#off topic but I hold to the belief that the Sun and Moon cast is the best Pokémon has ever done

[2manyflannels]

What’s wild is that Type: Null (at the time) was the only one of its kind so the fact that it COULD evolve was a concept Gladion did not know about. Was Type: Null a Pokémon created to evolve? Because the Aether Foundation created Type: Null to “fight” Ultra Beasts. Or did Gladion love and care for this Pokémon so much (and of course type: null loved and cared for him just as strong) that it broke free if not only it’s mask but also it’s genetics. It genetically grew stronger with Gladion to protect/continue to fight with him. I can only imagine Gladion’s surprise! The Dex even says

“Although its name was Type: Null at first, the boy who evolved it into this form gave it the name by which it is now known.” (-Moon Dex Entry)

[goblin-witch]

𝕋𝕚𝕡𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕨𝕤/𝔾𝕣𝕚𝕞𝕠𝕚𝕣𝕖

One of the most overwhelming tasks about committing to the craft (besides all the research and learning there is to do of course) is starting your Book of Shadows/Grimoire. Where do I start? What do I put in it? What if I run out of room? What if i mess it up? Trust me, that’s exactly how I felt too, but once you take that first initial step, it only gets easier! However, if you’re anything like me, even that first step can send you into a spiral. So I’ve created a helpful checklist of topics you could go over in your Book of Shadows/Grimoire. At the end of the day, what you put into your book(s) is completely up to you, and this list is simply meant to be used as a guide to help you start. So take a deep breath, grab a cup of tea or some water and let’s begin! ☕️💫📖

First off, let’s distinguish the difference between a Book of Shadows and a Grimoire. Well, to tell you the truth, there really isn’t one, they’re practically the same thing. The only difference (that I’m aware of) is that a Book of Shadows is a private collection of a witch’s spells, notes, recipes, diaries, etc. Typically, a witch’s Book of Shadows is scared to them and in some practices, often buried with them after their death. A Grimoire is more or less a collection of the witch’s knowledge - all things witchcraft, magic and the occult - but they are not as private. These are handy when doing spellwork, meditation, etc. as the witch can refer to it as necessary. Whether or not you keep your Grimoire private is completely your choice. Both books are deeply personal, but it is up to you to decide whether you will have one of each, multiple of each, only one of your choice, both combined into one, or whatever! 

The possibilities are endless, don’t worry too much about messing it up or leaving things out; it’s a marathon, not a race. You have plenty of time to make and remake, plus you are always going to be learning new things in the craft so your book will forever be expanding. I also want to mention that your Book of Shadows/Grimoire doesn’t have to be in physical form, it could be completely electronic! If it’s easier for you to have it all on paper, go for it! If you’d rather have it all digitalized, do it! If you want the best of both worlds, wonderful! Personally, I have both because I wanted an electronic version that I could constantly edit and once I’m in a good place with my knowledge, I’ll copy it all into a book. I also like the feel of holding a book while at my altar so I keep a physical copy of my Grimoire handy with simple notes and tarot entries.

If you like colors, you could add as many beautiful colors to it as you’d like. If you like to be organized, you could color coordinate! You could have a table of contents, which is what I did, to make searching a little easier. Don’t be afraid to make it messy if that’s what you like, and don’t be afraid to have it clean if that’s what feels right! Think of this as a fun project that you can always come back and make adjustments to if you’d like. 

🌟 𝕋𝕆ℙ𝕀ℂ𝕊 🌟

Name

Current Age

Date

Birth Chart

Your Beliefs

Focused Practices

Influences/Inspirations

References

The History of Witchcraft & Magick

The Salem Witch Trials

Types of Witches

Types of Magick

Scottish History of Witchcraft & Magick

Greek History of Witchcraft & Magick 

Science & Magick

Astrology

Zodiacs

The Planets

All About the Moon

All About the Sun

Planetary Hours

Paganism

Wicca

Greek Pantheon

The Titans

Gods & Goddesses

Mythology

Greek Rituals

Celtic Mythology & Folklore

History

The Druids

The Celts

Celtic Religion & Rituals

Celtic Deities

Fair Folk

Correspondences 

Herbs

Metals

Crystals

Colours

Animals

Familiars

Mineralogy

Herbalism

Natural Medicine

Holistic Healing

Symbols

Sigils

Amulets & Talismans

Spells, Opposing Spells/Hexes & Incantations

Casting a Circle

The Elements 

Wheel of the Year

Sacred Days & Festivals

Months & Seasons

The Cycle of Life & Death

Times of the Day

Days of the Week

Different Calendars

Auras

Chakras

Astral Projection & Spirit Guides

Dreamwork

Lucid Dreaming

Divination

Tarot

Runes

Palmistry

Numerology

Pendulums

Scrying

Necromancy

Angel Numbers

Magickal Tools

Candle/Fire Magick

Recipes

This is just a collection of what I’ve currently been writing about in my personal Grimoire so please feel free to reblog this and add more you think would be helpful. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, I hope it can be of use to you. Remember - your practice is completely yours, don’t let anyone tell you what to do when it comes to creating your book(s)! Blessed be. ☁️✨🦋🌙

[herecomesthewitch]

L’s Altar Building 101

This post includes many notes and writings from my own grimoire about altars, their construction and their maintenance. I have tried to keep things generalized, however please note that this is based around my own personal belief system and so may not match up with your own beliefs.

Altars are deeply personal to each practitioner. Altars are often for our Gods, for ourselves and for our goals, which obviously leads to very different altars depending on the practice. While in this post I will list things that I personally do with altars, it is important to understand that there is no right or wrong way to make an altar. Altars can be small or large, elaborate or simple, hidden or in the open. If you are new to building altars, I recommend experimenting with different styles to find out what works best for you and go from there.

⛤ What is an Altar? ⛤

In my grimoire, I define an altar as “An important powerspot in your home, a place for you to contemplate and honor the divine.” 

Going based on this definition, an altar can serve a variety of purposes, such as:

- Honoring your Deities - Praying or asking the spirits for help - Communicating with your guides and spirits - Meditating on a spiritual issue - Reflecting upon Sabbats or Esbats - Performing spells or rituals

⛤ How do I make an Altar? ⛤

The simple answer to this is, anyway you want to. As I’ve said before altars are personal and unique to each person. You don’t have to set up your altar any “certain” way. That being said, here is a run-down of how I build my altars.

