The Mermaid Tails..err, Tales....

TODAY's POSTS are in conjunction with the Mermaid Tea Party! Thank you Lisa, for hosting a wonderful event.

Because I am a big believer in Magic, and also a research maven, I present you with:

~TALES OF THE MERMAID~

THE MERMAID is an enchanted creature of lore and imagination that has, curiously enough, been envisioned throughout various cultures and different times.

Noone is quite sure how the idea of the mermaid came to be, though it is thought that heavy superstition masked sailors eyes to what might be seals, manatees, and other finned creatures that they saw on the ocean...

The term mermaid comes from the old English "mere," or sea, and maid, to denote the feminine of this creature. Merman would be the male equivalent.

The legends and lore of mermaids are numerous, and seem to abound in areas that were surrounded by water, or where fishing was the livelihood of an area:

An Early Greek legend proclaims that Alexander the Great's sister, Thessalonike, turned into a mermaid when she died. She lived in the Aegean Sea and would ask sailors when they passed: "Is the King Alexander alive?" To which they must answer, "He lives and still rules." Any other answer, apparently, sent her into a rage, and she would then turn into a Gorgon and cause havoc to the ship who answered incorrectly (Hmm, I thought the Gorgons were Medusa's sisters, but what do I know?)

British and European tales abound of mermaids being mischeif makers or unlucky omens. Medieval testimonials describe them as no less than demonic, and various illustrators who claimed to have "seen" or "studied" them drew them as such, variously as finned, but also at times with horns, claws, sharp teeth, and any number of garish attributes:

Havfolk
Aldrovandi, Ulysses: Monstrorum historia. Bononiæ 1642.

To see one of the merfolk might foretell of a ship sinking or some disaster involving the sea, such as a tsunami or sea storm. Further, mermaids themselves caused enough folly in that men themselves would drown in their seductive spell; more than one mermaid took an unlucky lad under the ocean to drown--in some cases purposely and in others, because the mermaid was not aware her human counterpart could not breathe underwater. The beauty of a mermaid might also cause a sailor to jump overboard and to his death, unable to resist such charm.

In the fishing villages of Ireland and shores of Scotland, they are known as the Merrow, and tend to be somewhat less threatening, and more helpful. There are various stories that seem to come from these quaint areas that live to this day, and have been the backbone to more modern ideas of mermaids.

Mermaids can also be found in Africa (known as Mami Wata), in Russia they are the lovely and long haired Rusalkas, and in Java, where legend grants them a mermaid queen named Nyi Roro Kidul. In Japan they are known as ningyo--where apparently if you eat ningyo flesh, you can gain immortality--yum! They have been known as sea snakes, water spirits or water demons...and have been tied to a certain level of magic and wonderment throughout the world.

In rarer instances, mermaids had knowledge of healing abilities and certain magic to help the heroes of their stories. In many cases, however, there seems to be an air of sadness to their tales--themes of forbidden love, death in attempting to be with a loved one, seduction gone wrong and all sorts of other undoing are common throughout mermaid tales. In most cases, it seems as though the female mermaid must go through great lengths to prove her love for a youthful hero, and very rarely does it seem that merMEN play out the same scenarios.

The popularity of these creatures has not waned over time...including stories such as Hans Christian Anderson's "The Little Mermaid" (based on the famous Denmark mermaid):

Photo Edyta Pawlowska | Dreamstime.com

....and movies and even logos reflect the timelessness of these creatures:

The above depicts Starbuck's Coffee Co's use of the double tailed mermaid. While many mermaids' stories portray them as fairly innocent, the exception comes in the form of the uninhibited double-tailed mermaid, which decorates innumerable churches and cathedrals throughout Western Europe, is an extremely ancient variation of the mermaid that is often associated with Sheela-Na-Gig, one of the most powerful Celtic symbols of the feminine or Goddess.

If you enjoy Mermaid stories, here are some that abound online:

Mermaid Lore
A Well Known Cornish Mermaid Legend

And thus, we come to the end of the tail....err...tale...but wait!

What's this? Wild At Heart has a bit of it's OWN mermaid history to share..wrapped up in this scroll!

Tales of intrigue, mystery and magic yet to come!
To Find out more...stay TUNED!