Ebisu continued

So I pointed Nathan in this direction tonight and we got chatting about archetypes which led to some kind of a visionary episode for him to share with me. Sometimes it happens, only usually it's the other way around, me giving info to someone else. It was nice to have them speak to me through someone else. The convo is below.

Nathan: there are things here I do not follow
I pride myself on being able to follow most theology talk
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
In my blog, things you don't follow?
Nathan says:
si
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
Ok, what don't you get?
Nathan says:
how did you find him? How is he relevant to you?
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
Oh, I found him through a lj post that I follow, Men in Full. He was featured there because he's a full sized guy and for me, a light went off in my head.
Nathan says:
please explane this archtype buisness
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
He's relevant because he's the other half of the Warrior. In a small way I didn't even realize was missing, it's now complete.
The Warrior is an Archetype, the the Virgin/Maiden, Mother and Crone.
An archetype is a figure that exists in many myths/cultures/religions
Nathan says:
I know the deffinition, just how it applies here....like I'm familiar with the wiccan trifecta, but how does warrior fit?
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
The Warrior exists outside of the trifecta and it's not Wiccan. It applies here because while the Warrior archetype is an archetype, it's also very personal to me.
Nathan says:
of course, with your clan
tribe...sorry, stumbling over terminology
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
Yes, and also because I've always held Artemis in high regard. No, clan was right. I don't have a tribe.
Nathan says:
the mightiest of warriors, a spear in one hand, a book in the other
half full of your words, from what you've seen
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
I think you might be thinking of Athena, though she is very kick ass too.
Nathan says:
don't know words just filtered thru me
Had to write them somewhere
figured here is appropriate
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
*nod* Artemis could hunt with a spear or bow. She was another daughter of Zeus and sister to Apollo. Here is definitely appropriate.
Nathan says:
it came with a strong image of you
could be something beyond, could be madness, could be both
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
I prefer a spear sometimes, in D&D.
And you know I love books.
Nathan says:
the book is half full, words you wrote, of what you learned. It';s a work in progress
the other half is what you will learn
I think you're supposed to write it, she-wo-spans-many-cultures
or I'm rambling madly
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
That's important. What you just said? It rang a 'bell' in my head. Keep going.
Nathan says:
the rest is beyond words
It's pure understanding, the part of how I think that makes communication hard
I'll try to translate
You walk the world
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
Alright. I'll be saving this convo.
Nathan says:
here, thru this resource, the net
it's a road/tunnel/pathway
bridge?
(a guide for travel)
by foot seems important for some reason
barefoot anklets with beads and feathers
you see distant lands
thru words
they talk to you
sourses
cultures
voices
words
words are fluid
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
*nodnod*
Nathan says:
same words mean diffrent things
warrior/warrior/warrior
very diffrent
use thier words thru you
make your words
pages/ink/book
write
write a map
globe
global
GAH
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
That's awesome.
Nathan says:
this is hard to do
it's here just not in words
the visual is surreal
there is a globe in a book
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
*nod* I hate that, it can be very very hard to describe.
Nathan says:
not a drawing but a globe in the pages
you are writing it, not drawing it
quill pen
having trouble focusing on the feather
feel like it's important
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
Feathers are a symbol for me, of being on the right track and it ties to my Pagan name
Nathan says:
red bead, blue bead
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
What colour is the quill pen?
Nathan says:
feather is black or grey or dull white
you are in a pine forest
you are wearing hide
deer
a buck
antlers
spear looks like a pool stick
could be me trying to make sense
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
It's interesting your getting a vision of me as both man/woman.
Nathan says:
trying to read the book name
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
Don't do that.
Leave the title alone.
Nathan says:
E.....something
one word
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
It's very very rare we're given actual words.
Nathan says:
words are fluid
...it's lifting
smoke from the fire...pine branches clouding everything up
intended to obscure me
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
*nod* You're not supposed to read the title.
Nathan says:
I've seen enough maybe?
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
Exactly.
You said trying to read the book name and someone said in my ear "don't let him read the book".
Nathan says:
it's done now I think
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
*nod* Can I post this in my blogger to mull it over later?
Nathan says:
si
there's an important note
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
Ok.
Nathan says:
something that it seems critical I must make sure you know
Teach you it's depth?
Words are fluid
so much so they are meaningless
But meaningfull
We...at our core...all think like me, I belive
in ideas, understandings, consepts
formless
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
I hit something the other day; words are just symbols, just ways to make sense of images.
TREE doesnt' look or sound anything like a real tree but it's our word for it.
Nathan says:
words are as pouring water into a bucket
forcing it to take the buckets form
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
*nod*
Nathan says:
than using that to deliver the water
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
We lose something by defining and naming it, by writing it down.
Nathan says:
but, it's the best we've got
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
It is.
Nathan says:
be careful with words
you must try to take all words from the speakers viewpoint
do not mix them with your own
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
That's very very hard.
Nathan says:
it's a trial...the road
the path
global...yes
a long path
I think I get it
you have a chalenge/trial ahead of you
gathering words
putting them together
Curvy-wench is watching Grey's on DVD says:
Writing a book?
Nathan says:
many viewpoints
I think so
gathering the viewpoints, experiences of many.


I then speculated that I should write a book or something about the Warrior archetype across cultures and time, past and present Warriors; who are going to be the Warriors of tomorrow. Retell the myths, give them new light and life, etc etc. Sounds like a gnomish life quest.

