Fast Updates:
Wishing you all a safe and happy March!
(There a quite a few updated this month! Please feel free to skip ahead to the mythology article. )
Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances we were unable to attend the planned Quad Con, but we met some amazing creative folks at the event we were able to participate in during the month of February and we look forward to the Quad Con scheduled in March.
Added Event: IABE
I am honored to have received three five star reviews from Readers Favorite! I will be adding a review page to reflect them soon. In the meantime, if you would like to read the full reviews you can visit here: readersfavorite.com/review-resist
A limited number of book charms have been put together for Resist and they will be available at upcoming events. If you would like to know more about making your own tiny book charms, be sure to check out this post: BookCharms
During the month of March there will be a limited time sale on The Warning Signs: Tales of Horror and Dark Fantasy (For Kindle). This countdown deal is available through Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com. It began on the 2nd and will end on the 9th.
On February 14th the fourth and final book in The Blood Inheritance Quartet series was published and is available in hardcover, paperback, and eBook versions through most online retailers!
“With the end at hand, Amanda seeks redemption. But the myths of Sumir are only half-truths, and the layers of deception go deeper than she ever imagined. As old enemies return and unexpected allies appear, the half-bloods only have one chance to right the wrongs of the past before the world they know unravels around them.”
You can check out the full book page here Resist: A Blood Inheritance Novel
During the month of February I was a featured author on writers Pay it forward, you can visit the site here: M. Ainihi/Author
writerspayitforward.com is a wonderful and helpful site for authors, writers and bloggers which is said to be run by other authors, writers and bloggers. To check it out simply click one of the aforementioned links.
Also:
readersfavorite.com will have three of my available e-books listed as prizes in the monthly book giveaway. If you are interested in winning some amazing books by great authors you can check out the monthly giveaway here: book giveaway /Rise or here: book-giveaway combo and here for The Warning Signs: giveaway/the-warning-signs
Upcoming Event Reminders:
2023
We are scheduled to participate at the Hall of Heroes Comic Con on March 4th and 5th. This event takes place at the Northern Indiana Event Center, located in Elkhart, IN.
We will be participating at the Madison, WI East Towne Mall Quad Con on Saturday April 8th! Keep in mind that this event is open on both the 8th and the 9th.
Concealed Realms will be at the Quad Cities Comic Con. This even takes place April 15th and 16th, at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport Iowa.
We are scheduled to participate at SalukiCon! This event takes place April 22nd and 23rd at the SIU Student Center in Carbondale, IL.
Concealed Realms with be at the Oz-Stravaganza! This event takes place June 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in Chittenango, NY.
On June 11th we plan to participate at the Springfield, IL QuadCon! This event is set to take place in the Crowne Plaza Convention Center.
Concealed Realms plans to participate at Midwest Monster Fest on September 23rd and 24th . This event is scheduled to take place in East Moline, IL at The Rust Belt.
We are scheduled to participate in the 8th Annual Indie Author Book Expo on November 4th at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.
Rabbit Quotes, Proverbs, and Sayings:
“A rabbit aims for the moon.” Thai proverb
“A sly rabbit will have three openings to its den.”
Chinese Proverb
“The other day when I was walking through the woods,
I saw a rabbit standing in front of a candle
making shadows of people on a tree.”
– Stephen Wright
“If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one.”
Russian Proverb
“You would be amazed how many magicians have died
after being bitten by mad rabbits.
It’s far more common than you might think.”
– Angela the Herbalist, Christopher Paolini
“Is it birthday weather for you, dear soul?
Is it fine your way,
With tall moon-daisies alight, and the mole
Busy, and elegant hares at play
By meadow paths where once you would stroll
In the flush of day?” – Cecil Day-Lewis
“A rabbit’s foot may bring good luck to you,
but it brought none to the rabbit.”
Ambrose Bierce
“Ideas are like rabbits.
You get a couple and learn how to handle them,
and pretty soon you have a dozen”
– John Steinbeck
“All fiction is about people,
unless it’s about rabbits pretending to be people.
It’s all essentially characters in action,
which means characters moving through time
and changes taking place,
and that’s what we call ‘the plot’.”
– Margaret Atwood
“Opportunity comes like a snail,
and once it has passed you it changes into
a fleet rabbit and is gone.” – Arthur Brisbane
Definition of : Leporine
Dictionary.com
adjective Zoology
“of, relating to, or resembling a rabbit or hare.” – dictionary.com
Merriam Webster.com
Noun
“of, relating to, or resembling a hare” – MerriamWebster.com
Rabbit Lore
Our journey down the rabbit hole of research last month left me with a huge interest in rabbit legends of old. All those related links were just too much to ignore completely, so I planned to make time to dive in, in order to get a glimpse.
The fact is a myriad of animals are featured prominently in myth and legend. These ancient stories not only include everything from magical unicorns to mystical dragons, but a plethora of mundane seeming creatures as well, such as birds or even insects.
