#lots of boar and deer symbolism

[theboarsbride]

only self reblogging this because I'm currently outlining this WIP and oh my god I am OBSESSED.

i try to not toot my own horn with writing stuff but... I am cooking...

[Introducing Edith Doe and Samson Swinton, characters from my Gothic thriller retelling of Bluebeard's Bride with the working title "The Boar's Bride."🐗🩸🔎]

A young journalist seeking her due recognition.

An eclectic artist seeking his perfect muse.

A mutual obsession.

This idea is not even a day old, these characters are younger, and I love them dearlyyyy....so much gruesome imagery and eerie scenes are being schemed and heeehee...this will he a fun WIP to develop further 🤭

[voiceofthesilly]

Hi, uhm.

Your designs for the voices in STP are..

Genius.

The premise of their design are simple (birds(?) with animal skull heads(?)) yet it makes them so distinguishable!

Also your art is very yummy- It's beautiful.

Ajsjadhdja thanku!! this means a lot, espeically since i love your designs for them a LOT Gonna take that as an opportunity to explain them some bc i havent really done that so beware, long rant under the cut

The general idea was for them to have masks of various woodland creatures, as a general reference to the cabin being set in the woods and to add a bit of a fairytale twist, as often in fairytales guiding voices in form of animals appear But thinking about it skulls are such a sick idea and might use them for less cartoony iterations honestly

From left to right!

Cold was actually pretty hard to pick an animal for - @3zethe3zr has been immense help figuring those out with various voices and we went through options like wolves and bears before i settled on lynx (quick, efficient and solitary assassin). I wanted Cold to feel big and overpowering, blocking out everything else. In a way that silence is big, sorta. You might also notice that they're the only voice without markings - its partially because everything i could come up with felt too on the nose, and partially because well. what symbol better than vast emptiness. Largest voice! 8'2" tall

Paranoid is a mouse, i feel like the association here is pretty straightforward. Big wings to hide behind and bald patches from overpreening. Their pattern is the eyes, they can't seem to get rid of them. Some on the feathers, some straight on the skin.

Hunted gets a hare mask because i said so and hares have amazing prey eyes. It's rather large, but always crouched over and ready to bolt, making it much smaller than it could be - Hunted always says we're small, but there's a moment where Wild refutes that. Of course it's not in reference to physical size there, but I wanted to use that nonetheless. Target mark on their chest and mask. Eyes on the side of the head - not sure where i heard it first but it was sych a good take i had to do it

Hero !!! I struggled a lot with the animal for them, went through a bunch of deer, wolf, even bird at some point (birds were off limits). In the end went with 3zr's squirrel suggestion - a little kind voice sitting on your shoulder. Hero also gets a cape, as a treat. for being there always. And because they're a hero and im no edna mode. Markings are the slits in a knight helmet!

Stubborn was im pretty sure the first one who got designed at all, due to intense stubborn brainrot. Animal is a boar, due to the mfs being extremely hard to kill, though i did want to go with a wolverine for a while. His mask is moved aside, he's straighforward and has no need for hiding anythin. Masks off and knives out, am i right . He's the shortest voice in the lineup (whole 3'7"). this is because im not tall and i like him. I tried to strike a balance between squarish and triangle build. His wings are proudly on display, and so are his scars - a testiment to our resilience.

Opportunist! my littlest guy who missed being a weasel by like 3 milimeters and ended up fox. because of course he did. He's fucking tiny - i usually like making voices who dont consider us strong bigger than they think, but in this case it felt fitting to make it something he works with. The markings are pointed knives, pretty self-explanatory i feel. Usually partially hidden under the chest feathers. Also, his arms are hidden behind his back here but the palms are red - blood on him hands

Smitten is a deer! They always felt very noble to me, and, well, heart shape in the antlers! The mask is somewhat ill-fitting and she can't see well but that's alright, love is blind. The largest marking by far - he's not one to hide his nature, and his heart is as big as the markings would suggest. I wanted to give her this sorta chivalrous fairytale knight build. Wings folded into a wing shape!

Contrarian is another long boi, i felt it would work well for whatever silly limb contortions hed do. The animal is a natterer's bat specifically - again, 3zr's genious idea

Neck feathers meant to resemble a jester's collar. Funky patterns meant to be confusing and disorientin. In the lineup in particular i didn't do it, but the idea is that with the mask slightly more up and beak open it almost looks like he has three heads, paralleling Stranger

Skeptic i wanted to have a very solid build, so square he is. The markings are question marks - both on the mask and feathers. He's a little silly with his saying wink out loud, so he gets to have a question mark tie. Wings folded behind mimicking a trench coat. He deserves glasses

Broken is actually second longest! It doesn't matter though, does it. They can be as large as they want, doesn't change anything. Mask is a raccoon dog - felt fitting vibewise. Bald patches around neck, wrists and ankles, as if remnants of shackles locked around them. The markings are meant to mimick both cracks (in shape) and chains (in layout). Mask pulled up for them double sad eyes and because there isnt even a point in hiding

Last up, cheated! Hedgehog bastard. I guess kinda paralleling Razor in that regard? They're not particularly big and their feathers are ruffled. Uses wings for extra expression! Markings meant to both resemble scars and diamond suit

Also, earlier verisons!

[nightjarring]

what do thrones eat? the big ones look like they take a lot of feeding. do the bird body ones eat bird food?

Thrones do, in fact, eat a lot. It depends a lot on their bodies, but most are largely omnivorous. Since being able to stomach a greater variety of foods means more things are then available to stomach. Throne bodies are also largely cosmetic, so they might not need to eat like the animal they most closely resemble. The Thrones of Sevab House have serpentine bodies, but don't eat all that differently than the beast-footed Thrones. The body-shape they have does usually come with practical concerns that influence things like diet, though. The beast-footed houses, take Dedēsne House as a good example, eat more wild game than the serpentine Thrones of Sevab House, because there's more of a culture of nobles going on hunts there, while Sevab's Thrones are more expected to drape themselves elegantly about and have clever things to say. They still might be designed with dietary preferences for cultural reasons, i.e., a house that follows a branch of religion that practices vegetarianism not being capable of eating anything other than plants - which is also in line with the fact that Thrones are held by their communities to higher standards of religious conformity, they are Holy Beasts after all. This mostly applies to Thrones with ruminant-like bodies, where the herbivory is symbolically significant. This would also come with the expected Ruminant Issues, though, so that's a thing.

The Lujnola Thrones are an interesting case, however, because their bodies are designed to be more practical than average, and some of the restrictions of real birds also extend to them. You won't find any adapted to eat leaves (no stinky hoatzin Thrones alas). The Lujnola Thrones eat fruit more than anything else. It makes up probably 70 or 80% of their diets, with some meat thrown in. The meat is quite varied, though. They do hunt and especially trap wild game, but like to eat animals - lizards, turtles, frogs, insects, and smaller mammals like rodents and tiny forest deer. They do have some livestock, big meaty snails, and certain woodboring insects with large grubs are generally popular in the eastern empire. The most unique livestock Lujnola has is a species of arboreal, golden-furred rodent that's often eaten on special occasions. There are quite a lot of spiritual cleanliness practices around hunting and the use of weapons specifically, which is actually a bit of a point of prejudice the Throne-Lords of the region have against their non Throne subjects, who hunt game like deer, boars, and forest cattle. None of the Thrones ever hunt large game, and they don't eat bird meat out of principle, at least not in Lujnola Province, traveling Thrones of the house wouldn't always turn bird meat down, fowl just arent hunted or kept as livestock back home. That isn't because "it's cannibalism", they just have a huge respect and reverence for birds in general. They do like eggs, though. A lot of rituals and "magical" practices involve eating bird eggs, and different species of bird are said to embue their eggs with different properties - cleverness from a Jay, bravery from a hornbill, love from a parrot, etc.

-

Also, because Throne bodies are so large, the mouth of their "head"/human portion is not adequate to feed them, which is why most Thrones have secondary, more proportionate mouths. Have an old doodle of a guy having a snack.

[dragynkeep]

I want to make Adam a different kind of Faunus, because the bull/goat/devil imagery makes me uncomfy. What other horned animal do you think he could be (like an ibex or deer) and why?

interestingly enough there have been variants of b&tb where the beast has been a mixture of non bull animals like a boar, snake, bear, dog, etc.

i do also think that adam being a bull is primarily because of his surname & the imagery seen in the 1991 film as that was one of the main animal influences for the beast's design there. it's just unfortunate that he gained a lot of devil imagery that would then be contrasted to weiss's out of nowhere angelic imagery. there is a lot that plays into adam as a "bull" character but i can still understand wanting to change this.

if we were going to choose another horned animal for adam's faunus type, maybe a bison? not only were they another major part of the beast's inspiration also but is a strong symbol of survival; as evidenced by them surviving brutal winters & droughts which can tie to the oppression that adam has faced in his backstory.

there is also the allegorical mixing with real life in the way bison were used to perpetuate oppression against indigenous peoples throughout the americas. they were slaughtered without use or care for what was left behind, all to perpetuate starvation & brutality on a marginalized people, something very prominent in adam & other faunus' storylines. i would say if you want to tie it to this inspiration & source of symbolism, a further rewrite of adam's character & design would definitely be needed to avoid further marginalization of indigenous men & their "abuses" against white women (like blake.)

[hastalavistabyebye]

I was wondering, why do we use deer iconography so often to depict cryptids and gods and monsters of the wilderness ?

Well first of, it's based on western imagination, culture and lore of course. This plays obviously a major part of it but why ? Why a deer ?

By the way, deer presence in folklore and everything is old, like very old, and common to lots of cultures. Its antlers renewal is associated with rebirth and life and death cycle. And globally deers are seen as a link with the supernatural. What I'm trying to theorise is why, and maybe why still today.

So let's start.

First, the wilderness pictured is the one of nature. The nature untouched, undomesticable by humans. The savage nature, the wild nature. And what is a wild nature in western biome ? The forest. It's the wild element of the western landscape. It's a huge part of folklore because its darkness and density is home of so many creatures and dangers. You can get lost in it, easily. You hold no power in the Forest, etc, etc. The forest is the best way to start a tale isn't it ? Anyway, that's the first point : magic and secrecy, everything cryptid and other fairies and land monsters, are linked to the Forest. 

And what do we find in a forest ? Well lots of things (and I'm only speaking about wildlife here, so not vegetation). Bears, wild boars, lots of different birds with a lot of variety, rabbits, wolfs and foxes... And of course deers.

So why deers and deer-particularities specifically are so much used and appreciated ? There is so many other animals to use ! So here is what I think, and it's really is just an idea, a simple take on the matter :

Deers are beautiful creatures. They are majestic, mighty. They're also skittish and fast. Finding a deer is hard. This two points put them in two cases of common imagination. 

They are regal : it puts them in a "king of the Forest" sort of position. Especially since their antlers are associated with royalty. It's the symbol of a good hunter and who liked to hunt ? Kings. So yeah, they're heavily associated with royalty and power, must it be as a symbol or because of their appearance and grace.

They are hard to meet and good at hiding : it put them in the "supernatural" case, the fantastic aspect of the Forest. Here and not here. Watching you but impossible to see. As if they were at two places at once. Present but never where you look. 

So that's already two aspects in their favour for being associated to a godlike creature of the Forest.

But there is also something else. Because a bear or a wolf could have similarities in a way or the other. So deers have something else.

They are dangerous but not carnivorous. They are a prey, not a danger for the Forest. Not a danger for the Forest inhabitants. A danger for us. And where does this come from ? Easy : the deer's slab. You hear them from far away, they are noisy like all hell. And it is kind of terrifying. Plus they're also fighting. And it will be dangerous if you get too close because they will attack. Not to eat. Not because they're hurt or because of their instincts specifically. It practically feels like they are angry at you (because it does sound like they are angry at something or each other or well you know anything and everything really, deer's slabs are impressive as hell). And so they can be seen as forces you should not mess with. Forces that will only attack each other or invaders of their territory, protectors.

Mighty, very hard to find, protectors living in the Forest. Oh and very easily identified thanks to their unmistakable antlers.

It's in fact no wonder why deer iconography is so used to depict the Forest (and wilderness at large) dangers, secrets and power.

[dr-demi-bee]

Realizing I can’t send asks from my sideblog but whatev

Ask game: 3, 13, 16

3. Most prized possession

The thing/object Miri values most is probably her unicorn pendant. As a devoted follower of Mielikki, she wears a unicorn sigil - one she crafted herself as part of her pack's coming of age ritual (called the naming trials). As part of the trials, lythari cubs will undergo a series of challenging tasks to obtain the materials needed to craft their pendants. Miri's sigil is made from the bone of an ancestor (her maternal grandmother, obtained in Faerie) and a garnet stolen from a dragon's horde in the Star Mounts. The cord was made from weaving korred hair, centaur bowstring, unicorn mane, and dire elk leather.

