Category: literature promotion

The Tanah: Amores–Three More Love Spells

[The following is the thirty-seventh of many posts–here is the first, here is the second, here is the third, here is the fourth, here is the fifth, here is the sixth, here is the seventh, here is the eighth, here is the ninth, here is the tenth, here is the eleventh, here is the twelfth, here is the thirteenth, here is the fourteenth, here is the fifteenth, here is the sixteenth, here is the seventeenth, here is the eighteenth, here is the nineteenth, here is the twentieth, here is the twenty-first, here is the twenty-second, here is the twenty-third, here is the twenty-fourth, here is the twenty-fifth, here is the twenty-sixth, here is the twenty-seventh, here is the twenty-eighth, here is the twenty-ninth, here is the thirtieth, here is the thirty-first, here is the thirty-second, here is the thirty-third, here is the thirty-fourth, here is the thirty-fifth, and here is the thirty-sixth–about a fictitious discovery of ancient manuscripts of a religious text of narratives and magic spells. Its purpose for my readers and me is to provide a cosmology and mythography on which I am basing much, if not most, of my fiction–short stories and novels. If anyone is interested in reading this fiction, he or she can use these blog posts as references to explain the nature of the magic and universe in my fiction.]

Hypnotism Spell

[Lure your lover into a dark place lit only with a small flame on the top of a stick or candle held in your hand. Look your lover in the eyes, recite the verse, and immediately on finishing the recitation, blow the flame out in the direction of his or her face. Your lover should lose consciousness and fall to the ground if you have recited the verse with proper diction and sufficient faith in the Crims.]

[Lover’s name], sleep for me.
[Lover’s name], yield to me.
Weleb, blow Nevil’s fire.
Weleb, give me my desire.

Comment: one of the especially wicked spells that were abominated by the tribal elders, this one was believed to be most effective if particular materials were used for the stick or candlestick: a wood favourable to Drofurb, Crim of the earth, such as silver birch, or tallow whose smoky, foul smell has been somehow minimized. As with so many of these spells, details on what specific materials are to be used are scant. Perhaps a separate, as yet unfound set of writings has these recorded?

Pheromone Perfume Spell

[Mix wood and citrus scents into the soap used for the ritual bath for this spell, a bath to be prepared with the same instructions as those for the anti-aging and sexual attraction spells previously given, but with this new verse.]

Weleb, spread my allure throughout the air!
Of Nevil’s fiery scent be all aware!
May Drofurb’s herbs be all-enticing smells!
May this bath make the best of lovers’ spells!

Comment: though there was of course no such thing as a “pheromone perfume” (i.e., using synthetic chemical compounds, as used today) in the ancient world, we felt that “Pheromone Perfume Spell” was a better translation of Akhnar Wayat Bilm than “Animal Sex Smell,” which though a literal translation, sounded off-puttingly crude to us. While this spell is largely a variation on the “Sexual Attraction Spell” given previously, two differences should be noted: firstly, this one emphasizes the scent, whereas the previous one only briefly refers to fragrance; secondly, where the previous spell is meant only to attract this or that particular lover, this new one doesn’t discriminate–any and all lovers are welcome…to the point of orgies, even.

Commitment Spell

[Make two small wooden figurines as effigies of oneself and the desired lover; their closer resemblance to the actual pair of lovers in real life, the more effective the spell. Use birch bark tar to make the two adhere to each other while repeatedly chanting the following verse.]

Drofurb, make our love as solid as stone!
Nevil, make my love burn in his bones!
Weleb, never blow his love away!
Priff, always have his love flow back my way!

Comment: this spell was generally a woman’s prayer to the four Crims to make her man commit to her, hence, our translated name of it, “Commitment Spell,” as opposed to the “Stick Him to Her Spell,” which is a more literal translation of Guro Shuk Er Im Bah, but also a cruder-sounding one, in our opinion.

The Tanah: Amores–Translator’s Introduction and First Four Spells

[The following is the thirty-sixth of many posts–here is the first, here is the second, here is the third, here is the fourth, here is the fifth, here is the sixth, here is the seventh, here is the eighth, here is the ninth, here is the tenth, here is the eleventh, here is the twelfth, here is the thirteenth, here is the fourteenth, here is the fifteenth, here is the sixteenth, here is the seventeenth, here is the eighteenth, here is the nineteenth, here is the twentieth, here is the twenty-first, here is the twenty-second, here is the twenty-third, here is the twenty-fourth, here is the twenty-fifth, here is the twenty-sixth, here is the twenty-seventh, here is the twenty-eighth, here is the twenty-ninth, here is the thirtieth, here is the thirty-first, here is the thirty-second, here is the thirty-third, here is the thirty-fourth, and here is the thirty-fifth–about a fictitious discovery of ancient manuscripts of a religious text of narratives and magic spells. Its purpose for my readers and me is to provide a cosmology and mythography on which I am basing much, if not most, of my fiction–short stories and novels. If anyone is interested in reading this fiction, he or she can use these blog posts as references to explain the nature of the magic and universe in my fiction.]

Translator’s Introduction

Here we come to perhaps the most controversial of the spells, for on the one hand, the elders of the tribe abominated them for their wickedness, while others coveted them for their perceived ability to fulfill so many sexual desires. As with the Lyrics, these Amores‘ efficacy seems to depend on their users’ unshaking faith in the power of the Crims–Nevil, the Crim of fire (and therefore, of sexual passion) in particular. These spells are chanted, not sung, as are the Lyrics.

Apart from the supposed magical power of the original language–whose rhythms, alliteration, assonance, etc., cannot adequately be rendered in English–some other items are to be used to aid in the effectiveness of the spells, being either indispensable or at least helpful in achieving the best results. These include early forms of soap that combined animal fat with fire ashes; though the spells involved bathing while wiping the soap all over one’s body, the purpose wasn’t cleaning oneself–it was about spreading the benefits of the magic’s power all over oneself.

Anti-aging, youth-preserving spell

[Burn wood to ashes while invoking Nevil. Drip animal fat on the ashes, still invoking Nevil. Get naked and bathe with the soap made from the ashes and animal fat while repeatedly chanting the following lines.]

Nevil, keep all wrinkles off of me!
Nevil, keep my skin smooth as can be!
Nevil, keep me beautiful and desired!
Keep me young with your so holy fire!

Sexual attraction spell

[The following lines are to be repeatedly chanted with the same instructions as those of the anti-aging spell above. Be careful, upon completion of the ritual bath and incantation, to have present only the desired one to be attracted by the spell.]

Nevil, make him want me.
Nevil, draw him to me.
Make my fragrance pull him near.
May I have his eyes and ears.

Comment: this spell was generally used by women to attract men, hence the warning to ensure that only the desired men be at hand once the bath and spell were completed. Spells for men to attract–really, to seduce–women, were of a different sort, an example of which will be found soon below.

Potency spell

[Burn a fire surrounded in a mound of dirt. Wave a rock, ideally, one of a phallic shape, over the flame while repeatedly chanting the following lines.]

Nevil, have me ready for her.
Nevil, do sustain me for her.

Seduction spell

[Burn a small flame in a private room into which you would have the desired woman enter and meet you. Repeatedly chant the following lines while, on one side of the flame and her on the other, you keep eye contact with her.]

[Her name], receive me.
[Her name], yield to me.

The Tanah: Lyrics–The Last of the Song-Spells Discovered So Far

[The following is the thirty-fifth of many posts–here is the first, here is the second, here is the third, here is the fourth, here is the fifth, here is the sixth, here is the seventh, here is the eighth, here is the ninth, here is the tenth, here is the eleventh, here is the twelfth, here is the thirteenth, here is the fourteenth, here is the fifteenth, here is the sixteenth, here is the seventeenth, here is the eighteenth, here is the nineteenth, here is the twentieth, here is the twenty-first, here is the twenty-second, here is the twenty-third, here is the twenty-fourth, here is the twenty-fifth, here is the twenty-sixth, here is the twenty-seventh, here is the twenty-eighth, here is the twenty-ninth, here is the thirtieth, here is the thirty-first, here is the thirty-second, here is the thirty-third, and here is the thirty-fourth–about a fictitious discovery of ancient manuscripts of a religious text of narratives and magic spells. Its purpose for my readers and me is to provide a cosmology and mythography on which I am basing much, if not most, of my fiction–short stories and novels. If anyone is interested in reading this fiction, he or she can use these blog posts as references to explain the nature of the magic and universe in my fiction.]

Translator’s commentary

The next of these song-spells is supposed to enable shape-shifting: how the ancients believed that the mere singing of this lyric in its original, mystical language would result in any kind of physical transformation, let alone the desired one, is a total mystery to us translators. Apparently, total faith in the aid of the four Crims–Weleb, Nevil, Drofurb, and Priff–is crucial to achieving such transformations. More fool us of little faith, it seems.

Certain words in the spell were deemed to be unutterable by the elders, as such words were also crucial to cause the transformations so abominated by the elders. Again, in English translation, the lyric sounds dull and ineffective, where the magical power is in the alliterative, assonant, and rhythmic words of the original language, all lost in translation. A firm belief in the Crims, as mentioned above, is also crucial. Here’s the song.

[To be sung repeatedly, louder and louder, inserting the words of what is wished to be changed into at the end.]

O, Four Powers, rearrange my parts! /// \\\
Change my shape, colour, and likeness \\\ \\\
into a ____________! ///

Commentary: Naturally, there’s also a verse to have one transformed back to normal. This is it.

[To be sung repeatedly, louder and louder.]

