Working Wednesday

I'm working on that new series I mentioned; the one with the Army heroes. I'm falling in love with the hero of the first book already. I can see him, feel him, smell his after shave. Thank goodness I'm a writer, other wise I'd be sitting in a padded cell somewhere.

It makes me feel sucessful as a writer if I can get the readers to fall in love with the heroes once they left my hands. Tell, me have any of you ever fallen in love with the hero of any book you've read?

Did you know? Today is the final installment of the witch theme. I've got so much more to put up, but December has something different in store for us. So I was looking over my information trying to decide who else to put out here. I have a book on the (very) back burner and the heroine has a cat named Crowley. One of my favorite Ozzy songs (and I have ALOT of favorite Ozzy songs :D) is Mr. Crowley so I think my list would be remiss without mentioining him.

Aleister Crowley Was the magical name of the great magus born in 1875 as Edward Alexander Crowley. His father, a rich brewer, was also a Plymouth Brother, a strange and mysterious sect not unlike the Masons, and his son Aleister grrew up to be a complete non-conformist and something of a profligate rebel as well as one of magic's most advanced thinking figures. Though many of his philosophies are highly dubious in terms of moral integrity - he was not above a certain sadistic tone in many ceremonies - he believed the way to get to "the light" was through the shadowlands of personality. He certainly explored them well. A diabolist rather than what we would term a witch, he based much of his thinking on the Egyptian model of magic. He wrote copious amounts of visionary poetry with little literary success, but his volumes on magic caused a sensation and outraged English society. He began his lifelong exploration of magic (Which he called "magick") when he was 30, and he known for his brilliant wit as well as his biting cynicism. Though he was feared, he was also admired by many literary and artistic luminaries of the day - Somerset Mougham based his novel The Magician on his exploits. He was a poet, writer, mountaineer, master chess player, distinguished lecher, master magician and, ultimately, a drug addict. Reveling in being notorious, he went as far as to claim that he was the Beast from the bible's book of Revelations. Crowley developed the great advance in Tarot with his Crowley-Thoth deck, a highly charged and highly sexual Tarot based strongly upon his specialty, Egyptology. Though not a joiner by nature, he did briefy belong to the Golden Dawn, a group of theosophists who were involved in Kabalistic magic, based on traditional Hebrew forms of magic. (W.B. Yeats, the esteemed Irish poet, was also a member.) The membership of Crowley in the sect created incredible turmoil in the group, as he was nothing if not a provocateur. The Golden Dawn claimed the path to spiritual ascent, and Crowley mocked them all, including the powerful Eliphas Levi and Waite, who developed the Rider Waite Tarot deck. Rigorously dissolute, he formed societies of lost souls willing to worship him and his will in sometimes ridiculous ceremonies; his semi-permanent sects eventually went to Italy to escape the discrimination that he inevitably attracted. In "pagan" Italy (at least according to E.M. Foster) Crowley attracted more attention than even he wanted and was ultimately deported from that country after rumors of human sacrifice on his island community reached the ears of the authorities. In his twilight years back in England he became a heroin junkie, his habit costing him more than he had and he spent the last years of his life living off those who were still susceptible to the considerable Crowley charisma. He died a dissolute - though still amazing - old man at the age of 68. Though he was undoubtedly bordering on the insane and his motives were almost always egocentric, he had a tremendous ability to assert his will, and he must be remembered as the man who restored the Tarot to its rightful place in magic, and who contributed more to the ancient art than any other magician since the middle ages. For more information about the man known as "The Beast", read his The Confessions Of Aleister Crowley, published in 1971.

Kassandra Was the Greek priestess of Apollo who predicted the downfall of Troy. She would enter visionary states and prophetic verses would fall from her lips, much in the way of the Delphic Oracle. She was considered mad, however, and her warnings went unheeded. War was inevitable and the siege of Troy resulted in that civilisation being wiped out. Though all the men were murdered and the woman sold off to the Greeks as slaves (many others chose suicide rather than enslavement), she and many of the other Trojan women survived. She used perfume and insense in her craft; fire and flame was important to Kassandra as well.