The pendant is blessed and unable to be removed, so she always has it on her - in humanoid or elven form. To her, it's a symbol of her perseverance and strength - and it's one of the few connections she has left to her life before exile. Lots more to say about the pendant and the trials in future SWL chapters ;) 13. Hidden talent

I had a hard time thinking about what her 'hidden' talent is - Miri's not exactly subtle! She's strong and agile, good with swords and decent with a bow. As a ranger she's a good herbalist, talented at alchemy and healing.

But perhaps her most surprising talent is that she's quite a linguist! While she's still learning Common, Miri's adept at quite a few other languages. She's fluent in elvish, sylvan, and even aarakocra! 16. Comfort food

Miri's a raw diet kind of gal - her pack in the high forest regularly hunted game of all sorts. This meant things like elk, deer, boar, badgers... But as a forager, her true comfort food is a rare treat - firefruit!

"Have you had firefruit before?" Miri asks excitedly. "Firefruit?" Gale responds, his curiosity fully piqued. "I can't say that I have. What is it?" He couldn't help but feel increasingly intrigued by all the things Miri brought back from the High Forest in her pack loaded for bear. So many new and interesting foods and herbs - jars and bags full of ingredients he's never even dreamed of. He couldn't wait to try each and every thing she brought back for him. But firefruit - the name alone caught his attention. "They are a berry - they grow in a flowering moss that only blooms and produces fruit every three or four years." She points excitedly to the bag he carried in and set on the kitchen countertop. Gale scoots the bag closer to her and she reaches in to pull out a handful of small yellow-orange berries. "They are sweet like honey," she offers them to him. He leans over the countertop, reaching out to take one of the berries and holding it up to examine its shape. It was round, smaller than the tip of his thumb, and the color and scent of it reminded him of a citrus fruit. She said that they taste like honey? She must be exaggerating… Then, carefully and curiously, he pops the berry into his mouth and chews. The berry is gooey and sweet, with a slightly tough skin. But the flavor is rich and sweet, like honey. He can't help but hum and smile as the berry coats his tongue with its sweet flavor. "Mhh…" He chuckles as he continues chewing, "It really does taste like honey." Miri grins. "It takes an expert ranger to find them," she says, quite pleased, "One of the only mosses that flowers." Gale grins back at her, her joy infectious. Gods, how he'd missed her these last two weeks. "They must be a rare delicacy in the Forest, yes?" "Yes, I was quite excited when I saw a blooming patch!"

[imthepunchlord]

What do you think of the idea in many miraculous fanfictions that the kwamis are the progenitors to folklore and mythological monsters (like a bat kwami being the progenitor to vampires, a wolf kwami being the progenitor to werewolves, etc)?

I personally like the idea that kwamis and miraculous had some influence to mythology and folklore and how it came to be, but they're not the answer to everything. This way, it does show they had some influence through history, but also establishes that there's other magic out there and not everything is miraculous exclusive. And you shouldn't want everything to be originating from miraculouses, cause the world is big, and there's a lot of myths and folklore out there, and in ancient times, these singular jewelry pieces could only travel so far and so quickly. Unless they go a route of there being multiple types of one animal (which I think would be too much), then there's not enough for an explanation for a variety of myths that pop up.

Also, the miraculous won't match with everything, like take Pig. Assuming Pig represents all pigs, boars, and hogs, well, this doesn't represent everything about pigs in mythology. Boars in Greek, the Celts, and in Europe in general represents warriors, hunting, battles, and aggression. Pigs also represent gluttony, laziness, and animals for slaughter; how does the Pig Miraculous work off of this? Pigs in China are also known to be symbols of wealth and prosperity, how does the canon miraculous work off of that? Or can Gift be more broad in what sort of gift is given? Or does Pig have more powers to offer to work off this? But, that would clash with Pig representing Jubilation so can't work off the aggression of boars.

Another example is Snake, who strictly works off Ouroboros in terms of power, but snakes are tied to much more than that. Snakes are heavily tied to dragons through the Chinese dragons, the Naga in both India and Thailand, Greek Python and Hydra, and Norse Jormungandr and Nidhogg to name a few. Snakes are tied to creation myths and rain, guardianship and vindication, life and death, healing and evil, all themes of duality; ect.. The Snake Miraculous doesn't work off all of that. It's just Ouroboros that it works off of, which is a theme that pops up around the world, but it's not the only one for snakes.

So, no, I wouldn't vote that miraculous are the answers to every bit of folklore and myth tied to animals. I'd go they had some influence though in shaping views.

Also offers a good reason on why miraculous were made, cause there was other magic out there, magic that humanity couldn't face and deal with, so miraculous were a means to combat against what endangered them.

It also leaves it nicely open to what myths and icons you think are tied to miraculous and what exists outside of miraculous, which I think it's more fun for the fans to speculate and headcanon and not confirm too many through history and largely stick to mythical figures, like Robin Hood could've been a Deer given deer are tied to archery and are swift and elusive.

Another example could be Sun Wukong. You could count Sun Wukong as a powerful being that exists outside miraculous and he and Xuppu could've been friends or rivals or both, or you could roll with Thomas' claim that he was a miraculous user, @nobodyfamousposts told me once they had an idea that Miraculous world's version of The Journey West was Tripitaka traveling to gather up scattered miraculouses, and the characters we see were the hero names, and the interactions seen came from Tripitaka and the kwamis.

So, that would be my ideal.

[ynwa4eva]

GUYS. I HAD SUCH A GREAT TIME AT THE NATIONAL PARK PAPUK.... PLEAASSSEE IF YOU CAN GO THERE!!! its basically 1 1/2 hours of hiking but its SO PRETTY. SOOO PRETTY. Ummm ummmmm 1/4 of all species in croatia can be found here ummm its a unesco park ummm a panonian ocean used to be here so theres fossils (I DIDNT GET TO SEE THEM) (the little symbol for the park is an ammonite) theres ummm a lot of water and ummmmm theres an endemic type of snail at the source of a river/lake ummm i had sooo much funn!!! Ummm please visit :) also we did a 1 1/2 hours trail theres way more theres a biking trail theres fossils theres 600 old trees here some austrian glass makers came here in 1800 umm 14/35 bat species in croatia are found here also theres deer and boars and lynx and wolf and martens and stag beetles

i also went to the aquapark shhuma and its SO CLEAN. AND GOOD. GO THERE!!!!!

[aerne-asmund]

Hekate: the mother of witches, torch barrer and key holder and triple cross roads goddess who walks between death, earth and the heavens. often comes in times of cross roads. So. Important decisions/choices that may seem difficult. Works in shadow work realm as well, defense magik, divination and baneful magik. She can grant the devotee a open path to best results IF she wishes or deny. Hekate is known to walk all three realms of Heaven, the underworld, and life!

Hekate has been known to appear as a woman with three heads!

sacred animals: “A selection of Hekate's animal epithets in The Greek Magical Papyri:

English (Anglicized Greek)

Beast Slayer (Theroktonos)

Black Dog (Kyon Melaina)

Bull Dragon/Serpent (Taurodrakaina)

Bull Formed (Tauromorphos)

Cow Eyed (Boopis)

Fawn Slayer (Ellophonos)

Horned (Keratopis)

Horse Faced (Hippoprosopos)

Howling (Kynolygmate)

Serpent/Dragon (Drakaina)

Spinner of Fate (Klothaie)

Wolf (Lyko)”

“However, Hekate was associated with specific members of her menagerie giving us a lengthy list: boar, bull, cow, dog, deer, donkey, fish (red mullet in particular), goat, horse, lamb (black), lizard, lion, polecat, owl, toad, and wolf. There are also indirect associations through her deity companions, especially Artemis: bee (from the Ephesian version of Artemis that is very different than the mainstream Greek one), bear (also associated with Bendis), gold finch, Kirke: hawk, large cats, pigs. Asteria: quail.”

(Note, Hekate, Artemis and selene are tied to being moon goddesses and all symbolize diff areas of the moon)

“As a Chthonic goddess, she was considered an "earth" deity, but not in the same sense as Gaia (for example). Her role as an earth goddess is associated with the types of animals she was associated with, especially dogs and horses, but also goats, donkeys, bulls, cows and other domestic animals. Lions and other big cats were also connected to Hekate. Her association with wild animals, like bee, deer and bear, is often through her connection/conflation with other goddesses, particularly Artemis but also Bendis. Keep in mind that these goddesses were viewed in diverse ways as well. Vulture is in The Greek Magical Papyri, but not directly with her in a spell or hymn. And if we include mythical beasts, she is connected with dragons and hydra in multiple sources.

References https://keepingherkeys.com/blog/f/modern-hekatean-witchcraft-working-with-animal-allies

Signs: waking up around 3-4 am often or just often late up then. Hell hounds or black dogs. May appear in dreams. Train tracks (triple cross road goddess after all). 3 is her sacred number too. So possibly seeing 333 a lot. Possibly egg symbolisms too.

Offerings: green candles, yellow candles, and white candles all unscented and dressed in her sacred herbs are all suitable. Garlic, music, egg shells or eggs overall also all suitable, as well as old personal belongings, keys placed on a altar, hell hound statues, iron or train track (triple cross roads goddess afterall), crescent shaped cookies, or items, mugwart on the altar, and mint is also viable, onions and cheese, Tea (green tea, or vanilla/herbal and black and some fruity are okay), and dr pepper she also likes. Poetry, music, and drawings dedicated to her in her name are also good! She also likes dark chocolate, wine and traditional offerings like honey, or honey cakes!

I would highly recommend reading the Liminal rituals of Hekate as well!

https://www.amazon.com › Hekate-...Web resultsHekate Liminal Rites: A Study of the rituals, magic and ... - Amazon.com

If u wish, you can use a lil tin can you wont come back for and place offerings u wont need again and bury at a triple crossroad intersection at 3-4 am as well (use a container you won’t need again. You aren’t meant to get it back!).

[loosesodamarble]

☕️ fashion in your favorite series (plural)

Hello there, anon!

And oh boy is that a topic!

I think I should start with the fact that I know basically nothing about fashion. I basically only wear jeans, t-shirts, and occasionally blouses day-to-day and my fanciest clothes are Sunday best.

But onto the actual fashion.

I think my favorite series with the best fashion sense would have to be Avatar: the Last Airbender. The clothes come from various Asian cultures and are so aesthetically pleasing. And while not 100% practical, they are not illogical fashion choices.

(Sorry about the different in quality. Couldn't be helped.)

I mean, look at their fits! Color consistency with characters from the same nation. Blues and grays for the Water Tribe. Warm tones (mostly red but pink in Ty Lee's case) and black for Fire Nation. While Earth Kingdom and Air Nomad both share yellow, at least between Toph and Aang, the saturation/shade is different. Aang's yellow and orange aren't overwhelmingly bright shades and the brown on his outfit provides a neutral shade to bring it all together.

Seriously, Avatar has some amazing fashion!

.....

Another series with good fashion sense, though more for symbolism, is Demon Slayer.

With Demon Slayer 99% of the time, the characters are all in uniform with just haoris or capes to distinguish them. Still, the patterns that they wear on their clothes sets them apart.

https://olafolsson.com/blogs/blog-1/wagara-traditional-japanese-patterns-and-designs

This blog post explains a few types of designs/patterns used in Japanese clothing. Nezuko's kimono has a hemp leaf pattern which represents protection from evil spirits, which she both gives to the defenseless and receives from Tanjirou. Tanjirou's checkered haori carries meaning such as "prosperity for descendants" which make sense since the checkered pattern has been with the Kamado family since Sumiyoshi and the siblings do manage to have their own descendants.

Inosuke may not wear a haori but he wears different types of fur.

Boars are wild and stubborn. Bears are strong and sturdy. Deer are beautiful and nimble. All those words can be used to describe Inosuke as well.

The clothes in Demon Slayer may not have a lot of variety but the meaning behind what the characters do wear shouldn't be ignored.

.....

My Hero Academia's fashion is fine. I mean, the U.A. uniforms do give an air of sophistication with the button-ups and jackets. Although there are still the unrealistically short skirts. And when the characters are shown in street clothes, the outfits are varied and some are quite pleasing in my opinion.

Personal favorites are Itsuka and Hitoshi's because they're simple with little flares like the collar or stripes. Shows that they don't put too much thought into their outfits but still put effort into it.

(And yes, I am just using this as an opportunity to show off that I have manga in the original Japanese.)

I won't really talk about the Hero costumes because that's a whole other can of worms that's strongly influenced by the characters' desire to be flashy and marketable. Practicality isn't considered that much from what I can tell. I will say this though: none of the students' costumes are good (aesthetically, practically, or even both) when you take a real close look at them. I think the adults are better, though not perfect.

.....

Black Clover is... One of the servers I'm in has a channel called "fashion police" for a reason. In this medieval fantasy setting, the fantasy is turned up all the way while medieval is low.

Just look at the Black Bulls.

Lightning round.

-Henry's in his pajamas, enough said. -Gordon is in some military uniform that we don't see anywhere else. -Yami's dressed like a bum. -The pads on Gauche's elbows and knees distract me and the lines on his pants and boots?! -Zora is basically Eijirou's Hero costume but worse (and there are already problems with that). -Finral is fine for the most but I think the boots need adjusting. -Vanessa's issue is that it's so much of one color (yes the hat ribbon and grimoire bag add another color but I personally feel like it isn't enough). -I think I have a shirt exactly like Luck's which isn't a good sign and his grimoire bag's placement also deducts points. -Noelle's outfit is illogical and inappropriate for her age. -Grey's is sensible for the most part (like how the shoe straps match the belt) but I think the divide of blue and white should be lower, maybe at stomach level. -Secre is in a ballet dress and could use shoes and a couple accessories to make her design less barren. -Charmy dresses like a grade schooler and it suits her size but, eh, I think a cute blouse could work too. -And although Nacht isn't pictured above, I have a slight issue with all his belts and that stupid high collar.

I think Magna and Asta (pre-Heart Kingdom training. Post-Heart makes me a sad mama) have the best outfits. They've got simple outfits with little details that prevent them from being completely plain. And honestly, I could see real people wearing those fits.

And it's not just them!

I mean! Why are there holes in Solid and Nozel's pants? Where are Noelle's pants?! Why do all the older siblings have such crusty looking hair?! Why do the fire Vermillions all wearing the same thing (seriously aside from jacket lengths and shoes styles, they are all wearing the same thing)?! Why can't the Golden Dawn have consistent cape colors?! Charlotte's breastplate and helmet make no sense and Sol's outfit is barely existent!

.....

Whew, I think I burned myself out with that one! Didn't think I'd go so hard, especially at the end. I legitimately surprised myself with that.

Hopefully you don't find my ranting too off-putting, anon. I just put all my thoughts out where without much of a filter.

[mediaeval-muse]

Random Green Knight thoughts from when @lilyhandmaiden and I (plus some non-tumblr friends) went to see it. We’re all medievalists or medieval-adjacent.  Spoilers below.

-Gawain jumping across table to fight the Green Knight was a good choice. In the poem, it's ambiguous as to what actually happens (the GK simply bares his neck), but showing Gawain as frustrated or angry while the GK is bowing, as if in submission, was a good character choice. Lilyhandmaiden pointed out that in chivalry, a knight should never strike a man when he's down/surrendered, so when Gawain does that (with everyone watching)... that's good shit

-King Arthur's court is very old in the movie, whereas it's very young in the poem. There's something interesting about portraying Gawain's story at the end of a dying dynasty, which is mirrored by the dying landscape G travels through (the dead on the battlefield, trees being cut down, a fire at the opening with no one giving a shit). Our group wasn't sure if these things stand in for the faults of Arthur's court - we wanted it to, because the whole point of the original poem was that G's quest and failure was an indictment of Arthur's court. But personally, I don't think there was a strong critique of the SYSTEM in the movie in the same way there was a critique of the system in the poem. The movie was more about Gawain and (as Lilyhandmaiden pointed out), the cycle of violence (via the fake out ending) that comes from acting in self-interest. Gawain's decision to take off the green belt ("girdle" in the poem) felt like the movie was saying that G can disrupt that cycle.

-I liked that the movie presented G as a selfish person in need of reform (the journey through the woods was interesting - stripping the "trappings" of knighthood via G getting robbed, the broken shield, testing his honor via St Winifred which was a nod to some other Arthurian myth, Lilyhandmaiden says...   though I think St. Winnifred's well is mentioned in the SGGK poem? ).

-The girdle stuff was a weird reversal of what happens in the poem. In the movie, the girdle is the one things G does RIGHT at the end to prove his honor (he takes it off and yay everything's good). In the poem, the girdle is a symbol of G's greatest shame and the failures of Arthur's court. He doesn't take it off in the poem, so the GK gives G a nick on the neck and berates him for being a coward and deceitful snake, but then says "still, you're a pretty great knight." Gawain doesn't think so, because he's so ashamed, and when Arthur hangs up the girdle as a symbol of G's "victory," the message is that the court is a bunch of hot-headed jocks who don't know real honor. BUT the movie was deliberate in the way it altered these events, so I can't be too mad. Just intrigued.

-There wasn't a lot of exchange at Joel Edgerton's castle to make clear what the big deal about the girdle was. In the poem, Gawain gives Bertilak (Joel Edgerton) everything the Lady gives him EXCEPT the girdle (including the kiss). In the movie, G never gave Bertilak anything - he was deceptive all the way through. Interesting choice. I can't decide personally if it made the kiss in the woods more threatening or aggressive or something. Also, every animal that B hunts (deer, boar, fox) mirrors what's going on between G and the Lady. That's kind of absent in the movie, but whatever.

-Lilyhandmaiden liked how Lady Bertilak (fancy Alicia Vikander) was being agentive in not only recording stories but making them. I found it weird that she invented photography.

-I guess there can be an argument in there about the Gawain photography portrait being an inverted one. Maybe something about light/the sun plus water. Maybe there's a subtle tarot card meaning in there since Lady Bertilak was doing something with cards (inverted portrait = hanged man = self sacrifice? or dilemma? self-limiting/feeling trapped?) but I dunno because doesn't that portrait make an appearance in the fake-out ending?

-None of us knew what Gawain's mother was trying to do. Witchcraft spooky?

-Lilyhandmaiden pointed out that Bertilak's castle looked early modern more than medieval, which made it seem out-of-time/liminal. Good choice, considering that's kind of the point of the woods in medieval poetry.

-We liked that the fox lived (it gets hunted and killed in the poem) and we thought the giants were cool.

-At one point I was like "Dev Patel has had at least 10 drinks in this movie and he's not had to pee so someone needs to make sure he's ok."

[chnqin]

My Epic MDZS/The Untamed Daemon AU

I’m sure other people have already done Daemon AUs, but this idea wouldn’t leave me alone. I have been working on this for like three weeks now.

I just wrote down my first instinctive thought for most characters, and then researched* further into subspecies etc. What I found for a lot of the animals made me agree with my first opinion even more, although all of these are obviously just my own opinions. I also decided to stick to non-mythological animals. (some characters have been given a lot more consideration than others, I’m sorry)

Wei Wuxian: beech marten Beech martens are quick and clever. The are nocturnal, omnivores, and skilled swimmers. They move through paths made by larger animals such as hares in the snow. {further notes under read more}

Lan Wangji: white hare More solitary animals. They have an association with the moon, which I tend to associate LWJ with. {f/n}

Jiang Cheng: osprey Aquatic birds; good hunters. {f/n}

Lan Xichen: white stag {f/n}

Jiang Yanli: asian black bear {explained in detail under the read more}

Jin Zixuan: lion Ngl it’s probably because the Persian pokemon reminds me of him

Jin Guangyao: domestic cat {f/n}

Nie Huiasang: pangolin {f/n}

Nie Mingju: wolf {f/n}

Wen Qing: Chinese sparrowhawk {f/n}

Wen Ning: black Formosan mountain dog (tuguo) {f/n}

Lan Sizhui: Xiasi Quan dog or red panda or badger {f/n}

Jin Ling: lion {f/n}

Lan Jingi: monkey They’re respected animals but also have a mischievous side

Ouyen Zihzen: capybara No, they’re not native to China, but this is what I imagined him as and I couldn’t get it out of my head or find a perfect substitute

Xiao Xinchen: swan He just gives me major swan vibes, possibly something to do with Swan Lake (as do some Lans but they’re not graceful in the same way or tragic in the same way)

Song Lan: oriental hobby falcon or black horse He struck me as some sort of raptor, but I also liked a horse for him 

Luo Qingyang/Mianmian: lynx

Lan Qiren: sheep Symbolise filial piety. Also follow other people without question (*cough* the Lan Sect elders)

Jiang Fengiman: otter Spends a lot of time around the water, just what popped into my head

Yu Ziyuan: snake Because Zidian

The Jiang Sect favour animals who live near or on the water, some even possessing daemons which are fully aquatic, and thus are unable to leave Lotus Pier

The Lan Sect usually have herbivore animals for daemons and favour swift, elegant animals.

The Jins tend towards lions and panthers, but also flashy, rich birds like pheasants and peacocks (which makes WWX’s nickname for JZX even more funny).

The Nies often have pack or herd animals. Wolves and mountain lions are very common, but also a lot of horned animals like oxen, mountain goats and sheep (bighorn sheep and ibex are common), and also wild boar.

The Wens were typically birds of prey (the Dire Owl becomes Wen Chao’s daemon) or mountain cats.

The Yus often have daemons which take reptile form. Wildcats also common.  I quite like the idea that the Yus are a sect which has cultivated the ability to separate themselves from their daemons.

~Further notes on why I picked these animals, Daemon settling, angsty AUs of my AU, and research disclaimer under the cut~

Story & Research Notes:

(I’m going with the idea that trauma can make a daemon settle into a particular form)

WWX A marten was the first thing to come to mind for WWX, I have no idea why, but the more I thought about it the more I liked it. They’re really inquisitive, playful, and cute, but are also predators and will fuck you up if necessary.  A crow was another obvious choice because they’re curious and inventive, but with a bit of a dark connotation. However, in my version at least (I’m not great on His Dark Materials canon), Daemons usually settle in the early teens, and at that point WWX really didn’t have as much darkness in him as he develops later. 

I think WWX was one of those people whose daemon changed with every thought and feeling of his, whose daemon changed so rapidly and so repeatedly that people would complain of motion sickness watching it. His daemon’s most common forms were a martin, a magpie, an otter (which drove Madam Yu nuts), and (after JYL’s settled) very occasionally a bear.

When WWX comes back most people don’t realise anything is wrong because Mo Xuanyu always hid his daemon (I think it was probably something like a field mouse although how funny would it be if Little Apple was actually his daemon and WWX unknowingly inherited her along with the body), so they just think his has settled into something too big to hide now. However, his beech martin is the other reason Lan Wangji knows who Wei Wuxian is (WWX’s daemon hides from Jiang Cheng at Dafan Mountain, so JC only suspects it’s WWX). (Angsty AU further down)

LWJ I know that arctic hares aren’t native to China, but I want you to pretend that something like that does exist because I need lwj to have a white hare daemon. They are also bigger than other hares and cuter (they look slightly less cursed than some hares do). I’m imagining a lot of the daemons being slightly bigger than their real-life animal counterparts would be, so imagine the ears coming up to a normal person’s hip-height when the daemon is sitting. Rabbits can also apparently symbolise hope, and that suits someone who is known to go where the chaos is, bringing hope and light in the darkness. 

As a child, LWJ’s daemon was expressive in a way he never could be. It liked to take snow leopard form a lot, which was seen as excessively violent to the Lan sect, who preferred non-carnivorous animals, and often snarled at people. His daemon always took snow leopard form when visiting his mother so it could curl up with her tiger daemon. 

LWJ’s daemon settled exceptionally early, shortly after his mother’s death, into an acceptable hare form. Lan Xichen always wondered if LWJ himself made his daemon settle, if she was not supposed to have been a snow leopard all along, and so always looks upon LWJ’s daemon with a bit of sadness because he feels like it was LWJ stifling - almost killing off - a part of his personality (spoiler: it was) in order to fit into the Lan sect.

(More on that in an angsty AU below)

JC Ngl, I wanted to make Jiang Cheng a goose because they’re always angry but I didn’t. Jiang Cheng shifted mostly between a hunting dog and a mouse as a child, both of which infuriated Yu Ziyuan (honestly what she wanted her children’s daemons to be even I don’t know). Jiang Cheng’s daemon settled very late (another thing his mother wasn’t happy with). In fact, it didn’t settle till the attack on Lotus Pier and the death of his parents, when it took the shape of an osprey (because he wanted to be able to fly away and pretend none of it ever happened). 

Even more angsty: One Chinese poem has the Osprey as a symbol of marital harmony and fidelity. Upon seeing his parents death, finally united in a way they hadn’t been in life, JC’s constant wish for his parents to love each other (and, by extension, him) physically manifests itself in his daemon.

