“Praises to you O Lords and Ladies, blessings to you who answer prayers! Thank you for lifting me up high when I was low, for putting a smile on your child’s face once more!
If you remember yesterday’s post, I was in the middle of a Greek ritual. And for some reason I started spontaneously praying to the Gods for something other than my usual requests. In fact it was almost like my subconscious was coming out. Usually on Noumenia I ask for cleansing and purification with Apollon Noumenious. Or I ask Selene and Endymion for money since the moon and the Stars are associated with money.
And I work with Zeus Ktesios and Hestia on bringing prosperity to the Household. But I ended up asking for the original cold weather of my early childhood. Of waking up one morning and feeling the brisk chill. And seeing cirrus clouds in all of their feathery splendor. So I just went with it.
And this morning it was a beautiful grey day! When I was a child I loved days like this. When it would rain I used to pretend I was Captain Nemo. And I played with my maternal grandmother. Usually with a Nick Jr. cartoon or puppet show. My favorite was Eureka’s Castle.
The Tuatha de Dannan have recently been making their way back into my life. When I started out doing magic, like many I fell into Wicca. During this time, I was exposed to the many Gods and spirits of the people in the United Kingdom. And the Greek Gods. My Master even says the pantheon there is more like a “UK Pantheon”.
Because the cultures and peoples are so mixed in this area that no one culture can describe it. From the Welsh and the Irish, to the people of the Isle of Man and the West Country. I had worked as an eclectic witch for years. Then I decided that while I am very good at eclectic magic, I wanted to study and officially serve the Gods. In each of their cultures.
I had already initiated into Greek Polytheism/Paganism. But I still hadn’t reconnected to my Celtic roots. And I began to look around for a person to teach me. Properly. For a while that was a bust.
Until one day I found out that in my Greek Temple there was a Druid. And not just any Druid, but an elder in her tradition. I couldn’t believe my luck. Here she was. My Master.
Fast forward to the present. I have been studying them. And lately they have been very vocal. Besides the totem pole that I shared yesterday, I also have been giving them libations. And food.
And for some reason I thought of them when praying to Selene. The Tuatha are Faerie Gods. And many of the Fair Folk work with the moon. Maybe that’s why they entered my working. But I prayed with all my might.
Prayed for that chilly weather that makes me relive the happiest times of my early life. And the next day, they answered,
View from my balcony
Some shots from the Balcony
My Balcony Garden
The Sun partially came out near the end but that was okay
The Sun came out near the end
Now I’m sure some idiot somewhere is going to come on here and say, this proves nothing. Or it’s coincidence. Let me say this : normally I would agree that it isn’t enough to be evidence. But lately our “spring” in Miami is more like Summer. Even for Florida, we have had historically high temperatures.
Courtesy of Global Warming. Some of the heat we have experienced hasn’t been seen since past centuries.
In fact, whenever the meteorologists claim a cold front will come, we don’t bat an eye anymore. Almost all cold fronts before this one have failed miserably. And they were stronger and had more of a chance of becoming cold weather than this meek little front. But instead we all saw a grey and cool day. With heavy clouds.
A good cool wind, and a gigantic smile on my face.
On this addition of random links of the day, we have some interesting articles on places and magic. And magical places in some cases. I kept getting so many of these articles that I made them into a random links addition. We’ll also be exploring ghosts and at least one article on haunted objects. Let’s get started!
🔝 I’m skeptical of this to be honest. It sounds like BS like “carbon capture” which only transfers the pollution from the air to the ground. Still I figured I would add this here and take a look.
I’ve heard so much disinformation about what is actually going on in Peru. It’s disgusting. Right Wing Cuban Exiles spreading the belief that this is a “socialist dictator” who was taken out of power. Or CNN and other centrist sites with their “two sides” take. Where they continue to peddle the storyline that President Pedro Castillo was some kind of tyrant.
And all while parroting the coup plotters claims (and not giving evidence for them). This country really fucks with my head. Seriously, they condemn the violence and extremism of January 6th here. But then they applaud it everywhere else. The United States of America continues to be one of the most two faced countries on Earth.
Suffering from extreme narcissistic personality disorder and total disconnect from reality. High on their own American exceptionalism. Let me tell you what is actually going on in the country. President Pedro Castillo is a former Teacher, Union Worker, and he’s Indigenous. Far from being a career politician, he campaigned for the presidency of the country on the platform of real change.
He’s been fighting to bring it to Peru. Instead of Peru being sacked by politicians stealing money from the people. Something so common that we even have a term for it in the US : Banana Republic. Unfortunately for him, that ran contrary to the interests of the ruling Oligarchy in his country. As well as foreign interests.
They also didn’t like that he was giving people of color a real voice in Peru. You see there’s an unspoken evil in Latin America : White Supremacy. Most Latin Americans will tell you racism “doesn’t exist”. And by most I mean people who have a colonial mentality. The white Spanish Criollos (Creoles) dominate our societies.
Most Latin Americans view themselves as some off shoot of the Spaniards. Which is wrong on every level. We are Indigenous, Black, Asian, and even Middle Eastern. The Spaniards were our conquerors and invaders, not our source culture. We have cultures of our own.
But just as most people think of Caucasians when they think of Americans, most people think of Criollos when they think of Latin Americans. So white Spanish culture dominates us. And if you have any doubts about that, look at our beauty pageants. Almost all of the contestants tend to be white women. Very few times are there indigenous or black women.
Asians and other groups are even more rare. But Pedro Castillo was changing that in his country. Which made him powerful enemies, who accused him of trying to “divide” Peruvians. But that was just the start of his problems. The US also didn’t like his reforms.
So the business leaders of Peru, multinational corporations, Western Powers, all led by the US, decided to take him out. Three times the Congress tried Parliamentary Coups to drive him from power saying he was “corrupt”. They made false investigations and smear campaigns to try and claim that he stole money. All with the intentions of throwing him out of office. The same accusations were done against President Lula DaSilva of Brazil.
And all three times he defeated their coups. Because he made sure the investigations were transparent. He also worked with the legal process. He brought in independent investigators. And they proved that the “investigations” done by congress were nothing but farcical political theatre.
The third time they tried he decided to try something different. He brought in lawyers. Their own investigations proved they didn’t even have the authority to have initiated the impeachment proceedings against him in the first place. In order to do that, you need hard evidence of wrong doing. Also, the polls showed strong support from the people.
Despite how much they have poured money into their own propaganda machines to make him look bad. But despite all of that, their smear campaign failed. They acted as if just by making up this nonsense, it made it true. Instead his lawyers told him there were clauses within Peru’s constitution that supported him. And that if a government body was co-opted by foreign or seditious powers, the acting President could temporarily dissolve the congress.
The infiltrator and the Traitor
Until a new congress could be elected. So on December 6th, 2022 Lisa Kenna, a former CIA agent who is now the US Ambassador of Peru, had a secret meeting with Gustavo Bobbio the Defense Minister. And the next day the President was arrested by the Police, and the Army shut the country down. Suspending all civil rights and civil liberties. Even banning free speech and freedom of movement.
The real coup plotters
And Dina Boluarte became the Dictator of Peru ever since. They’ve been trying to white wash the dictatorship since then. Again repeating the unfounded claims of corruption. And instead of calling what they did a Coup, they claimed it was normal legal action (because the army shutting down a country is totally normal). And then trying to act woke,
“Look! It’s the first female President of Peru!”
You mean Dictator. You actually have to be elected to be President. And the whole nation hates her and her regime. They tried this in Bolivia with Evo Morales as well. They thought if they replaced him with a female indigenous dictator that people would applaud it and say “Progress!”.
Peru’s current Dictator
They really thought Bolivians were that stupid then. And they think of Peruvians now. Protesters have demanded that if the former President is removed, they should have new elections. Not a Dictator. But the current regime refuses.
Talking points used by the far right also include rumors of “Marxist infiltrators from Bolivia”. Or “paid protesters” that allegedly were sent by the President. Fucking seriously, as if no one would notice a massive force of people from the Bolivian Border coming into the country. Now they’re pointing fingers at the people calling them “coup plotters” and “domestic terrorists”. Even if this man were a Dictator, it still doesn’t explain why they felt the need to shut the entire country down and suspend human rights.
So this is what a terrorist looks like? Hmmm
I guess nothing says “democracy” like firing on unarmed protesters and killing students. So please people, don’t come at me with this bullshit about President Castillo being corrupt or a tyrant. Or that he deserved to be the victim of a coup. You can’t ask for “civility” while engaging in Terrorism. And you can’t tell us to “believe in the system”.
You’re too busy working to undermine it every time someone you don’t like is bringing real change. That’s rigging the system in your own favor. That’s not democracy. That’s hypocrisy. Here’s some reading materials for you anyone interested in looking past the media block.
Authorities believe these skeletal remains are that of an Ancient Native American group buried on a Beach
The beach is already legendary among us Floridians. The official name is Chastain Beach. It’s on Hutchinson Island. But most people call it Seven Skulls because once seven human skulls were found there. Every time a Hurricane hits that area in just the right direction, skeletal remains are always discovered.
