Princess and the Frog: Trickster

Since I did not touch on the trickster elements I saw in The Princess and the Frog, here they are!

The shadow man plays the role of a trickster in the movie for several reasons. First, he has an ambiguous personality in that he is associated with life and death. He constantly refers to his friends on “the other side” and deals a lot with the dead souls. On the other hand, he deals a lot with live souls and manipulates them to get what he wants. This brings us to the next trait of a trickster that he possesses, which is being a deceiver. An example of this is when he convinces the prince that he is going to help him become rich, when in reality, he turns him into a frog and uses his blood for voodoo magic. The voodoo magic he uses can transform someone else into Prince Naveen, which has to do with shape shifting, another trait of the trickster. He himself does not physically transform, but his personality does change when he is trying to get something, and he has the ability to transform others into animals, other people, etc. The shadow man can also transform situation, as he is a situation inverter, the fourth characteristic of the trickster. There is one instance in the story where Tiana is still a frog, but has possession of a very powerful voodoo necklace that the shadow man wants. In order to tempt her, he creates a vision that appears very real to her. In it, she is human again and is standing in her dream restaurant, just as she wanted it to look, chandelier and all. It is full of people waiting to try her delicious food, and she almost gives into the shadow man’s trickery because it seems so real and perfect.

The shadow man is also a messenger/imitator of the gods. These would be his “friends on the other side”. In this movie, he gets their help by promising them all the wayward souls they want, and in exchange, they assist him in finding Prince Naveen. He ends up owing them a debt at the end when his plan fails and the frogs escape.

The final characteristic of the trickster that shines through the shadow man is that he is a sacred bricoleur. He is very innovative in his ways and can do things that most people certainly would not be able to do. He can create situations that are terrible, such turning people into frogs, or he can create wonderful situations, such as Tiana’s dream restaurant.

A Tragedy

Sometimes things happen in our lives where there is no happy ending. I've experienced such a thing myself, but the story of the Peterson family of Hamilton, MT truly broke my heart. Josh Peterson was a 2010 graduate like myself and was a victim of a severe tumor that ultimately lead to his passing. His father, Mike, had twice survived cancer, but lost his 8 year old daughter due to brain cancer in 2005. Also, his wife died suddendly when his son was but 5 years old. What a journey he has had to endure. I can only imagine the questions going through his mind. "Why not me? Why take my son and daughter who have not even lived?" The sad part is, these questions will remain unanswered. We often see children as almost untouchable. They do not die. When one does die at such a young age, what do we do but ask "why"? Unhappy endings are so disturbing to me because things are supposed to work out. The hero is supposed to overcome the battle. The child should live. Perhaps the hero in the story is not Josh, but it is Mike. Everything seems to be against him at this point, but he has made it thus far. What I don't understand though is why he hasn't seen his ultimate boone yet. Shouldn't his son have survived? His battles would have been enduring seeing his son suffer through intense chemotherapy, and then all would be bright again when his son defeated the cancer. Unfortunately this was not the case. My prayers go out to the Peterson family, especially Mike, as they face another setback in their journey of the hero.

Studying For Quiz

Norse Pantheon

Odin*Raven-thoughts and memory
*Wolves
*(one eye)

Frigg
*Odin's wife

Thor (Odin's son)
*hammer- iron gloves
*strength- belt
*goats

Baldr
*Son of Odin
*Wisdom
*Whiteness

Njard
*Sea
*Fire
*North
*Wind

Frey                                   
*brother of Freyja
*rain
*controls sunlight (because he controls rain clouds not the sun)
*peaceful
*fertility

Freyja
*love/beauty
*cats
Tyr
*war
*one hand

Bragi
*poetry

Heimdall
*watchmen/guardian of rainbow
*horn (sound in warning)

Loki
*Evil children (Ferris, Hel, Midgard Serpent)
*Trickster

Characteristics of Trickster

1) Ambiguous Personality- associated with death & life, fertility/impedance, society/nature
2) Deceiver - trick player
3) Shape Shifter - elements, other people, genders, animals
4) Situation Inverter - can flip things around from what isn't to what is
5) Messenger/Imitator of Gods
6) Sacred/Lewd Bricoleur - DIY (do it yourself); can do things other gods
    can't, not constrained by rules, creates things either good or bad

