Finding A Name

I am having a hard time choosing a name to use. I want to use something which relates to my real last name's derivative, which broken down is Willow Ford. I am particularly fond of wisteria, mermaids and water, and for some reason raven keeps coming to mind, though in person the crow is really the bird I admire (I've never really been around ravens enough to know if I'd feel the same; only read about them). I am particularly fond of cats, but don't care to have anything feline related to my name.

Some notes:
‘Willow’ originates from the Anglo-Saxon ‘welig’ meaning pliancy.

In legend, the willow was regarded as the tree of enchantment. As the moon affected the tides, so the waterside willow became associated with the moon and its worship. It was used to bind the birch twigs to the ash stake on a witch’s broom and its medicinal properties and religious associations led to the name, ‘witch’s tree’. Paradoxically it was brought into the home to guard against evil. The Druids cut magical wands from goat willow to use as protective charms.

‘Burn not the willow, a tree sacred to poets’ The Song of the Forest Trees.
Supposedly Orpheus received his poetic gifts because he carried willow branches through the Underworld.

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Edit, July 6th. I think I will just stick with my online "handle" of Mermaiden. I have felt drawn to that name for enough reasons for this long, that there's no reason it should not stick now. I really don't need any reason to keep my religious preferences seperated from my regular online life. Offline might be a different story: I live in a place where people are very closed minded, lol. :X

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[Jun. 20th, 2006|06:07 pm]

Why Mermaiden?

I envision, much like my namesake (RL not online), a stream or a ford beneath an embedment of willow trees. My favorite colors, those of the ocean, and vibrant green leaves against a blue sky, surround the area. It is misty, and overcast, perhaps after a recent rain when the rich scents of the earth fill the air and the mild temperate climate caresses the skin. It is late spring; the wind is warm, but underneath the cool shade of the trees the wisteria is still in full bloom. A maiden by day, living beside the stream and the rocks, admiring the beauty of the surroundings, and a mermaid by night... legs dangling in the water, becoming one with it.

The ocean itself holds just as much beauty and wonder, yet is more violent at times. The stream is delicate and gentle, and subtly forceful within. The current is ever-changing, yet always there and the same.

I've never really thought about all of these things in one place at one time until I began to search why my mind produced the name Mermaiden for myself several years ago. It's like other thoughts that are in my mind, as well. They all came to surface in my conscious mind when I wanted them to. I wasn't ready to know before, but I understood and knew the time would come.