Morgan Le Fey Has been painted as evil by nearly all Arthurian scholars, including Thomas Mallory, who reignited interest in the Arthurian legends through his book, The Morte D'Arthur. But Morgan was Lady of the Lake, a priestess of the Triple Goddess, and it is history's shame to have painted her black. alf-sister to Arthur, she bore his child, Gawain, under the festival of the Horned God (not the devil, but the God of the Hunt, representing masculinity and sheer sex, basically!). Unfortunately for both Arthur and Morgan, Christianity made inroads into Camelot, and their coupling was seen as diabolical, thus Gawain was seen as a sort of demented imp, rather than just the over-ambitious youth he grew into. Morgan kept holy the memory of the Lake though she lived a country life for much of span on earth. She had the horned moon of the Triple Goddess tattooed between her brows and she was a vegetarian for much of her life.

Here is something that I didn't know!
Witch-hunts today Few people are aware that witch-hunts still claim thousands of lives every year, especially in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, and above all in South Africa.
Witch-hunts in South Africa have become "a national scourge," according to Phumele Ntombele-Nzimande of the country's Commission on Gender Equality. (Quoted in Gilbert Lewthwaite, "South Africans go on witch hunts," Baltimore Sun, September 27, 1998.) The phenomenon is centered in the country's poverty-stricken Northern Province, where "legislators counted 204 witchcraft-related killings [from 1985-95] ... Police counted 312 for the same period. Everybody agreed both numbers were gross underestimates." (Neely Tucker, "Season of the Witch Haunts Africa," The Toronto Star, August 1, 1999.) In 1996 The Observer (UK) reported that "the precise statistics are not known, but the deaths from witch-burning episodes number in the hundreds each year and the trend appears to be on the rise." (David Beresford, "Ancient superstitions, fear of witches cast spell on new nation," reprinted in The Ottawa Citizen, June 18, 1996.)
As with its European predecessor, witch-hunting in South Africa is closely tied not only to prevailing superstitions, but to socio-economic pressures, natural disasters, and personal jealousies. In the Northern Province, "among the poorly educated rural residents, traditional healers and clairvoyants claiming supernatural powers hold broad sway. And hunger, poverty, and unemployment can create jealousies that can quickly turn to anger and vengeance." (Lewthwaite, "South Africans go on witch hunts.") Likewise, Peter Alexander reports that "In a region of intense poverty and little education, villagers are quick to blame any adverse act of fate on black magic." These traditional tendencies have been exacerbated by a recent hysteria (extending to Kenya and Zimbabwe) over the very real phenomenon of "ritual killings related to witchcraft," which "include the removal of organs and limbs from the victims -- the genitals, hands or the head, all of which are believed to bring good luck." (Alexander, "'Witches' get protection from superstitious mobs," The Daily Telegraph, May 26, 1997.) Such ritual murders often bring "retribution" against innocents accused of witchcraft.
The intensity of the persecution and vigilantism in South Africa has reached such levels that no fewer than ten villages have been established in the Northern Province, populated exclusively by accused "witches" whose lives are at risk in their home communities. One such settlement, Helena, counted among its residents 62-year-old Esther Rasesemola, who "was accused in 1990 of being a witch after lightning struck her village":
A group of people visited the Inkanga [village witch-doctor] to see who was responsible. When they returned, it was my brother-in-law who told the rest of the village that I was responsible. He owed me money and I think he did it to get rid of me because he did not want to pay the money back. People in the village became convinced I was a witch. They came to my house at night and burnt it down and took all my belongings. Then they put me in a truck and drove me to a deserted place and dropped me off with my husband and my three children. They told me never to come back to the village or they would kill me. My husband died two years after we were expelled. My children have gone away and now I have nothing. I don't believe in witchcraft. It is just superstitious belief. (Quoted in Alexander, "'Witches' get protection.")

Well are you all glad that we're finished with Did You Know? If you want to know more there is a world of information out on the web where you can learn mopre about any of the characters and topics I've listed this month.

Funny (and somewhat embarrassing) story: I run different scenerios for my stories in my head no matter where I am. This morning, in the shower I was running a scene where the heroine is (imagine!) the shower and the villian comes into the bathroom. Well at that point my door squeaked open. Being without my glasses (or contacts) I'm blind as a bat;I see a shadow pass by the frosted glass. Scared the bajeebers out of me! I scream, the dog that had entered the bathroom and the other two hit the door barking and whining. I opened the door and looked at all three of them (to show mom was ok) "Mommy's a goofball" my oldest Springer turned his chocolate brown eyes up to me and I swear the look on his face said "we know but we love you anyway."

Well as they say "Always Leave 'em laughing"
Huggles and Happy Reading!
Donica