Wheel of Time Freemasonry References Article Updated

By Linda

Robert Jordan was a Freemason and The Wheel of Time reflects that, containing Freemasonry symbols and references. I wrote an article detailing these some years ago, and have updated it for A Memory Of Light.

New material is marked in bold.

Wheel of Time Parallels with Lord of the Rings Updated

By Linda

This last weekend, it was announced that The Wheel of Time series (14 books) has been nominated for a Hugo Award for best novel. (Here is the list of nominees.)

A complex series with many themes (listed here), one of them being the premise that real world history forms part of Wheel of Time myth and legend, and that Wheel of Time history is the origin of our own stories. Over the years I've written about the extensive parallels to Norse Mythology, Judeo-Christian religion, Hindu mythology and Chinese/Mongolian history - to name a few - in the series. As part of this there are various nods to Jordan's favoured books, including The Travels of Marco Polo, Dune, The Three Musketeers, the Narnia books, and The Lord of the Rings. The article on The Wheel of Time's parallels with The Lord of the Rings has now been updated for A Memory of Light. I'm currently working on the Narnia parallels.

New material is marked in bold.

Wheel of Time Costume Part 2 - Mayene to Whitecloaks and Miscellaneous - Updated

By Linda

It's been nearly 3 weeks because I've been busy updating Costume in the Wheel of Time Part 2 and working lots of overtime. I had hoped to finish both parts for JordanCon but researching new fashions takes quite while, and then at least as long again finding the right illustrations. There is a lot of new material in the second half of the costume article, notably on the Seanchan and Shara.

Costume in the Wheel of Time Part 1 can be found here and the article on underwear, etc here. Next article to be updated will be on Wheel of Time and Lord of the Rings Parallels.

New material is marked in bold.

Wheel of Time Costume Part 1 - Aes Sedai to Malkier - Updated

By Linda

The Costume in the Wheel of Time Part 1 article was updated this week in time for those putting the finishing touches to their costumes for JordanCon. I've added information on slashing and riding dresses (and combining the two) with some new illustrations, and some commentary on the Altaran marriage knife and Aiel clothing.

Last week I updated the Private Lives of the 17th and 18th Centuries article, and I hope in the next week or two (depending on my paid workload) to update part 2 of the Costume article.

New material is marked in bold.

Private Lives of the 17th and 18th Centuries article

By Linda

The first of three articles on clothing and the Wheel of Time peoples was updated today: the Private Lives of the 17th and 18th Centuries article which described intimate wear and personal hygiene, health and grooming of comparable real world times. Underwear plays an important part in how clothing sits on the body, so the update is timely for JordanCon. (I've been incredibly busy at work but I've managed to complete this update; plus the updates to the first of the Fashions articles are also well advanced).

New material is marked in bold.

Perrin and Faile Updated

By Linda

The Perrin essay has extensively updated with examples and discussion from A Memory of Light. There is at least one new parallel for Perrin. He is every bit as complex as Mat, and the essays of both characters are now about the same length, as it happens. Three women now feature in his story arc and they have essays of their own. Lanfear's was updated some time ago. but I also have now updated the Faile and Berelain essay. Quite a lot of material was added to it, especially regarding the Horn and the hospital. The two women share a new parallel.

There is now only one Character essay left to be updated: the largest and most complex of all - Rand.

However, I plan to work on the Fashions article next, since the Con season has commenced.

New material is marked in bold.

Two More Articles Updated and Some News

By Linda

First up, the Who Is Not A Darkfriend? article was updated with the names of the many additional people who showed their finest in A Memory of Light. In some ways it is a roll call of the fallen, but then it is also one of those who triumphed.

And I added some more to the Writings For Armchair Travellers article after noticing something Jain Farstrider said in Towers of Midnight.

New material is marked in bold.

I've got about seven articles still to update, some of them fairly important. It's been slow going on the blog because I was trying to find work for four months, and then since I happily obtained a new position a few weeks ago, I've been working long hours concentrating on my new responsibilities.

Two Articles Updated

By Linda

The large Animal Symbolism essay was updated this week with quite a bit of new material.

The Ogier play a more prominent role in A Memory of Light, and I've updated the Ogier essay.

New material is marked in bold.

Lanfear Parallels Essay Updated

By Linda

My Lanfear essay has been updated for A Memory of Light with much new material. Lanfear was a masterpiece of character development.

This was the last update on the parallels of the Forsaken series.

Here is the full list of my Forsaken essays:

• Asmodean


• Balthamel


• Demandred


• Graendal


• Lanfear


• Mesaana


• Sammael


• Semirhage


• Three Strands Common to the Forsaken

New material is marked in bold.

Graendal Parallels Essay Updated

By Linda

The Graendal essay has been updated for A Memory of Light with quite a bit of new material.

New material is marked in bold.

Further Character Parallel Updates

By Linda

I have updated a few more of the Characters Parallel articles this week.

The Lews Therin essay has quite a bit of new material.

While updating the Mat essay last week, I found a new parallel for the Semirhage essay.

Lastly, I've added more links to the Mesaana essay.

New material is marked in bold.

