E is for Elf.....

There are more types of Elves in more mythologies than I care to list and define here. Suffice it to say, there's an elf for just about anything---- from wood elves, snow elves, moon elves, aquatic elves to Christmas elves.

And, whether they are like the androgynous beauties of Middle-Earth or the tiny Cobbler elves that are more synonymous with gnomes or dwarves, elves are all connected to some form of magic... or, magick.

Most elves resemble the physical form of humans. Even the most diminutive of elves, are distinctly human-looking--with one singular difference given to just about every 'species' of elf----pointy ears.

Am I saying that every humanoid creature with pointy ears is an elf? Certainly not.... otherwise Mr. Spock might have some explaining to do. Just that the story description of elves, especially the more modern elf-lore, depicts elves as having pointy ears.

The name 'elf' derives from the Old English aelf and is seen in ancient words such as, aelfadl (nightmare) and aelfsogooa (elf-sucking or hiccough).

Ancient superstitions held that mishaps and ailments were brought about by elves--- hence the origins of the phrase "affected by elves." Lucky for us that most conditions and disorders can now by traced/linked to decidedly non-elf origins. Though there are still a few afflictions out there which are probably still attributed to "elf-meddling" because of their bizarre nature.

The elves of early lore were mostly mischievous, even sinister and make their appearance in many ballads and folk tales. In fact, it isn't until the more recent tales, that elves have become synonymous with beauty and wisdom.

And, I, for one, am glad about the elves' evolution. I'd much rather come face-to-face with an ethereal beauty divining from the stars than a comical creature determined to give me the hiccoughs.

Elvish Time

Nowhere on Earth you can't find us,

tasting air sweet and thick with midnight,

listen close to the raindrop's soft sigh,

this is just a smidgen of Elven delight.

Our home can be but a fig-leaf,

or a cavernous mountain abode.

You can catch sight of us chasing a rainbow,

or wand'ring some lost woodland road.

Some of us enjoy the tricksies,

others the histories of old,

every one of us cherishes the quiet.

There's long-winded stories to be told.

Don't think us all evil, black-minded,

though some like the jokes that they play,

the rest of us enjoy the night sky,

and the moon-morning kiss each new day.

---e.a.s. demers

Y is for Yeth Hound.....

Yeth Hound--- one of the incarnations of the "Black Dog" myth, this one located specifically, in Devon, England.

"Black Dogs" appear in myths across the world, most are associated with death and bad omens... i.e. Hell Hounds.

The Yeth Hound is said to be the spirit of an unbaptised child that takes the form of a headless black dog. The Hound wanders the woods at night making pitiful wailing sounds (though, I'm unclear as to how it makes wailing sounds without having a head).

The Black Dogs were possibly one inspiration from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's ghost dog in The Hound of the Baskervilles-- "an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen."

Heed Not, the Lonesome Cry
Heed not, the lonesome cry, the baleful wail echoing through the woods. Seek not, the black hound's sigh, look not where the headless creature stood.
One sound, your limbs will shake, your heart filled with the deepest dread. One glimpse, your sou…

B is for Banshee.....

Irish bean sidhe and Scottish Gaelic bean sith, literally, woman of fairyland.

The mythology and legend surrounding the Banshee is a bit mixed. The most readily accepted story is of a hag-like creature wailing the impending death of someone nearby-- most ancient Gaelic families, especially the more well-to-do families, had their own Banshees that attached themselves to the lineage of the family name. I suppose it was a sign of station for a family to be able to claim their own Banshee--- I mean, who needs an exciting/ tongue-wagging-inciting skeleton in your cupboard when you've got a Banshee wailing in your rafters?
The origins of the more familiar Banshee may have stemmed from the ancient Keeners-- women who were employed to sing a lament at a funeral. The best Keeners were in high demand to "wail" and "weep" for the great personage who had fallen.

The Great families would boast a bean sidhe or bean sith-- a fairy-woman Keener--and having foresight, the Keene…

S is for Siren.....

Sirens--- the beautiful, the terrifying.
Vicious, but, seemingly opportunistic creatures who lured sailors to their deaths by the sound of their captivating songs. Whether the stories of these creatures were a result of surviving sailors attempting to explain their near-miss in an effort to divert the fault of their shipwreck from their hands, or whether as a warning for those leaving to ensure their fidelity to the women they left behind, is unclear...

Considered the daughters of Achelous(river god), and though they have been blamed for the death of many sailors, they were not, however, sea deities. They have sometimes been called Muses of the lower world, their sad song causing the body and soul of those sailors who hear them to fall into a fatal lethargy.

In early myths, Sirens were the combined form of birds and women. Sometimes with a large female head, their bodies covered in bird feathers, their feet...scaled. Later myths show them as female figures with the legs of birds, tho…

From the Inkwell, From the Vein.....

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E is for Elf.....

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Y is for Yeth Hound.....

B is for Banshee.....

S is for Siren.....