Baba's Soul Day

ALL SOULS NIGHT

2005-10-30T22:28:00.000-08:00

My painting titled ‘All Soul’s Night’ was based on the music of Loreena McKennitt. Happy Night to All!

ALL SOULS NIGHT

Bonfire dot the rolling hillsides
Figures dance around and around
To drums that pulse out echoes of darkness
Moving to the pagan sound.

Somewhere in a hidden memory
Images float before my eyes
Of fragrant nights of straw and of bonfires
And dancing till the next sunrise.

I can see the lights in the distance
Trembling in the dark cloak of night
Candles and lanterns are dancing, dancing
A waltz on All Souls Night.

Figures of cornstalks bend in the shadows
Held up tall as the flames leap high
The green knight holds the holly bush
To mark where the old year passes by.

Bonfires dot the rolling hillsides -- photo
Figures dance around and around
To drums that pulse out echoes of darkness
Moving to the pagan sound.

Standing on the bridge that crosses
The river that goes out to the sea
The wind is full of a thousand voices
They pass by the bridge and me.

This piece was inspired by the imagery of a Japanese tradition which celebrated the souls of the departed by sending candle-lit lanterns out on waterways leading to the ocean, sometimes in little boats; along with the imagery of the Celtic All Souls Night celebrations, at which time huge bonfires were lit not only to mark the new year, but to warm the souls of the departed. - L.M.

Music and lyrics by Loreena McKennitt

My painting entitled “Celtic Fire” is also of Loreena McKennitt

All Souls

2005-10-30T20:00:00.000-08:00

From All The Souls Here at Duwamish Bay...

Here is my costume

2005-10-30T15:25:00.000-08:00

This is me, the fall fairy.

I bring to the party all manner of dried seeds, pods,

flowers, and grasses, to decorate

Baba's house and festoon the

Bone Chair.

The Harvest Moon rises behind me

and I am caught in her glow.

I hope to dance with all of you

at the party.

(ps: I did the drawing...that felt good!)

One Year Ago Today

2005-10-30T10:53:00.000-08:00

This is a tribute to my friend Heather...if I could draw I would. Hopefully this will do... Anita Marie

One Year Ago on October 31, 2004 I posted my first story over at the Soul Food Cafe.

Since then I've done something I've always wanted to do which was write honest to goodness ( hee hee ) tales of the Weird and Supernatural.

More then anything I wanted to write stories like Rod Serling and Stephen King. I wanted people to gets glimpses of Vincent Price and Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr. in my little stories.

This you know is all I've ever wanted to do, and you know being great or good at it doesn't matter anymore. I'm doing exactly what I should be doing.

And that's something a lot of people can go through their lives and never come close to.

I can't tell you how grateful I am for that.

So thanks to my friend Heather Blakey for giving me this chance and thanks to people who have said nice things and I even have a thanks to people who wanted to say something nasty and didn't.

Happy Halloween and don't let the bed-bugs bite...unless you're into that sort of
thing.

Anita Marie

Baba Sould Day Project - Frida

2005-10-30T04:50:00.000-08:00

Gift for Baba - All Souls

2005-10-30T04:09:00.000-08:00

A beautiful oak, the leaves to the foreground are a purplish colour, so the tree looks purplish green. The sun is shining brightly on it, but when the sun goes behind a cloud, the deep purple colour is more evident. I thought Baba would like this quirk of nature. Happy All Souls!

All Soul's Night

2005-10-30T03:03:00.000-08:00

To mark All Soul's Night I took a ride with Baba, in her black swan, to the Isle of the Dead and met the Queen of the Serpents who guards the entrance to the underworld. I toook a small vile of pure Castalian Water, collected at Delphi and we drank to creativity. The Serpent has blessed all travellers on the Soul Food Silk Way.

The Lesson of Halloween

2005-10-29T13:19:00.000-07:00

We were almost to the gypsy camp. Moonbeam and Augustus had been chatting incessantly about donkey shenanigans. They were a pair, those two, and delightful company.

