Thank you so much for this, Neko. Your writing always uplifts my spirit and makes my heart happy--even when you're justifiably ranting about the myriad ways humans can be dicks to each other, and everything else for that matter. ANYway, I was having a particularly awful day today (discoveries that pretty much killed TWO very important dreams of mine, etc etc) and today's post made me wistful in a *good* way, happy, calmer, and able to laugh and recognize life's good things again. I can't tell you how much it means to me.
I frickin LOVE psychopomps, yeah!! (well, basically all mythology, tbh) And a now-defunct webcomic by a gifted Finnish artist featured a side character named Tapio, which led to a deep rabbit-hole dive into Finnish mythology years ago. It's gorgeous and terrifying, full of duality and darkness and sweetness, too. Their guardian/guide/"god" of the afterlife is a swan, and she can be beautiful and kindly but also scary as hell. And their take on the Milky Way is lovely, and so in tune with nature.
Thank you for reminding me that there is still much beauty in the world, and beautiful people, too (having nothing whatsoever to do with looks). You are one of the big reasons the world doesn't suck. And now I'm crying but it's because I'm happy, dammit...❤️
Sorry about your day. Every door that's closed for me always leads to better big door prizes. I hope that true for you. Do you have any particular favorite resources for Finnish myth? I didn't dig as hard as I would have liked to.
Sadly, I don't have seem to have anything bookmarked anymore, which is bizarre because I bookmark EVERYTHING.
Thank you so much for the kind words. Sometimes it means almost more to me when total strangers are kind than when people that I know love and support me are. 😊
In case you or anyone else would like to check it out, this is Prague Race, the now-defunct (and sadly unfinished) comic I mentioned above. It's been reposted by a dedicated fan on Imgur; 1st chapter starts at the bottom of the page: https://imgur.com/user/PragueRaceFan
Finnish myth is great and bizarre, and if I remember correctly it's because the landscape was so gnarly that the culture didn't really get tainted with invaders so it remained fairly set in it's more animistic origins. When I was getting deep in to Norse myth and archaeology, I found out that the legends of those gods were actually written by medieval Christians who were colonizing Iceland, and that those myths too had been given a more human lense. So like Odin is really just a sky god, and Loki the god of the hearth, and all the very human attributes were assigned to them later. This is my shit. I love psychopomps. Great stuff 😊😊
Oh also humans may not be psychopomps, but you do have humans who are able to astral project and help trapped/lost souls on the other sides. Shamans/hedge witches do that work, but lots of regular folks claim to leave their bodies. There's stories like this across cultures that are extremely similar. Its quite amazing. I even read a modern Scottish story about a sick man who left his body to stop a friend from getting on a train that would later crash (20thc story). That was a good one. Cats more so than dogs are known to be able to "cross the hedge", but dogs are certainly sacred in the otherworld, like in Aztec myth. After all, all dogs go to heaven 😂
So I this made me remember that you are going to be on the Berkeley campus. Welp in the anthropology department they have a HUGE folklore archive!! If you have time you should definitely go. I never had time to really look in to it as a student, which is a shame, as it was definitely a highlight of the department. I think you may be able to book an appointment even if you aren't affiliated. Definitely worth looking in to imo. http://folklore.berkeley.edu/archive
Thanks for this bit of wisdom old friend. Here at the mouth of the mighty Columbia River we have a plethora of old Finns and their descendants. I have had several Tapios in class over the last 27 years and now I know the significance of the name of children's favorite park in Astoria, OR: Tapiola Park. Consider playing Astoria sometime. It would be especially sweet if you did close to our mutual birthday.
I am not sure that it's possible to scare Neko Case. Angst and concerns, yeah; she is the poet of overcome angst. Startle, yeah; something new and unexpected can get to anyone. But scaring implies fear, and one of the many things about Ms Case is that she lives to overcome fear and to understand.
Thank you so much for this, Neko. Your writing always uplifts my spirit and makes my heart happy--even when you're justifiably ranting about the myriad ways humans can be dicks to each other, and everything else for that matter. ANYway, I was having a particularly awful day today (discoveries that pretty much killed TWO very important dreams of mine, etc etc) and today's post made me wistful in a *good* way, happy, calmer, and able to laugh and recognize life's good things again. I can't tell you how much it means to me.