It’s led to many believing this is an indigenous burial ground. As you can read from the article on it, it’s also believed to be a mystical place. People who live in the town of Stuart say that the bones should be buried again. That interfering with the bodies is bad. Unfortunately the authorities don’t listen.
They were removed from the beach already. Probably on their way to a Museum.
Recently I had talked about a strange Supernatural occurrence during Hurricane Ian. In which I believe a Wild Hunt was unleashed. Some people in Central Florida heard the hooves of Horses on their roofs during the Hurricane. Something none of us have ever reported hearing before. I tried debunking it.
And couldn’t. So I turned to magic. And I saw a horrifying visions. They looked like legions of angry souls. All of them seeking revenge in one form of another.
Go to 1:18 on the video to skip to the part about the unearthed bodies
This video show it from the beginning. The Seminole Nation has claimed the bodies and the beach as belonging to their ancestors. I just thought this was something odd and interesting to put here. Be blessed my friends,
I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. I view it as propaganda to cover up the genocide of the Native Americans and the theft of their land. But as this Thanksgiving falls on Folklore Thursday, I figured you’d all like some Halloween mixed with the turkey. A vanishing English colony, a mysterious message on a tree, Shamans and shape shifting, and a tragic curse. And the Ghost of the first English woman ever born on the continent.
A ghostly English and American fairytale worthy of the Brothers Grimm.
The Mystery of the Missing Colony at Roanoke is known far and wide. As are the legends of Virginia Dare. Roanoke was the first true English settlement in Turtle Island (America). It was Founded by Sir Walter Raleigh a notoriously brutal colonizer and war criminal. While he committed genocide in Ireland at the behest of Elizabeth, here he used different tactics.
Walter Raleigh, I withheld the “Sir” here on purpose. May he be damned eternally
He decided to “befriend” the indigenous peoples so that he could slowly infiltrate their societies. And learn all that he could about them. Including potential enemies, resources to steal, strengths and weaknesses, and who would be allies of England. This was especially important for when they would stop being friendly and begin forcing submission. Now, Raleigh already has a strange history including a missing head after he died.
But that’s a story for another time. For now we will focus on the strange connection he has to this story. The settlement was on an Island off the coast of North Carolina. It wasn’t supposed to be there at all. It was supposed to be in Chesapeake Bay.
But the Pirate captain they hired to take them, a Portuguese Mercenary*, was in a rush to raid Spanish ships. So he left them stranded on Roanoke Island. Raleigh had previously befriended two indigenous leaders : Manteo and Wanchese. In fact, he took them all the way to England and they met the Queen. And Raleigh managed to get Manteo a Lord Title.
Becoming the only Native who ever received an English title. The Colony was given to the command of Governor John White. There were 115 Colonists under him. Among them was his daughter Eleanor, and her husband, Ananias Dare.
The Baptism of Virginia Dare at Roanoke Colony, image from the State Archives of North Carolina
Virginia was the very first child of English blood born on Turtle Island. But little did they know the dangers they were in. Many of the local tribes despised them. You see years before, another mercenary captain had ordered the whole sale slaughter of many indigenous tribes. Their crime? That one of their chiefs had held the captain’s silver cup in his hand for a moment.
The Captain believed he was trying to steal the cup. So he decided he make an example of them. Just to prove a point. This left the local tribes permanently traumatized. And when Europeans had once again appeared in the form of the Roanoke colony, they decided to show the invaders they weren’t welcome.
As things began to get dangerous, John White knew they needed help. So he left, presumably just for a few months. Returning to England for aid. He told the colonists that if they had to leave for any reason, to carve the name of their new location on a nearby tree. And if they were forced under pressure to leave, to carve a cross underneath the name.
When John White left for England, he had no idea that he would never see the people of Roanoke again. In 1588, the country was bracing for an Invasion from the Spanish armadas. Three years had passed before he and his new crew with their supplies made it back to Roanoke. And when they got there, they were greeted with an eerie silence. The whole colony, all 115 of them had long gone.
John White and the English soldiers find the colony empty, and a single word carved on a near by tree
And near the ruins of the settlement was the word “Croatoan” carved in a nearby tree. The disappearance of Virginia Dare and the Colony as well as the mysterious word has been the subject of fiction. From the Buffyverse where Virginia Dare was a past slayer, to “The Immortal Nicholas Flamel” series where she’s a villain. To her being a demon responsible for the disappearance of the colony in the FreakyLinks tv show. To the Croatoan virus from Supernatural which is a demonic virus that turns people into savage zombie like monsters.
