Regional Archetype

The Black Country Character

Are Regional Identities Realistic?

10 min read

I was raised in the Black Country, a region in the West Midlands of England, known for its industrial heritage and its unique dialect. A dialect in which Anglo-Saxon and Middle English are still evident in both vocabulary and grammar. Place names like Dudd (Dudley), Wulferehamtun (Wolverhampton) and Craegleah (Cradley Heath) show Germanic influence. 

In the Black Country museum and many local history books, the people of the Black Country are celebrated for their strong work ethic, community spirit, and their sense of humour. Most television broadcasts and YouTube videos portray Black Country folk as being proud of their hard industrious heritage, as if they were descendants of Tubal Cain like D.R Guttery once shared in the historical accounts of his book, ‘The Great Civil War in Midland Parishes’. My Grandfather even appears in a photograph in one book about Lye, another Black Country town, while a distant relative of mine wrote a book about Rowley Regis. 

Should We Consider Where We Are Today?

We who have lived here, see this familiar reminder of how the Black Country reputation came from hard work and resourcefulness. They are known for their willingness to put in long hours and get the job done (Chinn, 2002). As beautiful as it may be, I disagree with the lot of it! Black Country unemployment in 2020 was 4.9%, compared to 4.0% in England.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS), show the rates for the Black Country local authorities in October-December 2022:

Dudley: 5.1%

Sandwell: 4.3%

Walsall: 4.6%

Wolverhampton: 5.2%

These figures are higher than the national unemployment rate of 3.7%.

Only Decades Ago

In the 90s, I remember doing a Youth Training Scheme. I stupidly signed up to do retail because I didn't care. They expected full-time hours in a card shop in the Merry Hill Shopping Centre. The Midland Oak Skills Training group (MOST) who trained gullible people like me to secure a future. We were granted £30 a week of whatever they made from their customers in exchange for providing these 'training opportunities'. We all know the name for this sort of thing. I recall the shop manager who wanted nothing from me but his free shop keeping. I was also conned out of two video games by one of the christmas stall temps—great times. 

Going Back Further

The Black Country, like the very nature of humanity, has always had its exploitative streaks, and of course, it could be predatory, especially to children back in the industrial era. Retrospectively, Good Words magazine featured a run of articles about the Black Country back in 1880, which I found fascinating. My wife discovered the year book in a charity shop, it was full of various writings and stories, but I stumbled upon the work of Elihu Burritt. One of his Black Country articles. 

I think it was called ‘Walks in the Black Country and its green border-land,’ and it reminded me of an early sociological type of study because this American man briefly stayed in the Black Country and engaged with the people, like anthropologists do. E.P. Thompson (1963) described the Black Country as ‘a region of fierce local loyalties, of gangs and factions, of feuds and vendettas. 

It was also a region of political radicalism, of chartism, of trade unionism, and of religious dissent’. Quite a few sources have highlighted the environmental degradation caused by the area's heavy industries. Honest historical sources show the dodgy things Black Country folk did, such as heavy drinking, animal fighting and violence against one another. Here we see parallels drawn with troubled Victorian cities like London and Birmingham. In the few nineteenth century writings I've read, contemporary authors have described Black Country child labour, locals with unhealthy coloured skin and many weak thin framed men with strong characters. 

However, after exploring nail making families and alike, my Good Words book became much more complimentary to the reserved qualities of the people in those hard-up communities.

Burritt's article, like all articles, helped to raise awareness of the social conditions of the working class in England and I doubt no gentleman of his day wished to smear a community's character. The Black Country, with its plethora of factories, furnaces, and mines, was an outstanding portrait of the hazards of Industrialism. No sincere writer pushed that familiar narrative of the happy Black Country worker who loved to slave in a mine all day for a pittance. 

The Black Country Reports Went Far and Wide

Numerous writers, from Victorian times to relatively modern years have exposed the hardship of this Black Country, describing it as a ‘vast workshop,’ where ‘every town is a factory, every house a forge.’ Thomas described the working-class neighbourhoods as ‘fever dens and 'rookeries,’ because overcrowding and disease were common. The Black Country was a wretched place of suffering for so many people.

Individuals and families alike all did whatever they could to survive the harshness of that reality. When I hear that jive about Black Country comradery, my own memories rise to challenge it, here are a few examples: a fellow worker punched my dad full in the head from behing as he operated a machine. 

I recall snarly supervisors enjoying their occupational leverage, bordering on violence towards their subordinates. There is significant crime and deprivation. The immorality of my relative who beat his wife, alongside my other recollections of frequent weekend brawls by the drunks along our run of pubs deny any truth of its virtuous working class archetype. 

One night, outside my parents house a car exploded after being set on fire! The family car was broken into twice, property was stolen from our gardens. Nothing informs a person like experience. 

People and Personas: That Regional Spirit

The community spirit of Black Country people is usually described with having a readiness to help their neighbours. This community spirit is evident in the many local clubs, societies, and charities that exist in the region (Rowland, 2013). My grandfather used to tell me of the regular fist fights outside of the pubs in the forties and fifties—nothing changed.

My great grandfather was a scrapper and a warehouse burglar, all of the family were somewhat questionable: my uncle sold my mothers car without her consent. I even have a ‘Wild Bill’ in my family tree and everyone avoided the man. 

Everyone had banter in my Black Country factory work, taking the mick out of themselves or others, but there was also a lot of ridicule; such wind-up merchants rarely tolerated it being done back to them. Bullying was not uncommon in the jobs I had; grown men might scuffle from time to time and give it that hard man speel!

Peculiarity and Sense of Identity

One of the strange behaviours I noticed was the deep voice phenomenon. Certain men deliberately tried to emulate the dialect in an unnatural way. One particular worker spoke, changing his notage, deeper, accentuating the accent. Maybe this was all done to sound more like a manly, blokey bloke, that ideal ‘Black Country Geezer’? I really have no idea, I can only guess. It was an invocation of sorts, I guess. Similar to acting. What really confused me was how his voice raised a few octaves higher in the car park at the end of the day. I've witnessed this a few times. 

Black Country people are proud of their heritage and traditions, says Rowland, (2013). Those who liked to garnish their vocalisations might have wanted to honour an imagined abstract of their heritage, others were simply rough, just like many poor individuals from the 1880’s. This heritage pride is re-kindled in Black Country Day, The Black Country Flag, The Black Country T-Shirt Shop, The Black Country Bugle and local comedians like Jonny Cole or Doreen Tipton. Have no doubt, this is reconstructionism to romance away our darker times that very few of us know about or care to admit. Proud Black Country enthusiasts who celebrate the regional stereotype of honest ‘toil and honour’ ignore occupational exploitation, playing down the impact of desperation and squalor, cognitive dissonance is a kind friend. Be that as it is, should we forget the animal abuse, drinking problems, crime, immorality, destitution and ruin? The Black Country ethos is a modern complementary caricature not a genuine reflection.

Crime

Region                     2021 | 2022

Black Country          84.1 | 82.7

England and Wales 75.5 | 74.9

The baseball bat of reality is the Black Country crime figures that surpass the average for both England and Wales, which also has a low happiness rating! In 2022, there were 82.7 crimes per 1,000 people in the Black Country, in comparison to the 74.9 crimes per 1,000 people in both England and Wales. This does not show a sense of community spirit, but rather a problem. I would like to see the Black Country change into something better. The Black Country will never achieve this by cherry picking history to dress up it's sense of identity. 

Decent sources of information are available, newspaper archives say a lot about standards in that region's golden age. For instance, in 1860 The Dudley Herald reported on the Black Country problem of human-baiting, a secret horror which did not get too much attention. Baiters paid vulnerable or hard-up people money to fight aggressive dogs and then, they bet on it—this dwarfs owning a XXL Bully! 

Final Points and Thoughts to Consider

Thomas Smith, fought a dog called Crib for the payment of one pound. He was chained to a post while the dog attacked him. The match was stopped by the police, Smith as well as Crib's owner were arrested. Likewise, in 1850 The Birmingham Journal reported an incident in West Bromwich. A man called George Taylor fought a dog called Spring. Taylor accepted a small sum to be chained to a post and attacked. 

It happened it Wolverhampton in 1842: The Wolverhampton Chronicle, identified a man called Samuel Webb who fought a dog called Tiger; a 15 minute struggle resulted with Webb taking nasty injuries.

In 1872, Bilston, The Staffordshire Advertiser printed another snippet about these horrific fights. William Davis was matched against a dog called Billy. The match was also ended by the police, who arrested Davis (The BNA, 2023). I assume, many would consider the real criminals as being those who facilitated the fight more so than the unfortunates coaxed into accepting these deals. 

