Pen and Ink and Pencil
The Hesperides
A3 pen and ink on watercolour paper.
In Greek Mythology The Hesperides are three Nymphs that guard the Golden apples that grow on Hera’s sacred tree. They are described as nymphs of evening and golden light of sunsets, who were the "Daughters of the Evening" or "Nymphs of the West" Their father is Atlas, the Titan who was condemned to hold the universe on his shoulders.
Unfortunately for Hera, The Hesperides also helped themselves to the sacred apples. So Hera placed the serpent Ladon in the tree to stop the Hesperides from eating the apples. In some accounts Ladon is described as a dragon with one hundred heads, and is associated with the constellation Draco.
The Norns
The Prose Edda is a 13th century Icelandic book that gives a detailed description on the lives of Norse Gods.
The Norns Are described as three Giant Maidens who draw water from a sacred well to nourish Yggdrasil, The tree of life, or tree of Knowledge that grows in the centre of the Cosmos
The Norns are three sisters, known as the Jotunn from Jötunheimr, My Theory is that the Jotunn meaning Giant, are the stars in Orion that represent that part of the sky. Orion's Belt is Known as the three Kings, but originally known as the three Sisters, Which I interpret as the Norns(the three sisters).
The serpent that gnaws the roots of Yggdrasil is called Níðhöggr, While Jörmungandr, the world serpent(the milky way) surrounds the great tree.
There is an unnamed eagle who rests in the branches of the tree of Knowledge. Who I consider to be Þjazi, a great eagle that pops up in tales in the prose Edda. He possibly represents the constellation Aquila or the star Altair in Aquila.
Inanna and the Huluppu Tree
In the first days, in the very first days, In the first nights, in the very first nights, In the first years, in the very first years,
In the first days when everything needed was brought into being,
In the first days when everything needed was properly nourished, When bread was baked in the shrines of the land, And bread was tasted in the homes of the land, When heaven had moved away from earth, And earth had separated from heaven, And the name of man was fixed; When the Sky God, An, had carried off the heavens, And the Air God, Enlil, had carried off the earth, When the Queen of the Great Below, Ereshkigal, was given the underworld for her domain.
At that time, it was planted, a tree, a single tree, by the banks of the Great River, Enki, the Father, did plant the Huluppu-tree, The God of Wisdom, he planted it by the banks of the Euphrates, Before he set sail, before the Father departed for the underworld.
The tree was nurtured by the waters of the Euphrates; the very waters that carried Enki to the sea Small windstones were tossed against him; Large hailstones were hurled up against him; Like onrushing turtles, They charged the keel of Enki’s boat. The whirling South Wind arose and blew upon the tree, Pulling at its roots and ripping at its branches, Until the waters of the Euphrates carried it away.
A young woman who walked in fear of no man, and would not be owned, Plucked the tree from the river and spoke: “I shall bring this tree to Uruk. I shall plant this tree in my holy garden.”
Inanna cared for the tree with her hand. She settled the earth around the tree with her foot. She wondered: “How long will it be until I have a shining throne to sit upon? How long will it be until I have a luscious bed to lie upon?”
The years passed; five years, then ten years. The tree grew thick, But its bark did not split.
Then a serpent who could not be charmed Made its nest in the roots of the Huluppu-tree. The Anzu-bird set his young in the branches of the tree. And the dark maid Lilith built her home in the trunk.
The young woman who loved to laugh wept. How Inanna wept! Yet they would not leave her tree.
As the birds began to sing at the coming of the dawn, The Sun God, Utu, left his royal bedchamber. Inanna called to her brother Utu, saying:
“O Utu, in the days when the fates were decreed, When abundance overflowed in the land, When the domains of the Great Gods were divided, And Enki did quest for the Underworld, Then did I pluck the Huluppu-tree from the Euphrates, Then did I plant it in my Holy Garden, and tend it, Waiting for my shining throne and luscious bed.
Then a serpent nested in the roots and could not be charmed, The Anzu-bird set his young in the branches And the dark maid, Lilith, built her home in the trunk.
I wept. How I wept! Yet they would not leave my tree.”
Utu, the valiant warrior, Utu, Would not help his sister, Inanna.
As the birds began to sing at the coming of the second dawn, Inanna called to her brother, Gilgamesh, saying:
“O Gilgamesh, in the days when the fates were decreed, When abundance overflowed in the land, When the domains of the Great Gods were divided, Then did I pluck the Huluppu-tree from the Euphrates, Then did I plant it in my Holy Garden, and tend it, Waiting for my shining throne and luscious bed.
Then a serpent nested in the roots and could not be charmed, The Anzu-bird set his young in the branches And the dark maid, Lilith, built her home in the trunk.
