The Godyssey Podcast

Oiwa, appearing in a lantern. Her green fire is melting the lantern from the inside out, and Oiwa, the right side of her face centered on her eye showing a horrific wound, is screaming, holding what looks like a baby as she emerges into the otherwise picturesque ukiyo-e night, in art by Matthew Meyer.

The weeping ghost of Oiwa originally hunted her husband, who disfigured her and had her killed so he could marry another. Everywhere he looked as he fled his crime, her weeping face was there: and so he slew the innocent to flee her until he went mad #PhantomsFriday

🖼: M Meyer

Among sleeping men and women, a man awakes in terror to see a black-shrouded figure squatting on his body.

'Night' by Ferdinand Hodler, 1890. A splendid representation of night terror or perhaps something more sinister. There's nothing sexual here, but you can see a lady's bottom, which is presumably why it's been marked adult content. Ludicrous but I'm posting anyway.
#PhantomsFriday #Symbolism #artsky

Y'all. Y'ALL. This looks devastating in the best way.

The carved handwriting, like using a #calligraphy pen specifically for stone 'paper' 🤩❤️

A depiction of the "Qilin" of the Ming court, which is very clearly a giraffe pulled by a zoo keeper with a fantastic mustache. Weirdly the giraffe is wavy, not spotted like we think of with modern giraffes.

Unlike the unicorn, the Qilin is very real: during the Ming Dynasty the explorations of Zheng He and his compatriots brought one back to the Emperor (who was non-plussed) from Africa. To this day the word Qilin/Kirin means giraffe in East Asian languages. #LegendaryWednesday

Graffiti on marble at the Hagia Sofia: Younger Futhark runes are marked in shaky hand on the marble, which likely required a lot of effort, spelling out Halfdan was here.

For centuries they were thought to just be scratches in the marble, perhaps structural damage from earthquakes. In 1964 it was determined these markings weren't random but writing: the Hagia Sophia bears Viking Era graffiti, runes that say "Halfdan was here." #WyrdWednesday

Hanuman praying in a temple in Singapore, his skin blue, his face looking maybe more dog-like than monkey-like.

Devoted to his master Rama, Hanuman is the vanara companion of the hero of the Ramayana and monkey-faced son of the wind god Vayu. Celibate, his lordship of vanara helps to build a land bridge from India to Sri Lanka. #LegendaryWednesday

Graffiti on a desk in the Tower of London, containing many names, dates, and phrases in Latin, French, and English.

When imprisoned, why not pass the time by defacing the property of your captors and likely executioners? That was the thinking for hundreds of prisoners in the Tower of London, who took their time to write their names and in some cases, detailed horoscopes. #WyrdWednesday

Animals Wildlife Vintage animal print by artist Adolphe Millot

This week's theme is exotic wildlife. With your species discovery legends, rainforest anomaly, jungle inhabitants, rejected runts, irregular genetic beast, safarii art, & animalistic deities. Share a #legend #folklore #quote #fairytale #poetry #film #art #mythology 💫 #LegendaryWednesday

Wyrdlings!

Some things are set in stone. Or wood. Or bone. You name it, since this week:

"Carvings, Inscriptions & Writings on the Wall"

is our #WyrdWednesday topic – so, tell us tales of wyrd bas-reliefs, strange runes on artefacts and otherworldy hieroglyphs found in deep dungeons!

In "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter" from Japan, a bamboo cutter and his wife raise a baby girl they find in a glowing stalk of bamboo. It's later revealed she's a princess of the moon and must return there. When she dons her celestial robe, her memories of life on earth are erased. #FairyTaleTuesday

We are such a trash civilization

Listen: cancer had it coming.

Dollman's depiction of Sola and Muni fleeing on their chariots across the sky, pursued by ethereal wolves.

Sol and Mani, the Norse sun goddess and moon god, are siblings who ride across the sky each day and night. They flee without end, because they are pursued by the ravenous children of Fenrir. When Ragnarok comes, they will fall first. #FairytaleTuesday

🖼: J.C. Dollman

A depiction of the Roman god Luna holding the alchemical symbol of silver/the moon, standing on a lobster likely representing Cancer.

