Ægishjálmr, the Helm of Awe

Another runic sigil- Ægishjálmr, the Helm of Awe.  I'm trying to combine the look of the traditional Norse symbols with some of the design cues from later magical traditions.

Vegvísir

The Vegvísir magical stave, for the Viking Mythos project. I was going for something clearly Norse in origin, but slightly twisted in interpretation.  As we all know, evil is spiky so...yeah.  You can download the full sized version by right clicking on the image and opening the link in a new tab.

This is a clean version since I was too lazy to roughen it up in Illustrator.  For some reason the program determines the level of distortion based on the size of an element, which means long lines and large symbols get jagged while smaller details are barely touched.  When I have time I'll go through and give it the appropriate level of distressing.

The staves, or runic sigils, are the most visually striking elements of Norse magical practice.  I plan on working up a small library of re-interpreted versions for use on items and documents.

Cthulhu Fhtagn! Centipede Edition.

Copper Centipede returns to our pages with this pewter finish Cthulhu idol.  The craquelure surface finish is a cool effect.

That Ol' Time Religion

Here's the start of the Viking-age Mythos project.  Conceptually, I'm aiming for a collection of items that a 10th century Norse cultist would have on hand.  The centerpiece is Fox Henderson's excellent Norse Cthulhu idol. Frankly, the pictures don't do it justice. It's a beautiful sculpt and the piece has a really nice heft to it.

The coins are hand-struck reproductions of period examples ranging from Middle Eastern Dirhems to Viking silver pennies. They're based on documented examples recovered from buried Viking hoards.  A black wash will bring out the details of the coin faces.

The amber Elder Sign is the polymer clay test piece I mentioned last week.  It does a good job of replicating the look of the real stuff and I plan on doing a number of small faux-amber items.  The Elder Sign is just a stand-in at this point, since it obviously makes no sense for a cultist to have one. 

The flint and steel are, well, flint and steel.  C-shaped strikers are period, but I'm going to try and track down one with some interesting ornamentation. 

Runestones

LuthienSecrets brings us these well done runestones.  The spiral flourishes are a nice touch.

Cthulhu Fhtagn! Cooper Edition.

Kevin Cooper brings us this towering Cthulhu bust.  The finished piece is 29" tall.

The Beautiful Bones

The Daily Mail has an interesting article about the anatomical models of Giovan Battista Risi.  What makes these pieces particularly interesting is that they aren't really models.  These are sections of real bodies, preserved over two centuries ago with a variety of chemical preparations.

I was struck by how much these specimens resemble modern gaffs, an impression furthered by the use of artificial hair, teeth, and eyes.  If you're curious, the scientific paper based on the radiological examination of the pieces is available over here.

I was also amused by how much this specimen resembles actress Summer Glau.  The pose is almost identical to one from a pivotal scene in the "Samson and Delilah" episode of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles".