kanon42's New Writeups

Sir Perceval (person)

2000-10-27T19:32:01Z

Parsi-fal "Pure Fool"

This is the easiest description of Sir Perceval (also Percival or Percivale). He wasn't known for his brains to say the least.

Perceval spent most of his childhood in Wales, where his mother hoped to spare him from the bloodshed at Arthur's court. Her plan worked until the day Perceval ran into a group of knights riding through the nearby forest. He was immediately dazzled by their strength and weapons, and so he ran off to follow them on their way back to court.

Once he arrived he asked to be made a knight right then. Most of the court laughed at his this, but Arthur, who saw that he was a true innocent, explained that he would have to work his way toward knighthood. From there, Perceval became a court page, causing disasters wherever he went because of the dangerous combination of innocence, ignorance, and curiousity that resided in him. He could also be counted on to get into trouble, although never on purpose or with cruel intent.

Eventually he…

Tarot (thing)

2000-10-27T17:51:14Z

Tarot Metanode

Tarot Decks:
Rider-Waite Tarot
Thoth Tarot
Wheel of Change Tarot
Halloween Tarot
Arthurian Tarot
Silicon Valley Tarot

The Cards
Major Arcana
0: The Fool
1: The Magician
2: The High Priestess
3: The Empress
4: The Emperor
5: The Hierophant
6: The Lovers
7: The Chariot
8: Strength
9: The Hermit
10: The Wheel of Fortune
11: Justice
12: The Hanged Man
13: Death
14: Temperance
15: The Devil
16: The Tower
17: The Star
18: The Moon
19: The Sun
20: Judgement
21: The Universe

Notes: The Major Arcana usually fall under these names or some rough equivalent. They are the Rider-Waite version. Some Tarot decks follow the naming system of the…

Legend: The Arthurian Tarot (thing)

2000-10-18T22:13:23Z

Major Arcana

0: The Fool -- Percivale
1: The Magician -- Merlin
2: The Priestess -- Nimue
3: The Empress -- Guenevere
4: The Emperor -- Arthur
5: The Hierophant -- Taliesin
6: The Lovers -- Gareth & Lyones
7: The Chariot -- Battle of Mount Badon
8: Strength -- Percivale's Vision
9: The Hermit -- Lancelot in Exile
10: The Wheel of Fortune -- Arthur's Dream
11: Justice -- Lady of the Lake
12: The Hanged Man -- Castle Perilous
13: Death -- Gwyn ab Nudd & the Wild Hunt
14: Temperance -- The Cauldron of Annwn
15: The Horned One -- Cernunnos
16: The Tower -- Vortigern's Fortress
17: The Star -- The Fire Drake
18: The Moon -- Morgan le Fay
19: The Sun -- Lleu
20: Judgement -- Avalon
21: The Universe -- The Giant's Dance

Minor Arcana

Spears

…

trickster (person)

2000-10-13T20:24:08Z

Tricksters of World Mythology

The Trickster is one of the more interesting aspects of world mythology, as almost every culture boasts a trickster god or hero of some sort. Common traits of a trickster god/hero include stubborness, duplicity, greed, gluttony, laziness, cunning, unpredictability, and deceit. Usually, they have some sort of "magic power" altough they are not always gods or goddesses. They range in intelligence from foolish to cunning and may be more "evil" (loki) or more "good" (coyote). They are as often a teacher as they are a liar, gambler or thief. Strangely enough, most Tricksters are male, with the exception of Uzume, the Japanese Trickster goddess.

The Trickster is especially prevalent in Native American mythology -- each region of the Americas has its own animal Trickster-hero. These include:
Spider --> North and Eastern Woodlands
Hare --> Plains and Great Lakes
Coyote --> Western…

Uzume (person)

2000-10-13T19:27:35Z

The Japanese Shinto goddess of joy, laughter, and humor. Her name means "whirling," probably given because she is constantly dancing. Sometimes known as the Shaman goddess, some of her dances were said to be able to bring back the dead. She is the Japanese version of the Trickster, one of the few on the planet who is female.

She was most famous for her part in an Amaterasu legend. When Amaterasu (the sun goddess) was scared away into a cave by her brother, the world began to die from lack of light. Uzume did a humorous erotic dance outside the cave to make the other gods laugh. Amaterasu came out of the cave to see what all the fuss was about and instead ended up looking at her dazzling reflection in a thousand mirrors the other gods had set up. She was so struck by this that they were able to bring her away from the cave and back into the heavens.

Also known as Ame-no-Uzume.

back to Japanese Mythology

Beltane (thing)

2000-09-21T14:09:18Z

Beltane has been celebrated in many different forms for centuries. The most commonly thought of one (the one wiccans and pagans use today) is the Celtic fertility rite which took place on or around May 1st.

Nowadays the tradition is used by wiccans to celebrate the union of the goddess and the god. It's when the goddess changes from maiden to warrior and the god stops being her child (incest is lovely, eh?). This is also where she becomes pregnant with the god's child, who will be the reincarnation of the god after his death. (But please do note that just because someone's pagan doesn't make them wiccan).

For many pagans this is the best holiday of the year. Picnics, dancing, and lots of sex. There's a Maypole to dance around, a fire to leap over, and faeries to leave presents for, all in the name of fertility for the earth.

This fire festival is traditionally the exact opposite of Samhain.