Le pot aux roses

I was unable to find any evidence to support this idea.  Here follows one of Virginia's made up facts.  This is a good one, and really should be true.

I looked up the origin of the phrase, "le pot aux roses," - a French saying which means a secret, but literally translates as 'the pot of roses.'  The dictionaries that I looked at did not give me the meaning that I think it has.  So, this is embarrassing, but I think that the pot of roses signifies a woman's yoni, you-know-what, private parts, genitals.  Ok, I said it.  That was difficult.  And embarrassing.

Do you know how many hours I've spent trying to figure out old European symbols?  I've been trying to understand apotropaic magic for months.  Apotropaic means banishing, but it extends to attracting also. So these symbols are all about banishing the misfortunes and attracting the good things in life.  There are a lot of fertility symbols - I've been looking at art that contains baskets of flowers, or vases of flowers.  Cornocupia must be the English equivalent to the "pot aux roses.."

[Easily confused with "the pink post" - a lovely sound-alike in French.  I'm saving this for a future blog about holorimes and Mondagreens.]

I find nothing in print to support the claim that le pot aux roses represents female genitals.  But after looking at an enormous amount of florid Victorian art, and tracing the history of cornocupia, baskets and vases as fertility symbols, well, this idea is inescapable.  Kind of obvious...

Edit:   Here is a page from Wikipedia that seems to support what I'm saying.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub_rosa    It's a history of the Rose as a symbol of secrets.

Abundance

I picked up some free books from the dump.  There was a book of ironwork patterns with history about iron fences in the age of Queen Victoria.  It's lovely as a book of art, but I can see how it might have been taking up too much space.  So I'm adding to the clutter in my place.

I found the same themes in Victorian iron as in all the other decorative arts from that time.  But no explanation why.  Seems to me that the author of the iron work book has no idea why.  I did not go check the library, but seems to me that not many people know.

I think I am the only person in a 100 miles round here who knows the answer to the question, "Why are there flowers and leaves in Victorian art?"  Well, the answer is they symbolize abundance.  I'm guessing that's true for Baroque art, and Rococco, too.  Abundance -with lots of symbols that people once understood at a glance.

The more leaves, flowers, and fruit you have, the more wealthy and powerful you are.  So, that would explain all those florid interiors of European palaces.  All those curlicues, and ancanthus leaves...

I admit that I'm still only guessing.  But I think that pagan belief was ambient all over Europe, much more than historians today recognize.  I'm finding pre-Christian ideas all over the place, hidden in plain sight in the decorative arts.

Why am I doing this?  I'm not a pagan.  I do like the traditions, the calendar, the sense of connecting to women's spirituality.  No, I'm focused on this because it connects with pre-history.  I want to know what happened before written history began.

Fireweed tea

A quick glance at Pinterest.com seems to show that Fireweed is used as tea in Russia.  Fireweed, Epilobium angustifolium was difficult to find on Wikipedia until I stumble upon the new name, Chamerion angustifolium.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamerion_angustifolium

Wow, it says that yes, fireweed leaves are used for tea in Russia..  Fireweed leaves are fermented just like ordinary tea, Camillia sinensis.  Cool!  I know where I can find a patch of fireweed.  I can't wait to try this!  Hooray!

Why does the dragon have St. Margaret's cloak in his mouth?

I noticed a detail in several pictures of Saint Margaret of Antioch.  I lost count, but there are lots of pictures of her dragon with St. Margaret's cloak in his mouth.

Most pictures show her wearing a blue cloak, with one or two showing a red cloak.  Suppose St. Margaret's cloak represents the sky?  I have this sense that we could figure out the old meaning of dragons if we kept on with theses guesses.  Dragon as simargyl?  Medieval dragons often seem to have tails that end in a flourish of leaves and flowers, possibly representing abundance.

But there are also lots of wicked dragons.  I remember one called "the laidly worm..." -that means ugly worm...  I keep on wondering if the dragon is somehow related to old fortune telling beliefs.  Sometimes the sky bring you plenty, other time only destruction.

I'm picturing an ancient tradition of women shamen, who may have used dangerous plants like the poppy.  Well, this is not a scholarly blog.  I'm just making notes about some ideas that branch out from the book, The Dancing Goddesses, by E. W. Barber.  Her book is about folk dance, but it hints at a completely new understanding of pagans.

