TPC Digital Magazine Issue No 1. Relaunch

TPC DIGITAL MAGAZINE

The Pendle Craft, issue 1, relaunch September, 2019

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Welcome everyone to the brand new The Pendle Craft relaunch.

Each month we’ll be bringing you different articles borh on our website and in the digital magazine.

From today we are starting to charge the magazine for a modest fee of just 80p, or $1.

I hope you enjoy this months edition and we will see you in the next.

Front Cover Image:- Model is Clara

Photographer is Ste Sheridan

All Images Are Public Domain From http:www.pixabay.com Most images provided by article authors unless otherwise stated.

Editorial Team:

Monique Reichert, Tasha Clark, Aaron Field, Ste Sheridan, & Lydia Connearn

Contributors:

Kathryn Critchley-Fowler Dawn F Ryan Mae Molen Sophia AdLucem Sheena Cundy Soror Seshat Aubi Yvonne Ryves Winter Anne McKelvie Nimue & Tom Brown Elen Sentier Saz Palmer Mystic Winds

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Contact Details Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this magazine by writers are not necessarily those of TPC or its staff. Please note, some articles may contain trigger warnings.

All articles and artwork remain the copyright © of the author or artist. We here at TPC retain typographical copyright © on all articles, photos and adverts typeset by TPC orits staff. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine can be reproduced, except for short passages for critisicm or review, without written permission from the Editors. Layout Design by Tasha Clark, Monique Reichert & Aaron Field Submissions: Original articles or artwork please send to: tpcsubmissions@hotmail.com We reserve the right to abridge any content and edit for grammar, style, etc. The editor’s decision is final.

We allow all differant styles of work from polytheism, philosophy, esoteric, folklore, political, book reviews, artwork, informative, fiction and non-fiction pieces.

But within reason. When submitting, you must include a clearly marked Trigger Warning before the work itself, when applicable. Failure to do so will result in an immediate pass.

It would be a shame to discard a brilliant submission because it triggered a staff member while reviewing it. Difficult or triggering subject matter is acceptable, being caught off guard is not.

We also feature these trigger warnings within the magazine, when necessary, to ensure we do not trigger our readers unexpectedly..

We also aim to be a platform for writers, be it new and upcoming writers or those who write as a hobby wishing to publish their work in the public forum.

Advertising Enquiries: tpceditors@hotmail.com

In This Issue, Be In With A Chance To Win A £20 Amazon Gift Voucher.

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Contents Real Life.................................................................................... 6 A Packet Of Spears, A Potential Bomb, And A Good Ol’ Cup Of Tea!........................................................................ 6 Messages From Feathers, Butterflies & Dragonflies.................. 8 Think Before You Rant......................................................................12 Mind Body Spirit..................................................................... 14 Reawakening of Woman...................................................................14 DRIVE SMART AND STAY CONNECTED WITH VAUXHALLCONNECT................................ 19 Tree-House Magic: Creating & Charging A Talisman.....................................................21 The Fates Atropos............................................................................ 25 King Solomon’s Pentacles............................................................... 30 The Shaman Drum As A Shamanic Tool...................................... 34 Bring the power of salt into your space - salt bowl 101............ 38 Culture.....................................................................................42 Book Reviews.................................................................................... 42 What does Your Land Say To You?................................................ 46 My Love Of Art................................................................................... 48 Tarot Reading Taken from the Wildwood Tarot Deck...........................................51 Interviews................................................................................56 Brando Vanshoyck............................................................................ 57 Paranormal..............................................................................60 Dream – Do –Deliver....................................................................... 74

66

P T S D - The ongoing war...

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25

30

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12

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Real Life

A PACKET OF SPEARS, A POTENTIAL BOMB, AND A GOOD OL’ CUP OF TEA! G

By Kathryn Critchley-Fowler

oing through my late Mother’s things recently, my favourite person found a couple of things which we were not sure how to handle.

The first item was a quiver of arrows!

My parents belonged to an Archery Club in the late 1970s. The arrows were very sharp. It took several cups of tea and much musing before we rang the police who advised us that the arrows were classified as “spears” and should be handed in to them A.S.A.P. This we did.

This was not the only thing we found…

Delving deeper into more of my mother’s things we came across a small canister of gas from a camping stove. We found it

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quite by chance in a box of rubbish that was about to be thrown onto a bonfire.

Worryingly, every so often the gas canister went “SSSSSSSS”.

We rang the police.

“Nothing to do with us. Have you thought about ringing the Fire Brigade?”

We went to 118118 and found a number and rang it.

“Nothing to do with us, Madam” said the nice man on the end of the phone “But it is going SSSSSS” said me, with furrowed brow.

“Nothing to do with us, though. Have you thought about ringing the Army”?

We went to 118118 and got a number.

Himself rang it and spoke to another nice man.

“What you have got there” said the nice man “is a potential bomb” “So, could you send someone to take it away?” asked himself hopefully.

“Noooo” said the nice man on the phone “It keeps going SSSSS” said himself, to emphasise a point.

“Take it to your local tip” said the man on the end of the phone. “Take it Very Carefully” So, we wrapped the potential bomb in lots of bubble wrap, and we put it in the boot of the car, and we took it to the nearest tip. We clenched our teeth (in my case I clenched my gums) at every bump and pothole in the road, and we spoke to God. A Lot We drove through the gates, and there was a man in high vis yellow outfit, smoking a fag.

“We have a canister of gas going SSSSS” said himself, explaining. “Where should we put it” “Not English” said the man. “I don’t understand what you want. Drive over there”.

He pointed in the direction of over there, so that is where we went.

Over there found us at a huge cage full of gas canisters of all shapes and sizes.

Carefully, himself unwrapped our little canister (that was still going SSSSS every so often) and he placed it on the ground next to the cage. There appeared to be no way for a member of public to get into the cage, and anyway, even if there was, neither of us fancied it, thank you very much.

Then he got back in the car, and he drove towards the exit.

Another man in a high vis yellow outfit was walking towards us, smoking a fag.

“Excuse me” said I to the high vis yellow man “We have just left a canister of gas over there, with all those other ones. The one we left is the little blue one that keeps going SSSSS” The man took his fag out of his mouth, looked at me, made a noise that sounded exactly like “GUH”, put his fag back in his mouth, and carried on walking towards the gas canisters.

We left the tip a damn site quicker than we arrived, (keeping strictly to the speed limit, as you do) and once back in our own kitchen, the first thing we did was to put the kettle on.

Just out of interest, does anyone know the correct procedure for dealing with little blue gas canisters that keep going “SSSSSS”?

TPC Digital Magazine

MESSAGES FROM FEATHERS, BUTTERFLIES & DRAGONFLIES

By Dawn F Ryan

It’s Early September and I am going to my daughters school for her soccer game. As I drive along I silently ask goddess to gift me with feathers that I need for a order that I am about to fulfil for a friend.

I pull in and park into the parking lot and get out and start walking toward the stadium and I look down and right in front of me on the dirt is a furry grey feather, I smile and thank goddess for her gift. I continue on my path and once more am greeted with a single black feather. I laugh and smile and give thanks, pick it up and tuck it away with the other .

As I settle downing the cold metal bleachers for the game, I realize what a beautiful evening it’s turning out to be .

Father sun is squeezing out the last of his warmth and sharing it with us. I embrace

it and soak it in.

Half an hour into the game I start feeling all the emotions and energy of the people surrounding me . It’s like I had one of those energy drinks and all the adrenaline of the spectators is racing through me Taking off my sandals, I ground my feet into mother-earth, asking her to take all this energy from me and return to sender.

The voices and screams are escalating, there is only minutes left of the game.

Closing my eyes , I solemnly offer up a prayer that I don’t miss my daughter in her game, while I envision a white light surrounding me , I breathe deeply and then suddenly I hear a roar of excitement from around me . My eyes pop open and people are whooping and screaming .

Our school scored the winning shot.

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I am excited and jittery all at the same time.

Overwhelmed, I sit watching as my daughter’s team run and jump on each other, exhilarated with happiness with a hard won goal . I sit and enjoy watching my girl and her teammates hugging each other for winning their first game and afterwards shaking the hand of the other team. A tear slips free behind my sun glasses unable to control it.

Eventually it quiets down, as the team takes a break and talk with their coaches , we wait for the second game to begin, some parents head off to the concession to grab snacks.

is sad to me. It reminds me how fleeting life is if you don’t pay attention just like missing the winning goal so preoccupied as I was.

Only a month ago the grass was a deep green is now fading to brown. My eyes then see some colour in that brown , a colourful monarch butterfly flitting to-andfro, unbothered by all the excitement going on around it.

It calmly flies off on the late summer breeze. It then glides towards me and the girl next to me, it hovers near our heads and we both smile and laugh. I put my hand out hoping she lands , but no she just keeps going on her journey not getting distracted by it’s surroundings.

Instead, I stay seated and look at my sur- In Native American lore, the butterfly roundings , my gaze falls upon the turf, means transformation, was this the valithe difference from a month ago to now dation, I needed to continue on the path 9 TPC Digital Magazine

of starting my own business?

You see I have been harbouring a secret idea. I work in the health field and I have many elderly patients at the end stage of their life.

For the past few months I been having thoughts to get out of this field to a different kind of healing . I love taking care of the elderly and easing whatever time is left for them here on this plane but in my core I need to move on.

Very recently a nurse said to me, “you’re a natural healer you shouldn’t be here” and she was right.

So, while I was thinking about the butterfly and contemplating its meaning, no sooner than a few seconds later a dragonfly whizzes by and lands in the same spot the butterfly occupied.

I can’t make this up; I sat there astounded, while watching its greenish fluorescent colour sparkle in the sunlight After a minute, it took off over our heads and flew away. Shaking my head, I also know in Native American lore the dragonfly means change is upon you, and to stop with the false illusions of fear that

are holding one back.

REALLY?!

Wow !

Okay goddess! I got all the messages .

Once more I thank Goddess and finally sit back and enjoy the rest of the game.

As the sun sets and the air turns cooler, I watch as people start pulling on sweaters as chilly September air filtrates the area.

As another day is slowly coming to an end the buzzing sound of stadium arc lights flickering on fill the air, the dim sun shadows the field below, lights up with artificial light. I reflect on the day and of mother goddess messages and all she given me within 2 hours. It’s Remarkable how if she wants you to know something she will make it happen.

That’s goddess for you!

In another few weeks autumn colourful season will be in full swing and not far behind winter will have us in its grip with its snow and ice and long winter nights as we all settle in for rest. As for me, I shall be making plans for the future that goddess has so validated for me today. Many blessings

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THINK BEFORE YOU RANT

By Mae Molen

W

e all rant every time our AC’s busted, we missed a movie rerun, how our internet connection runs slow, or the way our food tastes and so forth. I was like that many years ago, but then, I became broken. In my darkest hours, I was battling my demons by myself until I slowly recovered. It was a painful and tiresome process wearing masks every day.

After I broke free from all those things that hindered my growth, I decided to help others in my own way. I became a volunteer to two charities. First, the cancer kids which helps indigent kids with cancer and second, the Cameleon association which caters to sexually abused minors. I may not have gone

through the trauma of being sexually abused but I knew the feeling of being verbally and physically abused, and of hopelessness as well.

When I first became involved in these charities, I felt a sense of shame. Thinking who am I to complain about my own miseries when these kids already went through a lot at a very young age?

Looking at the kids with cancer, I cannot help but smile at how they see life.

Some are terminal yet they manage to smile and greet each day with unfathomable hope. I once visited a very smart and talkative 2 year old baby in the hospital every day until she passed away. She had leukaemia and she was the one who was putting up a brave

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face every morning. Her name was Therese. She was in pain yet managed to smile during my morning visits. We’d be holding hands until she would doze off. A week before she died, blood was already coming out of her nose, mouth and ears. I didn’t know she had become deaf but she would lip read me. I told her to get well since I will be taking her to McDonald’s.

She requested for a pink balloon. Her next question caught me off guard. She asked me if I’m going to cry once she dies. She said she’s tired of nurses sticking needles into her arm, getting blood samples and everything. She would like to sleep and never wake up again. I smiled; she somehow knew that her small body was giving up. After she left, my heart broke as if she was one of my own.

The second charity is the Cameleon Association. These kids stories can make any Hollywood horror movie very pale in comparison. They are the victims of years of sexual abuse. Perpetrators are either their family members (dads, brothers, cousins, uncles) or neighbours. The sad part is, no one believes them, not even their own mothers. When I started to be

a volunteer, the youngest Cameleon girl was just 5 years old.

Cameleon is a haven to these kids especially if even their own family members are threatening them not to tell or stand up against a family member and later on reintegrate them back into society. Imagine going through the horrors of these kids, retelling how they were abused to child welfare, then later on recounting the details in court until some of them become numb. I admire their determination to live, seek justice, forgive, and love.

In summation, these wonderful kids helped me a lot more than I can imagine.

It made me realize to be thankful for everything for each waking day. I now included my kids in these activities so that they can be compassionate and live in gratitude as they grow, also working with these kids from both groups made me come up with a personal mantra during a bad day - ‘Other people’s problems are worse than mine.’ Before I close my story, I’d like to share a poem from one Cameleon girl.

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Mind Body Spirit

REAWAKENING OF WOMAN

By Sophia AdLucem

W

itches, male and female of the goddess clans survive in modern times. She is still the queen of the wheel, the mother of the earth, the creatress, destroyer, and is honored as the mother, maiden and crone.

In many witch circles the goddess is exalted above the god, sometimes she has a son, a lover, or a king, but she is known to precede them. It is innate to those who have the inner sight, and it is known instinctively even through today’s culture that the precedent is the one that is held culturally in higher esteem “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” Those of the craft that preserve this knowledge do service to women everywhere, and for that I am grateful.

“No!” I hear someone protest, “The god is surely equal!”

This article will suggest that the god and goddess are as equal as life is to death and the past shows us they have been just as cyclical, at one point the god was given naught but a polite nod. In contrast, in the more modern traditions he even murders our goddess to claim her throne, in some traditions she is merely his wife, consort, and in others she has been demoted to the status of unholy, unclean, and even evil, and those made in her image are naught but property of the male, the fool who fell mankind with knowledge (ironic,) unclean and unworthy too.

When the goddess is murdered or raped such as in the story of Zeus and Demeter this is merely reflecting a moment in time, a vision lost deep in history in which the great storm gods rolled down from the mountains and killed the royal females of Ashtar and turned their mother goddess into the demon Ashtoreth, who raped and pillaged the female warriors of Inanna and bragged about her fall from her position as the queen of heaven… “how you have fallen from heaven morning star, sun of dawn.”

It has been said that husbandry and writing were gifts 14 TPC Digital Magazine

from the hands of the male gods. Yet historical texts clearly state the first known Sumerian scribe was a female, and it is strongly evident that husbandry (the clue again in the name,) was a female concept too. There is evidence that whole societies were ran by the females in the ancient goddess dominated cultures, the females wrote and enforced the laws, were in charge of the finance systems and governed the lands.

with the care of children whilst the women control the affairs of the society.

There is evidence that ancient women took two or more husbands and the family name was passed down through the female line, divorce was in the hands of the women, inheritance was passed to the daughter, laws were in place to compensate a mother of a child out of wedlock, this is in striking contrast to the invading religions of both modern and ancient times in which femininity has been twisted to mean weak, unintelligent, lesser, subservient, in the beginning when people prayed to the goddess, in the first societies, at the very dawn of religion - God was a woman, the female was revered, and some witches remember.

To the Egyptian, magnificent Isis who was more powerful than her younger brother Osiris, the Pharaoh which meant “the greatest of the house�, was only changed to have specifically male connotations during the 18th dynasty. The remains of female warriors in some ancient tribes provide further evidence of cultural female dominance, and texts stating the Some of you, I am certain, shall be thinking men stayed at home and weaved. In mod- of me as a raging feminazi! A man hater ern tribes now some men are still tasked that relishes in the ancient subjection 15 TPC Digital Magazine

of the male! A heathen! Perhaps even a down right liar! These statements, whilst all so foreign from our modern minds, are factually correct and so I provide references at the end.

Of course I am hinting to some of the terrible crimes that have been committed by patriarch cultures, and I may be quite gleefully passing on tales of the females in control, civilizations of female dominated societies, huntresses, warriors, queens, inventors, innovators, law makers, leaders and scribes. My glee is not that the male (who was treated well, and a valuable member of these societies, I could write about his contributions, assets, strengths, and vigor’s for an equal period of time,) the mother religions had no hatred for men, this was just a different culture and just a different time.

Most of us are now enjoying equality as never before.. male and female, I complain not of our current society, I am no modern feminist, but my glee is from discovering and sharing our own inheritance, the true feminine, unchained from the cultures and religions of today, something that we know, but often do not legitimize in such a way. Woman is a natural warrior! Those myths of the Amazons are true! The goddess reigned in a culture that truly adored women and all women and men who love women will feel glee in this if I am to do it any justice at all.

Females are not aggressive as they are not weak! Hidden history shows us our splendor, and when we read of it we know it is what we have always known inside, and it makes us no less attractive, sexy, or seductive, in fact I can assure you that in every male eye I have met, the true feminine has him yet again upon his knees!

For she is strong, fair, logical, and most of all aware of her power like our brothers and sisters of old .. Like the goddess of old and those that worshipped her and her sex.

I put forth the above for research, as I was in the trap of a never ending play of history in which we just equalized a war; I am a modern female, I feel equal in most ways, perhaps the smell of sexism lingers but I am empowered enough to call out an idiot when I need to and my brothers who respect me stand by me against a minority in our times. Let’s remember Orboros, and what will appear again should we let it, for the very same may now be happening to masculinity, as the fortress of male power is now crumbling to dust.

I put forth that this is not because the female has risen from the grave, the insidious force that desires to suppress the male will also hold the female down.

Some - the newly formed misogynistic groups, for example – seem to equate equality with weakness, they see the insidious force and they blame women. The goddess was conquered by the violent gods, yet his modern descendants have gracefully accepted her power again, as she too the god. We must not let these sad cases suggest otherwise, for whilst the hens fight amongst themselves they do not see the farmer coming to ring their necks!

As biased as the above may seem, it is only to say what is untold in a patriarchal society, the religions have repressed women severely, the goddess defeated long ago and I still heed to a time where women were taught to be subservient and weak, the qualities of the female crushed and mocked as we struggle to remember (sometimes wrongly indeed as we watch This is a modern issue indeed and we need the true femanazi today.) to know our history, if you see an imbalance then imbalance in history shows on 16 TPC Digital Magazine

both sides because today beneath the veil it is showing more than ever. The man needs to know the beginning, to appreciate what he has taken, and that he only gives back what is rightfully hers, and she does not want to reign again, she has seen the equal power of man.

He needs to know his power, as what has been done to the goddess, is now being done to him in the name of a new god now that is only interested in his subservience, watch how it is blatantly being subjected now to the lies the female was given through media, politics, religions, and consumerism, and again they blame the goddess. A witch pleads to the mundane.. don’t turn on your sisters, understand through history that she was fair to you, that she is strong like you, and we can work together against the new conqueror.

True femininity is so weakened that when we read of female ran societies we doubt, we are shocked, or we disbelieve, what I speak of is the truth. A terrible tragedy that has befallen the feminine, and more than this, I see it now also happening to the male that fought so hard for this power. Do we need to live in a world in which equality is used against us?

Still the female does not known her inheritance and now both spirits face annihilation. Already in the struggle we have 42 genders, sexuality had become a mish mash of chaotic cries for recognition - because the gender spirits are confused, because we are waking up indeed.. but under the watch of a modern god who lives in the electronic and paper world.. Not our inheritance, not of male and female warriors!!

The answer is hidden in the confusion, we are confusing our children, raising little boys as sissy’s in response, as we did our

girls for too long! I don’t think that in the days of the female warrior that the men where in any way weaker ...it was simply a respect thing, a man was strong, he also toiled the land and he fought alongside and for his mistress and she fights for and alongside him now! A women was revered for her ability to create, to fight, to build .. She was looked on as a goddess and the sole creator of life for millions of years before it was realized that man also has a part to play in creation and that man was also divine.

We should be raising our young men and women to be warriors, philosophers, scholars, scientists and healers, … equally, we should not be focusing on mundane issues such as the color of their t-shirt or the length of their hair, we should not be teaching them gender difference by asking them whether they feel like playing with a doll or a football, or worse still electronic programmers. We should be teaching them respect for themselves through knowledge of their true capabilities and nature, the strength that is possible for their bodies and minds. To fight gender issues one must ignore gender issues and focus on becoming and raising strong individuals.

When we see that god was a woman, after we have also seen god as a man, we became able to grasp the full extent of individual human power, of our genders and our true equality and fight together to regain and retain our status retrospectively for each other for our true place on this earth. Complete and comprehensive history is not taught in schools but we can teach it to our peers and children through our goddess cultures. “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Thanks for reading, my next article will be exploring how to use the qualities of the now demonic goddesses, and pagan gods as archetypes of power.

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For reference and further reading…

Diodorus wrote of female warriors in Libya.

J. Maringer professor of prehistoric archeology wrote of female only burial sites with evidence of paleolithic reindeer hunting tribes.

The female warriors of Sumer, Hugh Bowen.

Herodotus of Greece. Professor Cyrus Gordon, Egyptian life. S.W Baron - Egyptian. Diadorus - Sumeria. Dr M Murray social study on Egypt.

The Bible, the Zoroaster, and the epics of Gilgamesh all had hidden clues to the once ruling female religions and are fascinating to read from this perspective.

Quote.. George Santayana Book recommendations. ● When god was a woman, Merlin Stone ● Allinji, A woman of Sumeria, Hugh Bowen. ● Amazons, John Man. ● Satanic feminism, Lucifer as the liberator, Per Facneld.

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DRIVE SMART AND STAY CONNECTED WITH VAUXHALLCONNECT VauxhallConnect gives emer- Remote control functions with gency calling, navigation and re- MyVauxhall app for driver conmote control features venience Innovative features can be accessed via the on-board infotain- . ment system

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TREE-HOUSE MAGIC: CREATING & CHARGING A TALISMAN

By Sheena Cundy

G

reat witchery is all about working with natural magical ability and creating your own tools is one way of doing that.

You can be sure they will be far more powerful because you have sourced the objects yourself and spent time and energy with them.

Talismans are really useful magical tools because by wearing them they are constant reminders of the intentions we have sent out and the magic at work.

signify.

Here are some words I wrote to charge mine... which you can say three times as you place your talisman around your neck.

Power to the Witch in me, all I am and want to be!

And then recite: The Charge of the Talisman

When we are working and weaving the web Every thought that we think Every word that’s been said We are charging with power For my recent creation it was a simple collection And focused intent of earthy ingredients: Creating the magic A circular slice of hickory from a cricket stump We know we have sent - thanks to the husband’s sawing skills.

Out into the Cosmos An inch of copper wire - again, curtesy of the Through symbols and sound husband.

We draw from the heavens A long leather thread, bought from a saddler.

To earth and to ground Using whatever pens, knives or pyrography We shape and we make tools you like, draw your symbol of intention Every effort a joy on one side and write on the other side in Latin When it’s help that we need or another foreign language. There isn’t much It’s the Gods we employ room, so be resourceful as well as careful in The spirits of Nature your choice. Words in themselves, are magical The sun and the moon tools.

The light of the stars Think about what you want and use words to A Celestial tune 21 TPC Digital Magazine

From the realms of the Angels To the places on earth Where the Ancestors teach us Through death and rebirth Where we Warriors gather With our swords and our shields And the Goddess she joins us On our battlefields Resolving all conflicts And healing our wounds Always keeping us steady She sings the earth tune And dancing in circles She carries us round And holds us in balance For she is the ground‌ The wind and the water The light and the shade She is the symbol of what we are made So in our creations We build and we grow The magic we dream of The magic we know Always forming and shaping In truth we believe We are Witches creating And so we receive.

So mote it be! )O(

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September Birth Flower Taken from the Old Farmer’s Almanac at: https://www.almanac.com/

SEPTEMBER BIRTH FLOWERS

The September birth flowers are the aster and the morning glory.

THE ASTER

Asters are mainly symbols of powerful love. Perhaps because of their positive symbolism, according to folklore they were once burned to ward off serpents.

Asters add a punch of color to the late summer and early fall landscape and require minimal care.

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THE FATES ATROPOS

By Sophia Adlucem

The ancient Greeks told many tales of three Goddesses born fatherless to the Goddess Nyx later these goddesses were to be adopted by Zues as he courted the Goddess Themis.

The Goddesses worked in unison from the moment of birth to the last breath into death to control the fates of both mankind and the gods alike, they became known as the Fates themselves. The names of the Fates were Clothos (the spinner who attended every birth,) Lahkesis (the alloter, “who sang the song of sirens past,” and allotted circumstance accordingly,) and Atropos (the merciless and inflexible, “she who cuts the cord at death.”)

The goddesses weaved their magic through the lives of the ancients between one spindle and one thread. The spindle wheel is their symbol, you may see twisted and true remnants of them in Shakespeare, Grimm and other fairy tales to this day. The fates attended every birth, every tragedy, every battle and death, and their decisions were often final and irreversible.

It would be impossible to describe the meanings and events of all three fates in one article, perhaps a book would be more appropriate, so today I shall focus on what I have learned the oldest and the most terrifying sister Atropos and attempt to show how to work with the fates and decipher their symbols for personal growth and development.

If we start at the beginning, Atropos is the oldest sister of the three, the first to come from her mother’s womb, interestingly Nyx (the night,) also birthed Aether, from

the darkness of Nyx came the in-between essence from which all is manifest and often sent back to, or laid to waste within.

