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.