Papaver

Papaver is the Latin name for poppy.  What if the name means 'father's worm'?  Papa, father + ver! worm...  I really don't know anything about this.  Here I just write down my day-dreams.

What if the opium poppy was called 'father's worm' or maybe 'mother's worm' long ago?  What if the dragon (also called worm) represents the ill effects of opium.  That gives you Saint Margaret as a shamanic healer using opium.  And that would also give you a new interpretation of Saint George and the dragon.

Saint George is linked to Jarilo, Slavic God of wine, similar to Dionysius.  What if the picture of St. George and the dragon is a picture of alcohol defeating opium?  Hmm...  I keep wondering why Saint Margaret does get angry when George kills her pet reptile.  Silly me.

But in the Slavic mythology, I think Jarilo is the son of Mokosh.  Suppose Margaret is a Christian version of Mokosh.  Then you have her son killing the animal she rode to get around to the three worlds.

I am no expert on dragons.  I just wondered why the dragon needs wings.  So, the dragon has 3 ways to travel: slithering, walking, and flying.  My guess is that it's for visiting the underworld, the land of the living, and the heavens.

I would appreciate comments on this mess of ideas.  If you have something useful to add about dragons, please leave a comment.

Little house on chicken legs

I figured out why Baba Yaga's house has chicken legs.  Ok, I'm guessing.  I sure wish I could find someone who speaks Russian.  There must be somebody who studies folklore who would know the answers on this.

I was skimming a book about household spirits that I found in the library.  It says that there was a Russian tradition that a black rooster must be laid under the entrance when a bath house is built.  Well, that idea seemed to shout at me.  Wow, oh wow, I think there is a message in the story of Baba Yaga, and the messag would have been fairly obvious long ago.

The bath house is where the women gather to spin linen.  They make linen thread in a damp room.  The spinning is associated with magic, and the place where the women wash their hair may be associated with fertility.  Anyway, the bath house is the center of the women's community, and together the women can make decisions the men don't like.

In one fairy tale, the prince rides up to the bath house (Baba Yaga's house) and he commands the house to turn around saying,
     "Little house, why do you face the forest?  Turn and stand as of old.  Turn and face me."

Of course, the prince was on his horse in the road.  So, the bath house can either face the road or the forest.  Hmm.  The road to the outside world -or- the forest of our own land, our inner world??

But the main thing I wanted to say is that the chicken legs on Baba Yaga's house are about apotropaic magic.  The rooster sacrificed during the construction of the bath house keeps everyone in the village safe.  And in the old days, the fact that Baba Yaga's house has chicken legs suggests to me the separate lives of men and women.  Maybe the women decided that the bath house shall face the forest.  And the men decided that it should face the road.  I think the story says that the women sometimes had decision making power in the village.  I'm seeing a portrait of an old agricultural way of life that was not all about patriarchy, and not even all about hierarchy.  Just what I wanted to see.  I hope that I can find supporting evidence!  Hope I am not making it up.

if you are so smart, why aren't you happy?

New book, "If You Are So Smart, Why Aren't You Happy?"  - I was reading the review in the Atlantic Monthly.  It's very interesting.  But the author assumes that humans lived in a state of want and fear until the rise of civilization.  What nonsense!  I know that before the invention of agriculture, humans lived comfortably for more than 200,000 years.  I believe that the Stone Age was the time of luxury.

So, with that idea in mind, I sense that the author is an economist who is waking up, slowly.  That's all I have to say about it.  Anyway I recommend the article, it's great.

In other news, I stepped on a bees' nest.  I received only one sting.  I'm proud of myself for walking away calmly, and not killing the pollinators.  The sting itches a bit, just enough distraction to keep me from writing a longer opinion on that article.

Who is Paparuda?

I was waiting for my car to be repaired, so I did a bunch of scrolling through Google Translate.  It must have taken hours.  I lost track of time.

I used Google Translate to find the English word, "poppy" in every available language.  I meant to stop half way through but I couldn't tear my eyes from the screen.  I was fascinated.  I found  14 different languages where poppy translates to something like "mak."  19 languages if you include those that use a sound related to mak, mohn, mukh...

And then there's Greek.  I'm astonished.  Google Translate says that in Greek the word poppy is paparouna.  I made the device play the word out loud several times.  I can't believe it.  It sounds exactly the same as the name in the Romanian prayers for rain, "Paparuda."