Theophany

gods/goddesses reveal themselves

Omphalas

*naval gazing
*"ommmmmm"- access the desire to return back to the center (womb)Psychopomp

responsible for escorting the dead to the afterlife

Hermes

crazy trickster man, messenger of gods, flying shoes, cool stick thing

Yggdrasil

world tree
Liminal

neither/nor, thresholds

Ragnarok

end of the world, final battle between good/evil

3/28 Trickster

*tricks
*trouble-maker
*conman
*delivering
*joker
*used car salesman

-Loki
-Puck
-Hermes
-Bugs buggy
-Coyote
-Satan/J.C.
-Raven
-Maui
-Charlie Sheen

*Without trickster figures, we would not have a world

Nature of Trickster

*old world- human/god
*Africa- animals (new world)
     *more closely associated us animal world

*liminal space
       -threshold, cross roads, boundary markers, neither/nor

*threshold

Hermes- statue, thing that marks threshold/crossroads

motivation- appetite/desire for things that please the flesh

cultural heroes

Bricolage

1. ambiguous personality
        *life/death, culture/nature, order/chaos, fertility/impotence

2. deceiver
      *trick player

3. shape shifter

4. situation inverter

5. messenger/immitation of gods

6. sacred/lewd bricoleum -DIY
          *do it yourself
         *not bound by rules that constrain others

obscene:
not normal, lude, mud/filth, shit, left-sided

off-scene: can see rules of society

4/1 Notes

Edda

All-father: in Norse mythology they don't name him
         *patriarchal society
         *warriors

wyrd: fate, but more dependable

*personalization embodies nature

Ymir: giant

Yggdrasil

Bifrost

Odin

Sleipnir

Norms

Beserker--
bear sark
bear shirt

Ate shrooms

And went into battle

Midyard

Freya

Nighog

Asgard

3/25 Notes: Trees

axis mundi-sacred space of worship

sacred grows
     *Stonehenge
     *usually in a circle
     *related to lunar cycles

Hera got pisssed that Zeus had born Athena out of head...

Hera+rock=Agistis>>>>>>Attis-raised by goats

agopomorphize

3/21 Notes- Rocks and Lakes

axis mundi- central location

Lake:
    *healing
    *womb (feminine)
    *unconscious

Rocks:
    *King Arthur


sacred SITE
sacred SIGHT

Mountains:
-easy to see a magical quality
-sacred central
-heaven/earth (axis mundi!)

Omphalos (naval)
    *navel gazing
    *we say "ommmm"- desire to return back to center (womb)

Sacred cities
      -Jerusalem
      -Babylon

Vine Deloria- sacred spaces

HUMAN---->>---Gettysberg----->>>-----holy occurence (Jordan River)------>>>------Divine reveals self w/out anything (burning bush)---------->>>------------DIVINE (new revelation, hasn't happened yet)

*Scotland
*Custer

Why do we make places sacred where people all died?
The older it is, the more sacred?

Bethel- house of God
 (el=god)

axis mundi: present, real, constant

theothany- god/gods reveal themselves
         *Jesus appears w/ Elijah
         *transfiguration

Personal spaces vs geographical

Agdistis- kid born from sperm on rock
     *hermaphrodite

Origins of 2 Ageless Myths

I myself own a black cat and was thinking about how awesome he is while trying to come up with something to blog about. Then I wondered why people are so mean to black cats, saying silly things like they will give you bad luck. For this blog, I will explain where myths that have been around forever and where they originated.

Black Cats!!!
Having a black cat is considered to be an omen of doom in many countries, worldwide. Sometimes it is even seen as a demon in disguise trying to cut off your access into Heaven. Why?! Although the exact origination of this myth is unknown, it can be traced back to the intense role of cats in ancient Egypt. This made Christians a bit uneasy. From there, cats, primarily black ones, were associated with "witches". Also, since cats in general are very agile and quiet, this gives cats a devious quality. They have the ability to move without being noticed and sneak up on its prey. The color black has been associated closely with dark forces and evil in general, thus giving the black cat an extra evil label.

