FREE IN MERIDA

En las horas antes de la medianoche del 30 de Septiembre, los invitados se reunen en silencio o cantando con murmullos funestos. La bienvenida se les da "Hermano(a)______, bienvenido." Se les da un manto negro, que ellos han de ponerse, y una calabaza.

Sentados en círculo alrededor de un cráneo y una calabaza se les recuerda que el cráneo representa los orígenes del Halloween, el festival de la Muerte. La calabaza representa la otra parte de la celebración, la cosecha. Se da la bienvenida al mes de Octubre y se menciona lo que este mes se hará. Para honrar el Samhain se iluminan las calabazas con la luz de la calabaza central y se hace la caminata nocturna.

Finalmente, al regresar se baila la Danza Macabra que pone fin a la ceremonia y se comen dulces de Halloween hasta podrirse los dientes.

POCIONES

Que lindo tener los conocimientos que puedan forjar los más primitivos deseos del amor y el odio. Aprender a hechizar la mente, encadenar a los sentidos, embotellar la fama, cocer la gloria y detener la muerte; todas esas beldades son las que nos prometen una clase de pociones en Hogwats, claro, si es posible aguantar a un maestro tan odioso como Severus Snape. De todas formas, las nociones de la magia negra y la creación de pociones mágicas son tan antiguas como los canderos mismos y de ahi nació la medicina y la ciencia de los fármacos. Hay que respetar el pasado.

Así que he decidido comenzar mi recolecciones de botellitas de cristal y todo recipiente malévolo donde pueda guardar al menos los ingredientes de las pociones mágicas de antaño y del folklore aunque no pueda reproducir sus efectos. ¿Te sobran botellas de cristal? Grandes, muy grandes, pequeñas o chiquititas. Avísame y voy por ellas. Promoción sólo para la ciudad de Mérida, Yuc. México.

Y algún día tener un cuarto (o una mazmorra) así.

O al menos encontrarme uno así.

Y ahora una lecciones de historia, pero en inglés, sobre pociones.

The Witches' Brew - What is that?

"The witches' brew was apparently to be used to hurt or kill people or
to mutilate cattle

"Ingredients of the Witches Brew"

The three witches in Shakespeare's Macbeth, who fell under the
protection of Hecate, prepared a "charmed cauldron" whose ingredients
are precisely listed (act 4, scene1). In the kettle, which is
surrounded by elf spirits, the first witch placed the first
ingredient, a toad. (129) The second witch added more ingredients :

Fillet of a fenny snake
In the cauldron boil and bake :
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and howlet's wing *
The third witch had even more to offer :

Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
Witches' mummy, maw and gulf
Of the ravined salt-sea shark,
Root of the hemlock,  digged  i'th' dark;
Liver  of blaspheming Jew,
Gall of goat, and slips of yew,
Slivered in the moon's eclipse;
Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips,
Finger of birth-strangled babe,
Ditch-delivered by a drab,
Make the gruel thick and slab,
For the finale, Pavian's blood is added. Unfortunately, Shakespeare
does not reveal how the witches' gruel is used.

In this recipe two plants are named directly henbane (Hyoscyamus
niger)130 and poison hemlock (Conium maculatum, Cicuta virosa ). The
other ingredients seem to be parts of animals, but these designations
were probably secret or ritual names of plants.The rat's blood is
called 'slips of yew,' and wolf's teeth is a folk name for ergot
(Golowin,1973: 42). The author, who dabbled in herbalism and alchemy,
probably did not write down a general recipe for the witches' potion,
but preserved for eternity a preparation of ingredients whose names
were kept secret (cf. Tabor,190). These plants belong to the
pharmacologically active ingredients of the witches' drink."

More on the Witches' brew...

"A number of written accounts are available which speak of the use of
Ointments or Unguents to enable a Witch to fly. They include; ''The
Book of the Sacred Magic of Abremelin The Mage', (1458), by Abraham
the Jew, and 'De Miraculis Rerum Naturalium', (1560) by Giovanni
Battista Porta, (both these texts are in the British Library however
access to them is restricted). In the account of Abraham the Jew, he
is provided an unguent by a young Witch that after rubbing on the
principal pulses of the feet and hands, created a sensation of flying.
Porta's account has a section which is entitled 'Laiarum Unguenta',
"Witches Unguents", in this he describes the recipe of flying
ointments.
 
An investigation of these accounts and the ceremonial ointments used
by Witches at their Sabbaths, reveal a number of plants which have
extreme physical and psychological effects when taken internally or
rubbed on the skin. Many of them are extremely poisonous and the
reports of their use by rubbing into specific areas of the body or all
over, demonstrates a recognition of the lethal properties of these
plants if taken internally.
 
The use of plants to promote a sense of flying, "out of body
experience" and the ability to convene with the Spiritual World, is a
recurrent theme in many ancient religious practices. The Shamans of
America and priests and priestesses of religions throughout the world
share the Witches use of specific plants to extend the normal
boundaries of human experience.
 
While there are a number of recipes for Flying ointments, there are
many difficulties in identifying the plants exactly. There was no
universal plant classification system during these times, many plants
share common names or are confused with others, finally the chances of
mistranslating from these ancient texts are high.
 
Despite these problems a number of plants were known to be associated
with Witches and even the common names of some plants provide a clue
to their uses. Certain plants occur regularly in recipes of Flying
Ointments and Witches Sabbath ointments. These include:

Deadly Nightshade. (Atropa Belladonna).
Monkshood. (Aconitum Napellus).
Henbane. (Hyoscyamus Niger).
Thornapple. (Datura stramonium).
Poplar.
Foxglove.
Poppy.
Cinquefoil.
Smallage.
Woody Nightshade.
Hemlock and Water Hemlock
Parsley.
Wild Celery. (Apium graveolens)."


"A more recent experiment was conducted on the night of the 30st
April, the Walpurgis Sabbath, 1992, by an individual known to this
writer, who we will call Richard, it was described as follows; The
unguent was rubbed on the pulse points of the hands and feet, after 5
minutes, a great feeling of tiredness and coldness overcame me and I
lay down, my breathing slowed and I began to feel a bit panicky that I
would die, however I convinced myself that if I did go into
respiratory collapse or heart failure the instructions I had left with
a friend who was attending me would enable him to provide artificial
respiration and call an ambulance. My understanding of time became
impossible so I could not decide how long my experiences lasted.
Eventually I stopped being fearful and my mind seemed to be becoming
detached from its normal state, there was still a feeling of coldness
then I seemed to be floating upwards. I found myself soaring above the
rooftops of London and my body was no longer human it had become
amorphous like a giant squid, with its tentacles streaming behind it.
With a little concentration I could change my body into virtually any
shape I so desired. I seemed to be heading West and eventually came to
a hillside, there I met a number of other people who informed me that
the meeting place was not on this world but in the stars.

I immediately shot into the sky towards a very bright star, I was not
alone and as I flew towards the star many others were with me, our
bodies seemed to melt into each other and I remember intense
sensations of pleasure running up and down my body, which at the same
time was not my body but everyones, it's difficult to describe.
Eventually I came to an enormous hall and walked upon its cold floor
towards a flight of steps, either side of the hall were enormous
pillars that stretched up so high I could not see a ceiling. As I came
to the top of the steps I saw a hooded figure of a woman, she looked
at me though her face was hidden by the hood. I suddenly felt an
incredible sensation of power emanating from the woman and I became
very frightened. The woman began to remove her hood and through fear I
averted my gaze, a voice in my head told me to look up, I did and the
face of the woman shone so brightly it hurt, not just my eyes but my
whole body. I then remember a sensation of falling and cannot remember
anything else."

Oh Yeah! Don't try this at home!

La Bruja Hazel. ¿Acaso existe una bruja tan encantadoramente divertida como la de los Looney Tunes? Tampoco lo creo. Ella ha salido de la imaginación de Chuck Jones cuando veía "Truco o Trato" con la Hazel de Disney. Hazel apareció por primera vez en el corto animado llamado "Bewitched Bunny - Conejo Embrujado (1954" y se convierte rápidamente en la némesis del Conejo Bugs. Para ver el vídeo haz click aqui.

La historia recuenta el clásico "Hansel y Gretel" y la bruja Hazel, naturalmente, hace el rol de la bruja hambrienta que trata de cocinar y comerse a dos niños. Bugs Bunny es testigo del plan de la bella bruja y se las ingenia para salvar a los niños de las garras de Hazel dejando a la pobrecita más hambrienta que antes. Sin embargo, una vez que la bruja ve que Bugs, quien ha estado disfrazado es un conejo, lo sigue para echarlo al caldero y hacerse un brebaje para comer. El intrepido de Bugs Bunny usa la propia magia de la Bruja Hazel en su contra y la transforma en una conejita muy sexy. Y de ahi surge la famosa frase "¿Pero no son todas unas brujas en el interior?" - Ouch!

La Bruja Hazel ha interpretado más veces su precioso papel y esperamos siempre tenerla viva, corriendo tras sus víctimas y tirando sus invisibles al salir despavorida, y buscando un bocadillo o dos entre los Looney Tunes.

In dark times and sad moments one can only think of Halloween fashion to cheer oneself up and dream of happy scary times that are brought by that spooky time of the year when we celebrate Death and the Dead. For Halloween's sake here's a collage of its fashion. Men & Women choose black and dark colors. Death comes in every one of them, but black & white are its favorites.

Se acerca la Noche de Brujas y aún no sabes qué regalarme. Fácil, míra entre mi lista de deseos a seguir.