1. Purpose. Figure out what purpose your altar will serve. Is this an altar for a specific deity? Is it a place to cast spells or do divination? Is it an altar for you?

2. Decor. Next you must establish what items should go on your altar. These items or decorations are meant to honor and reflect your purpose. 

3. Storage. Some of us like to keep all of our witchy things together in one space. Maybe due to space constraints or secrecy, or simply to keep everything neat and organized. This can be achieved with a shelf or a box to hold all your extra things on, or near, your altar, so if you get the urge to change your altar you don’t have to dig around your room to find things.

4. Images. If you have an altar for a specific deity or spirit or ancestor, keeping a photo or other image of them on the altar can help you feel more connected to them. These images can be drawings or paintings or symbols that represent your spirit or deity. They can be framed on the wall above the altar is that is more comfortable. You can also have statues or clay models of your deities.

5. Offerings. Usually on altars for deities or spirits, offerings are left. Depending on what kind of offerings you may want to use, leaving a space on your altar may be important. Different ideas for offerings are talked about below.

⛤ Why do I use an Altar? ⛤

1. Meditation/Reflection/Grounding. Having an altar set up can help us reach our “witchy” mindset much easier. This helps if you are a beginner, as having the “proper” mindset is often key to working magic. The altar can also serve as a reminder to meditate, or to ground after spell work. It’s also another way to work with your tools in a relaxed manner. For example, working with a new crystal or tarot deck at your altar.

2. Spellwork/Ritual. Having an altars sets aside a certain amount of space where we can perform our spells, crafts and rituals. If you have all your tools in one space, then you don’t have to worry about forgetting anything during your spell or ritual. During Sabbats and Esbats, you can decorate your altar as part of your celebration as well. 

3. Offerings. For altars that are made for deities and spirits, leaving offerings to them is usually the way to show them honor and gain their respect or favor. Depending on the deity or spirit, different types of offerings are more appropriate than others. It is best to research before hand what offerings are typically made to that deity or spirit. Some basic offerings usually include:

 - A bowl of water (changed daily) - A stick or cone of incense - A bit of food (if it is part of your own meal, theirs is normally served first out of respect) - Something you’ve made for them. This includes paintings/drawings, poems, letters, jewelry, trinkets, etc. - Prayers. Often the most simple offering is a word of thanks and a word of appreciation to your gods. - Flowers (usually changed when the flowers start to die) - A dish of milk or olive oil (this depends on what spirit/deity you are working with. Faeries are often left milk as an offering, and olive oil was a common offering to the Greek gods) - Candles (these can be simple tea light candles, or they can be colored to match your deities colors)

4. Deity/Spirit Communication. One way of using your altar is as a devotional platform to your chosen deity/spirit. Your altar can be a place where you simply sit and ask your deity/spirits to talk to you. You can use divination at your altar to receive messages from them as well. 

As often as altars are linked with deities and spirits, there are other things you can dedicate your altar to. Below is a short list.

Spirits

- Gods and Goddesses - Ancestors  - Faeries, Elves, Mermaids - Elementals (Sylphs, Gnomes, Salamanders and Undines) - Saints, Angels

Non-Spirits

- The Earth, the Sun or the Moon - The Planets or the Stars - A place, such as the ocean, a forest or the mountains - The Elements (Earth, Air, Fire, Water) - Your Self

⛤ Items to Include ⛤

There is a never-ending list of possible things to include on your altar, however in my grimoire I have a few items marked as “essential” to my practice.

- Elemental Representations - 

In my practice, the concept of the four basic elements is a main pillar. The four elements are (in my eyes) necessary for all magic to occur, and so out of respect for these elemental powers, I always keep a representation of them on my altar. When I first started out I used a rock, a feather, a candle and a sea shell to represent my elements. Years later I use little soapstone figurines in the shapes of animals I associate with the elements.

- Deity Representations - 

Unless I am working with a specific deity, I normally do not include this, however if I am not working with a deity I usually keep something on my altar to represent balance or yin and yang, light and dark.

- Candles - 

I see candles as not a necessity, but as a versatile tool that can fit almost any situation, which makes it valuable. Candle magick can be used for literally any purpose, which makes it great for spell work, and it also is a offering to the spirits I honor.

- Altar Cloth - 

This is optional for many witches, but if you plan on burning incense or using loose herbs or burning candles, altar cloths can help keep all that mess off your table/shelf so that it doesn’t get ruined.

Other Items for your altar can be your grimoire, any spiritual books you are reading/like to keep handy, your tarot deck(s), crystals or herbs, incense sticks or cones, feathers or colorful cloths, shells or stones or beads, etc. The list is literally endless.

I enjoy writing about altars and so I’m putting together a few more posts about altars. If you have any questions or topics you’d like me to write about, please send me an ask! I enjoy it immensely. 

[gegenji]

Concerning Khandeed and Codices

Photo of the Speculum Alchemae in Prague taken by Alexazul (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Once the little band of adventurers had left with Kandeed in tow, D’lilac went for her linkpearl again as she started digging her way through the stolen equipment. Equipment that they themselves had sought to utilize in their last endeavor, and its theft the source of their financial misfortune these past several moons. Even just looking at it brought back memories the Miqo’te would’ve rather left forgotten to the annuls of time and further darkened her seemingly perpetual dour mood this day.

“I still could have corrrrnered him myself,” she growled as she pried open one of the crates, despite having missed the entirety of the standoff due to reporting in. “We didn’t need the help.”

“Your audacious alpha allegations aside,” Tsunene intoned across the pearl, tapping a finger idly atop the open copy of the Doman picture book she had received from the leve to Kugane prior. “I could not suffer any setbacks in seizing that simpleton, so assistance seemed prudent. And seeing such success substantiates my keen sense of the situation.”

“They’rrre adventurerrrs. They’ll stick their noses in ourrr business,” the Seeker warned, shifting about to keep the linkpearl active while simultaneously trying to peruse the contents of the box before her. “It’s what they do.”

“Hardly,” Tsunene countered as she withdrew a set of colored wax sticks from a drawer. “Once our hardy help have their handout in hand, they’ll have no need to be nosey.” She paused for a beat, drumming a green crayon against the open page of the book. “Unless a certain cohort carelessly caught their curiosity while cavorting about?”

“Harrrdly,” Lilac snapped back, tossing the lid back in place haphazardly and moving onto the next. “All they noticed was apparrrently how ‘angry’ I am.”

“They are not wrong.”