I'm adding up the linguist evidence.  I'm saying that it is no coincidence that the word for poppy sounds the same as the name of the goddess Mokosh.  I'm wondering whether she was a goddess or a very well loved plant.  Or both?

I wish that I could ask people but I do not speak the languages needed.  Maybe if I had a really good Russian dictionary, maybe I'd find answers.

Thesmophoria

This is really good -I found something cool on Wikipedia.  As soon as I get a job, I must donate since I find so much on Wikipedia.

Here is what I found:  "

1. ^ "Pig bones, votive pigs, and terracottas, which show a votary or the goddess herself holding the piglet in her arms, are the archaeological signs of Demeter sanctuaries everywhere."(Burkert p 242).".    -From the Wikipedia page, Thesmophoria.

This page offers a good explanation why Islam forbids eating pork.  Maybe also Judaism - I mean, maybe those that believed in one God gave up pork in an effort to turn people away from the old religions of polytheism.

Anyway, the page about Thesmophoria gives some ideas about the Greek version of "agrarian magic" from ancient times.  I think these traditions of agrarian magic were widespread, not limited to Ancient Greece.  I keep remembering my friends in Adana, Turkey.  They told me that on Friday the men go to the mosque, and the women go to the cemetary.  Which suggests to me a very ancient tradition, although I can't prove it.

I got a letter from the author of the book, The Dancing Goddesses.  I will try to write about it next time.  I'm so delighted!

Pepeljuga is Cinderella

I can not stop thinking about Paparuda.  I retread chapter 4 of The Dancing Goddesses by E W Barber, and I started to follow the notes & explore the bibliography.  Here's what I have so far-

Paparuda can give rain, that makes her a rain goddess(?). Her name is spelled Pepeljuga in Serbian, and she is Cinderella.  Another variation on the spelling gives Baba Ruga, which came out as Mother of Prayer when I put it into Google Translate (which language was that?)

I started to look for Eastern European fairy tales at the library.  There wasn't much time.  I found a book of tales from Checloslovakis.  In a rare moment of peace, I read the story of the 12 Months out loud.  It's almost a Cinderella story.  I'm wondering who is the evil stepsister?  Could she represent times of crop failure?  That's all I can come up with.

What about Cinderella's 3 beautiful dresses?  Could they have a meaning?  The dresses seem to represent the sky - one is moonlight blue, one is white, and the last one is golden..

This is kind of crazy but what if the Latin name, Papaver, (the name of the poppy plants) means "Papa's worm/dragon"?  All I know now is that there's a lot of research ahead, tons more to do.  And I'm starting from nothing, I'm reinventing the wheel because I haven't seen what was done before.  I can't wait to get back in the library and try again.

Quick note about Paparuda

I think that Paparuda is Persephone.  I can not be certain.
I don't have time to write much now.  But before I forget- I think Paparuda = Papaluga = Pepeljuga = Cinderella.  Shivers!

I do not have time to write today.  But Elizabeth Wayland Barber wrote that Paparuda is somehow related to Perun.  I disagree.

UPDATE:  oops!  I guess she is correct.  Here is a link to Wikpedia.  It shows Paparuda as the wife of Perun...

   https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodola

I was in a hurry and did not take notes.  Now, I can't find the page that connected Paparuda to Papalluga - I hope it's a variant spelling.

UPDATE 2:  Found a list of names of Cindrerella.  I count 9 languages where Cinderella ressembles Paparuda.  It's on the Wikipedia page for Cinderella:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella

Snakes

I want to write about the Shahmaran.  But first, I have to tell the readers to go away.  This blog post is about snakes.  It's something that my friends do not want to read about.

I discovered a mythological creature named, the Shah Maran.  I found a sweet cartoon picture of her on Pinterest.com. And you can read about the Shahmaran on Wikipedia - link below.  She is Queen of the Snakes in Turkey, and she is very kind hearted.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahmaran

The rest of what I have to say is just my opinion.  Uninformed opinion.  I'm guessing that the reason the Shahmaran was so nice and kind hearted is that there is some kernel of truth to this crazy story.  I'm guessing that long ago people may have used snakes to gather some sort of hormonal medicine.  Maybe the snakes gathered together in clumps in the winter time, the way our garter snakes sometimes gather together.  Maybe a very brave person could gather pheromones from a den of snakes, maybe enough to make an aphrodisiac...