Comic books. And recently on the CW series Legacies, a Demonic Monster that hunts and devours those who keep secrets. Of course all of that is nothing compared to the racist, anti indigenous fiction created later. One of the most famous Apocryphal stories spread is how the colonists died. That Virginia’s mother Eleanor bravely carved the word into a tree as a clue.
While she had her dead husband at her feet and her baby in her arms while savage natives attacked. Except that not one of the Roanoke colonists were killed. Remember, there wasn’t a cross carved under the word. Which means they weren’t forced to leave. There was no conflict.
And despite the English repeating stories of how the whole village was butchered, not one body was found. The village was abandoned with nothing left behind even for raiders. Which means the colonists took the supplies with them. Most of the English assumed local tribes had killed them all. But John White rightly assumed that the word was a misspelling of the word Croatan.
The name of Manteo’s tribe. But even with the possibility that they survived, he choose not to look for them. He and his crew went off to raid ships. And this is where Colonial history falls silent. Many people have said he wanted to find his family but a storm was coming.
Other sources say he also wanted to engage in raiding Spanish ships. Some believe he was more motivated by greed at this point. And since three years had passed since the colony was abandoned, he probably did believe they were dead. Although others claim it was the captain and not John White, who wanted to raid the ships. It depends on who you talk to.
Personally, I’m inclined to believe that there was a storm, he was pressured to leave by the soldiers, and he also thought they were dead. A man isn’t just going to give up on his daughter and granddaughter no matter what. Especially someone who brought an army and supplies even after three years. When anyone else would have assumed they were dead. I can only imagine the anguish he just have felt.
Native History, Legend, and Lore
Chief Manteo
But Native history picks up where colonial history left off. According to the Croatan, Manteo discovered that some of the tribes were planning a raid on the settlement. So he not only warned them, but led them through a tunnel on Roanoke island where canoes were secretly waiting for them on the other side. He brought enough not just for the colonists, but all of their supplies and personal possessions as well. He led them to his tribe the Croatan Nation.
Now we explore Virginia Dare’s childhood. Only she stopped being Virginia Dare. Her Mother was renamed “White Doe”. And Virginia became “Little Fawn”. Little Fawn was beloved by the whole tribe.
And was seen as the embodiment the principles of the First Nation. Not as a colonist or settler. But as a native woman. We do know that the new generation of Croatan not only knew native traditions but European traditions as well. Which means there was an equal exchange of cultures between the groups.
This is purely fictiinal. Croatan Native Women didn’t dress like this. From northcarolinaghosts.com
Upon becoming a woman, she inherited the name White Doe from her mother. She also earned the title of “Beloved Woman” and “Prophet”. She was trained as a Shaman. She grew up with Wanchese’s son who was named after his father. The younger Wanchese loved her, but had never confessed his feelings for her.
Later in Jamestown, some of the other settlers in 1608, reported that they saw survivors from Roanoke.
“Seven English alive…who escaped the slaughter at Roanoke. Fower men, two boys, and one young mayde,”
Except nobody died. The massacre was stopped by Manteo. Many suspect the young woman was White Doe/Virginia Dare herself. There were also tales of gray eyed natives or people with mixed features in those days. But going back to Croatan accounts, White Doe’s magic became so powerful, that she attracted the attention of a male shaman named Chico.
Chico was greedy for her power. He believed that if he could marry her, he could gain her powers for himself. Maybe even sire a child with greater powers still. But White Doe politely said no. This angered Chico greatly.
And he began to plot against her. For if he couldn’t have her power, nobody would. He led White Doe to her birth island at Roanoke. What pretext he used to lead her there isn’t clear. What is said is that he cast a powerful spell on the island.
And that she became a real white doe the moment she stepped foot on the cursed land. Trapped in this form, Chico abandoned her to her fate. When she disappeared, the whole village began to speculate that Chico was behind it somehow. But nothing could be proven.
The Magical Doe of Roanoke Island
Stories from the native hunters along the coast started to spread. They told of a lone white doe on Roanoke island. It was said that when tribal hunters shot arrows at the Doe, it went right through her. Taking no effect. And the animal was supernaturally fast as well.
Wanchese was sure it was his White Doe. It seems her magic remained even after she was cursed to animal form. He figured what Chico had done. So he decided to save his love. And he had the tool to do it.
Wanchese inherited a silver tipped arrow from his father. The arrow was a present that Wanchese Sr. was given by the Queen of England. It was reputed in the tribe to have special powers to break any enchantment. This makes sense because silver is the metal of the fae. And it’s said to have powers over evil spirits and magic.
His plan was to give White Doe a harmless flesh wound. That way the curse would be broken with her life spared. I think you can already tell this tale is going to end badly. The younger Wanchese chased her across the lands and finally cornered her in Kill Devil Hills. And there he fired his arrow.
