Thursday, November 22, 2018

a List of Apotropaic stuff

You don’t need to read this.  I’m just practicing - maybe someday I will be able to express myself clearly.

I imagined a Venn diagram of things that appear near Willies/Sirens/Mermaids.  Things that often turn up near Willies in medieval manuscripts, hmm... I think dragons occur near Willies.  And plump sea monsters...what else?

I think that I see things differently from most everybody.  I’m not sure I can describe it without pictures.  Maybe if I copy my list here, and refer you to my Pinterest.com collection, you will be able to see it my way.

Here is my list of things to look for in my search for European Pagans:

Red & white
Checkered / gingham fabric
Flowers & calico print fabrics
Ducks - geese - swans
Windmills and anything that whirls
Fat bellies: partridge in a pear tree, pigeons - doves - chickens
Diamond shapes as womb, as Harlequin, as a coat of 1000 furs
Blackface / whiteface / carnival masks / “Moors”
Possibly battles between good and evil
Anything apotropaic (it’s all about apotropaic)
Girl on a Swing, swinger of birches, carnival rides, death defying tightrope walkers
Dance
Seeds / dots
Hair and anything that looks like hair, brooms, fringe
Vase, bucket, flowerpot, basket
Water and vines
Hand spinning?
Anything that seems to be moving: busy patterns, crowded artwork, (optical illusions?)
Reflections, mirrors, reversals & symmetry in artwork
Things that may symbolize male fertility:  arrows, spears, swords, clubs, walking sticks with a “Y” shape at the top, lions, unicorns, (griffons? Centaur?)

All the good luck symbols...
And all the symbols woven into Lithuanian sashes
All the symbols stitched into Romanian blouses

So, basically I’m looking for Pagans, but not looking for spiritual nor occult pagans.  I’m looking for a worldview.  I guess I should read something about Wicca.  But I don’t want some crazy California type to tell me what European Pagans believed.  I hope to explore source material and find out myself.


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