Echoing Multiverse

  The Cailleach is a divine hag, creator deity, weather deity, and ancestor deity.  In modern Scottish folklore studies, she is also known as Beira, Queen of Winter.  She rules the winter, while Brigid rules the summer. Her name is pronounced coyluck, but also like you're clearing your throat.  When I painted The Cailleach as part of a Goddess painting challenge, at the beginning of my painting journey, that was about all I knew about her.  I painted her in blue with white and silver - winter colors, in contrast to  Sunna , who I had painted in yellow two days early.  I added ski tracks. The Cailleach, original painting by Echoing Multiverse.  Available via Saatchi Art .  Stickers, greeting cards, and other merch available through RedBubble or Fine Art America . Since the original Goddess painting challenge, I have discovered some excellent sources for more detailed information, including Barbara G. Walker's very well researched Women's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets. 

 The Sun is a Goddess.  In Japan she is called Amaterasu.  In Hinduism, Aditi.  In Ancient Arabia, Atthar.  The Celts had a Sun Goddess named Sulis, from suil, meaning both "eye" and "sun."  Germans called her Sunna.  Norwegians called her Sol.  The Hittites called her Arinniti or Wurunšemu.  She is Unelanuhi to the Cherokee.  The Wotjobaluk Aboriginal people of south-eastern Australia know her as Gnowee. Sunna, Goddess of the Sun original painting by Echoing Multiverse.  Available via Saatchi Art .  Stickers, prints, and other merch available through RedBubble or Fine Art America .

Happy (Belated) Saint Lucy / Lucia Day!  In Sweden, Saint Lucia is a young girl in a candle head dress bringing the light.  Light is celebrated on Saint Lucy / Lucia Day because on the former calendar, December 13 was the winter solstice.  In Italy, Lucy is a martyr who put out her own eyes to avoid seeing evil deeds, also celebrated on December 13. Saint Lucy / Lucia Day Procession, original painting by Echoing Multiverse, available via Saatchi Art .  Greeting cards, stickers, and other merch available through RedBubble or Fine Art America . While in Italy, Lucy carries her eyeballs on a platter, in Sweden, the platter is traditionally covered with Lussikatter, curled up cat shaped saffron buns with raisin eyes. Which makes total sense as Freya and her cat sleigh preceded Santa and his reindeer. Lussikatter Freya's Cat Chariot - first published in 1865 "For the Pre-Christian Pagans of Europe, it was not Santa Claus but Goddess Freyja who arrived on Christmas Eve. Until 18th

 For NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) my teen started working on a queer YA retelling of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  We did some YouTube research about the Four Horsemen and the Book of Revelations, also getting sucked in to the History Channel's Secrets of the Bible - surprisingly well done.  The sequence of videos skewed our next sets of YouTube recommendations somewhat, and we ended up watching a PBS video about Baba Yaga...and her Horsemen.  Whoa. In Revelations Chapter 6, the lamb opens seven seals on a special scroll.  When the first seal is opened, a white horse and rider appear.  2nd seal:  Red horse and rider.  3rd seal:  Black horse and rider.  4th seal:  Death with a pale-green horse In the popular Russian folk tale of Baba Yaga and Vasilisa, on her journey to get fire from Baba Yaga, Vasilisa first encounters Baba Yaga's white horseman, then her red horseman, then her black horseman, and finally, Baba Yaga herself - the folk tale - ified Great Godd

 We recently visited the U.K., researching schools for the progeny.  We put almost 1600 miles on the rental car, visited 7 campuses from Edinburgh to the tip of Cornwall, and splurged on admission to Shakespeare's Birthplace. Shakespeare's Birthplace There, we learned that Shakepeare's dad was a glover.  A prosperous tradesman with several apprentices and a relatively luxurious home.  Father Shakespeare was well respected in the community, being named community ale taster.  The family was solidly middle class, perhaps even upper middle class.  While most paintings and other sources of information on historical fashions focus on the clothing of the elite, the visitor center museum at Shakespeare's Birthplace had an exhibit focusing on clothing of the middle class during Shakespeare's lifetime (1564 - 1616).   Looking at the exhibit, it was striking to see how drastically styles changed during Shakespeare's lifetime.  The fashions of the middle class in the late 1