Inner World

Blue Day

I love the effect of the sun on rough waters, all these tiny brillant stars:

A seagull couple :

Loki with the sun in his mouth:

Blue, blue, blue...

How the sun can be in three places at the same time... :-)

Le Port

La vie du port avec ses goélands:

Loki mélodramatique:

Solemn Face

Harbour life with its blackbacked seagulls

"You are laughing with me, aren't you?"

L'Oeil du Destin- Les Sorcières de Spence

de Libba Bray

Présentation de l'éditeur
Qu'est-ce qui te fait peur ? Qu'est-ce qui fait se dresser les poils de tes bras, transpirer la paume de tes mains, qu'est-ce qui emprisonne ton souffle dans ta poitrine comme un animal sauvage ? Est-ce l'obscurité ? la mémoire furtive d'une histoire du soir, de fantômes, de lutins et de sorcières se cachant dans l'ombre ? Est-ce la façon dont le vent se lève avant une tempête ? Ou est-ce quelque chose de plus profond, quelque chose de plus effrayant, un monstre très loin ? Si tu veux bien écouter, je vais te raconter une histoire. Je vais te raconter l'histoire de comment nous nous sommes retrouvés dans un royaume où les rêves se forment, où la destinée est choisie, où la magie est aussi réelle
que tes empreintes dans la neige. Je vais te raconter comment nous avons ouvert la boîte de Pandore, goûté la liberté, entaché nos âmes par le choix et le sang, et déchaîné une telle horreur sur le monde qu'elle a détruit son ordre le plus cher. Ces pages sont une confession de tout ce qui a conduit à cette aube grise
et froide. Ce qui va arriver désormais, je ne peux le dire.

Biographie de l'auteur
Les Sorcières de Spence est le premier roman de Libba Bray et le premier volume de la trilogie L'œil du destin.

A Great and Terrible Beauty

by Libba Bray

Amazon.com
A Victorian boarding school story, a Gothic mansion mystery, a gossipy romp about a clique of girlfriends, and a dark other-worldly fantasy--jumble them all together and you have this complicated and unusual first novel.

Gemma, 16, has had an unconventional upbringing in India, until the day she foresees her mother’s death in a black, swirling vision that turns out to be true. Sent back to England, she is enrolled at Spence, a girls’ academy with a mysterious burned-out East Wing. There Gemma is snubbed by powerful Felicity, beautiful Pippa, and even her own dumpy roommate Ann, until she blackmails herself and Ann into the treacherous clique. Gemma is distressed to find that she has been followed from India by Kartik, a beautiful young man who warns her to fight off the visions. Nevertheless, they continue, and one night she is led by a child-spirit to find a diary that reveals the secrets of a mystical Order. The clique soon finds a way to accompany Gemma to the other-world realms of her visions "for a bit of fun" and to taste the power they will never have as Victorian wives, but they discover that the delights of the realms are overwhelmed by a menace they cannot control. Gemma is left wi! th the knowledge that her role as the link between worlds leaves her with a mission to seek out the "others" and rebuild the Order. A Great and Terrible Beauty is an impressive first book in what should prove to be a fascinating trilogy. (Ages 12 up) –Patty Campbell --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up–Libba Bray's new Gothic tale of a Victorian girls school with a deadly secret (Delacorte, 2003) is brought to life in Josephine Bailey's nuanced reading. At 16, Gemma must leave the only home she's known–colonial India–when her mother kills herself under bizarre circumstances and Gemma is both confused and intrigued by the details. Although she longed to see London while her family lived abroad, Gemma is disappointed to find that she's being packed off to finishing school there. At school, she stands up to the very circle of girls who seem to hold the most power, while also dealing with weird hallucinations and the furtive presence of the young man she first saw in Bombay on the day of her mother's death. The school and its administration hold fast to a secret about the class of 1871, which passed through it nearly a quarter century before Gemma's stay. As friendships develop between Gemma and three of the other students, and several of her teachers reveal interesting personal sides of themselves, the plot and the reader both tug the audience into the creepy depths beneath a cave on the school grounds. There the living girls find a pleasurable world populated by goddess figures–and Gemma's dead mother. How all this ultimately connects with that mysterious class of 1871 will delight Gothic fans and inspire those new to the genre to taste such classic writers in it as Daphne du Maurier.

Le Flot

Le sentier qui mène à l'Océan de Lumière
Est-ce cela? Est-ce la réponse?
Aussi longtemps que tu seras libre, tu es en sûreté,
Chantent les vagues déferlantes,
Le flot, le flot, le flot... et n'aie aucun regret.

