Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Keeping Werewolves and Vampires at Bay--Beth Trissel



A blog visitor recently inquired whether lavender would ward off vampires. No. But you might give the beautiful but deadly herb Aconite, also known as wolfsbane, or monkshood, a try. And then run really fast. W
olfsbane (also spelled wolf's bane) is reputed to repel not kill werewolves and vampires. I gleaned that from this site on : How To Kill A Werewolf, Methods and Materials.
The contributor, named Buddy, recommends the following to kill a werewolf, should you need to know by the next full moon: “Silver. You’ll see this in almost any movie that you watch about werewolves – werewolf hunters are always in need of the “silver bullet” to kill the werewolf, claiming that that is the only thing that will kill it. Sometimes a silver blade is used. This method is used often in hollywood movies and werewolf fiction, and often anything that is pure silver will work. Piercing the heart is the preferred method. (Note: Some say that silver is just a concoction of fiction and hollywood, and that silver cannot really kill a werewolf.  True or no? I don’t know.”
But it’s certainly worth considering, I might add.  Buddy goes on to recommend mercury, also known as ‘quicksilver’ so you see the connection, for dispatching a werewolf, decapitation, which in my thinking will kill most anything that needs killing, and he reminds us that werewolves when pitted against one another will destroy each other. A win, win, as I see it. So I suggest arranging a showdown at the witching hour.
If that fails, Buddy suggests doing away with the werewolf while the creature is in his human form.  A debate is underway in my household as to how one can discern exactly who the werewolf is in their human form. This strikes me as important, so double check to be certain.  Another difficulty that may arise with this approach is the attachment one might feel for an individual in his human form.  I mean, who wants to kill Professor Lupin?  Whatever your scheme in dealing with werewolves, remember to keep your wolfsbane with you At All Times.
“As its name clearly shows us, this plant isn’t so wolf friendly; it is a very deadly poison. When mixed with bait and devoured by a wolf, or even put on arrowheads, knives, swords…etc. and then fired or stabbed into the animal’s body, this toxin is fatal.”~
Poor wolves.
There seems to be much disagreement as to whether wolf’s bane is solely a repellent or may also kill werewolves or cause an individual to become one, or may actually heal werewolves.  I feel a case could be made either way all depending on how much wolf’s bane is used and in what manner the poison is dispensed, and what lore you adhere to. *Also, what the lore the werewolf adheres to.  It may be that the scent is noxious to them.  Woops, my mistake if they like it and draw near. Unless, that’s what you desired in the first place as part of your ploy in luring said werewolf to its certain destruction. Let me know how that works for you.
As to vampires and wolf’s bane, there isn’t a lot I could find on this.  But The Vampire Book says: “Aconite also known as Wolf’s bane was believed by the ancient Greeks to have arisen in the mouths of Cerberus (a three-headed dog that guards the entrance to Hades) while under the influence of Hecate, the goddess of magic and the underworld.
It later was noted as one of the ingredients of the ointment that witches put on their body in order to fly off to their sabbats. In Dracula (Spanish 1931), aconite was substituted for garlic as the primary plant used to repel the vampire.”~
*I took a poll among authors who write dark paranormal romance and this is their feedback:
From vampire author Tony-Paul de VissageWolfsbane is a very deadly poison.  Even handling the damp seeds can give off a toxic alhaloid which can be absorbed through the skin. Like garlic and holy water, wolfsbane is supposed to have an adverse effect on vampires and was used in the 1931 Dracula to keep vampires from entering houses although there is no mention of this in the novel itself.  I’d guess it’s more of an inconvenience than anything else.  Nothing short of decapitation, a stake through the heart, or being burned, will completely destroy a vampire.
From author Barbara Edwards: Wolfsbane is a deadly plant with absolutely beautiful spikes of blue flowers. The leaves and roots need special handling to prevent harm.  The poisonous sap can be absorbed through the skin or in an liquid dose. Aconite, the distilled wolfsbane can kill within minutes. It’s deadly to anyone, not just werewolves.
From The Magical Herbal:Folklore says planting wolfsbane at the door will repel the beast. Although Lon Chaney popularized the full-moon as a trigger for werewolves, they have the ability to change at will. The folklore says wolfsbane can cure a werewolf, but first he must die from its effect.