Only to realize he had pierced her heart. She slowly turned back into a human woman.
She locked eyes with him, breathed her last breath, and died. Then her spirit appeared out of her body in the form of a ghostly white doe which fled into the forrest. Now I have told you this version of the story first. And the reason is because out of all the stories I researched, this one seems to be the most accurate account. It came from one of my paranormal books which I will cite later.
And it is recited orally for generations by the tribe. But for some reason, everyone either scoffs at the story as a silly fairy tale. Or they pervert the Croatan accounts for their own gain. As you’ll see soon by this next part.
Big Business, Bullshit, and Bigotry
As I have mentioned above, there are dozens of distortions to this story. The colonists and their later descendants were for the most part, unruly people. They had a sense of racial superiority about them. And in modern and former times, Virginia Dare was taken as a symbol of white womanhood and racism. She was used by racist white men in the South as a banner to rally white women and men to stop black women from voting.
VDare is a White Supremacist organization created by Peter Brimelow, the former Forbes editor and author. He stole the image of the White Doe for his fascist, anti immigration movement which wants to keep America white. To this end, this militia encourages European immigration in order to “purify” the US.
And she’s also been used in more recent times by racial separatist and Neo Nazi organizations. Invoked for different white supremacist agendas. Currently to protest immigration by non whites and “pc culture”. Her story has been perverted for other people’s agendas for hundreds of years. And one of those agendas was to sell wine.
During prohibition, a new take on Virginia Dare arose. One where the native leader Wanchese was scared of English people. In this myth, he turned against the Roanoke colonists and plotted to kill them all. In this version Manteo is still the one who saves them. But instead of Wanchese’s son, it’s a warrior named “Okisko” who is White Doe’s love.
And rather than a silver tipped arrow, he uses an oyster tipped arrow with a mother-of-pearl lining. The silver arrow remains with Wanchese. But story says that Wanchese was also hunting her. They make him into the stereotypical “evil Indian”. The reason Wanchese has been vilified by colonial sources, is because he broke relations with the English.
He saw the English as dangerous. And that they had ulterior motives for their “friendship,”. Wanchese was a noble warrior and leader of his people. And while he was never a Chief, his words held a lot of weight with them. He tried to warn Manteo about the dangers of being too close to the British Empire.
But sadly he didn’t listen. Wanchese broke his ties with the British. Which made Manteo their one ally. History was rewritten Wanchese as a villain. So back to the revised story, here she was supposedly stalked by both her true love and Wanchese.
Wanchese is portrayed here as a macho man who wanted to kill the white doe to prove he was a skilled hunter.
And Okisko wanted to save his love. They both found her drinking water at a pond and fired. Both hitting her in the heart at the same time. When she becomes human, Wanchese realizes what he did and flees. So here they paint the great leader as a shameless coward as well as a killer.
Okisko buries her.
He took her to the center of the Roanoke ruins and buried her there. And from her fallen body, came the scuppernong. The first of the grapes grown in North Carolina was born. Grapes as red as blood. And this was how they sold the wine in North Carolina.
Sallie Southall Cotten wrote this poem for a wine brand to sell the grapes. This version of the story was made famous from the Poem, “The White Doe or the Legend of Virginia Dare,” it was a campaign to sell wine. And other versions of the story were further distorted. A famous NY Times article actually claimed that a hunter from Virginia shot the white doe with a silver bullet. Causing her death.
But it was all a massive media campaign to sell wine. And there are still people who view it as true to this day.
The ghostly white doe is still spotted to this day. Ever since her death at Kill Devil Hills, she’s been seen. Hunters who go to Roanoke island have seen a pure white female deer. Supernaturally fast, because they all say the same thing. They can only ever get a glimpse of the deer.
As soon as they see it, it’s gone. As in the blink of an eye. Many skeptics have tried debunking claims that this is her spirit roaming the island. Claiming it’s just a rare breed of albino deer. But that has never been proven.
Where are all the albino deers? It’s only ever one deer, a female deer who is spotted. And it’s been spotted since colonial times. Albinos would have to appear once in every generation. Maybe it’s an immortal deer. She only comes out at night.
Even today there are people reporting the mystical white doe. The sightings are regarded as an “urban legend,”. But if that’s the case, then this is the longest running Urban Legend in US History. Or perhaps there is more fact than fiction here. A mystical blend of historical mystery and the Supernatural.
And it only gets weirder. In Manteo, North Carolina they have a play showing the founding and vanishing of the Roanoke Colony. The play has been going on since the 1930’s. In every single play, the actors reported encounters with people dressed in period clothing roaming around backstage. Except these people are not from the cast.
And many have claimed to have seen ghostly apparitions of a young blond maiden they think is Virginia herself. Are these the ghosts of the colonists? Could it be that what happened to Virginia has caused them to remain in limbo? Stuck between realms. Much like White Doe herself, Little Fawn, the Beloved Woman, who even today remains untamed, illusive, and perhaps….unknowable.
*Some accounts claim it was a Spanish captain named Simon Fernando. But given the fact that there were serious tensions occuring between Spain and England I find that doubtful. And his name is often used in accounts that to me are less than trustworthy. The Southern author of the book who listened to the Croatan, says it was a Portuguese mercenary who captained the ship. And he had abandoned them on Roanoke to raid Spanish ships.
This account is more in line with the history. And as stated before, they weren’t supposed to be on Roanoke. A fact that is almost left out of every account. I didn’t even know that. The only thing they do agree on is that the name of the ship was Lion.
But even then, popular sources translate it as Lyon which is French for Lion. If it had been Spanish as they claim, it would have been Leon. The Portuguese name would have been Leão and to non speakers of the language it may have sounded like Lyon. What I discovered is that the author was right : the name of the Captain was Simão Fernandes. Usually translated as Simon Fernandes and eventually in apocryphal accounts as Simon Fernando.
Many historians from the West especially England, try to translate the names of other cultures in English. Juan becomes John and so forth. English museums do this all the time. So mistranslations are bound to occur. So the Pirate captain’s nationality was changed from Portuguese to Spanish.
Probably because the people doing the translating in future generations may not have been able to tell that his name was Portuguese. There are some minor similarities in both languages and the translators may have translated his name so many times that it no longer looked like his name.
Amazon has it for $19, but you can buy it on Thrift Books for $5.29 and that includes the hardcover edition
⬆️ This book had some of the most accurate information. There were a few things that were wrong but mostly correct. Also, the colonial ghosts at the play since the 1930’s comes from this book as well. This author has thoroughly researched the South. And while I don’t always agree with his opinions, he does have good information.
And he has tried to verify as much as possible. Also the report from Jamestown comes from this book.
4) The Sad Fate of White DoeNew York Times (April 22, 1888) (this one mentions the revised stories including that a farmer supposedly killed her with a silver bullet)
In countries and communities of Latin America, even in the north of America, there are stories told of the Crying Woman. Children are warned of going too close to lakes or ponds or other bodies of water at night. Sometimes during the day as well. She is a spirit of Vengeance, one who does not yield nor relent.
The First Wailing Women
The Aztec version of the first Wailing Woman was the Goddess Coatlicue (serpent skirt). She isn’t just the Mother of the Gods. She is also the Patron of women and children who die in childbirth. It’s said that when the Spaniards conquered the Aztecs, a vision of her was seen wailing in sadness for her people. For she saw the dark future that awaited them.
Then we have the case of the Goddess Brighid
Brighid had married a human king and had sons with him. But one day her family died in a battle. And the result was that she wailed endlessly over their bodies. This started the Irish tradition of keening. Or wailing for the dead.
This is where the mourning women at funerals come from. And the legends go on with the Banshee of Ireland or the Cihuateolt of Mexico. Or apparitions in Catholic countries of mourning women in mourner garbs. Or mourning women from the Victorian era who haunt old houses. We even have one of those here in Florida.
Wailing Women or women in white started out as Goddesses in my research. Divine women from various backgrounds and eras. Who cried out in agony at several turning points in history. But where does she come from? Most people say this is a Latin American tradition. I disagree, I have seen a depiction of a Wailing Woman in almost every culture.
People in North America were first introduced to a concept of the Ladies in White in the pilot episode of the TV series Supernatural. Here, Sam and Dean Winchester, encounter an American Lady in White. One of the few times they ever got the folklore right in that show. Sam even mentions, when explaining what they are, that these types of spirits can be found all over the world.
Typically, as explained in that episode, women in white are women that were abandoned by an unfaithful man. They usually bare children to that man, then in a fit of rage, some might say, temporary insanity (like Sam mentions) the woman takes her anger out on the children. They blame them for the abandonment of the spouse, and kill their children as revenge against the Father. Usually by disposing of them in a river, lake, pond etc. The children drown. But when they come to their senses and realize what they have done, they commit suicide the same way.
Cursed, the condemned soul of the newly created Woman in White or Weeping woman returns to the scene of the crime. She searches for her missing children, the problem is, she can’t find them. She doesn’t know where they are. So the town’s people in all the cultures report hearing the deceased women weeping all night long.
Sometimes even shrieking in anger and frustration. As you can imagine, for a person in a town or city to hear this in the middle of the night is unnerving. This gives way to anger, and a desire to kill any unfaithful man that they find. They become Vengeance Ghosts. Angry spirits who exist only for pay back, for the desire to punish the guilty party, or just someone, anyone for their own crimes. In some cases, the Wailing Women will go after men in general. Not caring if they are good or bad. In other cases, Wailing Women are just plain evil. Not going after guilty victims like the usual ones. In these cases, Wailers try to kidnap and murder children.
A really nasty story of such a Wailing Woman can be found in Guatemala. Unlike the more innocent Llorona in Mexico, this Lady in White, killed her babies because a man she wanted did not want her or his children. After drowning the babes in a lake, she went off and lived a very long life. Only when she finally died, did the universe pay her back. She awakened as a spirit, bound to the Lake where she had killed the children, which angered her even more. So now she takes out her rage on stray children that wander too close to bodies of water in that country. Which leads us to another interesting facet about these entities. Some are more powerful than others. The Lady in White in Guatemala can apparently control more than one body of water. The normal ones are Loci (location) specific spirits with power only in the places they died.
So there is no safe water source for a child there. They are always in danger near water. This is not the first time I have heard of that. It seems that some ghosts can grow stronger and smarter over time. Some can develop a wide variety of powers. In these cases they can or are almost on the same level of power as a non human entity. This is in stark contrast to the paranormal theory that human spiritis are weaker than non-human spirits. That’s why there is such a wide range of abilities a ghost can have.
In India, similar dead women exist who haunt lonely roads and murder men or even women who travel there. I’ve been told before that it’s almost like a time loop when you encounter these women. You pass a random woman just standing at the side of the road. And the next thing you know she is either ahead of you in the same side of road or standing in the middle of it. In this capacity, wailing women are not always haunting rivers.
They can also haunt roads and street corners as well. And some are like “Resurrection Mary” of American lore. They ask for a ride home or to a certain intersection and suddenly they vanish. But unlike Resurrection Mary, who is a benign spirit, this version of wailing women will haunt the man who gives them a ride. It seems not all of them can kill.
So they resort to tormenting their male victims. Some also harm people indiscriminately of whether they are men or women. Children or the elderly. Some pretend to be in trouble to lure well meaning people to their aid. And this just leads to them being killed.
Not all of them dress in white either. In India they can be dressed in various garbs or whatever. Mexicans who crossed the border, have said that they encountered wailing women there. They believe these are deceased border jumpers who were harmed either by the coyotes (smugglers), other travelers, or even the various militias or immigration officials hunting them. Whatever the story, even on the border no one is safe.
In Mexico, Women in White can transform into horse headed women. These women are similar to the Selkies of English folklore. These beings are normally called Sihuanaba the Sihuanaba are usually their own type of creature. However the Llorona seem to also take this form sometimes, luring men to bodies of water to be drowned.
It would seem that the trend in women dying horrible deaths associated with unfaithful men or dead beat men, bred a strange evolution of ghost on the other side. Vengeance Ghosts already being an off shoot in their own right. So this is the reason that so many of these female ghosts, are following identical or near identical patterns. Perhaps it’s even possible that these women have a similar spiritual wavelength. That their thoughts or feelings or desires are so similar or similar enough, that they have collectively evolved.
Perhaps evolution doesn’t end with life, it just changes form in death.
Now to finish, I should mention that in the media, the most popular Llorona (Crying Woman) is the Mexican one. As I said before, there are several versions of this story because they are all different women who had similar traumatic experiences. The story in Mexico is about a peasant indigenous woman. Her real name is lost to time, but most people say it was either Maria or Rosita. The story goes that she was the most beautiful young woman in her town.
But she was not interested in a relationship. Some say that she was in love with a particular young man. Others claim, that she was vain and selfish desiring only status and power. I tend to reject the negative portrayel of her. Because as a person of mixed descent living under European colonialism, I can tell you that stereotypical portrayals of bad women are all too common.
Especially when it’s a native woman and a white man. The man was not only a white Spaniard, but a member of the Elite Criollo (Creole) families in Mexico. Specifically he was a land baron like his family before him. Maria or Rosita was said to be entranced by him. He began to woo her even serenading her under the night sky.
Eventually, she gave into him and they married. Although other stories maintain they could not marry because of the racial hierarchy the Spanish Colonies of the time. In those tales it is said she became his “Indian wife”. Spaniards since the Conquistador times, would have legitimate marriages with white women. But would also be permitted under the Colonial system to sleep with native women and have a sort of civil union with them.
