Often darker, weirder, and more introspective than The Simpsons, I loved reading the Life in Hell books and comics in the free Philadelphia City Paper as a kidGroenings rabbits were both funny and oddly therapeutic, perfect for weird kids, smartass teens, and stressed-out adults alike. Eostre, the Celtic version of Ostara, was a goddess also associated with the moon, and with mythic stories of death, redemption, and resurrection during the turning of winter to spring. This idea provides the underlying rationale behind various festivities and rituals, such as the Osterfeuer, or Easter Fire, a celebration in Germany involving large outdoor bonfires meant to scare away witches. In some stories, the Pooka is said to be a benign but mischievous presence, while in others it is portrayed as more malevolent, with the ability to bring harm to those who cross its path. Moon folklore from certain Amerindian cultures of North America also has rabbit themes and characters. Fenrir | Norse mythology | Britannica Even within Europe, different societies used rabbits as an icon of fecundity and linked them to deities of reproduction. Eostre, too, was a shape-shifter, taking the shape of a hare at each full moon; all hares were sacred to her, and acted as her messengers. For as long as civilization has tried to impose order on its subjects, Tricksters have been thumbing their nose at the rules. Bakeneko. In Vietnamese mythology, the Jade Rabbit on the Moon is often accompanied by the Moon Lady and Cui, who sits under a magical banyan. "The Old Dust Poem by Li Po - Poem Hunter", "The Jatakas: Birth Stories of the Bodhisatta", "China to Send 'Jade Rabbit' Rover to the Moon", "China lunar rover successfully touches down on far side of the moon, state media announces", "She wears it well Supermodel Kate Moss pays tribute to David Bowie in Ziggy Stardust outfit", "Oldest Brit winner David Bowie enters independence debate", "Lorde Assists Clairo On Another New 'Sling' Song, The Gentle 'Reaper', "Theater review: 'South Street' at the Pasadena Playhouse". A Guide to The Mythological Creatures of Japanese Irezumi Such astonishing skills in biological reproduction certainly had an impact on European symbolism. Fearing Fenrir's strength and knowing that only evil could be expected of him, the gods bound him with a magical chain made of the sound of a cat's footsteps, the beard of a woman, the breath of fish, and other occult elements. In Chinese, Japanese, and Korean mythology, rabbits live on the moon. Rabbit Symbolism & Meaning | Spirit, Totem & Power Animal Its not long before the village is being terrorized by a giant, vegetable-crazed Were-Rabbit, and Wallace and Gromit must solve the mystery before the monster can ruin the annual Giant Vegetable Competitionand if you havent seen this movie, you probably should. Type of Entity: Supernatural. Azazel is believed to be a satyr, a goat-like demon. To amuse children, Eostre changed her beautiful pet bird into a rabbit. Similar tales are to be found in Central African fables and the related figure of Br'er Rabbit, the ultimate hero of cunning. Gods, Goddesses and Rabbits? The Surprising Ancient Myths of the Moon To that end, the critter is described as having the head of a hare (or rabbit), the body of a squirrel (or hare), the antlers of a deer, and wings (and sometimes webbed feet) of a pheasant or duck. Rabbits were sacred to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty, and marriage -- for rabbits had "the gift of Aphrodite" (fertility) in great abundance. Only the crane was willing to take him there. As we head into the Easter weekend, Id like to take a minute to pay tribute to some of the more memorable bunnies and assorted rabbit-like creatures who have hopped, time-traveled, and occasionally slaughtered their way through science fiction and fantasy, beginning (in no particular order), with everybodys favorite hard-drinking, invisible lagomorph. Beginning in 1977, Groenings comics centered on the rabbit Binky (generally neurotic and depressed) and his son Bongo (a young one-eared rabbit, full of mischief, curiosity, and inconvenient questions), as well as Binkys girlfriend Sheba and identical humans Akbar & Jeff. In this story the hare is a previous incarnation of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. Hares were associated with the Artemis, goddess of wild places and the hunt, and newborn hares were not to be killed but left to her protection. It is said the lunar image is still draped in the smoke that rose when the rabbit cast itself into the fire. Lust is one of the seven deadly sins, and when artists depicted it in allegorical form ("Luxuria"), it sometimes took the form of a woman with a bunny. He remains singularly devoted to his creator, even deigning to perform the Funny Bunny song and dance that delighted her as a girl (but only behind closed doors, where no one can see him cavorting about). Based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning stage play, Harvey embodies everything strange and brilliant and wonderful about classic Hollywood. Rabbit | Forgotten Realms Wiki | Fandom Taoist traditions in China relate a story about a moon-dwelling rabbit who pounds together the ingredients of the elixir of life. While most European languages refer to the Christian holiday with names that come from the Jewish holiday of Passover, such as Pques in French or Psk in Swedish, German and English languages retain this older, non-biblical word: Easter. In Destiny 2, players can visit the Moon and find miniature statues of chibi-styled jade rabbit dolls which accept offerings of rice cake.