Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Angel Lore: part 3 by Toi Thomas #OurAuthorGang

From Pinterest via Etsy (link no longer active).
Today, in part 3 of my Angel Lore series, I’ll be sharing more angel knowledge with you from K – O, as I work my way through the alphabet (see part ONE and part TWO here). But first…

One of the most fascinating aspects of angel lore, for me, has been discovering the many different types and individual angels of mention in the various religious texts and folklores. This discovery of angels prompted me to create, and even mash-up, a few of my own, when writing my Eternal Curse Series. Still, even though I had fun creating new and blended versions of angels, I also enjoyed incorporating some of the more commonly known ones. On to the list…

Kakabek, a holy angel or a fallen angel? The lore isn’t clear; however, this angel is said to be in charge of the stars and is the reason people have astrology.

There’s no way I could briefly mention the things I’ve learned about the most famous angel, Lucifer, so I’ll mention another lesser known one. Especially known as a kind of trouble maker in the Jewish faith, Lahash is said to have tried to stop Moses from sending a prayer to God. Still researching this story to find out why.

While Michael is probably the second most famous angel, I’m not going to talk about him either. I’m going to tell why I think, Malik, of the Muslim faith is one of the coolest angels I’ve come across. He’s described as a wicked angel, but not necessarily fallen. Tasked with guarding the gates of hell, he taunts and tortures the souls that beg to be released. Not that torture is cool, but hey, the guy is literally just doing his job- punishing and detaining the damned.

 Anyone here like giants? Wondering what giants have to do with angels? Ever heard of the Nephilim? The idea of the Nephilim and their descendants (Anakim and Raphaim) are a major influence in my Eternal Curse Series. These are the offspring of pure, yet rogue, angels who took human wives. They grew to be giants and taught humans many new evils, such as the art of war.

Orisha are complicated entities to briefly explain, but here I go. These beings stem from Yoruba, an African religion, and others like it. This is both a monotheistic and polytheistic faith similar to the structure of Hinduism, where orshia are the souls of humans who lived noble lives who are then exalted in death (risen to a godlike status) and function much like guardian angels…

Well, that's all I have for today. Stick around this blog so you don't miss part 4 down the road.

Be sure to check out my Eternal Curse Series.

Book 1:
Giovanni is a creature out of time. Mira is a doctor trying to classify him. Beauty and the Beast meet Jekyll and Hyde in this paranormal tale with romantic and biblical influences.


Book 2:
A tale for fathers, sons, and daughters, this epic saga touches the past and future. The story of Giovanni will bring you to tears as loss and duty blur the lines of hope for what is to come.

The Eternal Curse series was my first book and series I ever wrote and to know that someone liked it meant the world to me. It's currently unavailable pending a rewrite in order to align it with new developments in the 3rd installment. If you'd like to read the first two books and offer me your feedback, please consider joining my email list to receive a free digital copy. 

Find out more about me, my work, and my inspiration at the following links:


Amazon | Goodreads The ToiBox of Words | YouTube | See a list of my other posts here.

#cursescanbebroken, #angels, #wings, #Pinterest
COMMENTS

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Spacer Guy

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Fascinating. I wonder can Angels heal us from our own broken thoughts?
 
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Nikki McDonagh via Google+

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly
 
 
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Nikki McDonagh

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Great insight into the hierarchy of angels and their influence on us lesser mortals. I look forward to the next post.
 
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Linda Lee Williams via Google+

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly
Grace Au originally shared this
 
Toi, loving your angel posts. Thanks for making them inclusive to all. Angels are everywhere all the time...my belief anyway.
 
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Ruth de Jauregui via Google+

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Toi Thomas shares the third in her series of posts about angels. Fascinating!!
 
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Ruth de Jauregui

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Fantastic selection of angels and their descriptions! I'm fascinated by the angels associated with various spiritual belief systems -- so interesting!
 
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Toi Thomas via Google+

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly
 
 
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Toi Thomas

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly
 
I'm late to my own party today, but I hope you've all enjoyed part 3 of my series on angel lore. I love sharing this stuff.
 
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Joe Bonadonna

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly
 
This is excellent, Toi! I'm loving it. More, more, more!
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Thank you. I'm glad you're enjoying it.
 
Having been raised Catholic, and having gone to Our Lady of Angels grade school . . . well, you can see why I dig it.

Joe Bonadonna via Google+

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Today on A Small Gang of Authors, Toinette Thomas​ tells us more about the fascinating Lore of Angels, and talks a bit about her Eternal Curse series, too.
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Grace Au

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Toi, loving your angel posts. Thanks for making them inclusive to all. Angels are everywhere all the time...my belief anyway.
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Glad you like it. I love learning about the different takes on angels from different religions. Whatever my belief are, this research shows me that people are more alike than they are different, even when it comes religion.

Erika M Szabo via Google+

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Erika M Szabo

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Great series of posts Toi, I really enjoyed reading all :)
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Thank you.

Mary Anne Yarde

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly
 
I do love your post, Toi!
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Thank you. Can't wait to see what I do after this. ;)

Rich Feitelberg

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Good stuff here. Glad to see you include multiple faiths. There's crossover of course and borrowing from one faith to another. But that's what happens when all you have is an oral tradition.
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I know, it's so fascinating to see the similarities and being able to chart where the differences occur.

Rich Feitelberg via Google+

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Tuesday, November 14, 2017

When Life Imitates Art #OurAuthorGang

My Dystopian series, The Song of Forgetfulness, set in a post-apocalyptic world where rising oceans and disease has wiped out most animal life, is a work of fiction, right? Wrong.

When I was researching the consequences of the melting polar ice caps, the destruction of the rain forests, the surge of new and deadly diseases, I realised my books were based not on science fiction, but scarily, science fact.

The shocking truth is, that global warming and the harmful effects of pesticides on pollinating insects and animals, is far worse than we thought. A case in point is the humble bee. In the UK their numbers have decreased at an alarming rate due mostly to the use of pesticides and pollutants commonly used in agriculture.

These creatures are vital to the fertilisation of many crops and plants that in turn provide food for other animals and ultimately human beings. If their numbers continue to decline, then the fragile ecology system of our planet will be compromised so severely that extinction of many species is inevitable. That has consequences for people to, for without these species we will not survive as the fauna that feeds on these plants, cows, sheep, pigs etc. will also die out. Meaning humans who eat such animals and plants will starve.

"The impacts are potentially high for otherwise healthy people, animals and plants," the reporter states. 'Higher temperatures will lead to an increased risk of the Asian tiger mosquito, the vector of Chikungunya virus, dengue fever and Zika virus. The current risk remains low, but may increase in the future."

Most of mankind is, of course, in denial. We don't want to hear the truth. So when things start to go bad, and they have, droughts, followed by flooding and mighty tornados, which have devastated some parts of the world, are soon forgotten. Things gradually get back to a kind of normal and like pain, the memory of it is diluted. The result is that if we continue to look the other way, forget the tragedies, we will become increasingly unprepared for the consequences of an even bigger environmental disaster.

In The Chronicles of Mayer, a prequel to The Song of Forgetfulness series, the female protagonist has such a discussion with her father:

Floods and terrible diseases were wiping out many local farms. I remember when a neighbour lost his business. It was the first time I'd seen my dad upset. 'You know Brian?'
'Sheila's uncle?'
'Yep. Well you know they have a small holding?'
'Yep.'
'Lost all their cattle and sheep to some ancient bug thingy. Had them all shot dead. They'll be bankrupt.' I stared at my father. He shrugged and said, 'Well, there you go. That's life I suppose.' he turned on the television, sat and watched the news. He shivered. 'Turn the central heating up, love.'
'Don't you care?'
'Don't start, I'm trying to wind down.'
I stood in front of the screen, he leaned to one side and waved his hand at me. 'Move.'
'Can't you see what is happening? Nature is trying to fix things. She's resurrecting some ancient bugs. Anthrax is back. That's what the reporter is saying, or aren't you listening?'
'Of course I am.'
'Anthrax, Dad. What next?'
He turned the volume up and shoved me out of the way. 'Who cares? Whatever, we'll survive. We've still got a bit of ozone layer. We're fine, for now.'
I stiffened. 'Really? Are we?'

Such potential catastrophes are happening in the UK. In recent years the weather has taken its toll on agriculture. In the region where I live, farming has suffered from poor crops due to rain erosion and poorly managed drainage systems.



Here is an extract from a similar story in the Guardian newspaper. Link to the full report:

The UK is poorly prepared for the inevitable impacts of global warming in coming decades, including deadly annual heatwaves, water shortages and difficulties in producing food, according to the government's official advisers.

'Already 85% of the rich peat topsoils of East Anglia has disappeared,' said Krebs.

However, not all is doom and gloom. Very recently the UK government announced a total ban on pesticides that harm bees, being used in farming.





On a smaller level we can do our part to encourage the survival of bees by creating a bee garden. If you have the space, you can let a part of your yard/garden go wild again. Plant some bee-friendly flowers such as, borage, marjoram, chives, lavender, honeysuckle, crocus and sage. If you don't have an outside space, you can plant flowers in tubs/containers and leave them on your windowsill, porch or pathway.



Well, it's a start. Perhaps my stories will be just that, stories, and our future will not be so bleak. Besides, in my Dystopian world mankind does survive and some even try to make the world a better place. Oh no, I've given too much away.

If you want to know more about The Song of Forgetfulness series, please visit my website:

Or go to my Amazon Author page:
Author.to/BooksonAmazon





All photographs copyright of the author Nicola McDonagh

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