Fornax, Roman Goddess of baking

 

Ancient Rome is full of Gods and Goddesses for nearly every occasion or occupation.

Fornax is the patron goddess of baker's.

She is the goddess of ovens and baking, responsible for bread, buns, toast, muffins, and bagels. She was also essential for preventing burnt offerings and house fires. 

Originally, Roman ovens were used for toasting grain, while the  hearth was used for  baked bread. Though as ovens became more commonly used for baking instead of a Traditional Hearth , Fornax myth was eventually merged with the goddess Vesta. 

Fornacalia is a festival held in honor of Fornax, where grain is toasted for the salted meal mola salsa. 

Originally she was the patroness of bakers, and a goddess of baking. She ensured that the heat of ovens did not get hot enough to burn the corn or bread.

People would pray to for help whilst baking.

 Her festival, the Fornacalia, is  celebrated on February 17.

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 Vesta  is the virgin goddess of the hearth, home, and family in Roman religion, most often depicted as a flame and on rare occasions in a human form.

More on her in a later post.

Japanese Folklore: Tamamo no Mae: The Nine tailed fox

 

 

 Tamamo no Mae, One of the strongest and most feared Yokai.




Tamamo  is one of the most famous kitsune (Fox Spirits) in Japanese mythology.

A nine-tailed magical fox, she is also one of the most powerful yokai that has ever lived.

Her magical abilities were matched only by her sharp mind  and lust for power.

Tamamo lived during the Heian period, and though she may not have succeeded in her plan to kill the emperor and take his place, her actions destabilized the country and lead it towards one of the most important civil wars in Japanese history.

 For that reason, she is considered one of the Nihon San Dai Aku Yokai—the Three Terrible Yokai of Japan.

She  is mentioned in various old texts and has been a popular subject throughout Japanese history. Her story is portrayed in literature, 

Noh, Kabuki, bunraku, and other forms of art including modern mang, anime and evenK Dramas. 

There have been  several variations on her story throughout history.

According to Legends: Tamamo no Mae was born around 3,500 years ago in what is now China. Her early life is a mystery, but she eventually became a powerful sorceress.

 

A few hundred years later she became a white faced, golden furred kyubi no kitsune—a nine-tailed fox with the highest level of  magic powers.

She was also a very skilled liar and master  manipulator. She used her charms and intelligence to advance her standing and influence politics of the time .

During the Shang Dynasty she was known as Daji. She disguised herself as a beautiful woman and became the favorite concubine of King Zhou of Shang.

 

 
Daji was a model of human depravity. She held orgies in the palace gardens. Her fondness for watching and inventing new forms of torture are legendary.

Daji eventually brought about the fall of the entire Shang Dynasty. She managed to escape execution, and fled to the Magadha kingdom in India in 1046 BCE.

In Magadha, she was known as Lady Kayo, and became a consort of King Kalmashapada, known in Japan as Hanzoku.

She used her beauty and charms to dominate the king, she devoured children, murder priests, and commit other unspeakable horrors.

Eventually—whether because she ran out of  children to eat or because Kalmashapada began to turn away from her and towards Buddhism—she fled back to China.
...

During the Zhou Dynasty she called herself Bao Si, and was known as one of the most desirable women in all of China.

In 779 BCE she became a concubine of King You. Not satisfied as just a mistress, she manipulated the king into deposing his wife Queen Shen and making Bao Si his new queen. 

Though she was beautiful, Bao Si rarely ever smiled. In order to please his beautiful new wife, King You committed acts of such
evil and atrocity that eventually all of his nobles abandoned and betrayed him. Eventually, King You was killed and Bao Si captured and the Western Zhou Dynasty was brought to an end in 771 BCE. Somehow Bao Si managed to escape again, she went into hiding for many years.

Little is known of her activities until the 700s, when she resurfaced disguised as a 16-year old girl named Wakamo. She tricked the leaders of the 10th Japanese envoy to the Tang Dynasty—Kibi no Makibi, Abe no Nakamaro, and Ganjin—as they were preparing to return home to Japan.