I frickin LOVE psychopomps, yeah!! (well, basically all mythology, tbh) And a now-defunct webcomic by a gifted Finnish artist featured a side character named Tapio, which led to a deep rabbit-hole dive into Finnish mythology years ago. It's gorgeous and terrifying, full of duality and darkness and sweetness, too. Their guardian/guide/"god" of the afterlife is a swan, and she can be beautiful and kindly but also scary as hell. And their take on the Milky Way is lovely, and so in tune with nature.
Thank you for reminding me that there is still much beauty in the world, and beautiful people, too (having nothing whatsoever to do with looks). You are one of the big reasons the world doesn't suck. And now I'm crying but it's because I'm happy, dammit...❤️
Sorry about your day. Every door that's closed for me always leads to better big door prizes. I hope that true for you. Do you have any particular favorite resources for Finnish myth? I didn't dig as hard as I would have liked to.
Sadly, I don't have seem to have anything bookmarked anymore, which is bizarre because I bookmark EVERYTHING.
Thank you so much for the kind words. Sometimes it means almost more to me when total strangers are kind than when people that I know love and support me are. 😊
In case you or anyone else would like to check it out, this is Prague Race, the now-defunct (and sadly unfinished) comic I mentioned above. It's been reposted by a dedicated fan on Imgur; 1st chapter starts at the bottom of the page: https://imgur.com/user/PragueRaceFan
Her newer, ongoing comic, Tiger, Tiger: https://www.tigertigercomic.com/tiger-tiger/001
...
And two more comics by another outstanding Finnish artist and storyteller!
A Redtail’s Dream: http://www.minnasundberg.fi/artd.php
Stand Still, Stay Silent: http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=1
...
All of these have detailed mythological elements and excellent world building. I love them to bits.
Awesome!!
Aye. Felt that.
Finnish myth is great and bizarre, and if I remember correctly it's because the landscape was so gnarly that the culture didn't really get tainted with invaders so it remained fairly set in it's more animistic origins. When I was getting deep in to Norse myth and archaeology, I found out that the legends of those gods were actually written by medieval Christians who were colonizing Iceland, and that those myths too had been given a more human lense. So like Odin is really just a sky god, and Loki the god of the hearth, and all the very human attributes were assigned to them later. This is my shit. I love psychopomps. Great stuff 😊😊
Oh also humans may not be psychopomps, but you do have humans who are able to astral project and help trapped/lost souls on the other sides. Shamans/hedge witches do that work, but lots of regular folks claim to leave their bodies. There's stories like this across cultures that are extremely similar. Its quite amazing. I even read a modern Scottish story about a sick man who left his body to stop a friend from getting on a train that would later crash (20thc story). That was a good one. Cats more so than dogs are known to be able to "cross the hedge", but dogs are certainly sacred in the otherworld, like in Aztec myth. After all, all dogs go to heaven 😂
So I this made me remember that you are going to be on the Berkeley campus. Welp in the anthropology department they have a HUGE folklore archive!! If you have time you should definitely go. I never had time to really look in to it as a student, which is a shame, as it was definitely a highlight of the department. I think you may be able to book an appointment even if you aren't affiliated. Definitely worth looking in to imo. http://folklore.berkeley.edu/archive
I lied about the dogs, but I was right about Mexico. I really need to trust my intuition more. I tried to find a more legit article about these dogs, but they're all in spanish. Articles in other languages are the bane of my existence. http://herebemagic.blogspot.com/2017/07/dogs-and-death-psychopomps-of-colima.html?m=1
Thanks for this bit of wisdom old friend. Here at the mouth of the mighty Columbia River we have a plethora of old Finns and their descendants. I have had several Tapios in class over the last 27 years and now I know the significance of the name of children's favorite park in Astoria, OR: Tapiola Park. Consider playing Astoria sometime. It would be especially sweet if you did close to our mutual birthday.
i assumed "psychopomp" was neologism like something ppl say on rupaul's drag race. who knew? they desrve more ink
I am not sure that it's possible to scare Neko Case. Angst and concerns, yeah; she is the poet of overcome angst. Startle, yeah; something new and unexpected can get to anyone. But scaring implies fear, and one of the many things about Ms Case is that she lives to overcome fear and to understand.