From author Linda Nightingale: In Greek mythologyMedea attempted to poison Theseus with a cup of wine poisoned with wolfsbane. In the folklore archives of the University of California at Berkeley, a recorded testimony of an immigrant from eastern Germany states that wolfsbane and silver knives were placed under mattresses and cribs to repel werewolves and vampires.
In Vampire WarsAconitum or Wolfsbane is ascribed with supernatural powers in the mythology of werewolves and vampires, often used to deter, poison or even kill werewolves, and to a lesser extent, vampires. In other folklore, aconite was said to transform a person into a werewolf if it is worn, smelled, or eaten.
From author Masha Hollhttp://mashaholl.com: Wolfsbane is aconite, but not all aconite is Wolfsbane (or monkshood). The European variety, although poisonous enough to be deadly, is not as toxic as the Asian variety, and yet even the Asian variety has been used in healing medicine for centuries as well as in the preparation of poisons. Aconite can trigger hallucinations.
The actual, historical, and verified use of aconite in medicine is probably (almost certainly) at the basis of its connection with werewolves, as is the legend that it was created (or given is poisonous qualities) from the slobber of Cerberus during Hercules’ fight with the dog of hell.
From author Terry Spear, Author of Heart of the Wolf series:  “Wolfsbane/Wolfbane is a flowering plant or herb, purple, yellow, pink, or white, in color, known as Aconitum, that in literature has been used in a number of different ways in reference to werewolves. Ironically, in some literature, wolfsbane can kill the werewolf, in others, it changes a human into a werewolf, in even others, it keeps the human part of the werewolf equation from turning into his wolf form. Which goes to show that authors use wolfsbane for whatever happens to suit their werewolf story best. And here when I went to research it, I thought wolfsbane kept the werewolf from shifting into his beastly form. So beware, depending on what tale you read, wolfsbane might have the opposite effect from what you had always believed!”
From author Colleen Love: Names for Wolf’s Bane: Aconite, Cupid’s Car, Dumbledore’s Delight, Leopard’s Bane, Monkshood, Storm Hat, Thor’s Hat, Wolf’s Hat, Friar’s Cap:
Gender: Feminine, Planet: Saturn, Element: Water, Deity: Hecate, Powers: Protection, Invisibility
Magical Uses: Wolf’s bane is added to protection sachets, especially to guard against vampires and werewolves. This is quite fitting, since wolf’s bane is used by werewolves to cure themselves. The seed, wrapped in a lizard’s skin and carried, allows you to become invisible at will. Do not eat or rub any part of this plant on the skin; it is virulently poisonous.~
Clearly, more research is needed, but we are having enough trouble with coyotes and I am not brave enough to tackle the realm of werewolves.  Feedback, please, from those of you who dare go forth and do battle with this powerful creature.  And God bless you in your quest.


*Royalty free images except for Professor Lupin and  An American Werewolf in London (The Movie)

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Love Quotes and Images--Beth Trissel




“They do not love that do not show their love.” ~Shakespeare


” Love from one side hurts, but love from two sides heals.” ~Shakespeare


“So long as I can breathe or I can see, so long lives your love which gives life to me.” ~Shakespeare


“If music be the food of love, play on.”~Shakespeare


“So dear I love him that with him, all deaths I could endure. Without him, live no life.” ~Shakespeare


“Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.”~Shakespeare



“Men always want to be a woman’s first love – women like to be a  man’s last romance.” 
~ Oscar Wilde


Young love is from the earth, and late love is from heaven.” ~ Turkish Proverb


We always believe our first love is our last, and our last love our first.” ~ Anonymous



“We fit together so well…it’s like pieces of a puzzle, the way your hand fits the curve of my hip and the way my head rests on your shoulder, the way our hands just melt into one, and the way I feel complete      when I’m with you…like the picture’s finally completed and I’ll never have to wonder what I’m missing.” ~ guitarequalslife


“True Love burns the brightest, But the brightest flames leave the deepest scars.”~Unknown


“True love is friendship — caught on fire.” ~GatechKato


“True love doesn’t have a happy ending, because true love never ends. Letting go is one way of saying I love you.” ~ arie