Wakamo joined their crew and took the ship to Japan, where she hid herself away for over 300 years.

In the 1090s, she resurfaced once again. This time she transformed herself into a human baby and hid by the side of the road.

A married couple found the baby and rescued it, taking her in as their daughter and naming her Mikuzume.

She proved to be an exceedingly intelligent and talented young girl, and was so beautiful that she attracted to attention of everyone around her.

When she was 7 years old, Mikuzume recited poetry before the emperor. His imperial majesty immediately took a liking to her and employed her as a servant
in his court.

Mikuzume excelled at court, absorbing knowledge like a sponge. There was no question she could not answer, whether it was about music, history, astronomy,
religion, or Chinese classics. Her clothes were always clean and unwrinkled. She always smelled pleasant. Mikuzume had the most beautiful face in all of Japan, and everyone who saw her loved her.

During the summer of her 18th year, a poetry and instrument recital was held in Mikuzume’s honor. During the recital, an unexpected storm fell upon the palace. 

All of the candles in the recital room were snuffed, leaving the participants in the dark. Suddenly, a bright light emanated from Mikuzume’s body, illuminating the room.

 Everybody at court was so impressed by her genius and declared that she must have had an exceedingly good and holy previous life. 

She was given the name Tamamo no Mae. Emperor Toba, already exceedingly fond of her, made her his consort.

Almost immediately after she became the emperor’s consort, the emperor fell deathly ill. None of the court physicians could determine the cause, and so the onmyoji (Exorcist) Abe no Yasunari was called in. ( Not be confused with Abe no Yasuna, who is the father of the famous onmyōji Abe no Seimei , Similar title, Different people.)

Abe no Yasunari read the emperor’s fortune and divined that he was marked by a bad omen. After that, the highest priests and monks were summoned to the palace to pray for the emperor’s health.

The best prayers of the highest priests had no effect, however. The emperor continued to grow worse. Abe no Yasunari was summoned again to read the emperor’s fortune. 

This time, to his horror the onmyoji discovered that the emperor’s beloved Tamamo no Mae was the cause of his illness. She was a
kitsune in disguise, and was shortening the emperor’s life span in order to take over as ruler of Japan. Emperor Toba was reluctant to believe the diviner’s words, but agreed to test Tamamo no Mae just to be sure.

To save the emperor’s life, Abe no Yasunari prepared the Taizan Fukun no Sai, the most secret and most powerful spell known to onmyodo.

Tamamo  was ordered to perform part of the ritual. They reasoned that an evil spirit would not be able to participate in such a holy ritual.

Though she was reluctant to participate, the emperor’s ministers persuaded her. They told her that it would increase her standing an admiration among the court. She had little choice but to accept.

When the ritual was performed, Tamamo was dressed even more beautifully than normal. She recited the holy worlds as expected and played her part extremely well. But just as she prepared to wave the ceremonial staff, she vanished. Abe no Yasunari’s divination was confirmed. The court flew into an uproar.

Soon after, word arrived that women and children were disappearing near Nasuno in Shimotsuke Province.

The court sorcerers determined that Tamamo  was the cause, and it was decided that she must be destroyed once and for all.

The emperor summoned the best warriors in all of the land and then charged the most superb of them, Kazusanosuke and Miuranosuke, to find Tamamo no Mae.

The warriors gladly accepted the honor. They purified themselves and set out with an army of 80,000 men to slay the nine-tailed kitsune.

Upon reaching Nasuno the army quickly found the kitsune. 

The warriors chased her for days and days, but the fox used her magical powers and outsmarted them time and time again, easily escaping. The army grew weary, and frustration set in. It seemed that nothing they did was working. However, Kazusanosuke and Miuranosuke would not accept the shame of defeat and vowed to press on. They practiced harder, honing their tactics, and eventually picked up the kitsune’s trail.

One night, Miuranosuke had a prophetic dream. A beautiful young girl appeared before him, crying. She begged: “Tomorrow I will lose my life to you. Please save me.” Miuranosuke adamantly refused, and upon waking the warriors set out again to find Tamamo no Mae. 

Sure enough, the next day they caught
her. Miuranosuke fired two arrows, one through the fox’s flank and one through its neck. Kazusanosuke swung his blade. It was over, just as the dream had said.

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However, her evil did not end with her death. One year after she died, Emperor Konoe died, heirless. The following year, her lover
and former Emperor Toba died as well. A succession crisis ignited between forces loyal to Emperor Go-Shirakawa and forces loyal to former Emperor Sutoku.

 This crisis started the Fujiwara-Minamoto rivalry that led to the Genpei War, the end of the Heian period, and the rise of the first shoguns.

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As if that were not enough, Tamamo’s spirit haunted a massive boulder which killed every living thing that touched it.

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This boulder is know as the killing stone or  Sessho-seki.

 On march 5 2022, the boulder split in half. Presumably freeing the evil fox once more.

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Also, Happy Valentines Day.

💗🦊

American Cryptids, Deer Woman

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The Deer Woman🦌

The Deer Women is a cryptid from North American Indian legends, she can be considered a type of spirit or Forest nymph, she is attractive and alluring but also quite deadly. Often seen as very attractive young woman  though she can appear in different forms, ranging from a young beautiful woman to a deer or even a combination with a  human female upper body and the lower body of a white-tailed deer.

While sometimes associated with love and fertility, she is usually feared as a dangerous figure who punishes men, especially those who are promiscuous or harmful to women, she hates cheaters and abusive parents.

 She is most often encountered on trail's where she will be in the brush or behind the trees calling out to travelers, leading them into the forest .

She also loves to dance, and will sometimes sneak into  a communal dance unnoticed, only leaving when the drum beating stop.

Her appearance is that of a very attractive young woman, the only noticable difference is that she has hooves instead of human feet and eyes similar to a deer. 

Men that fall for her charms may escape if they notice her deer hooves and run before she can stomp them to death, though most notice to late and fail to escape.

Some believe sighting her is infact a sign of personal transformation or possibly a warning things to come, not necessarily a bad thing but not quite good either. .

According to Ojibwe tradition, she can be banished through the use of tobacco and chanting. 

You can also break her spell by looking at her feet, and realizing that they are hooves. Once they are recognized for what they are, the Deer Women will run away.

Some believe the Deer Women to be an allegory about getting to know and understand someone you're attempting to get sexually intimate and valuing them for who they are not whom you with them to be. .

Aside from Folklore and legends, she has appeared in several movies, tv show and literary work.

German Folklore, Lorelei The Siren..

 

Lorelei.

In German Folklore Lorelei is described as a beautiful golden haired siren that site's on top of a large rock on the banks of the Rhine River and sings her beautiful and bewitching melodies to lure sailors to their death.

As the legend goes, she was once a beautiful young woman, who  in a moment of despair over a cheating lover claimed the rock and threw herself into the river.

She was then   transformed into a siren who lured fishermen and sailor's to their doom 

 The large rock also called Lorelei, stands on the edge of the Rhine River near Sankt Goarshausen, Germany, and is also known for producing an echo. 

The essentials of the legend itself was created by German writer Clemons Brentano in his ballad “Zu Bacharach am Rheine” (“To Bacharach on the Rhine”), which first appeared in his novel Godwi (1800–02). 

Lorelei became the subject of a number of literary works and songs; the poem “Die Loreley” (1824) by Heinrich Heine was set to music by more than 25 composers.

Part of the song.

The comb she holds is golden,

She sings a song as well

Whose melody binds an enthralling

And overpowering spell.

In his little boat, the boatman

Is seized with a savage woe,

He’d rather look up at the mountain

Than down at the rocks below.

From The Lorelei English translation of the poem by Heinrich Heine, 1824. Translated by A.Z. Foreman

The waves of the river and a nearby waterfall combined with the natural echo of the location create a murdering sound that many attribute to the sirens song.

The legend and song have lead to this rock becoming a tourist destination. And a statue of Lorelei has been placed at the top.