However, everyone broke the law as a result. Desperation drives people with needs to do whatever they must. Before the 19th century, such blood sports in the Black Country involved importing animals such as bears, lions and chimps; can you imagine how horrific those antics became? This regional archetype is not accurate.





References

Chinn, C. (2002). The Black Country: A history. Sutton Publishing.

Rowland, D. E. (2013). The Black Country: A sense of place. University of Birmingham Press.

Thompson, E.P. (1963). The Making of the English Working Class. Vintage.

Websites:

The BNA (2023): https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

Office for National Statistics: [https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/crime-statistics](https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/crime-statistics)

West Midlands Police: [https://foi.west-midlands.police.uk/category/incident-and-crime-statistics/](https://foi.west-midlands.police.uk/category/incident-and-crime-statistics/)

The Modern Occultist

What's an Archetypal 'Modern Occultist'? 

10 min read

Have you ever wondered what occultists look like these days? 

In reality, if you're writing a book, it would be cool to make your modern occultist someone different to the pale skinned moody satanic goth. Honestly, enthusiasts of the esoteric are a diverse bunch, many of them come across as regular people.

Isn't it all weird and dark? 

Agreed ceremonial rituals and things like divination with presences might seem odd, but the less grand stuff like sigil magick; which, for instance, the comic book legend, Grant Morrison practices as a Chaos Practitioner is most common. Chaos Magick is a late twentieth century movement based on the occult works of the artist Austin Osman Spare. Another common type of magick is found in Wicca and Eclectic or folk magick. In this blog, I'll share a worldview of someone called Baz, a bit of mystical bloke inspired by Hermeticism and Chaos Magick theory. 

Pre-determinism is a physical thing: context. 

Our world, according to Baz, is full of pre-determining and competing factors that are diverse and unseen, some of which, we are still unaware. Ten thousand years ago, after developing agriculture, we acquired more free time, and then we invented stuff like writing, as well as mathematics and new technologies. These outcomes manifested because of determining factors, which we often, colloquially call 'fate' today. 

Baz is always using his comparison of how we commonly modify our dogs behaviour with food rewards; this is his way of showing how dogs (like other animals) are slaves to their bio-programming. We know how their barking at the door indicates a visitor, we are aware our food causes them to beg. Their actions are predictable. When we learn the biological drives of a creature, we recognise their robot-like perogatives. Even though, we are susceptible to the same rules ourselves. 

That being said, our evolutionary history hit the jackpot; our mind awakened and challenged its own instinctive urges and reactions. We stopped to think and formed disciplined arts. Baz is under the belief that tell tale signs can be seen across time and civilisation of our self awakening. Some cultures call it the divine spark, what ancient Greeks called Synderesis, Quakers call it our inner light, our word 'soul,' originated from Old Saxon 'Sēola'. 

As mentioned above, our sharpened sentience emerged and ancient religious, philosophical and esoteric writings have wrote about it; even science says humans started cooking meat, gaining extra nutrients that served to improve the human cerebral cortex. Our high levels of the foxp2 gene has helped to enable us to communicate complex ideas. Trying my best to avoid sounding like Graham Hancock here, but, it seems that eastern dharmic traditions value thought and experience with the divine. These are perennial themes. 

"Romans 8:16 implies the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit, which is shows there is a spiritual essence within us that is connected to God." 

Baz is a biologist and is quick to remind me that as humans, our bodies are driven by the same essential biomechanical determinants as what we see with animals. This is also part of his occult view: Oxytocin brings us love and desire, with help from Vasopressin, Dopamine, Seratonin, Norepinephrine, Testosterone and Estrogen. Ghrelin is responsible for letting you think you are hungry, it isn't your mind, but the flesh. That inner voice warding off another portion of chips; that's leptin. 

Our anger, shame and self worth, these aspects about who we believe we are; our politics, spiritual convictions, culture or our taste in music, can all be influenced by these pre-determining forces. Fate, is very much the chaos that provides the natural order. It is a blessing that we can choose to discipline ourselves and think. 

Maybe, it could be argued, humanity just turned mentally diagnosable and somewhat increasingly egocentric. Baz doesn't see eye to eye with me on this one! I found support in the words of Arthur Shopenhauer, who thought our suffering is greater than the suffering of animals—did we lose the plot? Well, this German philosopher made an interesting point by saying that all of nature, including our own, is an expression of an unquenchable will. I think he was talking about physical motivators like determining factors that drive desire. 

