Enchanted Mouras

THE POWER OF IMAGINATION

author’s collage

To connect with the archaic power of the imagination, we now call upon the Moorish Princesses, the young maidens who make the unwary dream when they find them lamenting, weeping, singing, spinning or combing their hair in fountains, on the solstices or at magic hours.

We’ll use the combs and their ancestral feminine symbolism to untangle the threads of the networks of reciprocal dialogue, opening multidimensional and even paradoxical portals that allow access to the imaginative, emotional and associative mind.

The metamorphosis of these fairies into snakes is an expression of their antiquity, echoing the legend of the Melusine, a female freshwater spirit residing in sacred wells or rivers and a figure from mediaeval European folklore. She is usually represented as a woman who is a serpent or fish from the waist down (like a mermaid or a lamia). The most famous literary version of the Melusine tales was compiled between 1382 and 1394 by Jean d'Arras in a collection of "spinning yarns," detailing the relationship between this fairy-serpent and the knight Raymondin, from their initial meeting to their separation due to her husband breaking the ban on never seeing her bathing on a Saturday when she transforms into a serpent. Melusine's archaic image and transmutation is echoed in the Sheela-na-gig, grotesque figurative sculptures, part serpent or fish, of naked women displaying an exaggerated vulva, found carved in stone in most of Europe in cathedrals, castles and other buildings.

On the other hand, the Enchanted Moorish Princesses are linked to appearances shrouded in light, reinforcing their primal identification with the Virgin, and they also have links to the Celtic Banshee, whose terrifying squeals announce the imminence of someone's death.

These serpent fairy maidens guard the profound transformations of life and are the gatekeepers to the mysterious subterranean realms that were later demonised.

They are linked to the springs that are ancestrally found at the base of the sacred cosmic tree, guarding waters with therapeutic properties, sources of medicinal and sacred water containing all knowledge and wisdom. They are sometimes associated with obscure and enchanting deities likened to the Greek Muses, the inspiring goddesses of literature, science and the arts. The Greek Muses were ancient mountain spirits, considered the source of knowledge embodied in poetry, lyrical songs and myths related orally to Greek culture.

These fairy-snake maidens who comb their hair near water require strict rituals and offerings in order to be disenchanted, be it with bread — and the magic of its fermentation — kisses, milk, honey, figs, grapes or charcoal, just as in ancient traditions involving ritual offerings to the goddess. The Enchanted Mouras, in their youthful and voluptuous form, sensually invite you to make deals that disenchant them, promising riches. All their riches, crystals, metals and precious stones hidden under fountains or mountains represent hidden knowledge that endows one with power and gifts and secrets waiting to be unveiled. Let's remember that these are also elements that define the shamanic journey; the treasure in the cave is nothing more than a metaphorical expression of the wisdom gained by entering the sacred worlds of the Earth's womb, on an immanent journey of Catabasis. These other dimensions are the source of shamanic wisdom's non-ordinary power, representing the journey to other realms through magical portals, bringing back inspired information of incalculable value to the community.