Myths & More

Success looks different for everyone. Neil Gaiman’s advice on the creative life I read Gaiman’s book Art Matters a few weeks ago, just after finishing his book Good Omens (I’m excited to watch the Amazon adaptation soon). There are a few novels on creativity that inspire me: one of them is The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. The other one is Art Matters. Gaiman’s book was a reaffirmation to chase my dreams, continue writing the things that I liked, and above all, make good art. Seven ways to crush self doubt in creative work These seven rules, as listed by John Spencer, are similar to the creative tools that I use in my day-to-day life. Still, it’s easy to get distracted by everything going on in life, or the lack there-of. That’s why it’s important to set goals and stick to them. On top of that, it’s important to promote self-care and treat yourself to the finer things in life every once in a while. To reiterate Spencers seven ways of crushing self-doubt:  Don’t c...

The  Basilisk Czech: The Three Roses Original: A mother visits the local market to bring back gifts for her three daughters only to stumble across a palace rose garden on the way home. When she takes three roses for her younger daughter Mary, a basilisk appears and threatens the mother to send her daughter to the castle. After nursing the Basilisk for three days, she is told to cut off his head twice and turns into a handsome youth, who she marries. Retelling: I’ve already written retelling of this story during week 2, where Mary and the Basilisk have a strongly developed relationship and the Basilisk has a more complex character. Still, I really enjoyed this story any would like to develop it further if it became a final project, making a definitive beginning, middle and end.  The  Dragon Greece: How the Dragon was Tricked Original: After escaping a trap by his older brother, a young trickster is brought to the king and is told that his life will be spa...

The Basilisk Mary Once, there lived a mother with her three daughters in a humble cottage. A market was to open soon in a nearby town, and as such the mother planned to go. She asked her daughters if they would like anything from the market. The two eldest daughters named many things, the sort of things young women would admire. After their many requests, the mother turned to the third and youngest daughter and asked, “And you, is there anything you would like?” The youngest, whose name was Mary, only smiled and kindly replied, “I am fine, thank you. But if you like, three roses would be lovely.” And so the mother traveled to the town market and found many things, such things that her eldest daughters would enjoy. The journey back home was long, and even longer in the dark. As night fell, it became harder for the mother to find her way back, especially for someone traveling alone. Through the forest she came across a palace which seemed strange-she did ...

Image of a classic basilisk at the top of the illustration Link to to the original story. Author:  Josef Štefan Kubín (author), Josef Baudiš (English translator) Title: The Three Roses (selected reading from Czech Folk Tales ©1917 and The Key of Gold ©1922) Josef Štefan Kubín Josef Baudiš Notes: After digging around on the internet for a bit, I found that Josef Štefan Kubín (1864-1965), a Czech folklorist, was the original author of The Three Roses . Josef Baudiš (1883-1933) was a Czech Celticist who translated various Czech stories into English in 1917, including the works of Kubín.  Characters: Mother First Daughter Second Daughter Third Daughter, Mary Basilisk (Greek origin: “little king”, often depicted as a crested serpent) Castle attendants Places: Town market Forest Castle Palace garden Objects: Three roses Sword Gold keys Events: Mother asks her daughters if they want souvenirs...

Snippet from "How the Dragon was Tricked" After looking through many stories this past weekend, I found a few that caught my attention.  CLASSICAL and/or BIBLICAL units Week 3: (Women Saints) Golden Legend: Saint Juliana Week 4: (Women Saints) Golden Legend: Saint Martha MIDDLE EASTERN and/or INDIAN units Week 5: Georgian Folk Tales: The Serpent and the Peasant Week 6: Georgian Folk Tales: Fate ASIAN and/or AFRICAN units [Week 8 is review week.] Week 7: Japanese Mythology: The Miraculous Mirror Week 9: Ozaki: The Adventures of Kintaro NATIVE AMERICAN units Week 10: Tejas Legends: The Maiden Who Loved a Star Week 11: Tejas Legends: When the Rainbow was Torn BRITISH and/or CELTIC units Week 12: English Fairy Tales: The Stars in the Sky Week 13: Welsh Fairy Tales: Hu Gadarn EUROPEAN units Week 14: Lang 1: How the Dragon was Tricked Week 15: Literary Works: The Little Mermaid I’m very excited to read the stories on this list, especially the Japanese mythologies, since I...