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.