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Water Spirits
Hard cover. Time Life (1985)
Good. No dust jacket as issued. General shelf wear. 143 p. Enchanted World.
Good. No dust jacket as issued. General shelf wear. 143 p. Enchanted World.
143 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 8, 2021
Honestly not what I was expecting? Kinda a let down after searching for a copy for so long. I've had my eye on a few others in this series ever since I got a copy of Wizards and Witches which is beautiful and so fun but after finally getting this one I think I might pass on the rest. :(
October 21, 2020
I have read a lot of folklore focused books, and this is one of the best I’ve read. Not only is the book beautiful, but the writing and breadth of stories were superb. I bought the book used, and unfortunately someone removed 10 pages from the section about pirate ship lore. I’m really tempted to buy another copy online and then start collecting the other books in this series. A wonderful find, and it would make a fantastic gift!
March 9, 2021
Water Spirits opens with the story of a man who saved the life of a mermaid who blessed him with the power to heal and to break witchcraft and cursed him so that every generation one man from his family would drown. This was done to illustrate people's fear of the sea as a mysterious and fickle place that could from one moment give life and in the other death. Water was hailed as the source of life; the Hindus worshiped the Ganges under the name of Ganga, Mimir's well gave Odin his wisdom, the Nile and the Jordan River built civilizations, and everywhere people sought the Fountain of Youth. Many culture’s creation myths relate the universe forming out of the chaotic watery deep. In addition, nearly every culture here has a Great Flood myth. The one presented in this volume is that of Gilgamesh, who is told the tale by the immortal survivor Utnapishtim.
Heroes began enterprising in sea quests. Jason and his Argonauts, for example, paid the correct homage to the gods and led a crew of heroes across the Seas. While Odysseus, whose men forgot to or openly stole from the Gods, was punished with ten years of wandering and danger. Regardless of his initial faithfulness to the gods however, those same gods destroyed Jason and turned the Argo into a constellation. That was a testimony to how fickle the gods could be, because sea gods were viewed in relation to their seas. Poseidon, for example, was as arbitrary as the enchanted seas and magic islands he ruled.
In later days, sailors no longer worshiped the sea gods but still lived in fear of the sea's power. For example, ships were still launched on Woden's Day and not on Thor's Day for fear of storms and thunder. Figureheads replaced the eyes, of Greek ships, but the function remained the same - keeping a lookout for evil. Anointing a ship with wine replaced the pagan custom on smearing ships with human blood.
Heroes began enterprising in sea quests. Jason and his Argonauts, for example, paid the correct homage to the gods and led a crew of heroes across the Seas. While Odysseus, whose men forgot to or openly stole from the Gods, was punished with ten years of wandering and danger. Regardless of his initial faithfulness to the gods however, those same gods destroyed Jason and turned the Argo into a constellation. That was a testimony to how fickle the gods could be, because sea gods were viewed in relation to their seas. Poseidon, for example, was as arbitrary as the enchanted seas and magic islands he ruled.
In later days, sailors no longer worshiped the sea gods but still lived in fear of the sea's power. For example, ships were still launched on Woden's Day and not on Thor's Day for fear of storms and thunder. Figureheads replaced the eyes, of Greek ships, but the function remained the same - keeping a lookout for evil. Anointing a ship with wine replaced the pagan custom on smearing ships with human blood.
August 19, 2017
An enchanting book by the amazing Time-Life books. Readers should know that a book put out by Time-Life is always interesting, with great text, wonderful pictures and an amazing ride into the unknown.
January 22, 2019
the second in the series i read, ten more to follow! again i loved it. stories from allover the world, illustrations, beautiful paintings.. a map or a detailed glossary would be nice, otherwise this is a beautiful book for everyone enjoying mythical stories and ancient lore.
April 17, 2009
I don't own this one yet, that's why it's in the to-read section. I do know however that it will be just as wonderful as it's counterparts.
My review for all of these books in this series is the same.
Time-Life has once again done an outstanding job putting together a series. From cover to cover they are thoughtful, beautiful books. I'm starting to sound generic, but it's true.
I'm a DK fan, I like white backgrounds and side notes with clear sections for every subject. This series has none of that. What they do have is an old book feel. Timeless artwork, thoroughness, and very well written makes these a must on my occult/paranormal bookshelf at home. I've been collecting the series slowly over several years and still have a few books to go. I refuse to go on amazon and buy them. It's all in the hunt for me. There is no subject they have left untouched. I highly recommend them.
My review for all of these books in this series is the same.
Time-Life has once again done an outstanding job putting together a series. From cover to cover they are thoughtful, beautiful books. I'm starting to sound generic, but it's true.
I'm a DK fan, I like white backgrounds and side notes with clear sections for every subject. This series has none of that. What they do have is an old book feel. Timeless artwork, thoroughness, and very well written makes these a must on my occult/paranormal bookshelf at home. I've been collecting the series slowly over several years and still have a few books to go. I refuse to go on amazon and buy them. It's all in the hunt for me. There is no subject they have left untouched. I highly recommend them.
September 23, 2013
One of my more favorite ones in this series. =3
December 10, 2020
This book is in the Enchanted World series that I enjoy so much. It tells of myths and legends having to do with water, Ancient Greece (Jason and the Argonauts and Odysseus), Cornwall, Ancient Sumeria (Gilgamesh), Norway, Denmark, Scotland, Japan, Switzerland. Famous legends like the Flying Dutchman, and several others about ghost ships. The writing is excellent, the illustrations were not as engaging as other books in the series. Still an enjoyable read to be transported into legends about the sea and lakes.
December 13, 2025
Excellent! At a time when I can't stomach much fiction, there is this great integration of many myths regarding water spirits and the old ideas about the relationship to the Sea across many cultures and times. The editors of this collection have done a marvelous work of not overbearing the reader with a description of the stories, but rather immersing the reader through a seamless flow from one concept to the next. They are vintage books that have stood up to the test of time. I am glad I came across this one at a used bookstore by a recent Christmas Market.
November 14, 2024
Like the book about fairies and elves in the same series, this book both tells various legends and talks about the folk beliefs from which such tales arose. One can put the tales in this book into two groups: tales of the natural water spirits, such as mermaids, selkies, nymphs and guardians of lakes, ponds and springs, and tales of zombies and ghosts of human beings who died at sea under unfavorable circumstances.
The former kind of tale often features a mortal who entered the underwater realm, usually moved either by curiosity or by the charm of one of its denizens. This magical place is invariably described as beautiful, but there’s usually a price to be paid for going where no mortal was meant to go. Sometimes a person becomes torn between the two worlds, sometimes he finds that centuries have passed on earth while he spent a few days underwater, sometimes the enchanted world proves more sinister than it appears and wants to hold on to those it has drawn into its net.
The author explains that in the past when seafaring was very dangerous it was difficult for people devoid of wanderlust to understand those who wanted to leave the safe harbor for the perilous sea. Therefore, stories arose of mysterious otherworldly beings and worlds that were hard to forget once one had glimpsed them. Add to that that the sea itself seemed very mysterious to people back then. Unable to understand the reasons behind its changeable winds, storms, or deathlike stillness when the ship couldn’t move, behind the diseases that attacked men at sea, such as scurvy, or after leaving a foreign place, and other vagaries of seafaring, but driven to find a cause for everything, they imagined the sea ruled by beings who were fickle and incomprehensible to humans. But as the sea remained unchanged, while human civilizations came and went, its masters and mistresses were believed to be immortal and sometimes holding the secret of immortality. Naturally they were also very powerful, and those who dared defy them usually did so to their peril.
The second kind of tales usually involves either drowned seamen, whose spirit was believed to be restless because their bodies hadn’t received a proper burial and were moved to and fro by the currents of the sea, or a ship full of zombies or ghosts of seamen who’d done or suffered some wrong and thus couldn’t rest in peace either. Seeing such ghosts or zombies was nearly always bad luck for the living who generally didn’t live long afterwards.
In short, while the tales in the Fairies and Elves book from this series were a mixed bag, the ones in this one almost invariably have unhappy endings. The sea could be a bounty to those who dared venture there – and the sea kingdoms were always portrayed as lands of plenty in legends – but it did extol a very heavy toll from the mariners too.
The former kind of tale often features a mortal who entered the underwater realm, usually moved either by curiosity or by the charm of one of its denizens. This magical place is invariably described as beautiful, but there’s usually a price to be paid for going where no mortal was meant to go. Sometimes a person becomes torn between the two worlds, sometimes he finds that centuries have passed on earth while he spent a few days underwater, sometimes the enchanted world proves more sinister than it appears and wants to hold on to those it has drawn into its net.
The author explains that in the past when seafaring was very dangerous it was difficult for people devoid of wanderlust to understand those who wanted to leave the safe harbor for the perilous sea. Therefore, stories arose of mysterious otherworldly beings and worlds that were hard to forget once one had glimpsed them. Add to that that the sea itself seemed very mysterious to people back then. Unable to understand the reasons behind its changeable winds, storms, or deathlike stillness when the ship couldn’t move, behind the diseases that attacked men at sea, such as scurvy, or after leaving a foreign place, and other vagaries of seafaring, but driven to find a cause for everything, they imagined the sea ruled by beings who were fickle and incomprehensible to humans. But as the sea remained unchanged, while human civilizations came and went, its masters and mistresses were believed to be immortal and sometimes holding the secret of immortality. Naturally they were also very powerful, and those who dared defy them usually did so to their peril.
The second kind of tales usually involves either drowned seamen, whose spirit was believed to be restless because their bodies hadn’t received a proper burial and were moved to and fro by the currents of the sea, or a ship full of zombies or ghosts of seamen who’d done or suffered some wrong and thus couldn’t rest in peace either. Seeing such ghosts or zombies was nearly always bad luck for the living who generally didn’t live long afterwards.
In short, while the tales in the Fairies and Elves book from this series were a mixed bag, the ones in this one almost invariably have unhappy endings. The sea could be a bounty to those who dared venture there – and the sea kingdoms were always portrayed as lands of plenty in legends – but it did extol a very heavy toll from the mariners too.
February 2, 2010
Memior of a woman's solo sea-kayak trip through the Inside Passage, starting in Ketchikan, AK and ending in her home town Bellingham, WA. Her story is about dealing with fear, connecting with Nature (including whales, otters, cedar trees) and people along the way. Some very good natural history asides, some very poetic writing, some parts were a little disjoint, some a little boring, but all in all, a worthwhile read.
October 28, 2013
A series of short articles and stories.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews