Lisbeth Cheever-Gessaman's Blog
Posted by Lisbeth Cheever-Gessaman
What, no fairies you say?
Balderdash. It's all a manner of where you are looking.
In the UK in particular, fairies are still considered an avid part of existence and helpers to those of the hills. One area in particular, Bredalbane Hills in the UK, is legend for a race of beings known as the Urisk. Considered to be half man/ half fairy they are shunned by both races and looked upon as outcasts. In 1825, the Quarterly Review published an article detailing something of their character with the following anecdote:
"To the very great annoyance of a Highland miller, and to the injury of the machinery, his mill, he found, used to be set to work at night when there was nothing in it to grind. One of his men offered to sit up, and try to discover who it was that did it; 'and, having kindled a good turf-fire, sat by it to watch. Sleep, however, overcame him, and when he awoke about midnight, he saw sitting opposite him a rough shaggy being. Nothing daunted, he demanded his name, and was told that it was Urisk. The stranger, in return, asked the man his name, who replied that it was Myself. The conversation here ended, and Urisk soon fell fast asleep. The man then tossed a panful of hot ashes into his shaggy lap, which set his hair all on fire. In an agony, and screaming with the pain, he ran to the door, and in a loud yelling tone several of his brethren were heard to cry out, "What 's the matter'with you?" "Oh! he set me on fire!" "Who?" "Myself!" "Then put it out yourself" was the reply.
Posted by Lisbeth Cheever-Gessaman
An interesting report on the character of Brownies from a newspaper clipping was published in the UK Mirror, Saturday April 12, 1823, well over a hundred years past.
"The Brownies formed a class of beings, distinct in habit and disposition from the freakish and mischievous elves. They were meagre, shaggy, and wild in their appearance. Thus Cleland, in his satire against the Highlanders, compares them to
" Faunes, or brownies, if ye will,
"Or satyrs come from Atlas hill."
In the day time the Brownie larked in remote recesses of the old houses which he delighted to haunt, and in the night sedulously employed himself in discharging any laborious task which he thought might be acceptable to the family, to whose service he had devoted himself. But, although, like Milton's lubber fiend, he loves to stretch himself by the fire, he does not drudge from the hope of recompence. On the contrary, so delicate is his attachment, that the offer of reward, but particularly of food, infallibly occasions his disappearance for ever.
The last Brownie, known in Eltrick forest, resided in Bedsbech, a wild and solitary spot, where he exercised his functions undisturbed, till the scrupulous devotion of an old lady induced her to hire him away, as it was termed, by placing in his hand a porringer of milk and a piece of money. After receiving this hint to depart, he was heard the whole night to howl and cry, "Fare well to bonny Bedsbech!" which he was compelled to abandon for ever."
The article goes on to detail how the Brownies were likely legitimate descendants of the Lac Familiaris of the Ancients.
Posted by Lisbeth Cheever-Gessaman
I discovered Rob Brezsny over a year ago, likely stumbling or digging metaphysical websites. His monthly column, entitled 'Freewill Astrology' drew me in due to his cosmically prosaic way with words. His inner connectiveness to truth is what's kept me there.
What follows below is far better than anything i can encapsulate as to the beautiful, sea-creatures of inexplicable goodness that he is and that we are, save to whisper one word in your ear:
(remember).
Let me remind you who you really are: You are one of the chosen ones. You're a luminous being. A primordial miracle. A resplendent avatar. You are a deity in disguise--not a Buddha or a Christ, but of the same lineage and made from the same mojo.
I want to be sure you get what I'm saying. You're an immortal messiah. You have been around since the beginning of time and will be here after the end. Every day and in every way, you're getting better at playing the mysterious master game we all dreamed up together before the Big Bang bloomed.
Let me put it another way. You're a rebel creator longing to make the whole universe your home and sanctuary. You are a dissident bodhisattva joyfully struggling to germinate the seeds of divine love that are packed inside every moment.
It's time to remember. You are a shimmering burst of spiral hallelujahs that has temporarily taken on the form of a human being, agreeing to endure amnesia about your true origins. And why did you do that? Because it was the best way to forge the exquisitely unique and robust identity that would make you such an elemental force in our 14-billion-year campaign to bring heaven all the way down to earth."
Posted by Lisbeth Cheever-Gessaman
I grew up in the age of metal - that is, the music that was deafening, rife with ear-bleeding guitars and dotted liberally with doves heads and leather. I have come not to praise metal, but to elaborate on a specific hand gesture that anyone from my time will be only too familiar with.
I refer to the 'Devils Horns'.
The Corna, or "Devils Horns", if you will, are comprised of making a fist; and then lifting the first and fourth finger (pointer and pinky respectively), thumb optional. Whereas back-in-the-day it was reserved exclusively for only the most egregious and hardcore of metalheads (Dio, Priest, Kiss, Black Diamond, et al), it widened somewhat to be found more commonly in any venue pertaining to music, whether awards shows or concerts. I can live with this.
What is notable - even conspiratorial -, is the frequency with which it is lately being used by the most unsuspecting groups - politicians, movie stars and even the pope.
When the Pope gives the sign of Devil Horns, it's time to start asking questions.
I mean, this is not a unilaterally understood hand gesture. Depending on your source, it is either the sign for the Devil or the sign to ward him off, a symbol for the Texas Longhorns or the ASL symbol for "I love you". In an international age where such gestures can vary tremendously as regards their cultural meanings, why are so many people using a gesture that so few can ascribe a meaning to at all?
Certainly, I am not the only one asking. And I make no pretense to an answer - this writer seeks only to ask the questions. And to ponder a bit on what the heck, where she conspiratorially inclined, is going on here?