Webs of Woven Words, Threads, Stitches and Enchantments

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

The Lady of Shalott

I have long had a fascination with the various depictions, poems, and stories about the Lady of Shallot. A couple of months ago, at the Divine Feminine Discussion and Meditation group that I facilitate, we made collage shrines; mine featured a piece of a calendar page from some years ago that showed a modern illustration of her. Unfortunately, I do not have the artist's name, nor the title of the painting. In fact, I cannot even recall which calendar or year it is from, so if anyone recognizes it, I would appreciate having the information.

Why does the Lady of Shalott make such an impression upon me? Why am I so drawn to her and all the art she has inspired? I don't know. I see her as a sorceress of the loom and her threads, weaving magic. I think there is more to her than we have been told and, perhaps, she had a more important role in the Arthurian legends than we will ever know.

I share here some of my favorite Lady of Shalott things: music, art, poetry, and my own collage shrine, a tribute to her. Does she inspire you? What do you think about her and her story? Was she a sorceress, a shamaness of threads, moving from nearby Camelot to some other world? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Deborah Rose's version of The Lady of Shalott:



William Holmes-Hunt's paintings of The Lady of Shalott, my favorite.


Loreena McKennitt 's version The Lady of Shalott


One of John William Waterhouse's paintings:



Emilie Autumn - Shalott, an interesting version.


And one more Waterhouse painting of The Lady:



Tennyson's poem:



I do not know the artist, but this is lovely.


The film, The Lady of Shalott, recently released.


There are many fine art depictions of the lady. I like to browse through them all while listening to Loreena's version of the song. I look forward to the release of Deborah Rose's CD so I can add that to my collection of mystical needlework music. Threads, yarn, weaving, embroidery, all are part of my sorceress artes as well as the art I create. I suppose that is the reason I am so drawn to this lady.


There she weaves by night and day
A magic web with colors gay...

Lady of Shalott Shrine, E A Kaufman

Blessings nine!

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