Nature

The Witch in the Woods

Halloween is drawing near and the veil is getting thin...

Every year I do a Halloween special and this was last year's Hocus Pocus but I am resharing it now along with the photoshoot, making of and locations

so get ready for some eerie entries this October... :). Video was done last Fall, but many of the pictures have been recently edited and are shared now for the first time. Sharing here a special creepy little music video I made for Halloween last year as I am preparing a new seasonal special for this one. In the mood for something slightly eerie? This post also includes photo shoot, filming locations, and lots of pictures!

Are you in Halloween mood quite yet? Do you usually celebrate it?
Are you plotting your costume already?
There will be some "Special Spectral entries" as Autumn is here now in its full glory with its mysterious mists and fallen leaves.
Press play to listen / watch the video featuring several locations in Spain and France.

Who remembers this movie?

Hocus Pocus is a fantasy seasonal Halloween movie that was released in 1993 by Disney. Featuring a trio of Witches (The Sanderson Sisters) the movie is lighthearted and fun entertainment, but there was an eerie haunting moment, darker than the rest of the film by its tone and meaning, that stayed with me longer, and that was the moment Sarah, the blonde haired witch (how appropiate) uses her power, her sweet voice with which she is able to lure unfortunate children into her lair... just like a Siren.
So as a collector of movie scores, my main and major influence in my own music, I have been picking some "classics" from my childhood and giving them a spin within my own style. And thus here I'm sharing my own version of the soundtrack.
So do you remember this movie?

It was indeed a commercial and critical flop back in the day but slowly it became a cult classic. Apparently there is a sequel about to be released too after so many years. I remember it with fondness though and some scenes like Sarah singing this song are quite vivid in my mind... It is now a seasonal classic of my generation, so well drop also your impressions if you remember or have watched it. If not, this is the perfect month to have a look at it!

I put a spell on you and now you're mine

But this post is more than about the song but also the hikes and behind the scenes of this little creepy video I made as Halloween special. (Preparing another surprise for this one) as we get into the mood for the forthcoming All Hallows Eve. Despite being blonde myself and having a "similar garment" than the character that sings it I did not pretend to cosplay the character but tell a different kind of story (darker in mood) than the original take... I am curious about your own interpretations.

The veil is getting thinner...

Lyrics

"Sarah's Theme" is one of the sung and most iconic tracks in Hocus Pocus Movie score with music by James Horner; lyrics by Brock Walsh inspired by Edgard Allan Poe; performed by Sarah Jessica Parker in the movie. Additional variations were made by who was in charge of most of the instrumental soundtrack of the movie. The theme also known as "Garden of magic" and has become a rather well known seasonal Halloween classic. There are longer versions but the original lyrics (very short) are these:

Come little children, I'll take thee away,
Into a land of enchantment.
Come little children, the time's come to play,
Here in my garden of magic.

Credits

Original version

Credits: Sarah´s theme was composed by James Horner and variations and rest of the movie soundtrack by John Debney http://johndebney.com/. Lyrics by Brock Walsh.
John Debney was kind enough to listen to my version and send back a compliment which I found so encouraging. This is just a tribute cover and it' was not an official release, I always recommend to purchase the ORIGINAL soundtrack but I enjoyed recording this as it was a challenge was a good practise to improve my hammered dulcimer playing :) and thus it deviates quite a lot from the original arrangement.

I loved your rendition, it sounded great John Debney (Hocus Pocus OST composer and conductor)

My version

Cover and arrangements by me, Priscilla Hernandez (http://priscillahernandez.com)

Priscilla Hernandez  voice, lead and choir, arrangements, hammered dulcimer, piano, video edition
Armen Vartanyan: violin
Svetlana Tovstukha: cello
Héctor Corcín  : mixing, mastering, camera work, video edition

Filming locations

The abandoned decaying ruins of a former village of miners of Arruitzgain on Basakaitz Mount (Spain) served as main background to film the video... There used to be also a train (Plazaola) to transport the minerals from this area that has been of mining interest since the Romans settlements in the area... And at the beginning of the hike you can choose to go over the now deserted rails and tunnels. Then there is a hike uphill while while enjoying a forest of long and slender beech trees. I filmed this exactly mid October last year but the leaves hadn't fully shifted into autumn colours quite yet (thus we used color correction in the video to make it moodier)

The mining village was abandoned in the fifties and barely a few buildings tumbling down and emerging chimneys and walls over the engulfing and lush vegetation and they look much older while a thick pad of moss, vines and blackberry bushes have covered the walls.

