COUSINS ISSUE #7 - August 1992 pt1 A place for the Witches, pagans, nature spirits, fey-folk, and assorted elder kin of Sherwood to share ideas, challenges, dreams, and projects, and to stir up a little magic of our own. for more information about Cousins, contact Susan Gavula, sjgavula@terminator.rs.itd.umich.edu This Issue's Fun Word: CUCULLATUS Latin for Hooded Man. Genius Cucullatus is what the Romans called the statues of Hooded Men that they found throughout Celtic Europe. In Britain, they tended to be triple Hooded Men. They also tended to be phallic. Sometimes they carried eggs, making them fertility images, but one Hooded Man statue was found who was clearly a prosperity image that carried a moneybag. (See "Genius Cucullatus" in The Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend by Miranda Green, obtainable from Book of the Month Club.) (Thanks to: Linda Frankel) LETTERS Christine Haire Dear Cousins, Slow down, Hilda - you're too efficient! I'm forever gonna be 2 issues behind, it seems. Well, here I go again... Denise and I just returned from a magical journey to England. Our heads are still in the clouds and our hearts are still there. Between our jobs, running the club, and the convention, we were suffering from a major case of burnout, so we decided to run away and try to rekindle the flame. We spent 12 days there. The first place we went was Bodiam Castle in Kent, which was a location used in RoS and home of a big archery tournament which used to have RoS guests. We attended the tournament on our last trip to England in 1988, so it felt like returning home. Bodiam is an extraordinarily beautiful, fairy tale, moated castle often overlooked by tourists. We stayed at The Castle Inn B&B/Pub right across the road. We got in, walked around a bit, and then crashed from jet lag. We woke up at 11:30 PM! So we got dressed and decided to go for a moonlight walk near the castle. It was pitch black and misty outside. We had to dodge sheep as we made our way up the winding path to the castle. It was still except for the night sounds of the woods around us. There was a wondrous full moon which reflected off the moat. We climbed over the gate and walked slowly up the drawbridge but didn't dare to touch the great door. We sat on a bench facing the castle and absorbed the great magic and atmosphere of the place. Suddenly, the distant church bells chimed 1 o'clock and we ended our midnight adventure and went back to our beds like good little pumpkins. That was the first night... From there we went to London and saw Michael in Aspects of Love and Clive in Pocket Dream and SHOPPED! We next picked up our rental car and drove to Hathersage where we stayed in a haunted B&B next to, literally, where Little John is buried. We then saw all the Robin Hood stuff in Edwinstowe and Nottingham. Next, we were off to Wales where we saw lovely Tintern Abbey, Chepstow, and Caldicot Castles. Then, we went to a beautiful B&B in Chewton Mendip and visited Cheddar Gorge (another RoS filming location) and Glastonbury from there. Glastonbury seems to be a mecca for pagans, new agers, hippies, Christians, etc. We found two great stores there called Gothic Image Books and next door was The Goddess and the Green Man! We visited the Chalice Well, Glastonbury Abbey, and walked the Tor. The view from the top of the Tor is beyond comparison. Just before we left for England, we received information on "A Celebration of Beltane, Robin Hood, The Green Man and Lady" which was an event being held in London. The lady who organized it was kind enough to hold tickets for us and even invited us to stay with her and her husband over the weekend. The event was held at a lovely Jacobean-style manor house converted into a community centre. Unbeknownst to them when they booked the hall, there turned out to be a gorgeous green man carving over the fireplace and a green lady in the ceiling in the room they used! the morning of the event we helped them decorate the room with real ivy. Mark Ryan was one of the scheduled speakers and also opened the celebration. The other speakers were: Steve Wilson, who gave a fascinating talk on Robin Hood's connection to Mayday and comparative myths; John Matthews, who guided a meditation on finding your totem beats; Chesca Potter, a brilliant artist who is working with Mark and Mike Grell on The Wildwood Tarot, gave an illustrated talk on the Goddess of the Greenwood and ancient forests; Mark talked about the research he has done, historical and mythological, into Robin Hood and the Green Man; and Andrew Collins, author of The Seventh Sword, talked about the links between the Green Man, Robin Hood, Mayday, the Knights Templar, and Roslin Chapel in Scotland. We'll have more details about these talks, hopefully, in upcoming issues of On Target. There were tables set up in the back of the room selling books, Wiccan material, art prints, vegetarian food, and Spirit of Sherwood memberships. (The generous folks who ran the event gave us a table!) We were floored when a lady walked in with a Spirit of Sherwood T-shirt. She turned out to be one of our active British members. We also got to meet several other British fans of the series. Another activity was a Guardians of the Woodland visualization which was very effective. It was eloquent in its plea to save the woodlands but simple enough to be accessible to the uninitiated. The Guardians represented included Herne, Artemis, and Elen. The lady who organized the circle wanted me to portray Elen but I declined, finding that idea a bit overwhelming. It was a very successful visualization. They also showed the RoS bloopers and had folk songs by a group called Fire and Ice. Mark brought Nasir's swords and bow and passed them around. It sort of felt like being at a con. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The folks running it and Mark treated us like visiting royalty but made us feel like part of the family. I also got to meet and chat with one of my favorite authors, John Matthews. He came by our table and said he was glad we made it to the event and did we get his letter in time? We said no, but we'd had another letter with the details and here we were. (His very nice letter was waiting for us when we got home as well as one from Mark - figures, huh?!) John asked if he could buy some back issues of On Target. No, we of course told him, we would just send him them when we got home. He is researching his book Robin Hood - Lord of the Greenwood which should be published in Spring of '93, and he said he will keep us posted. Mark saw us talking to John and very sweetly popped over to make introductions. Everyone was just so nice to us. We spent Sunday in London with our friends and did more shopping. Then Monday we spent the day with Richard Carpenter and his wife Annie. They are doing very well, and Richard is looking forward to seeing everyone in August. All in all, it was a glorious, rejuvenating journey for us and we're back alive and kicking. At the Beltane event, I bought 2 issues of a little 'zine called Tradition which has articles about keeping traditions and customs alive. Topics included: Robin Hood, the Green Man, the Celts, May Day and the Maypole, the Rite of Spring, the English Bagpipe, Boadicea's Revolt, Greek customs, etc. I read them on the plane back and they were a good read. Subscriptions are from Paul Salmon (Exec. Editor), Tradition, P.O. Box 57, Hornchurch, Essex RM11 1DU. Send an IRC for rates. I also bought an excellent book called Greenmantle by Charles De Lint, which I understand is available here, but I'd never seen it. The blurb on the back of the book says, "Not far from the City lies an ancient wood, forgotten by the rest of the world, where mystery walks in the moonlight. He wears the shape of a stag.. a goat.. a horned man wearing a cloak of leaves. He is summoned by the music of the pipes, or a fire of bones on Midsummer's Evening. He is chased by the hunt, and shadowed by the wild girl. When he touches your dreams, your life will never be the same again." Sound good? I also bought Caitlin & John Matthews' new book, Ladies of the Lake, which should be out here this month. Julianne: Arrowflight has apparently been resurrected. It was out at Mediawest in reprinted form. I think Deb Walsh was selling it with Anne Wortham and Leah Rosenthal. We'll try to get more details. You are right about exploring and developing the characters as seen on the show. But the point is not to make them into some completely different, alternate version of the character by totally disregarding the series and doing something so removed from what that character as seen on the show would do. Does that make sense? The ritual sounds a bit complicated, "showy" and inaccessible to the uninitiated. Simplicity may make it more accessible and physically easier to conduct in a hotel room. You mentioned the term "paganoChristian." You may enjoy a book called Celtic Fire which is about that very time of transition in British history (ISBN 0-385-41958-9), edited by Robert Van de Weyer. Nansi Loser: Thank you so much for the nice compliments about On Target. We need a pat on the back from time to time and we are so proud of our contributors we thank you on their behalf as well. Why can't you skip part of Pennsic and come to Michigan? (Whine-whine!) We'll miss you! Oh, boy, did I push the wrong button with the word "converted" - oops! Each religion has its examples and non-examples, including paganism. I've run across my share of pagans who act very superior and look down their noses at those "poor, backwards, unenlightened Christians, Jews, etc." and try to make people feel stupid for still holding the same beliefs that they were raised with. So, I guess that's the attitude I meant - no personal offense to anyone intended. I've seen Christian RoS fans put on the defensive. I just can't imagine you having to worry about anyone in the RoS fandom. If you show them you are tolerant, they should reciprocate. It's a very tolerant bunch of folks in RoS fandom. Ariel: Why were you referring me to the library?! I was responding to Mary Ann McKinnon with regard to historical questions. I have my own historical library. My point about the possibility of Loxley carrying on Herne's role was meant as an idea of an alternate explanation for The Greatest Enemy. If he were taken by Herne to be his apprentice but thought to be dead, he would have time. Just an apocryphal fan-fiction idea - no big deal. There is no garter in RoS. You're right about the anti-Christian vibes in fan-fic. You make a very good point about some folks taking it too far. Cousins is a LETTERZINE. By its nature then, it should discuss whatever its letters contain, and I agree that it should not be boxed into any limited topics of discussion. Raven: Wow, if your friends are that closed-minded that they wouldn't respect your religious beliefs, how do you cope? It must be extremely hard play-acting for them. True friends should respect your beliefs as you respect theirs. Hilda: The circle seems a bit complicated to me too. Yes, I for one am allergic to some incense. It also may not be a good idea to burn incense in a hotel due to fire laws, smoke alarms, and the smell lingers in the carpets and curtains. The geographical area of the country really bears little significance. We are having a convention for a British TV show called Robin of Sherwood, not a religious gathering. It is the first time in this hotel. There will be mundanes around. People walking around in garb will be enough for the hotel folks and the mundanes to take in. We do appreciate your discretion. How many folks can you fit comfortably in a hotel room for a circle? You may want to have that first as a smaller gathering and a party later. Paucity of RoS conventions? It's all we can do to make it to Visions, MediaWest and Weekend - all of which have RoS related activities. We also have "mini-con" get-togethers with our friends on a regular basis, which is great fun! I really will shut up now, at long last! Keep up the good work and Blessed Be! Todd Parrish Dear Cousins, I am sorry to have skipped the last issue, but my Macintosh disk storing my literary genius crashed unexpectedly (so much for good intentions, aye?) Then, I couldn't remember what I wrote since I was busy with other projects. Oh, well... I would like to add my ideas to the already bewildering array of others. I was very impressed with the size of this newsletter! Huge! It is interesting for me to see what Craft people have to say since I know relatively so little about it. I was especially grateful to Richard Carpenter for his information on Robin of Sherwood. I can understand why the VCR would be a curse for a writer, since it gives the opportunity for ideas, etc. to be scrutinized. I wondered about the Goddess too, since there was so much of a to-do about it - the Goddess is very important to pagans. I can see why; there needs to be a balance between the God and Goddess to achieve harmony. However, I think that stating that this was a matter of choice (Herne as the deity) rather than an oversight helps settle some concerns. I also thought the part of Herne dressing as a the Goddess was amusing - I think Richard was right. Audiences would have a hard time accepting this. It is a hysterical concept having Herne dress in drag. I can just see Matthew of Wickham asking Alison, "Why does Herne dress up like a girl and talk in a high voice?" I mean, what could a mother say? This sounds like an interesting apocryphal story, really... You know, I agree, we can't know everything about everything, no matter how well- versed we are in a particular subject. I would like to know more about Belleme (learning black magic during the Crusades). I think it was a great touch having him run around in Saracen robes instead of the stuffy English getup. Also, I feel rather vague about the Silver Arrow. Sorry, Richard. I would like to know a little more about it - perhaps someone can make up a plausible fanzine story? I tend to agree with Julianne on this subject. I also enjoyed Richard's suggestions about tarot cards - I think I will make up my own deck! Sounds like fun... Speaking of watching the tapes over and over (RoS), I've been watching Jason's performance as compared to Michael's. You know how when you watch things over and over again, the actors' performances become stilted and mechanical? Well, I never realized it the first time through (because I was so ecstatic that the series would continue after Loxley's demise), but I really feel that Jason's acting paled in comparison to Michael's (gads, I'm gonna piss people off here). Michael's lines were delivered naturally, and always seemed unrehearsed. However, Connery was really stiff and seemed to deliver them with weaker conviction. I think this is why I tend to like Loxley more, although I'm moving on to explore more story ideas with Jason. Could this have something to do with his being a former earl's son (conservative demeanor)? However, I think that Jason just didn't have the spark that Michael had to endear me to the character. Well, having to mutter lines through false teeth didn't help, either (poor Jason). [Fangs for reminding us! -H] Is there anyone who feels the same way I do, or am I alone in this? I also don't understand this double standard with Marion not being able to have sex with anyone other than her husband. Did it ever occur to anyone that she might have found a lover in the convent? There were plenty of stories about nuns becoming pregnant and deferring responsibility to the Devil. We really know what those priests and nuns were up to anyway, don't we? (I must qualify this by saying that not all the nuns and priests were unchaste, but many of them were.) I see so many Beltane stories with Robert getting laid, why not Marion in the convent? She could be getting some attention too. She could have had a lover before Jason rescued her from Owen of Clun (when she was at Leaford), although that's unlikely. We understand that she was quite devastated, but why not take comfort in the arms of a man? I guess we tend to see Marion as more faithful and pure, while we see Jason being available and capable of performing (depends on your own motives in a way, I think). I don't think this is entirely accurate, although it is one way of looking at it. Marion wouldn't have to commit to a relationship other than to God. Plus, she could have the physical comfort of a man too. O.K., we have some problems with religion, but when did that ever stop anybody? Are women so different from men that they would not have needs and desires? We sure can suspect that the monks and priests satisfied themselves in various ways. I know I am going to create a little bit of uproar, but it is a thought... I am almost certain that a person writing a story like this would be flogged whereas a person writing a sexy Robert story would be applauded. If so, why do you think that is? I'm sorry, but I feel that there is a double standard here, and why is it that there are so many women in this fandom so quick to defend Marion's "honor" when they eagerly accept Jason's Beltane rompings? I'm puzzled over this... Julie: Sir Guy of Gisburne is my favorite character. I feel so sorry for him; he's a blunderer, and also at the same time, sometimes cleverer than the Sheriff. Poor Gizzy never does get any credit for trying. However, it deeply disturbs me that he was also a murderer. I want to like him, but I'm torn. I think that is his allure. One can't help but like Much. Again, he's a little slow, but he's really such a nice guy. I'm attracted to John's love of others, his strength, and his tenderness for Meg. Will is the comic relief, and I really despise him. I know I'd run the other way if I met him in real life. I don't like loud-mouthed bullies (O.K., I really did like him, I'll admit it). I'm not completely riveted by Marion, although she is cute and I did cry when she lost her husband. Nasir is too silent for me to really like him. Most of my close friends tend to babble and I love them for it. I like Michael more since he's more mysterious and mystical than Robert. I think Herne is really irritating and intriguing. Phil Rose is the perfect Tuck. I have a really hard time accepting anyone else in the role. Of course, I love to hate the Sheriff. He's avaricious and thoroughly fascinating. Who asked me about Kinesiology? [I did. -H] Yikes, I can't find you, but I know the question was asked. Kinesiology is the psychological study of muscles and movements. However, it isn't all as boring as that. Basically, the study demonstrates, rather non-empirically, what medicines, etc. are good for your body. This washes over into personal relationships, etc. It means becoming in tune with yourself and recognizing what your body needs. It demonstrates what makes you strong and weak. It ties in also with the psyche, and touches on magic. Well, most psychology does if you really look at it... Got to sign off or I never will get this in the mail. Please remember (about the above), I'm trying to understand more, and not trying to cause conflict! Linda Frankel (Issue 1) I can report, in response to Raven's question about using RoS characters in Pagan practice, that when my women's circle did a ritual this past March for the purpose of mourning the Dying God to coincide with the Roman mourning of Adonis, the God I mourned was Robin. I said that through him I mourned the loss of responsible and caring leadership. Later in the ritual there was a meditation in which the God was re-born. I imagined Robert bursting