The Totem Series: Magpie & Belladonna

Pica Pica

One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret,
Never to be told.

The magpie is a member of the corvidae family and like it's cousins the crow, jackdaw, rook, raven and jay it is a curious highly intelligent bird.  Its latin name is pica pica, pica simply means pied. They have a reputation for stealing especially things that are shiny, and are considered uncanny creatures, associatiated with foretelling, luck and bad luck.

The magpie, in the guise of the Gazza Ladra, appears in one of my favourite Tintin books, The Castafiore Emerald, featuring the great combination of the irascible ex sea Captain Haddock who is so like my dad, and the unstoppable and formidable opera singer Bianca Castafiore.  The magpie is a great cheeky character too.





So, magpies are bright and curious to the point of getting themselves in trouble, pied in colouring and in character.  A lot like myself.  I had always felt an affinity for all corvidae. But the magpie as my totem animal stepped up when I was diagnosed with Aspergers last year.  The lovely lady who was doing my testing was speaking about why many girls with Aspergers are missed.  Boys with Aspergers tend to have fixations, intense interests.  An aspiegirl like me is just as intense but we have 'magpie minds', we move from one thing to another ceaselessly curious, driven to learn more, to absorb, to grow in knowledge.  And that's me.

Atropa Belladonna

Belladonna is one of the most famous of plants that are medicinal but can kill, hence its common British name Deadly Nightshade.  Atropa Belladonna treats pain and infection but its latin name speaks of its dual nature.  Belladonna means 'beautiful lady' and distilled drops were used by women to make themselves appear more attractive by dilating their pupils.  But Atropa is after Atropos, in Greek mythology the third of the Fates who cuts the thread of your life at your death.  The berries are bright and tempting, children usually have to be warned not to eat them, and the flowers are an eye catching combination of yellow centres and purple petals.  A beautiful plant with a deadly side.  Like the dual nature of humans.

Magpie & Belladonna

So, I drew lots of pictures of magpies and belladonna until I felt I had its essence in my head, and set about making it squarer and more like Native American totem.  The beak became turned to the side in thunderbird style and the belladonna flowers and berries fitted around it keeping the image square.  The eye is rendered in the style of Native American art while retaining the brighness of the corvid eye.

Limited edition (run of 25) prints of Magpie & Belladonna are available and you can find information about where they are for sale at the Carnoustie Driftwood Facebook page .