Thursday, April 29, 2010

TLtS:Spring 2010

I walked to work today across the muskegs, in shirtsleeves! Okay, I was wearing a hat and vest, but even then I got hot. (Of course, my raincoat was rolled up inside my pack.) The weather was perfect, a warm wind, high clouds and no bugs yet! While loudly reciting my morning prayers I turned from my path to find the passes on the way out of town lit by massive shafts of sunlight and a small flock of white birds in the distance flying through the pass. A friend suggested that the flock of white birds and rays of sunshine was your Father's beaming pride and acknowledgement that he was happy to hear from you.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

TLtS: A Red Headed Man Herding Cats

I don't know what this means. I didn't imagine it. I was coming around a corner downtown and slowed to miss a red headed guy headed to the harbor to jig for herring. (Herring is a little fish we use for bait. You can tell when someone is going jigging because they have a bucket and a fishing pole with a jigging lure on it.) He had a dog with him. "Oh, he has two dogs." No, it was a cat, they were both cats. Now, as I almost run into a parked car, I realize he has three cats. He is ushering them to the curb to make room for me. Really, I didn't dream this. Any ideas what it means?

Friday, April 16, 2010

TLtS: Evil-Stepmother

I'm reading "Origin of the Gods" by Richard S. Caldwell. I is a psycho-analysis of the stories in the Theogony. I found of particular interest the chapter on "Decomposition".

"The fairy tale helps resolve this conflict by attaching and the bad (hated) aspects to another. The good mother oftens appears as a fairy godmother, the bad mother as a wicked witch or evil stepmother and the final victory of the former over the latter was the childs way to exorcise his feelings with the assurance that the godd mother is the real mother."
So, what this explain is the mysterious disappearance of real mother in fairy tale history. Every child upset with their mother thinks, "Obviously, my real mother would treat me better, so I must be adopted and this witch must be my evil stepmother!" Hence, the premature death of the beautiful kind mother and replacement by a wicked witch (and hopefully a fairy god-mother). I'm reminded of Prince Humperdink in "The Princess Bride" referring to his stepmother as "E.S." even though she was the sweetest thing on two feet. But, in every story Humperdink had ever heard the stepmother was evil.
The perspective's of Caldwell and Humperdink might explain the behavior of many stepmothers in Greek mythology. They have no choice, they have to be evil. Which explains Ino's over the top efforts to arrange the death of Helle and Phrixus. (I need to do more research here. )
* Note; this doesn't apply foster mothers who appear to be more like the fairy godmother.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

TLtS: A Difference

It was a gorgeous day. We went for a walk with the dogs in the sunshine. I've always said that my black labrador Derby can have more adventure in a morning walk than I can have all week. Crossing Hammer Slough, she stopped to look at some. The tide was high, the water still. Against the glare I couldn't make out anything, until I saw the ripples; little ripples headed out in big arcs. My eye followed them back to two mallards on the edge of the water. They barely moved, just fiddled about doing duck stuff. But, their ripples were now headed seaward.

We crossed Nordic and headed up Haugen. It had been awhile, since I walked along that street. I use to do it all the time on my way to work at the OMNI building. We stopped behind Bunge's house I commented that once upon a time the trees in the muskeg were so small you could see Sam and Linda's house from the street. Now you couldn't. As he continued on along the loop I was struck by the patch of alders growing in the muskeg behind the Marsh's where no alder should be growing. Then I recalled a winter long along when there was so much snow, the city boy's started shotting it out into the muskeg there. Plowed snow has sand it in. Apparently, that one snow dump years ago improved the site enough for the alders to grow. What a difference on act can make.

Once again proof that one little individual, one little act can make a far ranging affect. One person can make a difference.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

TLtS: Lotterhand

I am reading “Thursday Night Tarot” by Jason Lotterhand. The conversation has a lot more to do with it than some pretty playing cards.

He emphasises over and over again, that God gives us certain specialized skills and blessings unique to each of us. Then He calls us to use those blessing for the betterment of us all. How do you know what you are called to do? Follow your bliss. Do what you do best and be the best at it. Don’t let anyone stop you or tell you that instead of “that” you should be doing “this”.

Another interesting observation he has is that no one is born “bad”. Children with ADD aren’t bad nor handicapped they just don’t fit into our society’s concept of education which is sit still in a class room with your mouth shut. Being naturally, “loud and obnoxious” is not contrary to God’s intent, it’s just contrary to society’s belief that a professional office is quiet as a tomb and sterile as a labratory. Mr. Lotterhand was a very wise man.

Bill

TLtS: Star


While studying "The Star" in the Tarot last night, the attached image of "Psyche at Nature's Mirror" came to mind, by 19th century painting by German artist Frederick Paul Thumann (1834-1908).
The painting was exhibited at The World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 (Chicago World's Fair).
The word psyche in Greek means both butterfly and soul. In Greek Mythology, Psyche was a maiden of rare beauty who was envied by Venus and loved by Eros (Cupid). She personified the soul and was made immortal by Zeus.
It strikes me that she is not looking at her own image, she'd have to lean out further. Rather she is looking into the abyss, which much higher up on the Tree of Life than most folks accept. To stare into the Deep is to study the human condition. She is grace, looking out for us.
The goddess Persephone and her companion nymphs were gathering rose, crocus, violet, dwarf isris (agallis), lily and larkspur blooms in a springtime meadow when she was abducted by her huncle, the god Hades. The sweet iris was named by the Greeks for the goddess of the rainbow. Among the duties of the goddess Iris was that of leading the souls of dead women to the Elysian Fields. Hence the Greeks planted purple Iris on the graves of women.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

TLtS: A Garden

I am reading an excellent book; " Thursday Night Tarot" by Jason C.Lotterhead. Mr. Lotterhead argues that " You erect The Tower in your head when you think of yourself as isolated from everybody and everything that's going on." He further states that the words we think about our selves are the blocks that build the The Tower. How odd to think that Buttercups secret garden (See TLtS: A Garden) with its high walls is own doing and that she'll eventually build a tower around herself and be trapped like Rapunzel!