“There are two sorts of romantics: those who love,and those who love the adventure of loving.”
~ Lesley Blanch
“The quarrels of lovers are like summer showersthat leave the country more verdant and beautiful.”
~ Susanne Curchod Necke


“He is not a lover who does not love forever.” ~ Unknown
“A lover may be a shadowy creature, but husbands are made of flesh and blood.”
~Amy Levy
“Love is the master key which opens the gates of happiness.”
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes
“Love me when I least deserve it, because that’s when I really need it.” ~Unknown


“One seeks to make the loved one entirely happy, or, if that cannot be, entirely wretched.” ~ Jean De La Bruyère


“All great lovers are articulate, and verbal seduction is the surest road to actual seduction” ~ Marya Mannes

“Just as in earthly life lovers long for the moment when they are able to breathe forth their love for each other, to let their souls blend in a soft whisper, so the mystic longs for the moment when in prayer he can, as it were, creep into God.” ~ SorenKierkegaard


“For true love is inexhaustible; the more you give, the more you have. And if you go to draw at the true fountainhead, the more water you draw, the more abundant is its flow.” ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery


"True love always makes a man better, no matter what woman inspires it. ” ~Alexandre Dumas Père


“In true love the smallest distance is too great, and the greatest distance can be bridged.” ~ Hans Nouwens


*WW11 postcard from sailor to sweetheart


"Like an old photograph
Time can make a feeling fade
But the memory of a first love
Never fades away.” 
~ Tim McGraw




"No one worth possessing can be quite possessed.”
~ Sara Teasdale


***Royalty free images

Saturday, July 21, 2012

“Raindrops are like fairy whispers,”~ Fairy Quotes & Images


Faeries, come take me out of this dull world,
For I would ride with you upon the wind,
Run on the top of the disheveled tide,
And dance upon the mountains like a flame.
~William Butler Yeats, “The Land of Heart’s Desire,” 1894
Fairies are invisible and inaudible like angels.  But their magic sparkles in nature.  ~Lynn Holland
The fairy poet takes a sheet
Of moonbeam, silver white;
His ink is dew from daisies sweet,
His pen a point of light.
~Joyce Kilmer
Spread your wings and let the fairy in you fly!  ~Author Unknown
"Nothing can be truer than fairy wisdom.  It is as true as sunbeams." ~Douglas Jerrold
The fairies break their dances
And leave the printed lawn.
~A.E. Housman
Princess Edane… heard a voice singing on a May Eve like this, and followed half awake and half asleep, until she came into the Land of Faery, where nobody gets old and godly and grave, where nobody gets old and crafty and wise, where nobody gets old and bitter of tongue.  ~William Butler Yeats, “The Land of Heart’s Desire,” 1894
When the winds of March are wakening the crocuses and crickets,
Did you ever find a fairy near some budding little thickets,…
And when she sees you creeping up to get a closer peek
She tumbles through the daffodils, a playing hide and seek.
~Marjorie Barrows
Every time a child says, “I don’t believe in fairies,” there is a fairy somewhere that falls down dead.  ~James Matthew BarriePeter Pan
This is a work of fiction.  All the characters in it, human and otherwise, are imaginary, excepting only certain of the fairy folk, whom it might be unwise to offend by casting doubts on their existence.  Or lack thereof.  ~Neil Gaiman
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery hand in hand,
For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand.
~William Butler Yeats, “The Stolen Child
A lady, with whom I was riding in the forest, said to me, that the woods always seemed to her to wait, as if the genii who inhabit them suspended their deeds until the wayfarer has passed onward: a thought which poetry has celebrated in the dance of the fairies, which breaks off on the approach of human feet.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, “History”
We the Fairies, blithe and antic,
Of dimensions not gigantic,
Though the moonshine mostly keep us,
Oft in orchards frisk and peep us.
~Thomas Randolph
Each fairy breath of summer, as it blows with loveliness, inspires the blushing rose.  ~Author Unknown
No child but must remember laying his head in the grass, staring into the infinitesimal forest and seeing it grow populous with fairy armies.  ~Robert Louis Stevenson, Essays in The Art of Writing
The wall is silence, the grass is sleep,
Tall trees of peace their vigil keep,
And the Fairy of Dreams with moth-wings furled
Plays soft on her flute to the drowsy world.
~Ida Rentoul Outhwaite
We call them faerie.  We don’t believe in them.  Our loss.  ~Charles de Lint
And as the seasons come and go, here’s something you might like to know.  There are fairies everywhere:  under bushes, in the air, playing games just like you play, singing through their busy day.  So listen, touch, and look around – in the air and on the ground.  And if you watch all nature’s things, you might just see a fairy’s wing.  ~Author Unknown
The Realm of Fairy is a strange shadow land, lying just beyond the fields we know.  ~Author Unknown
Blind folk see the fairies.
Oh, better far than we,
Who miss the shining of their wings
Because our eyes are filled with things
We do not wish to see.
~Rose Fyleman
A rustle in the wind reminds us a fairy is near.  ~Author Unknown
The fairies went from the world, dear, 
Because men’s hearts grew cold: 
And only the eyes of children see What is hidden from the old…
~Kathleen Foyle
I think that people who can’t believe in fairies aren’t worth knowing. ~Tori Amos
Any man can lose his hat in a fairy-wind.  ~Irish Saying
Garden fairies come at dawn,
Bless the flowers then they’re gone.
~Author Unknown
If we opened our minds to enjoyment, we might find tranquil pleasures spread about us on every side.  We might live with the angels that visit us on every sunbeam, and sit with the fairies who wait on every flower.  ~Samuel Smiles
All royalty free images

Snippet from Historical-Paranormal Romance Novel The Bearwalker's Daughter


Autumn, 1784, the Allegheny Mountains of Western Virginia

Instinctively, Karin reached out to trace the glowing stone, warmer now. A blue-green light radiated from it at her touch. She sucked in her breath. Tearing her eyes from the phenomenal gem, she looked at Jack. “Did you see that?”
Giving a nod, he slowly lowered his fingers to the iridescent surface—pulling back as if repelled. “It doesn’t want me to handle it.”
“What do you mean, it doesn’t want? ’Tis a necklace, for God’s sake,” she said, using stronger language than usual at the nameless fear that sprang up inside her.
She looked back down and cautiously extended her hand to the pool of light encompassing the gem. A shape flickered across it in the form of something—an animal. She jerked. “What was that?”
“A bear.” He spoke with the tenor of one trying to conceal his own disbelief. “We must’ve imagined it.”
Both of us? Jack, what’s going on?”
He shifted his eyes around the room then returned to the necklace. “I’m not sure yet.”
“Maybe not, but you’re keeping something from me. Is this some sort of bear stone?”
“No. Moonstone. Rare, and known for its magical powers, if you believe that nonsense.” He didn’t sound as skeptical as he might have only moments ago. “The stone is also a lover’s amulet and the eye of seers. Wearing it is said to strengthen intuition.”
“If by intuition, you mean the hair standing up on the nape of my neck, I can tell something mighty peculiar is going on and—”
She broke off at a persistent sound carrying above the wind. “Do you hear that scratching noise?”
“Probably just a tree branch.”
He’d lied to shield her from something, she just knew, and clutched his sleeve with one hand. The necklace hung from her other. “Jack—”
He swiveled his head at the room again. “Calm down,” he said, but didn’t seem any easier than she.
The scratching intensified and came nearer to them. She gripped him harder. “’Tis at the door!”~
***The Bearwalker’s Daughter is available in Amazon Kindle for .99!

Thursday, July 19, 2012

How'd You Sleep? --Beth Trissel



“There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast.”  ~Author Unknown
*Or barking dogs. However, cats are great nappers. Kitty Pavel snoozing in a sunbeam.

“Everything I know I learned from my cat: When you’re hungry, eat. When you’re tired, nap in a sunbeam. When you go to the vet’s, pee on your owner.” - Gary Smith
*But, of course! Most sensible creatures.


“Early to rise and early to bed
Makes a man healthy and wealthy and dead.”
~James Thurber, Fables for Our Times, 1940
*Gotta love Thurber.


“Most people do not consider dawn to be an attractive experience – unless they are still up.”  ~Ellen Goodman


“The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night’s sleep.” ~E. Joseph Cossman
*Ah, the wisdom in this.
“Many things – such as loving, going to sleep, or behaving unaffectedly – are done worst when we try hardest to do them.”  ~C.S. Lewis
*I love CS Lewis!~

“Dawn:  When men of reason go to bed.” ~Ambrose Bierce
*That would not be me.