JYL I know what you’re thinking. Why the hell did you give Jiang Yanli a bear of all people. Well I’ll tell you. For two reasons: one, because I can do what I want, and two, because I would say one of JYL’s most central characteristics is her wish to look after people. She’s not physically strong in the way most other cultivators are, however, and she’s always having to keep the peace at home - and so I can see her daemon becoming a physical manifestation of that need to protect (bears are known to be protective, particularly mothers), and a physical example of her inner strength which is so often overlooked.

Yanli shifted between a dove, a crane, and a maritime striped squirrel for most of her childhood. She favoured the squirrel and dove (incredibly mild animals) over the crane, which disappointed Madam Yu.  It’s one of the reasons Jin Zixuan never saw her as a potential match, her daemon too small and docile to match his almost constant lion daemon.

When Jiang Yanli was around fourteen Madam Yu took things with Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng too far one day, and Yanli saw it. Her daemon suddenly shifted into a bear, a form it had never taken up to that point, and jumped on Yu Ziyuan’s snake daemon. WWX and JC always remembered Yanli standing in the doorway, her expression placid while her huge bear daemon growled with absolute fury and menace. Everyone expected Yanli’s daemon to go back to its usual squirrel or dove form, but it never did. It remained a bear, and remained the biggest daemon of pretty much anyone in any of the sects.

I had already picked a crane as one of JYL’s potential daemons because of its connection to water and positive symbolism in China. Upon further (hopefully accurate) research, I saw that cranes depicted with lotuses in Chinese art symbolise purity and longevity, and I liked making her daemon a bear even more, because her daemon took that form to protect WWX and JC - years after her death, they both wondered if, had her daemon had taken crane form, maybe she wouldn’t have died. From what I found, “crane” is also a homophone for 合 hé “peace, harmony”, which is a quality Jiang Yanli had much of, and tried to inspire in others.

LXC I think its LXC’s hairpiece which always makes me think of deer antlers (even though it’s a dragon?), so that’s probably why I immediately thought of a stag for him. But stags are also very noble and refined looking animals which don’t tend towards violence, but also have horns for a reason. Obviously, like with LWJ, it’s a white stag because aesthetique. Upon further research, I discovered a (hopefully correct) source which says 鹿 lù (deer) is a homonym with 璐 lù (precious jade), and the character for deer is used within the character 丽 lì ‘beautiful; elegant’ - both fit LXC very well.

JGY Cats are sneaky little fuckers (I say this with love). The ultimate predator in small unassuming form. Many of the main Jin family have big cat daemons so this is kind of another smack in the face for JGY - so close to being a real part of the Jin family, but still kept apart from them - and something people like to bring up along with his mother. However, many Jins are also birds (including JGS), and cats prey on birds.

NHS I thought a fox was a bit on the nose. Also I like the way pangolin’s just drop and curl up in defence - it’s a viable form of protection, but to the outside appears cowardly. However, their scales are sharp and can cut predators who come after them. Also I didn’t want him to fit into any of his sect’s typical animals. Also also imagine how cute it would look being carried around everywhere by NHS because it’s too lazy to walk, absolutely adorable.

NMJ A wolf was what immediately came to mind for Nie Mingjue. Wolves are apparently sometimes associated with greed, self-interest, and lechery, but I think the pack elements and the carnivore/hunting nature of the wolf really suits NMJ and the Nie clan in general, so I decided to overlook that aspect (although I did briefly consider making JGS a wolf, but I like them as animals too much in real life to do that to them and also he doesn’t have a soul, so he doesn’t get a daemon).

WQ I always saw Wen Qing as some sort of hawk, I just think it suits her very well. The Chinese sparrowhawk is quite small and very beautiful. It has white, red and grey colours. They are good hunters and swift flyers. 

WN I knew I wanted Wen Ning to be some sort of dog because he’s very loyal, and also (angsty) when the Jins call the Wens dogs I wanted that to hurt even more. He’s very unusual for a Wen, none of the main sect have dog daemons - it is very much a thing that is specific to their branch of the Wen family. The mountain dog I picked for him is an endangered breed, which I also felt fitted WN well. From what I found, dogs symbolise watchful wisdom, honesty, and loyalty, which all fit Wen Ning. 

This was all perfect till I remembered WWX’s all-consuming fear of dogs. I decided to get round this by cheating and saying that for some reason daemons are different and he’s not scared of them (because they represent a part of someone’s soul, rather than being a real animal? I guess?? Please do not look too hard at this delicately constructed card tower) 

Angsty version: when Wen Ning becomes a fierce corpse he loses his daemon, another reason people are unsettled by him and another thing WWX feels guilty about.

LSZ I think Lan Sizhui was the hardest to pick. I couldn’t decide which way to go: should he follow a “Lan approved” daemon pattern; should he have a bird like Wen Qing and a lot of other Wens? Then I saw the Xiasi Quan and it’s white and fluffy and cute but it was also a hunting and a guard dog, which seemed right for him. And I liked that it gave LSZ and WN this one very tangible connection. It is also endangered.  However, I also liked a red panda and a badger for Lan Sizhui too. I really couldn’t decide between the three. I like them all, why is he the hardest to choose for? (I’m still not 100% happy with this, let me know if you have any alternative suggestions)

Again, please suspend your disbelief at the fact that WWX’s child has a dog daemon and he’s fine with this (it would have looked so cute as a little puppy running around the Burial Mounds though).

When he was younger his daemon liked to take on the forms of those closest to him. So you’d often see a bby marten running after WWX’s daemon, a tiny bird perched with Wen Qing’s sparrow-hawk, a puppy following Wen Ning’s dog around, and a tiny bby rabbit in Cloud Recesses. As he got older it shifted between the dog, a red panda, and a badger. (maybe I’ll just say his hasn’t settled yet and that’s why I can’t decide)

JL Jin Ling definitely also had a daemon which shifted because of a) his loved ones and b) his mood, and he hated it. As if his own explosive temper didn’t give him away enough, his daemon always showed his exact feelings. When he wanted nothing more than his mother to be there it would be a bear. When he was feeling defensive about his parents it would turn into a lion (this happens when he and WWX first meet and any time people talk about his parents’ deaths). When he was younger his daemon spent a lot of time as a cat and a bird, although different types to what his uncles had. 

Jin Ling’s daemon still hasn’t settled when WWX is resurrected, and he is absolutely mortified the one time it decides to turn into a beech marten like WWX’s. Eventually it will settle into a lion, and WWX will pretend to be grumpy that it didn’t choose a bear instead.

Angsty AUs:

Daemons are linked to golden cores Jiang Cheng loses his daemon along with his core. When Wei Wuxian’s core is removed it’s more like when daemons and humans are separated in the books. His daemon stays with him, but can move about freely - this is part of what causes WWX to rapidly destabilise, not just resentful energy. Jiang Cheng always feels weirdly aware of WWX’s daemon after that but doesn’t know why. WWX’s daemon is technically connected to JC too, and also finds this weird. JC also can’t work out why his daemon never came back with his golden core, and that loss is part of why he’s so angry and isolated.

The effect of trauma on Daemons Another angsty au is based on the idea that, if trauma can make your daemon settle early, then trauma can also make it change.

When Wei Wuxian is thrown into the Burial Mounds, he wishes so hard to be able to fly that his beech marten turns into a crow (because I do love a crow for him too). I kind of like the idea that after the Burial Mounds WWX’s daemon almost un-settles itself, and can change between a marten and a crow. This really freaks people out and is another reason people say he’s dangerous.

Similarly, after Wei Ying’s death and the Lan sect’s punishment, Lan Wangji wakes up to find his daemon has shifted from its hare to snow leopard form. In his soul, LWJ feels like if he had been less passive and actually stood with WWX then his soulmate would still be alive. His daemon changes from a more passive hare to the more aggressive snow leopard.

He’s criticised by the elders for it, but they shut up when his daemon flattens theirs, while LWJ’s face remains an impassive mask but his eyes promise murder. WWX is really sad when he comes back to see LWJ’s hare gone and blames himself for causing LWJ so much trauma his daemon changed. (personally if I were writing a Daemon AU this is what I would have happen, because I love LWJ with a snow leopard daemon - they symbolise bravery and martial ferocity, while rabbits are virtue and gentleness, and I feel like these two both accurately represent the two sides of LWJ. I really feel like LWJ has a huge shift in himself after WWX’s death which would be represented in his daemon. It also is, in a way, a return of a core part of himself which was lost after his mother’s death)

Sword/Instrument substitute Mixing Daemons with sword sprits - the animal becomes a physical representation of the spiritual tool. Some people could therefore have more than one daemon (for example, LWJ could have Bichen - his rabbit sword daemon - and Wangji - his snow leopard guqin daemon)

Angsty version: WWX actually does die in the burial mounds and Suibian, his beech martin, dies/changes into Chenqing, a raven/crow.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.  .·。.·゜✭·.·✫·゜·。..・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. 

If you are reading this you have made it to the end of this post, well done.

 I wanted to make it shorter but I had too many ideas and wanted to explain my reasoning for my choices and decided just to put it all in one post rather than lots of little ones.

*Disclaimer: I know only the smallest amount of Chinese, and have taken all my information about imagery, word meanings, and homophones etc from web-sources, and so it is very possible I have made mistakes. Though I have, to the best of my abilities, attempted to check on the cultural/artistic meaning, if any, that certain animals have in Chinese culture, the internet lies and I can’t get any decent books on it atm as the libraries are closed, so I’m really sorry if there are errors and I hope people will forgive any mistakes or blunders I might have made. 

[butterflies-dragons]

The quote you can read in the image is from Sansa III - A Game of Thrones. Who else could be better at telling us about stories and songs than the fairy tale princess of ASOIAF?    

Well then, let’s talk about magical beasts and the true knights that do them no harm. Or, why I believe, among many other reasons, that Jon Snow is Sansa Stark’s wished/dreamed knight (*).  

A WHITE HART IN THE KINGSWOOD

(Art credit: A New King by Dani-Owergoor)

First, a bit of background about the possible inspirations GRRM has used for the very rare and magical white hart: 

‘Hart’ is an archaic word for a mature stag.   

A stag is an adult male deer.

Deer were the only animals held sacred to the Greek goddess of the hunt Artemis herself. On seeing a deer larger than a bull with horns shining, she fell in love with these creatures and held them sacred. 

The Celtic people considered them to be messengers from the otherworld.

Arthurian legend states that the creature has a perennial ability to evade capture, and that the pursuit of the animal represents mankind's spiritual quest. 

The white stag is also prevalent in Hungarian mythology; it was believed that a white stag led the brothers Hunor and Magor to Scythia, an action which preceded the formation of the Hun and Magyar people.

In a French legend, anyone who killed a white hart was cursed with the pain of unrequited love. I didn’t find a better source for this one, but in the French/German movie La Belle et la Bête (2014), the Prince killed a deer and he was transformed into a beast in punishment. 

In English Folklore, the white hart is associated with Herne the Hunter. Herne the Hunter is a ghost associated with Windsor Forest and Great Park in the English county of Berkshire.

Thanks to the legend of King David I of Scotland with a white hart, the animal became a symbol for christianity.

The White Hart was the personal badge of King Richard II of England. Richard's White Hart is recumbent and wears a gold crown as a collar, attached to a long gold chain. 

Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Scouting movement, spoke these words about the white stag: “The White Stag has a message for you. Hunters of old pursued the miraculous stag, not because they expected to kill it, but because it led them in the joy of the chase to new and fresh adventures, and so to capture happiness.” 

The Chapter 17 of C. S. Lewis’ book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, is called ‘The Hunting of the White Stag’: One day, Mr. Tumnus brings them news that a magic White Stag has been seen in the woods in the West. Anyone who catches the Stag is granted wishes, so the Kings and Queens go out to hunt for him.  

As we can see, along the history, the white hart has been a sacred creature, blessed by gods, a messenger between worlds, an emblem for kings, a symbol for religions, and the guide of humanity in the greatest quests.

Now, let’s analyze its meaning inside the ASOIAF world. 

A war galley of the royal fleet in service to the Iron Throne was called the White Hart. 

During the events of A Game of Thrones, a white hart appeared in the kingswood and Robert Baratheon wanted to hunt it:   

A white hart had been sighted in the kingswood, and Lord Renly and Ser Barristan had joined the king to hunt it, along with Prince Joffrey, Sandor Clegane, Balon Swann, and half the court. So Ned must needs sit the Iron Throne in his absence.

—A Game of Thrones - Eddard XI

The Baratheon sigil is a crowned black stag on a field of gold, so basically, King Robert wanted to hunt the rare white magical version of the animal symbol of his House. Robert Baratheon and his hunting crew, Joffrey included, are not true knight material.