from a giant egg and stepping out of the shell fully formed. What a great joy it was to see that sun- haired youth after the darkness of mourning Robin! Some will object that Robin and Robert are not Gods. It is my belief that all of us share in the divine and are part of it. The beings we call Gods are thought projections that we give power through worship. Richard Carpenter has given Robin Hood more power in the modern world than he's ever had before, and we feed that power each time we call on him in circle or write about him in zines. Ariel says that Marion's choice to stay in a convent is surprising. I don't think it's possible that she would even stay an entire year. She's not a stupid woman. Why would she deliberately put herself in Hugo de Rainault's clutches? Fan writers underestimate the power of a man in his position. He would move as quickly as he could to destroy Marion, and if the Abbess of Halstead tried to protect her, he'd destroy Halstead's reputation. It would be relatively easy to do this. Nuns were always suspected of slipping the leash in the Medieval Church. Then there's the Interdict. If we accept the timeline in In The Shadow of the Wheel, Marion went into Halstead in August of 1207. In march of 1208 the Pope declared all of England under Interdict. (Haven't any other RoS fans picked up on the Interdict? I've never seen any reference to it in RoS fan fiction.) The sacraments couldn't be administered to anyone in the entire kingdom during that period of time. If Marion believed that the Church was any help at all to the people of England, she'd be singing a different tune when the Church offered them nothing for five years. Even if she was willing to risk Hugo de Rainault's venom for some reason, she couldn't in conscience stay in a Church that serves no one. It's also my belief that her Goddess wouldn't let her stay at Halstead. Although Marion could serve the Lady secretly at Halstead, she could not be Maiden of Sherwood there. Do we believe in the importance of Marion's office? Well, if we do, then she must return. When I started reading the section that Ariel wrote on Robert, I wanted to cheer. I'd been under the impression that all of RoS fandom suffered from Will Scarlet Fever, the sad condition of believing every rude word that Will ever flung at Robert. There are questions about Robert's background that have been answered too facilely. Why would a nobleman want to learn a peasant's weapon like the quarterstaff? The longbow is an even more inappropriate weapon for a nobleman. Some scholars say it was used in this period for hunting, but it was the shortbow that was used for that purpose. I've read that the longbow had actually been banned, and was only in use as an outlaw's weapon! The fact that Robert went out of his way to learn the quarterstaff and the longbow tells me that he was a rebel against established authority long before he became Hooded Man. I agree that David of Huntingdon would have been cynical about the Church. He would have contributed vast sums to the Church, attended mass regularly, given lip service to Christian beliefs, and counted himself as a good Christian while being a thoroughgoing hypocrite. At the same time, like many other noblemen of the time, he would probably be superstitious - fearing plots involving witches, demons, and vengeful ghosts. People who fear vengeful ghosts have usually done something that consumes them with guilt, and a Norman Lord usually had more than enough crimes on his conscience. In order to protect himself, he would become the patron of astrologers and sorcerers. I see Robert as becoming a devout Christian in rebellion against his father. I believe that Robert has a strong ascetic streak that would incline him to the monastery and harsh penances. This would have frightened Earl David badly. The last thing he'd want is for his son and heir to become a celibate monk, but Robert, the man who resigned his heritage, is obviously given to extremes. He'd want to be a saint and martyr, and I feel that this would strongly influence him to become Hooded Man. It's a very public sacrifice. Obviously, he would also have to be a Pagan, but this was a time when the two religions were being combined. I posit that he's had the opportunity to study ceremonial magic of the Hermetic type with a Moorish astrologer who was part of his father's household for a while. This style of magic is much more formal than anything Robin would have done. So I see Robert as a totally syncretic heretic. If you want to read a story about Robert as a Pagan/Christian, see my slash story, The Successor, in No Holds Barred #1. (Available now from Kathy Resch, P.O. Box 1766, Temple City, CA 91780.) There are two other RoS slash stories in the issue which deal with De Rainault and Gisburne as lovers. Mine is about Robert being secretly initiated by Robin as Hooded Man five years before Robin's death. They become lovers in the course of the story. For Robin this is an interlude. He does care about Robert, and having a good successor is important to him. Yet his main commitment is to Marion. Robert's emotions and reactions are quite different, however. To specify any further would reveal too much of the plot. (Issue 3) To Kitty Gamarra: I feel that Richard Carpenter opened the door to variant interpretations of his characters when he created Rhiannon's Wheel. Any alternate universe versions of the characters are thus fair play. Why not write professional RoS instead? Well, I do feel that what I write is within the spirit of Richard Carpenter's RoS, and too close to his vision to be considered totally original. To Janet Reedman re: William Rufus: Like King John, William Rufus alienated his entire kingdom. It wasn't only the Church who hated him. He was cruel, selfish, and irresponsible. I wouldn't consider him worthy of being a Sacred King. Since he died during a hunt (for pleasure, I might add), it could well be that Herne claimed him as prey, called down the Wild Hunt, and possessed the assassin to make sure that William Rufus was slaughtered like the rabid dog that he was. To Hilda: Why is slash more out of character than anything else? This implies certain prejudices about the character traits of gay men and lesbians. I don't believe that my slash stories are any more out of character than anyone else's RoS fiction, and a good deal less out of character than some of the lulus I've read about Robert leaving Sherwood. Why isn't slash a valid alternate universe? Re: favorite quotes - A favorite quote of mine is from Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley. "Depend on a Norman not to know the difference between a Saxon and a Saracen." There's an idea for a story about Nasir there, but I can't put my finger on the plot. Maybe someone else will read this and make good use of that quote. (Issue 4) To Christine Haire re: Guy turning good - Yes, it does require a great deal of work to make such major change in Guy convincing. That's why my Guy-turns-good story has become a novel (The Shadow Twin) still unfinished. I take Robert and Guy through a series of telepathically shared dreams (a gift of Herne to help them through reconciliation) that follow the Wheel of the Year with appropriate dreams for each festival. The novel is a sequel to The Successor and is also slash. Robert and Guy eventually become lovers when their reconciliation is completed. I don't believe that incest is abusive when the partners weren't brought up together. To Ariel re: the patriarchal Anglo-Saxons - You're absolutely right, but Richard Carpenter apparently made a decision that he was going to address contemporary needs and give us a Marion who is a modern feminist. If she can be a feminist, then she can also be a Priestess of the Goddess. To Laura Todd: - How did Robert win over the band and the people? It's hard not to be won over by a man who's so desperate to please that he'll do anything for your sake. On a spiritual level this translates into a desire to imitate Christ. Robert's ambivalent and conflicted relationship with his father is what causes Robert's desperation. On the one hand he rebels against his father, and on the other he needs his blessing. I think Robert's relationships to Herne and the band are also motivated by a similar conflicted dynamic. To Laura re: the reasons why writers torture their characters - this phenomenon is called hurt/comfort. We hurt them terribly for the sake of the comfort that happens later. In some cases, hurt/comfort is a repressed need to depict a slash relationship, yet some slash writers (such as myself) are still engaged in the hurt/comfort syndrome. I torture my characters to test them to their limits and reveal their strength. I don't believe in villains, and I can't get interested in characters who don't have complex motivations. The worst torture scenes I've ever written are Guy's memories of what his mother's husband did to him in The Shadow Twin. I dredge up these memories from the depth of Guy's mind in order to help him recover from his abuse. There is always an important narrative purpose in what I do to my characters. To Kathy Allard re: "How do we know that Robin was a Pagan?" - Hooded Men with money bags, images of Cernunnos spitting out coins, and other very suggestive Celtic artifacts convince me that Robin Hood is a very ancient and pre-Christian myth. Yet I do agree that Richard Carpenter's RoS is revisionist and modern in its concerns. This is only to be expected, and it's the reason why we respond to it so strongly. To Kathy re: scholars who think that they know who the "real" Robin Hood was - I believe that the men who called themselves Robin Hood in historic times were bringing an ancient legend to life for their own reasons - whether they were Sons of Herne, secular revolutionaries, or simply thieves. The tourists who visit Sherwood today are being told that the only "real" Robin Hood was Robert Hood of Wakefield in the reign of Edward II. (See Time Traveler's Guide to Robin Hood's England by Stephen Davis,) However, I have also read that a family with the surname Robinhood had lived in Wakefield for centuries before Edward II. This implies that my position about Robin Hood being an ancient legend is correct, or there had to have been at least one "real" Robin Hood who was a good deal earlier than the one in Wakefield. General question: Are Richard Carpenter's novelizations available in the United States? How do I obtain them? To Hilda - The Sacrifice is of very central importance to ancient Pagan theology. Ancient Pagans believed that all life came from death in an endless cycle. My Robin tells Tuck in The Successor that if the Sacred King doesn't die, people will forget the cycle and will give nothing back to the Land. This is meant to be prophetic, and it's obviously been borne out in modern times (with my 20/20 hindsight). I believe that the concept of the Sacrifice therefore has a great deal to teach us today. To us it is a Mystery. We don't understand it. The trouble with NeoPagans is that we want our religion safe and moderate, but that rids us of the ecstasy that was possible in eras when religion was dangerous and extreme. Now we can revive that ecstasy in RoS fan fiction, and have our characters do things that modern Pagans consider politically incorrect or too difficult. Fannish RoS stories can be about a more rigorous and demanding Paganism that is more exciting than our own modern practices. (Issue 5) To Julianne re: where the idea that all Christians are priests got lost - I have my Tuck realize during his Grail initiation in The Shadow Twin that this idea got lost due to infant baptism. If baptism is Christian priestly initiation, then it shouldn't be administered to infants. Only adults could experience the transformation that was originally intended. To Nansi re: fiction dealing with the Sacred King sacrifice - For a novel that takes place chronologically very close to RoS, see The Swords of December by Robert York. It's about Thomas a Becket dying as a substitute for Henry II. Becket's struggle over becoming a Pagan sacrifice in this novel is a strong influence on what I've written concerning Tuck's conflicts over becoming Robert's substitute in both The Successor and The Shadow Twin. Yet I don't believe a word of The Swords of December. If Becket died a willing sacrifice, then why was Henry II so guilty about it that he bound himself over to be publicly scourged before Becket's tomb? And in RoS terms, it's clear that Becket's sacrifice couldn't have been valid, or Ailric wouldn't have had to die. It is my belief that an unwilling sacrifice is poison to the Land, making a true and valid one all the more necessary. To Nansi: re: the joy of the Sacrifice - Oh, absolutely! The term Sacred King has to mean something. He must feel like a King when he goes to his death - not a victim. This is a very prominent theme in the RoS I've been writing. Robin tells Robert in The Successor that the Land gets the best - a hero at the height of his powers. Herne's Son must always strive to be the wheat and not the chaff. To Ariel re: liking characters because they're bad - To me, this is like Satanism. Perpetrators of evil usually turn out to be victims. If you accept the surface of their evil actions and don't delve within, you will never find this out. I admire Robert de Rainault because he's smooth, charming, and witty - not because he's evil. His childhood was undoubtedly horrific. To Ariel re: training to become Herne - Robin might have been getting this training as a ghost on the astral plane from his "death" in 1201 to whenever the writer decides to manifest him on the material plane again. On the other hand, if the man called Herne is truly possessed by the God, he needs a rare gift, not training. In The Shadow Twin, I intend to be very strict about the resurrected Robin speaking Herne's words and not his own unless Herne allows Robin to express his personality for Herne's purposes. I think that fans who bring Robin back as Herne sometimes forget that he really is supposed to be representing Herne rather than himself. When I began my novel I hadn't planned to bring Robin back, but when it became clear to me that it would provide for some wonderful dramatic conflict, I couldn't resist. King Stag also told me in a dream that He needed Robin to be resurrected, and I can't deny the God any more than Robin could. To Ariel re: Robert not having a garter because he needs to decide what he believes - Now why would Herne choose someone like that? Doesn't Herne know what He's doing? A religious skeptic can't properly preside over the village rites and can't fulfill the Blessing, let alone the Sacrifice. Robert really doesn't strike me as a religious skeptic type at all. A religious skeptic wouldn't be capable of hearing Herne's voice. A religious skeptic wouldn't have Tuck so totally devoted to him that Tuck stayed and waited in Sherwood long after the rest of the band had given up on Robert. I'm sorry, but that doesn't make sense to me. To Raven re: Robert as a "wimp" - Ah, I see. You think that repressing feelings makes a man better somehow. Guy represses his feelings. He never cries, though he certainly has good reason to do it, and all those repressed feelings curdle into violence inside of him. Guy's so strong and aggressive, isn't he? Bah humbug! (Issue 6) To Sharon Wells re: the Dagda - The Dagda is large, laughs a great deal, likes good food and drink, and continually stuffs heroes into His cauldron of death and rebirth. I decided to introduce Tuck to Him as the culmination of Tuck's Grail initiation in The Shadow Twin. I think they would get along famously. To Chris Haire re: Gisburne as the Moon - I'd say that Guy in the series is clearly the Chariot. Guy accomplishes nothing because his horses are pulling in opposite directions. In The Shadow Twin I would call Guy the Sun in eclipse or reverse. When Guy is transformed, he becomes the Sun more truly than Robert could ever be. I think that the Hanged Man is actually more appropriate for Robert. His drive to prove himself through sacrifice is never far from the surface. Will should be the Knight of Swords both because he's a swordsman, and because he charges impetuously into danger. To Chris re: Arthurian material - Read Persia Woolley's Guinevere trilogy. Persia Woolley's Guinevere imagined herself as a Queen Sacrifice, and it bothered me very much. If the Queen who represents the Lady dies, then what about the Land? The Queen is the Land, stability, and the cycle of the seasons. She can't be spared. Why, there would then be no stability and the sacred cycle would be broken - just as if blood had been shed during The Blessing Time. I know this is a prejudice, but I can't help feeling that way. To Richard Carpenter re: the Round Table being given to the heirs of Agrivaine - As a result of many years in science fiction fandom, I have learned that any seeming inconsistency can be explained, and I can deal with this one easily. Suppose that Agrivaine became remorseful about his actions before he died. The guardianship of Caerleon and the Round Table was then given to his descendants in perpetuity as a penance. (I also believe that the Grail is in their keeping, but that it's too precious to display openly.) It may seem like a great honor, but consider that it also restricts their freedom considerably. To Richard Carpenter re: Palomides as a lesbian - I believe, sir, that I have been doing you a grave injustice. I had assumed that you disapproved of homosexuality in RoS because you are homophobic. That is obviously not the case. Please accept my apology. Could you articulate your objection more clearly? To Kitty Gamarra re: who sent Marion the vision of Robert dead that sent her to Halstead - I decided in The Shadow Twin that Marion's own Goddess did it to teach Robert a lesson. You see, my Robert was still thinking in terms of fathering a son to present to David of Huntingdon as an heir. There are several things wrong with this. 1) Robert had sworn to give up his heritage. 