I'm guessing that cast off snake skins might have traces of hormones in wax.  I'm guessing that at the time of the ancient Greeks, they might have been pretty smart about collecting hormone-stuff from animals.  Things quoted in Pliny that could contain hormones:  sow's dung, sow's milk, snake skin...  There's more I can't remember them all right now.  I'm saying that a shaman in Ancient Greece would have at least 200,000 years of human history behind them.  That's plenty of time to taste everything, and might be enough time to combine everything until you find things that work really well.

I am having troubles with my hormones.  I wish I knew some chemists who could help me sort out my problems.  These day-dreams about shamen are just my longing for an improvement.

Hedgerow mead

Exploring the possibilities of gruit.  I found a list of plants which contain... something.  Plants on this list could possibly have strange effects when combined with alcohol.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sesquiterpene_lactone

I'm just having a good time as a Wikipedia nerd.  I've found traces of ancient herbal knowledge.  There are hints that of European shamanism.  Right now I am focusing on Elecampane and Burdock.

I don't like alcohol, but I might be curious enough to try a mixture of Inula, Arctium, Artemisia and alcohol.  Alcohol is a poison, but a very small amount might be safe.  Readers, if you are out there, please don't hurt yourselves.  I think I will have a drop in a shot glass for my birthday, just one.  But first, I'll do a great deal more research about hedgerow mead.

Ariadne

I found something today.  I had a hunch that in ancient times, the midwives may have used very sophisticated herbal medicine for pain relief.  And then some midwives would have lost the know-how causing spectacular failures that would lead to the persecution of witches.

Today's find: scientists studying spider toxins at the University of Queensland find painkillers in 40% of the species studied.  I want to link this to the story of Ariadne.  And it might explain why Mokosh is the goddess of spinning and weaving.

Edit: I guess that I was wrong when I said that the 3 Fates represent 3 plants.  Now, I'm thinking it might be 2 plants and a drug derived from a spider?

Material on this blog is not copyright protected.  Please credit my name if you republish.  I intend to cover my writing with a Creative Commons license similar to that used by Wikpedia.

Persephone + Mokosh + Poppy

Persephone, Mokosh, and the poppy plant are all the same thing, but I can't prove it yet.  I'm getting discouraged and exhausted.  Last night I realized that I've been working on this idea for about a month.  I thought it would easy to figure out this stuff.  If Mokosh is the poppy, then who are her friends?  I said that the 3 Fates represent 3 plants, but I can't be sure whether I got the correct plants.  This is much more complicated than it seemed at the beginning.  I have a sense that this research could be an amazingly good way to untangle women's history.  I think there is much more to discover.

I have wanted to talk to Elizabeth Wayland Barber for a long time, but she is so famous.  There is no address in her book, The Dancing Goddesses, so I don't know how to write her a letter.  This blog is my response to her book.  I'm not limiting my blog to one subject - I'm saying that this book has become very important to me.

I have lots of cool ideas in my diary.  I'm not exactly a writer, but I would like to share my ideas.  I am considering possibly dumping everything (almost everything) I ever wrote in my diary into the Internet.  It's only a thought now, but I could do it.  Wondering what would happen next...?

I am not very good at computers.  I want to share everything, yet not have my ideas stolen.  Today I must explore copyright protections for my writing.  Maybe I can chose the less restrictive approach...

I need help.  I want to find people interested in Mokosh who could share in my research.  I don't even know if I am reinventing the wheel.  Maybe someone already did this same research?  It can't be possible that I've found something new..?  Because if I really found something amazing, what would I do with it?  Give it away?  Maybe.

There's something really big hidden here, just below the surface.  (Dale Pendell said that, but it's also true for me.)

Mokosh

Mokosh - goddess of spinning and weaving is linked to the Fates.  I found this when I looked her up in Wikipedia and then translated the Russian wikipedia page about her.  Mokosh is quite similar to Saint Paraskeva (also known as Saint Friday) according to Russian wikipedia.  It looks like Mokosh was the reason that women were allowed to have a day off from work in ancient times.

I've looked and looked but I still can't find anything to link Mokosh to the poppy plant.  I think Mokosh is the poppy, or maybe poppies are her flower.  Her name sounds like the word, "poppy," in eight languages.  And they are languages from different language families, which is odd...

I've been searching non-stop for days and days.  I'm getting tired.  I wish somebody would help me prove my idea.  I've had some wonderful help from my husband, and a friend who is into history.  But I need to find more evidence.  Maybe I can improve my Google-fu along the way.

Nepenthe

I found a thing.  It's called "nepenthe" and it's a brew mentioned in the Odyssey that gives drugged sleep or removes sorrows.  Maybe it was real, and maybe it could have been poppy pods in wine, possibly with added nightshade plants.  That would make a brew that could give ancient world midwives the ability to give pain relief.

I also found 8 different languages that used a similar word for poppy.  I started with Hungarian, and put all the neighboring languages into Google Translate.  But Hungarian is not related to the neighbors.  These are languages from very different language families.

Arabic was interesting.  I got three words for poppy.  One word turned out to be "anesthetic" - part of the Arabic words for poppy.  And it was the part most similar to everybody else / the part that sounds like the name of the goddess Mokosh.

So if Mokosh is the poppy, and Demeter is the corn/grain, who is the third goddess?  I expect to find 3 big name goddesses linked to the 3 Fates.  Maybe.

3 Fates, 3 Plants

Each of the 3 Fates has a plant.  Here are the plants (I am making a guess not a fact!):
Belladonna (or another nightshade plant)
Opium poppies (still just guessing)
and Ephedra.

The combination of these 3 plants as a drug mixture can give twilight sleep.  I think the 3 Fates were 3 midwives who could give pain relief during child birth.  I think that the ancient Romans used this drug mixture.... maybe.

Here is something that I found on Wikipedia page = Scopolamine, under the heading, history:

"Scopolamine mixed with oxycodone (Eukodal) and ephedrine was marketed by Merck as SEE (from the German initials of the ingredients) and Scophedal starting in 1928, and the mixture is sometimes mixed on site on rare occasions in the area of its greatest historical usage, namely Germany and Central Europe."

There's a thing about the 3 Fates, they were from Rhineland.  Lots of ancient 3 Fates stuff was found in Rhineland.  Then this medicine called SEE was made in Germany...  Looks like a bit of historical detective work is needed.  Too bad I can't do German.  Maybe Google Translate can help.

Edit:  this could be wrong.  What if the 3 Fates represent 3 categories, not 3 specific plants?

...

Veronica

Veronica plant from New Zealand:  the bamboozle plant

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10608278

I find this article interesting.  It reminds me of the Wollemi Pine...  I'm not going to write much now.  But mayb I can add some material in a few days.  I was looking for Veronica teucrium but Wikipedia did not have anything.  One day, I'd love to be able to contribute to Wikipedia...

Anyway, I found Veronica teucrium in Wikipedia under another name:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veronica_austriaca

I noticed some peculiar things about this plant.  Maybe it's just my imagination, but I wondered if this plant was special to women before Christianity.  Before the inquisition...  Somebody should write a novel about life in 5000 BCE...  That's where I keep going in my imagination, but I don't have much yet.  Not enough material for a story yet.

So, large Veronica was called Herb Marion... Why?

*** This is probably not related but I wondered if Veronica had some pagan traditional uses, kind of like Elecampagne.  So, I found pictures of Saint Margaret right next to the herb (could be totally random coincidence). When I looked up St. Margaret, I found lots of pagan roots.  Margaret seems to be linked to the Three Fates.  Here is the page that places Margaret as one of the Fates:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteen_Holy_Helpers

Ok, now I am copying the key part of the Wikipedia page about the 14 Holy Helpers:

"At the heart of the fourteen were three virgin martyrs:

Sankt Margaretha mit dem Wurm, Sankt Barbara mit dem Turm, Sankt Catharina mit dem Radl, das sind die heiligen drei Madl.[2]

Saint Margaret with the dragon Saint Barbara with the tower Saint Catherine with the wheel those are the three holy maids."

Pagan roots of Arbor Day (?)

Just a link about Arbor Day.  I think Arbor Day is related to (but not the same as) Oak Apple Day.  And Oak Apple Day seems to have a pagan history.

All I know is that I saw it on Wikipedia.  I don't have strong evidence, yet.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Apple_Day

The Wikipedia page about Arbor Day also hints at a history of pagan and Christian blended spring festivities.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbor_Day

What I would like to find is something about actual arbors, festive arches, shelters decorated with flowers.  Imagine if the ancient world had other festivals similar to the Jewish festival of booths?  Springtime booths?


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