“There is more refreshment and stimulation in a nap, even of the briefest, than in all the alcohol ever distilled.”  ~Edward Lucas
*I’m sure of this, even though I rarely drink any.

“People who say they sleep like a baby usually don’t have one.”  ~Leo J. Burke


*And to that I add, or a new puppy. My daughter’s soft-coated Wheaton Terrier, Grady, in a calmer mode as a pup. Normally these dogs act like they’ve been shot out of guns much of the time for the first two years. But very loving!

“Consciousness:  that annoying time between naps.”  ~Author Unknown
*Clearly a big napper. Cheers!

“Without enough sleep, we all become tall two-year-olds.”  ~JoJo Jensen, Dirt Farmer Wisdom, 2002

“The days are cold, the nights are long,
The North wind sings a doleful song;
Then hush again upon my breast;
All merry things are now at rest,
Save thee, my pretty love!”
~Dorothy Wordsworth, “The Cottager to Her Infant”

A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.  ~Irish Proverb
Ah, the wisdom of the Irish.

“A day without a nap is like a cupcake without frosting.”  ~Terri Guillemets

*Granddaughter Emma Rose as a baby snoozing alongside our pom poo Sadie Sue.
“There is a drowsy state, between sleeping and waking, when you dream more in five minutes with your eyes half open, and yourself half conscious of everything that is passing around you, than you would in five nights with your eyes fast closed and your senses wrapt in perfect unconsciousness.” ~Charles Dickens

*I totally agree with this, get some of my best writing done then.

“What hath night to do with sleep?”  ~John Milton

“Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone.”  ~Anthony Burgess
*Or get prodded a lot if you’re my hubby.

Sleep is a symptom of caffeine deprivation.  ~Author Unknown
Coffee, tea, chocolate, anyone?

“A flock of sheep that leisurely pass by
One after one; the sound of rain, and bees
Murmuring; the fall of rivers, winds and seas,
Smooth fields, white sheets of water, and pure sky -
I’ve thought of all by turns, and still I lie
Sleepless…” ~William Wordsworth, “To Sleep”

***Because he’s not a cat. Pavel in pic again. Kitty Images by daughter Elise.

If a man had as many ideas during the day as he does when he has insomnia, he’d make a fortune.  ~Griff Niblack

“People who snore always fall asleep first.” ~Author Unknown
***Oh yes. Every time.

No day is so bad it can’t be fixed with a nap.  ~Carrie Snow
*This is so true. The world would be a far better place if everyone took a nap.

“When I want to go to sleep, I must first get a whole menagerie of voices to shut up. You wouldn’t believe what a racket they make in my room.”~Karl Kraus, translated from German by Harry Zohn

*Actually, I would. They’re in my head too.  Noisy bunch. And weird. Say the craziest stuff.

“Sometimes I sit up late with my thoughts, reluctant to fall asleep and leave my thoughts alone by themselves.”  ~Robert Brault, www.robertbrault.com
*Me too. Niece Cailin and Pavel napping together.

“How do people go to sleep?  I’m afraid I’ve lost the knack.  I might try busting myself smartly over the temple with the night-light.  I might repeat to myself, slowly and soothingly, a list of quotations beautiful from minds profound; if I can remember any of the damn things.”  ~Dorothy Parker
*I loved this one! Love her.

“O bed! O bed! delicious bed!
That heaven upon earth to the weary head.”
~Thomas HoodMiss Kilmansegg – Her Dream

“The feeling of sleepiness when you are not in bed, and can’t get there, is the meanest feeling in the world.”  ~Edgar Watson Howe
*Oh man, he’s got that right.

“The last refuge of the insomniac is a sense of superiority to the sleeping world.”  ~Leonard Cohen
“If you can’t sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying.  It’s the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep.”  ~Dale Carnegie

*True, true. He would know.
Don’t fight with the pillow, but lay down your head
And kick every worriment out of the bed.”
~Edmund Vance Cooke

*Excellent advice. For that, some of us need medication.
Sweet dreams all!