Ask a Mortician- Episode 6

www.gothicteasociety.com

Ask a Mortician, Episode Six!

As always, Thank you Caitlin.

Google celebrates Charles Addams 100th

gothicteasociety.com

HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY

Charles Addams!

Google has acknowledged the day with a special doodle!

Read all about Charles Addams, creator of the Addams family HERE.

Talk Like a Pirate Day

September 19 is annually 'Talk like a Pirate Day' In an effort to assist all you land lovers here is a partial vocabulary list to assist you in participating.
And while on the subject of Pirates, keep yer eyes on the horizon for Pirates of the Caribbean 4!

• Ahoy: Hey!
• Avast: Stop!
• Aye: Yes
• Black spot: to be 'placin' the black spot' be markin' someone for death.
• Booty: treasure
• Buccanneer: a pirate who be answerin' to no man or blasted government.
• By the Powers!: an exclamation, uttered by Long John Silver in Treasure Island!
• Cat o' nine tails: whip for floggin' mutineers
• Corsair: a pirate who be makin' his berth in the Med-...Medi-...that sea 'tween Spain and Africa, aye!
• Davy Jones' Locker: the bottom o' the sea, where the souls of dead men lie
• Doubloons: pieces of gold...
• Fiddlers Green: the private heaven where pirates be goin' when they die.
• Furner: a ship which be yer own, not one ye steal an' plunder.
• Gentlemen o' fortune: a slightly more positive term fer pirates!
• Go on the account: to embark on a piratical cruise
• Grog: A pirate's favorite drink.
• Jack: a flag or a sailor
• Jolly Roger: the skull and crossbones, the pirate flag!
• Keelhaul: a truly vicious punishment where a scurvy dog be tied to a rope and dragged along the barnacle-encrusted bottom of a ship. They not be survivin' this.
• Landlubber: "Land-lover," someone not used to life onboard a ship.
• Lass: A woman.
• Lily-livered: faint o' heart
• Loaded to the Gunwales (pron. gunnels): drunk
• Matey: A shipmate or a friend.
• Me hearty: a friend or shipmate.
• Me: My.
• Pieces o' eight: pieces o' silver which can be cut into eights to be givin' small change.
• Privateer: a pirate officially sanctioned by a national power
• Scallywag: A bad person. A scoundrel.
• Scurvy dog!: a fine insult!
• Shiver me timbers!: an exclamation of surprise, to be shouted most loud.
• Son of a Biscuit Eater: a derogatory term indicating a bastard son of a sailor
• Sprogs: raw, untrained recruits
• Squadron: a group of ten or less warships
• Squiffy: a buffoon
• Swaggy: a scurvy cur's ship what ye be intendin' to loot!
• Swashbucklin': fightin' and carousin' on the high seas!
• Sweet trade: the career of piracy
• Thar: The opposite of "here."
• Walk the plank: this one be bloody obvious.
• Wench: a lady, although ye gents not be wantin' to use this around a lady who be stronger than ye.
• Wi' a wannion: wi' a curse, or wi' a vengeance. Boldly, loudly!
• Yo-ho-ho: Pirate laughter

The Art of Conjure

The Congregation Gallery presents
VOODOO, HOODOO AND SANTERIA: THE ART OF CONJURE
Through October 4
Pasadena Playhouse, Georgia McClay Friendship Center

To provide a further exploration of the culture of Brazil featured in our production of The Night is a Child, Pasadena Playhouse has partnered with The Congregation Gallery and will be featuring an art exhibit centered on the theme of voodoo in our gallery.

Voodoo, Hoodoo and Santeria Artists:
Johny Chow, Alina Stempa, Jeremy Cross, Jim Parchen, Christopher Ulrich, Cate Rangel, Shawn Du Val ­Humiston, David Cook, Sarah Hestal, Tiffany Garcia, Elizabeth Caffey, George De La Santos, Erick De La Vega, Skullmaster, Tatomir, Dean Karr, Dave Rose, Romesh McCullough, Tom Zimmerman, Skip Crank.

Don't Miss it!

Gothic Charm School ~ The Book!

"Subversion through politeness" is the main thought behind the new book 'Gothic Charm School- An essential guide for Goths and those who love them' by Jillian Venters. I bought the book and read it on my first few hours of jury duty a few weeks ago. While it can be enjoyed by even us 'Elder Goths', my feeling was that it was well suited to the young Goth. I would have loved to have a tome such as this back in the 1970's when I was coming of age. Ms Venters asks us black clad folk to use manners to change societies view of the Goth and I think that is a marvelous idea! I will recommend the book to parents of young Goths, what a great gift! Available at most book stores or on line of course.
Along with the Website which can be found HERE, Ms Venters has a new, ongoing series of videos that are enjoyable as well. You can find them on her website under 'Media'

Milagros

In my collection of Mexican folk art- which consists primarily of Day of the Dead items, I also have several beautiful crucifixes that are covered with Milagros. These charms are fascinating, and I have seen every body part represented in a milagro. They even come in the shape of animals and cars- so they can be used toward healing most anything. I love this sort of simple folk magic.
Milagros (also known as an ex-voto or dijes) are religious folk charms that are traditionally used for healing purposes and as votive offerings in Mexico, the southern United States, other areas of Latin America, as well as parts of the Iberian peninsula. They are frequently attached onto altars, shrines, and sacred objects found in places of worship, and they are often purchased in churches, cathedrals or from street vendors.
Milagros come in a variety of shapes and dimensions and are fabricated from many different materials, depending on local customs. For example, they might be nearly flat or fully three dimensional; and they can be constructed from gold, silver, tin, lead, wood, bone, or wax. In Spanish, the word milagro literally means miracle or surprise.
The use of milagros is a folk custom in parts of North, Central, and South America, and it is claimed that the custom is traceable to ancient Iberians who inhabited the coastal regions of Spain. The use of milagros accompanied the Spanish as they arrived in Central and South America. Although the custom is not as prevalent as it once was, the use of milagros or ex-votos continues to be a part of folk culture throughout rural areas of Spain—particularly Andalusia, Catalonia and Majorca.


As part of a religious ritual or an act of devotion, milagros can be offered to a symbol of a saint as a reminder of a petitioner's particular need, or in gratitude for a prayer answered. They are used to assist in focusing attention towards a specific ailment, based on the type of charm used. Milagro symbolism is not universal; a milagro of a body part, such as a leg, might be used as part of a prayer or vow for the improvement of a leg; or it might refer to a concept such as travel. Similarly, a heart might represent ideas as diverse as a heart condition, a romance, or any number of other interpretations.
Milagros are also carried for protection and good luck.
In addition to religious and ritual applications, milagros are often found as components in necklaces, earrings and other jewellery.
They correspond almost exactly to the tamata used in the Eastern Orthodox Churches.