Spilling Salt
When you spill salt, you are supposed to throw a little bit of it over your left shoulder immediately in order to prevent the bad luck from settling. Before spilling salt was believed to be bad luck, it was considered bad form. In ancient times, salt was an expensive product, serving many purposes, so it is possible that associating it with bad luck was a way to prevent wasting it. The act of throwing the spilled salt over your left shoulder comes from old Christian beliefs that say that the devil hangs around the left side of you waiting for an opportunity to invade. After spilling salt, it gives the devil a good opportunity, so when you throw the salt over your left shoulder, it would be hitting him square in the face, and will allow you to overcome any oncoming attack from the devil!

http://www.timelessmyths.co.uk/

Journey of Hero + Examples

Departure
1. Call to adventure- pulling sword out and made King (Arthur)
2. Refusal- nuh uh! (Arthur)
3. Supernatural aid- Merlin (Arthur)
4. Cross First Threshold- 3 ceremonies (Arthur)
5. Belly of Whale- death of Arthur's identity

Initiation/Trials
1. Road of trials- labors of Hercules
2. Meeting with a goddess- Psyche meets Venus
3. Women as a Temptation- Dido gets left behind, kills self, temptress gets Anneous
4. Atonement with Father- Anneous meets real father
5. Apotheosis (Climax)- Anneous overcoming guy who tried to stop him from founding Rome
6. Ultimate Boone- wife and kids >>>Roman Empire

Return
1. Refusal- Gilgamesh refuses without knowing more about immortality
2. Magic Flight- Psyche out of underworld
3. Rescue from Without- Cupid finds Psyche
4. Second Threshold- Arthur sleep/death, queens take him to Avalon
5. Master of Two Worlds- marries and through kids
6. Freedom to Live- for the Britains and for arthur who is now immortal

3/4 Notes

Did Arthur even exist?

*medieval tradition
           400-500 A.D.

*Gwenhywfar
*Caledfwleh=excaliber

Welsh- stories differ

1. Call to adventure- being king
2. Refusal- nuh uh!
3. Supernatural aid- merlin
4. Belly of Whale- death of identity
5. Threshold- 3 ceremonies


*water= woman goddess/unconscious

3/2 Notes

Japanese
    -avengence myths

*call to adventure
*sleep                                            >>>>> Threshold
*guardians - Cerberus 

***emotions changing

-call to adventure
-threshold
-interactions w/ gods/goddesses
-climax
-boon
-return


Prophecies

funeral-like = belly of whale

SOUL:
animous=masculine
anima=feminine

Animal Groom Stories:
*girl thinks someone is a beast
*shed light on unconscious
*face to face thith animous

2/25 Notes

Myths Today
* no time off
*fast food
*rags to riches
*freedom
*energetic
*lazy
*selfish

Hercules
*Crossing second threshold
          -pyre (mortal/immortal)
*Becoming a god
*Gets married AGAIN

Acheulus (river deity)

man>snake>bull
*river

man/river=birth, goddess, unconscious
snake=childhood, puberty
bull=grain, Innana>>>>fertility

cuckold: if I have been cuckolded, someone cheated on me

magic flight: ascend

A Hero

We talked awhile back about what a hero is. I have come up with my own things that define "hero" to me, and I will explain how each trait relates to my biggest hero, my dad.

Hopeful
A hero is someone who is always looking on the positive side of things, never giving up. People too often take the easy way out, by being a pessemist. Heroes are the ones that change the attitude of others by being hopeful and optimistic. They always try to see the lighthouse in the storm, instead of being blinded by the rain.

Love
To me, this is an important trait in a hero because love is the most powerful thing in our lives. Love can lead to amazing accomplishments. For example, soldiers fighting for the love of their country and the safety of the people that they care about, cancer patients holding on for the love of their family, and parents standing up for a child when bullied at school; those are all heroes in my mind.

Selfless
A hero would put others before him/herself always. They are not out to soley protect themselves or accomplish something for themselves, but for others.

Humble
Humbless is a huge thing for me. I don't feel like Hercules was a hero, because he was not humble. It is usually the underdog that is heroic for me. People should want to do something because it is helping something, not for the glory.

Courageous
It takes courage to be a hero. Often times a hero is usually confronted with a struggle that proves very difficult for them to overcome, but they do what it takes to get through it. They might cross a burning bridge to save a child, or it might be something less literal, like overcoming an emotional fear.

