In continuation of the HIDDEN CREATURES theme:
PHOENIX: (n) a mythical bird of great beauty fabled to live 500 or 600 years in the Arabian wilderness, to burn itself on a funeral pyre, and to rise from its ashes in the freshness of youth and live through another cycle of years: often an emblem of immortality or of reborn idealism or hope.
There are Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Egyptian, and Native American counterparts of the Phoenix. (Fêng-Huang, Ho-oo, Firebird, Benu, and Yel respectively). All of these birds are identified with the sun.
"A mythical bird that never dies, the phoenix flies far ahead to the front, always scanning the landscape and distant space. It represents our capacity for vision, for collecting sensory information about our environment and the events unfolding within it. The phoenix, with its great beauty, creates intense excitement and deathless inspiration." - The Feng Shui Handbook, feng shui Master Lam Kam Chuen
Phoenix, in ancient Egypt and in Classical antiquity, a fabulous bird associated with the worship of the sun. The Egyptian phoenix was said to be as large as an eagle, with brilliant scarlet and gold plumage and a melodious cry. Only one phoenix existed at any time, and it was very long-lived—no ancient authority gave it a life span of less than 500 years. As its end approached, the phoenix fashioned a nest of aromatic boughs and spices, set it on fire, and was consumed in the flames. From the pyre miraculously sprang a new phoenix, which, after embalming its father’s ashes in an egg of myrrh, flew with the ashes to Heliopolis (“City of the Sun”) in Egypt, where it deposited them on the altar in the temple of the Egyptian god of the sun, Re. A variant of the story made the dying phoenix fly to Heliopolis and immolate itself in the altar fire, from which the young phoenix then rose.
The Egyptians associated the phoenix with immortality, and that symbolism had a widespread appeal in late antiquity. The phoenix was compared to undying Rome, and it appears on the coinage of the late Roman Empire as a symbol of the Eternal City. It was also widely interpreted as an allegory of resurrection and life after death—ideas that also appealed to emergent Christianity.
In Islamic mythology the phoenix was identified with the ʿanqāʾ (Persian: sīmorgh), a huge mysterious bird (probably a heron) that was originally created by God with all perfections but thereafter became a plague and was killed.
Info. courtesy from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/phoenix-mythological-bird and http://mythicalrealm.com/creatures/phoenix.html
TROLL: a dwarf or giant in Scandinavian folklore inhabiting caves or hills OR an imaginary, either very large or very small creature in traditional Scandinavian stories, that has magical powers and lives in mountains or caves.
Theodor Severin Kittelsen (1857-1914), a great Norwegian artist, is known as the “father” of all trolls. His inspiration came from folktales about wild and stupid trolls, but trolls were not ugly or stupid, on the contrary, they were cunning and witchcraft knowledgeable. Kittelsen’s imagination gave the trolls their peculiar appearance. According to an ancient belief, a troll was reputed to be anti-Christian, since this religion became a stronghold in Sweden in the 1300s. To this present day, the smell of Christians and the sound of church bells greatly disgust trolls.
The troll is a fascinating mythological creature, well-known not only in Sweden but also in all surrounding Scandinavian countries. These curious beings – usually hairy, huge and ugly in appearance - may come in varying shapes and sizes, some may even have 9 heads.
The trolls could be invisible or behave in the shape of different animals or objects, but usually they looked like ordinary people with beautiful clothes. They lived in larger or smaller families, had own cattle and could have their residence underground, in forests, in a castle, under bridges, in lakes, sea shore.
The king of all trolls is rumored to live on a mountain and is considered a wealthy troll, with piles of stored silver and gold. The trolls that live alone and isolated in huts within a forest, are deemed to be the most dangerous.
Information courtesy of: http://www.ancientpages.com/2016/03/06/uggly-trolls-fascinating-mythical-creatures-scandinavia/
Date: Monday, 23 July 2018
Time: 07h00 to 08h00
Place: Bean Tree, Hobart Shopping Centre Spar, Cnr Hobart & Grosvenor Rds, Bryanston
We look forward to seeing you there!