Atropos is a goddess of death who holds the power to destroy both God and mortal alike, not even the most high god of her time (Zeus) could escape her blades if she chose to cut the cord, luckily for Zeus the relationship he had with her was purely amicable, to the point in which he adopted her when he courted the goddess Themis (of necessity.) In my experience with her I would suggest that the almighty conscious mind would do well to become acquainted before the pressure of Themis begins to crush.

The Belladonna poison Atropine derived its name from her awesome power. Atropine though deadly, was used to create beauty in Victorian ages, within this we see that the beautiful can be developed through unconventional and risky forms, of course Atropine is also a certain vehicle of death to those that are glutinous with it’s dark methods. Once ingested at a lethal dose there is no getting off the path to slumber, and similarly to gain the eye of Atropos is to set forth a motion that can not be stopped.. for she is the most merciless of the fates.

“She turns the inner circles with her left hand,” linking her to the imagination, and thus to the other side, that which gives fuel to the will.

I invoked her by night with a black candle trance, and the black berry I wore daily in her honour in the form of a black

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obsidian globe on a ring specially dedicated to her. I meditated on my studies of her, and much became known. At times she appeared as a dark mist above me as I was about to sleep, this was her call to meet her in dream and beautiful black horses tortured me in the nights that she did, and I began to understand her and to accept her message completely. Her message was that the nightmares would stop only by my own hand, if I became the fate herself, that the monsters were created by that which had been laid to waste, shadows of bad decisions and ghosts of long dead dreams. At around this time, once accepted, this 1st century Roman quote which is related to the fates jumped from the page at me, “Let none reckon the measure of life already spent for this day is the birthday of life to be!”

As my berry glinted throughout the day I began to recognise the patterns of the dreams which turned their attention from the past to the future.. As did I, and on the final day I closed the ritual I did with thanks for what I had learnt.

Atropos had taught me there are always at least two paths and each decision leads to an inevi-

table fate, we are in control until the point we choose and then there is no escaping the fate we have spun. Atropos waits at the gate, and cuts the cord and chance to find a way back to the point, and she walks ever by our side feeding from our choices until the final cut. Atropos shows no mercy and there will be no going back from the path we took and so with foresight and her in mind the journey is planned, and the paths that fork always lead towards a death or a goal.

The roman epic speaks of the conscious mind not being able to fix that which has been laid out by previous actions “The gods were moved, but none could break the sisters iron decree.”

We can create dreams or die in nightmares, every action is creation or death, we kill that which does not serve us to create that which will and as the gate closes we lament no more.

The goddess smiles on those that offer the death of bad decisions and walks along side those who acknowledge her power or the power within each decision we make. Fate can be a cruel mistress or a lifelong friend, from death new life can spring.

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For Those who love coloring-in.

Images by Laura Perry

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, s s e d d o G l a t s y r C e : e Th d o o G a r d n a e s c s a a p C s k r o W e h t n i s l a t s y r C C

assandra has been working with crystals since the age of 8. She first introduced crystals in her workspace at a support centre for women. It was there that she became affectionately known as The Crystal Goddess. Cassandra uses crystals in everyday magick and her Reiki work.

She runs a Facebook page, where she continues to share her knowledge of crystals and inspiring posts. You can locate the page by searching TheCrystalGoddess.com

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s a consultant, my home office can be as personal as I want it to be, hence the various collections of crystals in my workspace. You may be faced with more restrictions at your desk; however, there are many elements you can integrate into your space with ease. pheres come in all shapes and sizes, when coupled together they just become a great fashion statement. In this image, I have shungite (emf protection), pyrite (business success) and merilinte (I love working with Merlin).

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Y

ou can also place a crystal in your pencil/pen holder. I have a piece of citrine in my holder representing joy and abundance.

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also have a couple of touchstones on hand. Fluorite for focus and Atlantisite. It’s my go-to crystal when I need a quick burst of energy. Atlantisite also makes me laugh and we all need a bit of laughter in our work life.

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ou can also place crystals in a dish.

Some of my favourite clear quartz crystals are placed upright in the dish.

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y favourite way to display crystals is in a mason jar, that also works as a very sturdy bookend.

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here are many crystals that you can use to enhance your work environment. If I were to choose three, it would be a bridge quartz crystal(brings people together for the highest good), labradorite(empath/protection stone) and rose quartz(love and light).

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KING SOLOMON’S PENTACLES

By Soror Seshat N. Aubi Owner: Rota Magic Wands®

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n the great historical magical pantheon King Solomon is a notable figure whose Ars Goetia and Grimore has fascinated Magicians, Adepts, Witches and Initiates for many generations.

King Solomon and his great wisdom is noted in the King James version of The Bible and by a number of writers who have contributed much to the study of esoteric magick and hermeticism.

Most notably Eliphas Levi, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Manly P. Hall, Rudolph Steiner, Paracelsus, Francis Barrett, Israel Regardie, E.A. Waite, Adolf Jacoby, Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, Johannes Trithemius, and St Albertus Magus to name a few.

Many modern writers on the subject of magic have also referenced Solomon and his ‘Keys’ in their books and online blogs including; Stephen Skinner, Scott Cunningham, Gerald & Betty Schueler PhD, Chic & Sandra Ciscero, Raymond Buckley, Aaron Leitch, Nick Farrell, Jason Miller, Amber K, Melita Denning and Osborn Phillips, David Conway and Migene Gonzalez-Wippler who has written the quintessential book on talismans and

amulets.

At one time or another everyone eventually comes across the translations of King Solomon’s mysterious ‘keys’ and marvel over the fascinating claims that are made.

Wikipedia gives us an interesting reference to King Solomon...

“Solomon, also called Jedidiah, was, according to the Hebrew Bible, Quran, and Hadiths, a fabulously wealthy and wise king of Israel who succeeded his father, King David. The conventional dates of Solomon’s reign are circa 970 to 931 BCE, normally given in alignment with the dates of David’s reign. He is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, which would break apart into the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah shortly after his death.

Following the split, his patrilineal descendants ruled over Judah alone.

According to theTalmud, Solomon is one of the 48 prophets. In the Quran, he is considered a major prophet, and Muslims generally refer to him by the Arabic variant Sulayman, son of David.”

In addition to this pedigree wikipedia

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further states “The Hebrew Bible credits him as the builder of the First Temple in Jerusalem, beginning in the fourth year of his reign, using the vast wealth he and his father had accumulated. He dedicated the temple to Yahweh, the God of Israel. He is portrayed as great in wisdom, wealth and power beyond either of the previous kings of the country, but also as a king who sinned. His sins included idolatry, marrying foreign women and, ultimately, turning away from Yahweh, and they led to the kingdom’s being torn in two during the reign of his son Rehoboam.”

Solomon’s sins in the western world today would be considered marginal if notable at all, but in his time it resulted in the fall of his kingdom and his Temple.

King Solomon always claimed his gifts were from God. In the Wisdom of Solomon 7:17-21, Solomon writes: • For he hath given me certain knowledge of the things that are, namely, to know how the world was made, and the operation of the elements: The beginning, ending, and midst of the times: the alterations of the turning of the sun, and the change of seasons: The circuits of years, and the positions of stars: The natures of living creatures, and the furies of wild beasts: the violence of winds[lit. of spirits], and the reasonings of men: the diversities of plants and the virtues of roots: And all such things as are either secret or manifest, them I know.

A few interesting things to note about this last Wikipedia paragraph, is that King Solomon’s Temple and its construction has a number of fantastic legends surrounding it.

It is written that this temple was constructed with the assistance of 72 Demons (some report Djinn) who were under Solomon’s control by means of a magical ring

given to him by Archangel Gabriel. At one point these demons became prideful and Solomon banished them by capturing them in a brass urn which he capped with magical sigils and then thrown into the sea. (King Solomon and his demon slaves) Many who wanted to control these demons believing them to be the source of his power and wealth, searched for the brass urn. When it was found and opened

it inadvertently released the 72 demons back into the world.

This story is reminiscent of the Genie in the bottle and the opening of Pandora’s box.

Another interesting story is one of King’s Solomon’s love for the Queen of Sheba, a reported half human, half demon, some said she was half Djinn in some Middle Eastern Sihr texts. In the story, she brings a caravan of valuable gifts and spices for King Solomon. All to ask him several riddles which he answers to her satisfaction, and she returns to her home. But Solomon is so taken by her great beauty that he kidnaps her with the aid of a demon and marries her giving her his magical ring, and power over the Demons.

This legendary ‘forbidden love’ was the subject of several movies including “Solomon & Sheba’.

Modern historians identify Sheba with the South Arabian kingdom of Saba in

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present-day Yemen.

King Solomon.

The queen’s existence is disputed and has It probably dates back to the 14th- or not been confirmed by historians.

15th-century Italian Renaissance.

It presents a somewhat typical example of Back to King Solomon’s Pentacles...

Renaissance magic.

There are several books that need to be mentioned.

The Lesser Key of Solomon, also known as Clavicula Salomonis Regis or Lemegeton, is an anonymous grimoire (or spell book) on demonology. It was compiled in the mid17th century, mostly from materials a couple of centuries older. It is divided into five books—the Ars Goetia, Ars Theurgia-Goetia, Ars Paulina, Ars Almadel, and Ars Notoria.

The Greater Key of Solomon (Latin: Clavicula Salomonis, Hebrew: Mafteah Shelomoh is a pseudepigraphical grimoire attributed to

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Step by Step FRUIT COBBLER WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS Butter For Greasing Fresh Peaches Fresh Cherries Fresh Plums Fresh Blueberries 75g Demerera Sugar 1 Level tbsp cinnamon (optional) 100g Plain Flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tbsp of Lemon Juice 1 level tbsp cornflour 150ml Double Cream 1. Preheat oven to gas 5, 190oC, Fan 170oC. to catch any juices that may spill over durGrease a 23-25cm baking dish and put ing cooking. Cook for 45-55 minutes unaside. til the fruit is bubbling and the top is just lightly golden. If the topping is browning 2. Put the chocolate chips into a micro- too quickly, lightly cover with foil. wavable dish and into the microwave on a low heat to melt. Then once melted set 8. Once cooked, take from oven and rest aside for 5-minutes until cool. it for 10-20 minutes before serving. Its best served warm but can also be served 3. Put all the fruit into a dish, then add the at room-temperature. Will keep for up to lemon juice, 50g sugar, the cornflour and two days in the fridge. cinnamon if using. Gently toss together with your hands until evenly coated.

4. Put the fruit into the baking dish.

Serve with your favourite ice-cream.

5. Mix together the flour, 225g sugar, baking powder and a pinch of salt, then stir in the cream until just combined. It will be quite wet.

6. Add in the chocolate chips then scoop 2tbsp mounds of the mix and roll into a ball in your hands before laying randomly on top of the fruit.

7. Place the baking dish onto a baking tray 33 TPC Digital Magazine

THE SHAMAN DRUM AS A SHAMANIC TOOL

By Yvonne Ryves drum with a frame of cedar, covered in deerskin, painted with a wolf and with eagle feathers tied to the lacing would contain the energy or medicine of all of these.

In ‘Shamanic Experience’, Kenneth Meadows speaks of the drum as representing the three worlds of the Shaman’s cosmos, Lower, Middle and Upper. He sees the frame as representing the cosmic tree and the circular shape of the drum as the totality of existence within any Shaman and Shamanic Practitioners, whatever their background, which we can experience all three worlds. culture or training, would probably agree that the drum is one of the most basic and The back of the drum is often laced with sinew or hide to form a web of eight strips frequently used of all shamanic tools. and Kenneth Meadows describes these The drums used in shamanism are usu- as representing the Cardinal and Non ally hand drums which are reasonably Cardinal directions, the eight spokes of light and can be held in one hand. They the medicine wheel, the eight legs of the have wooden frames with animal skin mythical horse Sleipner which carried the stretched tightly over one or both sides of Norse Shaman Odin to Otherworld and the eight legs of the spider. it depending on the style of drum.

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Drums can be left plain or decorated in order to reflect the personal medicine of the person it is working with. Anything that is added to a drum brings in the energy or medicine of that which it represents incorporating its energy into the drum.

For example the surface of a drum may be painted with an animal, often a power or totem animal or spirit guide, or symbols that have meaning for the person, feathers may be tied to the lacing or the drum stick, crystals, stones or a medicine pouch may be attached to the drum. Therefore a

The middle of the lacing is tied to form a handle and this takes the shape of a cross.

Others see the circular shape of the drum as symbolizing the cycles of life such as birth-death-rebirth, Spring-Summer-Autumn-Winter, moon cycles, stages of development and so on.

The main use of the drum as a shamanic tool and the one that most people are aware of is to move people into a shamanic state of consciousness, which is basically a form of (word light removed) trance. It is this that allows the Shaman

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to shift from Ordinary to Non-ordinary reality and to journey in the Otherworld (changed from within each of the three worlds). It is because the drum assists the Shaman in journeying that in some shamanic cultures it is referred to as a horse or canoe that acts as transportation to Non-ordinary reality. My own drum actually has the same name as my horse power animal and so really is my ‘Shaman’s Horse’.