Sol-mōnaþ / Solmonath.. Month of Cake.

February 1st marks the beginning of Sol-mōnaþ (or Solmonath) 

In the old Angelo Saxon calendar Sol is the month between Gēola (January) and Hreð-monaþ (March). 

This is the Anglo-Saxon name for what we call February, translating to "month of the hearthcakes". While "sol" sometimes refers to mud, or even melting snow, in this context it signifies "hearthcake," these are cakes baked on a traditional hearth. 

This practice was recorded by the scholar Bede, it comes from a time when theses cakes where offered to the gods as thanks and to honor them 

 

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Sol also translates to Sun and could be considered Sun Month.

Not to be confused with Sol Month from the proposed  13 month international calendar 

A 13-month calendar, like the proposed International Fixed Calendar (Cotsworth Plan) by Moses B Cotsworth.

This plan divides the year into 13 months of exactly 28 days (four 7-day weeks), totaling 364 days, with an extra "year day" added annually and a leap day every four years, offering perpetual consistency where dates always fall on the same day of the week, though it requires adjustment for the solar year and faces challenges with the current 12-month system.

 It was heavily pushed by George Eastman in the 1920's in the United States, put never gained international attention.

It was used by Kodak from 1924 until 1989.

Winter Cryptids, The Chanoo

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                                      🥶❄️💀❄️🥶.                        

Chanoo,  Also called the "Kiwakwa" or "Apotamkin" is a cryptid  similar to the  Wendigo .

The Chenoo legend is from the Wabanaki Algonquin  tribes and according to Folklore it was once  human though just like the wendigo the person was transformed after committing an act  cannibalism or refused to feed the starving.

 This caused the human's heart to freeze and turn to pure ice. Once this happens, the person changes into a Chenoo. 

These fierce creatures are giants compared to normal  humans and described as being both man and beast. 

They look like a haggard, naked old man with  predatory  eyes and may have chunks of flesh missing where it has eaten its own flesh (lips, arm skin and shoulders).

again very similar to a wendigo with the large figure, missing flesh and apatite for human meat.

 It will often cover its flesh in pine resin and roll in leaves and fallen branches to make a camouflage for itself in the forest.

 They live in the far, north and come  down to raid villages when hungry snatching up any unfortunate individuals they can.

Their frozen heart is they key to killing them.

 A special medicine, known only to the tribes, can cause them to vomit up the heart of ice and the hearts of those they devoured and become human again. But generally, saving the human is not possible....

 One way to kill a Chanoo is to  give it a bit of salt. The salt will melt it's icy heart another is to chop it up into several pieces ( though that would also work on most things).

The Chenoo myth probably originated as a means to discourage cannibalism during hard times and harsh winters when food was scarce and not sharing food could mean death and desperation could lead to cannibalism. 

 Another possibility is that the Chenoo may actually be a northern  bigfoot, in fact there are several Indian legends that speak of bigfoot/sasquatch /hairy man ect taking women and children from the camps and eating them.  

Winter Cryptids, The Muhaha

The Mahaha or Maha  is a winter creature from Inuit folklore, it has a thin but strong human like figure with ice blue skin that's cold to the touch and  long hair that appears frozen solid.

 

It's shirtless and barefoot, being unbothered by the cold. It always has a crazed or  unnerving smile  on its face. It also has long, bony fingers with long, sharp fingernails. It's preferred method of attack is Tickling ... It will tickle you to death leaving you frozen  with a twisted smile on your face.(Frozen Grin or Death Smile) it  roams the Arctic searching for victims, usually lone travelers.

Fortunately it's not very intelligent and can be easily tricked, if you ever encounter the Mahaha just ask it to have a drink with you at a stream or river when it  bends down to drink, push it into the water and watch it be swept away by the currents.

Some believe this myth may have originated as an explanation for the  expressions seen on some victims who have frozen to death.( Death Smile).

 It's mostly used as a coutanary  warning  to prevent people from wandering off alone in the harsh arctic especially during winter.