O, Four Powers, reset my parts! /// \\\
Return my shape, colour, and likeness \\\ \\\
back as I was! ////

Commentary: Next is a song-spell for capturing souls in jars, to gain greater magical power from them. The elders abominated this spell most of all.

[To be sung repeatedly, louder and louder.]

Air Lord, move this soul \\ ///
from its case to that one! /// \\\

Commentary: The “Air Lord” is Weleb, Crim of the air, and as we said above about making shape-shifting possible through the mere singing of a verse, it seems that unwavering faith in Weleb and the other three Crims was enough to make the ancient tribe believe that singing the above verse would actually transfer a human soul from its body into a jar.

As of the publication of the current edition of the Tanah, these are the only spells known as “Lyrics” that have been excavated. Apart from these are fragments too slight to be translated and published as coherent spells to be read and understood, but enough to convince us that there are many more to be found, complete copies of those fragments to make the incoherent coherent.

As we’ve promised above, once more Lyrics have been found, as well as more texts of the Beginnings, Migration, Laws, Preaching, Proverbs, and Amores (these last to be examined in the following pages), they will all be translated and published in future editions of the Tanah.

The Tanah: Lyrics–More Spells

[The following is the thirty-fourth of many posts–here is the first, here is the second, here is the third, here is the fourth, here is the fifth, here is the sixth, here is the seventh, here is the eighth, here is the ninth, here is the tenth, here is the eleventh, here is the twelfth, here is the thirteenth, here is the fourteenth, here is the fifteenth, here is the sixteenth, here is the seventeenth, here is the eighteenth, here is the nineteenth, here is the twentieth, here is the twenty-first, here is the twenty-second, here is the twenty-third, here is the twenty-fourth, here is the twenty-fifth, here is the twenty-sixth, here is the twenty-seventh, here is the twenty-eighth, here is the twenty-ninth, here is the thirtieth, here is the thirty-first, here is the thirty-second, and here is the thirty-third–about a fictitious discovery of ancient manuscripts of a religious text of narratives and magic spells. Its purpose for my readers and me is to provide a cosmology and mythography on which I am basing much, if not most, of my fiction–short stories and novels. If anyone is interested in reading this fiction, he or she can use these blog posts as references to explain the nature of the magic and universe in my fiction.]

Translator’s note: please remember that all of this collection of spells is incomplete. As excavations of the area continue, more will be found and published in future editions. The current set is only what has been found for the moment.

[Sing the following verse repeatedly, louder and louder, with increasing intensity. Pluck individual strings on a zither, each plucking for each line.]

May I take, ///
and escape. \\\
May I keep ///
what I steal. \\\

[Sing the following verse repeatedly, in as low a bass voice as possible, with the soft hitting of a gong.]

Take your life, \\\
take your soul. \\\
Take your breath, \\\
leave you low. \\\

[Sing the following verse repeatedly, with accompanying flute.]

Make my tales \\\
seem as real ///
as if they \\\
had been seen. ///

[Sing the following verse repeatedly, with loud drums.]

Ai, Lord of Fire, ////
god of lust ///
and desire, //
come from hell ///
to the earth, ///
give me what ///
in my heart burns. ////

Commentary: The following two spells are not particularly ‘wicked’ ones, yet they are included among the Lyrics all the same. The first is a verse of protection, often sung before one is about to eat a dish blessed by the spell. It is also sung while the singer, naked, has his or her hands on the plates on the dishes, to transfer the spell into the food, and give its power to the eaters.

[Sing the following repeatedly, with hands on the food to be blessed and to protect those who eat it. The singer must be naked.]

Keep our enemies far away. \\\\\
We eat what will keep us safe. \\\\\\\

Commentary: the second spell is of protection put on necklaces.

[Sing the following repeatedly, with the necklaces to be blessed lying nearby. The singer must be naked.]

Keep the necklace wearers safe. ///\\
May no enemy give them strife. ///\\\

Commentary: in keeping with the malevolent nature of so many of these lyrics, though, one spell has been devised here to make the wearers of the protective necklaces want to take them off, rendering them vulnerable to their enemies again, as we’ll see.

May the necklace itch, itch, itch. /\/\/\
May the wearer twitch, twitch, twitch. /\/\/\
May the wearer take it off, /\/\/\
and at his protection scoff. /\/\/
The wearer being naked now, /\/\/
I can make him kneel and cow. /\/\/\/

[Sing the following repeatedly, with flute and drum accompaniment to guarantee success.]

May boils grow all over your skin! ////\\\
May no one love you ever again! ////\\\

From Ballots to Bullets

George Clinton, alas, was wrong.
For a browning of an urban area,
the ballot will never be sufficient.
The other George, of course, knew better than to trust the vote.

Putting a ballot in a box
is like buying a ticket to
watch a theatrical show
in which a president struts and frets his hour upon the stage.

ICE, to the IDF
close in character,
shoot at people.

We the people
thus have the right
to shoot back.