There are though many other ways that the drum can be used as a shamanic tool.

In his book ‘The Shamanic Drum’ Michael Drake speaks about the belief that rhythm develops a feeling of oneness with the universe due to the fact that everything that exists is born of rhythm, vibrates with rhythmic motion and is held in form by rhythm. He sees rhythm as the heartbeat of life and suggests that the drum beat, in a single heartbeat unites the shaman with life all life forms.

The drum is also a powerful tool for healing, just sitting and playing a drum can heal us for the beat of a drum is recognised by our beings for it is the closest sound to our own heartbeat. Drumming with a steady, regular beat can be great for relieving stress and when we are ungrounded sitting on our own and drumming in a regular rhythm can help to ground us.

Drumming also has a powerful effect on our emotions and feelings, it can relieve anger, help us find courage and clam and centre us. If we drum over our heart it can help heal and release emotions of the heart whereas drumming over or next to the solar plexus is excellent for releasing fear.

A lovely way to drum for yourself is to carry out a Rainbow Drumming where we drum the organs of the body and also

much of our endocrine system or the areas of our body that hold our energy centres or chakras if that is within our belief system.

To do this: Begin by holding the drum at the front of your body, low down in the space where your legs meet your torso, drum for as long as feels right.

Move the drum up around your naval and again drum for as long as feels right.

Move the drum up to your solar plexus and repeat Move the drum to your heart and repeat Move the drum to your throat and repeat Move the drum to your forehead, to the space between your eyebrows and repeat Finally move the drum and hold it over your crown and again drum for as long as feels right.

You may find that the beat and tone of the drum will change as you move positions.

This is good as it is responding to your energy, emotions and needs.

Michael Drake, also in ‘The Shamanic Drum’ says that as we drum we play our bodies and the drum becomes a powerful healing tool. The frequencies of the drum interact with our own frequencies and as they do they synchronize and balance our brain and form new alignments within us.

The drum also harmonizes spiritual and physical aspects of yourself (ourselves), integrates us into the present moment and brings us into being one with all of life.

The drum may also be used as a tool for healing others in the same way as we can use it to heal ourselves. It can be used to drum power into someone or to diagnose imbalances and to clear these imbalances. As the drum is drawn to the places it needs to work it will change tone and rhythm in order to clear whatever is there.

In the same way the drum can also be used to clear and purify space by find-

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ing any energy which needs to be cleared eventually coming to rest over a symbol. and then adjusting its tone and rhythm The path taken and the symbol rested on to break up the stuck, misplaced or un- are then interpreted by the Shaman. healthy energy.

A drum can be used in ceremony, in The drum can also be used as a tool to groups or on your own. create sacred space and to call in energies It can also be combined with singing, from East, South, West, North, Father Sky chanting and dancing. It can be used for and Mother Earth, to call in or connect meditation or for trance. with the spirit within and to call in our A drum may be one of the basic tools of own spirit guides, power animals and shamanism but it is also one of the most helpers or our ancestors when we wish versatile and can be a very powerful and to invite them into our sacred space or to personal tool or a Michael Drake puts it work with them. so well, drums are living beings helping spirits and allies.

The beat of a drum is also a good way of connecting with earth energies and if References Kenneth Meadows, ‘Shamanic the intention is held, to bring these en- Experience’, Element Books, Reissue ediergies into the drum and help build its tion (26 July 1991), ISBN-10: 1852302267, power. Tree and plant spirits love being ISBN-13: 978-1852302269 drummed to although if you do this do Michael Drake, ‘The Shamanic Drum’, drum softly so as not to disturb them with Talking Drum Publications; 4th Reloud noise. Drumming underneath a tree vised edition (9 July 2009), ISBN-10: is a lovely way to connect with and find 0962900206,ISBN-13: 978-0962900204 the song of the tree. It is always amazing how different each tree can be. If you have never tried this find a group of trees and chose one to drum underneath Let the drum find the tone and rhythm of the tree and play there for a while When ready move under another tree and repeat Continue until you have connected with and drummed under a few trees A drum may also be used for divination.

This divination may take the form of a shamanic journey to find what is needed or may take the form used in ancient cultures e.g. Sami where symbols or divination patterns are drawn onto the surface of a drum. Sometimes runes are also drawn onto a drum to be used in this way.

A question is asked and then a brass ring is placed in the center of the drum. The shaman, sometimes working in trance, taps the drum with the drum stick and the ring moves over the surface of the drum 36 TPC Digital Magazine

37 TPC Digital Magazine

BRING THE POWER OF SALT INTO YOUR SPACE - SALT BOWL 101

By Winter Anne McKelvie

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or thousands of years salts has been used as a method of rid negative energies from ourselves and homes. All over the world, salt has been considered a protective and cleansing agent, both physically and metaphysically. Many do not realize that salt is actually a crystal and those crystals come in many forms. I fact salt comes from water and since we are 98% water , our relationship with salt is not only integral (as we need it to strive for our metabolism ) we have taking that relationship and use it in the world around us.

Many are now drawn to salt lamps which have been around for years and studies have shown that these lamps emit ions and charged the air around them, thus killing some air floating bacteria. But if you are not a person who likes a big stone hanging around, I have some wonderful ideas for you to try.

Salt bowls can be used and add a bit of flair to an otherwise boring room and to spell work. So let’s go over the different salts that you can choose from.

Many different magical traditions call for the use of salt in spells and ritual. For centuries, it’s been known as a very magical ingredient.

No surprise that it shows up in one of the most religious books know to man. It appears several times in the Old Testament, most notably in the book of Genesis, in which Lot’s wife (who doesn’t appear to have a name of her own) is turned into a pillar of salt after disobeying God’s commands.

In Eastern belief systems, such as Buddhism and Shintoism, salt is used both as a purifier and to repel evil. From there over the centuries Salt has entwined with our lives and beliefs.

In parts of Germany, Normandy, and Scotland, salt is used in or around a butter 38 TPC Digital Magazine

churn to keep witches from souring the HIMALAYAN PINK SALT – AIR RITUbutter or harming the cow from which ALS, AIR ELEMENTAL OR GODS OF the cream was obtained.

AIR & WIND Irish folk remedies include the use of salt, combined with a recitation of the Lord’s Prayer, to cure those who might have been “fairy-struck.” A similar story comes from Bavaria and Ukraine, in which salt is used to determine if a child is bewitched.

Egyptian caravans setting out on a journey across the desert used to perform a ritual that involved burning salt on hot coals. This was done to ensure that evil spirits wouldn’t get in the way of the travelers.

Often, salt is used in purification spells.

It can be incorporated into smudging and asperging, and in some NeoWiccan traditions, it is used on the altar to represent the element of earth.

CELTIC SEA SALT – PERFECT FOR THOSE THAT FOLLOW CELTIC BELIEFS. WATER RITUALS, WATER EMENTALS & GODS OF WATER KALA NAMAK – PERFECT CLEANSING RITUALS

FOR

FLAKE SALT - AIR RITUALS, AIR ELEMENTAL OR GODS OF AIR & WIND BLACK HAWAIIAN SALT - PERFECT FOR THOSE THAT FOLLOW POLYNESIAN BELIEFS. FIRE RITUALS, FIRE ELEMENTAL & GODS OF FIRE

RED HAWAIIAN SALT – THIS SALT IS SUPER CHARGED AS IT CAN BE USED IT IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT METHODS. If someone spills the salt at dinner, it IT’S RELATIONSHIP TO FIRE, AIR, WAmeans a violent family quarrel is on the TER & EARTH MAKES IT GREAT BASE way.

SALT TO ALWAYS HAVE ON HAND. It’s considered bad luck to lend salt to someone because that can lead to a feud between the borrower and the lender. A good way to avoid this problem is if you get a cup of salt from someone, pay it back with sugar or molasses instead. Interestingly, in parts of northern England and Scotland, it is also seen as bad luck to lend salt, mostly because the person borrowing it can use it as a magical link to curse you.

Check out more by reading my Salt 101 Article to find the perfect salt for your bowl HOLDING CONTAINER

Choosing a bowl to use for your salt bowl.

Here you can let your creative spirt run free. It can be a simple bowl for the dollar store or your favorite shell. Plain or fancy — whatever you prefer. Using a smaller item will take up less space but if you Salt can also be used to detect the pres- have something special in mind- go for it. ence of witches: There is also a tale that bewitched cattle will not touch salt. We If you’re going to leave the bowl out for have all heard if that if you spill salt, you more than a couple of days, I recommend should throw a bit of it over your shoul- using a non-porous bowl (i.e. not wood). der. This either brings good luck or keeps However, if you’re okay with salt peneevil at bay, depending on which source trating the porous material, and possibly you consult. ruining whatever protective cover it has, you can use whatever you wish.

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CHOOSING YOUR SALT You can use whatever salt you have in your cupboard, but I’ve found that having goal in mind of why you want to use the salt and the deities that you follow, you can find the perfect salt.

If you’re feeling fancy, you can buy some black sea salt, pink Himalayan sea salt, kosher diamond crystal salt, Japanese bigflake salt, or any other kind. If you don’t want to set out a whole dish of that kind of salt, mix the fancy salt with some good old regular sea salt. To find out what salts relate to what elements check out my article

Salt helps add an extra oomph to your Salt. Mix everything together and speak your intention out loud. “May this salt cleanse the energy of my home and protect me from negativity.” If you would like to meditate, do so. Feel yourself become more cleansed and align your energy with the purpose of the salt bowl.

PUTTING IT OUT Place your beautiful salt bowl somewhere in your home. Some people like to place it out near the hearth or in the kitchen. Other people like to put it near the door that’s used most often.

Be conscious of the salt bowl. When you pass by it, use it as a cleanser of your enHERBS AND OILS ergy. You can push negative energy into the salt bowl or touch the salt with your Let your inner witch loose. Check your hands to ground any errant energy. supplies, open your cupboards or hit your spice rack and tea tins. Anything can be If you feel the need to do all out cleansadded to Salt ,it will add another aspect ing, placing you can put salt bowls in the of cleansing to the dish. corners of a room or the four corners of your home. This can create a very magiFor times where I feel that negative ener- cal-feeling space. Another choice for usgies are around I like to add juniper ber- ing Salt is placing the Salt into a bowl of ries to my salt bowl because of its protec- water and letting it dissolve. Sprinkle the tive nature. Cloves and peppercorns, as saltwater into the corners of your room. they are also protective and are known to You can also sprinkle saltwater on your banish negative energy. windowsills, and as long as the windowsills are not metal, which is susceptible to Looking to bring harmony and balance to rusting in salty conditions. your Salt cleansing by adding a few drops of essential oils, like tea tree, lavender, or You can also sprinkle a little bit over the something floral turns it warding against carpets and let it absorb for an hour or negativity to balance the spirit. so before vacuuming it up. It really does change the energy of the room!

Want to try something fresh? Why not try Lemon, Orange wedges or even fresh A few things to consider: don’t eat this sprigs of herbs? salt. You charged it with absorbing negativity, so you don’t want to consume SETTING YOUR INTENTIONS it. Don’t leave this out in a place where your pets will come into contact with it.

Just as you would to cleanse your room When the energy of the bowl doesn’t feel or space bringing your intention into the cleansing anymore, it’s time to get rid of 40 TPC Digital Magazine

it. You can either tip it into the trash or toss it outside someplace where you wish to prevent plants from sprouting (like the cracks between concrete).

There are many other ways to magically cleanse the energy of your home and belongings. #saltbowls #modernwitchmodernwitch. ca #modernwitch #saltrituals

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Culture

BOOK REVIEWS

By Nimue Brown

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here are a great many small joys and privileges that come from working at a Pagan publishing house. I get to read all sorts of books ahead of release.

I get to help new authors break in, and more established authors reach further.

I get to help. There’s an immense joy in seeing a writer winning – a first time author with a breakthrough title, an author whose been slogging away at it for years finally getting the attention they deserve. This is not always the work I am paid to do, this is sometimes stuff I do in my own time, because I can.

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few years ago, Andrew Anderson submitted a manuscript to Moon Books. It wasn’t something we could publish – it was simply too short. I liked his ideas and his writing style, so I dropped him an email with some pointers about what might work and get picked up – I’m not the person making those decisions, but I know how publishers operate. To my immense joy, he came back with a new book, and it clearly was one that we could put out. This month it is released.

resplendent with tools and ideas. It’s an ideal read for anyone on the Druid path and a natural companion book if you’re doing the OBOD Bardic grade. That Andrew is studying in the Ovate grade with OBOD should come as no surprise!

I’m personally delighted to see a book exploring creativity as ritual process in this way. I’m excited to see a new and innovative addition to contemporary Druid thinking. I’m looking forward to seeing what Andrew does next. I feel honoured The ritual of writing is a book for bards, to have had the chance to be part of his and for anyone else using the written story. word as part of their creative spiritual life. Anyone inclined to write rituals, The ritual of writing is available anyspells, prayers or meditations will find where that sells books. here’s the Amasomething they can use in this book. For zon link – https://www.amazon.co.uk/ anyone who wants to use writing as a fo- Ritual-Writing-Spiritual-Practice/ cus for their spiritual journey, this book is dp/1789041538 42 TPC Digital Magazine

June 2019 sees the release of Halo Quin’s Gods and Goddesses of Wales. This is a Pagan Portal – meaning it’s a short, introductory book. I read it a while ago – one of the many perks of my working life.

I very much like Halo as a human being. I’ve spent time with her at Druid Camp, she’s a warm, lovely person full of inspiration. She’s not identifying as a Druid – but honestly what she writes is just the sort of thing for a Druid starting out on their path.

Welsh mythology has a central role in modern Druidry, but getting into it can be a bit of a struggle. This is an ideal beginner’s book, giving you very readable and

relevant takes on those key myths and figures.

This is a relevant book for anyone interested in Welsh mythology or deities associated with the British Isles. It’s worth remembering that the Welsh border hasn’t always been in the same place, and if you are in the west of England, these influences are highly pertinent!

You can buy this book from anywhere that does books, here’s the Amazon link https://www. amazon.com/Pagan-Portals-Goddesses-practical-introduction-ebook

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he White Hare Wisdom oracle cards are the latest creation from Jacqui Lovesey, of Matlock The Hare fame, with Phil Lovesey involved in the guidebook.

I jumped in during the kickstarter, but you can now get the cards from etsy. So, how does it work having an oracle card set based in a fictional reality?

The short answer is that this is without a doubt the best oracle card set I have ever worked with – and I have had my hands on quite a few over the years.

The art is lovely, and you can check that out here to see if it suits you – https:// www.matlockthehare.com/white-harewisdom There are two things that have really struck me about using this set. The first is that there are concepts here that you don’t find in most decks because we don’t have words for them. Phil and Jacqui have taken the simple approach of inventing whatever words are needed – this is very much in keeping with the Matlock the Hare setting as a whole.

The concepts in here are great, these are words to slip into your personal dictionary, to relish and be inspired by.

The second thing that really struck me is the lack of judgement. Usually oracle card sets have some judgy content – if there are reversed readings it will most likely show up here. This is, so far as I can remember, the first card set that hasn’t at some point focused on telling me what I’m doing wrong or where my personal shortcomings might be. Sometimes, when I’m having a bad day, that kind of oracle reading just knocks me down further, even if it is technically right.

up an oracle set you may have problems on your mind, but the advice is warm, friendly, nurturing stuff. Every card represents ideas about kinds of energies to work with, actions to take, forms of self care to think about and sources of inspiration. If you’re looking to bring fresh energy into your life to cheer your heart and ease your journey, this is a fantastic set to work with. Every card offers a substantial message and ideas you can really dig in with.

You can find the cards on Etsy – https:// www.etsy.com/uk/listing/683845358/ white-hare-wisdom-44-card-oracle-deckby

What we have here, is good advice.

There’s recognition that if you’ve picked 44 TPC Digital Magazine

Presented as a workbook for those wanting a spiritual detox ahead of working magic, Standing and Not Falling is a text you could work through over 13 moons.

The idea is to deal with the kinds of things that might get in the way of a magical practice, and pave the way for a deeper and more effective kind of sorcery. For anyone interested in serious magic, this is well worth a go.

I didn’t read it or work with the book in that way. I pick up this kind of book because it is always useful to research for the fiction. I’ve learned a lot that I can no doubt apply in my speculative writing. What I didn’t realise when I started reading the book, is how valuable it is as a philosophical text.

Lee Morgan has a great deal to say about how we navigate inside our own minds, how we perceive the world and relate to it, and how our thinking shapes our experiences. There’s a lot here about being embodied, about animism and relationships based on animist philosophy.

There’s great content about ancestry, our relationship with the land, and how we deal with mainstream culture – and for that matter, how it deals with us. There’s a great deal to chew on. Much of it aligns with my own thinking, so that was pleasingly affirming, but at the same time, it’s a very different perspective on those familiar issues and it opened up a great deal of new territory for me.

I recommend that Druids pick up Standing and Not Falling to read as a philosophical text. It has a great deal to offer on those terms. Anyone interested in the bard path will also be interested in how the book is written – the crafting of it, the way language is deployed, the poetic qualities the author brings – these are all worthy of your attention and may well be a source of inspiration.

I don’t feel qualified to comment on this as a magical text because it’s not my path. However, what I can say (having read a fair few magical books for research purposes) is that I’ve never seen anything like this before. There’s a world view here, and a way of relating to self, world and magic that, while it has some familiar elements, really isn’t like anything else I’ve run into. It’s well worth a look.

More about the book here – https:// www.johnhuntpublishing.com/ moon-books/our-books/standing-not-falling

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WHAT DOES YOUR LAND SAY TO YOU?

By Helen Libby Davidson

N

o matter where you live there will be histories, myths and legends that surround you, and I have found if you acquaint yourself with them, you can better understand the energy of the land you live on.

Growing up in Cornwall I was so lucky to be surrounded by so many legends.

The romantic 12th Century tale of prince Tristan of Cornwall and Iseult an Irish princess. Tristan was believed to be mortally wounded and was sent out on a ship with no sails. It came to land in Ireland where he met Iseult. The tale becomes entangled and has no happy ending.

Cornwall like Wales, Southern Ireland and Brittany all spoke common Brittonic which then turned into separate languages. Cornwall like many other counties in the Uk had its own Kings the last recorded King was in 875 CE. One of Cornwall’s favourite legends is that of King Arthur where it is said he was born at Tintagel Castle. It is a beautiful and wild side of Cornwall the castle in ruins perched on the cliffs. Tintagel in Cornish is Tre war Venydh translated means ‘village on a mountain’ Castle remain date back to the 13th century but roman pottery has also been found on the site, though there is no conclusive evidence that there was any habitation there at that time.

Walking along the cliffs strips away our modern age and throws you back into a different time, the land and Ocean speak to you as they meet, the ancient energies of the land crying out to be listened to.

My family going back many, many generations were smugglers in Cornwall like a lot of many others they did not agree with the taxes on certain things coming into the country, there answer to that was to ship wreck the ships and their cargos, selling on in a black market. The smuggling faded away eventually but it is still a very big part of Cornwall’s heritage.

Cornwall is still a very Pagan land, it takes pride in its old festivals and traditions, these days they pull tourists in eager to take part and feel the wonderful energies the create.

These traditions will continue to enchant, they may well be vastly different from the way our ancestors celebrated, not necessarily a bad thing has to progress as the ages slip by.

One of my most treasured memories of growing up in Cornwall is that of the spirits of the land, piskies to the Cornish now mostly found on popular trinkets. You dear reader will probably understand the nature of these earth spirits, cheeky and mischievous and yet never to be underestimated with the power they hold. They are guardians of the land, stone circles, dolmen and menhirs.

If you know where to look you will also find an old Celtic tradition, that of the clootie tree, next to sacred springs and wells, trees covered with ribbons of fabric dipped in the water and tied on to branches, petitions to the spirits that as the rag rots away so your ailment also vanishes.

Popular times for pagan pilgrimages are at Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas and Samhain.

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We are the ones carrying on ancient tradition even if the true meaning is lost in time, we honour the old ways by adapting the theme, as a distant memory we cannot quite recall.

It does pay to understand and look into local histories, to try and rediscover what our ancestors did when they walked and experienced in what we call home.

I now live in an equally well known area, but for quite different reason.. I live in Pendle, the home of 12 people who in 1612 were tried as witched and condemned to death. This is a later history in the area, as Pendle has been populated dating back to the Mesolithic period, not far from me is also an iron Age hill fort. In Viking times, after the Danelaw the Battle of Brunanbraugh (somewhere in Pendle) Athelston crowned himself the First King of England.

When I walk around Pendle or out foraging for herbs its an ancient land I feel beneath my feet, Pendle is a wild place, untamed by man and retains much of its enchanting nature.

What does the history of your home land say to you, is it old and slumbering, is it full of vitality and life. Are people and land at one with each other?

It only takes a few of us to listen to the land, learn its history both good and bad, and then when we have that understanding, that is when our magick becomes strong, we can call on the land for strength and nurturing abilities, after all the first thing many of us feel after coming back from a holiday is ... ‘it was lovely to go away but I am glad to be home’ This is your bond to you home, and I do not mean that in a materialistic terms, everyone prefers their own bed, but its deeper than that its the familiarity you have with your surroundings. You are already in tune with it, its just a case of exploring that familiarity and understanding why you feel like that.

Walk, see, hear.. The land calls to you..

Listen to its ancient wisdom.

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MY LOVE OF ART

By Saz Palmer

48 TPC Digital Magazine

I

have always been interested in art ever since I was a small child. My first early memories of art were watching tony hart on tv back in the 80s. I was inspired by his appreciation for all forms of art. To my delight on my third birthday i got my very first easel and paints. There was just something about it that lit a passion in me that has continued throughout my life. Since then I have never stopped making art and any opportunity to make art at home or while I was at school I embraced it with both arms. Its been with me through happy times in my life and also very dark times too. Even though I’m self taught and an art school drop out I truly believe anyone can be an artist. Becoming part of a coven has allowed me to share my art with even more people and most importantly encouraged them to have a go too.

My brief dissatisfying time spent at university was spent experimenting with all types of art, from sculpture to drawing.

But what I enjoyed the most was painting. I never got on with watercolours (I’m too heavy handed) and I just couldn’t get used to the smell of oil paint. Acrylic paint was far more forgiving. Slowly I figured out this painting lark! My major influences currently are painters; Vincent Van Gogh and Gustav Klimt, illustrator Aubrey Beardsley and photographers Cindy Sherman and Jan Saudek to name a few.

My more recent works have featured the sky from Starry night (1889) by Vincent Van Gogh. I have become a little obsessed with the way the paint has been applied and the colours he’s used. His method seems to suit how I like to blend colours as I like to apply lots of layers. I recently painted a commission of this piece for a relative.

was very knowledgeable. Due to nature being so accessible at such a young age I felt an affinity with the green man. I was always delighted if I spotted his friendly face on buildings or in books.

I began a piece a couple of years ago as I wanted to honour him in the only way I could, by painting a portrait of him and I have kept adding bits to him since. It is a large square 30cm by 30cm canvas portrait with a moonlit sky. Naturally he’s got one impressive beard! He looks out at you with his weathered and wise face.

He is a true man of the wild. I named this piece ‘Green man’ (2015 - ?).

It’s taken me years to find ‘my style’ with plenty of mistakes but lots successes. I have always tended to paint things to do with nature; hares, rams, trees, landscapes etc. Before I took painting more seriously, I was making reliefs on boards with smashed mirrors and plates that were separated by woven cereal boxes and brown tape in a sculptural form. Although they were quite labour intensive I would love the opportunity to make another again. These days my creations are all on canvas or canvas board painted with acrylic paint. But who knows what I will be creating in another fifteen years?!

‘Woodland in the autumn’ (2018) is inspired by the Klimt Beech tree woodland paintings and the dramatic change in foliage for this time of year, the dark greens and bright oranges. The piece also has a fantasy element to it. It is a secret place I go to whenever I have done meditation with my coven. It is a place of comfort, a realm of safety where someone very close to me resides who died earlier this year.

Her name was Willow Merrymoon. I am about to begin working on a commission Walks in and around the pendle country- for her grave. It’s going to be a tribute to side with my Wiccan Grandma, as a child her spirit animal, an owl. When at home inspired my connection with nature. She she was never far from a picture or orna49 TPC Digital Magazine

ment of one. I know she would have been thrilled at the idea of this commission as she was a big fan of my art. It’s going to be a very emotional piece for me. For the very first time I’m going to be painting this piece on a rock.

a group shes on facebook and her decorated rocks are now travelling to other countries. I love the look of them and feel inspired by her enthusiasm. I have wondered what it would be like to paint on a rock in my style. It’s completely new territory for me and I’m quite excited about For the past eighteen months a close the possible outcome. friend of mine has been having lots of fun in the local area painting and hiding rocks of all different themes. I follow

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TAROT READING TAKEN FROM THE WILDWOOD TAROT DECK..

Six of Stones..Exploitation..

By Mystical Winds

D

escription..

Two ragged and distraught figures an old man and a girl (could be family), stand by a row of damaged and abandoned beehives holding empty bowls. Broken and unused farming tools lie on the ground nearby.

Through the leafless trees we see the surrounding fields, barren and desolate.

In the distance, smoke rises from burning piles of spoiled crops.

ment’s ability to tell the truth and act with integrity severely damaged our social moral codes and once- familiar cultural ‘norms’ appear under enormous strain.

We all need to be aware of the price our children will pay for our exploitation of the planets resources..This card is telling us of the hardships of taking from Earth and never returning..We so often wonder why there is such a struggle with just getting the basics of things needed to exist Meaning..Selfish or foolish overuse of non- on this planet even.. sustainable resources implies imbalance in work or business that is damaging to yourself or the environment.

Reading Points..The human race’s complicity to exploit planetary resources to our own detriment is motivated by a flawed belief that we have the right to do so.As we begin to come to terms with the profound effects of global climate change and the irreversible effects this will have on our childlessness lives, the human race still struggles to deal with the unresolved issues of how to feed the billions of new human beings born every year. How we will resource the education, health, and social service requirements of our entire generations to come seems like a question to painful even to think about. With world financial systems and safeguards breaking down, and faith in any govern51 TPC Digital Magazine

52 TPC Digital Magazine

Stephen Sheridan

By Stephen Sheridan On Stephen Sheridan TPC’s Newest Photographer Reveals all

W

hat do I do? Well I paint with the most ephemeral material you can imagine, I paint with light.

I am a photographer and I have been one for as long as I can remember my memories of my childhood holidays were often experienced through my Mother’s Camera. I was fascinated by this magic box, which could stop time and hold memories and upon our return would be taken to the local chemist. A week later a return trip yielded those most precious photographs, some of which I still treasure to this day.

Why do I love photography? Why after all these years am I still excited to take out my camera and take pictures?

I love to capture moments, whether it be the smile on a new bride’s face, the raw emotion of a singer on a stage, that end of day shadow that falls across the landscape or the raging passion of the storm tossed sea. Each moment is unique, something never to be repeated and something to treasure, something to hold onto and pass down to future generations. For example. I only know my Great Grandparents by their photographs, those faded paste boards depicting people dressed in strange clothes looking straight at me.

Through these images I can live a life they lived be it only in my imagination but in that imagination they live on.

So this is me, a photographer this is why I do what I do.

I hold the now so the future can remem-

ber.

Landscapes were my first love, it’s so easy to walk out of the house with camera in hand and take pictures, fields, flowers, Cities, cars anything which grabs my attention. My eyes are always moving searching for pleasing lines of composition, juxtapositioning colour, shade, angles or anything which can tell a story or elicit an emotion. Long ago I would carry two cameras, one loaded with colour film, the other loaded with black and white, two versions of reality two choices to tell the same story. Today I carry just one camera the advances in digital capture enable me to edit in seconds, hours or days after the shot. Something I appreciate more than anyone can know, the weight of two camera bodies, film motor drives, lenses, film and batteries would put a marines back pack to shame.

I read newspapers, magazines, books from the Library the words are the framework of the story, but oh the pictures, War zones, conflict, Northern Island, Vietnam.

The miners’ strike, conflict in our own country, the royal birth, a society wedding. Martin Parr and his insight about people and culture in New Brighton, all these were creative food for thought, I have been called Mr. Moody Skies for my style in landscape work and Its true I do like the interplay between light and shadow never more so than in that instance just before the storm breaks, when the clouds just part for that split second al-

53 TPC Digital Magazine

lowing a shaft of light to strike the Earth, to direct ones vision to a part of the Landscape where the Sun and clouds conspire to show me something I want to preserve forever.

Inevitably family comes along, first a friend then a lover and eventually two people committed together, children laughter and tears. All there to be documented and preserved, I have two images of my children, one taken outside a cafe in Blackpool in August he was eight months old, my other son was three, dressed in a red top kneeling down with the sunlight streaming through the window. Both pictures are still in my collection decades later, memories held in time. When I die these images will still be here for them and their children to enjoy and perhaps even their grandchildren.

It was once said and I am paraphrasing here, that the essence of portrait photography is conflict, it’s the war between what the subject wishes to conceal and what the photographer wishes to reveal.

In general I have found this to be true; my portrait sessions are akin to this. My subject will arrive nervous, defensive and anxious, a bank of lights awaits them, a tripod and a square box quite unlike the phones we use these days to take photographs is perched atop it.

I am looking at my subject asking how the journey was, is it raining? Would you like a cup of tea? Twenty minutes of relaxation then we start.

‘I will just take a few test shots’ is my opening conversation from behind the camera nothing to worry about, we haven’t started yet’ We have, this is the time my subject is relaxing, the eyes are wandering to all this shining light, not bothering to look at the camera, sometimes catching my eye as we talk.

‘Don’t worry about the flashing lights, just checking. ‘By this time I have my two

opening shots my subject is relaxed and the best shots are in the bag.

‘Now let’s start’ the essence of fear now, a mask drops down, the eyes are hooded and wary, lips pressed just a little too tight, a tight smile creases the lips. I fire off six shots a two another two and a final two.

‘Wonderful, oh I love those, amazing shot, please hold that look’ Then the reveal, the show and tell I generally show the images last to first and watch as the face lights up a slight smile at the middle set, then the widest smile of all as the ‘test shots’ are shown. Mostly these are the ones which are chosen, the ones relaxed not interested in the camera, the ones unguarded.

Now I can begin to work the subject is happy they have a shot, now I talk, I can talk about anything and everything I am interested in my subject, they become the most important thing in the world to me, the subject is the Prime Minister, President of the United States, Oscar winning Actor, Poet Laureate. They are royalty in my eyes and I strive to present them as such, to show the world who this person is and to preserve every little nuance of their personality.

This is portraiture, intimate combat across a camera lens. With no loss of life and with only victors on both sides of the battlefield.

This is who I am, I am a nobody a person who watches who sees light, emotions a person who is dedicated to preserving what we have now so we can show ourselves who we were, what we achieved and the world we lived in.

54 TPC Digital allMagazine images

provided by Stephen Sheridan

55 TPC Digital Magazine

Interviews

dv a h t i “W l b l a n o i tradit d I e l i h art. W chnol e t , s l o o t t t n e i c n a

56 TPC Digital Magazine

BRANDO VANSHOYCK

f o t f a r c e h t , g y n g i o y l d o n a h g c n e i t m n i o w c s e e t n b n e h y l t m i k e w ic e u c q vanc n s a i v g e d n h a i t h o r t t i u t no o h lacksm t’s importan o t r e f e r i .” p s k I d n , i o s h h e t t u e q m i do n l a h c n e o t i t i d d n a a r t y g h o g l u o r h t s n o i t i d tra

Q

Q

A

A

) Can you tell us a little bit about ) How do you feel the transition beyourself – who are you, where are tween working an apprenticeship to you from, when did you learn black- being self-employed has been? smithing, etc ) Transitioning from an apprentice) My name is Brando Vanschoyck. ship to being self-employed was I am thirty-two years old and from liberating. I enjoy freedom from taking a small town in south-eastern Kentucky orders from others and the pride of runcalled Hindman. I am a college gradu- ning my own business. When working ate, who worked several years in my field for others, one must use their knowledge of study, all the while longing to express and skills in a way others’ want. Being myself artistically. Having always been self-employed allows me to use my skills fascinated with the craft of blacksmith- to make my ideas come to life. I have acing, I decided to put all my effort into tually found my voice, a means to express acquiring the skills and tools necessary myself, and I get paid for it. On the other to learn. After a few years of being self- hand, when I put my heart and soul into taught, I sought out an apprenticeship a project and no one wants to buy it, it’s under a local, highly-respected black- disappointing. And there’s the threat of smith, Dan Estep. For the majority of the no guaranteed pay check. Although I last three years, I have been Dan’s full- work more hours now, with no guarantee time apprentice at the Kentucky School of money, I am happier than I have ever of Craft. During that short time, I was been in my life. I feel like I’m on the path fortunate enough to receive 40-plus years for which I am destined. of experience and knowledge through Dan’s teaching. If there had never been a Dan Estep, there would never have been a Deathless Forge.

57 TPC Digital Magazine

Q

) How do feel about keeping the 4-Now, I use a ball punch to push out the old style alive rather than new and tab that grabs the bottle lid. modern techniques?

5-Next, I hammer the opener back onto ) With advancements in technology, itself to close up the hole and make the the craft of traditional blacksmithing shape of the bottle opener. You could also is quickly becoming a dying art. While leave it round and skip this step.

I do think it’s important to advance with new tools, technology and techniques, 6-Now, I hammer a bevel around the I prefer to honour the ancient traditions sides of the opener. This gives the hand through traditional methods. Traditional hammered texture that I prefer. methods keep the past alive, require minimal tooling, are less expensive, and force 7-Next, while the stock is still nice and one to be more creative when approach- flat, I hot-stamp my touchmark into the ing a project. A large part of the fascina- handle. tion I have always had with the craft is the simplicity of the traditional tools. It 8-Using a handheld chisel, I hot-cut the is amazing how a blacksmith can use an opener from the parent stock. Yes, I did anvil, a hammer and fire to make virtual- also forge the chisel. ly anything.

9-Now, I hammer a bevel around the end of the opener and knock the square cor) Can you talk us through the pro- ners in. cess of making an item such as a 10-Using a file, I clean up any ragged edgsmall dagger or something. es. ) One of my favorite ways to enhance a piece, is to decorate it with a rubik’s 11-I now put a small upward curve into twist. To see this process, please visit my the working end of the opener. I usually new Youtube channel under the name do this by supporting only the working end on the anvil and hammering downDeathless Forge. ward on the rest of the opener to push it A project that would be a little simpler to down. explain would be a bottle opener. These are very popular right now. The steps are 12-Now, I put a piece of pipe that was cut in half over the face of my anvil. I heat the as follows: opener handle and hammer it to match 1-Starting with 1/4” thick and 1” wide the curve of the pipe. This gives the hanflat stock, I hot-punch a hole with a hand- dle some soul and also feels comfortable held punch that I also made from a coil in the hand. spring.

13-To finish the piece, I heat it to a red 2-Drift the hole (blacksmithing term for color and brush it with a wire brush.

When it cools, I apply some oil to protect stretching and or shaping hole). it from rust.

3-Work the piece around the horn to shape the bottle opener.

A

Q A

58 TPC Digital Magazine

Q A

) How has business been since go- of working on projects, involving batches ing self-employed? of hundreds of pieces. In addition, an experienced blacksmith can teach one what ) Since becoming self-employed, I not to do. I actually learned from my have been working hard to become mentor’s previous mistakes. a household name in the blacksmithing f one wants to become the best blackcommunity. I have dedicated the masmith possible, an apprenticeship is jority of my time to promoting Deathless Forge by developing a client base, in- vital. There is no replacement for the creasing my audience, and maintaining hands-on experience obtained through an inventory that is profitable, but not too an apprenticeship. time consuming. It is certainly demand) Technically, not an interview ing and stressful at times, but with the question as such, but could you support of my girlfriend, Misha Williams, it has been rewarding and profitable as give us some information that you think our readers would enjoy. well.

I

Q

Q A

) What is your favourite piece that you’ve made so far?

A

) I first learned about blacksmithing in books, movies and video games. I was especially impressed by The Lord of the Rings, where dwarfs were considered the best blacksmiths. In fact, my business, Deathless Forge, is named for the first of the Seven Fathers of the dwarfs, and the first king of The Long Beards, Durin the Deathless.

) It is hard for me to choose one piece as my favourite. My most rewarding projects are pieces that will actually be used, such as my tools (door pull and sliding bolt latch on the front door of my shop, the hammer I use, tongs, chisels, punches, and fire tools for my coal forge), The blacksmith was once considered the and hinges, door pulls and even marlin “father of craft.” This laborer was one of the most important people in the village. spikes I make and sell.

Because all other craftsmen’s tools were made by the blacksmith, other craftsmen ) Here in the UK, we have a lot of could not have done their jobs without apprenticeships in various servic- him. The importance of the blacksmith to es, do you think blacksmithing is some- the community was such that if one was convicted of murdering a blacksmith, the thing an apprentice would enjoy? penalty would be three times as harsh. ) I definitely think one would enjoy In addition, blacksmiths were thought to blacksmithing as an apprenticeship. have mystical powers because they could It teaches one patience, it teaches one that control the fire and transform a chunk of it is okay to mess up and start over, and iron ore into any tool or decorative piece, it teaches repetition as the key to build- making the metal bend to their will. ing proficient skills. My apprenticeship allowed me to experience and learn Even one of our modern, common saythings that I could not have learned from ings is in reference to blacksmithing: “It a book or video. The only way one can has a nice ring to it.” get good at forging is to do it, and do it a lot. My apprenticeship allowed me hours

Q A

59 TPC Digital Magazine

Paranormal

TALES FROM THE CRYPTS

By Monique Reichert

Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

T

ucked away in the mountains of West Virginia, in the remote city of Weston, sits America’s largest hand-cut stone masonry building. It is the second largest building of its kind in the world.

But that’s not all that makes this building unique. This is the former home of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, that was run by the US Government.

The asylum was in operation from 1864 to 1994.

2,400 patients. The inability to handle a population of that size led to an increase in violence. Several cases, both reported and unreported, describe incidents of patients killing other patients. One example describes two patients that hung one of their fellow patients using a set of bed sheets. When that failed to kill him, the pair cut him down and used a metal bed frame to crush his head.

Not even the staff were immune to the violence. Numerous former employees reported being attacked while on duty.

One evening a nurse even went missing, her body was found two months later hidden at the bottom of an unused staircase.

“AMERICAN HORROR STORY SEASON 2: THE ASYLUM” depicted the treatment patients received in places like Trans-Allegheny with frightening accuracy. Although practices such as hydrotherapy, electroshock therapy, and lobotomies were commonly used, the true problem was overcrowding. Designed The hospital’s doors closed in 1994 due to hold 250, Trans-Allegheny housed to changes in medical practices from 60 TPC Digital Magazine

i i D s C

the previously antiquated, treatments, many of which we now consider torturous. Since its closing, it’s become a hotspot for paranormal investigators. and visitors alike, report seeing figures walking the hallways at night as well objects moving about on their own accord.

Thousands of patients once walked the

halls of Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum prior to its closing the doors forever. Leaving behind a horrific legacy and tormented souls, to walk these now infamous hallways. source: DAVID MCKENDRY 12/15

image opposite {Information |Description=w:Weston State Hospital in w:Weston, West Virginia |Source=self-made photograph |Date=23 December 2006. |Author=Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) |Permission=I publish this photograph according to the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Required/Share Alike License 2.5

Greyfriar’s Bobby

Edinburgh, Scotland: Statue of Greyfriars Bobby Photograph taken by Michael Reeve, 15 September 2003. {{GFDL}} Uploaded to en.wikipedia 22:02, 9 Jun 2004 by en:User:MykReeve and marked GFDL.

Many of us speak of our pets as children, an extension of our family, and it is devastating when we lose that animal. But what about when it is the other way round?

There are numerous stories of pets mourning the loss of a beloved human owner and one such case comes from the glorious Scottish capital, Edinburgh (Auld Reekie).

In 1850, John Gray was a gardener, and together with his wife Jess and son John Gray junior, arrived in Auld Reekie, looking for work, but unable to find anything, John senior joined the local police force as a night-watchman.

The nights in those times were cold and lonely, and to keep him company, John took on a sky-terrier partner named Bobby. Together, the duo became a familiar sight trudging their beat along the cobbled streets. Through thick and thin, through rain and shine, they were faithful friends, both loyal to a fault.

However, as the years wore on, the streets took their toll on John, as he was treated for TB (tuberculosis) by the Police Surgeon.

John finally succumbed to the disease on the 15th February, 1858, and was buried

61 TPC Digital Magazine

was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard.

Bobby soon touched everyone’s hearts when he refused to leave his master’s grave, even in the worst weather conditions.

On many occasions the gardener and keeper of the kirkyard tried to evict Bobby, eventually giving up and even providing sacking beneath two tablestones as a means of warmth and shelter at the side of John Gray’s grave.

Bobby became so famous that whole crowds would gather at the entrance of the kirk waiting for the one o’clock gun (Mons Meg) that would signal the appearance of Bobby leaving the grave for his midday meal. The faithful hound would follow local joiner and cabinet maker, William Dow, to the same Coffee House that he had frequented with his now dead master, where he was given a regular meal.

But it almost came to naught when, in 1867, a new bye-law was passed that required all dogs in the capital to be licensed or they would be destroyed.

Stepping to the forefront, the Lord Provost, Sir William Chambers, decided to pay Bobby’s licence and presented him with a collar that bore a brass inscription “Greyfriars Bobby from the Lord Provost 1867 licensed”. This can be seen at the Museum of Edinburgh.

No matter how good the locals were to Bobby, he still remained loyal to his master. For fourteen years the policeman’s faithful companion kept constant watch and guard over the grave until his own death in 1872.

Upon hearing of Bobby’s passing, Baroness Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, President of the Ladies Committee of the RSPCA was so deeply moved that she asked the City Council for permission to erect a granite fountain with a statue of Bobby placed on top.

Sculptor, William Brody, sculpted the statue from life, and it was unveiled without ceremony in November 1873, opposite Greyfriars Kirkyard. And it is with that that Scotland’s Capital will always remember its most famous and faithful dog.

Written on Bobby’s own gravestone is the following inscription: “Greyfriars Bobby – died 14th January 1872 – aged 16 years Let his loyalty and devotion be a lesson to us all.”

But the story does not end there.

Far from it.

It is said that each night, Bobby can be seen sitting by his master’s grave, still keeping watch even in death. It appears this faithful dog’s loyalty still lingers on.

Below - Grave of John Gray

Below - Grave of Bobby

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Complete the puzzle by filling in the missing numbers. Once the yellow squares have been filled, email your three answers to: submissions@tpcdigitalmagazine.com For your chance to win a £20 gift voucher.

All answers in by October 10th. First name picked is the winner.

Only one winner, good luck everyone.

Word Builder How Many 3-letter words or more can you find within the word block?

And can you find from the nine-letter word?

IDEAFROB 10-words = go back to school 20-words = not bad 30-words = great work!

40-words or more = show-off

63 TPC Digital Magazine

PUB QUIZ 1 1. In which city was Boris Johnson born?

2. Which of the Beatles was walking barefoot over the zebra crossing on The Beatles’ Abbey Road album cover?

3. How many members were in the Monty Python team?

4. Which famous ship was named after the nickname of the witch Nannie Dee in the Robert Burns’s 1791 poem Tam o’ Shanter?

5. Henry VIII had two of his wives executed, Anne Boleyn was one, can you name the other?

6. Which animal can deliver a kick capable of killing a lion and also attacked singer Johnny Cash leaving him adicted to painkillers?

7. According to the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, what kind of food is eaten tomorrow, yesterday, but never today?

8. Which 2004 American drama film starring Sandra Bullcok and Matt Dillon shares its name with the collective noun for a group of rhinos?

9. Four of the five Olympic rings are green, blue, red and yellow, which colour is the fifth ring?

10. What name is given to a cage or box filled with rocks, concrete, or sometimes sand and soil for use in civil engineering?

11. Which actress sang the song “Team Work” with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope in the 1962 film The Road to Hong Kong?

12. What do galena and a Cluedo murder weapon have in common?

13. What is the Swahili word for ‘journey’?

14. True or False. The catchphrase “Beam me up, Scotty” has never been said in any Star Trek TV series or film?

15. What is the stage name of singer Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta?

16. Which continent has the largest Catholic population?

17. The M90 motorway is the most northerly motorway in the United Kingdom; which city is at its northern end?

18. What does the word ‘pont’ mean in both French and Welsh?

19. Name the world’s fourth most populated country?

20. Which American crime drama starring Alice Braga as Teresa Mendoza shares its name with the nickname of a Scottish market town?

21. What is the literal meaning of the word ‘Islam’?

22. Which hospital is the the oldest in Britain?

Above its entrance is the only public statue of King Henry VIII in London.

23. Which American university awards the Pulitzer prize?

24. Which country do swallows migrate to when they leave Britain for the winter?

25. Which slogan, used during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of a non-violence ideology, was coined by the American beat poet Allen Ginsberg? (Hint: It’s a two word slogan) 26. Which animal is the symbol of the American Republican Party?

27. “When You Wish Upon a Star” is a song written for which 1940 film?

28. Including its claws, how many legs does a crab have?

29. 16th-century pirate Francis Le Clerc, nicknamed “Pata de Palo” by the Spanish, was the first modern era pirate to have what?

30. At the 2017 Oscars, which actress incorrectly announced La La Land as Best Picture instead of the actual winner, Moonlight?

Answers In The Next Issue 64 TPC Digital Magazine

Fly Me To The Moon...

Can you find the famous flyer from the surnames of these famous people?

Philadelphian Artist of “The Gross Clinic” (1875)

This tennis champ retired in 2006 World Famous OilWell Firefighter.

Actor who played Admiral Sandecker in the 2005 film “Sahara” Director of Spider Man 2

Actor starred in 2011 film “The Social Network”

Singer of “Once In A While” From the 2008 studio album “Watershed”

Composed Scores for Broadway hit “Chorus Line”, and Films “Sting” and “The Way We Were”

Infamous Queen of Castille

This Baseball Player Held 755 Home Runs and 2297 RBIs(Runs Batted In) Peppy host of TV’s 30 Minute Meals

Famous Nigerian Author of “Things Fall Apart”

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Houston Oilers Linebacker until 1968

Health

PTSD THE HIDDEN WAR OUR VETERANS, EMERGENCY SERVICE PERSONNEL, & TRAUMA SUFFERERS FACE EVERY DAY! In this brand new segment, we explore PTSD, what it is, how it can be treated, and how it affects sufferers differently.

In this edition we talk to veterans Allon Shaftoe Bobby, Martin Weathers & Tim Evers about their experiences with PTSD

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A

car door slams shut!

To you and to your friends, its normal. People slam their car doors every day, but to the stranger close to you it’s a warning…danger…an AK-47…the start of an enemy ambush…or worse.

You carry on walking, but the stranger close to you freezes, shakes, sweats, panics.

He’s looking for cover, somewhere to hide, to avoid the imaginary bullets, or concussion from the bomb. There isn’t anywhere.

was not for these brave men and women, and the actions of our forefathers, providing us with the voice of democracy, they gave and give us the freedom that we use and abuse today. I ask that you think on this as you read their stories.

According to https://www.ptsduk.org/whatis-ptsd/who-is-affected-by-ptsd/ “it’s estimated that 1 in 10 people develop PTSD. 1 in 5 firefighters, 1 in 3 teenagers who have survived a horrific car crash, 70% of rape victims, 2 in A family member of mine served twelve years 3 Prisoners of War, 40% of people who exin the army and went out to Northern Ireland perienced a sudden death of a loved one, and during the very early stages of the “Trouan estimated 10,000 women a year following a bles”. When I lived with him I used to hear traumatic childbirth, develop PTSD.” him talking in his sleep, sometimes even calling While https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/aout. A few years before I was born, he and to-z/a/armed-forces-and-mental-health says: my mother were out shopping one afternoon, “4% reported probable post-traumatic stress a car back-fired, it sounded to my father like a disorder, 19.7% reported other common mengun-shot, he immediately pushed my mother tal disorders 13% reported alcohol misuse…” to the side and dived into a shop doorway for cover. He had been out of the army for two Allon’s Story. years by then.

Allon joined the army in December, 1986; his His is just one of many such stories from parents had both done national service in the veterans after they have left the armed forces.

Royal Air Force, but for Allon, the RAF was Over the course of the next couple of issues, I not for him. Instead he signed up with the will be featuring stories from military veterans Royal Army Medical Corps. Prior to joining and emergency personnel. I was once told that up, he had worked as an auxiliary nurse and I can honour the veterans but not condone part way through his military training, he realtheir actions. But I offer this thought:- If it ised that civilian training did not equate to 67 TPC Digital Magazine

that of the military. In 1993, Allon served in Bosnia treating victims of ethnic cleansing, coming back, Allon thought he was fine. As the years went on, he kept the mentality of “everything’s fine”, or “there’s nothing wrong with me,” unaware that he was beginning the long shadow war that nearly all veterans have to cope with. After his last deployment in 2006, Allon came home, however tragedy struck the next day when Allon’s wife passed suddenly of an undiagnosed heart complaint, leaving him a single parent with two young kids. The army rallied brilliantly to his situation, allowing him to serve the last two years of his army service.

Before coming out in 2008, Allon bought himself and his family, a property in Lancashire, somewhere they could call home.

But the shadow war within him was reaching a pivotal point.

“There are not enough CPNs in the army,” Allon told us.

“The army needs CPNs, Community Psychiatric Nurses, in barracks, at the point of an incident in order to help soldiers returning. There is still a mentality of ‘buckup and get on with it’; Soldiers come out and flood the civilian sectors.”

Allon left the army in 2008, going into the Blackpool Constabulary, but noticing that his work was not up to par, he was sent for an evaluation with the Constabulary’s medical advisor. He had barely entered the room before the doctor said that he had PTSD. At first, Allon was defensive and denying he had a problem, but over the course of the interview, he finally agreed there was something wrong.

Allon was sent for counselling and after four sessions, he said: “I came out walking on air and able to smile again”.

through his counsellor – rapid eye movement, tapping on side of his leg, etc. – he has managed to pull himself out and carry on, but without these strategies, he is not sure how he would have coped especially around days of significance, such as Christmases, or his late wife’s birthday, and so on.

“One thing that has kept me going,” Allon admitted, “is my faith.”

In 1984, Allon joined the Church of Latter Day Saints, the Mormons, and this has been another means of coping with the day to day struggles.

“Faith does help,” He told us.

“In Iraq, I would take myself off somewhere quiet for prayer and meditation, a quiet word with God. Faith does help.”

When speaking about advice he would give to soldiers coming back from deployment or ending their service, Allon said: “For the guys coming out, get help, reach out. Don’t be afraid to reach out. There are plenty of support groups on Facebook, run by guys willing to talk and who are in the same boat.”

