Magic of the Horse Shoe: Now Available!

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This is one of the greater compilations of folklore I have encountered; written by Robert Means Lawrence, it compiles an extremely long and detailed bit of information related to the symbolism and use of horse shoes in the context of good luck and superstition, along with elaborate side topics like the similar superstitious use of salt, or of animals.

Not content to study one culture or time period, Lawrence helpfully decided to span several thousand years of human history in this text, and ruminated on the similarity and overlap between such traditions in dozens of cultures both extinct and then-modern. Those interested in the history of witchcraft, or of certain cryptozoological aspects, will also find a great deal of compiled material here.

252 pages.

Lore of the Unicorn: Now Available!

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This work is pure rationalism circa the early 20th century. Penned by Odell Shepard, it goes to great lengths in being as detailed as possible, not limiting itself by time period or region. Speaking of lore as separate as that of Africa and India, the tale of the unicorn (or alicorn) is rendered not simply to a misunderstood and real beast here, but takes on a wider symbology and meaning.

The most interesting component of Shepard's work here though is medicinal and related to medieval folklore; the unicorn horn (variously the horn of a rhinoceros or narwhal, and sometimes that of an antelope or even a chunk of petrified wood) was rumored in those days to sweat in the presence of any poison and to act as a souped-up sort of bezoar taken internally. The content is at times dense, and it draws on many primary sources both antiquated and then-modern.

216 pages.

General Update Time!

I have completed the editing of "Lore of the Unicorn" and it will be available today and of course posted about here. This is just the first of several more folklore-and-cryptid style works I wish to release in a fairly short span of time. Those two herbals have not been forgotten; I think I'll bend to pressure and pay someone a flat fee and put their name on the works in exchange for not having to draw up the illustrations there personally; it means it might take a year or so for the works to pay themselves off (they're not top tier works, popularity-wise) but it's worth it to have them done and to expand the herbal category.

Which brings me to the goal of creating a new category sometime this summer for a new style of work which doesn't currently fit in any other category; folklore and cryptozoology. This will likely be the last category created for this year, although I could plow away at some works on ghosts and psychic lore and craft that one as well. I haven't decided yet!

Good times ahead!