I wept. How I wept! Yet they would not leave my tree.”
Gilgamesh the valiant warrior, Gilgamesh, The hero of Uruk, stood by Inanna.
Gilgamesh fastened his armor of fifty minas around his chest. The fifty minas weighed as little to him as fifty feathers. He lifted his bronze ax, the ax of the road, Weighing seven talents and seven minas, to his shoulder. He entered Inanna’s holy garden.
Gilgamesh struck the serpent who could not be charmed.
The Anzu-bird flew with his young to the mountains;
And Lilith smashed her home and fled to the wild, uninhabited places.
Gilgamesh then loosened the roots of the huluppu-tree;
And the sons of the city, who accompanied him, cut off the branches.
From the trunk of the tree he carved a throne for his holy sister. From the trunk of the tree Gilgamesh carved a bed for Inanna. From the roots of the tree she fashioned a Pukku for her brother. From the crown of the tree Inanna fashioned a Mikku for Gilgamesh, the hero of Uruk.
The Pleiades
The Virgin Suicides
A3 pen and ink on watercolour paper.
The Pleiades in Astronomy are a cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus. They were named after seven Greek Nymphs who all killed themselves, when hearing about the death of their three sisters, The Hesperides.
Another Story claims that they killed themselves because of the constant pursuit of Orion.
The Pleiades are a prominent sight in winter in the Northern Hemisphere, and are easily visible out to mid-Southern latitudes. They have been known since antiquity to cultures all around the world, including the Celts (who call them Tŵr Tewdws [Tur Toodus]), Hawaiians (who call them Makaliʻi), Māori (who call them Matariki), Aboriginal Australians (from several traditions), the Persians, whence in Hindi and Urdu (who called them پروین Parvīn or پروی Parvī), the Arabs (who called them الثريا al-Thurayya), the Chinese (who called them 昴 mǎo), the Quechua, the Japanese (who call them 昴 / スバル Subaru), the Maya, the Aztec, the Sioux, the Kiowa, and the Cherokee. In Hinduism, the Pleiades are known as Krittika and are associated with the war-god Kartikeya. They are also mentioned three times in the Bible.
When the Moon Occults the Pleiades
Every so often the Moon Occults the Pleiades. Possibly the Origin of stories related to Horned Gods coming into contact with the 7 sisters, daughters of the night, Nymphs, Muses, Freyja's hens, Light elves, Fairies, Krittikas, or Matariki.
Ever wonder why a cluster of mushrooms are called a fairy ring?
I propose, it’s because the ring of mushrooms represents the ring of the Pleiades system.
Ring a Ring of Rosie's
Ring a ring a roses,
A pocket full of posies,
A tissue,
A tissue,
We all fall down.
I was determined to keep my dark nursery rhymes going as part of the Chardonnay Collection. Most people think that this Nursery Rhyme was created during the black Plague. Although I have done a bit of research, there seems to be evidence of earlier versions of the rhyme in other countries that predate the plague. Probably something as innocent as young girls and boys dancing around a rose bush, stuffing their pockets with the petals. Last one to fall is out?.
I was going to illustrate that, but the darker side of life always seems that more appealing.
To see The Black Plague Doctors was a warning, as death was not far behind.
Apparently some of these guys used to take money from people, offering false curses and treatments for cures. They dressed as you see, with the beaked mask that they stuffed with incense to cover the smell of the dead. A large hat, ankle length coat, and a cane that they used to poke and remove items of clothing from the bodies.
The city of Orvieto hired Matteo fu Angelo in 1348 for four times the normal rate of a doctor of 50-florin per year. Pope Clement VI hired several extra plague doctors during the Black Death plague to tend to the sick people of Avignon. Of 18 doctors in Venice, only one was left by 1348: five had died of the plague, and 12 were missing and may have fled.
They kind of remind me of The Egyptian god Thoth, who embalmed the dead and helped their souls find the way to the afterlife. Hence the cross.
I could have illustrated the girl in the middle a bit better, but… it is what it is. Just for the craic.
I will maybe come back and remaster it someday.
And here endeth the lesson.
Wisdom
Wisdom is radiant and doesn’t fade away;
and is easily seen by those who love her,
and found by those who seek her.
She anticipates those who desire her, making herself known.
He who rises up early to seek her won’t have difficulty,
for he will find her sitting at his gates.
For to think upon her is perfection of understanding,
and he who watches for her will quickly be free from care;
because she herself goes around,seeking those who are
worthy of her,
and in their paths she appears to them graciously,
and in every purpose she meets them.
For her true beginning is desire for instruction;
and desire for instruction is love.