After a time living in Kings Landing and knowing her betrothed a bit better,  Sansa knew that Joffrey was not true knight material; deep down she knew about his killing/harming tendencies, yet she tried to accommodate Joff as someone that, at least, would never harm/kill innocent people:   

“I had a dream that Joffrey would be the one to take the white hart,” she said. It had been more of a wish, actually, but it sounded better to call it a dream. Everyone knew that dreams were prophetic. White harts were supposed to be very rare and magical, and in her heart she knew her gallant prince was worthier than his drunken father.

“A dream? Truly? Did Prince Joffrey just go up to it and touch it with his bare hand and do it no harm?”

“No,” Sansa said. “He shot it with a golden arrow and brought it back for me.” In the songs, the knights never killed magical beasts, they just went up to them and touched them and did them no harm, but she knew Joffrey liked hunting, especially the killing part. Only animals, though. Sansa was certain her prince had no part in murdering Jory and those other poor men; that had been his wicked uncle, the Kingslayer. She knew her father was still angry about that, but it wasn’t fair to blame Joff. That would be like blaming her for something that Arya had done.

—A Game of Thrones - Sansa III

But even knowing that Joffrey likes the killing part of hunting, Sansa doesn’t use the word “kill” at all. She says: “Joffrey would be the one to take the white hart” / “her gallant prince was worthier than his drunken father.” / “He shot it with a golden arrow and brought it back for me.” As if she was trying to say that Joffrey only captured the magical beast to bring it back for her, as a gift. Not its skin for a cloak, not its meat for a feast, but the rare animal itself would be the gift. And at this, I can only think that Sansa was remembering her late Lady. I will expand on this point later.      

As you can see, Sansa elaborates a new song about Joffrey, her gallant prince, shooting the white hart with a golden arrow and bringing the magical beast back for her, as a gift. Now, the presence of the white hart and the addition of the golden arrow in Sansa’s retelling of the old songs, make me think about Artemis and her presence in a lot of fairy tales.

As I mentioned before, deer were the only animals held sacred to Artemis herself. And, another symbols of the Greek goddess are her bow and arrows, that happen to be golden. That’s why I think Sansa, in her innocence, imagines her prince shooting the white hart with a golden arrow, because the magic weapon from the gods themselves could wound the beast without killing it, allowing its capture saving Joffrey of punishment for the transgression of hunting a sacred animal.  And I also think that GRRM has used Artemis and the legends around her in the events that followed the appearance of the white hart.            

This version of Joffrey shooting the white hart with a golden arrow sounds pretty similar to the depiction of the Prince in the 2014 Franco-German film “La Belle et la Bête”:

At night, Belle has a vivid dream, revealing the backstory of the Prince: he enjoys hunting, but often ignores the Princess who loves him but is lonely. The Prince is after an elusive golden deer, and when the Princess asks him to stop hunting the deer, he promises to do so if she will give him a son. (...) Belle has one final dream about how the Prince broke his promise and killed the golden deer. While dying, the deer transformed into the Princess, revealing she was the Nymph of the Forest who became human because she wanted to experience love. She begged her father, the God of the Forest, to spare the Prince from his wrath. But he transformed the Prince into a beast, changed the hunting dogs into Tadums, and his friends into statues. The God of the Forest proclaimed that only the love of a woman would break the Beast's eternal curse.

This Prince that likes hunting and the ignored and lonely Princess, also remind me, differences aside, of King Robert and Queen Cersei.  

So, if we follow the legends and songs, whoever killed the white hart would be punished by the gods. But in the end, neither Robert nor Joffrey killed the magical beast:

They found the white hart, it seems… or rather, what remained of it. Some wolves found it first, and left His Grace scarcely more than a hoof and a horn. Robert was in a fury, until he heard talk of some monstrous boar deeper in the forest. Then nothing would do but he must have it.

—A Game of Thrones - Eddard XII

In this passage, Littlefinger was updating Ned about King Robert’s hunting adventures in the kingswood.  The wording here is very telling, it’s like Littlefinger was actually telling us the truth about King Robert’s hunting and his upcoming death. 

It is possible that the white hart was only used to lure King Robert’s attention, taking him into the kingswood, lessening his protection, so the attempt of killing him would be easier.  We know that Cersei plotted to kill Robert and after his death and Ned’s rejection of vowing for Joffrey, the Starks were framed as Robert’s killers, just like Littlefinger said the wolves killed the white hart. But the lions were the real kingslayers, with the complicity of the boar.  

Again, the presence of the boar reminds me of Artemis: 

The boar is one of the favorite animals of the hunters, and also hard to tame. In honor of Artemis' skill, they sacrificed it to her. Oineus and Adonis were both killed by Artemis' boar [x].

In some versions of the story of Adonis, Artemis sent a wild boar to kill Adonis as punishment for his hubristic boast that he was a better hunter than her [x].

Since Oineus had made sacrifices yearly to all the gods during the harvest ceremonies, but had omitted to honor Artemis, in anger she sent a boar of immense size to lay waste the district of Calydon [x]. 

As you can see, King Robert’s death seems like a recreation of Adonis or King Oienus myths, with the “monstrous boar” sent to kill him as punishment for his desire to hunt the white hart.  

And please take note how very well crafted is the symbolism of King Robert’s and Ned Stark’s deaths, with the use of the animals of their sigils killing each other and how the true killers, the lions, are hidden:

A direwolf dead in the snow, a broken antler in its throat = Ned Stark’s death: 

Catelyn wished she could share his joy. But she had heard the talk in the yards; a direwolf dead in the snow, a broken antler in its throat. Dread coiled within her like a snake, but she forced herself to smile at this man she loved, this man who put no faith in signs. "I knew that would please you," she said. "We should send word to your brother on the Wall."

—A Game of Thrones - Catelyn I

Ned shook his head, refusing to believe. "Robert would never harm me or any of mine. We were closer than brothers. He loves me. If I refuse him, he will roar and curse and bluster, and in a week we will laugh about it together. I know the man!"

"You knew the man," she said. "The king is a stranger to you." Catelyn remembered the direwolf dead in the snow, the broken antler lodged deep in her throat. She had to make him see. "Pride is everything to a king, my lord. Robert came all this way to see you, to bring you these great honors, you cannot throw them back in his face."

—A Game of Thrones - Catelyn II

But Ned’s killer was a fake stag, Joffrey, who was truly a lion...

A white hart dead in the kingswood, the wolves left just a hoof and a horn = King Robert Baratheon’s death:

They found the white hart, it seems… or rather, what remained of it. Some wolves found it first, and left His Grace scarcely more than a hoof and a horn. Robert was in a fury, until he heard talk of some monstrous boar deeper in the forest. Then nothing would do but he must have it.

—A Game of Thrones - Eddard XII

But King Robert’s killers were the lions, Cersei and Lancel... 

And talking about lions, let’s go to our next magical beast:

HRAKKAR, THE WHITE LION OF THE DOTHRAKI SEA

(Art credit: White Lion and Full Moon by deskridge)

‘Hrakkar’ are a breed of white lion native to the Dothraki sea.

I’m not sure if the hrakkar is rare and magical and subject of legends like the the white hart, but it seems like its hunt and capture is important for the Dothraki: 

"This day I will go to the grass and hunt, woman wife," he announced as he shrugged into a painted vest and buckled on a wide belt with heavy medallions of silver, gold, and bronze.

"Yes, my sun-and-stars," Dany said. Drogo would take his bloodriders and ride in search of hrakkar, the great white lion of the plains. If they returned triumphant, her lord husband's joy would be fierce, and he might be willing to hear her out.

(...)

The brazier was cold again by the time Khal Drogo returned. Cohollo was leading a packhorse behind him, with the carcass of a great white lion slung across its back. Above, the stars were coming out. The khal laughed as he swung down off his stallion and showed her the scars on his leg where the hrakkar had raked him through his leggings. "I shall make you a cloak of its skin, moon of my life," he swore.

—A Game of Thrones - Daenerys VI

Then, after Drogo’s death, Dany wears the pelt of the hrakkar as a way to remember her late husband:  

Her hair had burned away in Drogo's pyre, so her handmaids garbed her in the skin of the hrakkar Drogo had slain, the white lion of the Dothraki sea. Its fearsome head made a hood to cover her naked scalp, its pelt a cloak that flowed across her shoulders and down her back. The cream-colored dragon sunk sharp black claws into the lion's mane and coiled its tail around her arm, while Ser Jorah took his accustomed place by her side.

—A Clash of Kings - Daenerys I

It was Drogo who had given her the pelt she wore, the head and hide of a hrakkar, the white lion of the Dothraki sea. It was too big for her and had a musty smell, but it made her feel as if her sun-and-stars was still near her

—A Dance with Dragons - Daenerys I

Also, during her visit to the House of the Undying, Daenerys has a series of visions, one of them was the hrakkar: 

Faster and faster the visions came, one after the other (...) A white lion ran through grass taller than a man (...)

—A Clash of Kings - Daenerys IV

I have no more to say about the hrakkar, but it’s very interesting the parallels between Robert, Cersei and the white hart, with Drogo, Daenerys and the hrakkar:

King Robert Baratheon pursued to kill the white hart. 

Khal Drogo killed the hrakkar. 

King Robert Baratheon’s wife, Cersei Lannister, willingly plotted to kill him with the help of Lancel Lannister and the fortunate intervention of a monstrous boar.  

Khal Drogo’s wife, Daenerys Targaryen, unwillingly participated in Drogo’s death by requesting Mirri Maz Duur to attend a wound in Drogo’s chest, and later, requesting that the maegi practice blood magic to save Drogo’s life. As a result, Khal Drogo got catatonic and Daenerys killed her husband smothering him with a pillow.

Cersei Lannister later framed Ned Stark as the traitor that plotted King Robert’s downfall and death. Ned Stark was beheaded for treason. 

Daenerys Targaryen later blamed Mirri Maz Duur for Drogo’s downfall and death. Mirri Maz Duur was burned alive for treason.

As I said before, it’s very interesting that King Robert and Drogo (Cersei’s and Dany’s husbands) went to hunt these beasts: the white hart and the hrakkar, and later both men died, killed by their own wives. As if the gods really punish the ones that kill or pursue to kill the magical white beasts...     

But there is a white magical beast that was found by someone that, despite not being a proper knight, embodied all those vows and acted like a true knight in a song: 

GHOST, THE ALBINO DIREWOLF

(Art credit: White Wolf by  Kay-Ra )

A PACK OF DIREWOLVES FOUND IN THE SUMMER SNOWS

As we already know, everything started with The Starks, GRRM’s favorite House:

Jen Louise says: Have you got a favourite House?

Probably the Starks. After all, it all began with the Starks.

—GRRM Empire Webchat Transcript 2012

RS: You’ve talked before about the original glimpse of the story you had for what became A Song of Ice and Fire: a spontaneous vision in your mind of a boy witnessing a beheading, then finding direwolves in the snow. That’s an interesting genesis.

GRRM: It was the summer of 1991. I was still involved in Hollywood. My agent was trying to get me meetings to pitch my ideas, but I didn’t have anything to do in May and June. It had been years since I wrote a novel. I had an idea for a science-fiction novel called Avalon. I started work on it and it was going pretty good, when suddenly it just came to me, this scene, from what would ultimately be the first chapter of A Game of Thrones. It’s from Bran’s viewpoint; they see a man beheaded and they find some direwolf pups in the snow. It just came to me so strongly and vividly that I knew I had to write it. I sat down to write, and in, like, three days it just came right out of me, almost in the form you’ve read.

—Rolling Stone 2014

The finding of the direwolves in the summer snows is a very important event of the story, part of the start point of the whole series. 

The fact that this generation of Stark kids got a direwolf for each of them is very significant and extraordinaire. The direwolves are connected to the Old Gods of the North and the Children of the Forest:

"Only one man in a thousand is born a skinchanger," Lord Brynden said one day, after Bran had learned to fly, "and only one skinchanger in a thousand can be a greenseer."

"I thought the greenseers were the wizards of the children," Bran said. "The singers, I mean."

"In a sense. Those you call the children of the forest have eyes as golden as the sun, but once in a great while one is born amongst them with eyes as red as blood, or green as the moss on a tree in the heart of the forest. By these signs do the gods mark those they have chosen to receive the gift. The chosen ones are not robust, and their quick years upon the earth are few, for every song must have its balance. But once inside the wood they linger long indeed. A thousand eyes, a hundred skins, wisdom deep as the roots of ancient trees. Greenseers."

—A Dance with Dragons - Bran III

As you can see, the eyes’s colors of the Children of the Forest match the eyes’s colors of the Stark kid’s direwolves: Grey Wind, Lady, Nymeria and Summer have golden eyes. Ghost has red eyes and Shaggydog has green eyes.