Happy New Year With Four Articles Updated

By Linda

Four articles were updated this week. Three feature Mat Cauthon:

The Fool and the Joker in The Wheel of Time

Redressing the Balance and the Boundaries; Wheel of Time Tricksters

and the very large

Mat essay of the Main Character Parallels series.

The fourth updated article is Character Ages.


New material is marked in bold.

I wish all readers a very happy and prosperous 2014!

Min Outfit 1

By Linda

Back in June, I blogged about the quarter scale costumes I made of Nynaeve's and Egwene's outfits that they wore when the girls went to Toman Head with Liandrin. Now it's time to look at Min:

Min had kept her breeches and baggy man's shirt under a boy's brown cloak and coat, with an old, wide-brimmed hat pulled down over her short hair. "One of us has to be the servant," she had said, laughing. "Women dressed the way you are always have at least one. You'll wish you had my breeches if we have to run." She was burdened with four sets of saddlebags bulging with warm clothes,for it would surely be winter before they returned.

The Great Hunt, Flight From the White Tower

Compared to the other girls, Min's outfit is quite a contrast. For one thing, it is a boy's outfit, at a time when clothing was markedly different between genders. Clothing also varied strongly according to social status. Min's clothing reflects her true social status, as a stable hand from a small remote town, but not her gender. Nynaeve's and Egwene's clothing reflects the status they will gain, but is currently above their station.


First up is Min's shift and shirt, which are made of linen, and her grey wool stockings. The fabric is thick rathern than fine or luxurious. The fit of Min's shirt is deliberately loose, as described in the text, and is laced closed.

Next, her wool breeches and brown leather boots. Min's breeches are closed with a drawstring. They are held up with a brown leather belt, which also holds her belt knife and pouch. She has another knife strapped to her forearm.

Over these she wears a brown wool coat with deep pockets and plain metal buttons. The coat is lined with green linen. On her head is a floppy brown hat.

Each girl had a hooded wool cloak for cold or wet weather. Min's was plain brown.

It was her task to carry the four saddlebags since she was masquerading as a servant. I made one to scale and filled it with clothing, as can be seen in the photo below. It is quite bulky; I think that Min would have struggled to carry four fully filled saddlebags.

Min's clothes are plain and strictly utilitarian; they have no decoration. On the other hand, they are reasonable quality and not the poorest sort.

Five Articles Updated

By Linda

Five articles were updated this week. Four are about the nations:

The Mainland Rulers

The Noble Houses of Andor

The Noble Houses of Cairhien

The Nobles of Tear

and the fifth is about A Memory of Light Inns.


New material is marked in bold. Other articles in the Nations series are:

The Age of Legends and

The Military Forces of the Westlands.

The complete series of articles on the Wheel of Time Inns are here.

Military Forces in the Westlands Article Updated

By Linda

Over the past couple of weeks I have completely rewritten The Military Forces in the Westlands article to include battles in A Memory of Light as well as discussion of the armies prior to that engagement. It includes a discussion of the Shadow as well as the Light.

Character Names Parallels Series Updated

By Linda

Over the last week or so I've updated the Character Names and their parallels series with information from A Memory of Light.

Each letter below has a link to the article of character first names with that initial letter.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U to Z

I have previously updated articles on the Names associated with the Shadow and Character Names Derived from Readers' Names, so all the articles about the names of characters have now been updated.

New material is in bold.

Two Articles Updated

By Linda

Two articles were updated this week with info from A Memory of Light and book signings.

Names of the Shadow had a heap of new information added, which is one reason why it has been a while since I posted an update.

The Tao of the Pattern article, which looks at taoism in The Wheel of Time was extensively reworked.

This week I also discovered that the mindtrap was derived from African voodoo.
New material is marked in bold.

Mat, Fireworks and Bellfounders Article Updated

By Linda

This week the Mat, Fireworks and Bellfounders article was updated with info from A Memory of Light and book signings. There is a lot of new material (marked in bold) since gunpowder weapons played an important part in the Last Battle.

Real Life in the form of searching for paid employment continues to slow me down.

Two Articles Updated

By Linda

Two articles were updated this week with info from A Memory of Light and book signings. One looks to the previous Age and the other towards the Fourth Age: very much on Rand's past and his legacy.

In the last book Rand reassesses the causes of conflict in The Age of Legends.

The new information in Inventions From Rand's Academies is about the steamwagons and Herid Fel's legacy.

The article I'm working on currently, Mat, Fireworks and Bellfounders, is undergoing an extensive rework, and Real Life is also slowing me down.

New material is marked in bold.

Four Articles Updated, Including Tuon's Parallels

By Linda

Four articles were updated this week. Three are articles on the Aes Sedai:

The Aes Sedai History: New Era article has a lot of new material discussing the actions of Egwene and the Aes Sedai as a whole in the Last Battle. (The Aes Sedai History from the Breaking to the Hundred Years War did not need updating.)

Aes Sedai Laws and Customs: Administration and Aes Sedai Laws and Customs: Society were also updated. This completes the updates for the Aes Sedai series of articles.

The fourth article updated is the essay on Tuon's parallels. A Memory of Light provided quite a few expansions of her themes and motivations.

As usual, new material is marked in bold.