Inspiring
Perhaps this is the biggest factor in being a hero. They have to give something back to the people, and often times it is inspiration. If I learn something from someone that changes my life, they are a hero. I recently read a book by Scott Russell Sanders, entitled Hunting for Hope. This book inspired me and made me think about so many things that I could do differently to live a better life for myself and for others. Thus, this author was a hero to me.

Genuine
A hero is not someone who puts on an act. I see this fake attitude in many talented athletes. People call them a hero for being so amazing at running or whatever, and in front of the camera, they say how much they appreciate everyone's help and how hard it was for them, etc. While when the cameras are away, they treat people around them like they are worthless and not deserving of their attention. A girl on my team was this way in cross country in high school and she was just not a good role model because of that.

Accomplishes something of significance
This can be something small, or large, as long as it is important. Now, being important doesn't mean that it has to be life-changing for everyone. It may just mean a lot to one person, but as long as that one person was affected, it is significant.

My dad would never let me give up on something. I remember once I said "I can't," and he replied with, "Don't ever say you can't do something, say 'it's hard'." When I said "it's hard" instead of "I can't" it sounded so much better! He always looked on the bright side of things.

MY HERO
My dad, Gregory Kamplain is my hero. All of these traits were derived from thinking about him and how heroic he is to me. My dad was the most hopeful, loving, selfless, courageous, humble, inspiring, and genuine person I know. He was told 3 years before he passed away that he would be lucky to live 6 more months. My parents kept this from my sister and I because they didn't want us to panic. My dad immediately changed his life around and I was told later by many that he had said "I want to live longer for my family". He started walking daily and eating right. He really did love us. It took a lot of courage and hope not to give up, which is what many would do. The doctors were convinced that his heart was in no condition to live past 6 months. Can you imagine being confronted with that kind of thing? He lived 3 years longer than they said he would, and that is amazing to me, although I sure would prefer that he not leave us at all. He has inspired me to live in the way that he did, being kind, caring, genuine, and especially courageous. I want to be someone's hero, just like he was the hero of many.

The Wives of Hercules

Through my research, I have found that Hercules had 3 wives. What a pimp! I thought he only had two, Megara and Deianira. However, apparently the third wife's name was Hebe, the daughter of Zeus and Hera.

               Megara

I was so excited when this came up after typing in Megara into Google Images. I hadn't made the connection that "Meg" from the Disney movie was Megara. Now, I was a little bit upset too because I am aware after being in Mythologies class that Hercules killed Meg and their 3 children in a fit of madness, even though it was Hera that basically made him go crazy. After he had realized what he had done, he wanted to commit suicide, but was stopped by his friend Theseus. Hercules then went on to perform his 12 labors that he is most known for to gain immortality.



                 
Deianira

The photo above shows the scene that we read about in class. That is Hercules on the right, shooting at the Centaur that has Deianira. Hercules won Deianira's hand in marriage by fighting the river-god. When the centaur bled all over the cloth, he told her that it contained a powerful love potion that would renew Hercules' love for her. One night she presented it to him, but of course it was not a love potion but a deadly poison that would ultimately lead to the death of Hercules.



Hebe

Hebe is the youngest daughter of Zeus and Hera, Hercules' mysterious third wife. She is the goddess of youth and was married to Hercules upon his ascension into Mt. Olympus and godhood. She was also the cupbearer of the gods and was possibly an attendant for Aphrodite. Hercules was not a very good husband to her though because he left her on Mt. Olympus while he went to have fun adventures on earth.

The Odyssey's Deeper Meaning

I recently read The Odyssey in my Text and Critics class and thought it would serve as a good topic to blog about, being such an old, classic myth that contains a lot of meaning and symbolism.

Life is full struggles when we try to reach our destination. We might struggle to cross the street because the snow is too deep, or on a larger scale, getting to Europe because our flight was delayed. We also struggle with less literal objectives, such as falling in love, becoming stable, and being ultimately happy. Throughout The Odyssey, Homer uses fantastical and/or imaginative elements to describe obstacles and other events in life and portray ideas.