And we all know that the six Stark kids are skinchanger or wargs: 

Are all the Stark children wargs/skin changers with their wolves?

To a greater or lesser degree, yes, but the amount of control varies widely.

[Source]

Oh, George said all the Stark children of this generation were full Wargs. I thought they were like one shot Wargs and were only bonded to their wolves but no they can warg into just about anything. Bran is just the only one working on it.

[Source]

GRRM has also reminded us time after time that each of the direwolves is a part of their masters: 

They were all staring at him, but it was Sansa's look that cut. "She is of the north. She deserves better than a butcher."

He left the room with his eyes burning and his daughter's wails echoing in his ears, and found the direwolf pup where they chained her. Ned sat beside her for a while. "Lady," he said, tasting the name. He had never paid much attention to the names the children had picked, but looking at her now, he knew that Sansa had chosen well. She was the smallest of the litter, the prettiest, the most gentle and trusting. She looked at him with bright golden eyes, and he ruffled her thick grey fur.

Shortly, Jory brought him Ice.

When it was over, he said, "Choose four men and have them take the body north. Bury her at Winterfell."

"All that way?" Jory said, astonished.

"All that way," Ned affirmed. "The Lannister woman shall never have this skin."

—A Game of Thrones - Eddard III

"A hall is no place for a wolf. He gets restless, you've seen. Growling and snapping. I should never have taken him into battle with me. He's killed too many men to fear them now. Jeyne's anxious around him, and he terrifies her mother."

And there's the heart of it, Catelyn thought. "He is part of you, Robb. To fear him is to fear you."

"I am not a wolf, no matter what they call me." Robb sounded cross. "Grey Wind killed a man at the Crag, another at Ashemark, and six or seven at Oxcross. If you had seen—"

"I saw Bran's wolf tear out a man's throat at Winterfell," she said sharply, "and loved him for it."

—A Storm of Swords - Catelyn II

When he finally put the quill down, the room was dim and chilly, and he could feel its walls closing in. Perched above the window, the Old Bear's raven peered down at him with shrewd black eyes. My last friend, Jon thought ruefully. And I had best outlive you, or you'll eat my face as well. Ghost did not count. Ghost was closer than a friend. Ghost was part of him.

—A Dance with Dragons - Jon III

Catelyn and Ned reflected about the importance of the direwolves and how it was probable that the old gods have sent the magical beasts for their children: 

She put a finger to his lips. "Let me tell it all, my love. It will go faster that way. Listen."

So he listened, and she told it all, from the fire in the library tower to Varys and the guardsmen and Littlefinger. And when she was done, Eddard Stark sat dazed beside the table, the dagger in his hand. Bran's wolf had saved the boy's life, he thought dully. What was it that Jon had said when they found the pups in the snow? Your children were meant to have these pups, my lord. And he had killed Sansa's, and for what? Was it guilt he was feeling? Or fear? If the gods had sent these wolves, what folly had he done?

—A Game of Thrones - Eddard IV

She showed Brienne her palms, her fingers. "These scars . . . they sent a man to cut Bran's throat as he lay sleeping. He would have died then, and me with him, but Bran's wolf tore out the man's throat." That gave her a moment's pause. "I suppose Theon killed the wolves too. He must have, elsewise . . . I was certain the boys would be safe so long as the direwolves were with them. Like Robb with his Grey Wind. But my daughters have no wolves now."

—A Clash of Kings - Catelyn VII

"Any man Grey Wind mislikes is a man I do not want close to you. These wolves are more than wolves, Robb. You must know that. I think perhaps the gods sent them to us. Your father's gods, the old gods of the north. Five wolf pups, Robb, five for five Stark children."

"Six," said Robb. "There was a wolf for Jon as well. I found them, remember? I know how many there were and where they came from. I used to think the same as you, that the wolves were our guardians, our protectors, until . . ."

"Until?" she prompted.

Robb's mouth tightened. ". . . .until they told me that Theon had murdered Bran and Rickon. Small good their wolves did them. I am no longer a boy, Mother. I'm a king, and I can protect myself." He sighed. "I will find some duty for Ser Rolph, some pretext to send him away. Not because of his smell, but to ease your mind. You have suffered enough."

—A Storm of Swords - Catelyn II

And there is also the fact that three Stark men have died after saying the direwolves’s names:

Robb died after pronouncing his direwolf’s name: Grey Wind.

"Yes. Robb, get up. Get up and walk out, please, please. Save yourself . . . if not for me, for Jeyne." "Jeyne?" Robb grabbed the edge of the table and forced himself to stand. "Mother," he said, "Grey Wind . . ." "Go to him. Now. Robb, walk out of here."

—A Storm of Swords - Catelyn VII

Jon died after pronouncing his direwolf’s name: Ghost.

Jon fell to his knees. He found the dagger's hilt and wrenched it free. In the cold night air the wound was smoking. "Ghost," he whispered. Pain washed over him. Stick them with the pointy end. When the third dagger took him between the shoulder blades, he gave a grunt and fell face-first into the snow. He never felt the fourth knife. Only the cold …

—A Dance with Dragons - Jon XIII

Ned pronounced Sansa’s direwolf name: Lady, before killing the pup. And later he was executed after confessing treason as a way to save Sansa’s life:  

He left the room with his eyes burning and his daughter's wails echoing in his ears, and found the direwolf pup where they chained her. Ned sat beside her for a while. "Lady," he said, tasting the name. He had never paid much attention to the names the children had picked, but looking at her now, he knew that Sansa had chosen well. She was the smallest of the litter, the prettiest, the most gentle and trusting. She looked at him with bright golden eyes, and he ruffled her thick grey fur.

—A Game of Thrones - Eddard III

"If I did, my word would be as hollow as an empty suit of armor. My life is not so precious to me as that."

"Pity." The eunuch stood. "And your daughter's life, my lord? How precious is that?"

A chill pierced Ned's heart. "My daughter …"

"Surely you did not think I'd forgotten about your sweet innocent, my lord? The queen most certainly has not."

"No," Ned pleaded, his voice cracking. "Varys, gods have mercy, do as you like with me, but leave my daughter out of your schemes. Sansa's no more than a child."

—A Game of Thrones - Eddard XV

Ned’s case is different, because he didn’t die immediately after saying Lady’s name, but he said Lady’s name just before he killed the direwolf. Later though, Ned died while hearing Sansa’s screams and hysterical sobbing.  

By killing Lady, Ned killed a part of Sansa, his own daughter, so he not only killed a magical beast, but this could also be considered kinslaying, both crimes forbidden and punished by the gods.  

So, the pack of direwolves found in the summer snows are magical creatures probably sent to this generation of Stark kids by the Old Gods. The direwolves sound like the rare and magical beasts from the songs that Sansa mentioned in AGOT when she knew about the white hart sighted in the kingswood.

While listing the possible inspirations that GRRM has used for the white hart, I found out that along the history, the white hart has been a sacred creature, blessed by gods, a messenger between worlds, an emblem for kings, a symbol for religions, and the guide of humanity in the greatest quests.  And the direwolves fit every criteria of that list: they are sacred creatures, blessed by the Old Gods of the North, messengers, guardians and protectors for the Stark kids, the sigil of House Stark and the old Kings of Winter, symbols of the Old Gods and the guide of the Stark kids for their greatest quest: The Long Night and the Battle for the Dawn.   

Now let’s talk about a particular direwolf, Ghost: 

IN THE SONGS, THE KNIGHTS NEVER KILLED MAGICAL BEASTS, THEY JUST WENT UP TO THEM AND TOUCHED THEM AND DID THEM NO HARM

Earlier in this post I mentioned that even knowing that Joffrey likes the killing part of hunting, Sansa doesn’t use the word “kill” at all, when she told Jeyne about her dream of Joffrey “taking the white hart and bringing it back to her”. 

Sansa told to Jeyne: “Joffrey would be the one to take the white hart” / “her gallant prince was worthier than his drunken father.” / “He shot it with a golden arrow and brought it back for me.” As if she was trying to say that Joffrey only captured the magical beast to bring it back for her, as a gift. And when I read that I thought that Sansa was remembering Lady. Why, you may ask? Because her brothers have actually found magical beasts in the summer snows: 

“A wolf,” Robb told him. “A freak,” Greyjoy said. “Look at the size of it.” (...) “It’s no freak,” Jon said calmly. “That’s a direwolf. They grow larger than the other kind.” Theon Greyjoy said, “There’s not been a direwolf sighted south of the Wall in two hundred years.” “I see one now,” Jon replied. Bran tore his eyes away from the monster. That was when he noticed the bundle in Robb’s arms. He gave a cry of delight and moved closer. The pup was a tiny ball of grey-black fur, its eyes still closed. It nuzzled blindly against Robb’s chest as he cradled it, searching for milk among his leathers, making a sad little whimpery sound. Bran reached out hesitantly. “Go on,” Robb told him. “You can touch him.” Bran gave the pup a quick nervous stroke, then turned as Jon said, “Here you go.” His half brother put a second pup into his arms. “There are five of them.” Bran sat down in the snow and hugged the wolf pup to his face. Its fur was soft and warm against his cheek.

—A Game of Thrones - Bran I

First thing to note is that the Stark kids: Jon, Robb and Bran are true knight material = In the songs, the knights never killed magical beasts, they just went up to them and touched them and did them no harm. But the rest of the Stark crew... not so much:

“No matter,” said Hullen. “They be dead soon enough too.”

Bran gave a wordless cry of dismay.

“The sooner the better,” Theon Greyjoy agreed. He drew his sword. “Give the beast here, Bran.”

The little thing squirmed against him, as if it heard and understood. “No!” Bran cried out fiercely. “It’s mine.”

“Put away your sword, Greyjoy,” Robb said. For a moment he sounded as commanding as their father, like the lord he would someday be. “We will keep these pups.”

—A Game of Thrones - Bran I

But while Robb and Bran were fiercely defending the pups against Theon’s attempt to kill them, Jon Snow was thinking for a better and lasting solution:  

“Lord Stark,” Jon said. It was strange to hear him call Father that, so formal. Bran looked at him with desperate hope. “There are five pups,” he told Father. “Three male, two female.”

“What of it, Jon?”

“You have five trueborn children,” Jon said. “Three sons, two daughters. The direwolf is the sigil of your House. Your children were meant to have these pups, my lord.”

Bran saw his father’s face change, saw the other men exchange glances. He loved Jon with all his heart at that moment. Even at seven, Bran understood what his brother had done. The count had come right only because Jon had omitted himself. He had included the girls, included even Rickon, the baby, but not the bastard who bore the surname Snow, the name that custom decreed be given to all those in the north unlucky enough to be born with no name of their own.

Their father understood as well. “You want no pup for yourself, Jon?” he asked softly.

“The direwolf graces the banners of House Stark,” Jon pointed out. “I am no Stark, Father.”

—A Game of Thrones - Bran I

Jon Snow saved the direwolf pups! He sacrificed himself so his siblings/cousins could keep them. And he was rewarded for it. He got a very special direwolf pup for himself.

Yes! Within the significant scene of the elder Stark boys finding the first five direwolves, Jon Snow finding the sixth one, Ghost, the albino direwolf, is the one that stands out:

Halfway across the bridge, Jon pulled up suddenly.

“What is it, Jon?” their lord father asked.

“Can’t you hear it?”

Bran could hear the wind in the trees, the clatter of their hooves on the ironwood planks, the whimpering of his hungry pup, but Jon was listening to something else.

"There," Jon said. He swung his horse around and galloped back across the bridge. They watched him dismount where the direwolf lay dead in the snow, watched him kneel. A moment later he was riding back to them, smiling.

"He must have crawled away from the others," Jon said.

"Or been driven away," their father said, looking at the sixth pup. His fur was white, where the rest of the litter was grey. His eyes were as red as the blood of the ragged man who had died that morning. Bran thought it curious that this pup alone would have opened his eyes while the others were still blind.

"An albino," Theon Greyjoy said with wry amusement. "This one will die even faster than the others."

Jon Snow gave his father's ward a long, chilling look. "I think not, Greyjoy," he said. "This one belongs to me."

—A Game of Thrones - Bran I

GRRM didn’t give us Sansa, Arya and Rickon reaction to the direwolves from their POV, we just got this bit from Catelyn’s:

He lifted his head to look at her. "Catelyn," he said. His voice was distant and formal. "Where are the children?"

He would always ask her that. "In the kitchen, arguing about names for the wolf pups." She spread her cloak on the forest floor and sat beside the pool, her back to the weirwood. She could feel the eyes watching her, but she did her best to ignore them. "Arya is already in love, and Sansa is charmed and gracious, but Rickon is not quite sure."

"Is he afraid?" Ned asked.

"A little," she admitted. "He is only three."

