The Totem Series: Selkie & St John's Wort

Selkie is the first of two of Scotland's genius locii that I included in my Totem series, two mythical creatures tied to a particular location.  The legend of the Selkie isn't unique to Scotland, it's a Celitic myth so they're known about in Cornwall and Ireland.  Selkies are creatures that can shapeshift from human into seal form by putting on their furry cloaks.  There are similarities to the stories of Greek nymphs and their scrolls.  Selkies are usually female and if a man finds her sealcloak and stashes it where she can't find it she becomes land bound and belongs with him.  Nice.  My first introduction to the myth was as a child long before I came to Scotland in the form of a little book my mum bought me and I remained fascinated by the myth.  It is true, seals are curious beasties that stare back at us just as we stare at them and their curious unafraid gaze makes it seem possible that they are transformed humans.  They are liminal creatures, between land and water in a much more dualistic way than seals, they only really come on shore to pup.  As mythical creatures with their roots in the real world they stand between the border between legend and reality.  A misty day, a seal pup crying, that could be a child crying.  The selkie stands only just on the other side of that borderline.

One of the loveliest depictions of this myth is in Tomm Moore's achingly beautiful film Song of Sea, a boy has to save his selkie sister and bring the magic back to the land.  Irish music, fantastic animation, beautiful artwork, stunning storyline, it has it all.  My girl did a musical criticism piece on it and it stands up to intense analysis.

I liked the idea of my selkie being at rest, the irony is that she is wet but she's the one holding the umbrella.  Her feet are still tucked into her selkie coat which is rucked up at the back of her - yes, she's happily naked - and reading, a favourite retreat of mine.  It might also be that she's using the umbrella to keep the sun off herself.  Even in Scotland it does happen that the sun is strong enough to burn white skin better suited to very low levels of UV radiation.

The St John's Wort Hypericum perforatum is one of the best known herbal remedies for depression, so effective that if you are taking St John's Wort extract you should not take anti depressants.  It is also an excellent antiseptic, and a pretty small yellow flower believed in ancient times to resemble the sun and sunlight.  In folklore the name Hypericum implies that it scares away evil spirits which I suppose depression can be seen as, melancholia could be viewed as possession by a malevolent spirit.  The Greek etymology suggests icum means health so hyper or super health, again makes sense.  perforatum is more simple, just meaning perforated.  Because of the glands on them the leaves they appear perforated when held up against the light.  As for the name St John's Wort, well, apparently in medieval times it was believed that if you put a spring of the plant under your pillow on St John's eve St John himself would appear in your dreams to bless you and keep you safe from harm for the year ahead.  The wort suffix denotes a plant or herb that can be used for healing.  St John symbolised light and St John's eve is midsummer, following the Christian tradition of appropriating pre exisiting festivals.  My husband and I married on the closest Saturday to Midsummer's Eve  so it has special significance for us.  I am currently in remission from depression and GAD (generalised anxiety disorder) and St John's Wort was the first plant I chose when the idea for the Totem series began to form in my mind.

The Totem Series: Axolotl and Ginkgo

A white axolotl

I have a favourite animal: the axolotl Ambystoma mexicanum (Mexican) or Ambystoma tigrinum (Tiger) .  Ambystoma comes from the Greek Amblys means 'blunt' and stoma means 'mouth'.  And axolotl comes from the Mexican for water monster.  Like me it's a bit wierd but very well adapted for it's environment.  The axolotl is a cave salamander also known as the Mexican Walking Fish.  Which is a bit wierd because an axolotl is not a fish it's an amphibian, but unlike most mature amphibians it hasn't developed fully and has kept it's gills and fins so unlike most amphibians it rarely comes out of its home in the cave lakes of Mexico.  And if it loses a limb can just regrow it.

I have an affection for salamanders in general, they are mythical

Fire salamander

animals with a lot of legends attached to them, most notably the fire salamander which is a real thing.  Most salamanders, like newts are a kind of muddy greenish brown colour for camoflage. Salamandra salamandra is clearly the archetypal salamander, the name simply means salamander twice.  It is toxic, the bright yellow and black colouring is a warning to predators.  It has rows of poison glands along its body that secrete neurotoxins.  If necessary, it can spray these at an attacker.

Then there's the mythical fire salamander.  Widely believed to have been born from fire it appears in mythology from across the world.  It appears in right through classical and medieval mythology, Pliny the elder and Aristotle both talk about it.  Small but mighty, a little fiery creature of great usefulness in making potions, toxic and magical.

The plant in this print is similarly wierd looking and extraordinary.  The ginkgo or Maidenhair tree (named after the Maidenhair fern) is another living fossil.  Ginkgo biloba is the last remaining survivor of a prehistoric genus of trees.  In terms of its medicinal uses it contains large amounts of flavinoids and terpinoids: antioxidants that protect the cells from damage.  It is resiliant, ancient and beloved of Buddhists.  Ginkgo comes from the Chinese gin means silver and kyo means apricot.  It is believed to clarify thinking by enhancing blood flow to the brain, but I just love its wierd shape and the fact that it is a Mezozoic survivor.  Biloba simply means bilobed, describing the divided leaf that bears no resemblance to any other present day decidious leaf.

My axolotl is a cryptoaxolotl, I exaggerated those beautiful frondy fins and gave it those native american eyes.  It is the print that has gone through the most alterations, it's always difficult to pay tribute to an animal and plant which mean so much to you.