We were suddenly confronted by a beautiful, fleet of foot, doe. She looked us over and invited us to her hut in the forest.

"No," both Moonbeam and Augustus said in unison. "Not a good idea," Augustus added.

"Oh, why not, I said, "what is the harm?"

I turned to the doe, "Show us the way."

I wondered why the donkeys lagged behind, but lag they did.

We arrived at the hut, a dark structure set in an even darker corner of the forest. But there, in front of the hut, was a beautiful, golden bone chair.

I turned to the doe who had disappeared and in her place stood a grotesquem old woman.

A shape changer I heard Augustus whisper to Moonbeam. "We're in trouble now."

"Baba Yaga," Moonbean said, her donkey tone trembling.

"May I sit in your chair?" I asked the old woman.

"Yes, you may." Her voice was like chalk on a blackboard.

"No," Augustus said emphatically.

Too late. I was already in the chair. A shiver like a stream of ice clold water ran down my spine.

"It'll cost you," the woman said. "It'll cost you plenty."

"I have only a story," I said, "but it's a good one."

"I'll be the judge of that. Proceed."

"Okay, here it is. I call it The Lesson of Halloween."

I wandered out,
that dark and spooky night
so many years ago,
and dared the spirits show themselves.
So enlightened was I,
or so I thought,
that such things
were the stuff of fairy tales
and witch's words,
not real,
and I was out to prove it.

I walked the Devil's trail,
and came upon a cemetery
so old, the stones were sunken.
Some were tipped
like they'd been pushed up … from below.

I should have stopped right there,
turned around,
and gone back to my home,
but I didn't … instead,
I dared the restless spirits
to show themselves.

I sat,
mind you, not completely fearless,
beneath a aged and rugged oak.
It was silent, peaceful really,
as the fog wafted through the trees
and wrapped its arms around the gravestones.

But then, a breeze,
a cold and ghostly breeze,
tore the fog into shreds
that wrapped around me like
otherworldly webs.
Then, came moans and screams as
spirits rose upward from the graves
and filled me with a fear
the like of which I'd never known before.
They grabbed my arms and pulled me
this way and that,
until I was dizzy
and saw nothing but the spinning all around me.
Then goblins,
grotesque and frightening creatures,
tugged at my arms and legs.
The otherworldly howling hurt my ears
though I was too frightened at this point to care.

Then, she appeared …
a witch of many years, a crone
so old that time had surely forgotten she existed.
"Begone," she commanded, in a voice harsh and croaked.
The spirits, taking heed,
retreated to their vaults beneath the stones
and soon, all was quiet.
The witch turned to look at me,
"Have you learned," she asked,
"not to dare what you don't understand?"
I nodded.
"Then do what you must," she said.
She left before I could thank her,
followed by a cat so black,
it blended into the night.

I managed to stand on shaky legs
and walk fast as I could back to my home.
Now, on Halloween, I do what I'm supposed to …
I set out food and drink for any otherworldly travelers,
and place candles in my windows
to guide the spirits home.
Then, in Celtic fashion, I cook up an Irish stew,
enough to share with the any roving spirits …

Halloween is not a fairy tale,
a children's game.
It is none other than Soween: (Samhain)
Celtic Feast of the Dead,
Night of the Wild Hunt.
I know, too,
that from dusk to dawn on that restless night,
the veil is thinnest,
and the spirits can and do
pass from that otherworld
to this one,
and we must honor them…
or … accept the consequences.

"I offer this to you in payment for the honor of being your guest," I said, "and ask that you allow us safe passage to the Gypsy Camp."

"So that's where you be going. Well, begone with you and take those two miserable beasts with you."

"I will, and thank you for your hospitality."

"What does she mean by miserable--"

"Hush," I grabbed Augustus by his mane. "Hush and come along."

Moonbeam, already ahead of us, was making fast tracks.

I was relieved to be on the trail once more and hearing in the not too far distance the music from the gypsy camp.

