The Snowflake Chronicles

July Fantasy Newsletter

Mythological Creatures #7

Mythological birds not of a feather

These are not your ordinary pet birds.

Myths are public dreams, dreams are private myths.
Joseph Campbell

Listen to your dreams
In them the birds of myth fly
Transporting our muse

What can the birds of mythology
Teach us about our dreams,
our universe,
and ourselves?

Birds are some of my favorite creatures because most of them can fly and have beautiful songs. After doing a internet search for Mythological Birds, I discovered several that piqued my muse. I am listing those intriguing birds below with a challenge to either write a story about one of them or find another mythological bird to write about.

Benu: The heron-shaped Egyptian phoenix with feather the color of flames and either a heron-like or human head. This is the bird that broke the pre-creation silence and determined the creatures that inhabited our present world.

Boobrie: From Scottish mythology has the ability to shape-shift. According to Scottish folklore this bird can become a horse with the ability to walk on water or an insect which sucks the blood of horses. It is also said that this bird can sound like baby animals as well as having the ability to use its wings to swim.

Phooka or Puca or Pooka: From Irish mythology is a dark charcoal or black creature has glowing red eyes that can take the shape of a bird. It can also take the shape other creatures such as horses, dogs or even giant invisible rabbit (see film Harvey starring James Stewart or play by Mary Chase).

Xorguinea: Form Portuguese folklore is a vampire. I could not discover anything more about this bird. If any of my readers know something about Portuguese mythology, please give me more information about this creature.

Those are only four of the mythological birds I found when I Googled Mythological Birds. I encourage my readers to check out these websites http://listverse.com/2014/02/22/10-unusual-birds-from-world-mythology/ and http://www.lizaphoenix.com/encyclopedia/birds.shtml to find a mythological bird for your story or do your own internet search. I am looking forward to see what you find. The stories can be between 300 and 2500 words with a deadline of August 8, 2016.

Editor's Picks

Invalid Item  This item number is not valid. #2087871 by Not Available.

Excerpt: Once upon a time a little girl ran through the woods. She ran playfully through the forest. Until she found a dark cave in the midst of the woods. Now as she was but a little girl she became incensed with a spirit of curiosity. What else was she to do but explore this mysterious cave?

Invalid Item  This item number is not valid. #2088152 by Not Available.

Excerpt: Not too long ago
         Did a little girl
         Live her peaceful days

Shadehag  (E) There're a race of supernatural monsters. #2088520 by Charles Jacob Long

Excerpt: *Immortality: Shadehags can potentially live forever. They can't grow old and are unaffected by diseases and toxins, even supernatural variants such as the Croatoan Virus. They do not tire, and they do not require food, water, oxygen, or sleep to sustain themselves, except their thirst for human and animal blood.

Invalid Item  This item number is not valid. #2088905 by Not Available.

Excerpt: Part of Clarence 'Hash' Todhunter's telegram (Wodehouse Challenge), instructed me to read about three different mythologies found initially through Wikipedia. There were tons to choose from and my initial instinct was to go with the familiar, but I thought that would not be in keeping with the spirit of the Wodehouse Challenge. So, I ditched the initial three choices and chose three at random. The three that were chosen to explore for this challenge were the mythologies from the Iranian culture, the Vietnamese culture, and the Aztec culture.

Invalid Item  This item number is not valid. #2089812 by Not Available.

Excerpt: "Son!" Claude yells grabbing the thin flaky item from the child's hands, moments before Ansel put it in his mouth. Worried Claude says a little too harshly, "What are you doing? I told you many times not to eat this chip."

Feedback from "Fantasy Newsletter (June 15, 2016)" 

GaelicQueen writes: My offering for a homegrown hybrid.

STATIC

Gatoroo wears pink well.  (13+) 1,991 words for mythological creature #6 story #2089529 by GaelicQueen

Desini Snyder writes: I don't understand the point of Mythological Creatures #6? It was just about how the author wrote about jackalopes. The only real information in the article was that mythological creatures are often multiple creatures combined. I felt like this article didn't really help me at all. I have read the newsletter for a while and love the hints, but the author of this particular article should keep in mind why the audience is reading.

Thank you for your feedback. Prosperous Snow celebrating

Quick-Quill writes: Thanks for promoting my story

You're welcome. Prosperous Snow celebrating