“I’m angrrry because of you! I had this!”

“Mm,” the lady Lalafell murmured in response, obviously not paying much attention – instead adding a bit of color to the Doman picture book with her wax utensil. “On the thought of things you theoretically have, though... has there be any serendipity in your search of the stolen? Or has your ire inconvenienced even your inquiry into the inventory?”

“I’m fine,” the Miqo’te responded grumpily, cracking open a dirty notebook and flipping through the various scribbles and doodles within. “And I don’t see it anywherrre. Got some of Khandeed’s ‘notes,’ though.”

“I am absolutely invested in the inscribed idioms of that idiot.” Tsunene paused to switch to a violet crayon and continue her art. “Do its contents still include the contemptable coarse and crude caricatures of our coworkers?”

“Only the one rrreceptionist girl.” Lilac turned the notebook sideways with a perplexed expression. “And I don’t think herrr curves are quite so… exaggerrrated. Also, I’m fairrrly certain she can speak prrroper common.”

“I am afraid to ask.”

“’Khandeed is smartingest and handingsomest.’”

There was a huff that – for Tsunene – passed as a bark of laughter. But such merriment, no matter how subdued, was short-lived. The Plainsfolk was back on topic with neck-breaking speed.

“As entertaining as his errant elocutions are, they are extraneous to our efforts. Recover my records.”

D’lilac groaned. For a moment, the little Lalafell had almost seemed… tolerable. One of her rare brief flashes of amicability amongst a sea of annoyance and irritation.

“I’m looking,” she insisted, tossing the ratty tome aside to land atop one of the crates she had already searched. “It might not even be herrre.”

“Well, who else would waltz off with my work?”

“The conjurrror?” Lilac retorted with a shrug despite being well-aware it wouldn’t be seen. Or perhaps because of it. “The brat? I mean, the notes concerrrn him, after all.”

For a brief, wonderous moment, Tsunene seemed to be at a loss for words. And, being the hunter that she was at heart, the Seeker was quick to pounce on this moment of weakness. It wasn’t often she got to relish in such opportunity.

“You did think of that, rrrright?”

“Of course I did,” Tsunene snapped, though her hesitation earlier had given her away. “I simply wanted to capture Khandeed and confirm whether or not he carried off my codex before considering the conjuror or the child. Plus, there was the possibility to procure the purloined equipment essential to our efforts.” She set her artistic tools aside and admired her handiwork – have turned the moss-haired monster-turned-hero in Tsubu’s pictures into something much more familiar. “To that end, I am tasking you with transporting all that to the following target location…”

“Me?” the Seeker interjected incredulously, looking about the illicitly furnished cave. “Carrry all this?”

“You had claimed you could handle it, had you not?”

“I meant hunting Khandeed, you know that.”

“And this is purely part and parcel of that plan. Hopefully such a hale hunter can handle such a heavy burden?” Lilac could feel the dry, childing smile through the linkpearl. “While you work, I will wrap things up with our wonderful workers and their well-earned wages.”

“Now just hold on a sec—” Click. The linkpearl shut off with a sharpness and finality that got a wince out of the Miqo’te. She was half-tempted to just call back, but she knew Tsunene wouldn’t answer. She had decided the conversation was over, so it was over. Much to the Seeker’s growling chagrin as she continued to mumble complaints and curses, looking over all the recovered equipment and wondering how in the heck she was going to get it all moved.

At least this was just grunt-work – not that she enjoyed being thought of as a grunt – and not anything overly dangerous. Perhaps she could call in a favor with a couple acquaintances at Scorpion Crossing. They had plenty of porters and – more importantly – ones that knew how to keep their mouths shut. For a price, of course. Such were the ways around Ul’dah, after all…

And it would be not that much later that Lilac would have loved to be hauling around crates and managing porters instead, as she slammed the heavy smithy door shut behind her and assessed the situation.

It had seemed easy enough – she just had to get into the brat’s establishment and snoop around for Tsunene’s codex while the Lalafell had taken to looking into the conjuror. Which, from what the Miqo’te could discern from her accomplice’s annoyingly alliterative accent, might’ve involved having to deal with navigating the dangerous waters that was Ishgardian nobility. Tsunene had made a dig at Lilac’s inability to navigate high society, but the Seeker had actually been a bit grateful for what seemed like the “easier” job.

That was before she had forced the lock – a skill garnered from her less respectable suns – and entered the building. The diminutive owner had departed not long before to deal with some manner of leve regarding pirates or something out in the Yafaemi Saltmoors, leaving the Miqo’te free to take her time with the task. Or so she had thought.

Until that little purple nightmare had made itself known to her and flipped all that on its head. One moment she was checking shelves and crates, the next she was dealing with a tiny porcine whirlwind hellbent on taking her out. And the thing was like tiny voidsent what with all the biting, charging, kicking, and apparently some manner of magic as the beast whipped up tiny pillars of wind – made even more dangerous by the bits of metal and ore that they ensnared – and flung fist-sized burning rocks at her that she wasn’t sure were summoned or just ripped from within the fiery depths of the forge.

Just remembering that sudden chaos as the whole smithy was seemingly turned into a weapon against her, Lilac cast a dejected look at her poor tail. Once tipped with a proud puff of fur, it was now stripped of such simple beauty – the ball of fluff a spoil of war of that tiny hell-spawn. And that wasn’t counting all the bruises and scrapes and burns and other wounds she had suffered in her frantic egress from the place.

At least, she mused as she clutched tightly at her prize and sought to catch her breath, she had got what she had come for – and then some. She could take some solace in that Tsunene would be navigating all that pomp and circumstance in the both the literal and the politically icy lands of Coerthas for naught. Plus, she had managed to make off with a few other of the boy’s things as well. It wasn’t full recompense of the indignities he and the conjuror had imposed on her on that island those many moons ago, but it was a start.

A rather fine leatherworking knife, for one, along with a strange crimson-hued potion hidden behind his Orchestrion that had caught her eye and a couple extra books along with the one Tsunene so fervently wanted back. For as obnoxious as the brat had been, she had to admit he had some good taste as a fellow reader of Doman picture books. They’d make for at least some manner of entertainment while she recovered from this whole endeavor.

For now, though, she just had to get out of here. She wouldn’t put it past that little hellion to come bursting out of a window or something to continue its assault. And the absolute racket the both of them had caused in her escape might’ve caught the attentions of the Brass Blade guards patrolling the area. And her with no gil to pay them off with after having to use her own coin for those Scorpion’s Crossing porters.

Beat up and down on coin once again, along with having to deal with Tsunene being… Tsunene – which was a problem in its own right – D’lilac once again found herself wondering if this was all worth it. Momentarily, at least. Whether it was sunk-cost fallacy or an actual belief that the results of the lady Lalafell’s ambitions would be worth all the pain and effort, the Miqo’te tightened her grip on her prizes and shook her head to dislodge such weak-minded thoughts.

The Seeker would have her moment in the sun soon enough. All she had to do was wait it out.

... And see if the Alchemist’s Guild had any hair growth tonic for her poor tail.

To Be Continued in “It’s My Money and I Want It Now.”

[violetwitchcraft]

Basics

The moon has been an essential part of both witchcraft and everyday life throughout history. Farmers would rely on moonlight to work during the night. Peasants would hold celebrations in favour of the moon. The moon controls the ebb and flow of our tides through gravitational pull, controls how long our days are. It keeps the balance. 

Likely due to these exact factors the lunar cycle has always been an important part of various different religions and spiritualities for thousands of years. In almost every polytheistic belief system there is a moon goddess, Artemis then later Diana being the most notable of the many within Western Culture.

Today, the moon is most commonly used in ritual practices. Modern witches make use of the monthly lunar cycle to attune their energies to nature and heighten the effectiveness of their spellcraft, or connection to divinity. As the moon waxes and wanes so do we, being reborn again every month with more knowledge than before.

Quick Facts

Most years have 13 New Moons or 13 Full moons, but never both (Occasionally a year will miss out and only have 12 of each)

The lunar phases are caused by light reflected onto the moon from the sun, which changes depending on it’s positioning with the earth and the sun as it orbits every month

The moon does not innately radiate any kind of light. Moonlight is actually just sunlight reflected

The moon phase is the same no matter where you live on Earth!

The most common time for rituals and spellwork involving the moon are the Full Moon and the New Moon

There are significant ties between an individuals menstrual cycle and the cycle of the moon. Having your period during the full moon is believed to elevate your spiritual and magical energy to new levels

What is an Esbat?

An Esbat is a ritual held once a month by most Wiccan covens to celebrate the full moon.  It’s commonly on the full moon because that is when most believe that the moon is at it’s most powerful. You don’t have to be a Wiccan to celebrate an Esbat and you don’t even need to have an Esbat to celebrate the full moon at all, I just thought I’d throw it in here for reference.The word is supposedly sourced from the Old French word s’esbattre (or ébat in Modern French) which to the best of my knowledge means to frolic and celebrate. Yet again a borrowing Margaret Murray used in her attempts to build up the idea of one big witch religion existing in Europe. (Which has been disproven many times, as a side note.)

The Lunar Cycle

The Lunar Cycle is commonly broken down into four main phases, which can also be broken down into 8 or 12 subphases. For the purpose of simplicity though, I will cover the 4 main ones in this post.

New Moon / Dark Moon

New moons are a time for new beginnings of every type. It’s good in this time to take an inventory of your bad habits and make steps towards moving on and becoming a better person. Getting away from old structured ways of thinking and doing things can help you grow immensely. Cast off your old ideas about a topic and try to see it in a different light.

Planning the first stages of an exciting new project is a great thing to do at this time in the cycle. Apply for jobs, brainstorm, revisit old abandoned projects. Make a commitment to doing all of the things you have been putting off this month.

Waxing Moon

The body is more receptive to change, whether that be good or bad. Now is the time to strengthen your resolve, to keep putting energy into your projects and start to see the results of them come through. This phase is all about growth. It's a good time to work magic for new relationships, fitness, finances, garden work and for the healing of body and mind.

Full Moon

The full moon is good for all things, especially very difficult or demanding spellwork. This is a time of great intuition. Your creativity and psychic abilities will be at an all-time high. Not especially good for decision making for those easily swayed by their emotions as this is a very emotional time, though good for individuals to learn which path in life they truly crave.

Waning Moon

Things are coming to a close. Reflect on things as the energy of the cycle drifts away divination to map the contents of your soul and examine your actions over the past cycle  Attributes: This moon is the time for banishing spells, curses, breaking an addiction, correcting mistakes and making amends. Anything bad in your life must be removed. It is also a time of strong divination for the coming cycle.

Further Information

Ritual

Circle Casting 101

Dark Moon Ritual Speech

Disposing Of Offerings

Spells

Moon Ward 

Harm Reflection Moon Spell 

Full Moon Spells

First Quarter Spells

New / Dark Moon Spells

Last Quarter Spells

Eclipse Spells

Activities & Misc

DIY Lunar Calendar

5 Lunar Inspired Tarot Decks

First Quarter Moon Magic: Positivity Meditation

Moon Astrology

Food And Offerings

Full Moon Cheesecake

New Moonrise Tea

Rose Crescent Moon Cookies 

Moon Powder

Moon Water Masterpost

[true-halloween-tales]

2017: #2-WITCHES

Round about the cauldron go; In the poison’d entrails throw. Toad, that under cold stone Days and nights has thirty-one Swelter’d venom sleeping got, Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot. Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

- Macbeth.

It is now time to get to the bottom of the topic of witches - but we are staying away from witches’ bottoms!  Once the topic of witches is raised, the cauldron of creepiness starts bubbling out witches all over the place.  The Wicked Witch of the West is the archetypical witch, with the long pointy nose, green skin, black clothing, and conical witch hat.  There were other Oz witches such as Glinda the Good Witch.  Long before Oz, Greek mythology provided Medea and Circe.  In Jason and the Argonauts, Medea mainly made potions and then ran off with Jason.  Homer’s Odyssey had Circe trapped on an island turning sailors into pigs.  The Middle Ages bubbled up Morgan Le Fay in the King Arthur legend.  Shakespeare wrote famous plays with witches, such as in Macbeth.  Witches were also featured in quite a few fairy tales.  The Brothers Grimm’s Hansel and Grettel is perhaps the most famous witchy fairy tale.  Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and the Margarita includes witches and the Devil galavanting with glee in Russia.  Lloyd Alexander’s The Black Cauldron features the three witches of Orwen, Orgoch, and Ordxu who are actually helpful.  Fritz Leiber wrote of witches in his novels, Conjure Wife and Our Lady of Darkness.  Anne Rice wrote a three-book series, the Lives of the Mayfair Witches.  But beyond literature, witches are also bubbling up in film.

I Married a Witch was a 1942 comedy, but 1960’s Black Sunday is horror.  1962’s Burn, Witch, Burn was  based on Leiber’s Conjure Wife.  Vincent Price hunted witches in The Conqueror Worm, but he was the villain persecuting the innocent.  Christopher Lee was voodoo-dolled by his witch daughter in The House That Dripped Blood (see 2018: #1-GREAT HORROR FILM ACTORS).  Rosemary’s Baby delivered us a delightfully witchy Ruth Gorden.  The Witches of Eastwick had three witches summoning the Devil, Jack Nicholson.  The Blair Witch has almost appeared in three films and probably has the greatest name recognition for a witch in popular culture.  Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell was about a witch’s curse.  Even Marvel superhero films have included the Scarlet Witch (see 2017: #10-SUPERHEROES).  Witches bubble up in the cauldron of creepiness beyond film and into television programs.

The Addams Family includes the witches of Grandmama as well as that of Morticia.  Lara Parker portrayed the regular witch character, Angelique, in the original Dark Shadows tv series (see 2016: #7-GUIDE TO DARK SHADOWS).  A few years later she played a witch in Dark Shadows’ creator, Dan Curtis’ other cult horror tv series, The Night Stalker, in the episode, The Trevi Collection (see 2015: #5-GUIDE TO THE NIGHT STALKER).  There was a comedy tv series with witches, Bewitched, including the witches Samantha and Aunt Haggadah.  Witches have made appearances in Doctor Who in the episodes, The Daemons and The Shakespeare Code which offers witches Mother Bloodtide and Mother Doomfinger (see 2018: #2-GUIDE TO DOCTOR WHO).  The three-season series, Penny Dreadful, centered around the witch Vanessa Ives who was well-played by Eva Green.  American Horror Story had an entire season, Coven, about witches and introduced us to such noteworthy witches as Cordelia Foxx and Misty Day; the Roanoke season featured Lady Gaga as the primal witch Scathach.  Most recently, Game of Thrones has included the child-sacrificing witch Melisandre, the red priestess, who resurrected Jon Snow.  Men can also be witches as seen with Lafayette in the True Blood series.  There are even cartoon witches such as Winnie the Witch, Popeye’s watery Sea Hag, and there is Broomhilda from the Chicago Tribune comic strip.  They are also in video games such as in the Dark Souls series with Karla the Witch and the fiery half-spider, half-woman, Chaos Witch Quelagg.  The cauldron of creepiness overfloweth with a bevy of witches!

What sort of classifications can witches be put into to better understand them?  Dungeons & Dragons is a good resource for monster listings and the game includes: Sea Hags, Night Hags, and Annis.  There are evil black witches and white good witches, even neutral gray witches.  Most witches are alchemists and make potions.  Some witches have additional specialization of their magical ability, such as with Circe polymorphing people into pigs.  There are solitary witches in comparison to covens of witches.  But there are not too many classifications of witches.  Desert dwelling witches are certainly not sandwitches, hold the mayo!  The term, death hag, is not a classification of witch, but is a type of person who morbidly goes to cemeteries, reads obituaries, and indulges in other death-related past-times.  What best distinguishes witches is what they do.

What do witches do?  Witches tend to have the same goals and activities in mind.  They primarily stand over their large cauldrons cooking up hideous magical stews and potions; in a way, they are pharmacists.  The common crazy concoction they cook up consists of children and babies; few witches are vegetarians.  Witches are often known to lure children, catch them, cook them, and eat them.  Otherwise, they have to go to “witches supermarkets,” cemeteries, and dig up dead children.  Witches cannibalistic proclivities primarily exist so they can make themselves younger.  Witches are often very old.  To make themselves either appear younger or actually physically become younger are their goals.  This is seen with the famous illusion of the Young Lady or Old Hag.  Witches deeply need to appear young and innocent, and they particularly enjoy the deceit of helping witch finders.  In The Blair Witch Project, no physical form of the Witch is ever seen.  However, early in the film, an eccentric town local, Mary Brown, is interviewed who very much looks like a witch as well as having interests and educational degrees beyond her age.  I have always thought Mary Brown to be the normal human appearance of The Blair Witch.  Witches also fly on brooms, often coating the broomstick or themselves wth a greasy oil they make from the fat of cooked children.  Witches enjoy staying out late at night, generally doing evil things, and they hang out with the Devil and his minions.  Midnight is known as the Witching Hour.  Witches often summon up horrible things from beyond as well as have familiars reporting to them, usually in the form of black cats.  They cast spells and excel in black magic.  Witches often seem to feed off of fear itself, as seen in the Blair Witch films with wooden x-shapes that are left about decorating the forest to terrify the victims (see 2017: #1-THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HORROR).  

Which are the most well known, supposedly real, witches?  Folk tales do provide us with three well known witches.  Baba Yaga comes from Russia, first written about in 1755.  She was the typical old grandmotherly witch who created a hut that walked around on large chicken feet.  She could be harmful or helpful, but was rumored to have a nasty nose.  Black Annis is a witch rumored to live in a cave near Leichestershire, England since the Middle Ages (see 2011: #8-MONSTERS ON THE LOOSE 3).  Black Annis is certainly less friendly than Baba Yaga since she is known to use her iron talons to grab children and devour them, later wearing their skins around her waist since she doesn’t shop at Versace.  The Witch of Endor is not some witch from a Star Wars film ruling over the moon of the Ewok teddy bear people.  The Witch of Endor is from the Book of Samuel from The Bible.  She sees spirits rising from the ground and is a helpful and friendly witch…from The Bible?

Which is the most powerful fictional witch?  Circe was either the daughter of Helios, the sun god or Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft.  That would make her at least half divine, yet she was outwitted by Odysseus.  The Graeae are a trio of divine witches from Greek mythology and are related to Medusa (see 2013: #2-MEDUSAS).  However, the Graeae are old and share one eye, so they are handicapped.  The Graeae is what inspires trios of old witches appearing in fiction such as in Macbeth.  The Blair Witch certainly makes the top three since it is said to have killed more than ten people, often in rather groody and gory ways.  2015’s The Blair Witch showed the form of the Blair Witch if you freeze-framed the movie.  It was very tall, thin, mostly naked, with stringy black hair and impossibly long arms and legs.  Probably the monster form of Mary Brown.  The Blair Witch clearly has little helpers or familiars, and it may have illusionary, hallucinatory, and mind altering abilities.  It demonstrates an ability of manipulating time unlike any other witch.  The Blair Witch may be the most powerful witch we have almost seen.  But flying monkeys sure are cool.

In history were there really witches?  No.  Not at all.  Old women who were sick were persecuted, tortured, and killed.  It was an issue of people with bad brains contaminated with superstition and steeped in stupidity blaming others for their mishaps.  Then those who were insanely religious moved into to glorify themselves while they tortured, oppressed, and killed others.  Witch hunting clearly involved oppression of women, the mentally ill, and included the persecution of sexual deviancy.  They fueled their witch hunting by believing that witches were going to unleash the Devil and bring about the Apocalypse.  Books were written providing instructions on witch hunting, with the most well known book being the Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of Witches) from 1486.  “Early modern artistic representations of witches articulated and perpetuated beliefs about witch’s bodies, emphasizing their diabolical power and moral weakness. The typical witch was depicted as old, and often naked (to display her sagging breasts, a sign of depleted and supposedly repellent femininity), with flying hair (a code for errant and uncontrolled sexuality).  The cauldron—itself a perversion of female domesticity— also connoted a powerful, almost volcanic vagina (The Encyclopedia of Witches, p 132).”

What are the best witch films to watch for Halloween?  The most recent critically successful film release was 2015’s realistic, The Witch.  Rob Zombie’s The Lords of Salem is quite good.  The Masters of Horror tv series episode, The Dream in the Witchhouse, is a particularly good and chilling adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft story.  But the original The Blair Witch project is one of the best.  There are three magical foreign witch films I recommend.  Suspiria is Italian director, Dario Argento’s best film.  It was released in 1977 and includes the peculiar Udo Kier and Joan Bennett from Dark Shadows (see 2016: #7-GUIDE TO DARK SHADOWS).  Haxan is a 1922 Swedish documentary that was banned in the US; watch the version narrated by William S. Burroughs.  It is a creepy cornucopia of dark witchy images.  Viy is a 1967 Russian film worth seeking out about a young priest who must spend the night in a haunted church; the special effects are unique.  

I first became aware of witches when I was very young because a witch appears on Gypsy Witch Fortune Playing Cards which my grandmother owned.  Have I ever actually known a witch?  Yes, I worked with her at a strange retail store many moons ago (see 2009: #11-THE DIABLERO, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBES).  But lots of people call themselves witches these days, for lots of reasons.  Witches have permeated our culture from literature, film, tv, even music.  Mort Garson’s delightfully danceable, 1968 album, The Wozard of Iz, has all sorts of witchyness.  The topic of witches is very much like the two sides of the moon.  One side is dark, nonfiction, and is full of innocent people being tortured and killed thru witch hunts.  But the other side is illuminated, really interesting and creative, made of fiction and with possibilities of Halloween costumes and spooky movies.  Life is a witch, then you fly.

[endy-mixn]

Chapter 5

And the next installment of Endymion’s story! As always, it is under the read more to keep from clogging up dashboards. Please, enjoy and let me know what you think! (Is anyone reading these?)

The plan proceeded with both Rigel and Aldebaran making their way back to their rightful places in the sky. They took the time to speak with the others in their constellations of their plan during the long hours of the night.

When court resumed and the other Stars were jockeying to catch Endymion's attention, Rigel sidled up next to Polaris.

"Do you think that silly smile is from our antics or because of something else?" he asked curiously, causing the North Star to snort with surprised laughter.

"My hope is that he took my advice and it has led to the smile. But if that is the case, I don't think it has turned out as I hoped," Polaris answered, eyes still fixed on throne holding Endymion.

"Advice? What advice?" Rigel asked curiously, mind working furiously to decide whether this was good news or not.

"That answer would be best given in private," Polaris admitted, finally turning his full attention to the friend at his side. "If you're interested, we can always find one of the conference rooms. Our presence won't be missed. It has been far too long since we spoke of anything truly important, old friend."

"A conference room it is then. There are many things we should speak of and all of much import," Rigel agreed as he started toward the door, assuming his companion would follow him.

It didn't take long to find a secluded room. From the fine film of dust on all the surfaces, it was clear the room was seldom used, but it was filled with the same delicate finery as the more used portions of the palace.

The Power that it took to maintain such a luxurious home had to be enormous, though Rigel doubted it was a conscious effort on Endymion's part. That was one reason he would feel better about the plan if Polaris joined them. None of them knew the true extent of Endymion's power for it had never been tested.

"What advice was it that you gave Endymion?" he asked as soon as the door closed, his gaze intense. If the advice had anything to do with the same subject he was about to bring up, maybe they would all be in luck after all.

"I am sure you've noticed the mood Endymion has been in recently. After all, I'm not the only one of us with eyes, and we've been around each other long enough to see the signs of his boredom," Polaris began, keeping a close eye on the other Star and waiting to continue until he saw a nod of understanding.

"I advised he take advantage of his Power to make an appearance on the surface. I thought perhaps feeling a connection to the people of the surface would pull him from the doldrums. Or that it would increase the attention he gives his responsibilities, or return him to his normal off duty pursuits.

"Unfortunately, it seems that even though his spirits have been lifted, his attention is still on other matters. I'll think of some other idea to bring him back."

"That is actually similar to what I was hoping we could speak of," Rigel said smoothly, gesturing to the chairs in the room for them to both take a seat. Serious conversations with Polaris were always better undertaken seated, or so he had always believed.

He had yet to have this belief be proven wrong.

"We have been watching his habits for a long time and have seen the same signs as you. Aldebaran and I met yesterday to speak on the matter and made our way to a partial solution that sounds as though it might complement the advice you already gave him."

Polaris slowly sank down into one of the other chairs, eyes now full of wary suspicion. "I am listening. When you are finished, I will make my own opinion on the matter."

Rigel took this as his opening, giving a serious nod.

"Right. So, we were discussing the fact that if Endymion continues like he did today, there will be disaster. If it were not so close to the New Moon, the Sun would have been swallowed this noon. It would have been too late for any of us to prevent anything. It seems that no matter what we do while we are here at his court, nothing is actually helping.

"So we thought, if all of us Stars band together, we would be able to bind his powers."

Polaris's silver eyes flared brightly with a flash of anger at that statement. He looked ready to strike down his friend immediately. "Treason!"

"No! No, listen to me. Not a banishing. That would do no one any good," Rigel continued frantically, wanting to finish his thoughts before he found himself in chains.

"Then speak fast, or we will be finding someone new to lead Orion's constellation," Polaris ground out, voice becoming a very uncharacteristic growl.

"We do not want to cast him down in any way that would be permanent," Rigel began again, his words still frantic as he tried to save himself and Aldebaran from negative consequences.

"We were just concerned. Not only is he bored now, but the time between these bouts of boredom grows shorter each time. So we were trying to come up with any ideas that could give us peace of mind he isn't going to just fall back into this mood the week after he cheers.

"What we were thinking was perhaps to bind his powers and make him live on the surface until he has learned to respect the people's rights to live their lives in peace. We would need to decide what condition he must fulfill to break the the binding to return to the heavens."

Rigel flattened his hands against the table, fighting the urge to raise his voice. "This is not treason, it is us wanting to protect humanity against his whims by helping to make him a better person from the ordeal as well."

The fire in Polaris's eyes dimmed slightly as he listened to his friend's words.

Rigel had a point. It would not truly be treason, at least when you took into account that there would be a way for Endymion to return to his home. The only problem would be how to fulfill the plan.

How would one put that specific of a limitation in a power binding? How could they have it be productive without a way for Endymion having a way to get around the set limitation?

"We would have to be very careful," he observed slowly. "When did you have in mind for completing this plan?"

"We believed the night of the New Moon would be best, as then he would have the least amount of power to bind. We all know that is when he goes into a deep sleep to prepare for the stresses of the next cycle of his power," Rigel answered seriously, daring to feel a bit of hope.

"That holds promise," Polaris mused before obviously sinking into his own thoughts.

A few minutes of silence passed heavily between them. "I believe the best way to do this is for us to do a temporary binding, but let him think it is complete. Instead of an emotional condition, it would be based on time. We could enchant his necklace with a tracing spell so we can keep an eye on what and how he is doing. That gives us time to decide on what exactly we want to see him learn.

"That is unless you have an idea of the experience you wish him to have?"

""If he thinks he cannot return to the heavens, perhaps we should look for acceptance of the situation?" Rigel offered, looking truly relieved he had not been banished at once.

"That could be a portion," Polaris mused. He sank back into his seat to rest his chin upon steepled fingers.

"But I think we need something else, something deeper. Perhaps, along with the acceptance, we should encourage him to find love. Who among us can honestly say that there has not been a time that we saw someone on the surface and gone down to woo them?"

"You wish to leave him down there long enough to find love?"

"Maybe not in the sense of the 'true love' sentiment mortals speak of. I was thinking more of an attachment to someone. That would give Endymion an incentive for him to not do anything that could harm them," Polaris elaborated, waving his hands a bit to illustrate the ambiguity of his words.

"I know that you were wanting something a bit more concrete than that, but look at him. He doesn't truly have friends. He may call me friend, but will only actually hold a conversation with me if I approach him first. He will ask me for advice on and off, but it is never consistent.

"Endymion tries to take on the entire world! Perhaps creating attachments is the best we can do. But I do not want to go the other direction and make him want to never return home either. We need to find some sort of balance."

"Then I agree with using time as the condition of the binding. And if he remains on the surface too long, we can inform him that he can come home," Rigel said reasonably, nodding with satisfaction.

"I suggest we make it last at least a full cycle with the full binding, and his powers returning slowly after that."

"I can agree to that. But we should agree not to offer him guidance while he is there. This is something he needed to learn long ago, and nothing that I have said to him seems to helped him in any way," Polaris said, intoning the words somberly. After another breath, he raised his eyes again. "Thank you."

"For what?" Rigel asked curiously.

"For pointing out what I have been denying. I will take care of the binding and casting. You can set the other Stars at ease. I will speak to Helia when she arrives, because she will. We can only hope she will see reason in our actions. It is only common sense, and she honors that most days."

With that, Polaris left, looking deep in thought, the worries and cares from the topic they had discussed had appeared on his features. His face was haggard, making him look far older than he had when entering the room.

For a moment, Rigel felt nothing, no success, no worry, just nothing.

And then worry at Polaris's aging hit him accompanied by worry for the whole situation. There would be some sort of fallout when Endymion returned to the heavens. But that would be something they would deal with when it happened.

First he would have to deal with the apprehension over how easily his victory had come. Surely something about their plan would not work as expected.

[muthur9000]

Around 14.8 million years ago a meteorite hit the earth with a collective force greater than all the atomic bombs on Earth combined, it was enough to vaporise terrestrial rock. When that vapour condensed and cooled and fell back to Earth it formed moldavite. From as early as 25,000 years ago this green stone has been revered as a sacred gift from the gods, it has been associated with fertility, immortality, rebirth, magic and more. The most common parallels wit this myth is:

Fire from the heavens

Forbidden knowledge

The involvement of a higher being or entity in guiding mankind

For that guidance that being is cast out of ‘paradise’ or ‘heaven’

It links every myth, faith and legend. Meaning that all of these formative faiths around this green rock were just something people tried to explain without having scientific knowledge. Like Ridley Scott said in the making of Prometheus Art Book. An advanced species or race involved in pre-visitation will always seem Godly but it doesn’t necessarily make them a God. You can see these converging facts from around the ancient world that all point to this Sun god/fire/green stone from the heavens as a way to explain the sudden enlightenment of mankind. But in fact it is just the slow progression of oral tradition from one ancient people’s to another. In short it you look at the story of Prometheus, the story of the ark of the covenant, the story of the holy grail. It’s all the same story, all variations on a theme. Just like all the art work, music and poetry in Alien: Covenant. Nothing is original. And where it came from doesn’t really matter because out of that meteorite came several thousand years of creation from mankind. Anyway, to continue. I have always wondered why they removed the ceremonial bowl from the alter in Prometheus, even in the directors commentary the fact that it had been replace was completely glossed over. Here’s a pretty solid theory that could tie this into the Comparative Mythology the Prequels constantly reference.

This particular topic is close to home, I live in Victoria, Australia and it was just last night I was talking to my husband about oral traditions of the First Peoples. Aboriginals are called the first peoples and a lot of their evolutionary culture is preserved in the telling of these stories, being passed on by word of mouth. The Aboriginal people actually have a story dating back to the ice age where people remember walking from Indonesia to Australia. You can read up on one of the oldest cultures on Earth here.

