Currently Reading

I've always been big on reading.  However, I went and slacked off in the last few years.  Shamefully, I only read like a small handful of books (like, less than 5, probably) within the last several years.  And that's just not me!  So, I've set a goal to read 33 books total this year.  And I have already read 16!  Yeah!  Go me!  ^_^

For some strange reason, I'm one of those people that entertains a few books at a time--dunno why.  Sometimes the plot of one moves slowly or something.  I know with the non-fiction I read, occasionally I must take my time to chew and swallow it, then give it some time to digest.  I try not to be reading more than 3 books at a time, however, because that sets of my weird procrastination spirals.  @_@  And I'm really trying to be better than that!

Anyway, here's my current reading list:

1. Hold Me Tight by Sue Johnson -- I'm on page 207 0f 300

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Beauty's Punishment by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice) -- on page 73 of 233

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 3. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley -- just started (okay, page 8 of 876)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A small smattering of my thoughts thus far:

I enjoyed the first Beauty book, but I'm sorta struggling through Prince Alexi's bit in the village.  He interested me in the first one, but not so much in this second installment.  I really just want to get back to Beauty, but I can't just skip Alexi's portion as his journey here is probably important to his character development.  *le sigh*

On the "self-help" book, Hold Me Tight, it's frickin fantastic!  It's a super book.  It is so helpful.  It's nearly unbelievable how amazingly helpful it is.  I recommend it to anyone in a relationship as it just helps foster better communication and deeper understanding between you and your partner.  It's such a relief, honestly.  And FYI, your relationship doesn't have to be in turmoil for it to help.  I do get the Beatles' song of the same name stuck in my head every time I look at the cover (which is annoyingly frequent as it sits on my bedside table) but that's really not the book's fault (hint: it's my brain's).  I'm moving slowly through it only because I've really been taking my time to put the exercises into practice with my partner, ensuring that I integrate these teachings into the depths of my being.

As for Mists, yes, I am aware of the controversy surrounding MZB now, but honestly that's part of the fun of reading books.  I really don't think anyone can be truly "morally pure", otherwise they'd just be sitting around in a white jumpsuit in a white room drinking tepid tea with their pinky and nose in the air trying to keep their mind totally blank.  And while that may be safe from "bad associations", that's just not living.  But anyway, so far I really am enjoying the stylistic voice MZB writes in.  I'm barely into the story, but it's very rich, descriptive, and sensuous prose.  I look forward to getting deeper into it.

I'll be sure to post some more in-depth book reviews once I've finished these.  I'm also on Goodreads, so if you'd like, you can track me there as well.

May black light guide you <3

~Teresea Fae Ghouleh

Music Inspiration for the Night

My inspiration for the night - Dimmu Borgir's "Raabjørn speiler Draugheimens skodde" ("Raabjørn Reflects the Mist of Draugheimen")

This song makes me feel like I'm in church; I get this "rapture" feeling, like I'm connected to something of such grace (I used to be forced to go to church when I was younger and I had never, ever felt like what I feel when I listen to this song, or when I had my own intense spiritual experience back in 2009).  It must be because it reminds me of Frodo's journey in The Lord of the Rings.

Langt...der borte i mørket

Gjennom tretopper der månelys driver

Langt...der borte i all tåke

Inn gjennom min sjel den sorte angst river

På de mosegrodde steiner de seg viser

Når nattemørket har senket seg over

Ekkoene...fra deres grufulle jamring

Endeløst...du kan høre

I horisonten langt vekk

Skimtes den sigende skådde

Horder av ild rider månelyset i flokk

Ved daggry de samles ved en bortgjemt ådde

Den iskalde snøen

Har kommet

Denne gang

I evig fokk

Far...away in the darkness

Where moonlight glides through treetops

Far...away in all fog

Entering through my soul the black river of anxiety

On the mossy stones they show themselves

When darkness has descended upon

The echoes...of their heinous moaning

Endlessly...you can hear

Far away on the horizon

Is glimpsed a gliding mist

Like hordes of fire-riders the moonlight flocks

At dawn they gather at a secluded promontory

The icy snow

Has come

This time

In eternal drift

(translation is my own)

Iceland and Elves

Did you know that Iceland strongly believes in the existence of elves?  Well, they sure do!  (I suppose belief is a strong word, more like a good portion of the populace does not deny the possibility of their existence - see this article on Elves in Cultural Vocabulary.)

This graphic shows the varying levels of believers in England, Scandinavia, and Iceland.  I believe the percentages are based off one of the studies referenced in both the articles above (though I am aware that this graphic may not pertain to anything real at all, it's just very interesting).  But look at Iceland in the top left corner - blacked out with belief!  

huldufólk, or "the hidden folk", have been part of Iceland's folklore for centuries.  If the Icelandic Elf School, Álfaskólinn, is to be believed, there are 13 different kinds of elves.  They'll also tell you about the 3 types of fairies, 2 types of troll, and 4 types of gnome, plus 4 hidden peoples (including the Blue People) and other magical beings, though the focus is on elves.  álfar is the word used for “elves” while huldufólk is used for “hidden people”.  The word álfr is common in Old Norse, and it may still be regarded as a common word in Icelandic, though huldufólk is now more common in spoken language and reserved for the hidden folk as “huldufólk are not your average elves, they will hunt you down and destroy your life if you mess with them,” says a native Icelander over at this post about Icelandic elves over at Reddit TIL.  This individual also states that in Iceland they have a “special division that manages elf related things” (I’m not sure if this is Álfaskólinn or if there is another organization).  It reminds me of the government in the movie Troll Hunter (which is awesome and a must-see if you’re a fan of mythical creatures and documentaries).

To make a distinction between hidden ones and elves: "‘There is a place called Álfheimr*; there live the people called light elves, while the dark elves live down in the ground; they are unlike in appearance and much more unlike in nature.  The light elves are fairer than the sun to see, and the dark elves blacker than pitch.’  Without making too much of this distinction, since Snorri” (who is quoted) “could be thinking of good and bad angels**” (what with the infiltration of Christianity), “it is worth our while to take note that the dark elves live in the ground, and correspond to that extent to the elves in Kormáks saga—and, doubtless, to the folk legends current in Iceland at that time.  But elves occupy a more honourable place in many mythological stories and poems.  Over and over again they are mentioned in the same breath as the Æsir themselves: Hvat er me› ásum, hvat er me› álfum? ‘What is the matter with the Æsir; what is the matter with the elves?’  Freyr’s home is Álfheimr, and Alvíssmál lists words from the language of elves, all of which relate to brightness and beauty." - “The Folk Stories of Iceland” by Einar Ólafur Sveinsson

*Álfheimr - translates to “elf home” while Ljósálfheimr translates to “light-elf home”; so Ljósálfheimr is the home of the elves made of light while other elves get to live in Álfheimr

**though Snorri could be (and probably is, in my personal opinion) talking about trolls here.  Iceland considers trolls and gnomes to be a type of huldufólk.  It is of interest to note that the Germans have just as many separate kinds of trolls (and trolls and gnomes are very different in German folklore) as Iceland does elves (perhaps I’ll do a post on that, too).

In general, elves are normally neither friendly nor hostile to men, they repay kindnesses generously but are extremely vengeful.  Their love is therefore very dangerous; if it is returned, cohabitation begins between two incompatible beings; if it is rejected or broken off one can expect a terrifying vengeance. This is all human and comprehensible except that the vengefulness is so much more intense than that of normal humanity (like, think Lovecraftian type of horrifying vengeance).  Coincidentally, female elves spurned and shunned by human love interests can die/fade of a broken heart/grief (much like Tolkien’s elves - spoiler alert, he actually referenced heavily from Scandinavian folklore).  Thus elves can seem to fall into two classes, the one class being evil to men (huldufólk), the others being ljúflingar,  or “the dear people”.  Since we were kind of focusing on huldufólk here, there are also the huldran which are kind of like Uruk-hai, kind of like Dark Elves because they are creepy and have this hole in their backs (some sources say it looks like rotting wood, other a gory wound) that they try to hide and if anyone happens to see this hole in the huldran’s back, the huldran will kill that person who found them out (some huldran are said to have tails as well).

The hidden folk are thought to steal children (having some fascination with human babies) and are associated with the belief in changelings.  Yes, just like in the film Labyrinth.  The root cause of children’s penchant for invisible playmates/imaginary friends is also often traced back to huldufólk.  The hidden folk are also said to have natural powers (different from witchcraft, which is apparently a learned skill, not a natural one, as in the case of elves), often in the form of diseases an illness to mankind, opening portals in rock walls to the realm of the fae, disguising their homes as rocks or trees, making themselves invisible, and other such things.  It is said their powers stem from their spiritual nature, that they even are nature spirits.  Some weird ideas of elves from days bygone include; elves do not have a partition between their nostrils, they have no immortal soul, and they prefer Trójumannasaga (the story of Troy) to the Bible.

Common in folklore and even personal accounts, the elves could be seen dancing over meadows, particularly at night and on misty mornings. They left a circle where they had danced, which were called älvdanser “elf dances” or älvringar “elf circles”, and to step in one would cause illness (or to get really specific, to urinate in one was thought to cause venereal disease).  Elf circles are identified by fairy rings, a naturally-occurring ring of small mushrooms.  But there is also another kind of elf circle, as described by this account given in 1926, found in Anne Marie Hellström’s book, En Krönika om Åsbro (A Chronicle of Åsbro) :

On lake shores, where the forest met the lake, you could find elf circles. They were round places where the grass had been flattened like a floor. Elves had danced there. By Lake Tisaren, I have seen one of those. It could be dangerous and one could become ill if one had trodden over such a place or if one destroyed anything there.

If a human watched the dance of the elves, he would discover that even though only a few hours seemed to have passed, many years had passed in the real world, a remote parallel to the Irish sídhe.

Nils Blommér: Ängsälvor (Feen auf der Wiese - Meadow Elves), 1850

This concept inspired the title of this blog and it permeates throughout my life.

I also strongly believe in the existence of both faeries and elves, not just because of some fanciful, romantic notion but mainly because of personal experience.  As a kid, I often saw fae creatures (especially on hikes and playing in forests with my younger sister but also throughout my adolescence I saw plenty of “shadow fae”) and they would come to me in dreams, just like in the folk tales.  One day, I shall go to Iceland and take an excursion with the Elf School, until then, I’ll be content with my personal experiences as well as these accounts that make it into international, published news:

Elves in real-life news:

July 13, 2005 - appease the elves before beginning construction projects

June 24, 2011 - angry elves wreak havoc on fjords

July 2, 2011 - town hopes to soothe angry elves with song

May 27, 2012 - politician repays life-saving elves by moving their huge rock home to his garden

January 1, 2014 - elves delay another construction project

And to cover all bases, here’s an essay about the exaggeration of the meddling of elves in road construction from the ICERA (Icelandic Road Administration) in 2008, stating the subject of elves is personal in nature but usually good PR.  Looks like the recipient of the essay and poster on the thread is not wholly swayed by this explanation, however ;)

And, neither am I.

Short Story - Inner Journey

Title: Inner Journey
Word count: 1,783
Rating: T/PG-13 (for mild swearing)
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal Fiction
Background: Written in 2007/2008 and edited within the last year and a half, posted here now for enjoyment. This story came to me in the middle of the night out of nowhere; it's kind of cute, kind of strange, it's definitely got fey and also references the popular children's rhyme "Little Bunny Foo-Foo".
Link to the Short Story - Inner Journey

Inner Journey, by Kelsey Teresea

“I swear to god it was here yesterday!”  Victor shouted as he stood on the sidewalk, arms dangling by his side, mouth hanging open, with frown lines creasing his forehead.  He turned to the girl standing beside him, letting loose a sigh of agitation.  

“Summer, you have to believe me! I was in that shop,” he practically shouted as he pointed to the dilapidated store front, “that shop, talking to a guy, just yesterday afternoon!”  His worry lines deepened on his forehead; they made him appear at least four years older than he was, and he was fairly young.

Summer fished around in her little painted canvas bag, peering with feigned interest over Victor’s shoulder at the broken windows and the dark interior of the shop.  Its dark blue banner still hung over the door - Inner Journey: Metaphysics, Magic, and Answers.