feasts were had, at which the souls of dead kin were beckoned to attend and a place set at the table for them. Mumming and guising were part of the festival, and involved people going door-to-door in costume (or in disguise), often reciting verses in exchange for food. The costumes may have been a way of imitating, and disguising oneself from, the Aos Sí. Divination rituals and games were also a big part of the festival and often involved nuts and apples. In the late 19th century, Sir John Rhys and Sir James Frazer suggested that it was the "Celtic New Year", and this view has been repeated by some other scholars.

In the 9th century AD, Western Christianity shifted the date of All Saints' Day to 1 November, while 2 November later became All Souls' Day. Over time, Samhain and All Saints'/All Souls' merged to create the modern Halloween. Historians have used the name 'Samhain' to refer to Gaelic 'Halloween' customs up until the 19th century.

… In parts of southern Ireland during the 19th century, the guisers included a hobby horse known as the Láir Bhán (white mare). A man covered in a white sheet and carrying a decorated horse skull (representing the Láir Bhán) would lead a group of youths, blowing on cow horns, from farm to farm. At each they recited verses, some of which "savoured strongly of paganism", and the farmer was expected to donate food. If the farmer donated food he could expect good fortune from the 'Muck Olla'; not doing so would bring misfortune. This is akin to the Mari Lwyd (grey mare) procession in Wales, which takes place at Midwinter. In Wales the white horse is often seen as an omen of death. In some places, young people cross-dressed In Scotland, young men went house-to-house with masked, veiled, painted or blackened faces, often threatening to do mischief if they were not welcomed. This was common in the 16th century in the Scottish countryside and persisted into the 20th. It is suggested that the blackened faces comes from using the bonfire's ashes for protection Elsewhere in Europe, costumes, mumming and hobby horses were part of other yearly festivals. However, in the Celtic-speaking regions they were "particularly appropriate to a night upon which supernatural beings were said to be abroad and could be imitated or warded off by human wanderers".


Samhain - Wikipedia


photo: A Mari Lwyd, the Welsh equivalent of the Láir Bhán
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain#/media/File:Mari_Lwyd_(wiki).jpg


see also: what next: BBC Archive - #OnThisDay 1948: The villagers of Abbots Bromley | the weird and wonderful world of English folk customs