2) You don't use a Priestess of the Goddess that way. 3) A Priestess' son belongs to her, and it's she who will make the decisions about the child. Unfortunately, the Goddess' action also hurt Marion badly. Later in the narrative, Marion finds out that the Goddess was responsible, and she's absolutely livid. To Kitty re: why save Marion's life, but not Robin's - I believe that is excellent evidence of Marion being a Priestess of the Goddess. As I said above to Morgana, the Queen/Priestess represents the Land itself. The Sacrifice exists for the Land, not vice versa. That is why it's his role to perform the Sacrifice, not hers. Her death was a mistake. His was part of Herne's plan. To Ariel re: Reuben of Sherwood: a good Jew couldn't have heard the voice of a Pagan God calling him, so this must be a very bad Jew indeed. However, what Robin Hood does is not condemned by Jewish religious law. The Talmud says that stealing from a thief (and the Normans were clearly thieves) is not wrong. The Talmud also sanctions stealing for survival. Finally finished! You don't have to print it all in one issue. Can I have a copy of Basic Elements of Celtic Ritual by Alexei Kondratiev in the enclosed SASE? [On the way! -H] Herne protect you and yours. Blessed Be! Julie Phipps Hello everyone! Thought I'd write now, while the newsletter is still fresh in my mind, and while I'm off work sick trying to catch up on letters. (I'm not sick of work, honest!!!) [I am! -H] I've got a bad cold (ARGHH, I'm not after sympathy either!) Sharon Wells: I liked your comments regarding Loxley, about him not being perfect. (I know that Janet R. and Hilda disagree!!) [I've told you a million times not to exaggerate... -H] but what I mean is that it's nice to have him make mistakes; it makes characters more believable. After all, if Loxley is so perfect, then why was there such a rift between him and Will (re: Children of Israel). I also liked it when you said about being a MICHAEL-LITE, nice pun!! I tend to think that Robert is rather nave when it comes to anything 'fey' or Magical; perhaps like Will he could be a touch skeptical?? Tara: Hello! Thanks for your letter, will write soon. I promise!! I was fascinated when I saw Kenneth Branagh's Henry V. I've seen it three times, live on stage!! I love it. Have you read his autobiography entitled Beginning? It's a brilliant book. I've still not seen Dead Again. I'll have to wait till it comes out on video!! I like most Shakespeare, by the way, and I'm about 1 1/2 hours from Stratford-upon- Avon. Ask Janet R. about the time we nearly got stranded in Stratford by the EVIL EXPRESS. I don't think there's anything wrong with Michael's legs! Except when I met him, I felt like a dwarf against him, but that's nothing new. I felt like a dwarf against Robert Addie and Kenneth Branagh!! I'm only 4'11", can anyone beat that? Amber: As far as I know, Kip didn't know that there wasn't going to be a fourth series when he was filming Time of the Teeth. I remember him saying at Greenwood that, had he known, he would have tidied everything up and Robin would have married Marion!! I was also thinking, perhaps the Silver Arrow could be like a Holy Grail. Just a thought!! Julianne: Hello! I suppose by now Hilda will have told you that Rob and I have postponed our trip to Boston. We're now hoping to come in May '93, but we will meet, I promise!! I'd love to have seen Robert meet Belleme. Interesting material for writers, huh? Also, I wonder how Loxley would have handled Gulnar. Chris Haire: Hello! I was wondering if you'd sent my membership kit for Spirit. I've still not received it yet, nor my pic of Michael and Jason. I know 'St.' Helena has received hers. I just wondered if you'd sent mine, knowing what the post is like. Todd: Just thought I'd let you know I've received my copy of Tree of Life. Thanks! Also, I wondered if you had any ideas for what I could do in a follow-up to my story Sense and Nobility?? Please write and let me know!! Janet R.: Hello! How are you?? Glad you received my pic's of Michael and my tape. Glad you liked The Pilgrimage, too. Sorry we couldn't meet up when you last came over, but I hope to see you a lot when you lodge with my brother! Hilda: Namesake Saints (sounds like a tongue-twister!!) My friend's name is Helena and we know of a St. Helena because they spoke of her at A Celebration of Beltane. As for a St. Julie, I like it! but I'm not sure if there is one, but I'd like to find out. Julie is my full name. My middle name is Amanda. I wonder if there was a St. Amanda?? Julie means 'Young.' I just looked up 'Hilda,' and (you're gonna love this) Hilda means 'Battle-maid!' Oh, and what's wrong with Guy's black undies? Not that he would have worn Y-fronts in those times - the mind boggles. Will got it right, he didn't wear any at all!! (Not that Julianne and I mind, do we, huh??) Well, I'm going to close now before I write a novel. Take care and Blessed Be. Wyvern Greetings, Cousins! There are some extremely interesting discussions going on in the pages of your zine. I have a couple of questions. If Herne is Merlin and Robin is Arthur, would that make Marion Guinevere? And if it does, then who would be Lancelot (or Bedwyr, depending on whose interpretation you believe)? Why does Marion even have to represent an aspect of the Goddess? Couldn't it be possible that she represents another aspect of Herne? OK, so it's more than a couple. Mr. Carpenter certainly had a great deal of information to impart. Since I am ignorant, I had to look up the black cat reference. They mean good luck, while white cats mean bad luck. What is this stuff about a King Arthur series? Is it just an idea or is it actually in production? I would love to see something like that on HBO or Showtime. Thank you, Hilda, for the back issues of Cousins. I would have been completely lost in the discussions without them. I have enclosed a couple (this time I mean it) of cartoons I thought you might like. I got a good chuckle from them. [I did - they're funny. I'll copy them for anyone who asks. -H] Just for the record, I don't think there's anything wrong with skinny thighs either. To Chris Haire: Have you read Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur by Stephen Lawhead? I just finished those and loved them. Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley is also very good. Persia Woolley has a trilogy out. They are: Child of the Northern Spring, Queen of the Summer Stars, and Guinevere: the Legend in Autumn. They are told from Guinevere's point of view and are excellent. There is a book called The Last Pendragon and it is about Mordred's son. I don't remember the author's name. Has anyone heard of or read, In the Shadow of the Oak King? That's the first book in a new Arthurian trilogy. I was wondering if it was any good. I hear it has Merlin in the role of blacksmith. I rather like the idea of an all-female cast. If you were to do it as a joke storyline, you could have some hilarious PMS plotlines. You might have a little difficulty with it as a serious story for pretty much the same reason. Did we all see "Marion" and "Much" in issue #180 of Starlog? As long as I'm asking questions again, does anyone know what they did with the bodies of stillborn babies in the middle ages? And what would you think of a story that had Marion leading the Merries? Sort of a Herne's Daughter thing. Hilda, are fuzzy wuzzums anything like warm fuzzies or little fuzzies? My curiosity runs rampant sometimes. I have just one more question, then I will close this letter. Have any of you heard of Elfquest? Shade and sweetwater. Morgana Good day, one and all! Nice to be back with you once more. Kip: Hey ho! So glad to see you gracing our pages! Before I want to say what I want, that Graves poem Broken Images you included last time did indeed speak volumes. Both beautiful and very wise. Anyway, you said something about rabbis turning to black magick. I'm not sure if this counts, and while not black magick per se, early patriarchs turned Lilith (the Jewish Goddess and purportedly Adam's first wife) into a demoness when she wouldn't subordinate herself to him. I'll get into her more with Kitty's letter, but couldn't a rabbi or group of them who wanted to revolt for whatever reasons against Judaism and worship her in her malefic aspect? While I have a little bit of Hebrew blood in me, I never heard of Lilith till I found the Craft twelve years ago. It makes me wonder about her true origins to see past the patriarchal hogwash and worship her in the primary form. What I said before about invoking her as a demoness is very similar to Morgwyn summoning the demon and not the full-blown Black Mass. Julianne: About the Triple Jesus theory: I don't know how much credence you place on channeled material, but in Seth Speaks by Jane Roberts, Seth (Jane's channeled entity) explains that there were three separate individuals whose history blended and became a collective Christ. Apparently that's why the Biblical records are full of discrepancies. These individuals were all males because, as Seth tells it, at that period of our development, we wouldn't have accepted a female counterpart. Also, that the crucifixion was a psychic and not a physical event. All this roughly corresponds to information I channeled through the Ouija nearly a year before I read that book. How close was Mary Magdalene to Jesus? Holy Blood, Holy Grail makes her out to be his wife, but since there's no real proof and you doubt the authors' "findings," who really knows? I did hear about Jesus' supposed journeys to India, China, and Tibet for esoteric wisdom. Were you aware that he was also to have spent time with the Druids in the Glastonbury and Stonehenge areas? This during the missing eighteen years and not after his escape with his family after the crucifixion. Kitty: Congrats on your newborn! Blessings to him and all your family! Okay, Lilith: As I explained to Kip earlier, she was originally Adam's first wife, co-created and co-equal. She refused to subordinate herself to Adam and a male god, even in the physical sense: she declined to lay beneath Adam in the missionary position (hence becoming a "lesser" woman - obedient, subservient, her sexuality confined to procreation.) She cursed him, flew off, and made her home by the Red Sea. God sent angels to fetch her back but she ignored them and cursed God's command and coupled with "demons," giving birth to 100 children every day. Lilith was an early rabbinical attempt to assimilate the Sumero- Babylonian Goddess Belit-ili into Jewish mythology. To the Canaanites she was Baalat, "Divine Lady." On a tablet from Ur, she was Lillake. She also acquired identification with Lilitu, which appears to be her original name. In the Bible she's "screech-owl" or "night monster." The word lullaby is a derivation of "Lilla, abi!" - a Jewish banishing spell meaning "Lilith, avaunt!" She's apparently a far older concept than Eve. Lilith was unacceptable to Hebrew patriarchalism whether she was co-equal with the First Man, or as the Goddess who births the First Man (or the Male God). Basically, Eve was invented to counteract this rebel and femme fatale, and become not only from man and therefore unequal but docile and "kept in her place." Jean Markale makes an interesting statement in Women of the Celts: "Eve, the mother of mankind, is merely the castrated version of Adam." If you have the Farrars' Witches' Goddess, there's a nifty little Lilith and Eve play in the chapter of the same name that unites these two aspects. Hilda: A yeoman was an independent farmer, especially a member of a former class of small free-holding farmers in England. "King" is derived from -gene (to birth, beget; aspects and results of procreation and to familial and tribal groups). From the Germanic it's "kuningaz" and from Old English "cyning," "son of the royal kin." For anyone's interest: Cromm Cruach is an Irish god, "The Bowed One of the Mound." Also called "The Black Bowed One." He's a sacrificial god associated with Lughnasad. The last Sunday in July is called Domhnach Chrom Dubh (Crom Dubh's Sunday). It's been Christianized as the day of a pilgrimage up St. Patrick's mountain, 2,410-foot Croagh Patrick in Co. Mayo. The 11th century Book of Leinster says: ... They did evilly Beat on their palms, thumped their bodies, Wailing to the monster who enslaved them, Their tears falling in showers. In rank stood twelve idols of st That about does it for me this time round the Wheel. Blessings and love to you all. Janet VanMeter Merry Meet Again! Thanks, Kip, for writing and trying to "set the record straight." We all can really complicate things, can't we. Well, now on to the usual stuff... oh no! Sharon - I can concede that perhaps some costume person may have "slipped" it in under most people's noses, but I still think too much emphasis is being placed on that garter as a symbol of leadership in RoS. I know I've already touched on this once before... hmm... wouldn't we all like to touch that garter... hmmm. Anyway, the obvious symbol used in RoS is the hood! Hence Robin HOOD, Robin i' the HOOD, the HOODED Man, etc. Leave the other costume accessory for the Order of the Garter. The hood was both the 'sacred mantle' of the man chosen to be Herne's Son and also the role- marking "mask." In The Greatest Enemy, everyone in Wickham assumed it was Loxley rescuing the others. It was because the rescuer was wearing a hood - the identifiable mark of the Hooded Man. And they only knew of one Hooded Man - Robin of Loxley. The opposition Robert faced by most everyone who knew Loxley was because, to them, he "dared" take the role of the "Hood." This was difficult to overcome. But Robert admitted that he couldn't replace Loxley, only continue. By Time of the Wolf, it seemed obvious that except for a small group of people, Robert was now the only Hooded Man to the people. Maybe this is why we may never know the historical man behind the Legend of Robin Hood. It is the role history remembers. An interesting sidelight to all this is the following: in some cultures, a baby born with a caul - part of the afterbirth over its heal like a hood - was considered specially marked and the caul would be kept as a talisman for the child. Tara - In answer to your confusion as to how Robin Hood met his death, in the traditional ballads Robin Hood died by being bled to death by the prioress of Kirklees Abbey. In the movie Robin and Marian with Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn, Robin dies by a "mercy poisoning" by Marian who had become the prioress of Kirklees. She does this so he would have a relatively painless death instead of either dying painfully by the wounds he had received, or if he indeed survived that, living an empty, unexciting life, unable to recapture the magic of his youth. Much as I love this movie, I still don't like Marian making that decision for Robin. Kip - As the owner of a black cat, and a tabby, and a half Siamese, I've got to say that the black one is the biggest baby and brat of the three. I'm not sure how anyone else feels, but it's the whiteJones that give me the creeps when they cross my path. Maybe this has something to do with the white/albino equals supernatural/death folklore traditions. Does anybody else have any insights on this, I wonder? Herne Protect. Blythe Esan Howdy, Cousins! So glad I could join in this time around and carve a niche for myself among you folks. I'm amazed at the constant display of intelligence you all show, which is a refreshing change from the seeming madness surrounding us! I'm assuming this issue will be mailed or completed about the time we're at Weekend but I wanted to report the results of the proposed RoS ritual for the Cousins circle. I wanted to experience it for myself so I performed it as a solo ritual in my sacred space out in the woods. Let me heartily recommend it for solitary workings! I did the 6, 4, 5 sequence and it was powerful. Both Robins were invoked as peasant and noble, with Will and Nasir having come in very strongly (not just because they're my faves..!) John gave a satisfied little grin and Much scampered away into the West. The overall effect was quite pleasing. Now on to the business at hand! Julianne: If you'd like, I'd be more than happy to loan you my copy of The Wicker Man (book) so you can see what it's like. Contact me through these pages or feel free to write me at my address and we'll see what can be arranged. By any chance would you have Lammas Night? I've heard so many good things about it that my curiosity's piqued! If you do have it, may I pretty please borrow it? I swear on Herne's antlers I'll treat it like gold! Debbi: Hi, pal! I recently picked up Sherwood by Parke Godwin, and while it looks quite good, I'll have to wait a while before starting it. I'm reading a couple of other books right now, including being heavily into Foucault's Pendulum (Mark, thank you so much for recommending it. You're a dear. I love it.) I for one would like to see more of those entries from Brewer's Dictionary. You find the neatest books! Kip: Hello and welcome, Oh Creative One! So good to hear from you. Gotta thank you for responding to Cousins and clearing up items concerning RoS. While I can understand your impatience with us at times, I hope you also realize that we Americans have been conditioned since Day 1 to scrutinize, analyze (plus any other -ize you can think of), probe, etc. to the bare bones until there's nothing left, which naturally kills whatever we're digging. You're correct on that point. To quote someone: "Because of its simplicity, it is often difficult to understand, as most students prefer complexity and complications to this simplicity." I also believe we tend to overlook the forest for the trees. But artistic license was mentioned last time, and that gives those of us in fanfic leeway to come up with the "what ifs" and "suppose thats." I guess in a way that kills all the mystery for certain things, but also lets us create our own mystery. Which could lead to something else, and something else... I hope some of this made coherent sense. It's you we have to thank for creating a wonderful series that's truly the life's blood of all the zines and fanfic circulating in our Sherwood universe. We fen appreciate it to no end! You united us in the Herne Spirit of love and Light and for that we are grateful. Many Blessings to you always! P.S. - Good luck with King Arthur! I can't begin to count the number of zines and fiction sprouting from that! It's been a lot of fun, Hilda and everybody! Talk to you later! Laura Woodswalker Todd Dear Cousins, Ooh, I never thought that my flaky meanderings would be read by the Source Himself! I'm so embarrassed! I must confess that that was probably my remark about "cardboard cutouts" and the TV series "not wanting to probe past the surface." Ooh, yes, that was an unfair remark, because most likely a lot of the shortcomings I mentioned are the fault of the TV industry, which doesn't seem to encourage character development, continuity, etc. Also, just the nature of the screen medium, which handles action and visual details better than stuff like "what makes people tick." Certainly the RoS characters are far more 3- dimensional and interesting than anything else I've ever seen onscreen. That's why I'm a fan! If Mr. Carpenter is still listening, I would just like to tell him that any critical remarks I made about the show were made in a spirit of "I care enough to criticize because I love it so much." RoS is the only show I've ever cared about to this extent; most shows I could care less about, and I very rarely watch TV at all. In my previous life (prior to becoming a fan) I was a hopeful pro novelist, which is why I tend to yammer about "characterization" and "motivation" and other Writers' Workshop stuff. Anyway, Kip, at the risk of sounding mawkish, I have to confess that RoS has become far more than a mere TV show to me; it's a whole alternate universe which I share with my children and new friends that I've met from all over the country. It has given me incredible amounts of inspiration for stories and art, inspired me to take up archery, and gotten me interested in real medieval history (as opposed to the generic Sword & Sorcery stuff). Oh, and now my daughter and I want to go to England in the worst way. Pretty impressive, isn't it? My remarks about Loxley's psychic abilities (or lack of them) were made partially out of ignorance: I had missed the first season and hadn't seen The Witch of Elsdon, where Robin experiences a lot of visions, intuition, etc. The first episode I ever saw was The Prophecy, where a spy infiltrates Robin's band and he's completely unaware! Well, I finally did get to see those first season episodes, and they're a real eye-opener (thanks, Nansi and Nancy, for the tape loan). I'd have to say they're some of the best episodes in the series. Not to be argumentative, but I don't see Robert as on the same level as Patty Hearst. Patty was kidnapped, brainwashed into joining the terrorists, and once she'd regained her emotional balance she renounced