· 

Little Darling Naming Ceremony

 

 

(Warning! A lot of talk before the ceremony begins... Context!)

 

Our newest Little Darling is receiving her own Dolltown name.

 

Now, what's the fuss today?

This has happened about a hundred times here in Dolltown!

Every time newbies have shown up they are named. Even some of our Originals, and our Vintage, received special Dolltown names...

 

This pretty April Norton painted Little Darling has even been in lots of stories already...but with different names! She's been here for a year! 

 

We've been waffling, as you'll see in this April post...

Her given name was Marlee. But we couldn't have another "M" name. We already have a Little Darling with first letter m...Maggie! And since that is a kind of rule around here, we had to come up with a name that had its own initial sound. Like "D"! We have no LD "D's"!

So we called her Dove, then Desiree, with a wig change. How about Doris Dark and Doris Day for more wig changes! Hmmm. It didn't stick.

 

We called her Em a lot, because that's what she said her name was when she came.

"Em? we asked. 

"Yes, Em for Magic."

Okay, that was a little confusing. But the magic thing stuck. You should be around her a little. (We have one story, around Spring time.... Whether it's trick magic or, you know, Magic, we don't know.)  We've been curious and curiouser, as they say, as the year has gone by.

When she's around there is talk of angels, mermaids, garden fairies, butterfly wings...

And she keeps coming back to this flowy silver hair she came with, despite how cute she is in the other wigs/personas.

 

But recently we thought enough is enough!

The choice for her name must be made! This transforming from one name to another can't go on.

I've got to sort out this niggling feeling like we are missing something...

I'm good at this. Experienced. And I love curling up on a weekend, with a coffee, cruising name sites. Like 20,000 Names. And Nameberry.  I scroll through lists, holding in my attention the doll I am naming: its look, its character, its voice in my ear...

 

Two days. Nothing. (And its the third or fourth time! For Em!) I mean, there's nice names, but there was a mood I was looking for. A meaning. A word. A soft sound... 

Then I woke with "Whisper" in my mind. And then seconds later, "Gossamer". And that was it.

I had skipped the G's. She didn't seem like a hard "G" girl. She is soft, light, ephemeral in her being, to me.

And "Gossamer" is the name of the garden sprite (a lime whisp) that appears over my shoulder when I am in my garden. The name came to me several years ago, when I was told by a True Witch that the tiny sprite was there. If she hadn't told me I might have just thought it was that buzzing you get in your ear. But now I can see it. (You know, in my imagination.)

 

As a phonetician, I had allowed the sound of a letter to block the essence of a word.

Gossamer is super fine, delicate. Like Em feels. So...Gossamer is her name.

I won't go back and change the stories. But Gossamer she has always been and always will be.

 

Okay, now THAT sounds like a naming ceremony is in order, right? A celebration for finally coming to a decision. A meaningful decision!

And for Dolltown, if we are talking ceremony, that means the Iples have to be involved, so the invitation went out, and Aira was free. She gathered the necessary items for the ceremony, as you'll see.

(No candles. It's summer! And daytime!)

 

Okay, let's get this party started! 

You won't see the rest of the Girls or other Dolltowners who attended.

Just Aira, Gossamer herself, and her bff Indira, who becomes a part of the ceremony. Yes!

 


We are ready in The Garden!

 Aira is overseeing this special day. She has the gemstones and shells to mark the event.

Our new chair is perfect for the occasion!

 

I took the two girls to change for the ceremony. Tomi Jane dresses!

And on the way...a Stellar's Jay hopped right down beside our setting.

(Are Gossamer and the jay...talking to each other? Did she invite him?)



Aira, one of our three Junior Iplehouse girls, gathers just the right elements for these two girls.

(Are those the pink flowerberries Rosa planted in her little garden?)

And Aira has something special in her hand for Gossamer...



What has Aira laid out? Rose quartz heart for love.

Crystal for clarity (at all ceremonies!)

And Aira has chosen the warm pink flowerberries and rhodonite gem sphere for Indira.

And for Gossamer, the mother of pearl shell and a little amethyst sphere.

(The girls call the gem spheres scattered around Dolltown, "rock balls".)

 

Here's Indira, dressed in Tomi Jane pink, ready. For what, she's not sure, but it all looks nice!



In our afternoon dappled shade, Indira receives her pretty gem and flowers.

And Aira puts her gentle hand on Indira's head as she says her name.

A blessing? Or is she just smoothing her hair? Or petting her like a cat?

 

And here's...Gossamer, in my favorite Tomi Jane dress.

(Oh come on, you say that for all of them!)

Aqua, like Gossamer's eyes.



If you look closely, you'll see a gold and silver chain in Aira's hand, and on it an amethyst pendant.

Hey! that belonged to my mother!

She would be a grand dame for Dolltown, if she was still with us. 

(An eye for fashion and definitely magic.)

Okay, I'll go for that... Good move, Aira!

 

Aira puts the chain around Gossamer's neck.

And mutters a few words as she says her new name, her Forever name.



Then Gossamer is given her gem sphere and shell.

The girls sit to pay with their treasures.



The amethyst sphere matches the pendant.

Gossamer says, "A fortune telling ball!"

Hmmm, have you had one before, we ask?

"Not one of my own!" she says.

 

"And mother of pearl is like a mother's love.", she says.

Oookay now. We may have tapped a whole new dimension of action in Dolltown.

(The Iples keep their magic pretty close to their chests, so to speak. As do all the Others...)

 

When I think about it, Dolltown itself is magical.

I mean, there's a crossing of dimensions when the dolls arrive. We just don't think about it much.

It's all so natural... In the doll world.



Why are the girls looking at me. Are they reading my mind? About Magic? Dimensions?

Oh, no, it's okay.

I was talking out loud...

 

Nice toys, girls! 



On the left...

That's a wrap, Aira.

Thank you.

I'll leave a little gratitude herb for your work here.

And yes! Can we do it again?

Looks like there's a line forming. Dolltowners who want their own rock balls now...

 

 

On the right...

"Gossamer" is something super fine and delicate - like a spider web or the material of a wedding veil. The original gossamer, from which the meanings come from, is the fine, filmy substance

spiders excrete to weave their webs.

A dress can be gossamer-like, if its fabric is so sheer as to be see-through, or almost."

 

So, as our ceremony ended, I headed over to water my pink climbing rose, and found some gossamer catching rose leaves between the branches.

(Real gossamer is not easy to see, of course, being so fine and delicate!)

 

I'm outta there, not so fond of spiders.

 

Write a comment

Comments: 2
  • #1

    April (Wednesday, 04 September 2019 14:55)

    Oh this is so sweet. And how original to organize a naming ceremony! (Though something tells me, others will want the same and you'll be throwing them on a regular basis!) Gossamer is such an unusual name. I guess she had a difficult time pronouncing the name which is why she didn't reveal it earlier to you. Or maybe it was a game to see how long it would take for you to figure out her secret!!! What's nice in all of this is how your girls are taking advantage of the last wonderful days of summer!

  • #2

    Jano (Friday, 06 September 2019 00:54)

    Hey April!
    Yes, the other girls are hunting through the rock balls for favourites!
    It was a funny process. � And you’d understand because of your way of doll name choosing.
    Hey beach photo shoot coming! The girls have new bathing suits and Birdy and Rosa gets to wear them!