Sometimes (if it were a wealthy Spaniard) passing on properties or titles like the “royal bastards” of Kings. Indian wives were the kept women of powerful colonial masters. The Church more or less recognized these unions but only to an extent. In this story, which was the story I was told and her name here is Rosita, she was his lover for years, eventually bearing two young sons. They would have special rendezvous so that he could also meet with his sons.
But one day, he told her he was being pressured into an arranged marriage with a Spanish Noblewoman to gain more lands. She was enraged at the fact that he was going to marry someone else despite their years long relationship. In an act of temporary madness, she drowned both her sons in river. She hadn’t actually realized she was enacting her fantasy of drowning him in the river until she enacted it on her sons.
She snapped out of it, realized what she had done, gone after them to try and save them, and died in the attempt. Another version of that story says the Land Baron was angry she shut him out and refused his advancements. So he, not her, had killed the children (who were apparently from another marriage). Which led to her diving in after them and dying with them. Whatever the case may be, it is said that soon after, the Town’s people began to see apparitions of Rosita/Maria near the river, in the same white dress she was buried in.
Her wailing was so loud, it awakened the village every night. In yet another version of the story, after killing her children she went all the way to Heaven. But when God asked her where her children were. She said she didn’t know, and God told her she could not stay until her children came back with her. Now, how anyone would know this happened is beyond me. Maybe the Ghost told someone a long time ago. Or a shaman saw it in a vision. Who knows.
The Llorona in San Diego
Those are all the versions I have heard. Now, I will tell you all a story about a friend I had who lived in San Diego, California. She lived in apartments there. But California, is one of those states with odd Paranormal activity.
It is true, that if you research enough you will find Paranormal Acitvity anywhere. Or some legend or ghost story here and there. But Florida, New York, California, Hawaii, the Ozarks, and Louisiana seem thus far to be the most haunted of areas here. My ex girlfriend, an accomplished witch and medium once told me she would never want to live in Florida. Because of how “messed up” the energy here is. Similarly, that same messed up vibration can be felt in California by some.
The Elders always say that our Spirits travel with us wherever we go. Others do not believe that and think that our ancestral spirits stay in the homeland. I can tell you that the former is true and the latter is a lie. I am always in touch with local spirits. On a daily basis I have seen all sorts of creatures that are not in any books I have ever read.
But their energies are still unique to whatever land they came from. A unique aura to them that distinguishes them from native spirits. In California, where there is a heavy indigenous population from Mexico, some of the south native spirits traveled with them. Among them was a Weeping Woman. But this one didn’t try to kill men.
What she wanted was children. My friend at the time, Annie encountered one. I changed her name I for privacy. She is a powerful Soothsayer. Soothsayers are a subcategory of Seers and Mediums.
They have prophetic powers and can see and feel things in greater detail than a regular psychic. Her children inherited her powers. One night, she told me that a spirit that had not manifested before was suddenly there. And it was a Wailer. It wanted her children.
Somehow, she must have bound herself to someone there and they brought her over with them. The Wailer was a meztiza (1) woman. She had a round face with a brown mole on the right side of her mouth. She would never move her lips, she just had a grim expression, and a voice that would manifest out of nowhere. She seemed to be manifesting it with her mind.
She kept singing a lullaby in her language to them but it still had no effect. I always wondered if this was because of their own innate strength in the spirit world. It still managed to get their attention however.
The entity looked like a whisp of smoke below the waste and above looked almost like a normal woman except that she was transparent. And that horrible, grim expression. Just blank like someone who had gone through a traumatising experience. If the stories are true, that may explain why. And rather than white, she wore purple with a black veil.
The veil covered her head. But her face was left uncovered. It was a shawl like those common to Spanish speaking Turtle Island. They lived on the second floor of the apartment complex and it would just hoover there. Staring. Trying to get the children out.
She tried to enter the apartment and could not. It was being repelled by Annie’s wards. Annie, eventually discovered the entity. She performed a ritual to cross the poor soul over to the other side. It looks like she thought if she could kill Annie’s children, it would allow her to be with them in death. She wanted her family back. Annie set the poor soul free.
And never again to my knowledge did such an entity try to harm hers or any other children there. There have only been four cases I was involved in, and one indirectly involved in, where children were in some kind of danger. And sadly, each one was worst than the last.
These children were lucky to have a witch for a mother. Annie, through her knowledge of magics, was able to save the day. So the next time your children tell you about their imaginary friends, pay attention. Especially if their description is awful. You never now what is roaming around with a perchant for innocent blood.
Adventures of A Mage In Miami 