by Niko Silvester with art by Brian Froud Besides being solitary and dreamy, a shaman sometimes "becomes violent and easily loses consciousness, takes refuge in the forests, feeds upon the bark of trees, throws himself into the water or the fire or wounds himself with knives" (75).In the words of Stephen Larsen, a shaman is […]
by Patrick Cotter This aeon of which we speak littered newly with drumlins and moraines: the after–gutturals of glacial dishevelment, trees spread themselves over it like filaments of mould over a fermenting apple: this is the godly harvest that is Eriu. But if you are a god, sconce minutely between the leaves, revealed there running […]
by Ekaterina Sedia 1. The Moscow Sea (Mare Moscoviense) Moscow is one of the most landlocked cities on Earth, but whatever disappears from it ends up in the Moscow Sea. The local inhabitants see a certain irony in that, and celebrate every new arrival. They cheered when the churches burned by Napoleon appeared and stood […]
Agni photograph by Ashok Khosla and Susan Bodenlos 3. Fire Gods and Fire Bringers Fire gods and goddesses are deeply-rooted in all ancient cultures, and their manifestations are quite diverse, but they all seem to share the quality of being associated with a form of wisdom beyond human understanding. The Hindu god of fire, Agni, […]
by Jeanie Tomanek Envoy by Jeanie Tomanek The hawk came innocent last year to the ledge of my sealed window in the glass tower where we capture blue in structured planes make clouds wrap corners, spoke sharp notes I refused to conjugate, and then was gone. Now he returns full-grown, breast feathers flecked rusty. Bold […]
translated by Heinz Insu Fenkl 4. Several days later, the remaining bandits found their leader wandering in the woods. They were overjoyed to see him alive, for they had assumed him to be dead, but then they were terribly saddened to discover that he had lost his mind. He no longer recognized them or even […]
"Supari" by Patrick Manning Good cooks carry with them secrets locked away in the arcane languages of foods, herbs and spices. They study their alchemical properties, creating potent combinations that not only arouse our sense of taste, but offer wellbeing and longevity. In India, the 5,000 year old Ayurvedic systems of cuisine promise the knowledge […]
by Christopher Barzak There was once a boy who was born wrapped in barbed wire. The defect was noticed immediately after his birth, when the doctor had to snip the boy’s umbilical cord with wire cutters. But elsewhere, too, the wire curled out of the boy’s flesh, circling his arms and legs, his tiny torso.They […]
by Terri Windling "Twilight" by Brian Froud Between the setting of the sun and the black of night, dusk is a potent, magical time . . . for in its eerie half–light (according to folklore found around the globe) one can cross the borders dividing our mundane world from supernatural realms. Like many children, I […]
by Ann Skea Trickster has never been restricted to one society. In European countries he appears in the guise of Jester or Fool, and his roots in the human psyche are deep. Alan Garner has collected Trickster stories from many countries in his book The Guizer and he writes: If we take the elements from […]