Michael Myers de juguete y anatómicamente correcto por favor, sin ninguna pieza importante faltante y no hablo de su cuchillo largo y filoso ¿o si?

El juguete parlante de SAW con todo y frases de muerte y sadismo. Una lindura para cualquier amante del gore de la nueva era.

Blinky con todos sus tres ojos en calcomanía saludando a las monstruosidades de la contaminación que terminan siendo preciosas.

Porta-velas de Jack Skellington y Sallie la muñeca fea. ¿Caros? Tal vez, pero sabes que lo valgo CHEAP-O!

Ainmalitos muertos de peluche - ¡ siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii ! La mezcla perfecta entre ternura y morbosidad que me fascina.

Kitsune de Krypt Kiddies a la venta en Plaza Dorada por la módica cantidad de... Mejor vé y cómpramela :D Será la hija que nunca quise. Pues he aqui la primera ronda de ideas para este próximo Halloween y qué comprar a tus seres queridos (YO).

I don't like Bjork. Not the person, at least. But I do like some of her music.

Poesía Pagana por Bjork

Pedalling through
The dark currents
I find
An accurate copy
A blueprint
Of the pleasure
In me

Swirling black lilies totally ripe
A secret code carved
Swirling black lilies totally ripe
A secret code carved

He offers
A handshake
Crooked
Five fingers
They form a pattern
Yet to be matched

On the surface simplicity
But the darkest pit in me
It's pagan poetry
Pagan poetry

Morsecoding signals
They pulsate and wake me up
From my hibernating

On the surface simplicity
Swirling black lilies totally ripe
But the darkest pit in me
It's pagan poetry
Swirling black lilies totally ripe
Pagan poetry

Swirling black lilies totally ripe

I love him, I love him
She loves him, she loves him

This time
I'm gonna keep me all to myself
She loves him, she loves him
And he makes me want to hurt myself again
She loves him, she loves him
And he makes me want to hand myself over

El vídeo es único, como ella es de original y mal comprandida, y mezcla imágenes cotidianas de tal forma que parecen escenas de orgasmos y coito. El susto viene al ver los pechos de muñeca de Bjork expuestos entre las perlas de su cuello y su cabello al viento. Poesía pagana, un título que me pone a pensar en nuestra urbanidad y en lo que hemos caído. El diario ir y venir de la gente sin sentido y sin huella. La vida es una y somos nosotros quienes podemos hacer el cambio entre dejar una huella en el camino o perdernos en el anonimato de la medriocridad del s. XXI y su globalización. Al finalizar el día pregúntate si has hecho lo suficiente para dormir tranquilo y despertar en paz.

Jack Spooky, Zull & Peggy forman el grupo que une el goth y el rock como nunca antes en Japón. Con su debut de "Pumpkin Scream" en 2005 comenzó su carrera que ha llegado hasta el último corazón gótico del planeta. Una banda chida que todo con el corazón negro o el morbo por el goth debe conocer. Vídeos disponibles en youtube AQUI como todo lo demás en este mundo loco.

Halloween… fantasmas, monstruos, brujas, duendes y el The Candy Spooky Theater. Además de pasear por las calles con el "truco o trato", parece que no hay mejor forma de celebrar el Halloween que escuchando a la Halloweenesca música de rock de este grupo. The Candy Spooky Theater, una banda de rock japonesa cuya música y estilo están basados en el terror, el Halloween y las películas de Tim Burton. ¡¡¡ Nada mejor !!!

El trio (Jack Spooky, Zull, and Peggy) crean una mezcla única de rock y horror que deja intrigado y más que eso. Su música va y viee entre los estilos góticos de J-Rock y las mezclas de Halloween - con gritos y toda la cosa.

Su arte funciona para los fans y los curiosos también; eso los hace genial para la Noche de Brujas y cualquier otra noche del año si te encanta el Halloween. Hay que amar a una banda de Halloween de un país que no lo celebra.

Swimming with all the
Yellow daffodils
So golden, so bright

All of our days
Flying high
Dragonflies in a blue sky

My heart beats
Beats for you
Only you

En español sería cempasúchil - Me encanta "Yellow Daffodils" de Malia & Erik Truffaz aunque no veo el punto de pedir tanto perdón en una relación a menos que la cagues en serio. Y quizás sea más sano perdonar antes de que pidan perdón para tener la conciencia tranquila. Al menos así prefiero pensar para sacar las cosas que estorban dentro de uno y seguir adelante pisando fuerte. J'aime bien les fleurs; je voudrais vivre dans le jardin sauvage de mes rêves. Peut-être un fois, qui sait? Now the dead days are over and the dark nights start to fill my soul. The weekend's here and it's all about the Halloween and that special night when ghosts and ghouls come and have dinner with us mere mortals. Enjoy the weekend!