It’s interesting that this theory about the green stone in the head room would also be part of a well studied debate about the relevance of green stone axes and the falling sky myth.

As you know axes are been used in Prometheus by Elizabeth Shaw and in Alien: Covenant by Daniels.

Here is an excerpt from the university paper speculating the importance of green stone.

Isabel McBryde’s research shows that greenstone axes from Mt William quarry were preferred over axes from technologically equivalent greenstone and other hard rock sources, suggesting that Mt William axes had particular symbolic significance for many Aboriginal people in southeastern Australia. Surviving oral traditions suggest that Mt William quarry may have had an important role in Kulin mythology that was seen as imbuing its axes with great power. The quarry owner/managers as song-makers were responsible for receiving such knowledge from the Ancestral world and communicating it to their own and far-distant groups. Their role in creating and/or reinforcing the great power of Mt William in the form of myth, therefore, seems likely. However, the wide-spread notion in southeastern Australian cosmologies that stone axes kept the sky from falling suggests that the production of axes and their movement across the landscape in specific, non-random directions were underwritten by complex symbolic considerations and beliefs, such as the need to propitiate certain dangerous supernatural forces and to maintain cosmic order. Ethnohistorical evidence implies that senior clan-heads maintained strict control over Mt William and were the knowing, central figures in the vast axe production and distribution system. In some respects this may have been the case; however, the ‘falling sky’  incident gives the impression that greenstone axes were being drawn from the southern quarry far to the north and further beyond by agencies over which the quarry owner/managers had little control or influence.  As a final point, it is worth noting that the ‘falling sky’ incident has been interpreted by some scholars as evidence for the rapid breakdown of Aboriginal  cosmic order in the face of the European invasion:  The inference was clear: the eastern support had given way and the sky had fallen down. Now as a result, the ghosts or reincarnations of all the black-fellows who ever lived [Europeans] had broken through from the spirit world to swarm over the land (Willey 1979, 55; see also Maddock 1972, 108; cf. Sharp 1952).  An alternative interpretation, however, seen in light of the evidence for  greenstone axe distribution in south-eastern Australia, is that cosmological catastrophes of this nature may have long preceded European contact, due to the embeddedness of technological concerns in the belief systems of Aboriginal people. - Information from: 2010 ‘The falling sky’: symbolic and cosmological associations of the Mt William greenstone axe quarry, Central Victoria, Australia by Adam R. Brumm University of Wollongong.

Aboriginal Mega Tsunami Myth: Aborigines in eastern Australia believed that the sky was held up on supports at the edges of the earth, and that the eastern prop either collapsed or was rotting. Tribes far into the interior of the continent were requested to send tribute to the east to be given to the spirit people in charge of holding up the sky so that it could be repaired. Possum rugs and stone axes were sent eastwards in response. Historians interpret the story as referring to the beginning of European colonization from the east; however, one version, quoted above (Peck 1938), is particular to the South Coast of New South Wales and may be describing the way tsunami affected the coast. The legend implies that the ocean fell from the sky. Substantial evidence exists for Aboriginal occupation of the open rocky headlands along this coast (Hughes & Sullivan 1974). At Bombo Headland 70 km south of Sydney, tsunami overwashed a 40 m high headland. The wave separated from the headland and plunged back to the ocean surface 100–200 m into a bay on the lee side. Profuse amounts of coarse sediment dropped from the airborne flow into the bay under gravity (Fig. 2). Evidence of disturbed Aboriginal occupation ‘silcrete hand axes and shaped blades’ has been found on the lee side of headlands along this coast (Bryant 2001). Aborigines at these locations initially would have heard, but not seen, the tsunami approaching. Their first indication of disaster would have been when they looked up and saw the ocean dropping on them from the sky as the tsunami wave surged over headlands. Additional physical and legendary evidence of major comet and tsunami impacts exists in SE Australia. In South Australia, the legend of Ngurunderi clearly alludes to tsunami (Flood 1995, p. 140–141). Ngurunderi was a great Ancestral figure of the southern tribes in South Australia, who established Tribal Laws. Long ago, Ngurunderi’s two wives ran away from him, and he was forced to follow them. He pursued them… and went along the beach to Cape Jervis. When he arrived there, he saw his wives wading half-way across the shallow channel which divided Nar-oong-owie from the mainland. He was determined to punish his wives, and angrily ordered the water to rise up and drown them. With a terrific rush, the waters roared and the women were carried back towards the mainland. Although they tried frantically to swim against the tidal wave, they were powerless to do so and were drowned. Their bodies turned to stone and are seen as two rocks off the coast of Cape Jervis, called the Pages or the Two Sisters. Nar-oong-owie refers to Kangaroo Island, South Australia. The history of Aboriginal occupation of Kangaroo Island remains enigmatic. The island shows extensive evidence of Aboriginal occupancy; but, when the first European, Matthew Flinders, landed on the island in 1802, it was unoccupied. Mainland Aborigines call Kangaroo Island, Kanga—the Island of the Dead. The coastline also evinces signatures of cosmogenic tsunami. Most significant are enormous whirlpools (features that have been linked to catastrophic flow under tsunami (Bryant 2001)) on the northern coast of the island, where the Aboriginal legend is set. In addition, there are vortex-carved caves and massive piles of imbricated boulders, some over four metres in diameter, near promontories. Other tsunami and comet legends that could relate to the Mahuika Comet occur along the eastern coast of Australia. On the north coast of New South Wales, Aborigines speak of ‘the moon setting in the east’ and of flooding of rivers such as the Namoi from the ocean on a clear day. A spear from the sky fell into the sea followed by a great flood that changed the coastline (Cahir 2002). Individual large boulders on rock platforms are also identified as representing particular Aborigines struck down by a large wave. In SE Queensland, the Glasshouse Mountains, which lie at the western side of the coastal plain 20 km from the ocean, represent ancestral forms of Tibrogargan and his family. Tibrogargan one day was alarmed to see a great rising of the ocean and fled inland with this family. Individual peaks in the Glasshouse Mountains represent his family still gazing seaward at the threat. The family is estranged because Tibrogargan’s son, Coonowrin, abandoned his mother, Beerwah, in the flight. Tibrogargan has turned his back on him and has vowed never to look on him again.

The Falling Sky Myth Around 14.8 million years ago a meteorite hit the earth with a collective force greater than all the atomic bombs on Earth combined, it was enough to vaporise terrestrial rock.