The Flow

The path that leads to the Ocean of Light
Is that it? Is this the answer?
As long as you are free, you are safe,
Rolled on the waves
The flow, the flow, the flow...and have no regret.

Dans le Creux des Rochers

Une promenade au bord de la mer...

Certains l'appellent "Tête de chien", je l'appelle "Gueule d'amour", mais il est aussi connu sous le nom de Loki:

Ouais, l'eau est assez froide...

Une série de bassins:

Surprise! Le fond de ces bassins est un autre monde...

Il a déposé des coquillages et des mousses
Dans mon foyer au fond de la mer.
Dans le jardin du Selkie
Les rayons de soleil font etinceler des couleurs étonnantes,
Couleurs de transe mouvante...

In the Hollow of the Rocks

A walk by the sea...

Some call him "Dog Face", I call him "Love Face", but he's also known as Loki:

Yeah, the water's cool enough...

A series of pools:

Surprise! The bottom of these pools is another world...

He laid shells and mosses
In my home at the bottom of the sea
In the garden of the Selkie
Sun rays spark wondrous colours
Colours of moving trance...

Wildwood Dancing

by Juliet Marillier

From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 8 Up—This riveting story about 16-year-old Jenica; her pet frog, Gogu; and her four sisters takes place between the fairy world and the family's Romanian estate of Piscul Dracului. When the girls were young, they discovered a mysterious portal that appears every full moon and allows them access to the Dancing Glade in the Other Kingdom. They dress in the finest gowns and spend all night dancing with a host of bizarre and enchanting fairy creatures. Unfortunately, the girls' simple and carefree lives change drastically when their father becomes ill and must spend the winter in the milder climate of Constanta. Jenica takes charge of the estate and the family's merchant business but their overbearing, power-hungry cousin, Cezar, interferes with their affairs and questions the sisters' knowledge of the Other Kingdom. As he tightens the noose around them, everything Jenica has come to love-her sisters, her frog, her home, and the Dancing Glade-is in jeopardy. To make matters worse, her sister Tatiana has fallen in love with one of the mysterious and feared Night people. This relationship is doomed from the start and it is up to Jenica to make things right-but to do so she will be put to the ultimate test. Strong characters, two fully realized settings, and a fast-moving plot guarantee that readers will be spellbound by this page-turner.—Donna Rosenblum, Nassau Boces School Library System, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
On the night of each full moon, the five Transylvanian sisters who reside in the castle Piscul Dracului don their finest gowns. They raise their hands to create shadows against the wall, opening a portal to the Other Kingdom, where they will dance the night away with all manner of fantastical creatures. After nine years of full moons spent in delightful revelry, dark forces, both human and otherworldly, arise to encroach upon the sisters' happiness. Told by Jena, the second oldest sister, this detailed and mood-rich story covers much territory, both mundane and magical. Adult fantasy writer Marillier has uniquely reimagined and blended an assortment of well-known tales and characters--including fairies, dwarves, witches, vampires, and a frog who is more than he seems--into a compelling whole in her first book for teens. By the end, all are cleverly bound together, and a mystery is solved. With much to say about human nature and choice, not unlike the moral in fairy tales of old, this will be a hit with older teen readers, especially girls. Holly Koelling
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Le Roi de la Montagne d'Or

J'ai été à la cour du Roi de la Montagne
Dorées sont les herbes
Et verte la chevelure de la sorcière.
J'ai entendu les tambours
Bam Bam Bam
Et j'ai tremblé au pied des trolls de la montagne
Clip Clap Clop
Chantait la pluie faisant fondre la neige
Et tous les bourgeons langoureux
Firent une chaine, firent une chaine...
Sous l'arc-en-ciel, tous, nous dansions.

Mon cher ami, l'huîtrier:

The King of the Golden Mountain

I went to the court of the Mountain King
Gold is the grass
And green the witch's hair
I heard the drums
Bam Bam Bam
And I trembled at the feet of the mountain trolls
Clip Clap Clop
Sang the rain washing the snow
And all the buds in great arousal
Made a chain, made a chain...
Under the rainbow, we all danced.

My dear friend, the oystercatcher:

Tarot of Transformation

by Willow Arlenea, Jasmin Lee Cori

Book Description
The Tarot of Transformation deals with life’s possibilities, hardships, and challenges in a way that encourages creativity, wisdom, and maturity.

For centuries, people have been using — and adapting — the 78 cards of the tarot to point the way in their lives. Now from psychologist, Cori, and artist, Arlenea, comes a brand new deck, not so much for telling what will be, but for helping us focus on what can be. While gently counseling readers to accept what is, The Tarot of Transformation encourages readers to get in touch with their own creativity and passion. This new interpretation, steeped in tradition but vibrating with contemporary appeal, offers new possibilities for guidance and change.