Vi
©October 29, 2005

Call Back

2005-10-29T11:10:00.000-07:00

THIS LOOKS LIKE MY KIND OF FUN!

I'M ON MY WAY AND I'VE BROUGHT A FEW FRIENDS ALONG...

HAVE A SNACK OR TWO...THEY'RE SPEACIAL TREATS FOR MY SPEACIAL FRIENDS...

Anita Marie

Bugle Call for All Soul's Day

2005-10-29T05:58:00.000-07:00

The bugle has sounded, calling everyone to make their way to the bloggers to post for the Sunday Market, Halloween and All Soul's Day. There are lots of activitities to choose from. You can go to the Divination Tent, use the Golden Bone Chair, sail across the lake with Baba to the Isle of Ancestors or do your own thing.

Baba Yaga lives deep in the forest, in a hut that stands on chicken legs and is surrounded by a fence of bones. It is said that she guards the gate to the Other World. Are you willing to go for a ferry ride in her black swan boat to the Isle of Ancestors?

All Souls Day

2005-10-28T19:31:00.000-07:00

My Dear Ones

You have passed from this life

You know who you are

This year past

Many doors have opened

Connections have been made

Painful and liberating

All Souls Day!

So significant

Threads that linked us

Sewn together

Creating the mystery of life

In love, I give thanks

For the gifts of your lives

In love, I send you

On eagle's wings

In love,

I am at peace

Sit Upon The Golden Bone Chair at Halloween

2005-10-23T15:14:00.000-07:00

Baba Yaga brings out this designer, hand crafted, chair especially for Halloween and All Soul's Night. The idea is that travellers can take turns to sit on the chair and have five minutes in the spotlight as they perform for the crowd. Come October 30th - through to November 2 Baba is hoping that one by one travellers will take the golden seat and make a special presentation. Costumes and wigs are available in Pandora's Costume Box. Excuse drunken Silenus who can never miss a party. Hopefully the donkey is taking him away.

Amazon Queen and Baba Plan All Soul's Day

2005-10-02T05:20:00.000-07:00

The Amazon Queen has arrived at Baba's to plan for All Soul's Night on November 2nd. It may be a month away but all hands will need to be on deck to make sure it is a success. Baba's Soul Hands, upon hearing this, appear to listen to what the Queen and Baba are planning.

An invitation

2005-10-01T17:19:00.000-07:00

My Baba Yaga Soul Day Project

2005-09-28T18:02:00.000-07:00

I am making an altered book into a retablo for Frida Kahlo for this project. The original book was an old photo album with a door section on the cover. I have sanded this back a bit and used paint to give it the look of weatherworn shutters and adobe wall.

Inside the doors - I am using images printed from the Net as well as various emphemera. I am planning to decorate the inside of the doors with painted flowers and leaves.

The inside page: I printed these paper dolls off the net ages ago.

The piece of lace on this page is from a dress sleeve - it just has the right flamenco look here. The quote is ``I paint self portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best.'

Some Party Planning Tips

2005-09-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

I found this essay on line ( couldn't find the authors name ) and decided to print the parts I thought would be helpful in preparing for Baba's Soul Day (comments in italics are mine). I'm going to work with a planning diary because I do this every year, but I've never written it down. So as we move towards the Day of the Dead I'll share my journey here..

Anita Marie

The Day Of The Dead

The Day of the Dead is one of Mexico's traditional holidays reuniting and honoring beloved ancestors, family, and friends.

Life was seen as a dream. It was believed that only in dying, a human being was truly awake. Death was not a mysterious and fearful presence but a realistic recognizable character as much a part of life as life itself. When Christianity was introduced in the 16th century, religion and its symbols became part of the altars we now find in Mexico today.