Ebisu

Perhaps it's only a hold-over from my previous Pagan leanings with the male/female dichotomy, but was I ever excited this morning to find the male half of my female Artemisian Warrior archetype. His name is Ebisu and he's a fat, deaf and generally jolly Japanese figure who is one of the 7 Lucky Gods and the protector of children's health (among other things). October 20th is his holy day, as the other gods are all away at a gathering but being deaf, he doesn't hear the summons and is therefore available for worship. I think it's nifty, very nifty, that my warrior is female, my nurturer is male. At least my dichotomy isn't filled with traditional gender stereotypes. More later.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebisu_%28mythology%29

Fall Harvest today

To get away from the endless homework this weekend I took a few hours this afternoon at the U and hung out at some workshops and interesting things offered by the Anishnabe Students Association. I got to listen to an elder talk for a while about various teachings and had the chance to ask about Gabe's Eagle feather. A friend gave it to me a couple of years ago to hold on to for him until he gets big enough to take care of it himself.

The Elder told me that the Eagle feather is sacred because when the Creator wants to look in on us, It does so in that form, or sends the Eagle in Its' stead. The Eagle has the widest vision and can look over a lot of creation that way, or zoom in with its' excellent sight. Sometimes we can feel like we're soaring like an Eagle, when we get a little bit of knowledge. Then we are humbled by how little we know, or some circumstance, and become like the Mouse and are small and afraid. Hopefully a teacher will come along, someone to guide us on the true path to widsom, one of our hoofed brothers or sisters, and then we'll live and grow. Eventually we'll get close to the Northern lands, the place of the white Wolf and white Bear, and to prove it we get white in our hair. Mine have already started to show, though I pluck them. I think I'll stop that. The Elder said that each feather comes at the right time and has a special meaning, and that whenever it's used it calls the spirit of the Eagle to come be with us. It doesnt' matter how many feathers you have, only that you honour and take care of each of them. Warriors used to get feathers for shows of bravery or acts in battle, but in a modern context, an Eagle feather could be awarded to someone who's won their battle with drugs and/or alcohol. I think I should have one for kicking the crap out of my post partum depression and abortion issues. ;)

Anyway, so that's what I learned today. I'm now full of sun and food and headachy. Time for bed.

Happy Equinox?

Already? Where has the time gone? I've been so wrapped up in my homework, reading and classes that I barely noticed that the equinox is creeping up. I wonder if the crew back home is planning anything for it. Probably not this weekend; Amanda has a big conference and has started school again. She's been way too busy to think about equinox stuff. Wow. The slide into the dark is happening so quickly; last week I was able to sit out in the sun till after four; today by 3:30 the porch was shaded and I came in. The 22nd at 9:19pm is officially the time for it, so I'll have to set aside a few minutes that night to reflect.

I still need to do a smudge of the apt here and set some cedar above the door. I think there are echoes here of the tenants before me; he's been renting the space out for 15 years, that's a lot of time for energy to accumulate. Anyway, back to homework.

A Warrior's Prayer

Blessed Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt and Innocence,
I pray you take under your silver mantle the hearts and bodies of the little ones
who have no family.
The wee ones with no mother or father, lost to violence or diease
or negligence.
Protect them, oh Eye of the Night! Keep them safe as they cannot for themselves.
Harbour them in the shelter of your sight, the strength of your bow,
the power of your heart. Protect them as a mother bear protects her cubs,
with love and ferocity.
Keep them, O Sacred one, keep them safe and in your soul.
Guide them to peaceful rest where they may forget for a time the horrors they have seen,
the bodies, the blood, the fires and famine, forget their empty bellies and their lonely arms.
Give them what their families cannot, Great One, do what we cannot, or will not.
Fill their bodies with strength to fight or flee as a hare might
Fill their minds with clarity and good thoughts
Fill their hearts with love to block the poison neglect and violence make, so there is no room for aught but love.
Keep them, keep them safe for us, those who cannot help. Only your grace is immense enough to reach so far and so widely.
By your grace are they saved.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-uci-shooting15-2009sep15,0,5698283.story

"A graduate student involved in a custody dispute shot and killed his ex-wife Sunday evening just outside a student and family housing complex, police said Monday.

Brian Benedict, 35, was arrested on suspicion of killing Rebecca Benedict, 30. The couple's 4-year-old son was nearby when the shooting occurred, police said. It was the first homicide in campus history, officials said."

What did he see, that little boy? Will his last memory of his mother forever be of her bathed in blood, gasping on the sidewalk? The smell of gunpowder and the roar of its' release loud in his ears? Will four short years, and gods, they are so short, of good memories be enough to overcome one moment of senseless cataclysm? Time will blunt the sharp and jagged edges of his memory but what he saw, what he witnessed, will stay with him forever. Whenever he wakes in the night wanting his mum, she wont be there.

Meeting the Spirit of a Place

Thunder Bay. The name evokes power, presence, something that cannot be ignored. Thunder Bay. Harsh. Distant. Remote. The land here is well loved and the city leaps out of the wilderness on the shore of Lake Superior like a hare bolting from a blueberry bush. No sugar maples here but a close cousin, the Manitoba Maple, is. Pavement here lays reluctantly over the soil, I can feel it through my shoes, through my socks, into my bare soul. Humanity's hand has a tenuous grip. Jack pine and poplar lean in close, aching to retake the asphalt and concrete. Bears roam the university's land, not the U's land, the bear's land. The bear walks HIS land and wonders when he'll be able to fish in the lake again. A sleeping giant watches over everything, visible from the peak of the terraces down to the shore. First Man, Wayna Boozhoo sleeps in Thunder Bay. In the deep fall the name will make itself known in the crash of viscious waves on the shore as Superior gets ready for a long nap, rolling over and over again. Far to the South East the lake funnels into another, smaller lake and is tamed. Again and again it does so until it reaches the Atlantic through the broad mouth of the St. Lawrence, surrounded by industry and cities and sprawl. Not here not now and hopefully never will that happen. The True North strong and free shows its' face here. May it never be blemished by sprawl or an excess of pavement.