Allon now works as a Mental Health Nurse and we wish him all the best, from everyone at TPC.

There have been days both during the counselling sessions and afterwards that Allon has gone to work in a foul mood, but thanks to strategies he had learned 68 TPC Digital Magazine

SAPPER SUPPORT

By Tim Evers Founder of Sapper Support

S

apper Support was created in the winter of 2014.

A friend of mine took his own life after suffering from PTSD when returning from Afghanistan.

When I looked into what help was available (in 2014) I couldn’t believe there wasn’t a 24:7 helpline staffed solely by veterans….so I started one.

There were helplines out there, but not staffed 100% by veterans. It seemed obvious to me that this was what was needed, as veterans can empathise with what sufferers have experienced.

So, for less than the price of a night out, I started SAPPER SUPPORT.

helpline number and text facility. We are also, contactable on many formats across the social media spectrum.

Not one for wasting resources, I made the decision to also give help to the 999 community. This decision was easily made as 80% of my volunteers worked within the emergency service arena.

The ability to understand what our callers have been through, is key to our success.

With 1:4 of emergency workers now being veterans, this gave us our 3 demographics.

Veterans, 999 employees and those who have served in both.

We are currently in partnership with 10 This service is staffed solely by volun- Fire brigades and West Mids Ambulance, teers. with more already lined up to join us.

Initially aimed at helping Royal Engineers (Sappers), this very quickly changed after a month or so, as we were being called by differing ‘cap-badges’ and family members of sufferers.

So, we became a tri-service charity.

Time constraints seem to be an issue for other charities. Not at SAPPER SUPPORT. We will talk for how ever long is needed.

We never hang up the phone…… this is down to the caller.

Our aim is to have the caller in a better frame of mind, happier than when he/ Gaining our full charity status, a year lat- she called and in possession of a strateer (Charity Number 1167986) and then gy to get them through the night, day or becoming full members of Cobseo, we weekend until they can contact their G.P. won Best New Charity 2017. or other specialised support agency when they hang up.

Within 2 years we had doubled our initial volunteers from 5 to 10. Creating a second 69 TPC Digital Magazine

One other thing that is unique to SAPPER SUPPORT is that we are in a position to pay for private assessments. A doctor’s referral can take up to 4 months. A timescale that I found wholly unacceptable, as this gave rise to the possibility of veterans/999 not making it to their appointment, due to suicide. So, SAPPER SUPPORT now funds private assessments to determine a diagnosis. No one has had to wait more than 2 weeks for an assessment. Thus, removing the 4 months wait.

We also, help to fund treatment up to the cost of £500.

This can be for callers, or their family members, as their health (stress) impacts on the health of our chosen demographics.

Since our creation we have been extremely successful in preventing individuals from self-harming or taking their own lives. This can be proven by the number of letters and testimonials we have received saying this.

Our Founder, Tim Evers was awarded a British Citizens Award for his services to mental health in 2019.

Inspiration of the Year 2019. British Ex-forces in Business Awards We plan to recruit a further 28 volunteers to create a national framework of support hubs around the UK. This is out next goal.

Lastly, SAPPER SUPPORT created the UK’s only PTSD (associated Mental Health issues) Memorial in 2018, situated at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. We have also, just created a virtual memorial on our website. The numbers of those who have taken their own lives is staggering, and will only grow.

Therefore, having a virtual memorial where families can add lost ones is a perfect solution.

We have infinite space, creating a virtual index.

We have also, been honoured with awards for our work.

Best New Charity 2017 Best Charity 2018 Best Mental Health Support Charity 2018 and 2019 Duke of York Community initiative Award 2019

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71 TPC Digital Magazine

Why I Joined the Veterans Charity Martin Weathers

I

“found” The Veterans Charity Facebook page purely by accident while I was looking for something totally different!

However, I took the time to read up about what the Charity was doing and thought that they certainly deserved my support. At that time, I worked part-time in a local retail store and asked the CEO to send me a Charity Pot that I could place on the counter so that customers could donate their spare change should they wish to wish he kindly did.

The first month, I banked over £40 in donations from customer’s directly to the Charity’s Bank Account and this continued.

I started reading more and more how some poor Veterans were struggling (which I copied as evidence to people who donated - most had never even heard of the Charity!).

In January 2014, I decided I could and should do more and asked to join the fundraising Team, planning local Events, street collections, etc. alongside my work and family life.

Although this role is purely voluntary (alongside the other members dotted around the Country; who coincidentally are also all Veterans themselves), I try to find time to promote the Charity, normally on-line, but I also arrange collections in my local area.

A few months after joining the Veterans Charity Team and having already had some approaches from struggling Veterans in my area (one elderly gentleman received a brand new wheelchair to help his mobility, another a new cooker after his conked out), I found my own washing machine had broken down.

As my wife and I were both on minimum wage and worked part-time, this was an essential item that we just couldn’t afford to replace ourselves (our contents insurance wouldn’t pay out for wear and tear and regardless, the excess was £250 - but when I spoke to Danny, he arranged a brand new washing machine to be delivered and the old one to be collected and recycled!

We were completely gobsmacked and truly thankful for this!

The Veterans Charity DO NOT provide financial aid in any way - but they provide peace of mind and a sense that someone IS looking out for us when we need it, by providing food shopping, white goods, mobiity aids, etc. and if necessary referral to other Charities for longer term support.

This is why I firmly support and encourage Veterans who find themselves in dire situations to contact The Veterans Charity, even if it is just for simple advice.

They are the RAPID reaction Charity, who pride themselves on getting support to those who need it within 48 hours (although most of the time this is a lot quicker!).

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Gallery

SHERIDAN’S GALLERY

DREAM – DO –DELIVER T

his is the first of three articles about the entire practise and procedures that goes into creating a set of images.

This article will cover the conception and thoughts behind creating a shoot, what we think about, how we conceptualize an idea and what processes we go through to bring our ideas to life.

Clara is originally from Greece but has modelled almost exclusively in the UK. She has appeared in magazines and was a catwalk model both in Greece and in the UK. We sat down in the delights of the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. A holiday resort in the North West of England. We had journeyed there to attend a Comic con event and to brainstorm ideas for upcoming shoots, over coffee I interviewed Ms Taylor.

Allow me to introduce one of the most important elements of this project Ms Clara Taylor. Who I have worked with now for over a year both in studio and on location, together we create some of my most eye catching images.

She is quite petite, with dark almost midnight black hair, her skin is not the Mediterranean norm but light, translucent almost ethereal. Her eyes are dark almost black and always smiling; her lips are full and expressive. White jeans and a startling red jacket distinguish her from the crowd of costumed cos players and Holidaying families. As we sit in the darkened coffee shop her eyes wander to the passing characters and whilst her attention is drawn away from the conversation I can see ideas forming, a slight upturn in her smile, the way her eyes follow a certain character. Her fingers play in her long wavy hair as ideas are already be-

ginning to take form. I allow her to follow her train of thought then I begin gently to ask her about her ideas and inspirations.

Ste: So Clara where do your ideas come from? On Many occasions you have come to me with the kernel of an idea.

Clara: My ideas are from my childhood, the magazines I used to read when I was home in Greece, as a child I would read the fashion magazines, see the beautiful clothes in the shop windows and watch the television advertisements. I would read about the fairy tales in books, about Good and Evil how the Good people always won the day. My father would love to watch the Karate films and I would sit with him and watch them too, they were full of action and sounds, explosions and colours. I loved the Ninja’s Ste: Which is interesting, because when I pitched you the idea for a Japan Geisha shoot you mentioned swords and action. I remember your eyes come alive not at the mention of Geisha but when I showed you some Ninja moves on YouTube.

Eventually this planning became Ichi Ronin a Fantasy Martial art shoot comprising Ninja swords, black combat outfits, a Dragon and a fantasy material shoot paying homage to Crouching tiger style cinema. The same style I pitched but filtered through her childhood imagination.

Clara: On that shoot I was looking for anything in my wardrobe that I could use, I was using my imagination along with the shoot board you sent me ( a shoot board is a set of images we send out to give the other person an idea of the style of the shoot we don’t exactly copy the pictures

74 TPC Digital Magazine

but rather take a style from all of them) I remember that I had ordered a Geisha costume from the internet, it only arrived about an hour before you picked me up for the shoot, I hadn’t even time to iron it. Also I don’t like the cold at home in Greece its warm most of the time but in England its very cold, so on a shoot I try to wear as many layers as I can.

Ste: I remember on that shoot we had planned it for about six months, bringing in a MUA (Make up Artist) so you would be styled just like a Geisha. However on the day it was dull, cold and raining, so our full day shoot was reduced to fifty minutes. I also remember you had the black Ninja outfit on plus a coat on top and when you changed into the Geisha outfit you just put it over the Ninja, I did a little post processing to remove parts of the black outfit. It was all worth it.

I also remember you jumping from rock to rock, bringing swords with tassels attached and you and Trisha (MUA) discussing how to wear a belt (eventually it became a headband) This is so relevant to any of our shoots, the planning, wardrobe look of the shoot is fluid, it mutates as ideas form, either one of us can see something on the day and we will build upon a previous shoot or an idea which might have been long abandoned, when working together the initial shot will happen more or less as planned once I have the shot in camera I will then begin to ‘work the shoot’ I will change the angle or the prop, Clara will dynamically follow me, or she will do something from her own imagination, at this point I will ‘step away’ from the directing I normally do and allow the professional model to do her job, to use her skills and imagination to add to the shoot.

Ste: One of your many strengths is your adaptability and imaginative uses of costume, is this something you enjoy in

your private life? As a lot of your ideas begin with fabric or costumes?

Clara: Yes it’s important that I have the right outfit; I try to use whatever I have in my wardrobe (When Clara says wardrobe, she actually means Wardrobes. I mean literally more than one wardrobe full of costumes, clothes, props.

It’s like a movie prop room) If I can’t find anything the photographers wants me to wear I will try to get the same or similar thing when I shop online, I can spend a lot of time looking for outfits or props often when I am looking at shopping sites I send Ste some picture, then it starts again. He will send an idea back to me, which I have to sometime get Google

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translate to change into Greek. He sometimes uses words I don’t have any English for. Once I know what he wants, I find that we have another idea for a shoot. One shoot builds and leads onto another shoot, it’s like a story we are telling, a long one.

The stories begin with my childhood, my Mother used to dress me in gypsy dresses and styles of cloths, I loved the dancers and I love the Spanish dancers. A lot of my ideas come from watching videos and music videos on my computer. I have many ideas when I watch the music ones. Sometimes when I am walking along the street I see someone dressed in a certain way, its this type of thing which give me ideas. Then I send them to Ste and he looks at them then we either do the same type of thing or he does something different or better.

We have now a parting of the waves, the Ice queen and a spectacular material shot planned as well.

Two creative’s with an imagination and a trust in each other that we can make something special.

Next up: The Do part, the actual shoot process either on location or in studio, where maybe we meet our MUA, our key lighting man, dogs, missing sandwiches, the most popular model in the North of England and a spectacular bridal sunset.

Ste and Clara

Ste: And again this is the fusion of ideas and cultural upbringing which leads to ideas neither one of us would think to do on our own. It’s a way of working which relies completely upon two creative’s using what we have in the real world, taking that and changing it into something very unique and very special.

So this is just a taste on one meeting and a small interview between a photographer and a model. But it’s something much more than that it’s the joining of two ancient cultures, the melding of ideas and cultural appropriations to create and realise ideas that can be shared across the world with the click of a button.

As a side note from this meeting and an hour’s walk around the comic con we met King Conan, John Carter, and Tarl.

Which will feature in upcoming shoots?

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77 TPC Digital Magazine

Advertising

Tales of Hopeless Maine

By Tom & Nimue Brown

78 TPC Digital Magazine

W

e are launching our new line of Hopeless, Maine illustrated fiction with this crowdfunding campaign. Two lavishly illustrated volumes set on our island lost in time area available, along with some extras, and stretch goals. Hopeless, Maine began life as a popular graphic novel series by Tom and Nimue Brown, but our tentacles are spreading and many things are happening on the island as other wonderful creative sorts join us in our strange playground. £8 or more will get you both books in PDF format £15 or more, and both print volumes will be sent to you. (other levels are available if you are interested in only one book in PDF or print format) This is very much like the victorian model of subscription publishing, which is very much in keeping with the theme and tone of the books.

We aim to enchant, and we very much hope you will join us! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/countrostov/tales-of-hopeless-maine http://hopelessmaine.com/ (Tumblr) http://gothicmangaka.tumblr.com/ (Gallery) http://copperage.deviantart.com/ 79 TPC Digital Magazine

TPC Digital Magazine Pendle Publications UK, Unit A 82 James Carter Road Mildenhall Industrial Estate Bury St Edmunds Suffolk, IP28 7DE 80 TPC Digital Magazine