I found this older thread and the following cut'n'paste just JUMPED OUT at me.
It refers to lilac and I've just been rereading yet another Pratchett novel which refers to the wearing of lilac by the Watch as a mark of PRIVATE respect to a past event, where lives were lost, but for a greater good. The whole idea of necessaruy sacrifice is tied up in this novel.
So this post is probably directed mainly towards readers of Terry Pratchett, BUT do any of you reckon he does have some sort of mission (can't decide a better word - he's no evangelist certainly)to bring INSIGHTS to readers?
This is a (for once!) serious question.
Whether or not he is Witch, or anything else for that matter is not what intrigues me. Indeed, his personal predilections, or lack of them, are his alone. I'm not really engrossed/concerned with conjecture about the beliefs of others.
But, the more I read and reread his works, the more amazingly insightful things pop out of the pages. The man is a genius. I call these "coincidental" realisations "clicks". A gear shifts. Things become startlingly obvious!
His latest novel about the Winterking is a one taht made me cry with the profound message within. I recommend it wholeheartedly. Also "A Hatful Of Stars".
Is anyone else familiar with the "sprig of lilac" as written about by him and any notions on it re the thread quote below?

[So a cootie is a piece of cloth? Sorry but I do not know.

In Germany people tie pieced of cloth onto trees, too.
There is an old blessing against fever from the 16th century which goes:

"Guten Abend Herr Flieder
Hier bring ich mein Fieber
Und bind es dir an
und gehe davon.
Im Namen der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit."

Translated:

"Good evening Mr Lilac
Here I bring to you my fever
And tie it onto you
And leave you.
In the name of the Holy Trinity."

People still use it, although the Holy Trinity is often changed or left out.
Driving nails into trees is not done anymore.. at least not as far as I know.


--------------------

Milla]

(I reckon, re Mr Pratchett: "Here is [TRUE] Wisdom".)

Heh, I've just started re-reading Night Watch too.

The sprig of lilac comesacross more as a reference to the remembrance poppy. But Terry has a habit of including several layers in his books. He is also extremely widely read. It is possible that the German reference is also considered.

As to Terry's religious persuasion, whilst he has been known to have Pagan friends, he has expresed his religious perspective as atheist. Me, I don't care as long as he keeps writing the books.

BB

Mike

It's been a while since I read any Pratchett actually.

I think sometimes the greatest teachers are those who do not set out to teach but, through an ability to speak truth and common sense, helps the student make those realisations for themselves. Knowledge passed on verbatim is not an understanding of that knowledge, it has to be absorb and integrated by each person in their own way; has to be realised.

I'm not sure he's on a mission exactly, I think he simply presents concepts in such a way, and with just the right degree of separation from reality, as to allow people to be objective and therefore open to understanding. Humour plays a great part in this - comedians make a living out of making us laugh and agree on such things as you would never be able to laugh and admit to seeing in daily life. The humour is the degree of separation which allows people to step back from ego and open to the possibility of understanding and 'releasing control' or what they expect to find.

In that, he is a master craftsman

As for lilac...dunno. I know Aussies wear rosemary in a similar way, usually around ANZAC day. You probably want something like this. My mother has one, I’ll take a peek next time I’m that way.

I took a peek at Charlotte Younge's An Old Woman's Outlook which some blessed, blessed person has made available on the web and thus easy to search lol. She mentions lilac both in the plant and its origins as well as the colour. She's quite a good source on period symbolism and mentality.

He's probably just alluding to the significance of flowers. I'm not sure. Lilac, purple and violet are colours strongly associated with magic and second sight.

Christina Rossetti says:

Oh violet for the grave of youth,
And bay for those dead in their prime.

Lilac seems to be associated (according to most modern florist shops) with the first flushes of love.

Who knows lol

Yes, cooties are pieces of cloth, although they can be other things. If you fins a Brighd's tree or summat out walking (usually found/used to be found by old wells especially) you'll see lots of rags and ribbons tied to it. The idea is that the cloth comes from the clothes of an ill person, of was tied around their wrist or used to mop their brow. It's nailed or ties to a tree and the illness is blown away. You get similar concepts around the world.

I'm not sure where I got this one from (it'll be from something like Seasonal Magic or summat) but it's along a similar vein to a cootie (they have a different word up norf, forget what it is). Anyway, you rub raw steak on a wort or growth and, after saying the following, burry it in the garden on a waning mood:

"Wen, wen, little wen,
Here thou shalt not build, nor have any abode,
But tou shalt fare North to the hill hard by,
Where thou hast a brother in misery.
He shall lay a leaf at thy head.
Under wolf's paw, under Eagle's wing,
Under Eagle's claw, ever mayst thou fade.
Shrivel as coal on the hearth,
Shrink as dung on a wall,
Waste away as water in a pail.
Become as little as a linseed grain,
And much less also than a hand-worm's hipbone,
And also become so little that thou become naught."

Best wishes,

Marion.

I've been saying for YEARS now: Pratchett should be compulsory literature for Pagans.

If only to help some of them grow a sense of humour.

I was actually highly amused when a book on Paganism (of which, of course, I forgot the title - spot the librarian ) started each chapter with a quote from the Discworld novels, since the author found that Pterry knows more about Paganism than just about anybody else.

The books are full of little gems of wisdom. Although admittedly, the more I learn about English culture, the more I understand certain other references as well. And from what I've heard from him during talks, I think he's really just expressing opinions in his books. If teaching is in his mind, it's far in the back of it.

Thankyou all, x millions and squillions! Sentience, AND discernment - PLUS decent literary links - I have possibly died and ascended(?!) to"Heaven"...
I will get back on this, and again, Tas reiterates "Ta!"

Oooh.

I agree the P man genius at work, his books are like ogre's or onions (they're so layered).

I think he is aware of the majority of the levels of which he is working, but I think some of them might even escape him. Like the dogs with orange eyebrows, he had 1000's of people writing to him saying it was an obscure allusion to this that or the other...it surprised him, he was merely talking about Roitwillers (s?).

I think there is a special intrinsic magic in the novels. Roland Barthes talked about the concept of 'the death of the author' and said that its the reader and what he or she brings to the text, the experiences and myriad of interpretations. I can't think of an author where you can see these concept more at play.

Q

I happened to have just finished Night Watch myself, last night in fact I've got to agree Pratchett is a genius in his writting! I've only just started reading his stuff so I've only got through a few books, but he always seems to have a thought provoking point in there somewhere... Small Gods had some good ones

...Terry might even be a contender to Douglas Adams and the Hitchhikers Guide!

Ah but what about his wee mate, the Death of Rats?
LOVE the pictsies, in all their smelly rancid righteous glory, and have actually made a game of Spot the PIctsie here in Glasgow!
Downspout:strong silent type. Says noughth, sees all...

Ah, the man is a bloody GENIUS!

Ditto to everything said above.........

all i can add to that is hail terry Pratchett
my favourites are-
SAM vimes
lord vetinari
nanny ogg
and of course DEATH

One of these days, I would just LOVE to meet the much lauded hedgehog!!!

Granny is my role model.

Yes, cooties are pieces of cloth, although they can be other things. If you fins a Brighd's tree or summat out walking (usually found/used to be found by old wells especially) you'll see lots of rags and ribbons tied to it. The idea is that the cloth comes from the clothes of an ill person, of was tied around their wrist or used to mop their brow. It's nailed or ties to a tree and the illness is blown away. You get similar concepts around the world.


Jsut read this Thin, and altho its nowt to do wi Pratchett, there is a tradition of the "Clootie Well" in areas of Scotland, and the latest Rebus novel (Ian Rankine) includes this. And indeed, it is an area of trees around a well that has cloths tied to it.
"Clootie" is the old scots word for cloth.eg Clootie dumpling, which is a suet and fruit pudding boiled in a cloth bag.

tree (no cloths tied to me!! lol)

I have a sneaking suspicion (and I may be horribly wrong here but it strikes me as the kind of thing that would happen), that 'cootie' is a misnomer in that people (daft southern folk) probably heard the American word 'cootie', associated with 'germs' and that's where the southern variant on the word 'clootie' probably comes from, so quite a recent but understandable origin. May be bollox but it is suspiciously acceptable in a Call My Bluff kind of way.

There's another word for them up Yorkshire way, I always forget the word but will dig it up.

Best wishes,

Marion.

Memaws? In Yorkshire. Apparently.

WOW - the guy IS a clever man! I just came across this gem, which explains his thinking in "Feet of Clay". Check THIS beauty out!

{Khem means star in Egyptian, having specific reference to 50 days. Khem also means "shrine, holy of holies, sanctuary" and "little, small" also "he whose name is unknown," also "god of procreation and generative power," also "to be hot," also "unknown." }

Clay of my clay...
Pure genius, eh?

Gorgona - here is your link to the lilac tree!
Possibly "Night Watch"?

Lilac was the second shade of mourning in Victorian times, which held a strict code of colour/relationship regarding mourning.

the best intro I can find on the 'net is this