Page 243 - The Grotesque Children's Book

ceiling in that bay, on which is a painting of a book. It's our version of the octagonal
room.

blue-red-green. Trad., A sect of Italian priests use the Baure language to speak in code with
each other, and a small group of painters have taken to speaking it amongst themselves;
Baure is a lively and very colorful language spoken in Bolivia related to the Arawakan
people. Megl., Well, it’s meant to obfuscate, isn’t it? We’re not going to just hand you
the codex, are we?

butterflies. Trad., Transformation; metamorphosis. Megl., This is the only acknowledgement
in this entire work to the debt owed to Saint Vivian’s dark bloom of pale fire.

Calabrese broccoli. Not a symbol. We just really like Calabrese broccoli.

caryatids. Trad., A human figure used as a column to support an entablature. Megl., I feel like
I oughtn't have to explicate this symbol, it seems so obvious to me: without the
compliance of the uninformed, the houses of organized religion will collapse. But until
that day, their palaces of gold are built metaphorically upon their backs.

chaperon, contoise. Trad., Scarf; wrapping; security. The chaperon is a scarf connected to the
hat; head covering; often associated with merchants and tradesmen. The contoise is a
scarf was attached to a helmet, associated with military gear. Megl., See scarf.

church. Trad., Sanctuary; place of worship. Megl., perpetual danger; place of bread and
circuses for the mind.

colors of alchemy. Trad., The four colors associated with alchemical process. Black is
associated with heating; putrefaction; death; ascension (as the vapor rises in the crucible).
White with coagulation; solidifying; coalescing of essence. Yellow with distilling;
extracting the essence; separating wheat from chaff; good from bad; useful from useless;
segregation; separation. Red with reduction; burning to ashes; complete combustion; that
which survives the fire is indestructible. Megl., Don’t be gullible. Painters have about
six tinctures to work with, and they won’t mix together. And do you know how
expensive blue and green are!? Not to mention poisonous. Not everything is a symbol,
you know.

crutches. Trad., Assistance to the injured or disabled; comfort; sustenance. Megl., Transition
between the limbless and the limbful, in either direction.

dead white church garden. Trad., Winter; hibernation; anticipatory birth. Megl., Death.

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