Skadi

Skadi as depicted on the Skadi Forum.

I have been thinking a lot about the Norse goddesses of late, having just written a short essay on Hel for an online course I'm doing, and I am especially drawn to Skadi, goddess of Winter and the Hunt, amongst other things. Something about the cold remoteness of the Scandinavian landscape that so shapes Norse mythology speaks to me. This wonderful song by Hagalaz Runedance - "Wave Skadi" - captures her exactly as I see her in my mind's eye.

Paganism is not Fascism

Just wanted to bring your attention to this campaign and to pledge my support for it. Thanks to Bodecea (http://bodecea.blogspot.com/) for posting on it. Having done a bit of academic work on both Nazism and neo-Nazism as well as having my own interest in Paganism, I have been horrified to see the way in which Paganism is sometimes appropriated to support the extreme right. This campaign - "Paganism is not Fascism" - is targetting just that. Well done.

Melancholia

While on the subject of angels and cemeteries and melancholy (thanks Diana at www.kennedy-white-house.blogspot.com/ for reminding me of this lovely word), I remembered Duerer's 'Melancholia' (below). Then I googled 'melancholy' and found this sweetly sad little angel (above - photo from http://anitaliangirlingeorgia.blogspot.com/).

Cemetery Gates

By popular request :) Here are some of the black-and-white pictures I took at our big, general cemetery about a year ago. What do you think?

Deserted beauty

Couldn't resist another photo from the same site. So beautiful! I love the wrought iron. I have tried to capture the same sort of 'deserted beauty' in my own black and white photos.

Alptraum

Incredible. I'm not sure if this castle is the stuff of dreams or nightmares. Perhaps there's something in the fact that the German for nightmare - alptraum - contains the word for dream - traum - in it. This photo is from the same site that I mentioned yesterday and I think the building is in Poland.

Quiet

One day I want to go on a journey around strange and deserted places in Europe. Empty buildings sometimes have more to say than busy ones. I have found this interesting photography site at http://www.closeddoor.eu/ which documents just such places. This manor house is in Germany. Wonderful.

Soundtrack for the Goddess

Yet another music clip, I know. But this song, which I have loved for years, I just happened to see on You Tube just now and it so much suits where I am at spirituality at the moment. I am doing lots and lots of reading on the Goddess and this just feels perfect.

Fab Fridays

"Ceremony" by New Order/Joy Division. If this song doesn't move you, then I can't help you :)

Fab Fridays

Gonna start a bit of an In a Dark Wood tradition here...a fab music clip to end the week. This week the very fab Siouxsie and the Banshees "Hong Kong Garden" from 1978. Love the 70s kids rocking out in the audience! Do you remember this song?

Persephone

I've recently bought this beautiful statue of Persephone from www.goddessgift.net It's so gorgeous...I adore it. I am looking to build up a collection of goddess statues for my small altar in the bedroom, you see. I love Persephone who is at once beautiful, young and innocent in the form of the Maiden of Springtime but also sad, world-weary and wise as the Goddess of the Underworld. I respond strongly to the story of Persephone and her mother Demeter too, as the ultimate tale of descent and renewal.

Artefactum

This is some incredible ambient music from Polish artist Artefactum. If you like this, I would definitely recommend you check her out on Myspace (especially the track "From Sulphur to Mercury" - my all-time favourite). So other-worldly, so mesmerising...divine!