What I found was a wealth of folklore involving hares and rabbits from numerous cultures the world over. Of course there are a multitude, so in this mythology post we will take a look at the difference between rabbits and hares, review common representation in myths and legends, and share a few of the many tales along the way.
What is the difference between a Hare and a Rabbit?
According to Britannica.com, the words bunny(rabbit) and hare are sometimes used interchangeably, when although in the same family, the animals are quite different.
In general, hares are larger and are born fully developed with fur and open eyes, looking much like a smaller version of their parents. These leverets are able to live on their own an hour or so after birth. They are faster runners, which makes sense since they prefer to live more solitary lives within open area habitats such as prairies, where they make nests in small open depressions, and snack on plant shoots, twigs and bark.
Rabbits are smaller and have shorter ears than hares. Their kits are born without fur and have closed eyes. These babies need the attention of their mothers for about eight weeks after birth. Unlike the hares, rabbits prefer to hide, rather than run. They like to live in groups and favor habitats composed of trees and shrubs, where they can dig burrows into the ground. In contrast to hares, rabbits prefer to eat softer substances like grasses and vegetables with leafy tops.
Common representation
Rabbits have been domesticated for centuries and remain popular pets across the globe. But what do these animals generally represent in myth and legend?
Commonly associated with having a strong or important connection to the moon, in lore we often find that rabbits are contradictory creatures being both symbols of cunning and foolishness, of cowardice and courage, of fertility, prosperity, and death.
Sacred Animals
Deities are often associated with rabbit, including Freyja, the Norse goddess of love, fertility, battle, and death, who is said to be served by hare attendants and Ēostre, a West Germanic spring goddess who legend says turned her pet bird into one!
But these goddess’s arent alone. In many ancient cultures, rabbits were symbols of fertility and prosperity. For instance, according to wikipedia.org , the Maya moon goddess is frequently depicted holding a rabbit in art and inscriptions. Said to be the goddess of love, pregnancy, water, textile work and even medicine, Ixchel, is considered one of their most important deity’s.
In the Greco-Roman world, the hare was said not only to be sacred to Eros and Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, but it is also said to be associated with Dionysus, the god of love, fertility, life, death, and immortality. In fact, according to smithsonianmag.com, due to these connections, in both cultures it was commonplace for lovers to exchange live hares as gifts to one another.
Connections to the moon
Celtic peoples looked admirably on the mysterious hare for its strength and speed. Noted for being active at night, not surprisingly this lonely animal was associated with the moon and the Otherworld of the supernatural.
Have you ever looked carefully at the moon on a clear night, and seen the outline of a rabbit within it? Tales that a rabbit dwells on the moon appear in many legends from civilizations around the globe.
In Japanese tradition, rabbits live on the Moon where they make mochi. This tale comes from interpreting the pattern of dark patches on the moon as a rabbit standing on tiptoes on the left pounding on an usu while making the popular snack of mashed sticky rice.
Said to be the messenger of a female moon deity and the guardian of all wild animals, in Chinese legends, the Hare that inhabits the Moon is depicted with a mortar and pestle in which he mixes the elixir of immortality.
According to an Aztec lore, while living on earth as a human, the god Quetzalcoatl started out on a journey, but after walking for a long time, became hungry and tired. With no food or water around, he thought he would die.
When a rabbit grazing nearby nobly offered herself as food to save his life, Quetzalcoatl was so moved that he elevated her to the Moon, then lowered her back to Earth and told her, “You may be just a rabbit, but everyone will remember you; there is your image in light, for all people and for all times.”
A legend from Cree culture tells a story, about a young rabbit who wished to ride the Moon. The story goes that, only a sandhill crane was willing to take him. The long trip stretched the crane’s legs as the rabbit held them tightly, leaving them elongated as the legs of all cranes are now. When they reached the Moon, the rabbit touched the crane’s head with a bleeding paw, leaving the red mark cranes wear to this day.
Final thoughts
Rabbits and hare’s have played an integral role in lore, legend, and myth in many places around the world and have held a significant importance to cultures across the continents since ancient times. I had a lot of fun researching these legends of old.
As we barely scratched the surface, I hope that you find what I stumbled across interesting and informative and perhaps even made you curious to find out more!
I want to thank you for your continued support. I hope that you enjoyed this mythology post! Stay safe and keep being awesome.
Want to Learn more facts, folklore, and other less ancient lore?
Check out these other sites: (not updated)
Three_hares, wolpertinger, Jackalope Licence,
cabbit,bestsimilar.com
Check out these sites: (not updated)
mightyconshows.com
QuadCon
Peoriacon
Reedpop.com
DArkNovels
iowa-icon.com
Oddmall
Jump to:
Rise
Reviews
Lost
Contact
Book Trailers
Illustrations
Acknowledgements
About The Author
The Blood Inheritance Quartet 