Odysseus is on a journey home to Ithaca. It had been ten long years since the fall of Troy and he is the only Greek hero that has not returned. He encounters many complications throughout his long journey, but there are a few specific events that are most relatable. When Odysseus reaches the island of the Cyclopes’, his cunning personality is truly revealed. He makes three major decisions that are helpful to him and his crew. First, he decides to blind, not kill, Cyclopes, as he is the only one that has the strength to move to boulder blocking the door aside. He also tells Cyclopes that his name is “Nobody” so his neighbors will not worry when he says “Nobody has hurt me”. Odysseus also uses the sheep to disguise his men. Six of twelve men are lost, but had he not been so clever, all of them would have met their doom. Homer used this event with these characters to convey the importance of intelligence and cleverness, and how it can be just as important, if not more than strength.

Odysseus later runs into two things that both deal with the same thing: temptation. First, he is given assistance by the god of wind, Aeolus, who presents to him a bag of winds, leaving out only the west wind, which will guide him home to Ithaca. He becomes within seeing distance of his land, but is betrayed by his crew, whose curiosity was too much for them to stand. They opened the bag from Aeolus and unleashed the other winds, sending the ship backwards in a violent storm. The second event that deals with temptation is the run-in with the Sirens. He plugs the crew members ears with beeswax and has them bind him to the mast. The seductive, beautiful song of the Sirens becomes so powerful that he begs the crew to release him, but they only bind him tighter.

Both these events describe the outcomes and possible outcomes of temptation. The unbearable curiosity of the crew members led to years and years of prolonging their return home, and had Odysseus not been bound to the mast, he would have given himself to the enticing Sirens. Temptation leads to horrible outcomes in reality as well. For example, cheating, spying, and simply doing exactly what we are told not to. Homer is perhaps warning us what can happen when we give into our every desire and impulse.
The last and most challenging obstacle that Odysseus faces is when he is trapped on Calypso’s island. The idea of being stuck on an island with a seductress such as Calypso, is not an uncommon occurrence when you think about it. Too often we are confronted with feelings of being “trapped” in a relationship or situation. Calypso is in love with Odysseus and will not let him leave, so he is ultimately held prisoner. Many of us are held prisoner by things that seem inviting or pleasant. For example, as a college student, I am well accustomed to procrastination. We do things that are fun and make us happy, instead of writing an essay, such as this one. One could say that we are held prisoner by the easy route, and it leads us astray from our final objectives.

Through The Odyssey, Homer teaches us things and portrays ideas or warnings in an innovative way; he writes of the hero’s journey. Instead of simply saying “do not give into temptation”, he tells a story about someone who did. Describing what someone else goes through is often a good way to get a point across because the audience may put themselves in that position. Visioning an outcome results in either wanting to pursue it or wanting to stray away from it. It these cases that I’ve discussed, he is both warning us to stray away from the mistakes made by the crew and Odysseus as well as use our brains in situations instead of going strictly by instinct.

2/16 Notes

differentiation- separating

3 stages of gods:
1. forces of nature
2. embodiment
3. become individuals

sacred marriage= fertility

Heroes

*how would I define a hero?
        -accomplishes something
        -teach a lesson
        -change

hero- cultural
   *extraordinary
   *purpose
   *establishes a dynasty


monomyth= universally shared story

***when the hero is born, it is exposed, saved, and then brings something to culture


TIMELINE

1871 (Taylor)- exposed, raised, return

1909 (Rank)- distinguished parents, prophecy, exposed, raised, return and "kill" father (metaphorical)

1949 (Campbell)- departure (separation of familiar world), initialism (trials, aid, temptation), return (boon, knowledge, object, authority, King Arthur)


*psychological vs. religious

*Campbell's pursuit of the hero

Campbell was inspired by Carl Jung, who was a student of Freud

Freud's Beliefs:::
- conscious>>>>sub-conscious>>>>unconscious (dreams, myths)
- outline of hero
       *archetypes- a very typical example of a person or thing
       *stereotype

2/11 Notes

*dracula tale
*knowledge
*rescue souls
*seer

BEES IN MYTHOLOGY
-womb-like
-queen

male human +goddess

where does Telipine come from?

Grove/trees
*the suspension of something on a tree ensures the return of life


*boar hunts (recurring myth)

Quiz:

*axis mundi
*fecundator
*allophones
*sparagmos
*creation myths
*gods/goddesses
*microcosm
*macrocosm
*anthropomorphic
*homologies
*matriarchal/matrifocal
*phantasis
*creatrix
*wombness
*pantheon
*hiero gamos
*goddess transition

2/9 Notes

3000 B.C.

Internal
cities
laws
military
storage
writing

External
spoked wheel
chariots

2/7 Notes

Seth + Nepthys = <3

Osiris + Isis = <3

Nepthys + Osiris = Anubis (god of mummification)
                                   -jackle, scavenger, agent of rebirth, judge of underworld

Nepthys + Isis = sisters

sparagmos

-Seth builds a box, puts Osiris in it, pours led over it and throws into river
-Isis finds box in a tree
-Tree used as a pillar in a palace
-Mouth to mouth
         wind/breath=life>>>alloform
-Full moon hunting= cuts him into 14 pieces
-re membering= cresent
-new moon= back to life

Seth= ox, donkey (harvest)>>>>>dismember the grain (Osiris, god of grain)

Isis=star
- Sothus/Serius >>>> pregnant>>>>as Nile floods, Isis is pregnant- new life

3 Stages of Godess
       1. Virgin
       2. Mother
       3. Crone

2/4 Notes

creatrix
      - medicatrix
      - formacatrix

Athena
   matriarchal >>>> patriarchal
   out of Zeus's head

homology- saying the same thing

moon-
    new moon: Gaia produces Cronos
    full wax: marries her consort
    wane: lost him in some way
                       -dismemberment
                       -death

Zoe- life with no end or beginning (eternal)
              goddess
Bios- life (mortal)
             consort

"The Golden Bough"- Sir James Frayer

***heiro gamos- sacred marriage

Queen of Heaven
     Inanna - Ishtar - Tiomat - Iris - Aphrodite - Venus - Mary

1/28 Notes

West wind- Zephyrus
East wind- Eurus
South wind- Notus
North wind- Boreas

1st generation=naughty
         male+female
Deucalion + Pyhma (sp?)
escape/salvation
dismemberment of mother earth >>>>bones=stones=allophones

*heat + moisture

Nephilim= sons of God (angels)
     - Goliath

homologies
     -baptism and underworld (hero)

Etiological consequences: rainbow, lightning, animals in boats

covenant

1/26 Notes

Alloforms-  breath of the gods is life

breath::life
death::breath

Hesiod- theogony
    
       1. Generalites- force- uranus+gaea
       2. Embodiments- titans
       3. Duties + gender- olympians

fecundator- fertilizer

"The Woman That Fell From the Sky" - earth diver

etiological- why things are the way they are

1/24 Notes

"The Emergence" - emergence...duh

"The Creation" - ex nihilo


Morpheus- god of dreams, imitates humans
Icelon- nightmare god, pobos: phobia
Phantasas- fantasy

false: ivory      true: horn

Study Guide: Quiz 1

So for the quiz, we need to know the following topics, and I will go into each one in greater depth.

*fecundator
*allophones
*sparagmos
*creation myths
*gods/goddesses (greek/roman)
*microcosm vs. macrocosm
*anthropomorphic
*homologies
*matriarchal vs. matrifocal
*phantosis
*wombness
*creatrix
*hiero gamos
*goddess transition


VOCABULARY

fecundator = fertilizer, agent of creation

alloform = same thing in different form... breath :: life, breath :: death

sparagmos = ripping or rending of flesh

anthropomorphic = attributing human form or characteristics to non-human things (deities)

homologies = similarities such as that of baptism and a hero coming out of the underworld
creatrix = the goddess that created the world

hiero gamos = sacred marriage

etiological = why things are the way they are

cosmogeny = beginning of order

pantheon = collection of gods for a certain culture


CREATION  MYTHS

Ex-Nihilo:  created out of nothing, void

Earth Diver: an animal or other life form dives down to the bottom of a body of water and brings it back up...LIFE!

Emergence: life as we knows it emerges out of different layers, or in some cases, a giant vagina

Primal Unity: separation of light/dark, earth/sky, etc.