True, even strict Buddhists might agree with Shopenhauer in principle; possibly mentioning the parable of the thirsty man drinking from the sea, it sort of fits. The colour and fragrance of Buddhas flower, might not be harmed by the bee that gathers nectar, but in our own lust to gain profit, we humans destroy eco-systems, just to produce and sell paper. Human being clearly aren't all wise. 

"Tathagatagarbha Sutra. Good sons, this Dharmakaya of the Tathagata is eternal, permanent, pure, and joyful. It is the self-nature of all beings, the Tathagata embryo. All beings possess this Tathagata embryo, but it is covered by the five skandhas. When this Tathagata embryo is liberated and uncovered, it can comprehend the ultimate reality." 

Wait a second, don't think this is a religious blog or any kind of bleeding heart appeal. Not going there. I'm only sharing hermetic views of a chaos guy called Baz, in relation to predestiny and magick. 

Baz believes human will and indeterminism have something in common; people are inherently irrational but strive to be rational. Human behaviour is not always predictable. Our collective choices and actions influence the course of lives and the world. Timeless pursuits for power and progress are dogs fighting for the bone; it's egocentric and a biology thing more so than anything spiritual. Baz thinks that developments in creativity, commerce, politics and religion, as well as critical thinking have contributed to liberate us from our mental poverty, but it has caused problems. 

Sigil Magick: An Example of Magick. 

These things are intent and symbol manipulation. Below is an example of your intent for a sigil. 

THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF INTENT

What we do is cancel out vowels:

THIS IS AN EXEMPLE OF INTENT

Leaving this:

THS S N XMPL NTNT

Then we reduce it down by chopping off duplicate letters: 

T H S N X M P L 

Now draw a circle and get creative with your letters. This could mean translating them into other symbolic equivalents: Akkadian, Braille, Cuneiform, Dutch, Enochian, whatever, you're in charge. Make your basic sigil:

After this, we might want to simplify again, because the intent has to become symbolic:

Now you have your sigil, you have to charge it. This can be done in more than one way. Engage with the sigils you make in an altered mental state, it does something. People might choose an empty thoughtless meditative state, others might use intoxicants, or reach musical euphoria, everyone has their own way—again, you're in charge, it's your will. Then, when the time is right, destroy the sigil to release it or try something else.

In Wicca—according to the complete book of witchcraft—sigils seem to be formed in a similar way to Chaos Magick sigils. It's the same letter alteration, manipulating a new form from a statement of intent. Shaping a unique, abstract symbol. In all traditions, the sigil is always charged, be that with energy through a chant, ritual, blood, or meditation, before it's final release to the world. 

Sigil magick is subjective at the end of the day, and quite unverifiable by science; Baz said, 'we don't test the fisherman who reckons he can catch big fish, but we know the fish are present.' No magician can magic their enemies cheek into a vagina, it's not like fiction. Some practitioners believe their efforts influence the crazy undercurrent of the quantum world; there are scientists and philosophers who suspect quantum mechanics and consciousness are somehow connected. However, belief in Mana or Gnostic concepts, such as The Fullness or Abraxas and then we have Goetia and demonic work. Diversity. 

In Thelemic and Hermetic traditions, sigil creation may likely involve Kabbalistic sephirot, Egyptian or Gnostic ideas. A sigil can mix letters and numbers, including seperate symbols altogether, resulting with a complicated design. 

"The Corpus Hermeticum. What dost thou, father, mean by this? The mind is parted from soul and soul from spirit? Whereas thou said'st the soul was the mind's vesture, and the soul's the spirit." 

A few times, Baz, has insisted to me that no level headed sigilist should waste time trying to defeat the will of a country who have a vested interested in the lottery jackpot. Even with an extraordinary display of will power, faith and magick, winning is very unlikely to happen. Dreams of wealth and prestige are a physical motivation, influencing a win undermines the game. That being said, people have successfully used sigils to attract money in different ways. 

"Katha Upanishad. The Self, smaller than small, greater than great, is hidden in the heart of every creature. A man who is free from desires and free from grief, with mind and senses tranquil, beholds the Self through the grace of the Creator."

Sigils in Chaos Magick might draw from any magical and philosophical or religious system, including Thelemic and Hermetic or Satanic, Celtic, Christian, Lovecraftian or even the power of Loony Tunes. It's said, nothing is true but rather permitted, if you even permit that. Liber Null will tell you, the Chaos Magician is intuitive and experimental; the subjective experience of the practitioner is an alternative any set of rules. 

How does will interact will the world? 

