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Emily Hilliard

Folklorist | Writer | Media Producer
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Writing Clips

Fresh Out of the Coven: Pentagram Pie →

October 29, 2013

Pentagrams are an ancient symbol, but lately they’ve been popping up everywhere from forearms to TV shows to um…bikinis. I too seem to have been caught under the pentagram’s spell; I've recently developed an affinity for the encircled, five-pointed star.

The pentagram carries different spiritual meanings depending on the cultures in which it appears (from Mesopotamia to Freemasonry, Christianity to the occult), but in the Tarot, the "pentacles" correspond astrologically with Taurus, along with the other Earth signs Virgo and Capricorn. In general, the symbol is associated with Mother Earth, craft, the accumulation of knowledge, physicality, and tradition. It also represents stability, grounding forces, and feminine power—ever noticed the 5-pointed star on Wonder Woman’s projectile crown? And if those weren’t enough reasons to start brandishing a pentagram medallion, there's also the British folk-rock band Pentangle, one of my favorites, whose name comes from the Middle English poem Sir Gawain and the Green Night, and whose album covers sport some of the best pentagram designs I’ve seen.

Read on via The Hairpin

In Feminism, Food, History, Photography, Recipes, The Hairpin, Humor
Illustration by Elizabeth Graeber

Illustration by Elizabeth Graeber

Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie: An Illustrated History →

January 23, 2013

Though there are a few days that claim to be THE “Day of Pie" — the U.S. House of Representatives recognized “Pi Day” on March 14th, and a second somewhat dubiously decreed “National Pie Day” on December 1st — according to the American Pie Council, today, January 23rd, is the actual “National Pie Day.” It was probably chosen so that people have at least one thing to look forward to after the pie-promises of Thanksgiving and Christmas have faded, and you’re left cold and hungry in the depths of mid-winter.

In honor, of this, we present an illustrated investigation and recipe of the legendary 4 and 20 Blackbirds Pie.

Read on via The Hairpin

In Folklore, Food, History, Recipes, The Hairpin

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