It felt convenient that there was a fireplace in one of them... oddly enough with signs of recent use, maybe one hiker took the remaining building structure as shelter.

We also collected some wood in order to create that uneasy feeling of "Witch in the Woods" as I was intending to do a video for the song "Come Little Children" anyway. I always try to release a Halloween special, whether a cover of Halloween classic like this, or an original... so already working in this year special Halloween release. The early autumn filtered light was perfect and I found a perfect witchy staff out of a wooden stick.

After filming we stayed in the woods until dark... you had to be careful as light got dim you could easily for into hollows like this

El Señorío de Bertiz also in Navarra (Spain) served as additional location including the spooky shot at the end wearing a mask I made out of a piece of bark I collected from the floor. It's a place we often visit and hike that I will cover in detail in one of my "hiking adventures" posts. But here a clear still of that "eerie ominous ending". I decided to add a spooky reverse effect to finish. And well , I think I succeeded in my "spectral" makeover.

Additional scenes were added filmed on or hike to the mountaing Midi dOssau (French Pyrenees), some general scenes of autumnal elements and small waterfalls and conveniently filming scenes dressed in black like casting spells in different spots on our ascent. Yes, I hiked with a corset up to the Pyrenees and here is proof!
I even got into thef freezing mountain lake but I did not use that footage in the final edit of the video.

In conclusion

Little boys and girls don't get lost in the woods after dark

Priscilla Hernandez

I went to see the Moon but I found a thousand fallen suns

Posting today as part of colorchallenge WEDNESDAY YELLOW challenge

All this pictures were taken last Saturday (late July 2018). Me and my partner Héctor Corcín  went on a stroll trying to see the Moon Eclipse that took place last 27th of July. Sadly clouds didn't allow to appreciate the eclipse in its full red moon glory and we only caught it as the Moon grew back to full brightness again, but we found this location and we went the day after to take these pictures featured in this article.

So even if weather boycotted a little bit our sighting of the Blood Moon, at least it worked to find this lovely location. Above, not the best eclipse picture but what we glimpsed :)

Location and filming for forthcoming video

Location is close to an abandoned village called Guendulain (Navarre, Spain). To see the sunflowers spreading and just the ruins emerging from them was rather magical. As we had just found it the day before and I am finishing editing a videoclip of Latvian folk song Līgo (encouraged by fellow steemian friend Linda from Latvia, who encouraged me to learn a song of her country). It is a overall a worship of Summer hymn and I had still a few gaps in the video so location was perfect to shoot some final scenes). I will share that here shortly but meanwhile here. Almost done, I will share it soon.

Enchanted sunflower, thou
Who gazest ever true and tender On the sun’s revolving splendour
Pedro Calderon de la Barca (Poet)

A symbol of strength, endurance and loyalty

They look like thousands of fallen suns blooming in Summer... so yellow and vibrant, a representation of our life giving star. The petals of a sun flower are also known as "rays" for that reason. Unmistakable with their brilliant and vibrant appearance and amazingly large size. There are different varieties of different sizes but some are as large and tall as I am, glorious giant flowers.

As to give a sunflower to your beloved it represents warmth, long life and endurance. Sun flowers remain in full bloom for a long time enduring the hottest days of Summer and tolerating lack of rain and droughts. The upright and strong stem also represent the strength of bonds and loyalty. It is usually given as a gift on the 3rd anniversary of a wedding.

I love a sunflower and I believe in love power
(Tears for Fears, quote from the lyrics of "Sowing the Seeds of Love")

Vitality, hope, renewal... LIGHT

It was worshiped by Incan Empire priestesses who used to wear replicas made of gold in their garments.

In China, Royalty used to eat sunflower seeds in order to have a long life and are related with vitality and luck. In China in fact they are a symbol of *lasting happiness" The symbolism of "yellow" colour that I covered in previous article also apply for this "light bringer". It is easy to think why these flowers are usually associated with "happy" feelings.

They are not only strikingly beautiful but also useful providing and numerous edible sunflower seeds (at least the most common Helianthus annus which we grow for that purpose) and oil for cooking and beauty treatments. Crops and fields of these beauties, also a symbol of "abundance".

Sunflowers also known for their symmetry based on Fibonacci numbers

Above: the disk of a sunflower are made of made up of many little flowers that will become seeds.

Moving into the Light and the Legend of Clytie and Apollo

Sunflowers belong to the family Asteraceae and genus Helianthus (helios=Sun, Anthos=flower) and they move and stretch moving towards the light by phototropism. or heliotropism. Sunflowers are one of several plant species that make optimum use of light by turning to face the sun. It is like a "solar tracking" triggered in fact by phyto-hormones (Auxins) presents in the stems. This happens until the flower is "mature" and the seeds begin to ripen. Then they usually stop growing and droop downwards and stop their movement.

But let's explain it in a more romantic way

Clytie in Green mythology was a water nymph (daughter of Oceanus, the Water god and Tethys) that turned into a flower grieving over here unrequited love for the God of the Sun, Apollo (son of Zeus), and thus she is always facing the sun looking for her love return for her in his Chariot. She fell in love with him but was ignored by Apollo who fell for another Water Nymph (Daphne). Clytie sat on a rock and spent nine days without food or water until she transformed into a flower, and even to this day, she keeps looking at her beloved sun from dawn to sunset. Thus sometimes Sunflowers are used as symbols of "platonic love". At the beginning the Greek legend transformed her into a turnsole (Heliotropium) as in fact all sunflowers (Helianthus) are native from America, but modern retelling and famous Victorian and Prerraphaelite painting used "Sunflowers" to represent the grieving nymph.

Although Clytie's love was not corresponded as Apollo fell in love with Daphne due to an Eros (God of love) arrow, the irony of it is that he was despised by Daphne who wished herself to be transformed into a laurel tree not to be bothered by Apollo unsolicited love. Apollo had an argument with Eros and he was struck by an arrow who made him fall in love with the water nymph but Daphne was hit by a lead arrow who made her despise Apollo as strongly as he loved her. Finally she prayed for help to her father and was transformed into a laurel tree. Apollo was heartbroken and remained faithful and it made laurel leaves "evergreen" because of his love.

Poor Clytie, if it had not been for the interference of love arrows...

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Above my videoclip  Off the Lane was in part filmed in this location, but I've returned to this place COUNTLES times... and here is an article about the place.  I love to bring my friends here when they come to visit. The blog post mix old and recent pictures. :)

Follow me and enter the Ruins of Eugi, one of my favourite places to visit in my area

Located in Quinto Real forest, a lush beech wood in North Western of Navarre (North of Spain). Eugi was the oldest of the two Royal Munition Factories that can be found in the region. I already covered Orbaitzeta in a previoust post but Eugi is smaller in size and a century older. The remains run over Arga River and are dated in the XVI century.

The smithy closed one century after being built when it ran out of materials, which led to the construction of Orbaitzeta

The archs are similar to the ones we find in Orbaitzeta, as the latest was built as a bigger replica after Eugi had exploited the resources around it at the time.
Now the forest is fully recovered and protected... and the whole factory (and its ugly purpose) engulfed by lush vegetation and damp moss. Beneath the archs there are spots where the water covers up to your waist. Cold and hyaline, the whole place is purified. Nature has won this round. The remaining walls and archs are silent witnesses of the flowing of the seasons.

Eugi is really well preserved and ruins can be found two sides of the road... archs, walls, all covered in vines and ivy. Like the remains of old fairytale castles...

Being further from any populated area and having had 100 years more exposed to the elements than its bigger sister Orbaitzeta, Eugi is already one with the forest.

At some spots the structures are so concealed that it's difficult to make the man-made parts out... as it seems to be entwined with growing plants. Especially at this time of the year, where weeds crawl and cover everything in green. In autumn and winter, the whole place is more conspicuous but then veiled permanently by fog and mist. Temperature here is usually cooler, and if we continue up the road we will see Mount Adi crowning the beechwoods.

This is a place I come often. I filmed several scenes of my videoclip and song "Off the Lane" here and being one hour drive from home I come to visit this forest rather often.

Below: A still from when I filmed my videoclip. This photo is much older than the rest included in this article. Sadly this part is now being restored so they have added a fence and it doesn't look like in this picture. The rest of the images are fair recent.

As I have said before I have a fascination for abandoned places, their romantic and almost decadent beauty... how they shift sometimes into something new and beautiful when it's claimed back by Nature.

I love to see the ruins now integrated with the forest... Quinto Real is home of deer and boar and it's frequent to see vultures in the sky. Spain has 80% of vultures in Europe. In autumn is not rare to see the blurry silhouettes of deer or boar cloaked in mist... Those are the "ghosts" that now inhabit the ruins of Eugi.

Here I come often to feel inspired... I compose songs with the rustling sounds of the leaves, the chirping of birds... songs that grow in the filtered green light that is reflected on the water...
Dancing Sparkles

Fairy lights

Above: me composing with my flute under Eugi Ruins (Arga river)

Nature can transform everything... even an industrial munition factory into a fantasy scenery... A little imagination can wipe out the ugliness and transform it into an enchanted location.

As I mentioned in my recent article, I have a fondness for ruins and abandoned places. I find them very eerie but melancholic and romantic... I think places are haunted by desolation and disuse but in some cases they are transformed into something magical when overgrown Nature claims them back and this is the case of Orbaizeta.

Above: Orbaizeta archs. My photo entry to the contest. Archs over Irati River (Navarre, Spain)

Orbaizeta is a village located in Aezkoa Valley (Navarre, North of Spain) about 5 Km away from the French Border where you can find the remains of the XVIII century Royal Factory of Arms and Munitions of Orbaizeta
It was in fact built over a XV century old forge located over Irati river.
The whole place is now abandoned and taken over by Nature. It is located over Irati River and by Irati forest, one of the largest beech woods in Europe. The factory was precisely built here to use its wood and water after the older Royal Munition factory (Eugi, also located in Navarre) run out of resources due to over exploitation.

For almost a hundred years it provided munition and supplies to the army, iron and lead and even canyon balls, but it felt into disuse after the death of the Spanish king Carlos III . As it was very close to the border the site was frequently pillaged and caught fire many times to finally be shut down and abandoned in 1873. The ruins have since been covered by moss, lichens and vines. The main structure still stands and has been declared Site of Cultural Interest.

The place was overrun with trees and has become shelter for small animals. The archs that remain mostly intact over the river look now the remnants of an ancient Elven Fortress out of the pages of a Tolkien's book.

Below: Me in these damp mossy ruins... I love when Nature claims abandoned places back. Despite its not very romantic origins and industrial function the actual ruins have been strikingly transformed by Nature into fantasy Elven Halls... A magic portal to a fantasy realm... This is what they are NOW for me.

Enigmatic and now almost mystical looking, it stirs with new life... as birds perch on the scattered trees, lizards lay on its stone seeking the warmth of sun and little voles hide in the bushes. A recovery process is now under way but somehow I think there is a romantic vibe of the place engulfed by overgrown vegetation. Some years ago when Héctor and me visited this location you could access and walk it entirely but after a few accidents due to the decay of the structures the place has very limited public access now until being restored.

Black Legends about Orbaizeta

Its otherworldly eerie aspect reminds me to a distant past or maybe even a dystopian greenpunk future. It's not strange many claim it is haunted. A common target in several wars (as a factory of guns close to France) it was sacked and burnt out several times... And that violent imprint stayed in the minds of many tainted its memory. The place has a mysterious aura and it has inspired several local novels, mostly modern thrillers and mystery like "The Factory of the Shadows" by Ibon Martín which begins with a girl hanging from the archs on a misty night and the research of the case. Curiously after being chosen as background of these murder the skull of a missing hiker was found in its surroundings causing great stir on the national press. All of these has impregnated the place with darker tones but the truth is that it's rather peaceful and the way the light is filtered through the plants and is cast over the river is really entrancing.

Eugi, an even older munition factory in the same province

There is another old munitions factory, very similar but older and smaller in size even closer to me called Eugi, it features the same structure, with archs over a river. But I will cover it in another article, there I have made too countless photo shoots and even filmed part of my music video Off the Lane. The Eugi factory when active exhausted the forest around it and that is why the Orbaizeta was built.

Above: One picture from last Summer taken in Eugi Factory, a smaller (and older) "replica" of Orbaizeta but located in Quinto Real Forest and over Arga River. I only post this picture so you can see the similar structure though humbler in size. I will cover Eugi in another article in the near future.

Conclusion: One with Nature

As a Nature Lover I am glad to see the woods around both factories now recovered, both rivers now hyaline and crystalline and its ugly original purpose of Royal Munition factories long time gone... Their structures are engulfed and becoming one in the forest... It reminds me to the movie "The Princess Mononoke" by Hayao Miyazaki, that tells precisely the story of a munitions factory destroying the forest and finally claimed back by its guardian. The outcome is almost the same. Though there are now some programs for the preservation of the ruins they lay now in perfect harmony with the environment. They are places full of peace now surrounded by slender beech trees and gurgling creeks.

All pictures (c) to Priscilla Hernandez

´Cause I cannot stay within
This motionless netherworld
Within my chrysalis cold

Will I emerge like butterfly into the vibrant daylight?

Those are words from my song "At the Dreams Door" that was featured in my second album The Underliving.

As you may have already noticed I love fairy tales and fantasy. Not only my music and art nourish from it, I have a collection of illustrated fairy tales. I simply love all those XIX and early XX illustrations with fairies and princesses in my magic attire... :). Reading fantastic stories with a hot mug of tea, one of my favourite thing to do on moody rainy days.

So I was away hiking  recently with some friends that were visiting when @hedac made a phone call and told me he had found a little butterfly in the  music studio. It had been born from a chrysalis that came along with a purchased plant. The little creature had perched confidently on Héctor and and refused to leave on that chilly and rainy day. So the butterfly got all cozy and was our "fairy" companion for the day, cleaning its antennae with its fore legs, perching on our hands... we were mesmerized and for a few hours we forgot all about our daily tasks to take pictures and film it.  So small, and yet so magical... I'm always amazed by the patterns in the wings. As an illustrator I find it so inspiring so I made a few doodles on my sketchbook. I confess I like  moths over vivid colored butterflies and I feel more inclined to the muted colors of moths.  Maybe because I am myself kind of mousy. But this little butterfly also had these brown earth moth colors... I wonder what kind of butterfly it is, if any knows  let me know to edit it and include the species. :)

I find metamorphosis such an outstanding and inspiring metaphor of TRANSFORMATION

So why sharing this personal moment here, because I wanted to speak about change...

we fear change...

Sometimes we feel the need but we refuse to change... we get stuck in our old habits thinking that "changing" would be betraying some rigid and frozen convictions we have built about ourselves, about who we are. We smother ourselves keeping our thoughts inside a pre-made grid because it is what it feels safe... This is the way we usually do things so it's "comfortable" to keep on doing the same. We even feel guilty when the need of change becomes blatantly obvious.
I always say... "Thoughts are boundless" We should not have to feel fear of what comes next... if we "open our eyes" we can peek what lies ahead... It is not like moving forward blindly, but still there comes a moment where you have to take risks and nothing ever changes unless we give a first step... I know, it´s difficult for most of us, for me too, thus I write these motivational posts, they are also self-reminders. I can be bold and brave sometimes, but I also have moments where I'm beset by doubts and fear... fear to change!

And why do we fear to change? I guess we know that sometimes this transformation is a time where we feel like stalling, slow, trapped... The process is not immediate, it takes time, effort, energy.
Hatching from a cocoon is a hard and very delicate time until we can unfold our wings and get ready to fly...
If not... ask this little fellow! :)

We can change for the better and that is not betraying ourselves...! We decide who we are, we decide who we will be.

And maybe there comes a time where we need to transform into something better, or more correctly something different to fulfill a purpose... and that doesn't mean we are betraying ourselves or our work... we evolve, we grow, we transform and on our journey and sometimes we become something different than what we were when we started... still being OURSELVES. And the same with our goals and dreams... they shift too along with us.

We must acknowledge our mistakes and learn from them, but we must do it without self-punishing ourselves for having committed them but being proud of have been able to overcome them. Every struggle we have had to undergo has already changed us... They have made us stronger, and more aware.

What lies ahead is always UNCERTAIN, it has to be that way... but still we must fly away

**Mood: Becoming...!

Above: me with our visitor... I even filmed some scenes for a forthcoming music video, for a little while she was our "starlet" and model. I say "she" cos it´s a fairy princess in disguise... Then it vanished into thin air... we kept opening the door the following days so we hope it found its way out. Grateful for the magical moment you provided and the thoughts you evoked :)

Pd: In my head I'll imagine my little friend like this... hope it made it somewhere safe. This other photo is another butterfly enjoying the lovely outdoors on a warm Spring day...

Who is longing and yearning for Spring? and butterflies?

But wait! almost time... all around me is changing and transforming too... all awaiting to grow!