the whole thing. Perhaps a more apt comparison would be with some of the 60's radicals who came from wealthy families and espoused Marxism because they were overwhelmed with "liberal guilt." It's difficult to be a young, idealistic person and to realize that your own class is indirectly responsible for the suffering of others. However, I wouldn't carry this analogy too far, because in our own time our society pays lip service to ideals of Justice and encourages young people to think for themselves, whereas I don't believe this was true in medieval times. I do agree with Kip's remark that "ancient beliefs are not an organized religion." I've had this feeling too - the reason I stopped going to organized Wicca stuff was just because it was too planned and organized and the feeling was leaching out. My idea of "true religion" is to go out in the woods and watch the deer. (We live near Valley Forge Park, where the deer are protected, so you can see groups of as many as 8 or 10 deer and they'll just stand and look at you. What a great place to get ideas for stories about Herne, Robin Hood, etc.) Morgana: The "Sherwood Amazons?" I love that concept. Only I'd rather seen them as individuals in their own right, rather than direct analogues of the RoS band. Actually this is a concept I'd thought of too... I've got it scrawled somewhere in my book of story ideas. It's fascinating to try to come up with several believable models of medieval women who broke free of the societal constraints. But they have to be believable. No Mary Sues! So if I ever do write them into a story I hope you won't think I copied it from you. (For someone who came from Darkover fandom like me, it's really a natural crossover idea. Darkover is frighteningly close to medieval England/ Scotland.) By the way... a lot of people have been suggesting neat story ideas in here. Does this mean that you are putting the idea into the "public domain" for other fan writers to pick up on?? Because you never know, it just might happen. (Consider that a threat.) This might not come out before the Con, but if it does, I'd just like to comment concerning the proposed Cousins ritual. (Yes - I AM going!! Yippee!!) Don't get too complicated and caught up in structural hassles. Keep it simple! Do a nice spiral dance if there's room; there's no better way to get everyone all mixed up and laughing and relaxed. (Now if we could do it in the woods, that would be best. But we can't have everything.) Ariel: You mentioned that 'in stories where bad things happen to Robin it's because of some external event that he can't control, while with Robert, bad things happen because of some inherent flaw in his character.' I wouldn't put it quite that way - I'd say not so much "character flaws" as problems arising from his background and situation. I've noticed something similar; in a lot of the Loxley stories I've read he is up against an external danger like Belleme, the Sheriff, or something supernatural. Whereas the Robert stories often deal with his problems fitting into his role, being accepted by the others, or his relationships with Gisburne, Marion, his father, etc. I've also noticed a slight preponderance of Robert stories (maybe 1/3 more). Is that because Robert has more problems to write about? (Perhaps I'm just reading the wrong zines. Specifically I'm thinking of Albion.) Oh: also, I've found that it's easier to write Robert stories for naughty zines like Forbidden Forest. Why? Because Robin of Loxley is already "taken" by Marion, but once she leaves for Halstead, Robert is kind of... available!! Linda: Actually, I don't recall any debates about "which Robin has nicer buns." (Although we have been hearing a lot about Michael's legs.) But while we're on the subject... which one does???? Oooh, this uncovers a whole new area for discussion. Perhaps I'll have to watch all the episodes again, with my finger on the Pause button, to thoroughly research this subject. Donna Meinking HELLO, ALL YOU COUSINS! After I got Issues #1 through #5, I told Hilda I'd read everybody's ideas and write some of my own. I didn't get very far. I ordered some of the books suggested by various Cousins and started reading. Starhawk's books are very absorbing; so is that Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets. These books hit the right spot with me. Call me a "pilgrim." I believe in a divine being. I was raised a Roman Catholic, and was in a nunnery for several years. But organized religion, especially if it's run by males, leaves me cold these days. Forgive us, Kip, if we talk about THE GODDESS. Some of us may have drifted away or just recently escaped from male-dominated religions where we were told to pray, pay, and obey, and otherwise shut up. Jesus isn't such a bad guy. He can't help what his followers did with his ideas. Also, nunneries aren't dull and dreary. A woman can have fun and get mental stimulation. In the Middle Ages, it sometimes was a better alternative than a forced marriage to a brutal creep who only wanted your dowry. But I agree, Marion wouldn't have spent too much time in the convent before she would have been longing for the freedom of the forest. I left the good nuns because I'm an independent "cuss." Now I only have to put up with a husband; likewise, he puts up with me. Tuck appeals to me. He is wise and kind, but very strong. He participates in the festivals and blessings with Robin, yet does not reject good customs from Christianity. Maybe I see in him an integration that I want for myself. One thing I've learned from any reading I've done is to be more suspicious of the author claiming to be "fair and objective." Stephen Jay Gould, a biologist, teacher, and science writer, has shown that no one is completely objective and unbiased in their research and published work. We all have an "ax to grind." Sometimes it's easier to read a believer's or a fan's writing. You know where they are coming from and you can see where their biases color their work. Final comment: Our culture is so print-oriented that we're afraid of oral tradition. Oral tradition is not evil, dirty, or false! Sure it gets embellished: just listen to a bunch of war veterans sit around telling battle stories. You know there is a core of facts in there, and the color gives you the feelings of the story-teller(s). Thanks so much, Cousins, for being who you are! I have very few folks in my town I can discuss science fiction and fantasy with. I usually travel 50 or 60 miles once a month to be with my fannish friends. We have a great time, but we don't get much time to discuss philosophical, mythological ideas. It's great that Hilda started this letterzine! Bless and blessed be! Judi Kincaid Hello Everyone! I've really enjoyed the past issues of Cousins, even if I couldn't answer in any of them due to international moving. (Yes, the first question I asked the apt. manager was "Where's the Mail?") Since Hilda has now deemed this a bimonthly production, I now have time to write a few thoughts of my own. Course I love reading everyone's ideas - what a creative group! Issue 4/5 - Julianne and Tara: Thought I'd add another tidbit on Serpent symbolism. In the ancient Neolithic cultures the Goddess was often worshipped as the Serpent Lady. The snake was revered as female, and linked to wisdom and prophetic counsel as well as the Creatrix of several myths. In Egypt, the picture of a cobra was the hieroglyphic sign for the word Goddess. The cobra was also known as the Eye - mystic wisdom and insight... hmmm, the Third Eye? Another thought... if the serpent represented the Goddess, then could the legend of St. Patrick also be a metaphor for the banishment of the Old Religion from Ireland as well? Nansi Loser: Thanks for recommending Lammas Night. What an extraordinary book - her other novels are also well worth reading. It is still in print for anyone who might be searching for it. I saw it last week in a B. Dalton's bookstore. I think that's a national chain? Raven: Hi! I also enjoyed Holy Blood, Holy Grail. Have you read the sequel, Messianic Legacy? This time the authors are in pursuit of the history behind the Gospels, Pauline Christianity, and even have a theory of Jesus being a twin! Another fascinating voyage of theoretical what- ifs. Issue 6 - Sharon: You brought up an interesting question about de Rainault and magic. He was terrified upon gazing at de Belleme's apparent resurrection, but who wouldn't be? Actually, I've never thought of the Sheriff as being afraid of magic. I think of him as a well-read, fairly educated man, for his time. Pity he never put it to a worthy cause! Skeptical, but very aware of the Old Religion. He badgered Hugo to "read more" as he related the history and significance of the Silver Arrow and the Prophecy of Gildas. De Rainault was aware of Beltaine and even remarked to de Belleme, "Superstitions are a hobby horse of mine." His remark to Gisburne that "...he can prance around Sherwood Forest and worship Herne the Hunter.... he can paint himself blue for all I care..." seems to indicate some interest in ancient lore and what the medieval church would call "occulta." After some consideration, he was willing to ruthlessly hand Marion over to the Baron in what was certainly going to be a "sacrifice." Maybe the Sheriff had studied magic. He did look a little edgy during the last flight of arrows in the tournament. My theory is that de Rainault was more afraid of the Baron than of magic in general. As for de Talmont's Book, he'd been duly warned, but he brushed it off. While under the power of the Book, he seemed very afraid, but after Robin hauled off and slapped him, he reverted back to his sneering self (especially when he learned he wouldn't be murdered on the spot). Linda: What a beautiful expression of who we all are in this wonderful fandom! Tara: Love your theory on heaven needing a shadow!! By the time Middle Ages had rolled around, the Church was portraying Jesus as a divine, pure, and spotless being whom all should aspire to emulate. However, at the same time, the Church also decreed that all those "baser" human emotions (lust, greed, hate, anger, fear) were wrong and to be categorically denied. The human psyche must be balanced - light and shadow. The Devil as he has come to be portrayed is basically a medieval "invention." Nowhere in the Bible (correct me if I'm wrong, folks; I don't profess to be a scholar by a long shot!) is there a description of a "being" with cleft feet, forked tail, and horns (beats me where the pitchfork came in) running around. Basically, to the medieval mind, if one force was all good then there had to be an opposing force for all the evil of the world. There was incredible amount of human suffering in medieval times, and the Church needed someone to lay the blame on. It was at this time that the Crusaders were returning from the East with tales of Persian deities of darkness, manlike in form with horns. These Persian deities seemed to resemble the Horned God still being worshipped in Europe. The Church had found its scapegoat. [OUCH! Was that intentional? -H] Evidently, "Satan" can be translated as "adversary," and may also indicate a military appointment. In any event, I agree that the Morningstar was pushed, and crowned King of Hell on the downward tumble. Kitty: Congratulations!! Thought I'd take a stab at one of your thought- provoking questions about who sent Marion the vision of Robert "dead" in the Circle of the Nine Maidens. Was it really a vision, or more of a really specific premonition? As Ariel pointed out way back in Issue #1, Marion appears to be clairvoyant when those she loves are in danger. Herne's warning to her in The Witch of Elsdon and Albion's showing her Robert being wounded in Power of Albion are probably visions, as they were "sent." The experiences in Halstead and Castle Gwydion after the outlaws are bespelled are very similar. Dark magic has been unleashed and Marion both times awakens as if from a bad dream. We don't know what all she saw in her "horrible dream" at Halstead, only that she saw Robert at the Ring. Did she see all of what Gulnar had been up to?? She may have been so psychically in tune with Robert through her love for him that she had this "dream." Like the people one reads about who have these foretelling, realistic dreams, and then the "dream sequence" actually occurs just as they saw it. Maybe this is what Marion experienced? About the ladies dancing and turning to stone... Geoffry Ashe in Mythology of the British Isles tells of beliefs that standing stones may be humans turned to stone for their sins. He cites the Merry Maidens at St. Buryan in Cornwall as having danced on a Sunday... also turned to stone for dancing on a Sunday were the Nine Ladies at Stanton, Derbyshire. Legends say that the stones come back to life and resume dancing at certain times. He didn't state when. Anyone know if the Nine Ladies is our Ring of Nine Maidens?? Kip: What a terrific surprise!! Glad you like Cousins. It was wonderful to read all your comments and ideas. Would love to hear more about your Atlantis in the Pacific theory. I don't pooh-pooh it, I just think it might have been elsewhere. Course I haven't spoken with anyone who thought they had been there. Anyway, welcome, and hope you find time to chat with us again quite soon! I do believe I have chattered on quite long enough. I do wish I could meet you all at Weekend - sounds like a tremendous amount of fun - and I've never been to a Con *sigh*. I'll be wearing flowers in my hair and marrying my dark-haired love that weekend!! So I shall be with you in "spirit." Maybe I'll catch up with some of you at Visions? Blessed be, and may Herne protect you all. Catherine Austein Greetings! I've really enjoyed all the letters I've read in Cousins. Thanks, Hilda. Tara: I am interested in Celtic languages, particularly Irish. I took a semester of Old Irish at college. I looked up the words you mentioned and got different meanings. "Muin" means "upper part," "back" or "upper back" in old Irish and "top" in the modern. Vine is "fni‚in," and wine is "fn" in the old Irish and "fon" in the modern. Kitty: In issue 6 you said something about Gulnar driving Owen to his death. Perhaps Gulnar did because he saw his own death imminent if Owen didn't die. COUSINS ISSUE #7 - August 1992 part 2 Julianne Toomey Dear Cousins, Issue #6 was just jam-packed full of good stuff, not the least of which was Kip's letter, which is undoubtedly going to provide food for discussion for months, as Hilda said. Thanks, Kip! We're all having a great deal of fun reading stuff into RoS and stretching our minds (and wings) a bit. We couldn't do this half as well if you and the cast and crew hadn't given us complex characters to play around with. Welcome to our (your?) playground! Well, there were so many wonderful things said by so many people in Issue 6 that I wish I had the time and space to comment on everything I'd like to, but in the interest of saving Hilda's typing fingers, I'll try and restrain myself. Are you giggling yet, Hilda? [I plead the Fifth Amendment. -H] Ariel, Rache - did you note Sharon Wells' comments about de Rainault? (Hint, hint.) Sharon, you raise some very interesting questions. No one has dealt with the Sheriff's fear of magic in the fanfic that I know about. It would be fascinating to see this. Chris: Please, please, please tell us where you got The Seventh Sword! Is it only available in England? From what you talked about, I'm dying to read it! Some of the psygenics stuff hits right on the nose for me. [Cleared those $*&#@ sinuses, I hope!] Fascinating. Oh, you asked about Arthurian stuff. Are you interested in general fiction? Or occult? In the former, you probably want to read (if you haven't already): Pyle's King Arthur, In the Shadow of the Oak King by Courtney Jones, The Coming of the King by Nickolai Tolstoy, King Arthur, Hero and Legend by Richard Barber, The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights by John Steinbeck, Tennyson's Idylls of the King, Malory's Morte D'Arthur, Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain, Merlin's Booke by Jane Yolen, The Pendragon by Catherine Christian, Invitation to Camelot edited by Parke Godwin, King Arthur and His Knights by Sir James Knowles, Galahad, Knight Errant by Southworth () 1907!) Norma Lorre Goodrich (I think) did a series tracing historical bases of the Arthurian cycle, if you're interested. Shall I stop now? I'm willing to loan, if you'll insure the books on the way back to me - all except the 1907 one. And as for occult Arthurian legend, try Gareth Knight's The Secret Tradition in Arthurian Legend or At the Table of the Grail edited by John Matthews or Grail Seeker's Companion by John Matthews and Marian Green, and let's not forget The Merlin Tarot, but I wouldn't read from it! Too powerful! Oh, and The Book of Merlin edited by R. J. Stewart. Tara: Hi! I think I remember a story where Owen raped Marion - Janet Reedman's Twilight of the Gods in Sherwood Tunnels 6. (Thanks for reminding me, Janet.) Also, I cannot take full credit for this idea because Cindy Fairbanks and I also discussed it during our ongoing correspondence. Personally, I'm not sure I'd want to write that story (this from the woman who described what happened to the women of Wickham during Lord of the Trees in Forbidden Forest; well, nobody said I had to be consistent) - and I'm not sure Marion wants the story told. You're right. It is a potentially explosive topic. I can't help but wonder why none of us has touched it. You've come up with a lovely what-if: what if Marion saw Loxley at Cromm Cruach? Gee, that might be fun to explore. I usually focus on Will Scarlet during that episode, because he's the only one who really makes sense to me there. I know, I know. I'm hopeless. Feel free to give it a shot - or I will. Writing a series? Yeah, I guess I am. M'lady Anna of Hadley Hall just keeps doing things... The characters who take your original plot and run away with it truly are the best kind to have, but she drives me crazy! Geez, she'd probably sic Robin on me if I tried to kill her off. I'm willing to trade novel/las. Are you coming to Weekend? I can bring a copy, and save us some postage. You found a copy of Tennyson's The Foresters? Where did you get it? I knew he'd done a Robin Hood, but I've never been able to find it. (Tennyson was the subject of my honors thesis in college.) To answer your question, Holt mentions Sir Richard of Leaford/at the Lea as the knight in one of his earliest of the traditional ballads [he's the sorrowing knight whom Robin helps in A Lytell Geste of Robyn Hode -H]. You could always ask Kip where he got it. As for Lucifer, there are several explanations. (Do read Milton's Paradise Lost as Kip suggested.) One: he was actually a personification of whichever god of the Old Religion that the New was trying to push out at the time, i.e. Pan. A couple of sects of Christianity used to believe different things: one, Lucifer was the principle of Evil incarnate, God's absolute opponent; two, Lucifer was Lord of the World because this world, being so fleshly, was evil; three, Lucifer was Lord of this world, but sort of like a demiurge, and he was good; four... Well, enough of that. Early Christians were a pretty confused bunch - didn't know exactly what they believed. Lucifer eventually ended up being what you said, the shadow to Heaven's light. I've heard it said that Lucifer may have had his origins in Zoroastrianism, where there are two opposing deities: one Good and one Evil. God needs an opponent and humanity needs someone to blame for bad stuff, because if God is all-powerful, all- knowing, and all-good, then how could He (I'm talking Christian here) let sickness, poverty, and other bad things exist? We, as humans, do seem to have a bit of a tendency to separate and dichotomize things. And this way, even Evil is subservient to Good. I've also heard of a religious group that believes even Lucifer will be redeemed at the End of All Things. As for me, well, this gets into the problem of Evil. What do y'all think of Life, the Universe, and Everything? Does Evil exist? Amber: Hey, neato info about the Dead Sea Scrolls! I have Elaine Pagels' book, but I hadn't heard the interpretation you mentioned. Neato, like I said. Morgana: It would be unusual and interesting to see an all-female Sherwood band. Go for it! What about Herne? Hernette? Hernia? Kip: Welcome once again. I enjoyed your letter. It was intriguing. I hope you're not going to go crazy as we continue to do our own thing. If we occasionally lose sight of the forest for the trees, well, you gave us such fascinating trees to examine! So it's all your fault! :-) (That was intended as a joke; no offense.) Oooh - King Arthur's Round Table as a magic circle! All sorts of lights went off in my brain when I read that. Thank you, thank you, thank you! One of the things many of us have missed about this topic is that a circle is a symbol of immortality... You're perfectly right about American commercial TV messing with the order of the series. When I first saw RoS, I came in on what must've been the middle of Season 3, but only a few weeks later, I was watching Loxley. I saw Greatest Enemy before I ever saw Sorcerer. I remember saying to myself, "So that's where 'nothing's ever forgotten' comes from." And I saw some horrid melding of Enemy with one of the mid-season Huntingdon episodes. You wouldn't believe what commercial TV did to RoS! They edited out entire speeches and even a couple of fight scenes! I was so glad when Showtime aired the series, even if it wasn't in the proper order. American TV does this sort of thing even to its own products, though. Presumably you'd have to get it put in the contract or something. When I mentioned people not being burned as witches in England, I was basing it on a hazy memory of a book I'd read ages ago. Now that you've pointed it out, the book may have said nobody was burned at the stake in America. I don't mind admitting I was wrong. The author was probably being smug or self-righteous. No, we didn't burn people; we hanged them or crushed them or drowned them. If the water test was used, the accused just couldn't win. If s/he floated, guilty and dead. If s/he sank, innocent but dead. Talk about a Catch 22! It reminds me of the command of one of the militant orders of knights: Kill them all and let God decide. Geez. If you can, grab a copy of Apocryphal Albion 3 and read Rache's marvelous story, Most Awful Post Awful, for a really excellent pun on "fen," which is both a wet, marshy place and the plural of "fan." Janet R.: News note. The original Celtic version of Cromm was done in by none other than St. Patrick. Maybe while he was banishing the serpents? So perhaps Cromm was scared of Christian stuff like holy water. You're asking me? I dunno. Like I said, the episode makes very little sense, although Hilda's idea is interesting. I like your idea about Marion's vision! Oh, and I read Mists of Avalon years ago, when it first came out in hardcover. I remember not liking it much, but I don't recall the notion of the serpents equaling druids. Should read it again. Kitty: Hi! Green for prostitutes?! Wow!! I've seen the theory about Greensleeves. In fact, remind me and I'll bring my photocopy to Weekend. It's rather explicit on this point. Ariel: Have you figured out yet why Owen might drug a woman he'd just raped to make her willing to go through the marriage ceremony? If not, think about it. Besides, rape was a "legal" form of marriage way back when. Isn't that sickening? Convent life... yes, it could be quite "worldly." That's why St. Benedict started his massive reform campaign in the 1200's (I think). There were some convents which strove to follow the Rule, but I'm sure there were a bunch that were similar to brothels. After all, Benedict and the other reformers were reacting against something. Mike: Hi, there. Buckland's Complete is an okay resource, but don't bother to write to the group whose leaders are called Robin and Marian, with their seconds-in-command being the Green Man and Maiden. I already tried it a couple of years ago. Either they don't exist or they never answer their mail or they've moved. *Sigh* Hey, Jan, did you ever manage to contact that Robin Hood group? Hilda: We seem to be in agreement. Let's simplify our gathering ideas, but not too much. I like your tentative outline. I guess we started out by overwriting, but that's okay. It's easier to subtract than it is to add. I do agree that we need to call the quarters. Your reasoning for this is sound. Sorry, Janet V. But I love your (Janet's) idea of what to say when raising the blessing bowl! That's perfect! And as for grounding, once again, I'm with Hilda. I need a very firm and deliberate grounding exercise (Hilda does good ones!) or I'll be bouncing off the ceiling. Just ask Hilda. We don't want to do that to anyone. I think the best idea is to finish the planning and finalize it at Weekend - in just a couple of weeks. Hooray! Back to Christianity: yes, the Devil and the Anti-Christ are two different characters. According to Christian mythology, the Devil (= Lucifer) is responsible for all the bad stuff in the world and all the bad stuff people do. The Anti-Christ is supposed to show up just before the end of the world, trick people into believing he, she, or it is the Second Coming of Christ, and mess with their minds so they won't recognize the Messiah when he (or she) comes. Sort of Christ's opposite. Make sense? I love your garter theory, Hilda! Also, remind me to get you a copy of The Pastafazool Cycle. It's a parody of legends subjected to EXTREMELY BAD rewrites. According to Webster's, a yeoman is 1) an attendant or officer in a royal or noble household, 2) a small farmer who cultivates his own land; specif: one belonging to a class of English freeholders below the gentry. I think that second one is what you're looking for. Don't know anything about Julian the Apostate (yet), but "Julie" is from Julia, the feminine form of Julius, which means "light-haired," I think. Anne is from the Hebrew "Hannah," meaning "grace." There was a "Julia" or "Julian" or "Juliana" mentioned at the opening of one of the Gospel epistles, and there's always the medieval Julian of Norwich, who had some beautiful mystical experiences. Let's not forget Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. I'd love to discuss Robert's visions (guided meditations?) and Jesus as a champion of Love (beautiful idea!) and your concept of Cromm Cruach and a bunch of other things, but I'm going to stop now. And thank you for your nice words about Harmony of Opposites. All right, all right! I'm stopping already! Blessed be and Amen too! Janet Reedman Dear Cousins, Hello again! Issue #6 was an exciting and interesting blend of ideas... it just gets more and more intriguing. That's also why this letter is so long. Forgive me, Hilda! [After those pictures of MP you sent, you have nothing to worry about! -H] Anyway... here are my comments: Sharon: Yes, I've seen the Ivanhoe comic book. Fran showed it to me in Dublin! Mithras: Most assuredly Mithras was a sacred king, but there were so many others, including Jesus Christ. It seems that in primitive societies kingship often consisted of a marriage to the land, and the subsequent death of the ruler was perceived as being necessary to heal an ailing land (or necessary if the king grew old - for his waning powers would likewise affect the land). If we accept Robin Hood as the 'Green Man' (spirit of vegetation who dies in winter then is reborn), or the 'oak king' (as son of the forest god) who dies in mortal combat and has his place taken by a successor, then Robin Hood could fit in with this idea. Also, some sources derive the name Robin Hood as meaning 'Shining One of Woden (or Odin).' Odin, the Norse Allfather, himself had some characteristics of a sacrificial king, having hung nine nights on a sacred oak with wounds in his side to pass through death and gain wisdom. An interesting note, but not related in the least: while glancing through my book of Norse myths, in a sudden flash of insight I realized that the name of Hod(ur), the blind god who was treacherously induced to kill the young sun-god Baldur with a mistletoe shaft, means 'Hooded One,' probably referring to his blindness... I love Tolkien too, Sharon! It's not fiction - I also believe every word! (Or if it wasn't this way, it should have been.) The goodly Professor, of course, based his elves partly on the Tuatha de Danann (both were tall, beautiful, were immortal but could be slain, and both came from enchanted Western Isles) and partly on beings from his own imagination (his elves were wiser and more refined - originally he wished to call them 'gnomes' {wise ones} but knew that gnomes had even more stereotypical connotations in the public mind than elves!) As for Robin's birth, I seem to remember that one of the old, original Robin Hood poems mentioned that he was born in the actual greenwood, on the forest floor, as if his parents were forest-dwellers of some sort. Chris: I wanted to pick up The Seventh Sword in London, and totally forgot. It sounds fascinating! I went to a psychic once (she was very, very good), and she told me I was also psychic - and that I was trying to read her the whole time I was with her. I didn't (and don't) know whether to believe her totally, but I certainly fit 5 out of 6 criteria Mr. Collins gave for psychics (everything except the cast in the left eye). It's an interesting story... Still looking for Arthurian stuff? I presume you've read Parke Godwin's Firelord? Brilliant. They should make it into a movie. I can think of some terrific casting... Godwin also edited an anthology of Arthurian stories - well, some seemed more like general fantasy than strictly Arthurian, , but there was one in which the lead character was definitely a Loxley-clone. Don't bother with Godwin's Sherwood, though - it's nowhere near as good. Have you read Stephen Lawhead's Taliesin, Merlin, and Arthur trilogy? Really neat writing. Prose that has the qualities of poetry. The Christian emphasis gets a little heavy in the latter book, but they are worth a read. Tara: Hi, hope you're settling in well back home again! You had some really neat stuff in your letter - I approve! Other Irish places named after women (or goddesses, more like) are the Shannon (Sinend), the Boyne (Boann - White Cow), and the Paps of Anu. Anu may or may not be the same as Danu, but she almost certainly is the goddess known as Black Annis or Cat Anna in England. She is the goddess in crone aspect - a Kali-like figure with blue face and single burning eye. Traditionally she eats children. She seems to be a pre-Celtic figure, and, interestingly, there has been some evidence of child-sacrifice in ancient Britain - babies' earbones in cists buried at megalithic sites, parts of children's skulls at the stone circle of Loanhead of Daviot in Scotland, a three year old girl with split skull found at Woodhenge. Anu, of course, is probably identical to the Cailiech Berre/Calliach Bheur (who in later folklore became a rather more benign witch called Cally Berry.) There's also a nameless (as far as I know) witch in Irish lore who can only be slain by a Silver Arrow!! Did you know that the name of Guinevere in Arthurian lore has an Irish equivalent? It's Findabhair (pronounced Finnavir roughly), daughter of Maeve. The name means something like 'white phantom.' The word king comes from Anglo-Saxon - Cyning. The similarity of the 'R' names for Ruler comes from that common Indo-European heritage. I found Tennyson's play, The Foresters, while I was in Dublin. I was being silly and wanted to turn the thing into a musical. My favorite line is when the outlaws sing at table 'Down with John! Down with John!' (referring to King John, not Little John!) I did a one woman performance one blazing hot afternoon for a rapt (probably horrorstruck) audience! I totally agree with all your comments on the nonsensical portrayal of witches still in the media. We get this in the local papers all the time, since Victoria is supposedly one of the 'witchcraft capitals of the world.' However, no one can still separate the difference between witches and Satanists, although they're gradually getting more enlightened - Victoria University has a chapel dedicated to the Lady, and one of the local professors is a well respected, world published poet/writer who just happens to be a very open and unashamed witch. (He also happens to live just a block or so away from me with his wife, who is a Quaker!) Periodically we go through masses of confused/confusing stuff in the local media about child ritual abuse, and several years ago there was a real paranoia about Satanists stealing a baby for sacrifice. The whole thing was a hoax. Debbi: There are tons of places in England, particularly in the Derbyshire/Yorkshire areas, that contain references to Robin Hood! Besides the places you mentioned there are also two odd monoliths (non- prehistoric) called Robin Hood's Picking Rods, and a strange rock formation called Robin Hood's Stride (very eerie in the dusk!) Also, the cliff above Robin Hood's Bay just so happens to be called... Ravenscar. (Now I don't think that's coincidence!) Don't go expecting to see Robin's grave if you go to Kirklees Hall. Lady Armitage forbids anyone on her land, and her groundskeepers see to it that no one visits the grave. This has given rise to some strange rumours, including one that Robin is really a vampire! (What do I mean, 'rumour?' It's true. We've seen him. Max Schreck, wasn't he calling himself???) Kip: Great letter! Helped and confused us all the more! Loved it! I'm still trying to find The God of the Witches. Yes, Margaret Murray sounded pretty potty - but don't you find some of the pottiest authors give one the best inspiration for writing? Alfred Watkins' theory about the Straight Track is pretty daft, as the connecting points of his 'ley lines' are from vastly different eras, but the theory is fascinating. T.C. Lethbridge with his imaginings of vast hillsides of grown-over hill figures is another one. Your explanation of why Robert became an outlaw pretty well tallies with what I saw in the series. I was questioning the 'why' because so many fans seemed to be tackling/ theorizing on this subject. I keep hearing that convents weren't much better than brothels. I wonder if this is true, or if some of it was just the spurious imaginings of outsiders, who couldn't envision women devoting their entire lives to chastity. I seem to remember a couple of fairly gruesome old stories about pregnant nuns being walled up and what-not, which doesn't sound exactly like something that would happen if various forms of license were completely acceptable. Crossed mythologies: yes, we Brits are a mixed bag. The problem I have with the mixed mythology isn't so much that it is wrong, rather that it sounds wrong. Usually, anyway, when a god/goddess/whatever is adopted from one people to another, the figure takes whatever name is the linguistic equivalent of that people. I'd have felt fine with Owen screaming, "By the hammer of Taran(is)!" because this was the Welsh Thor. I mean, he was a Welsh speaker, was he not? I haven't read Murry Hope's book on Atlantis. Must dig it up sometime. I don't pooh-pooh Atlantis at all. There seems to be a strong belief amongst many creative people that they have hailed from Atlantis. One of my writer-friends is also convinced that she hails from Atlantis; J.R.R. Tolkien and his youngest son apparently had repeating dreams all their lives that seemed reminiscent of the sinking of Atlantis. Cromm Cruach: I've spent a lot of time tearing this episode to shreds... but I just dug up what may be a shred of truth. Up in the area of the Peak, there is a place called Penkridge. Apparently this name is from the old 'Pennocrucion,' which in turn comes from the Gaelic 'Cenn Cruach' (High One of the Mound) which is another form of Cromm Cruach. They mixed up the episodes of RoS when they aired in Canada, too. On the first airing, we had no Greatest Enemy. And then they jumped right into the middle of the third season! It took two or three airings to get it right... Julianne: You're 100% on the mark about kids' books! Some of the most inspiring/mythically interesting books I've read are Alan Garner's Moon of Gomrath, Elidor, and The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, and Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising trilogy. They are full of British myth/ legend, and have stayed in my mind while many 'adult' fantasy novels have faded away. Does anyone know of a book called Under the Wild Moon? Kitty: Yes, there is a legend about the nine maidens being turned to stone for dancing on the Sabbath. It's a common enough story around megalithic sites. (More on stones anon.) A Welsh name for the Maiden: That is tough! Cerridwen actually had a beautiful daughter, Creirwy, but she doesn't seem to play a part in anything. Sure, Gulnar knew that Owen was going to die - I thought that was fairly obvious. That's why I really have trouble with our sorcerous friend yelling in Cromm Cruach that he wanted revenge for his humiliation and the death of his master. Julie: Hi! I have a few of those Celtic name books; you can often find them in 'touristy' type shops. I have Cornish, Welsh, and Irish namebooks - a great source for writing. A good book for finding accurate medieval names is The Oxford Dictionary of First Names. This book not only gives you the names, but actually quotes the year in which they first appeared in records, and the forms they took. So you know you really can't call your characters Debbi and Sandra (I used those examples because I just read the most abominable medieval-type novel in which two characters had these anachronistic names!) Hilda: My mum says black cats are lucky in England... though I certainly know people over there who think of them as unlucky, too. I have a black cat and so does my cousin Jane in Derbyshire... I heard that prehistoric people also dyed their hair with an ash-urine mixture... Namesake Saints: There was a St. Hild(a) who founded Whitby Abbey in Yorkshire. This must have been a remote spot in those days, on the edge of the lonely expanse of the moor where the Bronze Age dead lay in their mounds, with necklaces of Whitby jet and shale around their throats... Megalithic sites: so many have legends of dancers, one can only assume that there may be some folk memory of the dancing that probably occurred there. Stones also tend to have names relating to Women, Witches, or Festivities. There are The Nine Ladies, The Three Spinsters (spinning women), Long Meg and Her Daughters (Meg was a witch), Mitchell's or Medgel's Fold (Medgel was a witch with a magical cow), the Merry Maidens. For festivities there are the Weddings (Stanton Drew), the Hurlers, the Kissing Stone, The Pipers, and The Blind Fiddler. In Ireland there is even a stone circle named Beltany. For the best reading on stone circles try Aubrey Burl. He's an archaeologist, but his writing style is never dull or overly technical. He breathes life into the monuments he studies. And now I shall close off, for it has gone midnight, and unless I get some sleep I will be needing someone to breathe life into me tomorrow morning! [And I know exactly who... -H] Ariel Dear Cousins, Hi everybody! Can't believe it's almost time for Weekend in Sherwood. Yowza! Without further ado, I'll plunge straight into the letters from issue #6. I'd like to keep this letter less than a zillion pages long. Sharon Wells: Hi! Your letter was really interesting and I hate to start right off by disagreeing with you, but here goes. I don't see how anybody, fey or not, could survive being shot at point-blank range by at least two or three dozen crossbow bolts. To say nothing of the fact that the soldiers would have then ripped Robin's body to pieces, as I believe was customary at the time (somebody correct me if I'm wrong). Also, I can't see the Sheriff leaving the tor until he had satisfied himself that there was no chance Robin was still alive. I think what is important about Robin's death is that although his body was destroyed, his spirit was not. The sheriff killed Robin, but he never had the satisfaction of seeing Robin plead for mercy. Also, Robin died to get Marion and Much to safety, and sacrificing your own life so that the ones you love will survive is about as noble and heroic as you can get. By insisting that Robin is still alive somehow (in my mind, anyway) detracts from the courage and selflessness of his final act. Onto your thoughts about Robert: "What is he doing in Sherwood?" That topic has been debated in the last five issues of Cousins. "Does he even have any ideas about things fey?" I'm curious to know if you think this is necessary for being Herne's Son. I certainly agree with you that Robert would not, as you say, "throw up his hands and die when Marion left," but I've talked such a blue streak on this topic in the past six issues that I won't get on my soap box again. I think you've hit on a really great idea regarding de Rainault and his reaction to magic, sorcery, etc. I can't see him dabbling in magic - from his dialogue, he seems to regard anything beyond the realm of his five senses as so much hocus-pocus. I'd be more inclined to think there's a deep-rooted fear of the unknown in the sheriff's mind, which periodically explodes to the surface ("Children of Israel," and less spectacularly in "The Sorcerer." And look at his reaction to being alone in the forest at night in "Sheriff of Nottingham." I don't think it's just fear of being caught by the outlaws that makes him panic). Maybe what we have here is a classic case of Freudian repression. Any takers on this one? Linda Furey: Although I would like to do a more complex ritual at Weekend in Sherwood, I think perhaps your "simple is better" idea would probably work. I would hate to think that people are frightened away or feel excluded. Laura W. Todd: Back to the old "is Loxley perfect" question, here's an idea. In the first two seasons, Robin is really a vulnerable hero. He makes a few mistakes, and there's always this undercurrent of doom that makes you wonder if the outlaws are going to survive to the end of the episode. When I first watched RoS, I used to really wonder if the characters weren't all going to get killed off. I was amazed when everything worked out at the end of "Swords of Wayland." By contrast, Robert is a much more "swashbuckling" hero. Maybe because he's a nobleman, or maybe because the third season stories aren't as dark as the first two, I never "worried" about Robert the same way I worried about Robin. The only story that I didn't think Robert was going to survive was "Cromm Cruac." So to even things out a little, maybe writers have tried to present Robin as infallible, and Robert as having more problems. Any thoughts on this? In "Lord of the Trees," I believe Herne is shot in the leg with a crossbow bolt, but we don't see the healing process on screen. Interesting question, though. I agree with you that "Cousins" is currently the most reliable RoS letterzine being produced, so a lot of general chatter about the show tends to work its way in here. Janet VanMeter: Your ideas for a simple Sherwood ritual are very solid and fit nicely into what Linda discussed earlier in the issue. Tara O'Shea: Thanks for the notes on Sovereignty. I've seen this idea used in a number of fanfic stories, and also in Bradley's Mists (which I've skimmed through but sadly haven't gotten around to reading yet - maybe sometime by the year 2000). It was nice to see it explained in detail. Ha! Another Branagh fan! What a marvelous actor. Blond men with English accents make me just drool! (As an interesting aside, I think it's neat how Henry kisses the ground before going into battle. In the light of your Sovereignty discussion, this seems like remarkable insight on Branagh's part-after all, he also directed Henry V. I wonder if it were his idea). I've skimmed through Fortune Made His Sword, and I would love to read it more thoroughly. Alas, I haven't the time . . . A couple of fanfic pieces have alluded to Marion's possibly being raped by Owen, but nobody has done a full-blown story. I would not object to such a story if it were done with tact and sensitivity (such as Julianne's "Mixed Blessing" in Forbidden Forest). Perhaps the reason nobody has done so yet is because, as you pointed out, it's a potentially explosive topic. My biggest fear is that without solid writing skills, and an understanding of the psychology of rape victims, such a story would turn into the worst kind of torrid bodice-ripper. My second reservation about this scenario is that it might be used to demonstrate a lack of sensitivity on Robert's part (i.e., he didn't "understand" Marion, couldn't "sense" what she'd been through, and only wanted to get into her skirt). I think Hilda has a really good point in her comments at the end of issue #6 about the changes in Marion's personality. These could easily have been the result of sexual assault. It would explain her violent sobbing in "Herne's Son," her ambivalence about getting into a physically intimate relationship with Robert, her emotional reaction at the end of "Cromm Cruac," and her near-hysteria when the Sons of Fenris turn up in "Time of the Wolf," resulting in her ultimately taking refuge in Halstead. However, going back to Kitty Gamarra's comments in Cousins #3: " ...when Owen kidnapped her she had to assume that there was no one to rescue her - her husband was dead, his men scattered and her father without men-at-arms . . . (the Earl of Huntingdon) wouldn't even stand up for her in his own castle." I think it can be equally argued that Marion's behavior in the third season was the result of emotional devastation due to losing Robin, and when Owen kidnapped her, what small reserves of strength she had left were spent. Her sobbing might easily have been the result of her realizing the apparent hopelessness of her situation. I think the important thing here is that although a valid idea, the Owen-raping-Marion scenario should not become cast in stone, but be left open for debate. Is "hood" meaning a criminal really a derivative of "Robin Hood?" Fascinating! Amber Foxfire: I agree with you utterly that Marion's staying in Halstead has all the makings of a season-ending cliff hanger, but alas, there was no fourth season. I'm not entirely sure when Kip became aware of the fourth season's being axed, but from everything I understand, "Time of the Wolf" would not have ended as it did if he had known. Your notes on the split of Christianity from Judaism are interesting, and the comparison to the seemingly contradictory Robin Hood legends are apt. However, it's important to remember that the earliest "Robin Hood" was essentially a colorful thief. "Robert, Earl of Huntingdon" probably never existed and was made up by Elizabethan poets and playwrights. I believe that the moniker "Robin of Loxley," (or "Sir Robin of Locksley") was introduced in Ivanhoe. (Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong). Marion and Much were added at the time of the Elizabethans, and of course, the Arab/Saracen character was Kip's idea. Debbi Henderson: Thanks for all the wonderful slang Robin Hood expressions! Morgana: Your ideas on the all-female outlaw band are neato! Maybe we could call this version "A Forest of Their Own," or something. Nansi Loser: Your thoughts on the Blessing being a more localized Beltaine celebration are right on! I wouldn't say that Hugo is "knowledgeable and tolerant" of the Old Ways - he's more likely turning a blind eye. The only thing that's important to him is that he gets his money, and a pagan's coins jingle in his purse as well as anybody else's. However, I do give Hugo credit for keeping his nose out of things he doesn't understand. Carpenter's missive is so long that I could write an entire LoC on his comments alone. Suffice to say, I found myself agreeing with just about everything he said, particularly his noting that when you're trying to write, film and produce a television series under a deadline, sometimes the little details just get lost. I very much enjoyed his discussion of why Herne chose Robert. (I did wonder what Kip was smoking when he claimed to be from Atlantis.) I disagreed that Robert had no choice but to become an outlaw after rescuing Marion - he hadn't really burned all his bridges until the end of "Power of Albion." I loved his comments about Marion's upbringing. "Wiccans incorporated!" Great! As for Americans being "mongrels" - well, mongrel-hood is healthy! Healthier than being inbred, at any rate. "Is 'fen' the plural of 'fan?'" Mr. Carpenter doesn't seem to have read Rache's "The Most Awful Post Awful." Janet R.: Your thoughts on "Cromm Cruac" had me in stitches, although I admit to liking this episode a lot, despite its inconsistencies. Maybe this is one episode where some writer needs to do a little "filling in" of details. I like your idea about Robin Hood having the blood of all the different types of English people. I think the problems you cite with "Inheritance" might be the result of Carpenter's not having written the episode. From his letter, it seems as though he has his own thoughts on the Arthurian legends, and it's interesting to think what this story might have been like had Kip written it. On to Mary Sue yet again: some of the tell-tale signs of a Mary Sue character are complete physical perfection, intelligence and spunk, quite often an improbable name for 12th or 13th century England, athletic strength, magical powers, and usually romantic entanglement with one of the male characters. While I think readers should keep an open mind about original female characters, if the character is so perfect she makes the presence of the outlaws almost negligible, well, you've got yourself a Mary Sue. Julianne: Hi! I thought it was Herne who says "Did you really think you could overcome me?" at the end of The Enchantment. Because as it's said, there's Belleme sitting in a window looking kind of defeated and ticked off. I personally think Robin gave the arrow back to Herne at some point. I think I mentioned in a previous issue that the sheriff would have gloated over getting the arrow back after killing Robin. More story fodder, no? I haven't seen "Wicker Man," but would love to. The video rental place down the street carries it, but my VCR has recently lost its ability to play volume. Drat, I have to get that thing replaced. Back to "Cromm Cruac:" I don't think the villagers "knew" they were actually dead, or remembered dying before. If they did, Gulnar would have no power over them. Kind of like being in a nightmare and realizing, "hey, this is only a dream," and waking yourself up. When you can do that, the dream loses its grip on you. When Gulnar tells the miller, "How can I kill you, when you're already dead?" it seems to be news to the miller. Of course, this is only my own interpretation. What kind of magic is Gulnar using? His usual potpourri. If it works, he'll use it! Kitty Gamarra: I loved your letter. We seem to be of one mind on not bending characters in fanfic way past recognition of their TV counterparts, and Marion's decision to stay in Halstead or return to Sherwood. I think the myth of standing stones having once been dancing women was an early Christian reaction against women dancing as part of Old Religion rituals. I could be wrong, though. Can anybody help me here? Hilda: I don't think Robin "chose" anything in "Greatest Enemy." I'm sure that if he'd had any say in the matter, he'd have lived if he could have done so without his friends suffering for it. See my comments to Sharon for further elaboration. John and Meg as the King and Queen of Fishing Poles?! How about the Two of Wands? Or would that be Nasir ? Or is he the Two of Swords? (*yuk, yuk*) I think a Norman woman as the next "Marion" would be a great idea, one that would shake things up simply by requiring more open-mindedness on the parts of the outlaws. Perhaps she could be a relative of Margaret of Gisburne? Another story idea, folks! ("Marie Suzanne!" Honestly, Hilda, you're just too much sometimes!) "What other legend has been subjected to the occasional EXTREMELY BAD rewrite?" Gee, did somebody mention Prince of Thieves? As for the magic of Herne's Con packing its bags and flying out to Michigan, Hilda, you're an optimist if ever there was one. I'm just afraid Northwestern is going to lose the luggage. It's kind of hard to transport a gorge and waterfall, but I'll try, honestly, I will! Not to be a nitpick, but Creb in Clan of the Cave Bear was not always on the move. His tribe was settled down in one cave and they only left to go to a big Clan gathering that was held every seven years. I see your point about lengthy training periods versus working magic in your everyday life, however, I still don't think Robin would have had the time to absorb the kind of knowledge and skills that being a shaman like Herne would have required. But this is my own opinion and others are certainly entitled to theirs. The rest of your comments are funny, informative and well-put, as always. Yikes! I've done it again!! Short letter indeed. Ha! I should know better. Well, time to get this thing printed and in the mail. Blessed be, one and all! Hilda Chris - Please, please, let us know if there's anything we can do to ward off (funny expression, that) the ugly specter of burnout! You and Denise are indescribably wonderful, and we'd hate to lose your guidance and enthusiasm and imagination and skill and determination and... all of those things that our magic-deprived language can't really express. Whatever names people might have for those who congregate in places of ancient majesty under the full moon, and who melt away at the first morning bell, might begin to come close. But I pride myself on my avoidance of calling names... So the Salmon of Wisdom receives mail at Hornchurch? I refuse to be blamed for one more pun, traditional or not! This is straight from Kip Carpenter: the garter was no doing of his. Fan writers made it up. Kip thinks it's brilliant, and (on blatant prompting) says he wishes he'd thought of it. You're probably right. I don't really expect to run into religious intolerance within RoS fandom. I guess I'm just overly nervous about exposing people who are just beginning to consider my favorite Path to intolerance. We're reclaiming a lot all at once, and the fearful can be fearsome! Also, like our original ritual outline, Pagans can do a frightfully good job of scaring off our own, unintentionally falling into the same old traps of "qualification" and "worthiness." I often wonder whether I'm blaming the results of my own jargon addiction on some amorphous ghost of intolerance. Well, here's an open invitation to everyone else to follow Chris' example and say, "I mean, what does that mean?" We do our best, but old habits die hard! You're right, there are plenty of RoS activities at national conventions. Maybe I'm just stuck in Peasant mindset. I consider myself a Yuppie to be able to make it to both Weekend and Visions! Mini-cons and parties seem to be the way to go for this bunch, at least in the densely populated Northeast. Hotel room, heck... we're going for some kind of record for number of people crammed into somebody's parents' house, a vacation cabin, or a forest clearing; ghosts, mice, and hornets notwithstanding! Support wildlife, Cousins - throw a party! You're quite welcome for the good "work," although the term still seems a bit of a malapropism. But then, most of my friends who do magic also refer to it as "work!" Tripping over my own tongue again, I guess. Some four-letter words are still problematic for me. Todd - I agree that Michael's more "natural" delivery of his lines was due to the immense freedom that a character like Loxley gives an actor. A peasant rebel can lose his head, act foolish, or break down in front of his people, and not have to cover for it immediately after (or during). Such "naked" behavior might well have seemed irresponsible or even unkind to Huntingdon. It was this very contrast between their leadership styles (born to lead, taught to lead) that made the outlaws' acceptance of Robert so touching; and in the meantime gave them something on which to blame their own shocked inertia. To a noble of those times, Loxley's "natural" behavior might well have looked like madness or mental deficiency! Maybe Marion's faithful-to-the-grave image in fanfic is an outgrowth of a medieval myth that still appeals to many people today. Granted, she saw her husband die, but Marion was too strong to be permanently emotionally crippled by it. Again, this is legend, and the rules are different here - for women, anyway. Sigh. Good question, Cousin. I do think she'd be pretty much a wreck while she was at Leaford, though, and being heavily protected by her father to boot. We've both been spoiled by Phil Rose's interpretation of Tuck. I, too, tire of drunken, foul- mouthed friars endlessly gnawing chicken legs and insulting people (although the old ballads do seem to favor this sort of monastic Pantaloon). Rose's philosophical approach to the role transformed Tuck from a stock buffoon to an educated voice of reason amid a band of occasionally short-sighted hotheads. Is Kinesiology what says that if you put an unmarked tape of The Greatest Enemy in my hand and hang a 2-pound weight from my wrist, my arm won't drop as far as if it were Cromm Cruach? I'm sorry your disk crashed. Thank you very much for the nice, neat, large-type, double- column letter - it made typing a breeze! Linda Frankel: Thank you for the great Fun Word! Why am I reminded of Clive and Kip trying to giggle themselves to death at a panel at Visions '91...all we could get out of them was something like "...the (snicker) Hooded (ha ha, oh God) Hooded Gland!" What a lovely visualization! I don't think anyone who's ever tried to see the Goddess and/or God in her/himself will "object" to using Robin and Robert as god-forms. This seems to me to be a big part of the function of the Hero - to bridge the gap between the mortal individual and divinity that you find in a transcendentalist culture such as ours. After all, those of us who have watched the British tapes have seen Will draw down the moon... Like you, I feel perfectly all right about calling on Robin, Robert, or anyone else when it seems like the smartest thing to do. I really don't think I'm in danger of centering my power outside myself, and sometimes their kind of friendship is exactly what I need. I was scared to death of "Marion Sue" for ages and wouldn't even talk to her out of sheer awkwardness and embarrassment, until she brought me to a place where Robert was badly wounded, feverish, and freezing. She knew: Blood, bandages, stuff like that I can handle. She let me help her take care of him, trusted me and was obvious about it, and plunk! there I was back in my own self, acknowledging my place in that world as well as this. Smart Lady. I saw Hugo's motivation as being almost exclusively greed, with some concern for preserving his "dignity." I don't think he'd go to the trouble of destroying Marion if there was no money in it, and his brother would probably make sure that any money to be had from such a venture would go to himself! Of the two, the Sheriff seemed both cleverer and more prone to vengeance. Hugo struck me as complacent and unwilling to rock the boat. I "believe in the importance of Marion's office," but I see it as a much less formal framework for her actions. (I've already ranted enough about this: Issue 4, Page 12, Column 2). Now that you mention it, a shortbow would work much better from horseback... I heard something similar to your banned-longbow tidbit: that it was illegal even to have a yew tree on your property. Has anyone else ever heard of that? Technically, I think Earl David was a Saxon rather than a Norman. I never got an impression of Robert as any more than a nominal Christian, attuned as he was to the plight of the common people and disgusted with hypocrisy. I guess he just struck me as too down-to-earth to want to be a saint or martyr. Also, didn't Hermetic magic come to England later on? Were the Moors into that at all? True, I see a lot of out-of-character stories in zines that don't book themselves as "Alternative Universe" (don't get me started on Guy Turns Good!) but the only character trait I expect from a gay or lesbian character is attraction to members of the same sex - which I don't expect from any RoS character besides Tom, Dickon, and maybe the Sheriff, any more than I would expect Marion to fall madly in love with Owen of Clun of her own accord, or Tuck to run off with that woman from the Beltane feast. Beyond this, though, the main reason that I wouldn't pay money for a RoS slash zine is because people whom I consider friends have specifically requested that their characters not be portrayed as gay. Whether or not they're laboring under antiquated ideas, in my experience "enlightening" people by jabbing them in their sore spots doesn't work! Seriously, you have an active eye for psychological intricacies and a singularly open outlook. Your plot ideas and what you've told about your characters are very fresh and innovative, and I'd love to read anything that you've written within a universe of your own invention. It's almost as if you have a nearly-hatched vision straining at the confines of Carpenter's already- written world. I don't know about mistaking a Saracen for a Saxon, but I'd get a kick out of seeing dark, quiet Nasir, whose speech is so musical when it does come, find a home among the stealthy hillfolk of Wales during the lost period between seasons 2 and 3. It seems to me that Maid Marion the outlaw was already so anachronistic that a basically feminist temperament, aside from being a necessity for survival, would be nothing next to leaving the manor to run off with a scruffy criminal who could get killed at any minute and live with a bunch of similar sorts who somehow manage to honor their leaders' monogamy in the vermin- and wild-animal-infested woods. What the heck. Robin Hood as a fertility/abundance archetype, in contrast to the virility/wildness image to which I'm more accustomed, would make him more a Provider cognate to the Mother than a Youth to match the Maiden - but I don't figure that England's neolithic inhabitants were half as interested in labelling things and sorting them into little boxes as I am! Perhaps it's my own rebellion against my Catholic upbringing coming through, but one of my favorite things about Paganism is its generous room for all forms of ecstasy, even that not bought (or equated!) with pain and terror. This brings to mind the little booklet that comes with the Tierra/Cantin Herbal Tarot and its interpretation of the Five of Cups: "Preoccupation with loss, at the expense of recognition of one's true assets and powers. Negativity. The idea that it isn't real unless it hurts!" (For what it's worth, that's not how I usually read the Five of Cups, but it's an interesting idea.) Anyway, I appreciate the modern Craft's equal embracing of "rigorous and demanding" practices alongside practices that are less so. The "divisiveness" that non-Craft people see as our greatest weakness is the diversity that is our true strength! I would guess that your conflicts with folk overly concerned with "political correctitude" might be a regional phenomenon. What are your thoughts on this? My geographic guessing has gotten me into trouble before... When I was a Catholic, baptism was my favorite sacrament - it meant to me, "You are a child of God, despite the fact that you're only human and make human mistakes." It seemed like the last surviving remnant of early Christianity's assurances against the modern Church's hierarchical obsession with "qualification." Oh, well, they tried. I also read somewhere the theory that Christianity as currently practiced is a religion aimed at emotional toddlers - "Do as you're told, or I'll hurt you!" I know a lot of writers who "like" characters because they're bad in the sense that villains give life to a story, rather than in the sense that they'd want to spend time around the characters themselves. For a vivid and entertaining glimpse of Robert de Rainault's horrific childhood, see A Sherwood Carol by H. L. Avry in Albion 4. The ability to empty oneself for divine possession as an inborn gift rather than as an ability acquired through training - well, that's up to the individual writer, but my personal preference in RoS fiction runs the other way. A big part of the Merries' appeal for me is their taking the part of the "ordinary" folk, thus reminding everyone that no one is inherently better than another. Again, I guess this is personal. Also, I thought that the whole point of a deity expressing him/herself through a possessed person was to make use of that person's advantages, not to cancel them out entirely. If I were a deity who wanted to manifest in my pure form, I'd just do it, and to heck with mortal husks! Wow, it seems that all I can do is disagree. I also think that a religious skeptic would hear Herne's voice LOUD AND CLEAR if it would serve the Balance. I consider Tuck's devotion to his friends far stronger than the insistence on mindless Faith advocated by the Church against which he rebelled, and his love for the honest people of England the source of his persistence. I read Raven's letter in Issue 5 to mean that RoS fan writers sometimes erroneously interpreted Robert's vulnerability as portrayed in the series as the weakness of a "spineless weepy adolescent." Yes! Guy as the Chariot is perfect. Likewise Will as the Knight of Swords. Robert's drive to prove himself through sacrifice is so far from the surface that I never saw it at all! He only accepted Herne's summons long enough to rescue Marion and the band, then went back to Huntingdon until the Call became undeniable. I see Robert as much easier on himself than your sacrificial/ascetic description would imply, and able to love strangers precisely because of his love for himself. ***** for Woolley's Guinevere trilogy. She's realistic, and gives the power of Rumor in an age of uncertain communication its creative due. She pays attention to detail without becoming tedious, and has a solid understanding of the ideological conflicts facing a culturally divided Britain. And Guinevere's musings are often so simultaneously grand and well-rooted that their beauty merits tears of joy. Human Queens are mortal. The way I've most often seen them deal with the matter of being representative of the unbroken Cycle in fiction is through daughters. It seems to me that the discrepancy between the King dying in his prime and the Queen growing old gracefully may be related to men's comparatively limited sexual peak, and may have been set into human tradition back when progeny was one's only assurance that one would live past age 35. Might as well print it all now - the size of this publication is increasing exponentially enough! But thanks for the offer. Blessed be. Julie - You've read Branagh's autobiography, you tell me: Does the man ever sleep? Now that Nancy Hutchins is away at school, I feel a bit of a freak at 5'9". Where's Jane Jackman when you need her? She's one sweet person, and everyone was totally psyched when she won brunch with Clive at Visions '91. There's a real poetic potential for the Arrow as the working class' counterpart for the nobility's Grail. The nobility receives the fruits of the people's effort; the farmers work during the day while the nobles' schemes are hatched in the bedroom as often as not; the common folk multiply and die at a phenomenal rate compared to the enduring upper class... Lovely idea! I just read that my name (spelled "Hylde") can also mean "elder-tree," a tree sacred to the Goddess in her Mother aspect. All kinds of tasty foods and useful medicines come from the various parts of Her body. The elder tree is sacred to Holda (!) and is often the home of forest spirits. (Thanks to Ellen Evert Hopman again.) Like myself, the elder tree likes streams and swamps, and is quite comfortable in the mountains. Are there any more tree-names out there? Laura is one, I know, for the Laurel of Victory and Honor; and if I recall correctly "Eric" means "plum" in Hebrew. Wyvern - I don't see Marion as Guinevere. I'm just glad there are so many legends, so we don't have to try to make them all fit one mold! I like the idea of her representing an aspect of Herne (local version), or of Marion and Herne both being aspects of the same power (global version). Earthly representatives of divinity - but hey, who isn't? What's this "ignorant" business? Can we please keep name-calling out of these pages? Not to mention lying! I read somewhere that a white cat represents either death or the spirit of a dead person in Ireland. Cath? Tara? Any takers? Modern-day Witches sometimes favor black cats because, like black robes, they absorb energy. Hmm - does this mean that if I want to stop acting so manic in Circle, I should make myself a white robe? I think green or brown for grounding would be good, too. (The Lady just gave me a gorgeous blue one. The ocean is blue; emotions and the subconscious are often associated with the color blue. Perhaps I have options besides intellectualism to pursue?) The Merrie Women in Turmoil: "Find your own rags! You're the one who made the pennyroyal bug repellent!" I don't know quite how you'd set it up (kill Robert???) but I'd be interested in reading a story about Marion leading the Merries! You're right about the fuzzy wuzzums. I read one Elfquest book and loved it. Morgana - I think there's a big difference between Morgwyn's systematic summoning of Lucifer for a specific purpose and the apish photo-negative of Catholicism referred to as the "Black Mass." Your theoretical rebel rabbis would be doing something more like the latter, if they were to call Lilith the Child-Strangler but not Lilith the Self Within Herself and the Namer of Names. Of course, such splitting of a goddess would be magically more difficult and theologically more convoluted than invoking Jehovah's already-established mirror opposite! An interesting note on Lilith the Child-Strangler: The Zohar tells that this office of destroying imperfect children, which she performed with such relish, was conferred upon her by God. Talk about a scary be-a-good-child-or-else horror story! More meanderings on the dualistic "he-did-it!" splitting up of archetypes: I believe it's in the Netherlands that St. Nicholas, on his yearly gift-giving visits to good children, was traditionally accompanied by a fellow named Black Peter who would (at least threaten to) beat the bad children. Black Peter! How's that for a demonization of our Man in Black, he of the anatomical monicker? Now, I do seem to remember someone who went abroad at the Winter Solstice, "dressed all in fur from his head to his foot," but his gift was somewhat more permanent than a train set... Janet V. - Gavin and Yvonne Frost recently told me (THUD! Sorry, will someone please pick up those names?) that the Benandanti of Italy were those who had been born with cauls. Their job was to travel astrally at night, and to do battle with rowan branches against evil ones who countered with sorghum. The Inquisition didn't know quite what to do with them, since they were battling what seemed to be the forces of evil, but did forbid the carrying of rowan branches in public procession. Woodswalker - Well, maybe some day enough of us will live close enough together that we can get really conversant with each other's magical selves, cease to need visual and verbal cues to align our intentions, and simply get together and celebrate our beliefs. I look forward to that! But we've already seen enough of people guessing that, since they're not "initiated," they might not have a place in our magical circle. We can counteract that impression with simple forms, without compromising feeling. When there's some sort of ritual progression, people know that they're doing what they're "supposed" to do and not "messing it up for everybody." Ritual isn't just a set of empty motions or a crutch - it has its own power, and plenty of it. It's just something that, like pistachio ice cream, works better for some people than for others. Your description of "true religion" and the deer at Valley Forge park really hit home. I'd like to hear some similar vig-netties from some more of our Cousins, especially since I had a lovely one just yesterday! I was sorting the long-neglected recyclables for dropoff, and decided to dig through all the nasties between the refrigerator and the wall to get out all the paper bags. Well, I got them all out, and spotted something else down there that I'd never seen before - an old plastic placemat with a picture of Mockingbird, my spirit guide, on it! And as I loaded the stuff into the car, who was sitting in the top of a fir tree singing her heart out but Mockingbird herself! I love being Pagan... I can't speak for anyone else, but when I make a plot suggestion in Cousins, it's up for grabs! Yes, I agree that there are probably more Robert stories precisely because his situation is so problematic. There are so many facets of his life to choose from! Likewise, maybe Loxley is pitted against villains and supernatural phenomena so often because he's already centered in his situation, having come to Sherwood with nothing to lose. Loxley as a character doesn't present us with as many easy jumping-off points for plots, and we have to drag in something from outside. Well, now that Linda Furey's uncovered Robin's and Robert's buns, I guess I'll have my hands full... But to be honest, I can't take sides. I think they both have lovely glutei maximi, and would work Wardrobe for either of them any day. Donna: Good point about oral tradition and the "folk process" of individualizing and embellishing tales being so often discounted as evil, dirty, and false! Rather than considering modern society's near- instantaneous access to information a sort of hard-won "independence" from creative storytelling, I'd love to see both acknowledged separately, each in its own right. This would include taking into account the journalist's advertiser-induced slant, the scientist's need to tailor her research to the interests of grant-making institutions, and the ability of the individual to sort out information from entertainment and enjoy each to its full, separate potential. It's like Kip's suggestion in Issue 6 of how to make a really powerful Tarot deck - celebrate the individuality of your viewpoint! Judi - Serpents? Okay, I'll bite... if the name Patrick means "father- king," could this be the dark side of our Father-King Herne? One who comes with nice, neat, pat, written answers instead of those infuriating riddles that force us to think for ourselves? Or maybe the light side, the daylight/surface/simplistic face of the guidance we seek; with Herne the more challenging and more comprehensive "starlight view" to Patrick's "flashlight?" (Thanks, Starhawk!) Another thought I'd like to snake in here: the famous Cretan ivory Snake Goddess statue has Her permanent residence here in Boston - and I've never even gone to visit! Next time one of you visits Boston, grab me by the pentacle and drag me to the Museum of Fine Arts. Consider it an act of charity. (Tara, where the heck is Bindings due to come out? It's a fine perspective on the Sheriff's attitude toward magic!) Any !Kung person from Africa could tell you (in a language you probably couldn't decipher) that being forewarned of a magical pitfall is anything but being forearmed. !Kung sorcerers make sure that their targets are well-informed of the curses being flung at them. It's an integral part of the magic. Thanks again, Ariel, for your suggestion of Jean Auel's novels: they offer an intriguing glimpse of the fate of one cursed in such an informative culture without having been raised to understand it. I think the specific volume was The Mammoth Hunters. At any rate, de Talmont's warning of the contents of his Book was neither charitable nor helpful to the haplessly nosy Sheriff! This phenomenon can be easily dismissed as "psychosomatic" if you're of a reductionist bent; but you could also look at it as a preference on the part of the Lady for truthfulness. Any more ideas on whether a curse is more or less effective if heralded, and why? It would probably be gratuitous and unfounded to suggest that the Devil's pitchfork was an attempt to demonize the working (farm) folk. I had heard the theory that the pitchfork was a clumsy rendition of Neptune/Poseidon's trident, which was neither tool nor weapon but the scepter of the Triple Goddess' favor. (Actually, since the Church had decided that singing and dancing were bad, it was a tuning fork they handed him... Yes, I'm making this up.) Had anyone else heard that the Grail was carved from a single huge emerald that fell from Lucifer's crown when he got evicted? Where the heck did I read that? Must have done wonders for the green glass industry, anyway. There are Rings of "Nine Ladies," "Nine Maidens," etc. all over the British Isles. It seems to be a fairly standard pattern and name for stone circles. I think Kip located Mu/Lemuria, not Atlantis, in the Pacific. Cath - Does this mean that an Irishwoman named Fiona is sweet but kind of fruity? Julianne - Cath Austein picked up a copy of The Seventh Sword in England and informs me that it's VERY expensive. What I saw of it looked intensely absorbing, but Linda Furey had first dibs on it from way back... I think I'm third on the list... Seriously, if it turns up here in hardback before my turn comes around, I'll just scribble another IOU and spare myself some trouble. My creditors are suicidally good-natured, as you well know... It's a tricky thing, borrowing (rather than buying) a book that someone you care about has played a part in producing; but if it's that or never read it at all, I say read. But I only say it to myself; this is something that each person has to figure out alone. I suppose it's possible that religions that stress dark vs. light opposition (like Christianity and Zoroastrianism) developed after entire cultures developed the technology necessary to pick up and go on the warpath, and a whole people's destiny could depend on the outcome of conflict; while stuff like the harmony of Yin and Yang developed where people were so hemmed in by geography or their technology so regionally focused that wars were limited to small-scale border disputes that never threatened the continuity of the culture as a whole. (Or as posited in the hilariously spurious collection of students' history-paper mistakes, Did You Ever Hear of the Sarah Dessert, "There were no wars in Greece because the mountains were so high that they couldn't climb over to see what their neighbors were doing.") I personally think that Evil exists. I think that it stems from forces within each individual (fear, pain, ignorance) rather than from some coherent external force for Evil per se. For example, I expect that Simon de Belleme was drugged and tortured pretty severely in the Holy Land, and fan writers have come up with a very clear picture of Sir Guy's past. This is a big part of Scarlet's appeal for me - he's the last holdout of free will against the things that can drive people to evil acts. He's seen it all, and he chooses to keep on looking (albeit through an ale-induced fog whenever he gets the chance). I don't like his brawling, but I think I know why he does it, and it's not my place to "forgive." That's for the guys he punches out to decide. Thank you for plugging my grounding technique! Although lately a lot of my grounds have been of the coffee variety... Blame it to ground-in habit, on the grounds that it's part of my background. Have I driven this one into the ground yet? One of my morning bus-mates informs me that the Antichrist is the EEC (European Economic Community). Depending on the preacher, I've heard that the Antichrist is Saddam Hussein, space aliens, television, and just about everything but a wart hog named Amelia (and my research has been anything but exhaustive). In terms of sheer mythic popularity, the Antichrist is about to eclipse the Devil! Lucky for us, Elvis makes them both look like I Love Lucy reruns. "To do yeoman service" means to perform above and beyond the call of duty. Robyn Hode and the Potter ends with "God haffe mersey on Roben Hodys solle, And saffe all god yemanrey!" Apparently yeomen were well- appreciated members of society. Janet R. - A chapel to the Lady at Victoria University? And I thought we Bostonians were spoiled! Thank Mother, we haven't had a serious "evil witch" scare in years. Your Witch neighbor and his Quaker wife are a lovely example of "parallel evolution" of ideals in cosmologically divergent faiths. Quakerdom, as I understand it, is also very insistent on responsibility for one's actions and respect for the individual. Potty authors as inspirational... Perhaps another identifying trait of the Cousins crowd is our "separate but equal" embracing of the scientific and the magical. A lot of "new age" sources are now attempting to cram "paranormal" or "supernatural" phenomena (although what "beyond normal" or "outside of nature" might mean is a mystery) into the uncomfortable Oxford shoes of science; trying to describe extrasensory perception as an electrochemical alteration of the human nervous system or neolithic architectural precision as the product of extraterrestrial intervention. So far I've seen no such attempts in these pages to "explain away" or reduce magic to an incomplete understanding of other phenomena. What draws some people to magic is the same thing that repels others - its unquantifiable, unpredictable independence. (Is it any wonder so many of us get along well with cats?) It's that turn of the Wheel, the Lady's option to say "No" (or alternatively, "Sure, whatever you say!") that makes magic the province of risk-takers and of those who don't always want to know what's around the corner. Those who enjoy their television with lots of suspense, poetry, and leaps of faith... May I posit that, as Pagan festivals and customs varied from village to village, likewise Christian practices differed from convent to convent? Not only were there numerous orders of nuns and monks, there was probably substantial regional variation within those orders. Communications were spotty, travel dangerous, and anything that could produce a kickback zealously protected. (Your walled-up pregnant nun is the weirdest human sacrifice story I've heard yet! Where did you find that?) Remember Tolkien's alternate name for Anadunie, "Atalante, the Downfallen?" (Pardon my spelling, please - my Adunaic is worse than my Quendi!) Places named after women in Ireland: How about the Kennet River? Okay, maybe it's named after part of a woman (kind of like our Robin being named after the "generative principle...") But only cunning folk ken it... My attempts to look this up uncovered the "spearhead" emblem of the cult of St. George, which looks like this: I'll leave you to guess at Barbara Walker's interpretation. (I admit that I'm quite fond of St. George lately, as I got to play him recently in a mummer's play in a workshop on English Sacred Drama! My "girlfriend" Griselda had a beard...) "Cailleach" even sounds like Kali. "Pennocrucion" and "Cenn Cruach" - does this mean that whoever named the Pennines was trying to tell us that the Pennines are "high?" It works. "Pen" also links in with "penultimate" and "Pendragon" - perhaps another proto-Indo-European root is still hanging on here. Does this mean that a "pen pal" expresses the highest form of friendship? :-) I'd like to add Lloyd Alexander's Taran series to the list of mythically worthwhile children's books. Loosely based on existing Welsh tales, these five books chronicle world-moving events through the eyes of human-sized characters, and even gracefully handle their seemingly inevitable Miserable Depressing Ending. Well, if I dream of being interrupted at my prayers by someone whose jet and shale jewelry looks more substantial than they do, I'll let you know... Ariel: Robin going to his death with full knowledge of what he was getting into and being absolutely astonished that the Lady had other plans for him doesn't detract from the courage or selflessness of his Sacrifice in any way! Besides, it would be a perfect scenario for that lightning-quick series of expressions: "I don't get it!... Wait a minute... You mean I'm supposed to... Right!" As some of my less charitable Massachusetts neighbors might put it, "Dawn breaks over Marblehead..." I personally think that understanding of things fey is a prerequisite for the child of the Forest God, but (as in my previous rantings about Marion) that understanding need not be expressed in any traditional fashion. Indeed, if anything, I value such understanding more highly when expressed in something other than mangled Gaelic or new-age jargon. (Has anyone read Theodore Sturgeon's Godbody? Can anyone loan it to me, the Xeroxin' Fool?) Robert knew what he was doing. Whether or not he ever made references to "Sam Hain" or did the Maypole Boogie, he was chosen for his clarity of vision and his wisdom of heart. The rest is just gravy. Poor beleaguered Loxley was handed the shape of his spiritual heritage by his peasant upbringing. If anything, Robert had further to go in less time, and he pulled it off without any loss of self. This is the beauty of the difference between the two Robins - Loxley is our ideal, what we would be if we had been raised to it; and Huntingdon is that ideal shining through a lifetime of what many of us would grudgingly refer to as the "Real World." I, too, thought that it was Herne who said "Did you really think you could overcome me?" at the end of The Enchantment. I don't think that Robin "chose to die" in The Greatest Enemy, but he did look at the alternatives, and, given only the options of dying or of letting Marion and Much die, opted to die himself. I don't consider this a completely selfless choice, either. Can you imagine a Robin who had seen Marion die? Or even Much? He would live, but he couldn't live with himself. It's just not a part of Loxley's innocent, idealistic character. I'd love to see how the more worldly Huntingdon would handle such a situation! You bet I'm an optimist. And (note shameless gloating with the advantage of 20-20 hindsight) WE DID IT! The spirit of Herne's Con picked up its antlers and relocated lock, stock, and cup of icky visionary-stuff... As for the gorge, I gorged myself; and I think I (for one) did a downright Mildred-esque impression of a waterfall a couple of times! The Lady had plenty of stand-ins that weekend. As always, I'm honored to accept your compliments. You and I may never agree that we agree on Robert (whatever the heck that means!) but I value your opinion and think you're great. Editor's Notes More Favorite RoS Quotes: Julie Phipps: Two for Julianne: "Pigs might fly!" and "'e's right round the Maypole!" Also: "Love conquers all things" (Marion in Alan A Dale). Todd Parrish: "Blessed be the tie that binds!" Janet VanMeter: "It is enough to aim." (Herne) "You're too stupid to live!" (Owen of Clun) ** "Aren't you, Gisburne?" (Sheriff of Nottingham) Judi Kincaid: "On THAT horse???" "You are a leaf driven by wind," and "Don't assume anything, Gisburne, unless it is an occasional air of intelligence!!" You might have noted that this issue is chronologically or otherwise a mess because it was put together half before Weekend and half after. I crave your indulgence (stop waving that expensive scrap of paper in my face; that's not what I meant!) We have another reprint available: the ritual sequence we used at Weekend. Also, we blessed a good many talismans more than we needed. There are plenty left! A self-addressed stamped envelope will get you either or both of these items. The talismans physically consist of three tiny stone beads (moonstone for the moon, citrine for the sun, and emerald for the forest) strung together on triple-knotted red thread - just the thing for a power bundle, or to sew onto clothing or incorporate into a bit of jewelry. They're charged with the strength born of friendship and with our dedication to carry the spirit of Sherwood not only in our hearts but in our deeds. While I'm on the subject of the ritual, I'd like to thank Janet V. for her poetry; Cath for filling in for Kip at the last minute and giving the Blessing; all of our skillful readers; Donna for handling food, ice, and a thousand practical matters; the Room 136 gals for the space; all whose invaluable advice made the ritual a healing and enjoyable time; and everyone who attended in body or in spirit for strengthening a magical construct that will endure and nurture us for as long as we choose. I'd also like to specifically thank Mark for stopping by our room party despite con-induced exhaustion. You're the perfect guest. May we learn hostcraft sufficient to honor your courtesy! And Kip, please know that we craved your company as much as you did ours, and that your honoring of promises previously made will never sully your name as far as we're concerned. ERRATA: First, as Ariel noted: In my reply to Ariel last issue, I... uh... misremembered the situation of Jean Auel's character Creb. Turns out that the Clan of the Cave Bear was, by and large, sedentary. Second, Julianne informs me that IRC's (International Reply Coupons) work just fine, but that trying to reach the Matthews' through their publishing house is essentially a lost cause. I sent IRC's to the address listed in Cousins 6 and got a commendably speedy reply. Also, a reminder: we outlaws are anything but sedentary. Please recheck the Who We Are listing in case one of your pen-pals has moved. I'VE MOVED TOO, to the address shown in the bannerhead (that nifty little box with the "muin" in it.) The Who We Are section is now semi- alphabetical, but be sure to check roommate and spouse names. You may have noticed that I've reformatted the Who We Are section in the interest of saving space (and postage) - we're growing by leaps and bounds! I don't want to delete the section, as it requires such frequent updating; but if your "self-description" blurb is long and has been printed several times, please let me know if I can delete or shorten it. Consider it your own little Saxon rebellion against the Post Awful. Julie Phipps wisely suggested that I run HTV's address here, in case any of you had questions regarding Robin of Sherwood (miniseries prospects, videotape availability, movie possibilities, anything!). Remember, while "network executive" may not be something you'd want people to call your sister, they have a job to do: they have to determine what sells, what people want to see. So, write: HTV Limited The Television Centre Bath Road Bristol BS4 3HG ENGLAND or even call them at 02-72-778366 (Cousin Julie doesn't miss a thing!) Anglophiles, take note: I just devoured Martha Rofheart's novel about Henry V, Fortune Made His Sword, and would recommend it to anyone who's ever enjoyed a romance. (Ariel, it's well worth the time you haven't got!) It's emotionally rich without being vapid, and Rofheart takes great pains to build her characters detail by detail until you really get to know them. There's lots of gore, but it's mostly kept offscreen, and the narrating parties don't like it very much. Henry himself is depicted as cunning only in his contemporaries' eyes; his own parts of the tale are told in the voice of a blunt and straightforward man driven by duty and his desire to excel. The description of Agincourt is just incredible. Check this one out (literally - it came out a while ago, and would best be sought in a library). Found another one! The Story of Robin Hood and His Merry Men by John Finnemore (first printed in 1909, my copy 1946) is a selection from "Black's Boys' and Girls' Library" that portrays Robin as an upstart yeoman who is later granted the Earldom of Huntingdon by his idol and admirer King Richard. Its color plates seem to be taken from watercolors, and though they look a bit out-of-focus, they're attractive, well-composed, and convey action effectively. (The one of Little John dressed as a bishop to marry Allan-A-Dale is a scream!) The writing style is adorable: "With that Little John stepped forward and caught the dumb man by the ear and nipped him shrewdly with finger and thumb so that the dumb man yelled with the pain and found his tongue by a miracle, and began to call Little John very bad names." This one was well worth being gentle with the brittle, yellowed pages and forbearing numerous references to the "North Countree." Finnemore quotes the old ballads often, minus swears and spelling mistakes, and goes out of his way to impart a sense of wholesome mischief. Curiouser and curiouser: Without Robin of Sherwood, television has lost a lot of its charm for me, but my sweetheart still switches it on now and then. A while back he came across a guy named Gore, yelling and ranting as though he thought he was Will Scarlet. And the stuff he was saying! "...And just as the false assumption that we are not connected to the earth has led to the ecological crisis, so the equally false assumption that we are not connected to each other has led to our social crisis. Even worse, the evil and mistaken assumption that we have no connection to those generations preceding us or those who will follow us has led to the crisis of values we face today." He talks too much, but I had to admit that he had an interesting point of view. Iconography et al: I recently met a wonderful Witch named Rosemary Kooiman who wore her pentacle point-down. I asked her why this was. First, she said, point-down is for grounding. Also, in the tradition which she joined in the early or mid-sixties, the five points of the regular, right-side-up pentacle symbolized (deosil, starting at the leftmost) Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Lord, and Lady; and flipping it upside down put the Lord and Lady on top; so it was a matter of respect. You just never know! NEWS FLASH! I recently received a lovely note from a woman named Mary Jupp, explaining that she found my address in a copy of the Loxley Times (I'm NOT making this up) and asked that I pass on some exciting tidings: Excalibur '93, a convention slated for next August 13-15 at Canterbury University in Kent, will feature not only RoS but Blakes 7, Garrisons Gorillas, and Young Riders. She promises "fancy dress, sports, scavenger hunt, videos, guests, and much more." Curious? Write: Mary Jupp 19 Chester Avenue Bethersden, Nr. Ashford Kent TN26 3BN ENGLAND Please send two IRC's (or a SASE if you're in England). INSERT TIME WARP HERE: Aha! In response to my inquiry, Mary tells me that the Loxley Times is "...run by Rowena Sayer and a friend of hers. It is basically a newsletter, no fiction, just updating R.O.S. and other Robin Hood fans on what the cast is up to these days. It also does reports on TV and films which they have been in. It is very interesting and... really very informative. The address is: Loxley Times c/o Rowena Sayer 111 Farndale Ave. Palmers Green London N13 5AJ "Secondly, I myself [this is still Mary talking] run a TV Fanzine which features stories written on several TV shows. We have printed some R.O.S. stuff but are currently trying to accumulate enough fiction to do a R.O.S. special. If anyone is interested in either the fanzine or R.O.S. special, they can get further details by sending I.R.C. to my address." Wow! In addition, Mary is a particularly keen Mark Ryan fan, and looks to be a key contact for British RoS fandom. Once again, the ritual sequence we ended up using at Weekend is available as a reprint. Another new addition to the reprint file is the pamphlet What is the Henge of Keltria and What is Neo- Pagan Druidism? from the Henge of Keltria in Minneapolis. Yes, folks, there's more to druidism in America than ADF! Send a SASE if you're interested. If anyone doesn't have D.J. Conway's Celtic Magic and wants a copy of their own, Darlene Veghts has graciously contributed an extra that she found in the process of moving. Just send postage (not tons, it's a small paperback) and it's yours. First request gets it. Once again, let me introduce you to Smiley :-) (or (-: for you leftist Saxon scum). Smiley is a great way top off your witty bits of irony, snippets of sarcasm, or any of those other clever little turns of phrase that lose so much without their accompanying facial and vocal expressions. Like Julianne's "*giggle*," Smiley reminds anyone who reads their mail way too late at night [such as your not-so-humble Editor] that there's only so much you can do with the written word, and that those brilliant barbs are actually suction-cup arrows. A late-breaking tidbit for those interested in Morgana's Merrie Women idea: Tree of Life 4 is open to any medium with a Robin Hood theme. If they'll take Toto (or whatever you call that guy from Kansas), your Green Woman should have no trouble establishing her Sherwood reign under this Tree. Contact Todd Parrish (see Who We Are). Do I smell a serial? (Without nasty little green bits stuck to it?) Well, it's almost as late in the night as it is in the month, but here we are! Many thanks for your patience, your magic, your friendship, and all of those lovely gifts from the Lady that you have every right to claim credit for yourself. A gift is nothing until it's accepted, and acceptance of the Goddess' choice of gifts is an art we're developing every day. Thank you, whose fingers spin Her thread. Thank you.