Round the Herne

 There are a number of variations on the story of the Moon Rabbit in Chinese mythology. This is my take on how Yue-Tu came to live on the moon. Apologies to Chinese friends and listeners for the dire pronunciation of the names. Cannot help but feel sympathy for the rabbit when he is confronted by the Queen Mother of the West (whom I keep imagining as a Chinese equivalent to Lady Bracknell). I guess as the 12th Doctor said, sometimes there are no good choices - but you still have to choose.... and live with the consequences of that choice.   Video

  My reading of the tenth chapter of Edith Nesbitt's (1904) children's story The Phoenix and the Carpet. The poor old carpet begins to become threadbare and some of the children end up having a second encounter with the unfortunate clergyman from the desert island wedding - who begins to question the very nature of his reality in a moment that reminds me of Zhuang Zhou's dream of being a butterfly (a fascinating episode from Taoist philosophy, for anyone unfamiliar with that school of spiritual thought). The clergyman's sisters have a somewhat more pragmatic approach to the nature of the cosmos - probably one experienced by quite a few people over the centuries who have wisely decided which bits of reality to admit to and which to leave unspoken. Perhaps this chapter serves as a partial reminder that magic should be used sparingly to avoid wearing it too thin. As Aristotle himself might have said, all things in moderation!

 I have been thinking a lot about a Taoist deity lately, Tu'er Shen. Yesterday I created an altar to him and painted a (not very good) backdrop to it. The painting needs working on, as I have never painted an East Asian portrait before and the skin tones do not look quite right. I also got the urge for poetry, after  along break from writing any. The metre is of a spontaneous design and the poem is told from the perspective of the unnamed Fujian Inspector who orders the execution of the mortal soldier Hu Tianbao, whose soul is lifted to the realm of the gods and become the rabbit god Tu'er Shen. It is, of course, the Year of the Rabbit on the Chinese calendar and this poem (and the myth it is based on) also contains decidedly Easter-like themes seasonal to this time of the year. Incidentally, should any readers know the shop which sells the wonderful statuette of Tu'er Shen featured in the photo - please let me know. I would love to add it to the altar.    RABBIT R...

 Here are the video links to Leaping Hare 2021, which is virtual due to the pandemic. The initial video should automatically lead to the next recording, but in case there are any gremlins I have included the rest of the URLs below. “Introduction” - https://youtu.be/7sY2Hi6mSWA “Altered States” talk by Jo van der Hoeven - https://youtu.be/D7-SLafLIdA “Wolf Song” music by Carys - https://youtu.be/_DKslE4Z_uQ “Too Jung to Die” talk by Robin Herne - https://youtu.be/OacH-dS4DQk “Gods Just Wanna Have Fun” talk by Nick Ford - https://youtu.be/r3qEmwRTPQ4 “Pathways to Initiation” talk by Johnathan Boddam-Whetham - https://youtu.be/jJDNap8cqOI “The Dagda’s Harp” storytelling with Clan Ogma - https://youtu.be/XaNzUY40CIc “Thanks and Farewell” - https://youtu.be/JaB3CwfgFus   Please make a donation to one or more of our good causes: Hedgehog Havens - http://www.hedgehoghavenessex.co.uk/pages/ East Anglian Children's Hospice - https://www.each.org.uk/ Colchest...

 A traditional Chinese story about how cattle came to Earth from the heavenly realms, to mark the Year of the Ox. Apologies to anyone who actually speaks Mandarin properly for my hatchet job in trying to say Happy New Year at the end. The spirit is willing, even if the tongue is flabby. There are quite a few tales from around the world about beings who serve as messengers from the divine realms, which I dare say could form the basis for a talk or general musing at some stage. When (if) my brain comes back to life, I will come back tt he ideas that are lurking in the unconscious. 

I recorded this for a student who was unable to get to a particular lecture on Taoist philosophy, but thought it might also interest some other people as well. If any Chinese people happen to listen to this, I apologise in advance for my godawful attempts at pronouncing certain names and words! The original lecture was much longer and included some material on Mohism, which I will be recording for the student - but might also upload here, if it seems of interest on reflection (and if any listeners request to hear it). The Dream of the Butterfly is a famous story (almost an anecdote, it's so short) told by Zhuangzi or Chuang Tzu in the book named after him. The philosopher dreams that he is a butterfly, which leads to musing about the nature of reality. For something so short, it has a lot of philosophical and metaphysical implications - some of which are explored in this podcast. Others will have found far more depth within the Dream than is presented here.

To mark Chinese New Year (of the Pig) here is the story of how the Marshal Canopy (the translated name of  Tiānpéng Yuánshuài ) was cast out of the Celestial Realms to become Zhu Bajie - Pigsy as he is usually called in English translations of the renowned Chinese Buddhist novel Journey to the West. He is a comical figure whose gluttony and lustiness may seem at odds with Buddhist ideals, but the common interpretation is that he reflects that even the coarsest soul can eventually refine itself and attain to enlightenment - perhaps especially so if aided through friendship and a noble cause. My pronunciations will probably make Chinese people wince, so apologies for that. I'm still getting my head round Pinyin, much less the confusion of regional dialects! Hopefully I will find the brain space to record some more snippets from the adventures of the ever-hungry Zhu further on in 2019. If any listeners are Chinese and can recommend a reliable pronunciation guide for names (boo...

