If Valentine’s Day isn’t your thing (or even if it is), the month of February has something else to celebrate – and you can do it for 15 days instead of just one!
In 2019, the Chinese New Year begins February 5th and runs until February 19th. Also called the Spring Festival, it is the most important holiday in China and a time for family gatherings. According to the Chinese calendar, each year is influenced by an astrological animal, and 2019 is the Year of the Pig. Also known as the Boar, it will reign until January 24, 2020.
Western
culture may not think much of the pig—except during BBQ season! But in China
and much of Asia, the pig is a symbol of abundance, wealth, and good fortune.
2019 is predicted to be a very good year to add to one’s abundance in every
area, to invest, and to make more money. Because the Pig symbolizes success in
all avenues of life, a sense of renewed optimism usually accompanies him. 2019
may bring greater happiness, love, and friendship.
That is, unless you’re born in a Pig year… The irony of the Chinese Calendar is that everyone does well in a Pig year—except the Pig. (This is true of all the animal signs—you are considered to be less lucky in a year ruled by your zodiac sign, and more prone to trouble.)
At least
if you’re a Pig person, you’ve got lots of good qualities: the brave,
responsible and independent Pig is also known for being loving, considerate,
generous, and loyal. Hardworking and honest to a fault, the Pig can be too
trusting of others and easily taken advantage of. But the Pig’s friends will
always come running to help. Add that to the longevity and health attributed to
the Pig, and it’s an all-round good sign to have!
The animals of the zodiac rotate in a 12-year cycle. Pig years are 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007 and of course, 2019. The next one will be 2031. In addition to the animals taking turns, each year is also influenced by one of five elements – wood, fire, earth, metal or water. Earth is the element for 2019.
Color
plays a role as well, and yellow is the auspicious color for 2019. That makes
it not only an Earth Pig year, but a GOLDEN PIG year, which occurs only once
every 60 years. No wonder so many anticipate that 2019 will bring abundance!
Don’t forget, however, that abundance doesn’t always mean money. It can also be
a very good time to simply enjoy life.
To invite the Pig’s good fortune, pictures or figurines of pigs may be displayed in the home or workplace. After all, it’s no accident that “piggy banks” are in the shape of pigs!
The idea of strange and mysterious creatures sharing our world has always fascinated me. As a little kid, I soooo wanted Nessie to be real (and I wanted a sea monster of my very own!)
Even now, as an alleged grownup, few things would excite me more than to see a major news network announce that the Sasquatch was alive and well and reading the Seattle Times in a Pacific Northwest forest.
Why? Maybe because one of my hobbies is collecting myths and legends from many cultures. Maybe because I grew up on a steady diet of science fiction and fantasy, and I write paranormal and fantasy novels now. It might also have something to do with my addiction to monster movies (I can usually be counted on to drop everything and bring the popcorn!) Mostly it’s that my imagination and creativity thrive on a single driving question:
“What if?”
Unknown animals have been dubbed “cryptids”, and cryptozoology is the study of such undiscovered creatures. The root of both words comes from the Greek word kriptos, meaning hidden. What if, indeed!
ANIMALS ALLEGED TO EXIST BUT NOT CONFIRMED:
The most well-known aspect of cryptozoology, the one which tends to capture most of the media attention, concerns the search for animals which are alleged to exist but are not confirmed. This includes the aforementioned “classics” like the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot—but they’re only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
The Beast of Bray Road is a werewolf-like being reported to live in Wisconsin. The Thunderbird with its 14-foot wingspan is still said to follow storms from Texas to Illinois. The Ogopogo is a legendary lake monster in British Columbia, Canada (see my post: http://herebemagic.blogspot.com/2018/06/is-there-monster-in-your-lake.html ). And a sea serpent named Caddy has been sighted off the northwest Pacific coast.
You’ve probably heard about the Chupacabra of Mexico and the American Southwest, which is said to drink the blood of goats. The Jersey Devil purportedly haunts the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey, while Florida is allegedly home to both the Skunk Ape and the Muck Monster.
Around the world, there are countless cryptid stories. The Himalayan mountains is believed to be the territory of a number of primate creatures such as the Yeti, the Buru and the Barmanu. Another primate, the Yowie, is Australian.
Mongolian Death Worm – Image: Bigstock.com
One of my favorites? The Mongolian Death Worm. Who couldn’t love a title like that? This large snake-like creature is said to live beneath the sand in remote areas of the Gobi Desert. Residents there claim the bright red worm kills by spraying an acid-like venom or by electrocuting its victims!
I don’t know if these cryptids inspired the mighty sandworms of Frank Herbert’s Dune novels, but they did apparently influence the “graboids” of the movie Tremors (and yes, I’ll admit to owning that movie – popcorn, anyone?).
ANIMALS THOUGHT TO BE EXTINCT
What you might not know is that Cryptozoology encompasses two other fields of investigation. One is the search for still-living examples of animals generally thought to be extinct. For instance, tales are told in South America of the mapinguari, a 10-foot tall mammal with huge backward-facing claws that lives in the deep jungle. The descriptions are eerily similar to that of the Giant Ground Sloth (megatherium) that lived in the region 10,000 years ago.
The swamps, creeks and waterholes of Australia may be the home of the carnivorous bunyip or kianpraty, described as having a doglike face, tusks, and flippers. Some think the bunyip may be a prehistoric marsupial which did not go extinct.
The ancient Coelacanth is alive and well… Image: Bigstock.com
The premise of The Meg, a 2018 movie, is that a giant prehistoric shark (megalodon) could still be swimming in the unexplored depths of our oceans. And hey, there could be hope for that theory if you look at the story of a six-foot-long carnivorous fish called the coelacanth. This bony creature was believed to have gone extinct 65 million years ago. That is, until someone caught one off the coast of Africa in 1938! Since that time we’ve learned that there are not one but two species of this primitive fish still lurking in the depths, and you can see some of National Geographic’s video footage at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jl_txxYQEA
KNOWN ANIMALS SIGHTED IN NEW PLACES
The third area of cryptozoology concerns animals which are known to exist, but are being sighted in areas very far from their usual habitat. Are black panthers roaming the British countryside? And what about the stories of giant black cats in many American states from Alabama to Texas and beyond—including the Ozark Howler? Are they escaped pets or former zoo animals? Or variations of indigenous animals?
Are big black cats roaming in new territory? Image: Bigstock.com
Although stories of black mountain lions persist, science holds that leopards and jaguars are the only big cats whose coloration can be entirely black. In recent years, a few jaguars were confirmed present in Arizona and New Mexico – areas where the species once lived many years ago. So far, however, the confirmed jaguars were all spotted, not black.
CRYPTIDS NO MORE
Would it surprise you to know that the mountain gorilla, the okapi, the Komodo dragon, the platypus, the kangaroo and the giant panda were all once thought to be fictional creatures?
Sri Lankan legends tell of the ulama, a terrifying horned bird that screams in the night. In 2001, it was discovered to be a new (and very large) species of owl! A similar thing happened in Western Indonesia, where Moni folklore featured the bondegezou — the “man of the forest”. In 1994, an animal new to science was discovered there: the dingiso. This black and white tree marsupial spends a lot of time on the ground and often stands upright.
DO WE NEED CRYPTIDS?
You only have to glance through the TV guide to see that interest in cryptids has grown exponentially in recent years. For some it’s a serious pursuit. For others, it’s just good fun. But whether we want to believe or just want to be entertained, cryptids have an important job:
Humans need things to wonder at and things to wonder about. As our lives become increasingly ruled by technology, the more we may take comfort in the idea that not everything in our world has been documented and catalogued, that we don’t know everything there is to know. That there are still mysteries…
And we still get to ask “what if?”
………………………………………………………………………………..
Written by Dani Harper
Originally published on the HERE BE MAGIC blog on January 15, 2019
My author friend, PG Forte, wrote a post about a fun NEW canine-oriented holiday! Plus she has a list of wolfish book titles from the fantasy authors at Here Be Magic. Check it out at:
The tradition of breaking the wishbone is surprisingly old! Check out the fascinating folklore associated with this custom – just in time for the holidays! By Dani Harper on the HERE BE MAGIC blog.
The Fae in these novels are inspired by old stories I heard and read as a child. Between my Welsh gramma and ready access to a entire library of British books, I learned that faeries were not to be trifled with.
FORGET EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT TINKERBELL!
Faery beings come in all sizes and shapes from ethereally beautiful to monstrously frightening. But it’s their unpredictable temperament you have to watch out for – the Fae are easily offended, volatile, amoral, and even violent.
While occasionally some may be helpful to humans, more often they delight in tormenting them. Their motives can range from child-like mischief (souring milk, knocking down fences, pulling hair) to downright evil (kidnapping, cursing, or even killing mortals). And of course, there’s always a few that just like to eat people…
No wonder people have been trying to protect themselves from faeries for the last three thousand years or more!
PLANT PROTECTIONS
Marsh Marigolds.
Historically, garlands were often made of marsh marigolds and hung over the barn doors to protect the horses from being ridden to exhaustion by fairies in the night. Flowers, especially primroses, were spread over windowsills and hung above the door-posts of the house for safety. Your best bet, however, was a plant called St. John’s Wort. Wearing it was said to provide strong protection from fairy magic and mischief.
Fairies could vanish at will and remain invisible to mortal eyes for as long as they pleased. Carrying a four-leafed clover would allow you to see the fairies – but only once. A Celtic tradition was to sew several of the clovers into a tiny bag to be worn around the neck. You could then discern the fairies once for each clover in the bag. In some legends, the clover was said to allow you to see through fairy glamors and magical disguises.
Red berries were believed to keep fairies at bay, especially if they were from rowan trees, mountain ash or holly. So did red verbena (a flower). Daisies were often tucked into children’s pockets or woven into fanciful chains to wear around their necks to prevent them from being taken away by the faeries. And if you were walking through the woods, it was best to carry a walking stick or staff made of ash or rowan wood.
FOOD PROTECTIONS
Bread to appease, and salt to repel.
Traditionally, bread and salt provided protection from the Fae. Carrying yeast-risen bread with you had a two-fold effect. It would repel some faeries. Other faeries would accept it as an offering and leave you alone. My gramma taught me a Welsh tradition of leaving a saucer of milk and a slice of bread or some bread crusts on the back porch as an offering to the faeries, so they wouldn’t play pranks on the family or trouble the livestock. Sometimes, if you were seeking the faeries’ aid, you might add berries, honey, or cheese.
Salt’s association with purity made it an excellent tool against otherworldly beings. Spreading salt across the threshold and along the windowsills has long been the primary method of keeping faeries, demons, and spirits out of houses. If you had to carry food to the farmhands in the fields, sprinkling it with salt was said to keep the faeries from taking it – or from extracting the nourishment from it unseen!
Even humble oatmeal was believed to be a fairy repellent. You could carry a handful of dry oatmeal in your pocket or sprinkle it on your clothes. As long as you didn’t mind looking flaky, you’d be safe.
IRON PROTECTION
Iron in any form or shape has always been considered the very best protection against fairies – in almost all legends, the metal is like kryptonite to Superman. If you kept an iron nail in your pocket, you couldn’t be carried away by them. Sometimes iron nails were sewn into the hems of children’s clothing for that reason. A pair of iron shears hung on the wall near a baby’s bed was said to prevent the child from being swapped for an ugly fairy baby.
Iron can poison the Fae
Horseshoes could be nailed over doorposts, a precaution that had to be taken to the extreme in my first two Grim books, Storm Warrior and Storm Bound.
(By the way, some legends specify that the horseshoe should be placed on its side like the letter “C”, resembling the crescent moon, or it won’t repel the Fae!)
Steel is also effective against the faeries because it is created from processed iron. If a faery is cut by a steel or iron blade, the wound will not heal or will take a very long time. In some stories, the Fae is slowly poisoned by such a wound. Steel or iron weapons are among the few things that can actually kill a Fae being.
However, unless it was plainly self-defense (and sometimes even that wouldn’t help your case), you could expect the rest of the faeries to exact a terrible retribution!
Ancient faery legends are brought to modern-day America in my ongoing Grim Series: 