[18]. Richard Kellys Donnie Darko quickly gained a huge cult following when it was released in 2001 (and since then seems to have received a certain amount of backlash), but whether you love it or think its completely overrated, I think we can all agree that Frank is probably the creepiest rabbit-type-thing on this list, appearing to the title character in a series of visions like in the form of some kind of menacing demon-alien terror bunny. The March Hare, on the other hand, is simply certifiable (Lewis Carroll was playing on the English expression mad as a March hare, making him the perfect companion for a certain wacky, riddle-loving Hatter). In the folklore of various cultures and ancient civilizations, rabbits have represented a kind of Trickster figure. If this is right, it means that long ago, Christian iconography appropriated and adopted symbols from older, pagan religions, blending them in with its own. In West Africa, many tribal cultures, such as the Yoruba of Nigeria and the Wolof of Senegal, have traditional story cycles about an irrepressible hare Trickster who is equal parts rascal, clown, and culture hero. Natch.) Deities Associated With Hares and Rabbits Eostre (Anglo-Saxon) - in antiquity, worshipped in a spring festival; "Also known as: Eastre, Goddess of the Spring. Matthew Wilson finds out. [8] Indigenous American folklore [ edit] Wenenut (Egyptian) "Deified rabbit-headed goddess. With no food or water around, he thought he would die. Backing up this view is the fascinatingly transnational phenomenon of the "three hare" symbol. Her festival celebrations occurred in April, and it is commonly believed that through ostre we have acquired the name for Easter as well as her rabbit sidekick. He is so generous and devout that when he meets a starving priest, he self-sacrificially clambered into a fire to provide him with a meal. The jackalope legends of the American Southwest are stories of a more recent vintage, consisting of purported sightings of rabbits or hares with horns like antelopes. In some Chinese versions, the rabbit pounds medicine for the mortals and some include making of mooncakes. In Chinese folklore, the rabbit is often portrayed as a companion of the Moon goddess Chang'e, constantly pounding the elixir of life[1] for her and some show the making of cakes or rice cakes; but in Japanese and Korean versions, the rabbit is pounding the ingredients for mochi or some other type of rice cakes; in the Vietnamese version, the Moon rabbit often appears with Hng Nga and Ch Cui, and like the Chinese version, the Vietnamese Moon rabbit also pounding the elixir of immortality in the mortar. Read more: Norwegian Mythology & Folk Tales Okay, full disclosure: Ive never actually played Star Fox, but when I mentioned this post to Chris and Sarah here in the Tor.com offices, they immediately started yelling about Peppy Hare and wouldnt stop playing clips of all his weird wingman advice and catchphrases until I added him to the list. Okay, its complicatedif you want an excellent rundown of the film, go herebut all you really need to know is that if Frank shows up on your doorstep with a basket of Peeps and jellybeans, you should probably run for the hills and dont look back. The symbol of our village is three hares in a circle, their interlinked ears forming a perfect triangle -- an imge found in roof boss carvings in seventeen Devon churches, including ours. When an old man begged for food from them, the monkey gathered fruits from the trees and the otter collected fish, while the jackal found a lizard and a pot of milk-curd. Spring equinox, or Ostara, is a time for fertility and sowing seeds, and so nature's fertility goes a little crazy. But it is in the folk traditions of England and Germany that the figure of the hare is specifically connected to Easter. Maybe its not surprising, then, that both the book and its film adaptation are discussed in Donnie Darko, The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog probably needs no introductionin the immortal words of Tim the Enchanter, its the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on. To bring yourself boundless energy, carry a talisman engraved or painted with a rabbit's image. From the Greek world through the Renaissance, hares often appear as symbols of sexuality in literature and art. Cesaer recorded that rabbits and hares were taboo foods to the Celtic tribes. Freya (Norse) emblem of Freya, a mother goddess, giver of fruitfulness and love; associated with Holda, the Norse moon goddess, Hermes (Greek) God of the spoken word; the rabbit was sacred to Hermes as a fleet-footed messenger. The ancient enigma that still resonates today. If they ever do end up taking over the world, its not like we havent been warned. This can be seen when we compare Titian's serene and luminous The Madonna of the Rabbit (1520-30) with Pisanello's bewitching Allegory of Luxuria (1426). In the Panchatantra tales of India, for example, Hare is a wily Trickster whose cleverness and cunning is pitted against Elephant and Lion, while in Tibetan folktales, quick-thinking Hare outwits the ruses of predatory Tiger. In Potawatomi myth, Wabosso is the Great White Hare (and the younger brother of Nanabozho) who travels north to become the greatest of magicians among the supernaturals. This mythical bird represents a number of other things, including fidelity, fire, justice, obedience, and the sun. Eggs and flowers are rather obvious symbols of female fertility, but in European traditions, the bunny, with its amazing reproductive potential, is not far behind. Hares are fast and agile runners, which may account for the general perception of them as either wily, or mysterious and obscure. Go here for a related post on Witch Hares. To amuse children, Eostre changed her beautiful pet bird into a rabbit. The spring equinox, with its promise of new life, was held symbolically in opposition to the life-draining activities of witches and winter. Bugs made his official debut in 1940s A Wild Hare, a huge critical and commercial success (it even got an Oscar nomination), with the legendary Mel Blanc providing the bunnys now-famous New Yawk accent and delivering his catchphrase, Whats up, Doc? Since then, the rascally rabbit has starred in countless cartoons, movies, video games, even commercials, satirizing and spoofing decades worth of popular culture and accumulating plenty of SF/F cred along the way. Among the many different Native American story traditions, Trickster tales featuring Coyote or Raven tend to be best known to non-Native audiences, but there are also a large number of tales that feature a trickster Rabbit or Hare, particularly among the Algonquin-speaking peoples of the central and eastern woodland tribes. The Aztecs worshipped a group of deities known as the Centzon Totochtin, a group of 400 hard-partying rabbits who were the gods of drunkenness. The rabbitfor good reasonis often associated with fertility magic and sexual energy. The Three Hares Project has explored the imagery, studying its meaning and history, and points out that hares are "contradictory, paradoxical creatures: symbols of both cleverness and foolishness, of femininity and androgyny, of cowardice and courage, of rampant sexuality and virginal purity.". The Star-Hoppers fended off the superior forces of the Cloud-Riders and defeated the Behemoth from the World Below, saving the village, after which Jaxxon returned to smuggling and his ship, the Rabbits Foot. Easter is a celebration of spring and new life. Originated from South Germany, this folklore is described as a giant and nocturnal raven-like bird. After a long, cold, northern winter, it seems natural enough for people to celebrate themes of resurrection and rebirth. This story, and hares' lunar associations in general, probably derived from much more ancient religions in India. Since they generally do not appear to people unless they sense a strong spiritual connection, the dragonfly bunny spirits were initially only visible to Jinora (the young daughter of Tenzin/granddaughter of Aang and Katara). Woods, W. David; MacTaggart, Kenneth D.; O'Brien, Frank. Centzon Totochtin (The 400 Rabbits) In Aztec mythology, Centzon Totochtin, meaning four-hundred rabbits in Nahuatl, refers to a large group of divine rabbits . Protectress of fertility, goddess of rebirth and friend to all children. A six-foot-tall rabbit sporting formal wear, a monocle, and a top hat, the very proper, very English Mr. Herriman is obsessed with keeping order and protecting Madame Foster, who created him when she was a small child in the 1930s. Later, it appears in both the writings of Sir Thomas More, with "As mad not as a March hare, but as a madde dogge,"and later in a 16th-century book of proverbs. Recent books include The Truth of Myth, a textbook for World Mythology (with Gregory Schrempp) and a casebook entitled Posthuman Folklore. Please enable JavaScript if you would like to comment on this blog. The creatures can assume a variety of terrifying forms, including a horse, rabbit, goat, goblin, or dog. window.__mirage2 = {petok:"Iwx8igBLrh._vaB3F.M1nIvgLLkAz9idDEzaf7xttaE-1800-0"}; Recent archaeological research appears to confirm the worship of Eostre in parts of England and Germany, with the hare as her main symbol. When and how did Japanese jade rabbit begin to pound rice cake? [CDATA[ Wenenut is the female counterpart of thehare-headed God, Weneu. Patti Wigington is a pagan author, educator, and licensed clergy. Meet Judaism's Demons, Spirits, Witches & Ghosts - Hey Alma Wigington, Patti. The Fox brought him fish from a stream, and the Monkey brought fruit from the trees, but the Rabbit could only offer grass. Japanese Otsukimi Folktale: The Rabbit on the Moon | Bokksu The philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC), for example, noted how rabbits could breed at jaw-dropping speed. The Easter bunny is a much-celebrated character in American Easter celebrations. The Bible offers mixed attitudes towards rabbits. Trickster - Mythological Intelligent Character in Folklore | Mythology.net Through history, rabbits and hares have been seen as sacred and the epitome of craftiness. Fans of Brian Jacques Redwall series will recognize this handsome gentleman as Basil Stag Hare of the Fur and Foot Fighting Patrol. These biological traits of rabbits and hares also prompted association with fertility in otherwise disconnected cultures. Hares were venerated in Celtic mythology, and are portrayed as canny tricksters in the myths of Native American tribes including the Michabo and Manabush. He was the son of the demoniac god Loki and a giantess, Angerboda. Elves were often portrayed as morally ambivalent. Although she descended into a witch-like figure and boogeyman of childrens tales, she was once revered as a beautiful, powerful goddess in charge of weather phenomena. He derived this name from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre, who Bede, an early medieval monk considered to be the father of English history, mentioned in 731 C.E. To withdraw your consent, see Your Choices. In the myth, a young girl is cast into the ocean, where she becomes the keeper of all the sea mammals. Let's look at some possible uses for some of that "mad March hare" energy in magic. Are rabbits connected with Easter because they've often been considered holy? However, in Psalms and Proverbs they are described as possessing some intelligence, although ultimately condemned as weak. In European traditions, the Easter bunny is known as the Easter hare. Hare of Inaba is a demon in the series. Driven by Stewarts delightful and deeply touching performance, Harvey is a lighthearted comedy with unexpected depths, an inspiring piece of fantasy that celebrates the triumph of a kind-hearted nonconformist over worldly cynicism and the pressures of respectability. It depicts three hares running in a never-ending circle with their ears touching to form a triangle. Hares were likewise believed to be androgynous, shifting back and forth between the genders -- not only in ancient Egypt but also in European folklore right up to the 18th century. They are most commonly seen as black horses with a flowing mane and luminescent orange eyes. Humble Nanahuatzin sacrificed himself in fire to become the new sun, but the wealthy god Tecciztecatl hesitated four times before he finally set himself alight to become the Moon. If you have wild rabbits or hares that live in your yard, leave them an offering of lettuce, shredded carrots, cabbage, or other fresh greens. [citation needed], According to an Aztec legend, the god Quetzalcoatl, then living on Earth as a human, started on a journey and, after walking for a long time, became hungry and tired. Technically speaking, Harvey is a pooka (or pca), a benign but mischievous creature from Celtic mythology with a pronounced fondness for social misfitsbut since he takes the form of a giant rabbit, he totally makes the list. Appearing as half bird, half mammal at the edge of day and night they are seen as liminal beings and not part of the natural order. Add a few rabbit hairs to. A Jackalope is a creature that is thought to be a strange jackrabbit and deer or antelope hybrid. Moon rabbit - Wikipedia The pca has counterparts throughout . In Chinese folklore, female hares conceive through the touch of the full moon's light (without the need of impregnation by the male), or by crossing water by moonlight, or licking moonlight from a male hares fur. Meanwhile, Aphrodites son Eros was often depicted carrying a hare as a symbol of unquenchable desire. 10 Creepy Shape-Shifters And Therianthropes - Listverse In Vietnamese mythology, the Jade Rabbit on the Moon is often accompanied by the Moon Lady and Cui, who sits under a magical banyan. Theyre so much more than carrot-loving, Trix-shilling, twitchy little furballs: sometimes theyre mystical, sometimes theyre trying to stave off the apocalypse; sometimes they just want to chew your face off. 10 Mythological Creatures and Shapeshifters - Listverse This magical white hare laid brightly colored eggs which were given out to children during spring fertility festivals -- an ancient tradition that survives in the form of the Easter Bunny today. the The Brer Rabbit stories were written down and published by Joel Chandler Harris in the 19th century in a now classic collection narrarated by the fictional Uncle Remus. You may take a spontaneous "hop" and land on a prosperous lead, for example. The earliest known examples of the design can be found in Buddhist cave temples in China (581-618 CE); from there it spread all along the Silk Road, through the Middle East, through Hungary and Poland to Germany, Switzerland, and the British Isles. The first reference of Echidna is in the Greek mythology of Hesiod called Theogony, written probably around the turn of the 7th-8th century BCE. But your good fortune comes in the oddest of ways. In Aztec mythology, there was a belief in the Centzon Ttchtin a group of 400 godly rabbits who were said to hold drunken parties in celebration of abundance. Magical uses for rabbit energy include protection, good luck, and messages from the underworld.
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