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Post by JustJohn or JJ on Oct 22, 2017 8:07:58 GMT -7
by Staś Kmieć It is Halloween (All Hallows’ Eve) and while Poland does not celebrate this very American holiday directly, it does have subtle cultural similarities. Two days later on November 2, Poles honor those who have passed on the Catholic observance of All Soul’s Day (Święto Zmarłych, Dzień Zaduszny or Zaduszki) . Foretelling and magical occurrences take place on St. Andrew’s Eve (Andrzejki). Poland has its own monstrous folklore figure with the mythical, archetypal witch – Baba Jaga. Any Polish child would be very upset if there were no fairy tales with Baba Jaga. This character exists in several cultures. She is the Hindu Goddess of Death, Kali, In Macedonia she is Baba Pora, in Serbia she is Baba Roga. In Slavic folklore Baba Jaga is a witch-like character. She flies around on a giant mortar or broomstick, kidnaps (and presumably eats) small children, and lives in a house which stands on chicken legs. In most Slavic folk tales she is portrayed as an antagonist; however, some characters in other mythological folk stories have been known to seek her out for her wisdom, and she has been known on occasion to offer guidance to lost souls, although this is seen as rare. In Polish folklore Baba Jaga’s house rests on a single chicken leg and she wears the the black and red striped weaved cloth of the Świętokrzyskie (Holy Cross) Mountains. She is an unofficial symbol of the area’s Kielce region, which has a folklore rich in legendary witches Sabbaths on Łysa Góra (the famed Bald Mountain). Баба Яга is used as a stock character by authors of modern Russian fairy tales, and from the 1990s in Russian fantasy. The name Baba Jaga is composed of two elements: Baba means "old woman, grandmother" used in most Slavic languages; and the second Jaga, is from Proto-Slavic (j)ęgа, which may be related to Lithuanian ingis meaning ‘lazybones, sluggard', Old Norse ekki – 'pain', and Old English inca – 'question, scruple, doubt;, grievance, quarrel.’ It has also been suggested that Jaga may be a diminutive of the female name Jadwiga. There are several stories attributed to Baba Jaga. One version says with each question asked of her she ages a full year. The only way to regress in age is by brewing a special tea from blue roses. She is a wise hag who imparts advice and magical gifts to heroes of the pure of heart. Baba Jaga is all-seeing, all-revealing, and all-knowing. She is a forest spirit who brings wisdom through death and rebirth. Happy Halloween and watch out for Baba Jaga! Posted by Polish American Journal Today at 12:25 PM
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Post by karl on Oct 22, 2017 15:03:58 GMT -7
J.J. Goblins/Ghouls and witches, what a combination to draw upon. But, it is not a good thing to laugh or make fun of such, for we never know. For of such things as folklore and tales, these have a history usually from an event long past in time that evolved in to folklore. My self having known of one self described Wicca some years in past, I never knew much about her as she was on a web site many years past. Being strong Christian, but, being naturally careful with these things is being prudent. Most people possess what these self proclaimed witches have, as exampled by: A feeling of uneasiness whilst in a certain place, being that the subconscience mind recognizes what the conscience mind does not at the time of occurance: Feeling of have been here before in a strange place or from a dream. This is easy, for your dream likeness will match up to most any location that fits the discription of the mind. Being a person of the earth, some things though are not explainable, one being if of a strong ability of concentration, to be thinking of another person and later, that person responds though conversation, that he/she for some reason, was thinking of you, perhaps a coincidence or perhaps not. The other as a personal experience to be visiting in a strange house {strange as not ever being there before}, once seated in a chair in which ever room, and feeling a deep coldness upon your self in a warm room. To then reseat your self across the room and the room then feels warm. The owner when asked, will then relate that some years past, a person had died in that spot and others have related the simular feeling. To the thinking person, these as above are a mystery, to the not so smart, it is not a mystery, but some thing they accept as truth and let it go at that. Not sure just who is the smarter now. sciencenordic.com/your-danish-friend-may-be-witchKarl
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Post by JustJohn or JJ on Oct 26, 2017 5:40:55 GMT -7
www.boredpanda.com/polish-photographer-katarzyna-niwinska-creates-magical-slavic-fairytale-it-is-mesmerizing/Polish Photographer Katarzyna Niwińska Creates Magical Slavic Fairytale, It Is Mesmerizingby Robert Grzeszowski Creative Photographer from Poland, Katarzyna Niwińska, described her work “A Tale of Three Gifts” as a project inspired by Slavic folklore (Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, Russia, Poland), legends, stylistics and, above all, fairy tales. “Three years ago I started to invent a story of a poor girl who meets a good godmother in the woods. At every meeting, the girl receives a magical gift, but in the end, having discovered that wealth does not give her luck, the heroine takes on the role of good fairy herself – the guardian of nature, at the same time giving the godmother her freedom. For these three years I was looking for suitable accessories, models, suitable open air places, and I was also making myself the costumes (based on authentic Eastern European costumes), preparing wigs for my heroines. Special dresses in which I have adorned my fairies – white and green – were made by a fantastic designer from Wrocław, Małgorzata Motas (www.facebook.com/GosiaMotasFashionDesigner). To work with me I have invited amazing, with a magnetic look gorgeous Karolina Burian, who played the role of my main heroine. The second character in my story is the forest godmother. This heroine of my story is based on three characters that I found in one of my beloved books, “American Gods” by Neil Gaiman, the sisters of Zoriach. I thought that it would be interesting to show one character changing her appearance at different times of the day. Hence the idea of involvement in the project of two similar models of different ages – sensational Anna Niczyporuk and Ewa Idzikowska (https://www.facebook.com/ewa.idzikowska.96). Make-up was made by Anna Kołodziejczyk (www.facebook.com/salondreamfactory). Pictures were created in two days, in carefully selected open air places in the outskirts of Krakow. Katarzyna Niwińska-Katherine Anne” www.facebook.com/KatherineAnnePhotography/www.katherineanne.bci.pl/
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Post by pieter on Oct 26, 2017 18:04:05 GMT -7
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