The Dark-Hunters, page 686
After the mud has had time to dry, the reader will turn the cup over. Some readers may make the sign of the cross over the cup before they read it, to bless it and ask that only good news be found inside. Shapes in the cup will form pictures in the reader’s mind, and they will tell you stories about the events they see.
The time line is loosely based on the distance of the image in the cup from the handle, and how close to the lip of the cup it is. As with many other psychics, things a reader tells you may have already come to pass, may eventually come to pass, or may never happen at all. But it is always good to write them down anyway, just in case.
EASTER EGGS
Easter is the most important Greek holiday, surpassing even Christmas. Many of the traditions celebrated on this day date back to long before the advent of Christianity. Even the day that Orthodox Easter falls on is calculated using an equation that involves the vernal equinox, the phase of the moon, and the Julian (as opposed to the Gregorian) calendar. Rarely do Catholic Easter and Orthodox Easter ever fall on the same day.
Easter not only honors Christ’s sacrifice and rebirth, but it also represents the rituals of spring and the never-ending circle of life: the eternal Passover from life to death and then back to life again as the world itself is reborn.
Lamb as Easter dinner represents the ancient lamb sacrificed in honor of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Easter eggs are not rainbow shades of pastels; they are only colored bloodred, for the blood of Christ. Sometimes the eggs are cooked into a sweet bread called tsoureki (yeasty bread also “rises again,” you see).
On Easter Sunday, a game is played by young and old alike, where people rap their eggs against their friends’ eggs. The owner of the last egg uncracked on one or both sides is considered lucky.
EVIL EYE (MATI)
In Greece and Turkey, many shops sell mati, or Evil Eyes. The eyes themselves are not evil; on the contrary, the eye is worn (usually on a necklace or bracelet) as protection against someone putting a hex on you. When an Evil Eye breaks, that means that it has done its job and protected the wearer.
Most Evil Eyes are blue, but they can come in a variety of colors. The blue originates from the rare occurrence of that color ever appearing throughout the dark Greek heritage—people with blue eyes were considered evil, powerful, cursed, or just really good at hexing others. On Crete, it is not an eye but a light blue bead that is used for protection.
It is important to note that an Evil Eye is more powerful, its warding strength more potent, when it is given as a gift.
The Orthodox Church recognizes the Evil Eye as something terrible, but it does not support the efforts of men and women who say they can remove it. These common people are considered charlatans. According to the Church, only the priest has the power to remove the effects of the Evil Eye.
The Church also does not recognize the Evil Eyes sold by street vendors as actual talismans of protection. Only a priest has the ability to make a proper filokto, a religious article that protects you from evil. It can be made from anything, but it is usually something like a locket containing blessed items such as cotton soaked in holy water, tears from a crying icon, or scrapings from a candle from a holy monastery.
NEW YEAR’S BREAD
In honor of the New Year, Greeks celebrate with loukoumathes (fried dough covered in honey and powdered sugar), and vasilopita, or New Year’s Bread, seasoned with almonds and Metaxa brandy. A coin (washed and wrapped in foil or plastic wrap) is baked into the bread. Each member of the family gets a slice, a slice is cut for the house, and a slice is cut for Jesus. Whoever receives the coin will have a fortunate year with lots of good luck and good news. If the house gets the coin, the whole family will have good news together. If the coin falls to Jesus, then there will be health and happiness for everyone all year long.
All the bread must be eaten, of course—bread is a gift from God and must never go to waste. Feed it to the birds, if you must, but never throw it away.
KNIVES
Knives are very symbolic. A knife handed to someone else means that there will soon be a quarrel between the giver and the recipient. If you have to pass someone a knife at the table, you put it down onto the table and let them pick it up.
Knives are never given as a gift. A knife as a gift is symbolic of the severing of the relationship. If someone does give you a knife for a gift, you must pay them for it, even if it is only a penny. Then it is not a gift; it is a purchase.
KOMBOLOI
Also called “worry beads,” komboloi are a string of beads like a small rosary that one puts in their pocket to fiddle with (usually men). Most komboloi have an odd number of beads or groups of odd numbers of beads, as odd numbers are lucky. Playing with komboloi is a meditation, a contemplation, as the beads click together. It is said that the komboloi represent infinity, the beginning and end of all things in endless cycle.
MONEY
Money attracts money. Never leave your wallet, purse, or pocket empty. If you ever give a wallet or purse as a gift, put some money inside it. If you see a penny, pick it up, because leaving money lying on the ground is just silly.
PALM
If your palm itches, you will soon be coming into some money.
RED
When two people say something at the same time, some Greek people say “Touch red”—like a combination of “Jinx” and “Knock on wood.” It is thought that two people speaking at once is prophetic, and may foretell of a dispute between the two speakers. Touching something red (usually accompanied by some spitting for good measure), thwarts this possibility.
SNEEZING
If you sneeze, it is because someone is talking about you. Where one would say, “Bless you,” the Greeks say, “Ya’sou.”
SPITTING
Words have power. Spitting is what people do to try and dilute that power.
If someone says something nice about you, they spit (or make the sound “Ptou, ptou” while mimicking spitting), so as not to tempt Fate or call down an unwanted Evil Eye. There is nothing worse than to call a baby or a bride beautiful and then have them turn ugly because of your careless words. By doing so, you can inadvertently put the Evil Eye on someone.
Also, if there is bad news, someone will spit so as to ward off any more bad news. So, good news or bad news, it’s important to stay hydrated.
Sometimes, a person will spit three times, in honor of the Holy Trinity—yet another example of the gray area between Christian and pagan beliefs.
THIRTEEN
Thirteen is a lucky number for the Greek people, as thirteen was the number of all the apostles plus Jesus. The only time thirteen is unlucky is on Tuesday.
TUESDAY
Tuesday is considered unlucky by the Greeks because it was on this day that Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, fell. An American’s Friday the thirteenth is a Greek’s Tuesday the thirteenth.
Pearls of Wisdom
You’re baked bread.
—Artemis
If you’ve ever heard Artemis try and conquer colloquial slang, you’ve possibly winced so hard you pulled something. Why is it, you wonder, that this beautiful, all-knowing, all-powerful goddess must murder the language the way she does?
You know she’s not doing it on purpose. And no, it’s not because she’s really a blonde (don’t you ever let Aphrodite hear you say that). The reason she just can’t seem to make that cultural leap is because the Greeks have a long, lovely tradition of sayings even weirder than anything we might dream up in our wildest imaginings.
“The best thing since sliced bread” or “You’re toast” have nothing on these fabulous truths the Greeks have been spouting for centuries. Here are a few for you—literally translated, of course, for the highest humor quotient—and explained for your enjoyment and further confusion.
Go on, try one on Artemis next time you see her. She might be impressed. (She might also squash you like a bug … but that’s Artie for you.)
YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BUY SHOES WITH YOUR EYES SHUT.
There it is in black and white, folks: proof that women and their addiction to shoes is an honored, worldwide tradition dating back centuries. The root of this one, however, highlights the importance of function over beauty. Believe it or not, the best shoes for your feet are not necessarily the best-looking. Just like the most reliable car is not always the flashiest or most expensive. Just like the most wonderful guy is not always the sexy god with the tawny skin and the washboard abs and the haunting eyes and the—
On second thought, I might have to contemplate that one for a while.
THE MORE YOU STIR, THE WORSE IT SMELLS.
The more Daimons you hunt, the more you scare up. The more you poke at a sore, the more it bleeds. The deeper you dig into a scandal, the more dirt-covered skeletons you tend to uncover. The more you learn about the gods in order to use that knowledge against them, the more creatively they will find ways to curse you (so sayeth the Oneroi). The more you fight, the more your opponent resists. Out of the frying pan, into the fire. It can only go from bad to worse.
And all that.
WHERE YOU HEAR THERE ARE A LOT OF CHERRIES, BRING A SMALL BASKET.