Ned frowned. "He must learn to face his fears. He will not be three forever. And winter is coming."

—A Game of Thrones - Catelyn I

But knowing Sansa, grand connaisseur of songs and stories, I can clearly imagine her reaction at the tale told by her brothers of how they found the six pups in the summer snows, very similar to this one:

The pale pink light of dawn sparkled on branch and leaf and stone. Every blade of grass was carved from emerald, every drip of water turned to diamond. Flowers and mushrooms alike wore coats of glass. Even the mud puddles had a bright brown sheen. Through the shimmering greenery, the black tents of his brothers were encased in a fine glaze of ice.

So there is magic beyond the Wall after all. He found himself thinking of his sisters, perhaps because he'd dreamed of them last night. Sansa would call this an enchantment, and tears would fill her eyes at the wonder of it, but Arya would run out laughing and shouting, wanting to touch it all.

—A Clash of Kings - Jon III

Sansa would have called the tale a song, she would have declared the direwolves magical beasts, and she would have proclaimed her brothers true knights.    

And I bet she would have been particularly fascinated by Ghost, the albino one, the rarest of the pack due to his coloring and being mute.  And Ghost was only found at the end by Jon alone. And I still wonder how could Jon hear the little pup when we all know Ghost is mute.  

See? Jon Snow is literally Sansa Stark’s wished/dreamed knight from the songs, he found, protected and saved the magical white beast, so different to Joffrey and the rest of false knights and butchers she has encountered so far.    

And I thought Ghost would be of great importance not only for Jon but also for Sansa in the future Books.

Ghost is the third magical white beast presented in ASOIAF, next to the white hart and the hrakkar.

Ghost is also the third albino creature presented in ASOIAF, next to Bloodraven and the Ghost of High Heart, a rumored Children of the Forest. 

Ghost also shared its colors with the weirwood tree:

WHITE AS BONE, RED AS BLOOD

Have you ever stopped to think about how Ghost is always described as the weirwood tree?

The weirwood is a species of deciduous trees found in Westeros, now found most commonly in the north and beyond the Wall.

The five-pointed leaves and the sap of weirwoods are blood-red, while the smooth bark on their wide trunks and wood are bone white. Most weirwoods have faces carved into their trunks. This was done by the children of the forest in ancient days, and is now done by the free folk as well as other descendants of the First Men, such as followers of the old gods in the Seven Kingdoms praying to heart trees in godswoods. In some cases sap has collected in the crevices of the carved faces, giving the trees red eyes which have been known to drip sap as if the trees were weeping. A weirwood will live forever if undisturbed.

Weirwoods are considered sacred to the followers of the old gods, and children of the forest believe weirwoods are the gods. [x]

The weirwood tree is also called the heart tree:

At the center of the grove an ancient weirwood brooded over a small pool where the waters were black and cold. "The heart tree," Ned called it.  The weirwood's bark was white as bone, its leaves dark red, like a thousand bloodstained hands. A face had been carved in the trunk of the great tree, its features long and melancholy, the deep-cut eyes red with dried sap and strangely watchful. They were old, those eyes; older than Winterfell itself. They had seen Brandon the Builder set the first stone, if the tales were true; they had watched the castle's granite walls rise around them. It was said that the children of the forest had carved the faces in the trees during the dawn centuries before the coming of the First Men across the narrow sea.

—A Game of Thrones - Catelyn I

Now, let’s see how Ghost is described:

"He must have crawled away from the others," Jon said.

"Or been driven away," their father said, looking at the sixth pup. His fur was white, where the rest of the litter was grey. His eyes were as red as the blood of the ragged man who had died that morning. Bran thought it curious that this pup alone would have opened his eyes while the others were still blind.

—A Game of Thrones - Bran I

And suddenly Ghost was back, stalking softly between two weirwoods. White fur and red eyes, Jon realized, disquieted. Like the trees …

—A Game of Thrones - Jon VI

Red eyes, Jon realized, but not like Melisandre’s. He had a weirwood’s eyes. Red eyes, red mouth, white fur. Blood and bone, like a heart tree. He belongs to the old gods, this one.

—A Storm of Swords - Jon XII

The most famous weirwood tree in Westeros is the one in the godswood of Winterfell:

When Jon closed his eyes he saw the heart tree, with its pale limbs, red leaves, and solemn face. The weirwood was the heart of Winterfell, Lord Eddard always said … but to save the castle Jon would have to tear that heart up by its ancient roots, and feed it to the red woman’s hungry fire god. I have no right, he thought. Winterfell belongs to the old gods.

—A Storm of Swords - Jon XII

As the weirwood is called the heart of Winterfell, Ghost is also part of Jon:

When he finally put the quill down, the room was dim and chilly, and he could feel its walls closing in. Perched above the window, the Old Bear's raven peered down at him with shrewd black eyes. My last friend, Jon thought ruefully. And I had best outlive you, or you'll eat my face as well. Ghost did not count. Ghost was closer than a friend. Ghost was part of him.

—A Dance with Dragons - Jon III

So, in Ghost, we have a symbol of the weirwood tree, and the children of the forest believe that the weirwoods are the old gods themselves.

As I already said in other metas, Ghost and Lady are presented in the Books, as complementary and shared very interesting parallels and contrasts: [x] [x]. 

Indeed, with Jon’s death and the previous death of Lady, we have two Stark kids incomplete. Throughout the books we have read many times that the direwolves are part of the Stark kids. Sansa lost her direwolf and then Ghost lost its master. So, after that, I think that Sansa and Jon will be a great complement for each other’s lost part. 

And I think George has hinted at that with this passage:

When Sansa opened her eyes again, she was on her knees. She did not remember falling. It seemed to her that the sky was a lighter shade of grey. Dawn, she thought. Another day. Another new day. It was the old days she hungered for. Prayed for. But who could she pray to? The garden had been meant for a godswood once, she knew, but the soil was too thin and stony for a weirwood to take root. A godswood without gods, as empty as me.

—A Storm of Swords - Sansa VII

After leaving Winterfell, Sansa lived in the Red Keep and in the Eyrie, both castles without a weirwood: The heart tree of the Red Keep’s godswood was a great oak and the Eyrie’s godswood has no heart tree at all.  Sansa lost Lady, Sansa lost part of her, Sansa lost the weirwood of her her godswood. A role that Ghost could easily play for her.

To sum it up:

The weirwood tree is called a heart tree, and Winterfell’s weirwood tree in particular is called the heart of Winterfell.

The weirwood is a part of Winterfell (its heart) and Ghost is also part of Jon.

Ghost is a symbol of the weirwood tree, and the children of the forest believe that the weirwoods are the old gods themselves.

Sansa lost Lady, her direwolf and part of her. 

Sansa, after leaving Winterfell, has lived in castles with godswoods without gods (without a weirwood).  

Sansa felt as empty as a godswood without gods (without a weirwood).

Ghost could be the missed weirwood for Sansa’s empty godswood.

Jon and Sansa sharing Ghost, a symbol of the weirwood tree (heart tree), would be as if they share the same heart.

Jon and Sansa sharing Ghost would be like a recreation of the song called “Two Hearts that beat as one”. They would be two souls sharing the same heart. 

I would call this song: “One heart that beat for two souls”. Which reminds me of my favorite e.e. cummings’ poem: i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart). Which is also the title of a larger “unfinished” meta of mine where I vastly explore Jon and Sansa’s connections with Winterfell and the heart tree (I put parts of it in this post).     

So there you have it. Jon Snow finding a magical white beast in the summer snows, coming for it, touching it and doing it no harm, could be the beginning of a great song about two souls sharing the same heart. 

“In the songs, the knights never killed magical beasts, they just went up to them and touched them and did them no harm”

“There is a song about the Queen in the North and the White Wolf, it is a story about two souls sharing the same heart “

(*) I dedicate this post to @shieldofrohan​; because, as she loves to say, she bullied me and annoyed me so much and for so long, that I ended up finishing this meta.  She has promised to keep being an annoying bully to me until I finish all my “unfinished” metas.  

[twdmusicboxmystery]

FTWD 6x07 - Details

Okay, let's talk details. Even aside from the major and obvious parallel I talked about yesterday, there were quite a few smaller Beth symbols throughout the episode.

***As always, spoilers for 6x07 abound below. Don’t read until you’ve watched!***

The first one was right in the opening shot. We see a deer being eaten by walkers and the camera zooms in closely on the deer's face and the eye. So, deer symbolism which points to both taxidermy elements of the episode, but also, deer symbolism = Beth. Which is important because of the Dakota both parallel, and it focuses in on the eye. (Sirius Symbolism).

When Strand and Samuels ride ahead to try and figure out what happened to Terry, there's a tree fallen across the road. And it's obvious that someone cut it down. (Turns out to be Morgan.) But we’ve seen this kind of symbolism around Beth proxies a lot. We saw fallen trees in 5x10 after the storm, and right before the music box woke up. We also saw one in 6x14, just before Denise died. And obviously she was a big Beth proxy two. So, I seeing one in this episode right before Dakota goes missing is important.

After they discover Dakota is gone, Strand says, "only one person matters right now and she's gone." So more of the “gone” symbolism and an echo of Daryl's, "she's just gone," from 4x16.

As I said yesterday, Ed's hunting lodge sort of gave me white cabin vibes from the missing S5 scenes. When Alicia sneaks in, she crawls under a chain and squeezes through the door it's holding shut. I reminded me a lot of Daryl and Carol doing that and consumed, which was when they were looking for Beth.

I’ll say it again, but the animals we see stuffed inside also symbols we see used a lot. The bear (bear symbolism), a bird of some kind. I'm not sure what kind it is. But it does kind of remind us of the blackbirds in the opening credits of TWD. A bobcat (cat symbolism associated with Daryl) and, of course, more deer. Later in the episode, we also see a boar’s head. (Pig Symbolism).

Alicia finds Ed working on a walker which is strapped to his table in his basement. The whole set up reminded me a lot of the funeral home from Alone. Just having a body on a table like that and the fact that it was a walker, not a human.

The songs playing are “Tonight You Belong to Me,” and “Jeepers Creepers.” I won’t go into either of them too much, but look up the lyrics. The first is about belonging to someone for a short time and the moonlight. The second is all about a person’s eyes. And both mention the dawn. So yeah, we can definitely read into those. ;D

I probably shouldn't read into this too much, but the names used in this episode definitely caught my attention. First, there's Ed. Carol's abusive ex-husband was named Ed. I'm not saying that has anything to do with Beth, but they could've used in the name of the world, right? And they used a name well known in the fandom due to Carol's arc. Next is that he had a daughter named Emily. Again, I'm not saying they're necessarily trying to use that as some sort of TD/return symbolism, but it was just a little jarring to actually hear Emily's name come up in this episode when there such a huge Beth parallel in it.

Ed asks if either of them plays chess and then he plays Dakota. We’ve talked about chess before. There are a lot of reasons that they may use it as TD symbolism. For one thing, the Queen is all-important in chess. It's also a strategic game, where players are lost periodically throughout. Which might be the writer's way of symbolizing all the characters who have been lost. We saw it heavily around the governor, in the two episodes in S-4 where he had a lot of parallels.

While Ed and Dakota play chess, was also a record playing. (No lyrics in this song, though.) He says, “Queen’s Gambit.” I’m not much of a chess player so I had to look that up. Aside from the mini-series that’s currently popular on Netflix, it’s a well-known chess move. Feel free to look it up on Wikipedia yourself, but let’s just say that it smacks strongly of a prisoner exchange.

Ed turns the music on loudspeakers to draw walkers in. Obviously a music theme, but it specifically ties to things like The Big Spot in 4x01, or Operation Lead the Walkers Away in S6. They did this more recently in S10 to lead the Whisperer horde away from the hospital.

Ed has an interesting line when he's explaining himself to Alicia. He's trying is tell her that everything is his fault. That it's his fault his family died, etc. He makes a point of saying, "I created them, but I couldn't control them."

I feel like this is an important theme. I'm not sure where it's leading yet, but I'm wondering if there will end up being a reveal that the virus was man-made and then got out of control. Or maybe it will have something to do with the helicopter group. I don't know. But it felt like a mic-drop moment, and like something we should remember going forward.

Also? At Grady, Joan said something similar to this to Dawn. “You can’t control them,” speaking, presumably, of the officers.

Then of course Morgan shows up, saying that he heard the music. I talked about how suspicious I am about Morgan showing up at the end of this and what it might mean for Beth yesterday.

We also learned that, had Alicia's original plan to exchange Dakota for her and Charlie being released worked, she was planning on taking them back to the stadium. That caught my ear because there's been a lot of talk recently about Madison's return. You wouldn’t think she would still be at the stadium, but you never know. Maybe she is. After all the talk in the fandom about it lately, I just couldn't help but side-eye that a little bit. 

Then Alicia and Morgan quarrel about what to do with Dakota. The thing that jumped out about this part is that Morgan basically wants to do another prisoner exchange, exchanging Dakota for the others in his group (presumably June and Daniel). They don't actually end up doing it, but it was sort of a nod to Grady.

 We also learned that Morgan was the one who attacked the convoy, trying to get a hold of Dakota so he could use her as leverage against Virginia. Again, something we saw just prior to Coda, with TF purposely setting a trap for the officers so they could use them as prisoners in the exchange.

It’s also worth mentioning that, for the characters in the episode (Alicia and Charlie, though this was true of Al and Dwight a couple of episodes ago too) the moment when they saw Morgan was a resurrection moment. We, the audience, have obviously known  he’s alive since ep 1, but they haven’t. So this was someone coming back from the dead for them. 

We learn that Virginia may have killed her own parents. But we don't know how. Me and my fellow theorists talked about how trustworthy Dakota is. I do like her overall, but one thing that bugs me is that the main characters don't press her. For more information. She said before that not only is she Virginia’s sister but that she hears everything that goes on in that house. So, I think she has to no more than she's saying. But her go to answer about anything is, "I don't know." Personally, I don't think she's going to turn out to be evil or anything, but I do think she knows more than she's saying.

Finally, Strand returns to Virginia and says that he's on her side and will help her bring back everyone Morgan has liberated.

For the record, while Strand always seems to have an agenda and to want to do things his way, I don't think he's actually working against Morgan's group. I think this is his way of being undercover and helping them from the inside. But Virginia believes him and takes him to where she's secretly hiding Grace, it was still very pregnant.

Dun, dun, dun! End of MSF.

So, yeah. That's what I have for details. Anybody pick up on anything I missed?

[mrkanman]

game theory time boys

What Are The Corrupted Souls?

The Rusty Lake universe tells the story of those affected by the titular location that transcends several generations, with THESE bad boys as malevolent, ghostly apparitions that give you just generally a hard time. 

The White Door told us the story of Robert Hill, who is a confirmed corrupted soul, detailing the events of his involvement with the mysterious death of the woman. But moreso than Bob’s story, we actually started getting some more insight in what Corrupted Souls actually ARE which I’m gonna try to rationalize to the best of my ability--let’s go.

(SPOILERS FOR THE WHITE DOOR AHEAD) 

In the timeline, the first instance of a corrupted soul that we see is Caroline Eilander. 

Caroline Eilander had died prior to the events of Rusty Lake: Paradise, and was studying how to acquire the elixir of life in secret before her death. Her animal symbolism is the owl, which is shared by both her son Jakob and by Dale Vandermeer, and is typically representative of being the “ruler of the Lake.”

As a corrupted soul, her memories were split apart into ten black cubes that contained the elements for the elixir of life, which she bestowed upon Jakob to aide in his path to enlightenment. She was able to send down a plague as a corrupted soul, speak, and disappear and re-appear at will. When her bones are recovered during the ninth plague, they are ground into “magical powder”. So while her mind may have become broken, and the soul itself split off as its own entity, her body still had anomalous effects on it. 

This is important when we examine what happens in the White Door.

The body dies, the soul is carried over. But the body isn’t gone--it’s replaced.  

During the last plague in Rusty Lake: Paradise, Jakob is burned alive, but achieves enlightenment. *How* this happens at first seems vague, but by the end, and by what the game often instructs us to do, it becomes clear. 

The Elixir of Life alone is not enough to reach enlightenment, one must also embrace a corrupted soul, or well, *literally* merge with a corrupted soul. Mr. Owl was created when the elements were gathered as the cubes and when Caroline Eilander merged with Jakob, creating an entirely new being with (suspected) unlimited immortality and wisdom.

Corrupted souls are not so much as “ghosts” are they like the limbo between death and rebirth, a concept that is repeatedly echoed throughout the series. They eat, they sleep, and speak at times, but are strongly disposed towards violence and can even seem like wild animals. But they are like cocoons for the cycle of rebirth. 

Which is why I propose that: Mr. Boar, Mr. Deer, Ms. Pheasant, Mrs. Pigeon, and Mr. Rabbit *are* definitely reincarnations of the Eilander family, they’re very deliberately NOT the Eilanders when they are alive. It is only as Corrupted Souls do their past lives merge with each other, and their memories and perception of reality becoming confused and erratic. 

Their containment in the hotel effectively served as a stasis chamber, keeping them in their corrupted state to prolong the cycle of rebirth until they’re needed. When they broke out, some of them stayed at the lake as corrupted souls stalking for potential victims, while some split off and left the lake, still corrupted, but in a different “state,” a different life. 

Mr. Rabbit had tried to re-enter society as a corrupted soul, remembering the past life of David Eilander, but based off of what happens to Bob in a similar fashion as a corrupted soul, reality is distorted and Eilander is too unstable, resulting in the massacre of Dale Vandermeer’s family in order to retrieve The Pistol.

These pistols seem not to *kill* so much as, change your state of being. In the Blue Cube timeline of Dale’s birthday, Mr. Rabbit is shot and, as he is absorbed by the tree, beams of light shoot out of his body. Beams of light coming out of a corrupted soul is generally connotative with the soul being destroyed/purified. But as stated, he doesn’t die, he’s merely in a new state and returned to the lake. 

 Which brings me to the “Lady of the Lake” theorized to be Ms. Pheasant. 

Now the REAL “Lady of the Lake” is Caroline Eilander, as seen in painting depictions, so it’s important to recognize that this is a *stage production.* The woman in blue is playing a role, much like how Pheasant did in the Hotel. 

For this to be one of the lives of Elizabeth Eilander, I’d actually wager it to not be such a bad guess. It would be natural to assume for her daughter to inherit her legacy, even only as a pretender. She’s seen here in both a corrupted and non-corrupted state, which I don’t feel so much as to be a literal representation of her so much as how she perceives herself, or perceived through the lenses of the memories. 

Because another notable thing about Elizabeth is that she was blind, and not once was the Lady in Blue ever shown to open her eyes. This corrupted soul is still a PERSON, and in likely a similar state to how Bob was after he shot himself in the White Door(no memory of her past life and just generally being confused) and was taken in by the theatre as a performer to be kept close to the lake and still get to use her memories. 

These are the more concrete parallels and conclusions we can come to, with the relationship between Mr. Deer’s corrupted soul and Albert Vanderboom being one which I won’t go into depth: but there could be implication that Albert had also been trying to recreate the elixir, same as his father did, and maybe had a lost soul influencing him after 1894. (Which, mind you, two years later after the corrupted souls were released did he murder and torture his family outright.) I think the fact that the Corrupted Soul of Mr. Deer looking a lot like the silhouette of Albert was intentional in that way. He may have been a potential candidate for enlightenment before his brain was collected for William’s rebirth, maybe even becoming a corrupted soul himself. 

So basically what I’m saying is: corrupted souls are not so much as “souls” but as the physical embodiment of the inbetween of life and death, in which the lake serves as a sort of “womb” for. They cannot distinguish between imagination and reality, are supernaturally aggressive and malicious, have scattered and unreliable memories of all their past lives at once, and DO subsist off of a carnivorous diet, primarily that which of animals (or people) that are still alive. They can be killed and resurrected, are intelligent but only sometimes sapient, and the perception of how they physically manifest can depend on the level of corruption at which they are at. A living person *can* be corrupted with enough exposure to black cubes being forcibly extracted, but it’s a typically longer and riskier process. 

[whenerosmetpsyche]

Life Calling to Us

An astrologer I avidly follow and study closely is Ernst Wilhelm whose philosophy of astrology includes the practice of observing “life calling to us” by observing the symbols and energy around us. Astrocartography and local astrology move towards this idea, but Ernst has always claimed it to be much simpler. He sees astrology living with us on earth, in our environment, and our day-to-day lives. So while a solar return foretells the year, paying attention the day of your birthday can outline it just as well. Likewise, while a horary chart can answer a question, a read of the landscape at the right moment can too. One example Wilhelm gives seeing a hawk fly by as you ponder when you’ll hear back from a friend. The hawk is the messenger and you’ll have your answer soon. 

Per Wilhelm’s philosophy these events are entwined with you and your natal chart and your location on the planet. 

To me it sounded akin to the way I try to intuitively move through life by reading the currents of life, but the details felt like a reach. And although Ernst was able to operationalize the process of reading the world in a way that made sense to me, in practice, I remain doubtful of my daily interpretation of life’s events. But I’ve been trying. 

A Solar Return in a Day

This Aquarius season I have been attempting to read the world like Ernst. To start I took up his recommendation and purchased these cards, called Medicine Cards (created by Jamie Sams and David Carson) and I’ve been watching for animals. Coincidences. Events. So now the crow that routinely uses the gutter hanging over my corner bedroom window as a birdbath is no longer just a bird. It’s nice to know the house I lived in years ago was actually protected by the countless neighborhood raccoons that would greet my return, and not haunted by them. Or that the summer hummingbirds in my garden portend joy. Even the cobwebs are encouraging. And because my birthday passed by recently, I thought I would document the day to observe how closely it aligned with my solar return. Here is roughly what happened:

1) so very little sleep and late to everything 2) weird technical outages in public situations 3) waited in the wrong line at the DMV for nearly 45 minutes 4) almost failed my vision test due to a misunderstanding 5) rare successful shopping trip (I am super picky about clothes) 6) so many chatty people around me everywhere all the time 7) felt strangely chatty myself 8) one of the more lovely evenings in recent memory 9) an overwhelming sense of gratitude and love 10) some encouraging financial news

Based on this day it would seem the year will be stressful, frenetic, busy, not as planned, bureaucratic and delayed due to miscommunications. The second half looks social, encouraging and optimistic. 

In comparison my solar return looks like a lot of communication work (school crap) and a lot of behind the scenes work. Perhaps the clothes are all about finding the right fit with my research? Jupiter is in my solar return’s second house so maybe my income looks like it could increase this year. And I ate salmon for dinner which I hope symbolically means more inner wisdom to come? I’m crossing my fingers.

The Symbolism of Animals

Sadly I saw few living animals during the day, but I did use the Medicine cards to identify the animal totems that walk beside me so I’ll know their meaning when I see them in the future. For my left side of nurturing I pulled a butterfly (meaning transformation -- and Psyche!), and for my right side of fatherly protection I pulled a dog (loyalty), and horse (power). Above I linked to a blog which has posted the contents of the book so you can read about the animals that routinely come into your life and their meaning. And although I did not notice any butterflies, dogs, or horses on the big day, a friend of mine reported being attacked by a mountain lion on hers. The symbolism of the mountain lion is a call to leadership -- which I guess technically she had been fleeing much like the lion that chased her down the hill. And I did run into a horse in the city during my jog a few weeks ago while feeling particularly empowered. I remain unconvinced for the most part, but it has been fun looking at the world with this lens for a bit. And I’m still wondering what the stink bug invasion of my house indicates. My partner informs me we just need better insulation.

Here is a breakdown of animal meanings from Sams & Carson’s Medicine Cards.

EAGLE - Spirit

HAWK - Messenger

ELK - Stamina

DEER - Gentleness

BEAR- Introspection

SNAKE - Transmutation

SKUNK - Reputation

OTTER - Woman Medicine

BUTTERFLY - Transformation

TURTLE - Mother Earth / Nature Energy

MOOSE - Self-Esteem

WILD BOAR - Confrontation

SALMON - Wisdom & Inner Knowing

PORCUPINE - Innocence

COYOTE - Trickster

DOG - Loyalty

WOLF - Teacher

RAVEN - Magic

MOUNTAIN LION - Leadership

LYNX - Secrets

BUFFALO - Prayer & Abundance

MOUSE - Scrutiny

OWL - Deception

BEAVER - Builder

OPOSSUM - Diversion

CROW - Law

FOX - Camouflage

SQUIRREL - Gathering

DRAGONFLY - Illusion

ARMADILLO - Boundaries

BADGER - Aggressiveness

RABBIT - Fear

TURKEY - Give-Away

ANT - Patience

WEASEL - Stealth

GROUSE - Sacred Spiral

HORSE - Power

LIZARD - Dreaming

ANTELOPE - Action

FROG - Cleansing

SWAN - Grace

DOLPHIN - Manna

WHALE - Record Keeper

BAT - Rebirth

SPIDER - Weaving

HUMMINGBIRD - Joy

BLUE HERON - Self Reflection

RACCOON - Generous Protection

PRAIRIE DOG - Retreat

ALLIGATOR - Integration

JAGUAR - Integrity & Impeccability

BLACK PANTHER - Embracing the Unknown