Dismemberment: sparagmos is usually involved and parts of a body become parts of the earth

Axis Mundi: a connection between the natural and the divine



THE 12 OLYMPIANS

Aphrodite (Venus) - sexual desire, beauty

Apollo (Phoebus Apollo) - medicine, poetry, archer

Ares (Mars) - war

Artemis (Diana) - hunting, moon, virginity

Athena (Minerva) - wisdom, weaving

Demeter (Ceres) - grain

Hades (Pluto) - underworld

Hephaestus (Vulcan) - forge and fire

Hera (Juno) - marriage, childbirth

Hermes (Mercury) - messenger

Hestia (Vesta) - hearth

Poseidon (Neptune) - sea

Zeus (Jupiter/Jove) - sky



MICROCOSM VS. MACROCOSM

Mircrocosms refer to human life, and life in general here on Earth. Macrocosms are referring to everything outside our immediate world, such as gods, stars, etc.


MATRIARCHAL/MATRIFOCAL

Society is focused around women, as we are more powerful than men.

PHANTASAS

fantasy


SYMBOL OF THE WOMB/GODDESS




PANTHEON

GREEK     (ROMAN)     Area

Gaea     (Terra)    mother earth, nourishes all life

Uranus    (Uranus)     ruler of the sky

Briareus     (--)     hundred-hand giant

Cyclopes     (--)     one-eyed metalsmith

Titans     (--)      immortals who ruled the universe before the gods

Cronus     (Saturn)     god of sky after Uranus, youngest Titan

Rhea     (Ops/Cybele)      goddess like Gaea

Helios    (Sol)    god of sun

Selene     (--)     goddess of moon

Oceanus      (Nereus)     god of the great river

Atlas    (--)      holds up the sky- strong

Themis    (--)     prophecy

Prometheus    (forethought)     creative, intelligent

Epimetheus       (afterthought)      husband of first mortal woman

Aphrodite     (Venus)     sexual desire/beauty

Zeus     (Jupiter, Jove)      god of sky after Cronus

Poseidon     (Neptune)      god of the sea

Hades     (Pluto)      god of the underworld

Hera    (Juno)       goddess of marriage/childbirth

Demeter      (Ceres)     goddess of grain

Hestia     (Vesta)       goddess of hearth

Apollo     (Phoebus Apollo)      medicine, poetry, archer

Artemis     (Diana)      hunt, moon, virgin

Ares     (Mars)      war

Athena      (Minerva)       weaving, wisdom

Hermes      (Mercury)        messenger of the gods

Persephone       (Proserpine)        underworld

Hephaestus        (Vulcan)       forge


GODDESS TRANSITION

There are 3 stages or manifestations of the goddess, expressing each special phase of femininity. These stages are also associated with the moon and its cycle.

1. Virgin (Waxing): new beginnings, growing, birthing ideas, learning


2. Mother (Full): fullness, full of life, most fertile

3. Crone (Waning): wisdom and experience, knowledge, approaching death

Pantheon

GREEK     (ROMAN)     Area

1/21 Notes

ORIGIN MYTHS
*Earth diver
*Breaking up primal unity
*Axis mundi
*Dismemberment
*Ex-nihilo
*Emergence

EBADEE!!!

"Origin of life and fire"
-ex nihilo (vomiting, spitting, etc.)
-not emergence (going through worlds)

Nigerian story
-breaking up primal unity (light/dark, earth/sky, etc.)

inspire >>> creativity
spir: spirit

inspire: breath of God

*alloforms: alternatives shapes for something

microcosm: human life
macrocosm: everything outside our world (gods, stars, etc.)

fecundator: fertilizer

1/19 Notes

Anrtrhopomorphize
man           change

*Lot's of myths about creation!!

Story of origins:
-void
-humans
-world/earth
-animal
-where we came from
-expections (worldview)
-purpose

Examples:
*Big bang
*Judeo/christian (7 days)
*ducks/fox
*stork
*primal unity
*reincarnation
*ex nihilo (out of nothing)
*earth-diver
*sparagmos (tearing of flesh) icky!
*axis mundi

1/14 Notes

The following are used to explain things:

*Science
*Imagination
*History
*Religion

-where science ends, the myths pick up

*sometimes we have to change our colors to survive

*what does the myth say about US, not just the world around us?

Heaven

(If you are super religious or super not-religious, just skip this paragraph and start at the next one)
Some believe that when you die, nothing happens. It is an eternal nothingness. Some believe that if you are a faithful Christian, you will go to heaven. I have the belief that God will have mercy on the ones that might not have followed Him, but lived their life like he wanted them to. I think they should go to heaven over someone who might not have been a good person, but preached the word of the Lord. Too often people look down on others because they aren't believers and aren't "Christian", while the person they are looking down on might act like a much better Christian than they do. I am a faithful Christian, but I just don't think such a caring and loving God would send a good person to hell when they might not have grown up with Christianity. It would not be fair to punish someone to an eternity of hell when they were a good person.

When I get to heaven, I don't think there will be any pearly white gates or whatnot. All I can see right now is being reunited with my dad and other lost loved ones. He is what I miss most in the world, so I think that will be the first thing that I see in heaven. I want to see Jesus and just be close to God. Basically, whatever you want heaven to be, will be. I wonder what it will be like, especially since it will be perfect...what then is perfection? Since everyone's "perfect" is different, then is everyone's Heaven different? I might say that there will be an unlimited supply of macaroni and cheese and moberry frozen yogurt, but then I wonder if I will have to eat at all? Also, what about emotions? If I were to die young, I don't think I could not be sad about leaving my loved ones behind and watching them suffer (they better be a little bit sad) without lots of drugs or something. Does heaven have drugs? How is it possible for everyone to be so happy? That weirds me out a little bit. I think I might want to be sad sometimes. Hmmmm...what would heaven look like? For some reason I think about clouds, but it seems weird and a bit chilly to live in the clouds, plus that would mean that we are still part of the world when we die. Is heaven on earth? Where is heaven? I guess that is not an answerable question. After my dad died, I had a dream and he said to me in that dream that if I wanted to get ahold of him, I just had to write him a letter. I could see where he was and it looked like an abandoned ghost town, but there was a white mailbox. I told him that I didn't know the address and asked where to send it so that it would get to that mailbox. He said that I just had to write the letter and it would get to him. After waking up to that, I just thought "what the hell" and I wrote a letter to him and in I asked him to just give me a sign that he was still with me somehow. The next night I woke up and I saw him standing right over my bed, as clear as could be, it was him. Now I'm not one to normally believe in ghosts or anything like that, but if I hadn't seen him die myself, I would not have even questioned his presence there. There he was wearing that worn, ugly, green and purple striped sweatshirt. He just smiled at me, and I shut my eyes and opened them again....still there. I even shook my head and he did not disappear. To me, that showed me that there is something more after death, and somehow he heard me. This also leads me to believe that we still have some sort of connection to heaven. We might not always be able to communicate with them, but I know that they are listening.

The End of the World

This is what the end of the world looks like to me. I think it is not going to end because of anything humans do, because there will always be people to freak out and go, "AH! That's enough!".

Many think that a nuclear war will be the end of us. I doubt that. If we have potential to be that stupid, then we would've been gone already...and to have so many bombs go off at once, enough to kill everyone in the world, sounds so ridiculous. The people orbiting space, safe from the nuclear war, will write in the history books how we blew up the human race. How embarrassing.

Global warming...nah...we will eventually change our ways enough to prevent that, if it is a real thing.

An ice age would be more likely to end us because that involves Earth's natural cycle.

Maybe a giant flaming meteor will crash to the earth like in the above photo. Whatever it is, we won't be able to control it.

The Emergence and Greek/Roman Names

So everything seemed somewhat normal as I started reading this short myth. Then I came to the passage about the buckskins, corn, and feathers turning into people....ummmm...what??? Where the heck did that whole process come from? It sounded like such a complex process. Was there any significance to them facing east and west...and the fact that it was corn? What about the colors of yellow and white? That totally lost me.

As I continue reading, there continues to be an obsession with corn. At first I thought that was super werid, but then I realized that its probably because corn was so important to the native americans. The rest of it was intriguing, but a little bit crack-headish sounding with the water monster and its babies, etc..

I like the Greek myths much better! Here are the greek gods with roman names:

Cronus (Saturn)
Rhea (Cybele)
Zeus (Jupiter, Jove)
Poseidon (Neptune)
Hades (Pluto)
Hera (Juno)
Demeter (Ceres)
Artemis (Diana)
Athena (Minerva)
Aphrodite (Venus)
Persephone (Proserpine)
Ares (Mars)
Hephaestus (Vulcan)
Hermes (Mercury)
Hestia (Vesta)

Testing Testing 1, 2, 3

La la la. I just want to see what it will look like if I post something, sooooo yeah!