Traditionally, it is a time when family members share memorable stories that would commemorate their lives together. Secondly, there are many items that people do to celebrate the Day of the Dead. On November 2, family members clean and perhaps paint the headstones, arrange flowers, and lighting candles.
I also leave a small offering of food and perhaps liquor behind the living room door because I was taught as a child that's where the ghosts. hide I also leave candles in all my windows to make it easy for my departed ancestors to find their way home

Mexican families construct special home altars dedicated to the spirits of their deceased loved ones. The altars range from simple to the very elaborate and are usually filled with objects that provided pleasure to the departed person in life, including favorite food and drink. Altars dedicated to the spirits of deceased children often include toys, candy and other sweets.

Pretty neat, I put this here because its so festive looking.

A start, maybe I'd dedicate an altar like this one to the unique people in my life who are no longer here. I'd go on to put things connected to them and of course I'd add the sweets and food! And as an FYI people have dedicated altars to pets.

The altars or ofrendas as they are called, also usually contain objects made from sugar or sugar sculpture known as alfenique. These objects may be small animals, such as lambs, miniature plates of food (enchiladas with mole), small coffins, often with pop-up skeletons, and of course, the sugar skull or calavera. The skulls are made by pouring a mixture of boiling water, confectioner's sugar and lime into clay molds, which have been previously soaked in water. The calaveras are decorated with paper foil for eyes and a kind of colored icing for hair. Names can be added to the skull and Mexican children often exchange named skulls with their friends.

Ofrendas often include papel picado or Mexican cut-paper.

Papel picado has a long folk tradition in Mexico and the little town of San Salvador Huixcolotla, in the state of Puebla, is known for its fine cut paper. Although papel picado is used as a decoration for many festive occasions such as weddings and baptisms, papel picado with themes relating to Day of the Dead is also very popular. The Mexican papel picado is similar to origami. Although origami is folded, it too has spiritual meaning.

So if you choose to create an altar and use Origami...then go for it, if you want to dedicate one to a beloved pet or lost friends, you should. If you want to be tradtional and remember lost children and relatives then do it with joy and love and from your heart. Remember this is a holiday to reunite with your loved ones, make it a good day for all of you.
Anita Marie

The guests

2005-09-06T16:24:00.000-07:00

A couple of Baba's party animals...

Garden Party

2005-09-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

Ah, a lovely garden stroll.

Pity we can't see her face...

but it looks like a hat that Baba would wear.

And what's this?

Armed henchmen? Chicken wire?

Tut-Tut, dear, that doesn't seem a bit friendly!

All Soul's Day Wedding

2005-09-04T16:20:00.000-07:00

I chanced upon this little wedding this afternoon as I strolled the Garden. I didn't dare speak, but held my breath and watched from behind a juniper tree while they pledged their (no pun intended) undying love. Finally, proof positive that love transcends space and time. I felt a warm glow in my heart as they spoke their vows. The guests were all of the undead variety, too. I think I may have spied Kaspar at the little soiree.

Baba's All Soul Day Celebrations

2005-09-02T20:05:00.000-07:00

I wondered as I left the House of Baba Yaga if the strange creatures who live here know of Dia de Muertos, The Day of the Dead.

It seems like something she would celebrate....

From mid-October through the first week of November, markets and shops all over Mexico are replete with the special accouterments for the Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead). These include all manner of skeletons and other macabre toys; intricate tissue paper cut-outs called papel picado; elaborate wreaths and crosses decorated with paper or silk flowers; candles and votive lights; and fresh seasonal flowers, particularly cempazuchiles (marigolds) and barro de obispo (cockscomb). Among the edible goodies offered are skulls, coffins and the like made from sugar, chocolate or amaranth seeds and special baked goods, notably sugary sweet rolls called pan de muerto that come in various sizes invariably topped with bits of dough shaped like bones and, in some regions, unadorned dark breads molded into humanoid figures called animas (souls). All of these goods are destined for the buyer's ofrenda de muertos (offering to the dead).

In most localities November 1 is set aside for remembrance of deceased infants and children, often referred to as angelitos (little angels). Those who have died as adults are honored November 2.

Anita Marie

We most certainly celebrate the Day of the Dead here in the realm of Baba Yaga and this year will be one continuous festival right through October up until November 2. It will be totally wicked.
Sibyl Enchanteur