This short tale comes from the Inuit nations of Greenland. There are several versions of this story, but this is the one which I liked and which at least one anthropologist, Franz Boas, regards as an earlier version (some other accounts have merged with elements of the Sedna story which emanate from different nations in that part of the world). Thanks to Su Voke for advice on pronouncing the names. I'm including a canine story because it is the Year of the Dog in Chinese astrology - I was initially going to tell the tale of the dog-warrior Pan Hu, but the versions I have read are so short as to be little more than anecdotes and I didn't think I could pad it out to full story without it ceasing to be identifiably Chinese in the process. Like this Inuit story, the account of Pan Hu involves the marriage of a woman with a magical dog and suggests that the descendants of their union go on to become modern day nations of people (in the case of Pan Hu there are at least two ethnic...

Today is the beginning of the Year of the Rooster on the Chinese calendar - so best wishes to all those Chinese people celebrating it. This is my sign in the zodiac, so an auspicious year for me. To mark this, I've recorded my take on a story about the creation of the Zodiac by the August Jade Emperor - with particular attention to the role of the chicken. The mythological tales of this ancient culture are fascinating, and I'll be learning some more in the coming months.

A short story for readers, inspired by a Taoist myth (though told from a different angle to the usual). I have also written a poem inspired by the same story, which appears both on this blog and in the anthology 'Moon Poets', published by Moon Books. I'm not sure if Red Rabbit is a ghost story, a mythological tale, or something else entirely. I don't speak any Chinese and was concerned that the names might be inappropriate (not understanding the cultural context within which names are used). However, I ran this past a Malaysian friend who said the names were fine. I'm thinking of putting together a collection of spectral short stories with a magical/pagan theme at some point. I love reading the short stories of Christopher Fowler, Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes, Neil Gaiman etc., thought my stories are not in their league as yet. I'm not sure if there's a market for such a collection as yet, but hopefully so. The first version of this story was originally perf...

My publisher has put out another anthology, for which I have written a chapter. It is a collection of pagan poetry by six authors: myself, Beverley Price, Tiffany Chaney, Lorna Smithers, Romany Rivers, and Martin Pallot. It's available through any good bookshop at £4.99 and has something for almost everyone's tastes. It's always a pleasure to receive the advance copies and see ones work on the page. My selection includes poems inspired by the mythology of Greece, the Northern climes, China, Egypt and the Celts. I will record one for the YouTube channel and upload it in a couple of days. Beverley (who lives near me) and I will be holding a book launch after the midwinter madness is out of the way. Watch this space for more details.

I have posted this poem on the blog before, in written format, but thought I'd do a spoken version as well. It's from the 17th century Chinese myth of Hu Tianbao, a lowly soldier who fell in love with a pompous Imperial official who scorned his advances and had him battered to death. The Gods decided to transform Hu Tianbao's soul into a minor deity, Tu Er Shen the Rabbit God, and he became the patron of male love. The temples were popular around Fujian province, before eventually being suppressed. Recently his worship has been revived and includes at least one temple in Taiwan.

It's Pooka's Pageant tomorrow at Oddfellows Hall in Ipswich, our annual celebration of polytheism through the performing arts. I shall be doing two storytelling slots, one of pre-Islamic Arabic stories with a rather gruesome twist, and the other a selection of Taoist myths. We also have a good selection of singers, poets and storytellers to entertain people with Indian, German, Welsh, Egyptian and other roots. Should be a great day, I'm hoping the weather will hold, as there are some outdoor events scheduled. After the Pageant... the day went very well, with some considerable talent on display and a wide selection of tales, poems and song. The poetry of Matthew Plumb was, for me, particularly impressive with its intensely evocative grasp of the natural world. I don't doubt that one day soon he will become quite a name in the poetry world. It pretty much rained all day long, but this actually served to enhance listening to poems about the force of nature. I also enjoy...

This poem was written for a friend of Chinese heritage, and I am thinking about reading it at the Gloriously Other LGBT poetry event in July in Ipswich. It is inspired by the Taoist myth told of a young soldier, Hu Tianbao, who fell madly in love with a pompous government official and took to mooning over him. The bigwig did not notice until after the unfortunate day when Hu was caught spying on the dignitary whilst he was in the bathhouse. Enraged, the man had Hu beaten to death ~ whether this was plain old fashioned homophobia  or social snobbery towards a humble soldier for daring to lust after an Imperial flunky is ambiguous. When the poor soldier arrived before King Yan, judge of the dead, it was deemed that he had died for love and so was not deserving of infernal punishments. The case was sent to the celestial realms, where it was adjudged that Hu should be raised up as a god and renamed Tu-Er-Shen, the Rabbit God. He has been a patron of gay lovers ever since...