The Root Goddess

This week’s Faerie Friday isn’t a normal Faerie Friday post. It’s not even about a Faerie.

Last Saturday, my husband and I got in the car and headed for parts unknown. Well, they weren’t exactly unknown. Our destination was Lennox, MA via Route 20. We were pretty sure we could get there that way. Wasn’t a hundred percent certain. But we were heading east so confidence was moderately high.

Surprisingly, Lennox was just where it was supposed to be in my head. That almost never happens. We did some shopping, had a lovely lunch (I had the Pear Welwood cocktail if you must know) and even stopped at a chocolate shop that had the most amazing chocolates.

On the way out of town, my husband pulled into this place that I spotted on our way in but didn’t give much mind to. At that point, I was a little overstimulated and ready to go home. If I was a cat, my husband would have been either scratched or bitten or both. He cut the engine of the car and gave me a look: Just shut up and follow me already.  

So I shut my trap and followed him into a shop that had some of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. Masks and statues from all over the world. Jewelry. Artwork. Talk about overstimulation. As I was coming out of one of the small rooms, I spotted the carving in the picture above. I couldn’t get to her because another couple was looking at jewelry. Finally they moved out of the way and I made a beeline for her.

 The owner spotted me gazing up at her. She was strung up against a beam, fastened by a bit of twine. He explained that the carving was from Bali and was a representation of goddess, Dewi Sri. On the surface Bali is a Hindu country, but at the core, the Balinese people still believe in Earth Magic flows through the soil and into the plants. The carving was made from the roots of a 17^th century coffee bush and she brings with her abundance, prosperity and fertility.

I just had to have her and after debating where to put her, we decided above the mantle in our living room. I toyed with the idea of putting her over out bed, but I decided not to tempt fate.

Doesn’t she look lovely in our living room?

The lesson: Don’t be afraid to check out new places. You never know what you are going to find.

If you find yourself in Lennox, make sure to stop by Inspired Planet. You won’t be disappointed.

Hey, that chick has my face!

Today is Friday the 13^th. Yeah, don’t get all excited about it. I’m not particularly superstitious. I love black cats to distraction. I’ll walk under a ladder with wild abandon. I’ll even dance a jig if the right song is on the radio. And if there was any merit to the broken mirror prophecy, my bad luck would last well into my death. Can a rotting corpse have bad luck? I guess the rotting part doesn’t suggest exceptionally good luck.

*Buff shrugs*

My Grandma Wade used to say that Friday the 13^th was one of the luckiest days of the year. I guess she was one of those glass-half-filled kinda gals. I liked that about her. 

Anyway, in honor of today and the foolish dread some folks will no doubt feel, I decided to write about one of my favorite faerie like creatures – the Co-Walker. He’s creepy. He’s bad luck. He's perfect for today's Faerie Friday post.

Some of you folks will know the Co-Walker by some of his/her/its other names. Fetch. Doppelganger. Ghosts     of the Living. Copies. I’m especially fond of Thrumpins. Yes, Thrumpins.

Picture this: You’ve had an exceptionally long, tiring day. You can’t find a parking spot near your apartment. You drive around and around for what seems like hours and you finally find a spot in a dark corner three blocks from your place to park. As you are walking down the street, you hear footsteps behind you. You quicken your pace, but so does the guy behind you. Your heart pounds in your chest. You can’t catch your breath. You forget the uneven patch of pavement in front of your building and you find yourself tumbling onto the ground. When you look up from your humiliating sprawl, you stare into the face of someone that looks like you. Just like you. Right down to the hot pink ponytail holder and scuffed shoes.

No, that’s not the twin your mother never told you about. It’s a Co-Walker and that fact that you’ve seen him means only one thing – you’re a dead man. Or woman.

The Co-Walker is a powerful portent of death. Seeing him means your death is imminent. But sometimes, he befriends lonely children. I guess he’s not all bad, folks.

I will concede this isn’t one of my best Faerie Friday posts. In my defense, a bunch of my research books are buried under a pile of other books in my office. I had this incident a few weeks back where my desk collapsed. Long story, but I’ll try to be more creative in the future.