Arlenea and Cori have rendered the system of archetypes in the major arcana anew for our times — the traditional Emperor becomes the Green Man, which presents male authority not as ruler, but as an intimate, natural fathering role. The Empress is Earth Mother. The usually male Hierophant becomes a group of spiritual teachers. The Tarot of Transformation speaks to this age and its challenges. With brilliant colors and powerfully evocative symbols, Arlenea’s images are modern, cross-cultural, and visionary.

In the accompanying book, Cori draws from an eclectic blend of spiritual traditions including Buddhism, Hinduism, Vipassana meditation, and Karma Yoga, as well as psychotherapeutic approaches, such as Gestalt, Bioenergetics, and the Hakomi Method to describe the meaning of each card.

About the Author
Willow Arlenea’s powerful images spring from her diverse spiritual studies and practice of Vipassana meditation and Sufi belly dancing. She has degrees in fine arts and transpersonal psychology and lives in Northern California.

Jasmin Lee Cori is a licensed psychotherapist who uses a transpersonal approach. She has taught psychology and personal growth classes in colleges and professional programs and now writes full-time. Jasmin is the author of several books, including The Tao of Contemplation, and lives in Boulder, Colorado.

http://www.designsbywillow.com/

Lumière

Nous nous rapprochons du soleil de minuit qui débute le 27 mai. Les oiseaux sont très actifs et l'air est saturé de leur exhubérance.

Alors que le Soleil monte chaque jour de plus en plus haut
Je m'accroche aux derniers vestiges de la nuit
Étoiles visibles aux seuls yeux de l'âme,
Dans le chaud et riche manteau de Dame Nuit
Enceinte de rêves et de visions.
Le crépuscule tient toutes ses promesses...

Light

We're drawing close to the midnight sun which starts on the 27th of May. Birds are very active and the air is saturated with their exhuberance.

As the Sun rises higher day after day
I cling to the last remains of the night
Stars that shine only before the inner eye
In the warmest and richest cloak of Lady Night
Pregnant with dreams and visions.
Twilight holds all its promises...

Neige Toute Neuve

La neige est revenue pour le plus grand plaisir de Loki le chien.

L'étang a presque disparu sous la neige:

Un lieu de guérison
Au delà des buttes enneigées
Blanches comme un nouveau commencement
Avec toutes les teintes bleutées
Pour ne pas oublier
Nos origines, la Terre des Rêves.
Un lieu d'émerveillement
Où tout est, simplement;
Insouillé et vrai.

Brand New Snow

Snow has come back to Loki the dog's great pleasure.

The tarn nearly disappeared under the snow:

A place of healing
Beyond the mounds of snow
As white as new beginnings
With every shade of blue
So as not to forget
Our origins from dreams.
A place of wonder
Where everything just is,
Unspoiled and true.

Dieu de la Mer

Apres une impression printanière trompeuse, l'hiver est de retour sur les Lofoten. Stalactites et fortes bourrasques de vent humide et glacé.

Mais le soleil ne nous a pas oublié:

Aujourd'hui, j'ai fini ma figurine du Dieu de la Mer. Peut-être Njord, ou Manannan Mac LLyr, mais certainement pas Poseidon puisque c'est un violeur (parfaitement!):

Tempête sur l'Ocean
Apporte-moi le trésor des profondeurs
La phosphorescence de son royaume,
L'extase du Dieu de la Mer.

Je regardais aujourd'hui la premiere photo de ma note d' il y a deux jours, "Portail" et il m'a bien semblé voir une figure familière. La premiere image montre le dieu Loki (qui n'est pas vraiment un "dieu") gravé sur une pierre, et la seconde est tirée de ma photo:

Portail

Deux royaumes et un portail, un miroir qui révèle des rêves inédits scintillant dans l'oeil de la Bête Magnifique ...

Sea God

After a false sensation of spring, winter is back on Lofoten. Icicles and strong gusts of freezing and damp wind.

But the sun hasn't forsaken us:

Today, I just finished my figurine of the Sea God. Perhaps Njord, or Manannan Mac LLyr, but certainly not Poseidon since he's a rapist (yes, he is!):

Storm upon the Ocean
Bring me the treasure of the depths
The phosphorescence of his kingdom,
The ecstasy of the Sea God.

I was watching the first photo on the post "Gate" from 2 days ago and thought I could see a familiar figure. And I was right. The first picture shows the god Loki (he's not really a "god") engraved on a stone, and the second is a close-up from my photo: