Pinktober 2024: Week 4
Aurora
Whew, Pinktober 2024 is just full steam ahead… A month of daily drawing challenges and it had to be the longest month of the year, or it seems like it anyway! This is why I prefer “dry February” to “sober October,” but I digress…
When I made my list of goddesses for Pinktober 2024, I didn’t really give a lot of thought to what order they came in, but I usually think about it a lot when I’m planning my goddess calendars. I always make sure every part of the world has representation. Of course it would be easy to fill up an entire year with the Greek pantheon, it would also be boring and kinda racist (lol).
There are absolutely fascinating myths and legends from every culture on earth, but some are harder to research than others due to language barriers, written versus oral tradition and maybe even taboos against depicting gods in human form.
Of course, I’m barely skimming the surface of these ancient belief systems, picking and choosing what sound like interesting goddesses, monsters or mythical creatures from various world mythologies and drawing them in pinup girl poses.
It’s not meant to be spiritually or culturally accurate, but an homage and a reimagining with an irreverent twist. I mean, the fact that I call them “badass goddesses” gives you a hint about the level of frivolity right upfront, no?
That being said, the first goddess this week has a dark and stormy origin story… with a #MeToo twist.
Day 19. Sedna, Inuit goddess of the sea
Sedna was the beautiful daughter of a fisherman who rejected all suitors until a deceitful god tricked her into marriage and stole her away to be his bride. Her father sailed after them, but the god caused a great storm, which threatened to sink his boat.
Terrified, Sedna’s father threw her overboard and cut off her fingers to keep her from climbing back aboard. She sank to the bottom and her fingers transformed into the creatures of the sea. She now rules the oceans as the vengeful protector of its inhabitants. All who depend on the sea for sustenance revere and fear Sedna.
Day 20. Aurora, goddess of the dawn
Aurora was the Roman goddess of the dawn, analogous to the Greek goddess Eos. The day I drew her was the rainiest day in recent memory, part of a weather front they were calling an “atmospheric river,” kind of the rain version of Snowpocalypse/ Snowmageddon. It caused all kinds of catastrophic damage, from washed out roads to downed power lines and even a few fatalities.
Aurora was also the name of Sleeping Beauty, which was the first Disney princess movie I ever saw. I obviously loved it. My parents even bought me the soundtrack, which they probably came to regret very quickly because I listened to that thing every goddamn day and sang along to it at the top of my lungs. (Sorry, Dad!)
Day 21. Demeter, goddess of the harvest
Demeter was a very important goddess in Greek mythology, as she held dominion over all the crops that sustained human life. She was also the mother of Persephone, who was famously abducted by Hades, the god of the underworld.
Enraged, Demeter cast the world into darkness and all the crops failed. The other gods intervened and brokered a deal for Persephone’s return. But the young goddess had eaten six pomegranate seeds while in the underworld, so she was bound to Hades. She ended up splitting her time between the underworld and her mother’s realm, half the year above and half below, which results in the seasonal cycle of growth, decay and renewal.
On a related note, I’ve found myself reading some fiction lately, which is not my usual jam. I mostly read nonfiction, history, science, sociology, even some true crime, and occasionally some science fiction, so I’m not sure how I stumbled across A Touch of Darkness.
Maybe it came up in the related links after some mythology book I’d been listening to, but anyway, it’s a “modern retelling” of the myth of Persephone and Hades, set in “New Athens” where the gods are billionaire club owners, rock stars and retail mavens. It’s kind of like American Gods meets Lucifer meets…
Okay, fuck it, it’s a trashy romance novel (aka “lady porn”). Seriously trashy, seriously pornographic, with a light dusting of mythology sprinkled between the sex scenes. I used to read stuff like this all the time when I was an impressionable tween (yeah, yeah… it was a different time!) but reading it as a grown-ass woman is super embarrassing. I’m on book three of the series now. (This is a confession, not an endorsement.)
Day 22. Naga
The Nagas are a group of half-human, half-serpent deities in Buddhist and Hindu mythology. They appear in the legends and literature of numerous cultures across Southeast Asia, including India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia and parts of China. They usually dwell in rivers, lakes, underground caverns and waterways.
Despite their close association with venomous snakes and dragons, they’re usually portrayed as benevolent to humans, providing protection or possessing the power to heal.
Day 23. Oya
Oya is an Orisha in the Yoruba religion, as well as the Santeria and Vodou traditions. She rules over lightning, wind and violent thunderstorms. She was the patron goddess of the Niger River.
As a former Marvel comics nerd growing up in the 80s and 90s, one of my favorite characters was Ororo Munroe, aka Storm, a mutant who could control the weather. She grew up on the streets of Cairo after her American parents were killed in an accident. When her powers manifested in her teenage years, she briefly lived in Kenya where she was worshiped as an elemental goddess before Professor X recruited her into the X-Men.
It still annoys me that the X-Men movies never got her character right. Halle Berry just didn’t cut it for me, probably because I had been harboring fantasies about Angela Bassett playing Storm ever since the late 80s and who could hope to match up to that?
Day 24. Pixie
Pixies are basically goth fairies. Whereas fairies, as the name suggests, are usually depicted as sweetness and light, pixies are mischievous creatures. Tinker Bell is probably the most famous pixie in popular culture, although the character started out as a regular fairy in the book version.
But Disney gonna Disney, and she got a glamour girl makeover for the 1953 Peter Pan movie. Now she’s remembered for her mischievous charm, hourglass figure, signature hairdo (more of a bun with bangs than a pixie cut) and that iconic trail of pixie dust.
Second-most famous pixies would be the Pixies, iconic 90s alternative band from Boston. Despite the well-documented feud between frontman Black Francis and guitarist Kim Deal, the band has been touring and releasing new albums with on-again off-again truces between the two since the 80s. Kim finally called it quits in 2013, but luckily I got to see them in their full glory in 2011 when they played at the historic Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver.
Day 25. Rhiannon
Rhiannon is a prominent figure in Celtic mythology and Welsh folklore, associated with the Gaulish horse goddess Epona. Rhiannon was also a song written by Stevie Nicks in 1975 and performed by Fleetwood Mac, and it’s been stuck in my head ever since I started this drawing. It’s a good song, highly recommended.
And that’s a wrap for the 4th week of Pinktober 2024. I’ve been fighting a cold all week, so it was extra challenging sitting down to draw some days, but I pushed through it and here we are. One week left to go! Check out the previous weeks here and follow along every day on Instagram:
Pinktober 2024: Week 1
Pinktober 2024: Week 2
Pinktober 2024: Week 3
