Introduction

Merry meet! My name is Cristina and I’m a tattoo artist from Bulgaria. Several years ago I started exploring Bulgarian folklore in my work and this turned out to be the beginning of a fascinating journey for me. What was initially just a topic of interest, with the help of all my wonderful clients transformed into a passion. The more I delved into the myths and legends, the more I studied the visual and symbolic side of Bulgarian folklore in the shape of traditional embroidery and the gems of ideas that it’s brought to our time from Prehistory, the more interested I became in the enormous depths of understanding about human nature that myth can offer. 

And on that road I’ve met so many people from abroad who were either visiting or living in Bulgaria and for some reason or other were touched by its folklore, so they came for a tattoo based on it. And so many times I’ve had to try to explain what’s what, that I came up with the idea of creating this blog. Its goal is to offer a brief (or not too brief) overview in English of the main themes and characters in my ancestral folklore for whomever has any interest in it but cannot make use of the Bulgarian literary sources. I have no claim whatsoever to be an expert on the subject; I’m just forwarding the humble knowledge that I’ve gained from books and conversations.

The name of the blog, “Mesechina”, is the old Bulgarian word for “Moon”. It seemed suitable, for the beauty and wisdom of folklore are inseparable from mystery; they connect to us via the subconscious, and the best kind of light to shed on mystery would be moonlight; revealing and concealing at the same time, always leaving space for inquiry.  🌙

 

If you want to check out my work, here’s my Instagram page: 

https://www.instagram.com/mors_philosophica/

 

"The most potent revelations of myth come about once we recognize all the players in its tales as parts of the self. There is a part of the self, myth tells us, that needs to venture into the unknown and bring a new perspective to bear on its own status quo, in order that it might harmonize more closely with the world's reality. " (Philip Shepherd, "New Self, New World")  

 

Image credit: me