However, starting with skepticism, is it fair to say reports of successful sigil magick could have happened naturally anyway? For example, an unlikable person commits a crime, and as a result, a chaos dude magics out some justice, which the law manifests! Looks good, but, on yer bike—let's call this magical interloping. 

The placebo effect is similar, especially, say, if a person sets off a sigil to ease their own depression. The practitioner's belief in the power of the sigil or ritual, can, in fact, lead to changes in behavior, and then, in turn, his environment. This is not magical-interloping, but rather a form of placebo. Placebo's mind over matter, has an inspired belief providing physical and mental outcomes—by definition, a form of magick. But, come on, really? Yes. 

Quantum mechanics is indetermined, existing in the fundamental level. Particles can exist in multiple states simultaneously, there is an inherent randomness in particles and we are still unsure how any of this might affect our world. However, it is smaller than the everyday natural physics we see daily, but increasing evidence suggests our minds may interact with it somehow. This could be pseudo-science, but a respectable line of research could make a great discovery. Speculative, but scientific claims about such things do exist. 

We can't ignore Chaos Theory of John Nash, which suggests that complex systems, like the weather, ecosystems, and even human behavior, can come across as random and unpredictable over time. It's a kind of semi randomness that'll emerge from multiple interplays between components within a system.

The observation effect, in physics, shows that to measure or observe fundamental particles causes them to alter their bevaviour into that of waves. The double-slit experiment has shown this repeatedly. The key question: what is the role of the observer in shaping micro-reality? 

A lot of us have a philosophy or a religion, some kind of theurgy and some of us agnostics and atheists enjoy esoteric practices; it's another spiritual path and shouldn't be judged or seen as a threat.

Are Stay at Home Dads Lazy?

It's Compelling How Human Flaws Shape Character 

8 min read

How People See You

When you're a stay-at-home dad, you can break away from those old roles society expects of you, because it's viewed by many as a positive step towards gender equality. However, if you're an unemployed mentally ill husband who only seems to leave the house for the weekly shop and to walk the dog—you're more of a parasite. 

Fair enough, a stay-at-home dad is expected to engage in various activities with the kids, you know, like reading to them, cooking lunch or playing games and whatever, while also keeping tabs on the housework. We all have our ways of working. Once, there was a time, when the entitled breadwinning husband, who expected a pristine house and a hot meal at the table, was the norm. We've known that's sexist for quite a while now.

I'd like to call myself a house-husband, when I think of the water fights against my kids and their friends the street, but, I'd also like to call myself a billionaire, genius philanthropist—it's a stretch. This is where I could just hide from the vane judgements that float around the heads of certain people who mention my name or give you that dismissive glance that means you're beneath them. In all truth, although the concept of a father who stays at home once grew in popularity, it isn't accepted by all walks of life; from my experiences, even in this age of progressive thinking, politicians expect everyone to work—just turn that disability into an ability and fly!

 

I Want to Fly and Fetch Some Bread

I should be the breadwinner, traditionally speaking, easier said, however; the disability status always seems like a cop-out to Joe Bloggs, and even myself initially, but health is blatantly honest: pending spinal surgery and eye transplants, foot isssues, hip bursa problems, arthritis and that's my better half! 

Hold On, We Had it Tough! 

We had to home educate because the mainstream f*ckers didn't help our kids, but now, they've well surpassed expectations! We had to stay home, nontheless; dark times of severe mental health nearly claimed my daughters life! We watched her drop to six stone, and I remember us having to hide anything sharp, almost 24/7—even checking for broken glass or empty cans when we were out. 

Dark Times

We entertained sending our daughter to a hospital, it was horrific. I'm so glad we didn't! Our NHS mental health hospitals were abysmal, and still are. We recovered together, as a family. These things are happening to people right now, even as you read this, across the UK children's and adolescent mental health is faltering, this means the bulk of psychiatric support is left to parents and guardians, who in turn, are being pushed into employment by the ignorant right wing! I was told by a CAMHS nurse that children often self injure in ward, suicides happen she calmly mentioned this, adding that bullying cannot always be prevented! Recent televised documentaries have shown the extent of such failures across children's mental health care. I feel for other parents.

Mental Health is Health that's Gone Absolutely Mental

Before those years, when it was plain sailing for us, I remember visiting the disability employment service provider, to try and get back into work. She told me I shouldn't be allowed inside anyone's home! You see, my goal was to assess NVQs for a living, which involved home visits; I only wanted a job. She only saw a 'Bipolar' when she talked at me. She openly characterised 'us all' with her historical anecdotes about working with 'us lot,' as if she had exclusivity over my illness, a thing which had somehow made me a new breed of human known as a 'manic'. She told me that she knew why I struggled with work—it was surreal. It was not bipolarity alone, that's for sure. I think that was a government service that destroyed my path to employment, but I had been building myself up for that meeting for days. 

Years prior to any diagnosis, I was watching the Sopranos with a nurse on the night shift in a specialised nursing home—everyone was in bed. Tony Soprano was compelling to watch, a great main character, a mafia boss from New Jersey. He has no choice but to do that job. His criminal life was scary to say the least, but Tony, this tough mobster, was medically depressed; sadness and anxiety messed with his kingpinning, he decided to hide it. Rumours of his depression, pills, instability, involvement from a psychiatrist could have gotten him killed. This show, resonated my past, except the crime part, obviously! Tony Soprano was relatable, given the stigma many of us once faced regardless of background, power or status.

However, when I'm low and hating on myself, I start to envision myself as a Frank Gallagher type character, from that TV show, Shameless. Nature of the depressive beast: I'm a teetotaler, nothing like the man. A depressed mind will almost always attack itself. 

Like Frank, I share fears around workplace performance, in fact I struggle with employment. A while ago, my doctor told me I have a kind of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); this, as well as the bipolarity, explains a few thing; the work based trauma. Well, life's just that for most of us, isn't it? How we prioritize mental health and seek support isn't straightforward. You might acquire a troublesome coping mechanism such as, drinking a few pints of beer or smoking a spliff before going into the dreaded workplace environment; also, pulling another sicky, or getting benzos from off the doctor. 

The Cruelty of People

You can practice Buddhist mindfulness as much as you like; it won't kill that pending doom, the morbid dread, which all affect your inability to concentrate or listen. Those unshakable morbid feelings as you try to go in to work are vile. Maintaining good mental health is crucial 'they say'. If I could have behaved more like a regular Joe during the onset of my mood disorder as a teenager, I would have never been bullied by those philistines in that industrial nightmare. 

Cowardly men watched me being bullied by other adults; I was sixteen years old. On two occasions, grown men of the same scummy clique molested me, one low-life squeezed aggressively—unspeakable embarrassment, shame, and physical pain. All day, everyday, this group ridiculed and mocked me. I was flashed and threatened by adult men. My self respect diminished. 

I eventually discussed the situation with my father, who encouraged me to very much continue going in, and to win their respect. There were skills to be had, to secure my future. Many of us were made redundant after a few months, including myself. I was delighted! Funnily enough, I got a job with my dad. One random day within my first several months of commencing the job, a worker anxiously came running towards me to say my dad had taken a full on sucker punch to the face. He was taken off site! His face was like a balloon. Such thuggery, I thought, seemed to surround the working class.

Conclusively: This Pretty Was Grim. 

His company had treated him terribly during every decade of his loyal service. As you might expect, none of this helped me develop any faith in the employment sector. Sadly so many like me will struggle in this financial climate. When I think of those poor souls worse off than I am, it looks bleak; suicide rates will undoubtedly increase, while self esteem and income continue to fall.

Or the unemployed poor man?

Did Merlin Exist?

The Wise Old Man, Magician and Sage. This Mysterious Old Celt is Truly a Compelling Character!

Magic is Madness

5 to 6 min read

Don't you just love the madness and magic of Merlin? What d'ya mean, no? He's the only the grandaddy of all sorcerers, the one and only true archetypal wizard, the wild man of prophecy. Okay, you get the message. He does have so many presentations, but, his history is very primarily arcane! 

Merlin is fittingly portrayed as a feared druid and a crazy old oracle to the Britons of Dumnonia in Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles. This is a romantic figure glorifying a lost mysterious celtic way of life. Of course, it's very unlikely a man matching our modern vision of Merlin has ever existed; history doesn't always meet our expectations.

'I believe the Gods hate to be bored, so I do my best to amuse them. That way they smile on me. Your God,’ Merlin said sourly, ‘despises amusement, demanding grovelling worship instead. He must be a very sorry creature' 

Bernard Cornwell, The Winter King

I love Merlins origin as a real living druid, or a bard, maybe a madman from our Romano-British period. It was Geoffrey of Monmouth who fictionalised Merlin with the trappings of wizardry in modern fantasy. It's almost always conflict that teases out names of potential interest. 

The fifth and sixth centuries were war ridden. In the east and south, Germanic Tribes who we call Anglo-Saxons founded their kingdoms. Some Britons resisted in the west and north, they also fought themselves—others assimilated into the Germanic way of life. 

 

In popular media, Merlin is often a priceless asset to Arthur and his followers, because of his magical prowess, and foresight. In reality, though, there isn't any evidence to suggest such meetings! All sources for Merlin are post 12th century, but we know some are alleged to be copies of 10th century manuscripts. They were written hundreds of years after the events.

Romano-British Crown and Diadem: Norfolk

Be that as it is, I do like Merlin's defiance; it endures and not just against the Germanic invaders or Mordred's ambitions, but his stubborn defiance toward Derfel and Arthur. The semi demented wizard can appear quite vulnerable but secretly he's deceptively sharp minded because we forget he is a magician. His powers from shape changing to flight are later tweaks to the character by medieval writers. 

In earlier Welsh manuscripts, like the 'The Red Book of Hergest' and 'The Black Book of Carmarthen' Merlin, written as Myrddin Emrys, Wyllt or Merlinus Caledonensis, wasn't a prime 'Sword in the Stone' Disney type wizard, but a crazy bard and prophet, with a sound knowledge of nature.

After a major loss during the battle of Arthuret, Carlisle. This Myrddin (Merlin), was born circa 540 and went mad, totally losing it!! He ran away into the forest where he lived as a wild man, a bit like King Nebuchadnezzar or maybe John the Baptist. Bards were just beneath Druids for the Britons. Maybe Myrddin would have retained some social significance. 

The contradictions that define modern and proto-Merlin's says to me, there was historical inspiration for medieval historical fiction writers like Monmouth. I've barely touched the surface. Other Merlin names from records are:

1. Ambrosius

2. Emrys

3. Myrddin

4. Merlinus

5. Merdinus

6. Merdinn

7. Merlin Ambrosius

8. Merlin Caledonensis

9. Merlin Silvestris

10. Merlinus Arturius

To Conclude... 

Even if this compelling character never existed at all, the stories that surround him bring our attention to the historical context of those times: like the hunger for territory, for instance, supernatural belief, Celtic in-fighting, religious tension, Irish piracy and of course the Anglo-Saxon wars and invasion. For me, personally, Geoffrey of Monmouth's development of Merlin, and his other heroes, most likely a zeitgeist. 

Merlin is comparable to Gandalf, from Tolkien's legendarium, whose name was taken from the Völuspá of the Poetic Edda's. Above all, Gandalf is a reinvigoration himself, a modern shape shifted expression of the old one eyed runemaster, Odin, the wanderer and prime god of the vikings. Cultures mixed, Norse - Gaels, Welsh and Saxons. 

Arthurian characters have had their fair share of reboots and retcons; the wild man Myrddin, Derfel the warrior and, the warlord, Arthur; they've all differed over the centuries. We may never uncover an exact history. It's up to us as individuals to make up our own minds. 

The Televised Show

The latest depiction of Merlin in the recent Winter King TV show, is portrayed by a person of a different heritage to the archetypal Merlin and discontent has rained down across review websites. Cornwell and supporters of the casting choice forwarded the case that the Winter King took place very shortly after the Romans left Britain. Cool. It is a respectable theory that people of colour were in Roman ranks. However, the times are off. Rome withdrew in 410 CE, but the story is set in the latter part of the fifth century continuing into the sixth, generations later. After generations of breeding with the native women Merlin, would have most likely resembled his archetype. The apologetics fail, leaving doubt that the casting was nothing other than a bending of the knee to modern inclusivity and wokism. 

The evidence proving the presence of African or Romano-African soldiers, individuals or black communities is lacking—yet, this doesn't mean they did not exist.  Bede, Gildas and Tacitus are highly sourced historical writers who Bernard Cornwall must have used to shape The Winter King, but I cannot find anything in their sources online or in my own books. Eitherway, this avenue doesn't need exploration, Bernard Cornwell originally did Merlin traditionally in print, but then, sold the character off, which is what good authors are supposed to do, to be fair. 

The most disappointing thing is the insensitivity of hinting at Merlin's Roman ancestry; Rome massacred the druids at Anglesey, we lost all knowledge of druidic celtic briton, they violated Boudicca and subdued many more. However, druidry is still mysticised because of the absent history. The druids are meaningful and retain significance, and interest, not only in Arthurian legend, but culturally and historically. Cornwell's printed Merlin, is a thoughtful portrait on multiple layers; a man trying to restore the old ways, he carried loss, and struggled within his political, social, and religious landscape as an old schemer, stubbornly fighting his battles against the Saxons and Christians.The Winter King televised series should not have deviated from the written ethos. 

What Are Cartoon Archetypes?

Do Cartoons Use Archetypes to Reflect Society? 

Do Stereotypes Enhance or Diminish Cartoon Quality?

4 to 6 min read

Well, hello there! Today I came across an interesting blog by Annie Weatherwax about archetypes inr elation to illustrations and cartoons. This piece grabbed my attention, given my own, previous blog on archetypes and, uh, well—I like to dabble with cartoons. 

With regards to a lot of media, especially cartoons, creative people automatically use archetypes. If we get scientific about it, could we say archetyping has always been our natural way of nailing people down? Take the archetypal doting mother; it could only have been accepted as a 'thing' after people had spoken about the 'those types' of mothers who excessively nurture. We've been tokening archetypes over our history. I've probably missed something somewhere, but cartoons do play on them. 

Why Are Archetypes Important in Cartoons? 

Before a psychiatrist brands a patient with a mental condition, many of the DSM-V boxes will need ticking first. Cartoonist's draw up illustrations based on archetypes, and stereotypes. New archetypes have to be recognised, and then tokened as a 'human thing' before it goes viral, like with the modern 'Katen,' or those overly 'analytical atheist' types, for example. It's swings and roundabouts. Capturing the essence of people's behaviour. 

What Makes a Compelling Character Relatable Beyond Their Archetype?

Hold on, uh, don't think I'm saying all cartoonists are mentally ill. A few of us are quite normal. I'm just saying there're other tantalizing things to incorporate into your work other than an archetypal model. I'll admit to gladly enjoying cheeky stereotypes and vulgarity when I do a cartoon. Parody is another word for it, according to the great Instagram. I might try a touch of satire, in all fairness, I only tend to do gag cartoons. 

Understanding the Collective Unconscious in Art

Annie's blog explains Jungian prototypes very well, but I'm not of the initiated, I view what Jung called the 'collective unconscious' in a different way to how he did. I see the collective unconscious in the same light as I see human morality: without mystery; socially constructed and existing in the human mind and accepted as some inherent nature when it's not. Cross pollination of culture could also explain aspects of the collective unconcious, historically spreading deep symbolic themes and values across the world. 

When I create a cartoon, I find amusement in emphasising societies common forms of ugliness, our dibshittery. I try to promote our lack of grace, the human screwball scramble. It can be a challenge to accurately turn my stupid mental imagery into an picture. 

What Happens When You Create Art Without Archetypes?

My previous blog about archetypes agrees that they are exaggerated, but compelling characters that re-incarnate that punch of character inspiration. I posited the idea that we, as  people, do the same. Almost every boy, years ago, wanted to be Han Solo. I saw many of them modify their behaviour to mirror that lovable rogue. Well, before Star Wars, those qualities were recognised by George Lucas in Errol Flynn, James Dean and Humphrey Bogart. They shaped Han Solo. My friends who practiced the Han Solo swagger, were unknowingly strutting like James Dean. Okay, so did I! 

All that caricaturing; mannerisms, villainous squints, the intense stare, tough guy side glances, the put-on manly voice, all these idiosyncrasies that personify our character development aren't archetypes themselves. Wallace and Gromit wordlessly purvey inner thought very well. Wallace has many archetypes but his soul comes from how he carries them. 

We enjoy artistic content when there is something that resonates with us, it's immersive. I believe artistry is not simply relatability alone or indeed, solely archetypes, but rather how they are brought to life. We gauge our environment going on how relatable things are for us. Wallace is a loveable waffling character: a genius inventor, typical English man, but only because it's how he is animated, designed, postured, voiced and facially expressed. This artistry is key above all else, but that's only my opinion. 

For The Sake of Your Sanity I'll Stop! 

I appeal to Caravaggio's powerful art. His work will grasp the viewer, because of that very realistic human physiology. Those composed scenes of drama and tragedy. His art is pure immersion, because he put meat on the bone, then gave it emotion. I like to try and do a stupid-ass version of that.

Most art based on humans naturally contains something archetypal, the challenge may be to try one without any archetype or stereotype, just to see how weird and wonderful your cartoons can be.