|
Post by blackrose on Oct 27, 2009 11:23:13 GMT -5
It's funny. While reading this I was thinking "I've never considered Medusa all that pervasive." I mean, I knew one person who was semi-obsessed with Medusa as a symbol of female power, but she was a bitch. I never really knew anyone else. I mean, sure, I know that people know of the myth, but they know of Hercules and a lot of the other stuff, too. Old B movies will do that.
But then, while browsing the Design Toscano catalogue, I came across a statue of a beautiful Medusa, symbol of "female mysteries" or some such, and in the costume store there was a Medusa costume (which I was tempted to send to lenny) - so I guess it's more pervasive a mythos than I thought.
|
|
|
Post by Shannon on Oct 27, 2009 17:05:23 GMT -5
After some thought, I think what it all boils down to for me is this: I'm drawn in by the layer of humanity that lies within Medusa, but immediately repelled by the monster, then drawn in again, only to be repelled. Whatever sort of personal meaning is in it for me- I just have to let the 'person' of Medusa die, and accept the monstrosity. Or maybe I need to accept shades of grey. I don't know Squig, you tell me. But honestly, this is the first being that I could feel as Real. And Lenny would have loved that!
|
|
|
Post by blackrose on Oct 28, 2009 7:57:10 GMT -5
Maybe it's not about letting the person die, but, rather, accepting that it can be both? (And if it didn't cost so much, I mighta actually done it )
|
|
|
Post by Denethor on Oct 28, 2009 19:19:10 GMT -5
That's the part that stands out to me as significant. If you experience Medusa as Real, you can also petition Her directly for assistance with the monster/human thing. For this thread I'm kind of trying to think back to my experiences with Woden a few years ago, when it was new and I was all enthusiastic. Woden felt Realer than Real - is that the sort of thing you're getting at? (I'm assuming you're using the capital R as a sort of mystical signifier, and not trying to tell me that there are Gorgon members of NAR. Though of course, there probably are). Not like He was standing in the room talking to me; that would have been a hallucination. But more a sense of an entity, a power, a feeling that marked Him as Real. At first I "didn't have time", which was a cover for finding the whole thing unnerving; I didn't quite see myself as the Woden type, what with the stereotype of Heathens as Aryan Nation prison thugs. A more positive stereotype placed His people in the Army, which I've never been. But He kept nagging me; I sensed Him in my meditations, He appeared in dreams (often disguised, but that's also one of His tactics, so I can't say for sure whether you can expect that from Medusa), He popped up by "coincidence" in any number of books, movies, games, even street signs. I even had a few encounters with real people that bore strong resemblances to Woden stories. A little study later, I connected with the wandering wisdom-oriented Woden that sees the "battle" in many other lights rather than just physical combat - physical combat is one possible "battle" among many. When I made time to contact Him regularly, the "coincidental encounter" kind of stuff quit happening so much, and while nowadays much of the edge is off of the experience - to the point where I can slide between seeing Him as an "entity" and seeing my experiences as being more of a force that the "personality" of Woden symbolizes, whichever is easier for the situation - there's still something Real there. Assuming I am taking your meaning correctly when you say "Real", and we aren't just talking past each other about it.
|
|
|
Post by Shannon on Oct 29, 2009 13:46:24 GMT -5
I think we understand each other's meaning. Let's hope! It's definitely more the feeling of there being an actual force behind the myth that I can identify as Medusa. And I haven't really had that with other ...things. The 'lizard' was pretty darn real, but that's not quite the same, and I don't know exactly why, maybe it's more of a personal, internal manifestation...and the Baba Yaga meditation was powerful (though I'm not liking that word), though the actual force behind that entity wasn't. Maybe it's Velveteen Rabbit Real. This next part I really hesitated on posting, because it's the sort of thing that makes people look at you funny... but we're all friends right? Straight-shooting friends. A few days ago I was walking to the corner bus stop to pick up the boys, and this whole Dark Goddess/Monster thing was on my mind. Across from the corner is an undeveloped lot, and in it is a rotted cactus stump, black and shriveled. Anyway, I caught sight of it for the first time out of the corner of my eye, and it looked like a woman in black robes hunched over, gazing at me. Not detailed, just sort of one of those imaginative things you see for a split second, which made my heart sort of skip a beat. Of course I knew where my mind was going and why, and I promptly identified it correctly...and admittedly felt some dissapointment, but not much. Because when my heart skipped a beat it was from some sort of instictive, primal fear and the whole spook of it made me really realize that whatever I tried to rationalize before, some things ARE bad, and not to be handled lightly, and if one of them really did come knocking at my door...it wouldn't be good. Anywho......
|
|
|
Post by Denethor on Oct 31, 2009 16:35:17 GMT -5
You're certainly right about that...some things, and some people, are bad, and you don't want them knocking at your door. This is not another cheesy joke about real estate agents; I'm thinking more of serial killers, or in a less severe case, con men like that guy who was asking about your windshield that time. And, of course, this applies to your spiritual "doors" as well. The notion that anything that doesn't have an observable, human body is wonderful and trustworthy is one of the things that gets on my nerves about the fluffy New Age set. Bears, tigers, and cobras also exist, folks! And while you can wax all poetic about these things having their place in nature, it remains the case that you don't want to handle them without special training in dealing with the specific dangers that that particular species presents. Why would it be different with the non-bodied type of thing?
The good part is that at least with the ones that "don't have bodies", there's usually that creepy feeling that immediately tells you the difference. If the creep has a body, though, it may well have the sort of con-man skills with body language and false credentials that such things use to gain undeserved confidence.
(Incidentally, I can grok the "disappointment" you mention too...there seems to be that sort of sense of adventure in everyone, the thing that sort of "wants" something to happen, perhaps as a diversion from one's mundane concerns?)
I could go into a tangent about this time of year, and traditions that state that the "veil is thin" and such, and that you can see all of it and even (perhaps especially) the bad and spooky stuff more easily, &c, &c, but we've all heard that before and have come to/are coming to our own conclusions concerning its verity. One thing I would say: if you were going to see something of that nature, one of our modern dead, deserted lots and/or a rotted, dead stump of any kind would be a fruitful place to look.
Interesting side note: some readers may have heard of the giant fleet of empty container ships anchored off of Singapore, said to be larger than the U.S. and British naval fleets combined. There was a slideshow about it recently on one of the big sites. These ships are empty and abandoned by the sudden drop in shipping accompanying our current economy. The abandoned lot thing reminded me: is it any surprise that the Singapore fishermen prefer to avoid that area, claiming that the ships are cursed? Because, in a sense, they are - cursed by the abandonment, failure, and death produced by a declining economy. And they're probably chock full of the sorts of things that produce stuff like what you saw. (Not to mention pirate wanna-bes and trigger-happy watchmen looking for same). I wouldn't go there either. In any case, right now, there are probably mini-spots like that everywhere on Earth, an empty lot like the one you describe being an excellent candidate.
|
|
|
Post by Shannon on Nov 2, 2009 10:27:55 GMT -5
Yeah, I didn't even think of the 'veil' thing. I know I have an over-active imagination- why I can't channel it into anything productive is beyond me- but at least it's useful in that it sort of lets me react to and estimate something without having to actually deal with it.
Your Singapore story creeps me out. =)
|
|
|
Post by Denethor on Nov 2, 2009 17:46:57 GMT -5
It creeped me out a bit too (that would of course be why I shared it). I'm getting a bit creeped out by all the abandoned places: empty skyscrapers where the banks foreclosed and no one can sell or lease the condos/storefronts/offices in them; places like the empty lot on the corner near the Metro where they were going to put in these fancy-pants eco-conscious condominiums but not enough people bought in and they canceled it, leaving the nasty, empty lot strewn with broken concrete, the small park it could have been as dead as the condos; going to that Realtor's listings and finding several similar lots for sale, languishing in need of developers; the shuttered factories; Detroit going to ruins as people debate returning large tracts of it to nature; the dying malls; &c, ad nauseum. That shipping thing was one of those. In short, things that were designed to be inhabited and used, going uninhabited and unused - not "supposed" to be empty, but empty nonetheless - these are inherently creepy, Bladerunner creepy, and if there's any sort of similarly creepy energetic thing, it's going to be attracted to that sort of place. And always the nagging question, where is everybody going? The Moon? Judging by the talk of defunding NASA, I guess not. I suppose it'll all adjust ok eventually, just this whole transition rather flusters my beady-eyed little Capricorn soul.
|
|
|
Post by Shannon on Nov 3, 2009 10:39:02 GMT -5
Well, to be fair, the lot here is undeveloped, but the signs for building plans are up already and we'll have a new neighborhood shopping center soon. And there's more construction further up the road. Phoenix has been pretty fortunate during this whole debacle. We're in a great location (close to LA, Las Vegas, Mexico [that can be a plus] but without all the taxes, cost of living) and we have awesome weather. So while house prices are down and cheap, bidding wars are outrageous and we're back to having another realty boom. Not that construction didn't slow down considerably for awhile. And not to absolutely kill you, but I've been thinking of going into realty myself. What is sad, is that in some of these lots being leveled there are saguaro cacti, which take a hundred years to grow an arm. 'My' cactus though, had already died a natural death. On topic? I've got nothing.
|
|
|
Post by Denethor on Nov 3, 2009 12:04:07 GMT -5
Thanks for warning me. Let me know if you do, I'll see to it the Realtor-slayers don't mess with you. As you know, I can make allowances for individual Realtors. (Remember...you didn't hear that from me...there have already been questions among said slayers concerning my loyalty). Just to warn you though, if you join the NAR (your choice concerning that will be up to your agency) that'll be 6% of your soul up front, and trust me that's only the beginning. So you'll also need to join an occult order... ahem...to protect yourself from your own professional organization. Topic? What is this topic of which you speak?...oh yeah... Got nothing on topic either. See you again soon.
|
|
|
Post by Shannon on Nov 4, 2009 11:12:30 GMT -5
I'm bookmarking that all for future reference.
I do have something on topic. I've read in a few different places that Medusa is being seen as the darker half of Athena's personality. The sexual woman, the predator of men. I know (or think) you feel an affinity towards Athena, Den. Any thoughts on that?
|
|
|
Post by Denethor on Nov 6, 2009 18:07:14 GMT -5
Hm...I have heard that the Gorgon's head featured on Athena's shield has something to do with protecting women. Athena was/is a war/wisdom/justice Goddess, and protecting women falls definitely within her bailiwick. Protection (especially the kind that uses war or violence) definitely calls on the "darker" sides of one's personality; in this context, the shield (Aegis) might be interpreted to read, "rapists and abusers, watch out!" It could also be taken to mean, not just men can be sexual "predators".
Other Goddesses from that pantheon that deal in protecting women were/are Diana (protecting animals, nature, and women in childbirth), Hestia (protecting the hearth and all who tend it), and Hygeia, from whom we get the word "hygiene".
I had the Athena thing in common with one of my housemates, before he moved out; after that, we were left with just me and the remaining housemate, who was more a Quaker than any sort of Pagan or Heathen, so house rituals fell off.
Beyond that I have no particular thoughts, but it's an interesting line of inquiry. Maybe I'll read up on it again.
|
|