This is actually sound advice from an economic point of view. Say Tabitha Devereaux’s store just got overshipped a pallet of fabulously sexy and irresistible lace undies in all sizes, and she’s selling them all at 75 percent off. Well, you just heard this from Sunshine Runningwolf, who, bless her pink-lovin’ little heart, can’t keep a secret if her life depended on it … and there are more than a few streets between the one on which you’re currently standing and Tabitha’s sultry shop. Who knows how many people already know about this fabulous offer?
Chances are, they all do. And they’re all your (or your girlfriend’s) size.
This saying doesn’t advise you to not head down to the store—a Greek would never pass up a bargain!—but don’t expect to leave the shop carrying a bag overflowing with a thousand-and-one wicked little surprises for your lucky partner. You’ll be lucky if you get one decent, unblemished pair out of the insanity. And you’ll be extra-lucky if they don’t chafe or ride up into unmentionable places. Not that actually wearing them is the point, of course …
WHERE YOU ARE, I WAS AND WHERE I AM, YOU WILL BE.
This phrase is often said by the all-knowing-and-powerful world-weary gods who like to remind the rest of us immortal whippersnappers from time to time that we did not in fact invent treachery, betrayal, tricksters, curses, or sex. Especially sex.
LOOK WITH FOUR EYES.
No, it doesn’t mean put your glasses on—though that would certainly be helpful to people who do need glasses to see anything. What this phrase means is look once, and then look again. Look carefully. Look with your mother’s eyes. Examine things, and don’t let the smallest detail escape your attention. Take everything in, and make a note of it. If you’re looking for something, you will find it. If you’re witnessing something important, there are always useful blackmail implications later on.
YOU MADE IT LOOK LIKE YOUR FACE.
This one is a serious insult, and should never be used lightly. The first thing it assumes right off the bat is that the person you are insulting is dog-ugly (no offense to any Weres who might be reading this). The second thing it implies is that this person did such a shoddy job on whatever it was he just finished, that the result is no better than the previous aforementioned dogface. He’d be better off getting a job at a freak show and running away with the circus. Or he could …
GO BE A VILLAGE POLICEMAN!
The village cop is, I am to understand, one of the least-desired and most thankless jobs in the world. You don’t have to pass a test or be a rocket scientist (at least, you didn’t used to)—pretty much all you have to do was fit the uniform. If someone you know is so incredibly worthless that being a village policeman would be a step up for him … well, I wouldn’t be asking him to look after your cat while you’re out of town, if I were you. He’s one beer short of a six-pack, if you catch my drift.
SHE MADE HIM A HAMALI.
A hamali is the Turkish word for stevedore, a dock worker, a position considered the lowest class of laborer. (I’m not sure which is worse, a stevedore or a village policeman, but I’m not sure it matters much. I’m just glad I’m neither.) Contrary to the village policeman comment, however, this saying is not insulting the man in the relationship. This saying implies that the woman in question did not support her husband enough, and as a result he has not lived up to his full potential. In Greek custom, it is very important that a wife supports her husband above all. If she does not believe in him and stand behind him, then she is not a good wife.
IF THE CROW IS BAD HIS SON WILL BE, TOO.
An ancient Greek saying that essentially means “Like father, like son” or “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” If you’ve got bad blood in your family, it will be automatically assumed that you’re cut from the same cloth. People will be on their guard. They will lock their doors and spit at your feet. They will judge you before you can even open your mouth to utter a greeting or kind word.
Now do you understand why Valerius the Younger had so much trouble getting folks to warm up to him?
THE PRIEST’S CHILDREN ARE THE DEVIL’S GRANDCHILDREN.
Following on families and bad seeds … everyone knows what they say about the son of a preacher man. Well, they say it in Greece, too. Of course, it also implies that the priest is the son of a devil … or that the priest’s wife is … a sentiment that might not go over too well with your new neighbors.
ON A DEAF MAN’S DOOR YOU CAN KNOCK ALL DAY.
I like using this one when trying to explain to someone what reasoning with a god is like. You can present evidence and bring witnesses and signed documents and other gods and talk until your tongue bleeds and still they will go do whatever they want to do. It’s like talking to a brick wall, that deaf man’s door. You may as well quit knocking; you’re just going to skin your knuckles.
ONLY THE MOUNTAINTOPS NEVER MEET.
This phrase is one of my all-time favorites. It reminds us that in this very small world, there is no such thing as coincidence. Be careful who you talk about and what you say, because you never know who might be listening. You never know whom you will run into just around the corner. Also, it could be considered a beacon of hope for the perpetual bachelor or bachelorette—there is someone out there for everyone and, sooner or later, you will find each other.
IN THEIR VILLAGE IT MUST NOT BE THE CUSTOM TO SAY “THANK YOU.”
As mentioned before, giving gifts is very important in Greek society. With that comes the importance of saying “Thank you” upon the receipt of said gift. It’s amazing and unfortunate how infrequently you hear those words nowadays. But those Greeks, I tell you, they never fail to step up and give credit where credit is due when the opportunity presents itself. I even heard someone once thank a god for cursing them. I did, I swear … but I also swore that I would never reveal who it was.
This phrase, you can imagine, is said with a razor-thin layer of professional, thinly veiled sarcasm. The Greeks are so exceptionally biting with their sarcasm they have all but raised it to an art form. Perhaps I should recommend a tenth Muse?
FROM TIME TO TIME EVEN GOD NEEDS TO REST.
Ah, yes, ever the saying of the Oneroi, for they alone have the ability to wreak havoc in the dreams of gods. Of course, they got their shiny heineys cursed for doing that, too, so it’s a subject around which everyone treads lightly. But they never forget it.
Neither do the gods.
To the mortal Greeks, this saying is a completely legal justification anytime a wife happens upon her husband in repose while she’s slaving her tail off in the kitchen. It doesn’t necessarily get him off the hook, but mentioning a god or two might save him from being smacked with a broom.
DAY LOOKS UPON NIGHT’S WORK AND LAUGHS.
The idea behind this one is that if you work all day long on a project, chances are that you’ll be so tired at night, you’ll screw up everything you were doing and have to redo it over again in the morning. So why bother? Save yourself the extra work and stop when you’re supposed to stop. (The Greeks know how to appreciate a well-deserved break time.)
While this saying is possibly true for most mortals, I feel the need to point out that it isn’t an expression often used by Dark-Hunters, Dream-Hunters, Daimons, or night-owl authors.
ONLY PEASANTS EAT STANDING UP.
I remember hearing this one from my esteemed noble grandmother. I’m not sure where it originated, but she, of all people, would certainly know the truth. She very well could have picked it up from Valerius Magnus. It’s certainly the type of thing I can hear him saying as he drinks his Chablis in his impeccable Armani suit. You’ll have to ask Tabitha next time you see her; if he’s pulled that old gem out on anybody, it will have been her.
I WANT TO BE A SAINT, BUT THE DEVIL WON’T LET ME.
As much as I would love to go on at length about this saying, it really doesn’t require explanation. I need it on a bumper sticker or a T-shirt. Or both.
IT IS CONSIDERED EXTREMELY BAD MANNERS TO BE INVITED TO DINNER AND BRING JUST YOUR APPETITE.
Remember how I said eating is a Greek way of life? This is only one of about a million Greek sayings associated with food. Here, the underlying universal wisdom is to always consider your motivations. It also touches on the gift-giving aspect of visiting a friend or neighbor: You never come empty-handed as a guest to someone’s house. Only a very selfish and unworthy person would come bearing only their appetite. Very much like Daimons, actually. No one likes a selfish person. No one likes Daimons either. See?
WHEN YOU WATER THE PLANT, THE POT ALSO GETS WATER.
This saying is more about the big picture. It reminds us to consider the impact of our actions on the world around us, especially the selfless ones. The more we give, the more we get back—it’s a basic pagan tenet dating back centuries. When someone cooks a wonderful meal for their guests, that person reaps the benefit of partaking of it as well. Every time you kill a Daimon, think of all the souls you will be saving.
