Psychic helps ease wintery blues

She has a crystal ball, so she must know what she’s doing, right?

The Russian Tea Room, decorated with twinkling lights, a waving Santa and the television yule log a-burning, is a happy refuge from the darkness of late December. And a busy one. Dona Piercy, a spiritual guide who works at a large table in the back, is completely booked.

Christmas is stressful, filled with anxiety and uncertainty. The gift-giving aspect of the holiday, which is supposed to make us feel good, transforms us into mega-consumers. We work all day and shop all night, tortured by full parking lots, long lines, irritated cashiers, fluorescent lights and Boney-M.

Sapped of energy, Piercy’s clients want to know that the season won’t bankrupt them, that the year ahead will be as meaningful and rewarding as It’s A Wonderful Life promises.

Piercy says there’s more to it than that. In the days surrounding the winter solstice, a holy time for many cultures, as far back as anthropology and archaeology reach, “People want to connect more,” she says, “and that’s what the universe wants, right?”

Read more (via Supernatural News)

Aurora borealis seen from space

Yoinked from Raincoaster. I’ve seen some amazing Northern Lights displays during long summer nights in North Bay, when I was growing up; I don’t think I’ve seen any since I’ve lived in Kingston.

The government has neat stuff

I stumbled across a GREAT section of the National Library and Archives site dealing with Canadian pulp fiction, Tales From The Vault, and here’s a page of particularly Fortean interest although the whole site is worth a look:

“Where Are the Great Cities of the North?”: Uncanny Tales and the Question of Canadian Identity

Yes, I’m afraid it’s the dreaded i-word again, but don’t let that put you off.

Wilno vampire lore

Jan Perkowski visited this small town, northeast of Barry’s Bay, Ontario, in 1968-69 to gather local vampire lore. Home to Canada’s first Polish settlement, Wilno gained another claim to fame when Perkowski’s report was published in 1972:

Perkowski’s report begins with (page 2) “a picture of a small grave enclosed by a white picket fence. The quote under the photograph says that if a vampire is not destroyed before he is buried, he rises again and carries off his relatives and others in the neighbourhood.”

“It happened at Wilno….They had to dig it up and cut off the head while he sat in the coffin.”

Read more/Wiki