In Western alchemical color theory, silver represents the full moon, a color of purity and crisp clarity, contrasting the brilliant sun's gold. Despite this its symbol is the crescent, but no one can deny the moon's brilliance in any visible phase. #FairytaleTuesday

Rabbit Mochi, surrounded by seasonal fare from the fall.

The moon is full of rabbits and food: in East Asia, Chang'e's companion the Jade Rabbit makes sweets, such as mochi in Japan; in Mesoamerica, the rabbit was placed in the moon by a thankful Quetzacoatl who drank from the willing rabbit when dying of thirst. #FairytaleTuesday

An ancient Greek depiction of Selene with two winged horses, the moon on her head. The details are somewhat lost to history, the horses' faces obscured.

Selene was the Greek goddess of the moon, the bright vessel at night driven by her steeds. She fell for Endymion, the sleeping King of Elis, who chose to remain beautiful forever, but only if he slept forever. #FairytaleTuesday

Quote from Washington Times editorial board "[Radical liberals] don't realize that, when they express contempt for the man who holds the country's highest office, they reveal their contempt for the Americans who put him there."

Uh no...we definitely realize it.

See also Julie Taylor’s opera: kalaity.com/2006/07/19/g...

A prominent cover of Grendel, showing a furry bear-man screaming at the sky with fangs out. It is very sepia-scale. The words read John Gardner, Grendel. "An extraordinary achievement"-The New York Times

"Poor Grendel's had an accident. So may you all."

Taking Beowulf and flipping the script, this postmodern retelling frames Grendel as a vehicle for viewing society and the meaning of actions from the viewpoint of Grendel himself, an outsider of ethics. #MythologyMonday

The #MythologyMonday theme, since it can't be cross-posted.

BUNNIES

A possible depiction of the Centzon Tōtōchtin from the Florentine Codex, showing three rabits with party streamers or horns, presumably blowing them while watching from the safety of the green.

Rabbits are often associated with spring, even in the Americas: the Centzon Tōtōchtin, the Four-Hundred Rabbits of Mexica myth, are rabbits who, during the revival of spring, meet and have debauch drunken parties with fermented fruit drinks. #FolkloreSunday

A stone etching showing three Persian men offering bowls and jars to someone off screen, likely a shah.

Four women dancing at a Nowruz festival somewhere in the DC area. Each wears a difference dress of red, yellow, blue, and pink, and signs in Farsi and English indicate things like Persian rugs are for sale (one of which they dance upon).

The Iranian New Year begins at the Spring Equinox, called Nowruz. It celebrates the defeat of winter by forces of light and has been celebrated for at least 2500 years historically. #FolkloreSunday

“Puss became a personage of great importance.”

(From “Old Time-Stories told by Master Charles Perrault”, trl. A.E. Johnson)

🎨 W. Heath Robinson

#bookwormsat #goldenageofillustration #booksky #bookillustration #caturday

this is what they said it would be like under socialism

An image from a tomb showing a silhouetted figure, completely in black, emerging through a completely white doorway, as two Ba's, flying embodiments of spirit that are human-headed birds, fly, one turned away from the figure, the other flying towards the figure. The figure, male, is nude and flaccid.

A letter from the Middle Kingdom tells of a widower, asking his dead wife why she had returned to haunt and torture him: had he not worked hard enough, sent the right things with her to the Duat? Did he not mourn properly, abstain from drink long enough? #PhantomsFriday

A photo of a heavy-set man in chaps with stirrups on a horse; his head is obscured. It is in grayscale.

In life, Vidal was a cattle rustler who stole the wrong horse: Texas Ranger Creed Taylor's, to be exact. In an extreme example of frontier justice, he and his companion beheaded Vidal and strapped him to his horse: now El Muerto wanders the Rio Grande, headless. #PhantomsFriday

Black and white print of an old witch in a robe and hat riding a broom in front of a giant full moon and tall trees.

Concerning Witchcraft (1915)~ Maxfield Parrish

Usual weekly reminder of the frightful joy that is #PhantomsFriday. Please join in with posts on all things #ghost by using that hashtag tomorrow - words, pictures, #folklore, popular culture, #haunted sites etc etc.